5 Things Coeliacs need to get used to.

I should have research the “I’m not awkward” bit of my blog title before I went live. Apparently I am awkward & I always have been. I have dislikes of many things, eggs, cheese, too much salt, fatty meats, olives, anchovies, tofu, cottage cheese, custard to name a few. So when friends try to cater for me it’s particularly awkward when you throw in the flavours I loathe along with Coeliac Disease.

Attending a casual BBQ at a friends house, after many texts consisting of – Is this ok? How about that? Does this have gluten in it? Can you eat this? I love the fact that my friends check all of these things instead of just winging it. The hosts thinking they’ve “nailed it’ as they’ve also deep cleaned the kitchen (along with the BBQ). Double checking by telling me exactly what’s in the delicious looking salad as it’s placed on the table. It all sounds perfect until……Oh & cheese, finely grated & tossed throughout the dish. Hmmmm yum.

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I’m about a year & a half in to this gluten free life & if I was to say it’s been a walk in the park, I’d be lying. Here’s a few things us Coeliacs have to accept to make life easier:

5 things to get used to being a Coeliac:

Having a voice when eating out – Don’t feel embarrassed to question something on the menu. Ask the staff to check with the kitchen about something you’re not sure of or just to be on the safe side. Even if the response is “It should be gluten free” reply – “can you please check with the chef/kitchen?” I often ask what the chef/kitchen would recommend for a coeliac to see what my options are. Request staff use clean tongs when handling your food. GF on a menu doesn’t necessarily mean safe for coeliac. Your health is your responsibility no one elses & it’s better to ask questions than to go silent & suffer.

Be very observant in social situations – Nibbles at a girlfriends house. I casually sat back & just watched how easy cross contamination can occur at these social occasions. A lot of dishes were GF but then out comes the freshly cut gluten loaded baguette. The innocent handling of a piece of bread, dipping it in the hummus or scooping up a bit of that delicious looking salmon. Even the celery & carrots couldn’t hide from the odd crumb falling as someone reaches across to the salami. Oh someone just dunked a sausage roll into the GF tomato sauce. I wish there was some kind of dye experiment that you could do just to show people how easy it is to add gluten to GF produce (it’s usually those pesky little bread crumbs). Sometimes it’s better to just do without.

Awareness of Coeliac Disease is sometimes not enough – I was oblivious to this, but on a work boat trip, the girls had discussed a ‘how to keep me safe plan’ as there was going to be gluten on board. But as with some of the best laid plans they fall apart before they’ve even started.

The rule was if they were going to be eating any gluten filled products (chicken sandwiches) then they would use their left hand, & anything shared with me would be their right hand (crisps & crackers & dips etc – of which were all GF & I could eat). This lasted about 20 seconds but at least the thought was there. Bless, they tried.

One of the girls picked up my wine glass by mistake after eating a sandwich so I promptly washed it free of any potential gluten. Did I overreact? Possibly, but I’d rather be overly cautious than take the risk. It can take some time for our bodies to repair the damage cause after consuming even the smallest amount of gluten.

I truly appreciate that they tried very hard but evidently failed on many occasions. I of course seen the funny side & we laughed at this repeatedly about how hard/difficult it is to execute, unless it’s something you do religiously.

There are some things you’ll never enjoy ever again – I’m not usually one for cravings, but the other day I really wanted a croissant or a pain au chocolate from the local bakery. Like really wanted! The damage that I would do to my body is simple not worth it. I would reverse all of the good things that I’ve been doing for the last year & a half. My last bloods showed I’d dropped from my initial 4680 to 31. Huge improvement! So alas, I have accepted that for the rest of my life…. I will sadly never get to enjoy some things ever again.

You may never truly relax around food that’s not been prepared by you – this is particularly relevant when eating out. Despite the online trawling to find coeliac friendly restaurants/cafes or recommendations from other coeliacs. Despite the fact that you’ve spoken to the waitress & asked questions. The food arrives & you doubt what is in front of you. I really want to enjoy this but there is something laying low deep in my brain asking “will this make me sick?” It said GFO (gluten free option) but is that just swapping out the bread, what about the sauce, the bacon, the mayo? Fries hmmmmm they did have a GF fryer, but what if someone in the kitchen mistakenly used it for GLUTEN!

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Recipe for today: AFC “Andrea Fried Chicken”.

What you’ll need:

8 x chicken tenderloins

1/2 cup of GF flour

2 x eggs beaten

Half a packet of Fog Dog Breadcrumbs

Pinch of salt & pepper

1 1/2tsp chill powder (enough to give it a little hit, not to overpower).

Preperation:

Prepare your work station (it’ll get messy). Lay out one plate for the flour, one bowl for the beaten eggs & one plate for the breadcrumbs. Season flour with the salt & pepper & sprinkle the chilli powder over the breadcrumbs & blend.

Pre-heat oven to 180deg. Roll & coat one of the chicken pieces in flour, dip into the egg, & then cover in breadcrumbs – set aside. Repeat with each of the tenderloins. I pop these in the fridge for 20mins or so if I’m preparing in advance, but it’s not crucial.

Lightly fry each piece for a couple of minutes on each side in a shallow frying pan. When they are a light golden colour, place onto a wire rack & pop into the oven for about 20-25mins.

Prinkle with chopped parsley & serve them with your favourite condiment, tomato sauce, sweet chill sauce or a smokey chipotle mayo.

Enjoy!!

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