Reducing the Stress: Gluten-Free Holiday's

Reducing the Stress: Gluten-Free Holiday's

There are many articles, blog posts and articles about the Holiday’s and Gluten-Free Food. So when challenged with the idea of writing an article for the Holiday’s presented itself, I pondered what I should write about.

Food is an integral part of the Holiday’s, therefore being on a restricted diet during the holiday’s adds a lot of stress during an already stressful time. I reflected on my gluten-free/dairy-free journey and realized that I have come a long way. 

My first holiday was Thanksgiving and I was going to family, who was making the meal the "traditional" way. I made an entire gluten-free/dairy-free meal to bring with me, since 4 of us were now gluten-free and dairy-free.  It was a tremendous amount of work and truthfully the food was just okay.  I was tired and a little disappointed.  Not only did I have to eat food that was just average but I had to endure the unsolicited comments from one of the non- gluten-free members that tried the food and was a little unkind about the taste. It hurt my feelings and I become anxious about cooking for others. 

Five holiday seasons later, I have become a much better gluten-free/dairy-free cook and baker. When planning what I will cook/bake, I think about what foods gives me that “feeling” of the specific holiday; I am cooking/baking for. This way I am not overworking by reproducing the entire meal. For example, I don’t care about certain Thanksgiving traditional foods but I love the stuffing and gravy, so I focus on making the best gluten-free and dairy-free stuffing and gravy, I can. To me pumpkin pie is just okay but I love a good apple pie, so that is what I make. 

Though I have tried to please everyone in my “food issue group” it has not worked because it becomes overwhelming. If others in my “food issue group” want a certain food that I am not making, I now let them figure it out rather than trying to do it all for everyone. This way on the day of the holiday I am not burnt out and too tired to enjoy the gathering.

Family and friends now know that there are 2 sets of foods, regular and gluten-free.  The gluten-free is in a separate location that prevents any cross contamination, especially with serving utensils. Believe me when I tell you, it is heartbreaking when you have cooked/baked for days and someone proceeds to take the serving spoon from the regular stuffing and sticks it in the gluten-free/dairy-free stuffing, rendering it uneatable, for those of us who can not have any cross contamination. The first time it happened to me, I cried. 

I no longer care what others think about my cooking or my food choices. If they don’t like it then they don’t have to eat it. I have let it be known that I am not interested in a critic unless I ask for it. Setting boundaries with family and friends helps reduce the stress. It is essential for me to take charge of my food issues and stand proud that I am taking care of myself.

Instead of reproducing some already excellent information, I have listed several places for you to find gluten-free recipes and baked goods for the holidays. These are only a fraction of the options now available to us.

1. Blogs: Holiday Recipes can be found on many blogs such as:

            http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/

            http://glutenfreegirl.com/

            http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

            http://www.celiaccentral.org/holidayrecipes/

2. Magazines such as:                                                                                                                       Gff Magazine at   http://gffmag.com/                                                                                             Gluten Free Living   at http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/                                                             Gluten Free & More at http://www.glutenfreeandmore.com/                                                      Simply Gluten Free at https://simplygluten-free.com/glutenfreemagazine/

3. Pinterest: Go to Pinterest and enter gluten-free recipes in the search box and 1000’s of recipes will come up. Pinterest sites such as these have many tried and true gluten-free holiday recipes.

            eZ Gluten-Free Life at https://www.pinterest.com/ezglutenfreelif/

            The Roasted Root at https://www.pinterest.com/roastedroot/the-roasted-root/

            JustbYou at https://www.pinterest.com/justbyou/recipes-gluten-free/

Local Bakeries: Here in Southern California there are several good bakery options. When going to a gluten-free bakery please ask if it is dedicated gluten-free bakery. Celiac people should not eat baked goods made in a location that could have cross contamination.
            Cookies con Amore/ Glutenetto: Has a large variety of Italian cookies. Read my post                                                                          for further information. 

            Cloud 9 Bakers:

            San Juan Capistrano -  31654 Rancho Viejo Rd
                                                     San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
                                                     (949) 388-8311

            Sensitive Sweets:  Has 2 locations now:

            San Clemente -         362 Camino De Estrella
                                                San Clemente, CA 92672
                                                (949) 388-5764

            Fountain Valley -       Slater Plaza: 17431 Brookhurst St
                                                Fountain Valley, CA 92708
                                                (714)968-9169

Passover: Yehuda and Gefen are brands that carry gluten-free Passover items. 

Gluten-Free Matzo by Yehuda is really quite good. (I have found this Matzo at Ralphs, Whole Foods, Wal Mart etc. It can be very expensive on line so shop around.)

Amazon has an entire section of gluten-free Passover items. 

If you are up in Los Angeles there are some wonderful bakeries:

            Erin McKenna (once BabyCakes): (Great donuts)

                                                236 North Larchmont

                                                Los Angeles, CA 9004

                                                855-462-2292

            Rising Hearts Bakery: (bagels, breads, treats, etc)
                                                10836 W. Washington Blvd
                                                 Culver City, CA 90232

                                                (310) 815-1800

Cartoon via ToledaBlade.com, www.whatnext.com

HAPPY HOLIDAY'S TO ALL!