Cooking for a Coeliac this Easter? No problem!
- The Little Coeliac
- Apr 8, 2017
- 4 min read
So, it's almost Easter and I don't know about you but for us, that means a big family get together with plenty of food. If you're doing the same and have a coeliac in the family don't despairdispdis Cooking a gluten free meal that everyone can share together, old and young, isn't as difficult as it might sound. Yes you have to be careful but it's completely achievable even for a novice if you follow these tips (noted, there is much more I could say but hopefully this points out the main things to remember and helps you get through the day with minimum stress and maximum success!!)!
1) Leave yourself plenty of time. As my Mother used to frequently tell me "more haste, less speed". This is certainly true here. If you are rushing, you run the risk of slipping into auto pilot and picking up one of your usual ingredients rather than the gluten free option you've been and bought, and ruin your wonderful meal. Remember to wash knives/stirring spoons etc so as not to cross contaminate the gluten free food.
2) Buy your ingredients in advance. Anything can be made gluten free, but depending on how adventurous you're being, sometimes you need to search around a bit for the right alternatives. That said, there's plenty of easy gluten free meals that can be made so please don't give up just yet!! It's also worth saying that if one brand of something contains gluten, check another or the shop's own brand. There are countless examples I could give where this is the case so just have a little look along the isle and you will probably find what you need.
3) Check the ingredients on everything. That might sound obvious but if you aren't used to
cooking gluten free meals (and in fact, even if you are), you can easily trip up by assuming something which seems completely benign is fine when in fact it isn't!
Some examples:
Some Cadbury's chocolate is fine, some isn't (the big bars tend not to be, the little ones usually are).
Some cake decorations which you might assume are 100% sugar sure are, others have gluten in them (see my earlier post on Tesco own brand decorations).
Some tomato sauce is fine (e.g. Ketchup), others aren't.
Some chips are fine, others aren't (usually ones with a coating).
Some crisps are fine, others aren't.
And the list goes on, so take care and don't have that awful feeling half way through the meal when you suddenly realise you forgot to check the [enter item of your choice]!
4) Don't feel as though you need to restrict your menu. Pretty much anything can be made
gluten free relatively easily. If you'd prefer, you could go for naturally gluten free foods such as rice or vegetables but if you love pasta for example, there's plenty of gluten free pasta options out there! I always love a Sunday roast and think that's a great family option - people can choose what to have and normally everyone can find something they like. The most common elements to think about: stuffing, bread sauce, sausages, Yorkshire puddings and gravy - all of those come as free from items now so no one needs to go without! Tesco even do ready made frozen Yorkshires! If you're making homemade gravy, just thicken with cornflour instead of a gravy thickener. But just go for whatever family friendly meal you would usually choose and take it from there - sausage casserole (many sausages contain gluten but the "butchers choice" type options often don't and of course there's the free from option), chicken casserole (beware of shop bought pastes/thickeners as these usually contain gluten - make your own using cornflour or look out for free from options), a big bowl of pasta (buy a gluten free option), anything!
5) Choose wisely on dessert. If you're a gluten free baking beginner, you might prefer to
make something like a brownie rather than a light, airy sponge cake (although look out for my next Blog as I've just made the best sponge cake ever and it was really easy!). Brownies are in their nature more dense and adapt to gluten free substitutes more easily than some other cakes. If you want a quick solution, there's loads of good options in the shops now - cakes in the freezer section, small sponge cakes or cup cakes in the gluten free sections, Tesco, M&S, Asda and Waitrose all have great options. Be careful on your ice cream choice - another one that can catch you out when you least expect it! As mentioned above, a lot of sprinkles contain gluten but Tesco (and I am sure others) have their own brand of similar items (colour strands = hundreds and thousands, chocolate strands, stars etc). And of course there's good old jelly which is always a hit amongst the little ones!
6) Drinks. Remember orange barley water is just that - made of barley, so I would suggest you
stick with regular squash or juice and for the grown-ups, don't forget that most beer contains gluten - there are gluten free ranges available.
7) Teas and coffees . Not such a problem for the smaller guests but for the bigger ones, you guessed it, check your coffee, some instant coffees have gluten in them!
8) Snacks. If you are going to have people with you for the whole day, it is likely to be the snacks that are actually more difficult because they aren't the part that you are focusing on. Maybe get a loaf of gluten free bread and a packet of gluten free crackers or biscuits in case you need to rustle up a quick snack. And of course for children there's always the wonder Ella's fruit pouches which never go a miss in my house!
9) My final tip is actually a request - a Coeliac is not just being difficult or trying a new "fad
diet", they have no choice. If they eat gluten it will seriously affect them both in the short term and long, so if you can, please try to be as inclusive as possible and don't make the Coeliac a completely separate plate of food and ostracise them at the end of the table. Being the "odd one out" (particularly when it isn't by choice and even more so when you're only small) is never nice.
Hope you have a lovely Easter! TLC
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