Friday night means dinner with friends either at someone’s house or out to dinner at the Mexican joint. Now, this brings up a million issues with the Celiac sufferer and I’m going to talk about how I handle it.
Going to the Mexican joint. There are two places we go pretty consistently – one has gluten free options and the other does not.
Of course the one that does not have gluten free options is less expensive and much more family friendly. At the non-gluten free option, the kids sit at a different table and the adults can have a moment to themselves. At the place with non-gluten free options, they do offer a gluten free margarita. So, at the one with no-gluten free options, I have margaritas for dinner. But I will eat before we go and it is fine. I’m going more for the company and enjoying the ambiance.
The Mexican joint with gluten free options is better. It is a little higher end and while family friendly, we can’t just turn the kids loose at a different table. Now, even here, I cannot have the chips because they are fried in the same fryer as gluten foods. They have something called “tostones” that are basically baked chips. Also, with friends, I put my guacamole on my plate before any of my friends can cross contaminate it with their regular chips. Otherwise, I can eat anything on their gluten free menu and have been okay.
If we go to someone’s house, I bring my own food. Sometimes it is a “Bring your own meat” grilling party. Other times it is “I’ll make the main and you bring sides that go with that theme.” In the summer, it is, “The pool is cooking dinner.” When eating at someone’s house always get to go through the line and get my meal first. I also take aluminum foil to put my meat on their grill. If people bring sides, I only eat what I bring unless I’ve seen what people have put into their dishes. Sometimes people even bring me ice cream or gluten free crackers to eat as a special treat.
I also miss beer, so I just bring White Claws to drink. I was drinking wine all the time, but I find the White Claw or other sparkling, hard seltzer waters are the most like beer. I can drink them all day without issue.
I did go to the Atlanta Braves last weekend. They have one place that you can get a gluten free hot dog and bun. It was a separate cart within a particular shop. The gluten free buns were wrapped individually and the hot dogs were next to it. You open the bag for the bun and put in the hot dog. There is no way for the dogs to get CC’ed because the only buns nearby are gluten free. I also ate roasted peanuts. Then I drank Cripsin hard cider from a can all night. It was awesome.
So, you can eat at friends house or the Mexican joint or the Braves game and stay safe. I used to feel bad about not eating when we went out with friends, but I have a choice. I can sit at home and be lonely or I can go out and enjoy life. I might not be able to eat but I can be social. So, I’m going to be social and go out.