So, you are cooking for someone who has celiac disease. If this is your first time it might feel really intimidating. I’m sure that the last thing you want is for them to get sick. First of all – thank you from all celiacs everywhere. We all need friends who are willing to do the research and include us. Second, it’s not as hard as it seems, so go ahead, take a deep breath and relax your shoulders. You’ve got this. This guide will take you through all that you need to know to safely feed your friend with celiac disease.

What happens if they accidentally eat gluten?

In the gluten free world this is what we call being “glutened”, or the aftermath of accidentally ingesting gluten. Physiologically, when someone with celiac disease is glutened, their immune system attacks and damages their small intestine making it difficult to absorb nutrients from food. Pretty awful right? The outward symptoms vary from person to person but can include anything from diarrhea and vomiting, to extreme abdominal pain, rashes, fatigue, headaches, etc. It’s not a pretty picture, which is why when you are cooking for someone with celiac disease, education and confidence is so important.

First Line of Defence – Check the Ingredients 

Cooking with gluten free ingredients can be as simple as you want it to be. Here’s where I would start. 

1. Focus on serving things that are naturally gluten free such as rice, potatoes, pure cuts of meat, vegetables and fruit.
2. Include other ingredients whose packaging is labeled gluten free (contain any of these symbols or have GLUTEN FREE written on the packaging) 

3. Identify if an ingredient is safe by reading the label. This will probably come into play the most when you are trying to identify if an ingredient you already have in your home is safe to use, or you are looking for a specific ingredient in the store and you cannot find one with a gluten free label. If you would like to know how to read a food label for gluten in Canada check out this post.

Gluten is an ingredient that hides under a LOT of different names and it can sometimes be tricky. Your safest bet will be to focus on the first two tips, and if there is any ingredient you are unsure about, ask your gluten free friend or a person who regularly cooks for someone with celiac disease to check it for you. They will NOT be offended and may actually feel reassured if you ask them. So maybe, even if you are sure, message them asking about an ingredient to put their mind at ease haha. 

If in Doubt, Avoid Using These Ingredients

Besides the obvious baked goods, these are some of the most common foods that you may be surprised to find gluten in…

• –Any open container of a spread such as margarine, peanut butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese etc. If a knife goes into the spread, and then touches bread / bagel / anything glutenous and then back into the container, the entire container has been contaminated and cannot be considered safe for someone with celiac disease. This is what we would call cross contamination and you’ll read more about it below.
• –Lunch meat / sausages / burgers / hotdogs / imitation crab
• –“meatless” meat substitutes. 
• –Pasta Sauces, BBQ sauces, Soy Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, Marinades, Salad Dressings, Vinegars, Seasoning mixes (pure spices are safe)
• –Corn Flakes or Rice crisps(ies). It seems like these should be GF but surprisingly… most are not. 
• –Energy Bars / Granola Bars 
• –Oats
• –Store bought soups (especially “cream of ___ “)

This is not a comprehensive list of foods you need to check the labels for. There are certainly other foods that gluten likes to hide in. And, this is not to say that these things are absolutely not gluten free, but rather, that they cannot be assumed to be gluten free. If you have any of these ingredients and they are unopened and the packaging is labeled gluten free or you feel confident in your label reading you are safe to use them! Just like before, always better to ask if you aren’t sure! 

Avoiding Cross Contamination When Cooking For Someone With Celiac Disease

The trickiest part of preparing gluten free food, after you have determined that all of the ingredients are gluten free, is making sure to avoid cross contamination. Cross contamination is when gluten comes into contact with the food you are preparing through another source other than the ingredients in the food you are cooking with. For example, cross contamination can happen with your hands, cutting boards, colanders, counter tops, dish rags, or cooking utensils to name a few. To avoid cross contamination, be sure that anything containing gluten, especially things that have crumbs, are put away and that the space you are cooking in has been cleaned with soap and water. It may seem silly to mention, but don’t eat anything with gluten in it while preparing the food. 

After your counters have been cleaned and gluten has been put away. Get a clean dish rag out and clean the pots/pans/cooking utensils you plan to use. If they have been run through a dishwasher, I would say that they are safe. But even in my own kitchen, I double check that my cooking tools are clean before I use them, just in case one was used to cook gluten and was not cleaned properly. Muffin tins, waffle irons, flat griddles, and barbecues you want to be especially careful with. If you want to use them ensure you have cleaned them very well. Do not use your toaster. Use cooking utensils that are not porous. For example, use a metal spoon instead of a wooden spoon. If you don’t want to deep clean your BBQ, cook the food on top of tin foil.

Now that your space and your tools are clean, wash your hands again and take out your ingredients. If you are making a meal to share, it is safest to make the entire meal gluten free or to make the gluten free portion separately and before the rest of the meal. 

Easy Gluten Free Meal Ideas

If you have read this far and now your brain cannot come up with a single idea of what to actually make, I’m here to help! Here are a few simple meals that are or can easily be made gluten free that do not require you to deal with gluten free flour. 

Breakfast

• Frittata
• Omelets 
• Oatmeal – use GF oats 

Lunch

• Homemade broth soups – make sure your broth is GF, and use GF pasta if needed.
• Nachos – use GF chips, available in any grocery store 

Dinner

• Tacos – use corn tortillas and a GF taco seasoning and you are good to go! Old El Paso taco seasoning is GF in case you are wondering. 
• Chili with taco chips – give all the cans of beans, tomato sauces and taco chips a once over. Most often they are gluten free, but sometimes they may contain gluten. There are many varieties available at all grocery stores that are safe, which is why I include it in the easy ideas. Cans of beans and tomato sauce may not specifically say that it is gluten free, if in doubt, choose cans with the least amount of ingredients and ingredients that you know, and rinse all of the beans. 
• Baked potatoes with pork chops, steak or chicken breasts.
• Butter Chicken with Rice – Costco sells gluten free jars of Butter Chicken sauce.
• Potato Salad – use a new jar of mayo for the sauce
• Broccoli Salad – use a new jar of mayo for the sauce and check your bacon.
• Spaghetti – use GF pasta and check the sauce ingredients. It would be worth asking your GF friend what their favourite GF pasta is since not all varieties are created equal. (Some are just inedible).

I hope you leave this post feeling empowered and confident in cooking for your gluten free friend. My last piece of advice would be, to wash your hands more often than you think you need to. It will keep you focused during the cooking process and less likely to cross contaminate the food. You’ve got this! I know your friend with celiac disease will thank you!