Gluten free diet at restaurants can be stressful and risky.\u00a0 Here are some ideas to reduce the stress and risk of eating out, without gluten poisoning.<\/p>\n

In another article, we discussed why eating at restaurants is risky.\u00a0 By knowing not only the risks, but what might cause gluten contamination, we can take steps to avoid gluten poisoning.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made many mistakes and slip-ups, and have learned the hard way.\u00a0 I hope you find that by following the information in this article, you will learn the easy way and avoid the pain of eating gluten and triggering celiac disease symptoms or gluten allergy problems.<\/p>\n

The main problems you have to overcome are:<\/p>\n

\n
• Restaurants that can\u2019t serve uncontaminated gluten free food<\/li>\n
• Cooks that don\u2019t really understand what is in the food<\/li>\n
• Miscommunication with your server and the cook\/chef<\/li>\n
• Your own assertiveness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  <\/p>\n

  Gluten Free Diet and Your Assertiveness<\/h2>\n

  Not everyone has this problem, but lets start here, because it all starts and ends with you.<\/p>\n

  As much as it is up to the cook or chef to make food you can eat, ultimately it is your responsibility to make sure they understand your needs, to make sure the message is getting through, and to leave if you suspect a problem.<\/p>\n

  This isn\u2019t easy, especially if you are with friends.\u00a0 Who wants to tell their friends \u201cI don\u2019t trust that these people can feel me without poisoning me so we have to go somewhere else.\u201d\u00a0 But you have to be prepared to do that if necessary.<\/p>\n

  Hopefully this is won\u2019t come to that, but believe me, sometimes it does.<\/p>\n

  First though, you must not be shy about explaining your dietary needs to the server, and talking with the cook.<\/p>\n

  The Gluten Free Conversation<\/h2>\n

  Many people make the mistake of asking the wrong questions, or asking them in the wrong way.<\/p>\n

  For example, if you ask \u201cis the food here gluten-free\u201d you may get \u201cyes\u201d as the answer because a question, phrased like that, most likely has \u201cyes\u201d as the right answer, and the server knows what you want to hear.<\/p>\n

  But you don\u2019t want to hear the right answer, you want to hear the correct answer, for example \u201cno\u201d if they really can\u2019t serve you gluten-free food.<\/p>\n

  First of all, explain that you have celiac disease or are allergic to gluten.\u00a0 Both work well, regardless of your actual condition.\u00a0 Restaurants know about allergies, and are scared there will be an \u201cincident\u201d, and will do everything possible to accommodate you in most cases.\u00a0 They may make mistakes, but most will try.<\/p>\n

  Celiac disease is gaining public attention, so many restaurants will have come across the term and be aware of the implications, as in \u201cceliac disease\u201d translates to \u201cgluten free food\u201d.<\/p>\n

  Listen for that response.\u00a0 If you tell them you have celiac disease and they say \u201coh, so you need a gluten free diet\u201d, then you\u2019re off to a great start.<\/p>\n

  Often you can ask what items you can eat on the menu.\u00a0 This has two advantages.\u00a0 It saves you going through the whole menu trying to figure out what is safe.\u00a0 It also gives you a chance to see how they answer it.\u00a0 If they suggest the soup for example, tell them that most soup is thickened with flour, and think to yourself \u2013 does this person really get it?\u00a0 Some soup is safe, but often it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

  The main thing to look out for is that they get it.<\/p>\n

  Can They Do Gluten-Free?<\/h2>\n

  It may take a while for some servers or cooks to admit it, but some simply can\u2019t do gluten-free food, or can\u2019t be sure what\u2019s in the food they are serving.<\/p>\n

  Often, the cook is a technician who assembles food from pre-prepared ingredient combinations, with no way of knowing what\u2019s in them.\u00a0 Some of them don\u2019t care, and really don\u2019t know much about food.<\/p>\n

  More and more restaurants have a policy of providing complete list of ingredients.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you need.\u00a0 The cook may be a high-school student with a part-time job, but if you know what\u2019s in the food, you have a fighting chance.<\/p>\n

  A Chef Is What You Want<\/h2>\n

  A chef is different from a cook.\u00a0 A chef is trained to know what\u2019s in the food, and to be able to make a dish from scratch.<\/p>\n

  You may be giving them an opportunity do do something more interesting than their day-to-day job requirements.\u00a0 That\u2019s good for them and great for you.<\/p>\n

  Of course a chef comes with a price tag,\u00a0 because you\u2019ll mostly find them at more expensive restaurants.\u00a0 Of course gluten-contaminated food also comes with a big price tag.<\/p>\n

  What is your experience with avoiding gluten in restaurants?\u00a0 I know this article doesn\u2019t cover everything so feel free to ask questions!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Gluten free diet at restaurants can be stressful and risky.\u00a0 Here are some ideas to reduce the stress and risk of eating out, without gluten poisoning. In another article, we discussed why eating at restaurants is risky.\u00a0 By knowing not only the risks, but what might cause gluten contamination, we can take steps to avoid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[11],"tags":[68,230,36,37,234],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":804,"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions\/804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}