Holidays and food go hand-in-hand; however, if you're
gluten-free, this normally festive season can be difficult. Whether you're
celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or have New Year's and Super Bowl events,
maintaining a gluten-free diet with foods that are tasty and also reminiscent
of traditional holiday foods is about to get easier.
Here are our favourite 10 tips and tricks to help you
navigate the festive holiday season free of both gluten and unnecessary stress.
1.Beware of cooking bags:
While these handy dandy cooking aids do ensure moist meat, flour is often used
inside these bags to keep them from exploding under extreme temperatures.
Instead, try to find plain bags and add cornstarch to get protect against
explosion—and pass on this knowledge to others.
2.Gobble gobble:
Turkey in its natural state G may be gluten-free; however, one that's been
seasoned, marinated, stuffed, treated, or covered with any sauces might not be.
Check what the turkey has been paired with to make sure no gluten was accidentally
added. Also, give your turkey a good rinse before preparing.
3.Stuffing:
While stuffing is a gluten concern, if the bread contains gluten, it may also
be a safety concern if not cooked properly. When a turkey is stuffed, the time
it takes to ensure the stuffing is properly cooked may result in a dry and
unsavory turkey. Instead, try making stuffing separately in a casserole dish.
4.Mashed potato recipes:
These occasionally use flour or seasoning that may contain gluten. Ask ahead to
be safe rather than sorry.
5.The corn bread catch:
While corn itself is naturally gluten-free, most cornbread recipes typically
call for both cornmeal and wheat flour. Luckily, there are several gluten-free
cornbread b products available today, or you can make some from scratch using
gluten-free flours.
6.Be cautious with cream-based dishes:
Many cream-based dishes call for the use of a cream soup as an ingredient to
obtain the richness. This is particularly true with that holiday staple green
bean casserole that is a minefield of gluten with concentrated cream of
mushroom soup and those decadent yet tasty fried onion rings on top. Making
this popular dish gluten-free is easy by substituting real cream for the soup
base and using crackers as a topping.
7.Potato pancake (Iatke):
This can be a / nightmare for the gluten-free because of the common addition of
wheat flour; however, you can easy bypass this by using cornmeal or gluten-free
flour instead.
8.Buffet gatherings:
If attending a buffet dinner, go first to avoid cross-contamination from
serving spoon migration. Or, ask your host to create a plate before opening the
buffet to guests just for you so that you don't need to use the buffet, but can
still enjoy many of the gluten-free dishes.
9.When in doubt. bring your own:
Don't be shy, bring a gluten-free dish to any holiday event you may attend to
ensure that you will definitely have something you can eat. Even better, bring a
dish you especially love.
10.Finally, if all else fails—or if you think you may encounter difficulties—host
the holiday dinner or event yourself. Go ahead, throw a party!
