Gluten Intolerant? 20 Foods to Avoid During the Holidays

If you’re following any kind of specialized diet, the holidays present a unique set of challenges above and beyond those presented in your every-day, non-holiday life.  For those of you who follow a gluten-free diet, for health or other reasons, the holidays, with their routine-breaking tendencies, can create a new set of diet related issues.

The diet issues related to the holidays tend to center around traveling and visiting friends and family, either for a large family meal or the annual holiday party at the neighbor’s house.  Continually asking your host, “Is this gluten-free?” becomes impractical and slightly rude after the seventh or eighth time.

Also, during the holidays you’re exposed to unique foods that you usually do not eat any other time of the year.  I mean who eats figgy pudding, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, latkes, or drinks eggnog other than during the holidays?   That being the case, here are 20 holiday foods, in no particular order, to avoid if you are gluten sensitive and especially if you suffer from celiac disease.

• Beer, even the “light” and non-alcoholic “root” variety. Since beer is made with various grains (mostly barley) which is a primary source of gluten, put that bottle or can down and have a nice glass of wine instead.
• Cookies: unless the baker has used gluten free ingredients. Yes, holiday cookies seem to multiply like holiday songs, but stay away!
• Stuffing: as most are made with bread and other wheat-based items. So, stuff yourself with something else. Like a cornbread stuffing, made with this gluten free cornbread
• Bread/rolls: even the ones made by that chubby little dough-boy that giggles when you poke him in the tummy…like my cat.
• Pasta:  which is nothing more than shaped dough usually made from wheat-based flour. If you’re Italian, go ahead and shout cacca.
• Pies: including pumpkin, apple, or any other with a crust, which, by definition, is required for a thing to be a pie.
• Cakes: which are nothing more than flavored breads covered in frosting. Think about it.
• Ice cream: which means while I can scream for ice cream, you, unfortunately, cannot. However, you can make those ice-cream eating jerks jealous by eating our better-than-ice-cream Panna Cotta!
• Green bean casserole: or any other casserole with a cream sauce, such as those made with cream of mushroom soup. But, here’s good news! You can have MagicKitchen.com’s French Green Beans with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce  instead!
• Gravy: which goes with turkey like wasted time goes with stupid cat videos. I mean, what do you think makes gravy so thick and smooth?  Why flour, of course. Use cornstarch, rice flour or almond flour instead.
• Potato latkes: even if you’re a gentile, if you’re gluten-free…latkes are forbidden. While their primary ingredient, potatoes, are gluten-free, they are also usually made with wheat flour to make them rise.
• Crackers: which are included in many holiday hors d’oeuvres. When it comes to small, appetizers served prior to a meal, there is no bon appetit. Nibble on nuts instead.
• Candy: especially those that contain chocolate. Basically, unless made with gluten-free ingredients, all desserts are off-limits.  But as always, there are exceptions to the rule.
• Flavored Liquor: While the distillation process removes glutens from liquor, flavored liquors add their flavors after the distillation process.  So, if you’re chasing a wicked hangover, do it with unflavored vodka or a nice smoky whiskey.
• Processed meats: like pepperoni, salami, sausages, and pigs-in-a-blanket as grains are used in the processing process…yes, I love being redundant and I also like writing things twice.
• Salad dressing: other than those made with oil and vinegar. You don’t need those high-calorie, cream-based dressings anyway.
• Veggie meat: like the wildly popular Impossible Burgers, Beyond Meat items, and veggie chik’n.  If you’re a gluten-free vegetarian, then you’re SOL (Google it) here.
• Canned soups: as, like gravy, they use flour as a thickening agent. And while you might not be served a steaming bowl of lobster bisque at a holiday gathering, many holiday casseroles contain soups as a form of sauce.
• Processed cheeses: like Velveeta, which is also used on many holiday hors d’oeuvres. Find some 100% natural cheese, stick a toothpick in a cube and voila, instant gluten-free hors d’oeuvre!  Here’s a little secret: Real cheese is better than processed cheese anyhow! Win-WIN!  

Whew!  That’s quite a list of things to be avoided over the holidays if you’re gluten-free.  So, as you troll the party scene over the holidays, be sure to have your gluten alert system by your side or just hold up each food item and shout, “Does anyone know if this is gluten-free?” over and over again.