Is your problem gluten? Or faddish eating?

[user 26]

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?
i know that some of the guests are right PITA's ... but some folks DO have a problem. that does not mean every place can or will or should serve food that is geared for them. folks with a true issue will make do and bring along 'special' foods they can eat if they want them.
i would simply say (and did) 'THIS is what i can offer you ... (insert what i was willing and able to try to do)'

 

[gillumhouse]

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?
i know that some of the guests are right PITA's ... but some folks DO have a problem. that does not mean every place can or will or should serve food that is geared for them. folks with a true issue will make do and bring along 'special' foods they can eat if they want them.
i would simply say (and did) 'THIS is what i can offer you ... (insert what i was willing and able to try to do)'.

Possibly partly because of the call I got a couple weeks ago. When she made the rez on July 4 she said sugar-free. OK. THEN she called 5 days before arrival to now say fat-free also. OK. THEN after I said OK to fat-free, she added GF. I said I am sorry but that is a bit much, no. She then called back later that evening telling me she did not appreciate my tone and I was NOT very helpful to which I replied, I am assuming you are calling to cancel the reservation. Yes!
SS, this was a reservation that wanted EARLY check-in and LATE check-out for a 1 night )a Friday) and only took 2-nights when I said the only way they could have early/late was with a 2-night. I wonder what she would have used to make it my fault she cancelled if I had agreed to the GF?

 

[user 26]

gillum ... totally understand that. i think folks should just be told 'this is what i can do for you ... period'
that call and subsequent calls just don't sit right with me, either.
i was just wondering about the frustration level with the gluten free.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?
i know that some of the guests are right PITA's ... but some folks DO have a problem. that does not mean every place can or will or should serve food that is geared for them. folks with a true issue will make do and bring along 'special' foods they can eat if they want them.
i would simply say (and did) 'THIS is what i can offer you ... (insert what i was willing and able to try to do)'.

I have NEVER had someone bring their own food. I'd be thrilled if they did.
For me, GF is not a problem, but when it's accompanied by all sorts of other restrictions, then I spend more time and energy fixing meals for that 1 person instead of the rest of the guests. I don't mind the folks that really have a gluten problem, but more and more I hear them say they are doing it to eat healthy (bogus) and not because they have any sort of reaction to gluten. That's when I go ballistic.

 

[Madeleine]

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?
i know that some of the guests are right PITA's ... but some folks DO have a problem. that does not mean every place can or will or should serve food that is geared for them. folks with a true issue will make do and bring along 'special' foods they can eat if they want them.
i would simply say (and did) 'THIS is what i can offer you ... (insert what i was willing and able to try to do)'.

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?

Possibly because it's the latest issue and it doesn't have any 'rules'. We've had guests (celiac disease, but diagnosed by them or a rigorous testing we don't kow) tell us we had to use completely different everything to make their meal so there was no cross contamination.
Then we see other GF guests scarfing down cookies.
And because it can be 'faddish'.
We had a really nice guest who we like a lot tell us she had to eat GF. So we prepared. She arrived and said that after all gluten wasn't the problem and she was looking forward to the pancakes! (All the GF food we tried to freeze but the next GF was months later and it was all freezer burned.)
I think we feel the same about the vegans who wear leather shoes.
This winter, when it calms down I am going thru my cookbook and pulling out GF recipes. Vegan recipes. No dairy recipes. Etc. And putting them together in one section for quick reference. We'll have 3-4 GF meals we can make easily that adapt to everyone else so we're making one meal slightly differently.
I'm tired of trying to keep up with this and that allergy. (And then having the person skip brekkie because they figured we wouldn't do anything for them anyway even tho we asked and spent time discussing food with them!)
I'm more upset that our food supply is insecure. That food itself is making us ill.

 

[Madeleine]

okay
i have been eating gluten free lately since my sister was here. experimenting with the products she left behind ... blanched almond flour seems to work nicely in what i've tried it in so far. and i am a classic baker ... old fashioned recipes with basic ingredients. but it's been so hot i haven't baked much. and we had to freeze most of the flour so it will keep. the being used flour is in a mason jar. the problem is that this flour is expensive.
i already use stevia and honey myself ($$) and i don't buy bacon with nitrites but finding it without added sugar is hard. today i had turkey bacon and it's just not bacon. i asked at the meat department / butcher of three different stores, and they don't offer their own bacon. humph.
for the honeymoon guest, i might offer a gluten free muffin or something from a place that specializes in making them, unless you have the ingredients to make a batch and freeze. otherwise i'd just stay away from the bread for her. she should be happy with eggs and fruit.
my sister brings her 'special food' with her ...
isn't there someone whose wife does special baking? i have to look back in the posts..

okay
i have been eating gluten free lately since my sister was here. experimenting with the products she left behind ... blanched almond flour seems to work nicely in what i've tried it in so far. and i am a classic baker ... old fashioned recipes with basic ingredients. but it's been so hot i haven't baked much. and we had to freeze most of the flour so it will keep. the being used flour is in a mason jar. the problem is that this flour is expensive.

I've found that almond flour is very not diet-friendly. VERY heavy in the fat/calorie department. I made a nice mix of brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato flour that I can use in just about anything.
I know JB here has said that if someone has an allergy to just cut it out of the diet- and to some extent that is possible.
But it's easier for ME to just bake the stuff with my GF flour mix and call it good. And it is good. I didn't want to have to make two different pans of mac and cheese for dinner. Or two types of tacos. Or two types of pancakes. We have all adopted to the GF flour for our daughter's sake and it's helped her to not feel isolated and it's helped us to be compassionate and a 'team' about it
.

okay
i have been eating gluten free lately since my sister was here. experimenting with the products she left behind ... blanched almond flour seems to work nicely in what i've tried it in so far. and i am a classic baker ... old fashioned recipes with basic ingredients. but it's been so hot i haven't baked much. and we had to freeze most of the flour so it will keep. the being used flour is in a mason jar. the problem is that this flour is expensive.

I've found that almond flour is very not diet-friendly. VERY heavy in the fat/calorie department. I made a nice mix of brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato flour that I can use in just about anything.
I know JB here has said that if someone has an allergy to just cut it out of the diet- and to some extent that is possible.
But it's easier for ME to just bake the stuff with my GF flour mix and call it good. And it is good. I didn't want to have to make two different pans of mac and cheese for dinner. Or two types of tacos. Or two types of pancakes. We have all adopted to the GF flour for our daughter's sake and it's helped her to not feel isolated and it's helped us to be compassionate and a 'team' about it

I realize eating in a family is different, I meant those who go out to eat, just don't eat that item. Or staying at a B&B. I went through a similar diet years ago and every sauce, every dish had it in there, and I couldn't eat anything it seemed, except whole foods.
On the other hand, I am not a big casserole person, I have said it 1000 times when you make a casserole it is supposed to cost less and in the end costs more with all the variety of ingredients. I am also not a big sauce person, so the less ingredients the better. Give me a steak, salad and veg or baked potato and I am happy as a clam.
.

On the other hand, I am not a big casserole person, I have said it 1000 times when you make a casserole it is supposed to cost less and in the end costs more with all the variety of ingredients. I am also not a big sauce person, so the less ingredients the better. Give me a steak, salad and veg or baked potato and I am happy as a clam.

Me too. I have a very light hand with anything that goes on top of a guest's meal. I hate my food to be swimming. I would rather wish for more sauce than have to shovel it off the plate. Casseroles? Who knows what's in there!

 

[gillumhouse]

gillum ... totally understand that. i think folks should just be told 'this is what i can do for you ... period'
that call and subsequent calls just don't sit right with me, either.
i was just wondering about the frustration level with the gluten free..

Part of the frustration is the extra time and even more the expense that is not necessary.
Just because some celebrity says something it is THE THING. With DH it is if a dietician says it... And who knows if that dietician knows from shinola? If they graduated at the bottom of the class, they can still get hired somewhere.
If it is a real issue, I willingly do it.

 

[Generic]

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?
i know that some of the guests are right PITA's ... but some folks DO have a problem. that does not mean every place can or will or should serve food that is geared for them. folks with a true issue will make do and bring along 'special' foods they can eat if they want them.
i would simply say (and did) 'THIS is what i can offer you ... (insert what i was willing and able to try to do)'.

I have absolutely NO problems with people who are genuinely GF. It's usually easy to tell, they tell you exactly what they can't have. I ask what the level of intolerance is and they answer.
It's important for me to know the intolerance level. If it is simply GF, we have goods that we have prepared that I can pull from the freezer. If it's Celiac, we have a lot more rigorous routine because they are sensitive to parts per billion. We often will only use packaged foods, so we can show them that it is GF. We won't cook for them. We may prepare their breakfast the night before, closed in cellophane or in aluminum foil and then bags. All to insure no cross contamination.
When someone says no milk, again, I have to ask more questions. Are they lactose-free? are they milk-protein-free? Can they tolerate cheese, cream and butter (all low lactose). It changes what is made for them.
But when you are on a fad diet, that's not my responsibility, that is yours. My job is ensure that guest allergies and dietary intolerances are cared for. That's a medical imperitive. Very different from health choices.

 

[Joey Camb]

why are so many of you so cynical about the gluten free people?
i know that some of the guests are right PITA's ... but some folks DO have a problem. that does not mean every place can or will or should serve food that is geared for them. folks with a true issue will make do and bring along 'special' foods they can eat if they want them.
i would simply say (and did) 'THIS is what i can offer you ... (insert what i was willing and able to try to do)'.

Possibly partly because of the call I got a couple weeks ago. When she made the rez on July 4 she said sugar-free. OK. THEN she called 5 days before arrival to now say fat-free also. OK. THEN after I said OK to fat-free, she added GF. I said I am sorry but that is a bit much, no. She then called back later that evening telling me she did not appreciate my tone and I was NOT very helpful to which I replied, I am assuming you are calling to cancel the reservation. Yes!
SS, this was a reservation that wanted EARLY check-in and LATE check-out for a 1 night )a Friday) and only took 2-nights when I said the only way they could have early/late was with a 2-night. I wonder what she would have used to make it my fault she cancelled if I had agreed to the GF?
.

was making this point to a lady who i know who has several very serious allergies - we don't mind people who had proper medical conditions its the ones who pretend they do because they don't like eggs and don't want to say so or are on some stupid fad diet which annoy us ie you can tell from the food wrappers in their rooms - it gives people with a serious medical problem a bad name.