Question by Larry W: A friend with celiac disease is coming over for football. What are some good munchies to serve?
He has celiac disease (no gluten diet). What are some good game time foods to serve?
Best answer:
Answer by Nancy
First of all, it’s really nice of you to think of your friend’s food needs. It’s usually the social aspect of the disease that gives us the most problems.
Mission tortilla chips are actually labeled gluten-free, which is nice.
Also an unopened container of salsa (so he knows there has been no cross-contamination).
Lays Stax regular chips are GF. Not sure about all the flavors.
Cool Ranch Doritos (as mentioned before) are GF. Regular Nacho are not GF. Frito Lay has a policy of clearly labeling any gluten, so if wheat, rye, barley, malt or oats are not clearly labeled on the ingredients, the product is safe.
Kraft also has a clear labeling policy, so if your friend likes veggies and ranch, check the labels of the Kraft Ranch. I believe it’s GF.
The biggest issue with eating gluten-free is what we call cross-contamination. Basically, the most microscopic amount of gluten will cause a reaction. If you touch a sandwich and reach into a bag of chips and grab a handful, it’s no longer safe for a person with celiac disease. It sounds bizarre, but it will make us sick for days, sometimes weeks.
I would suggest presenting him with a selection of unopened products and some bowls (not wooden or plastic). Tell him to take what he wants, he can have his own personal bowls of stuff, and then the rest of you can eat the rest.
On behalf of your friend, because men don’t say stuff like this — Thank you so much for caring about your friend’s health needs. It can be a long and painful road to a diagnosis. So I’m sure your friendship and caring means a lot to him.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Pepperoni and cheese! Put your meat, cheese, and veggies on platters, and crackers (which your friend can’t eat – unless they are rice crackers, which I don’t recommend you picking up as they are a bit expensive and taste gross – I know, I have celiac disease too) in a -seperate bowl-.
Throw out some chips – corn chips (Tostitos) are great, as are Fritos, probably most kinds of of Dorito’s (I only eat cool ranch, so I don’t know about the other ones). Get some salsa. 🙂 Not some fancy pants gourmet salsa either – some of the crazy gourmet salsas and dips are filled with bizzare ingredients, and may contain wheat or barley or something bad, tostitos salsa works just as well. So does newmans own, or picante sauce. If you want dip, get helluva good brand french onion, rather than making your own from the soup mix – that stuff has some inedable ingredients.
Wings are good too – and who doesn’t love wings at a football game? 🙂 Just check the ingredients on the wing sauce (but most wing sauces and marinades are safe), and watch out for “wheat” “wheat gluten” “barley” and “oats” – most labels have bold letters on the bottom that say if they contain that stuff, which can be helpful for you too. Mini hotdogs are also good!
If you’re concerned about having dessert, go for some fruit with caramel dip, or ice cream. Most ice cream is safe, especially vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.
As long as you avoid serving only …. bread or crackers and dips, pasta, and cookies, your friend will have a fine time choosing from a variety of snacks, and will appreciate the effort you made to find good food to serve him.