Taking Out the Intimidation Factor
I love having people over for dinner. I love the conversation, the warm feeling of being with friends, the laughter, and of course, the food! But I of all people know that there are many of us out there with food issues, and it can be intimidating to cook for us. Fortunately, it's not as hard as it sounds! Last night Zach and I were invited for a lovely dinner with family friends. Everything was delicious and gluten free! I was very impressed and so appreciated the time and effort that Carolyn put in to making a gluten-free dinner for me. I thought I would share some of the things she did to help you feel a little more at ease inviting over those with food issues, specifically the gluten-free ones.
She served two wonderful salads - one with green beans, chickpeas, and onions, the other with mixed greens, cranberries, nuts, and what I think was feta. On the table she had several different salad dressing to provide options as well as to make sure that one at least was gluten free. Salads and vegetables are a great option because they are naturally gluten free! Offering salad dressing on the side allows the expert label reader to determine whether or not it's safe, and with several choices, it's more than likely one of them will be!
Carolyn also served biscuits and breaded chicken tenders - all made with gluten-free bisquick! The great thing about this product is that it works just like regular bisquick and can generally be found at your local grocers. The results were light flaky biscuits and crunchy chicken tenders. These were served alongside potato wedges - the perfect side dish for anyone gluten-free. For dessert we had gluten free chocolate cupcakes. Betty Crocker, a brand everyone knows, now makes a variety of gluten-free cookie, cake, and brownie mixes; none are any harder than your average baking mix.
Other easy options that people have used are rice-based dishes, mexican food using corn tortillas, and grilled meats and veggies. Gluten-free cooking requires a little but more planning, but doesn't have to be intimidating! Thank you Chris and Carolyn for a wonderful dinner!
She served two wonderful salads - one with green beans, chickpeas, and onions, the other with mixed greens, cranberries, nuts, and what I think was feta. On the table she had several different salad dressing to provide options as well as to make sure that one at least was gluten free. Salads and vegetables are a great option because they are naturally gluten free! Offering salad dressing on the side allows the expert label reader to determine whether or not it's safe, and with several choices, it's more than likely one of them will be!
Carolyn also served biscuits and breaded chicken tenders - all made with gluten-free bisquick! The great thing about this product is that it works just like regular bisquick and can generally be found at your local grocers. The results were light flaky biscuits and crunchy chicken tenders. These were served alongside potato wedges - the perfect side dish for anyone gluten-free. For dessert we had gluten free chocolate cupcakes. Betty Crocker, a brand everyone knows, now makes a variety of gluten-free cookie, cake, and brownie mixes; none are any harder than your average baking mix.
Other easy options that people have used are rice-based dishes, mexican food using corn tortillas, and grilled meats and veggies. Gluten-free cooking requires a little but more planning, but doesn't have to be intimidating! Thank you Chris and Carolyn for a wonderful dinner!
Comments
Post a Comment