Helping you find peace within the chaos of a gluten-free lifestyle
When I was diagnosed with Celiac in high school, I had to say goodbye to the days of candy-filled stockings. While my mom tried to keep our previously enjoyed holiday traditions, we ended up having to adopt many new ones. Including new gluten-free stocking stuffers. …
We all go into the new year with plans to improve but come December do we even remember what our goals were? Why don’t we end our years as we start them? Show up for yourself these last few days of 2018, and follow-through on a …
Have a gluten-free loved one that you’d like to give a gift too? Not sure what you should give? Of course, check out their wishlist but here’s a list of safe options as well.
In general, clothing, kitchen, and household items are safe. Food items might be a bit more difficult to source as everyone’s gluten-free lifestyle is a bit different. One thing I’ve learned is that a good gift isn’t something you got as a good deal. A good gift is something of value that will prove helpful to the one receiving the gift.
My number one tip for gift giving is to buy gifts off of their wishlist. If you can’t access their wishlist, don’t worry! I have your back.
Here are my favorite gluten-free kitchen, body, and home gifts. Hopefully, this 2019 Gluten-Free Holiday Gift Guide provides you with some inspiration.
Gifts for the kitchen are perfect for newly diagnosed gluten-intolerant individuals or celiacs. Especially since newly diagnosed folk need to restock their kitchens with uncontaminated and safe kitchen wares.
However, these gifts aren’t just for the newly diagnosed. A gluten-free lifestyle typically involves a lot of cooking at home making these kitchen wares perfect for any gluten-free individual.
You can choose between a handheld super affordable vegetable spiralizer
There are two routes you can follow when it comes to gifting a cutting board. You can get a beautiful one that represents their personality (like this white marble styled cutting board
Some cute add-ons for these gifts might be a nice sharp knife to add along with the cutting board. Or alternatively, if you gifting a large wood cutting board, providing a special wood cutting board cleaner
When you have celiac disease, you spend a lot of time preparing home-cooked meals. This means a lot of chopping and cutting. Do you know what the most dangerous tool in the kitchen is? A dull knife. Buying your loved ones a nice sharp knife set
If you have any newly diagnosed friends or even loved ones who have a gross baking sheet (like me), this can be a nice gift. Newly diagnosed people with celiac disease, typically have to go through the process of replacing their kitchen wears to avoid CC from their previous gluten-filled lives. This means they have to say bye-bye to their trusty dusty baking sheets.
Gifting baking sheets
Do your friends or family lack entire measuring cup sets? Are they constantly scrambling to find the tsp? Gift them a beautiful complete measuring cup and spoon set. Bonus, these would also make awesome stocking stuffers.
My favorite measuring cup and spoon sets include this gold measuring cup and spoon set
While Kitchen Aid mixers
Being gluten-free often means that you’ll be left out of the food part of parties. That’s okay, I advocate always being prepared and bringing your own dish to enjoy to ensure you aren’t left out completely. That’s where cupcake carriers 
Everyone needs a ninja in their kitchen. I am serious. It’s perfect for when you want to quickly chop something without hauling your massive food processor out. Not only that but it can quickly whip up smoothies, drinks, and dips. Change your gluten-free loved one’s life for the better and gift them this ninja set
The fact is, if you have celiac or are gluten intolerant, you have to be careful about the beauty products you use. There are some ingredients often found in beauty products that can be derived from wheat (like vitamin E). Additionally, if you are sensitive to gluten, you are likely sensitive to many other commonly found ingredients. Ingredients like soy and corn oil. This means sourcing products for the body should be done with care. If you want to gift beauty products to your gluten-free loved ones, here are my favorite safe options.
Diffusers are an affordable way to elevate any room. I love using my diffuser when I shower and keep it on with no oil during the night as a nightlight. Be sure to note that certain essential oils aren’t safe for pets so make sure you’re checking or letting your friend’s no to be careful when gifting this!
A good add-on to this gift might be a simple essential oil set, this essential oil set
I love essential oil roller-balls, they are an easy and natural way to smell nice without the junk in body mists. This Peppermint Roller-Ball
These coconut soap bars
You can never have enough comfy blankets (at least in my opinion). They create a warm, cozy, and inviting space. I mean, who doesn’t want a plush and soft throw to snuggle with while binging Netflix? This is my favorite cozy blanket on Amazon. Perfect for a living room or bedroom!
Nice for anyone to have in their arsenal is a set of nice napkins
Slippers
Maybe it’s just me but robes are a sign of luxury. Throw one on after a shower, wear it around during the winter to stay warm, they are just so comfy and useful. A perfect gift.
Give the gift are stunning coasters! They will elevate any table and protect it from water stains. These white marble gold edged coasters
Check out my fellow celiac Laura’s Review on Prestige Hampers! Gluten-free gift hampers/baskets can make great gifts too!
Need gift ideas for teachers? Check out Tea and Cake for the Soul’s 15 Free and Budget Christmas Gift Ideas for Teachers!
1 can beets
1 can chickpeas
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the Base:
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 pinch of salt
For the Caramel:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
…
Hosting family and friends during this holiday season?
Are you or some of your guests gluten-free?
Trying to figure out how to easily host a delicious and safe party without breaking the bank?
Trust me, catering to anyone’s special dietary needs can seem overwhelming. Especially when you aren’t familiar with them.
But let’s be real, even if you are gluten-free (and have been for a while) hosting during the holidays can be hectic and stressful!
But not to worry!
My Top Tips For Gluten-Free Hosting during the Holiday Season have got you covered!
First off, if you’re new to the whole gluten-free thing, you’re going to want to avoid serving any foods with gluten in it. Gluten is found a variety of ingredients can be sneaky and hard to detect. When in doubt, hit up google to make sure it’s safe.
As a quick refresher, here’s a list of glutenous food:
Ο Wheat
Ο Rye
Ο Barley
Ο Spelt
Ο Farro
Ο Soy Sauce
And pretty much any bread-like food (unless it explicitly states gluten-free on the packaging)
Whether it’s you or one of your guests who are gluten-free, you’re going to want to make most if not all of the food you serve from scratch. It’s honestly the easiest way to ensure a gluten-free holiday (though there are more and decent gluten-free options popping up in grocery stores).
This means if one of you’re guests is gluten-free, you’ll want to get in touch with them to get their input on the menu. Contacting them can also help you identify if any potentially non-gluten-free items you might be trying to prepare. Additionally, it will help put your guest at ease. Lastly, if possible, see if your guest is will to help you shop for the ingredients to help further ensure the safety of the food served.
If you, the host, is gluten-free then start planning away. There are some amazing resources to help you find and plan out your gluten-free holiday meal.
I suggest that you try to build new dishes to serve as a tradition during the holiday season instead of trying to recreate every already traditional dish into a gluten-free version. I suggest this for two reasons:
1. Let’s be real, gluten-free food can be disappointing
2. It will help you look forward to the new dishes instead of reminiscing on what real stuffing used to taste like!
There are my two cents.
However, that’s not to say you can’t make your gluten-packed favorites gluten-free by just simply swapping out ingredients for gluten-free ones. To each their own.
On that note,
This means try to use different ingredients in multiple dishes to help reduce how much you have to search for and buy in grocery stores. It also will help limit how many food labels you have to read and it reduces prep time.
This means use the same gluten-free flour blend for your baked goods, crusts, thickened soups, and gravies.
My rule of thumb is to try to use key ingredients in at least 2 different recipes.
So I’ll make a salad with shredded Brussels sprouts and I’ll also serve roasted bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts.
Boom! Both your salad and your “appetizer” are covered.
Another example is I’ll make cranberry sauces with frozen cranberries and then I’ll serve cranberry spritzers.
Bam! You’ve got your sauce and your drinks covered.
Like I mentioned about, shopping with your gluten-free guest (if you’re not gluten-free) can help you make sure you don’t buy unsafe food.
If that’s not possible, take my printable shopping guide (click here to download) with you to help you identify safe foods! In addition to bringing that list, make sure you go during a time where you have the focus and patience to read food labels (cause trust me, it gets old fast).
You can combat having to read labels altogether by looking up good gluten-free options.
For example, if you’re trying to buy safe chocolate chips you can google “gluten-free chocolate chips” and get insight on who makes them.
Additionally, shopping smart means buying affordable ingredients.
A lot of gluten-free alternatives require expensive, “rare”, or special ingredients. Find these ingredients affordably by buying them at international markets.
For instance, dates at my local grocer are $8.99 a pound, whereas I can get a 5-pound tub of dates at the international market near me for $4.99. Seriously guys, exploring my local international markets has done wonders for my wallet and my stomach!
Cross-contamination is probably the scariest thing for a person with celiac disease.
I’ve literally gone into a panic watching family cut the bread too close to my gluten-free dishes. It only takes a few crumbs to make a celiac sick.
With that said, make sure your kitchen is clean and any chance of contamination by crumbs or flour are eliminated (this means make that kitchen C-L-E-A-N (if it’s not already)!)
If you made the decision not to go completely gluten-free, make sure you make the gluten-free dishes after or before all of your gluten-filled dishes are done. (I suggest before because I also deem it safer).
If you’re serving dishes that aren’t gluten-free (or someone brought food that isn’t safe) serve it and keep it far away from the gluten-free food. Furthermore, you want to make sure EVERY dish has it’s OWN serving utensil so there is no accidentally cross-contaminating by using the tongs you use to grab bread with to also grab some turkey…
Seriously, cross-contamination is real and can easily accidentally happen.
Here’s to a safe, easy, and fun gluten-free holiday event!
Some final tips for those hosting gluten-free guests:
Don’t be offended if your gluten-free guests bring their own food or don’t eat.
If someone with celiac (or even gluten-intolerance) gets glutened they usually can expect some horrible issues to follow. Because of this, if we even suspect food isn’t safe, it can cause us to avoid it.
Are you going to be a gluten-free guest during the holiday season? Check out these tips!
