Being on a gluten free diet meant a lot of little adjustments for me. I am a creature who is slow to change, especially with my food, so these adjustments while they were small were definitely not done overnight and in the beginning, I struggled.

I struggled a lot, not just with my meals, but with everything. I never before had taken the time to read the packaging for food, but now I have to, for everything. Dinner food, take aways, drinks and especially, snacks. Even if it’s in the free from sections, you can’t be sure or too safe. Also, a little nugget I have learned that wheat free doesn’t necessarily mean gluten free either so there’s another danger pit one could potentially land in.

One day, I found out that there can be gluten in the gum of on an envelope or the back of a stamp, chewing gum, and in those paper drinking straws available in almost every restaurant, bar or coffee shop. There’s no warning on these things, which means a coeliac could potentially be trying to enjoy a soft drink with their meal (the straw is always in the glass when it is brought to you, after all) and then they would get glutened, and end up horribly ill. To prevent this happening to me, a friend of mine got me a reusable metal straw, which I was very appreciative of.

After attending a few different events and parties, I started to realise that I would need to start bringing my own food and snacks to parties or I would be going home hungry. I have rarely gone to a party empty handed, for instance traditionally, I would have brought an alcoholic beverage for myself, and for the host party snacks and a bottle of wine. To my knowledge most wines are safe for coeliace as they are gluten free, not all are vegan but that’s another story! Ciders are fruit based and are generally safe, however you need to be wary of beers and double check spirits. I would hazard that not all bars or bar staff would be aware of what spirits are gluten free, but once I was in Elbow Lane in Cork and was refused a cocktail as the bar man couldn’t guarantee the vodka used would be safe for a coeliac. He apologised and said they had no Ciroc in stock (which I have learned is grape based). At the time I was bothered, mainly because I ordered the cocktail as a treat as the desserts all were wheat based (glutenfull). In hindsight it was a blessing and a learning opportunity, vodka is not always distilled enough to be 200% safe for a coeliac, and I now appreciate that that barman allowed me a chance to learn this, to make better decisions in future.

Now I attend events, I bring my own beverage and will always eat something substantial at home before I go, and I will have snacks ready in my massive handbag, just in case. I would never want to make a host feel they neglected to provide something or that they were ignorant, because more often than not they have a lot on their place and the host may not be fully educated about my dietary needs. It is a lot to take on and to understand for an ally. I always think, if it took me a long time to learn what to eat, then I have to allow three times as long for others who don’t have to deal with it on a daily basis.

So to summarise, have a great day, double check your packaging, wine is gluten free and always remember to bring snacks!

Ps. I would call a coeliac accidentally eating gluten, getting glutened.