How to be a Holiday Host or Hostess with the Mostess When Your Guests are Gluten-free
Whether you’re hosting a harvest table dinner for Canadian or American Thanksgiving, welcoming out-of-town family for the holidays, or serving friends at seasonal soirées, one or more of your guests may be gluten-free. Or have dietary restrictions or food allergies to navigate.
Planning a holiday menu around a gluten-free guest or serious food allergy is enough to give even the most experienced host pause. But fear not! Be the holiday hostess with the mostess for gluten-free guests with 6 tips to help you make magic for gluten-free family and friends—and make all your loved ones feel welcome and safe at your table.
Read on or click to hop to a specific tip!
- Talk to guests early about allergies or dietary restrictions.
- Include your guests in the menu planning—or the making.
- Focus on whole, plant-based foods.
- Watch out for hidden gluten (and other allergens, too).
- Make your kitchen gluten-safe.
- Label and separate everything—with gluten and without.
1. Talk to gluten-free guests and potluck participants early about allergies or dietary restrictions.
The kindest thing you can do when hosting friends or family with allergies or dietary restrictions is ask them to tell you explicitly what they can and cannot eat ahead of time. You might know about your nephew’s peanut allergy, but does everyone bringing a dish or dessert know he just found out he’s allergic to sesame, too?
Asking everyone on your guest list directly what they need to avoid shows them you care enough to respect their needs.
And gives you—and your friends and loved ones—peace of mind to plan a party or potluck that won’t involve anyone needing an EpiPen or getting glutened and feeling ill days after the meal.
2. Include your gluten-free guests in the menu planning—or the making.
Contrary to popular belief, being the host or hostess with the mostess for gluten-free guests doesn’t mean you have to do it all single-handedly. Many people who live with food allergies and dietary restrictions are happy to bring a dish they know they can eat to share with family and friends.
Whether their dietary restrictions are a conscious choice (vegetarian, vegan), or a matter of fundamental wellness, life and death (allergies, celiac disease, intolerances), sharing a dish they’ve prepared with those who don’t eat that way is a powerful way to normalize different ways of eating, bust myths, and break stigma.
(If your great aunt thinks all vegans eat is salad and all gluten-free food is glorified cardboard, showing up with a showstopping dish everyone will love is the best way to prove her wrong!).
So, don’t be afraid to make part of your dinner potluck—it’s an easy way to make sure everyone wins!
3. Focus on whole, plant-based foods.
Putting plenty of veggies on your menu is always a good idea. But it’s more than just a healthy way to eat—or an easy way to incorporate local, in-season foods, and give thanks to your friendly, neighbourhood farmer.
Whole foods are one-ingredient wonders! No one needs to study a label to find out if there’s gluten or tree nuts hiding in a carrot! That’s why building your feast around basics is better for everyone!
Roasted parsnips, sweet potatoes, or squash shine when prepared simply with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Lightly steamed beans, peas, and carrots are classics everyone can eat (especially when you leave the butter on the side). And fresh fruit or baked apples for dessert can satisfy almost anyone with a sweet tooth—including your gluten-free guests!
Watch out for hidden gluten (and other allergens, too).
If you’re shopping for those who are gluten-free, but you’re not gluten-free yourself, you’ll likely be surprised at the number of prepared foods and ingredients that are sneaky sources of gluten.
Conventional bread and baked goods are obvious culprits. (And brands like Little Northern Bakehouse offer all the joy of the real thing—gluten-free—for recipes from stuffing to bread pudding!). But others are harder to spot if you’re not used to reading labels.
Here are some of the most common ingredients to watch for when you write your holiday grocery list (and swaps to use instead):
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(Get a more extensive list—and learn how to read labels and spot hidden gluten in packaged and processed foods—in our Hidden Gluten Hacks article).
Hosting plant-based guests?
Today’s meat alternatives make it easier than ever to transform traditional recipes into vegan friendly fare (the sausage for the stuffing is just the beginning!) But you have to be careful.
Vital wheat gluten (also called seitan) has been used to make meat substitutes for centuries—but it’s no good for gluten-free guests. And many of the popular plant-based meat alternatives you’ll find in your grocery store are made with it.
Read every label to be sure the plant-based meat alternatives you’re considering are safe for your loved ones to eat.
Planning a party for friends with food allergies?
If your guest is gluten-free, plant-based, and also has nut allergies, read labels of non-dairy cheeses and non-dairy milks with extra care.
Many non-dairy cheeses and milks are nut-based, using almonds or cashews as their creamy-textured base. While there are plenty of suitable options for non-dairy milks (rice, quinoa, hemp), non-dairy cheese is trickier.
If making your favourite festive recipe vegan-friendly calls for a plant-based cheese, and you’re shopping for someone with a range of allergies, don’t guess.
Ask them what they’d recommend. Chances are good that they’ve already done their research and can tell you what they trust—or what they’d use instead.
5. Make your kitchen gluten-safe.
If you’re not a gluten-free family, you’ll also have to be careful to avoid hidden gluten and cross-contact in your kitchen when preparing food for your gluten-free guests.
Crumbs from your toaster. Flour residue on your sponge or wooden cutting boards. Not-quite-clean countertops. All can be sources of hidden gluten.
But you don’t need to call a professional to sterilize your house with an industrial-strength steamer to make your kitchen—and what comes out of it—safe for your gluten-free guests.
Don’t panic. A few simple gluten- and allergy-safe precautions are all you need:
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- Wash your hands
Hot soapy water and thorough hand washing is the single most important thing you can do for food safety of any kind, but it’s especially important when you’ve got gluten-free guests. (Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for soap and water).
- Get a new sponge
Your old sponge can spread gluten to otherwise clean surfaces, so use a fresh sponge to clean up before, during, and after any food prep you do for your gluten-free guests.
- Use only non-porous cutting boards
Feeding gluten-free guests? Stash your beloved wooden bread board away. Unlike porous wooden ones, glass or plastic cutting boards can be sterilized in the dishwasher (when pre-rinsed and washed separately from other dishware with gluten-containing food residue), and made safe for your gluten-free guests.
- Wash counters with kitchen cleaner (or bleach)
Away from the sink, soapy water on a sponge isn’t quite hot enough to make sure that counter is free of stubborn gluten residue. Use a kitchen cleaner or bleach solution (wipes, or a spray with a clean cloth or new sponge) to clean your counter before you prepare gluten-free foods.
- Keep gluten-containing ingredients—and dishes—separate from gluten-free ones
It’s probably better to plan a menu that’s entirely gluten-free or allergy-friendly if your guests are Celiac or have severe food allergies. But if you’re making dishes that aren’t gluten-free for the same meal, you’ll need to take extra care to keep them separate.
Don’t make them side-by-side on the same counter. Instead, clean your kitchen using the tips above, prepare your gluten-free items, cover completely, and separate finished dishes so there’s no chance of cross-contact.
6. Label and separate everything—with gluten and without.
Don’t stop at the kitchen door. Keeping your guests safe means keeping gluten-free ingredients (and the finished foods made from them) separate from the start of cooking until you pack leftovers and wash up.
Label everything from appetizers to dessert if you have a mix of gluten-free and gluten-containing dishes in play. Use snazzy place cards or masking tape and a marker—whatever your style, labels make sure everyone knows what food contains gluten and what does not.
Use separate serving utensils. Whether you’re artfully plating food for each guest, serving food family-style at the table, or everyone’s helping themselves from a potluck buffet, use a dedicated set of tongs, spoons, or ladles for gluten-free dishes. And if more than one person will use them, label the gluten-free utensils, too. (Festive washi tape is your friend here!)
Better yet, if you have the space, put the gluten-free dishes on a separate table or clearly marked area to avoid mishaps. Or let your gluten-free guests serve themselves first—that way an inattentively misplaced spoon won’t get in the way of a good meal shared with the people you love.
Get more gluten-free tips and tricks—and deliciously gluten-free recipes to delight friends and family all year long. Scroll down to sign up for Little Northern Bakehouse emails. And follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook to find gluten-free goodness in your favourite social feed.