-
Gluten-Free Diet for LEMS, Pt. 3, Dining Out
Eating Gluten-Free is an acquired skill. Start one, and you’ll get better at it very quickly. Earlier I talked about why you should consider going GF and how I practice it myself with 7 years of experience. Now let’s talk about dining out and being gluten-free. You need to be savvy.
Dining out, we are trying to avoid wheat gluten. There are no ingredient labels to read for ingredients. We didn’t prepare the food ourselves, so we don’t know exactly what was used. Ordering from a restaurant can be a bit off-putting when you’re trying to be strictly GF. But you can do it, 99% of the time! And if you are lucky, the restaurant may actually have a special, GF menu. Always ask!
First, let’s discuss the types of restaurants that are best or not so best for GF. I generally avoid Italian. I love Italian, but what’s in a pasta joint…pasta with gluten. I loved those pastry and bagel places. Again, these are all loaded with gluten-filled options. I love Mexican. Many Mexican food items are made from corn and masa flour. You can certainly run into gluten with flour tortillas, so it’s good to avoid burritos and other items made with them. I LOVE a good salsa. Salsa’s don’t have gluten. Yay! Beware of restaurants that use lots of sauces. Many sauces are thickened with wheat flour. Red sauces often aren’t. When you order a salad, ask the waiter to leave off the croutons. A large salad with protein can be a great choice.
Again it’s all about being savvy. Much of that comes from experience being GF and making good choices.
My final thought on dining out is to let your wait staff know you’re Gluten-Free. I do it all the time. Ask if they have a special, GF menu. Enquire about any item you are unsure of on the menu. Many times my waiter will go back to the chef and check before serving me. They don’t mind. They want happy, satisfied customers.
This concludes my three topics on a Gluten-Free Diet. Please consider it one more way to help mitigate the symptoms of LEMS. Going GF isn’t easy and it isn’t pocketbook-friendly.
Here’s a fantastic article, Benefits and Key Ingredients of the Anti-Inflammatory Diet, from Gluten-Free Living to read more on GF anti-inflammatory foods.
-
2 Replies
-
I started on a GF diet in 2009, followed it for many years as it helped me to deal with chronic diarrhea and weight loss. Baked my own bread and other goodies. I still use it somewhat as I do feel better in it but am not religious at it. Should be though as I agree with Price. I believe it does help with LEMS and inflammation related to it. I need to get back in the saddle again!
-
@dordem You can do it! There are better and more GF products in stores than years ago. Wheat is much easier to find in labeling too. Good luck!
-
Log in to reply.