The high cost of convenience/ inclusion

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner +1 The incidence of celiac disease (as opposed to those who are choosing to eat gluten-free for the perceived benefits) is around 0.7% of the population. According to what I've read, there are no tangible digestive or physiological benefits to avoiding gluten for those who don't have an actual condition like celiac. My guess is that the majority of those avoiding gluten are doing so based on the faulty assumption that it's inherently harmful to the human digestive system. Obviously, it's their right to do so, but to what extent should that obligate others in their social circle to "play along" and indulge their somewhat questionable choice?

Celiac disease is NOT the only condition that means gluten should be avoided.

There are links to autoimmune disease, but understanding causes of autoimmune diseases is still in its infancy in western medicine, and will likely take decades to shake out. In the meantime, wheat is a well known allergen along with several other common foods/ingredients.

Great if you personally are not dealing with autoimmune disease, but please don’t be so quick to judge others who are dealing with it.

[brett]

GF hash brownies will make everyone happy.

[Chuckanut]

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Originally Posted by skipro33 GF brownies taste better than the regular stuff.

Recipe please.

[kgtest]

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Originally Posted by Philliefan33 Today is DH’s birthday, and coincidentally DD and her husband will be visiting us for the weekend... Good thing we like the guy.

I might crack a joke to DSIL that after the 8x price of the gluten cake you blew the rest of the weekend's gluten free budget lol.

Or just never buy anything gluten-free again, don't set the bar so high!

Usually people with dietary restrictions plan around the changes needed to live life, or else they suffer IMO.

Or else, claw-back by cutting that cake 1x1" squares, you eat 7, he eats 1 and you call it even lol.

I feel like if a person hat to eat gluten for a short while it might be bearable, tolerable, and not life or death.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by Chuckanut Recipe please.

King Arthur flour makes an excellent GF brownie mix that might be available in your grocery store as it is in mine.

I avoid baked goods anyway.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Celiac disease is NOT the only condition that means gluten should be avoided. There are links to autoimmune disease, but understanding causes of autoimmune diseases is in its infancy in western medicine, and will likely take decades to shake out. In the meantime, wheat is a well known allergen along with several other common foods/ingredients. Great if you personally are not dealing with autoimmune disease, but please don’t be so quick to judge others who are dealing with it.

When I read "According to what I've read, there are no tangible digestive or physiological benefits to avoiding gluten for those who don't have an actual condition like celiac." I figure it's got to be someone who doesn't realize how poor Western medicine understands autoimmune issues. Their answer is usually to suppress the immune system overall, and that causes a whole host of life shortening issues and is also hugely expensive. And, oh, often just takes the edge off the symptoms, doesn't eliminate them.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgtest I feel like if a person hat to eat gluten for a short while it might be bearable, tolerable, and not life or death.

Perhaps not life or death, but if it causes unpleasant symptoms for several days that’s enough to make some people avoid gluten all the time. It’s not necessarily like a little exposure won’t hurt you. The immune system doesn’t work that way.

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Celiac disease is NOT the only condition that means gluten should be avoided. There are links to autoimmune disease, but understanding causes of autoimmune diseases is in its infancy in western medicine, and will likely take decades to shake out. In the meantime, wheat is a well known allergen along with several other common foods/ingredients. Great if you personally are not dealing with autoimmune disease, but please don’t be so quick to judge others who are dealing with it.

I was making a more general observation about how most people avoiding gluten don't have any actual medical condition/disease that is motivating their choice. Clearly there are many who benefit, as you pointed out, like celiac sufferers and others with certain autoimmune disorders. And it seems the OP's SIL is one of those who has a medically-sound reason for avoiding gluten. But I believe those are the exceptions, not the rule, in our society, and (to the OP's original post) the big food companies are taking full advantage of the gluten-free fad.

[pacergal]

We have several in our family/extended family with medical/food issues: diabetics needed low or no sugar, gluten allergies and celiac, onion/garlic allergy, vegetarian and somehow it all works out. At gatherings, everyone brings one or two dishes to share and labels foods that have potential problems for those who might need to avoid them.
I have made and bought GF foods for several years, yes they are more expensive, but it is getting easier to find them in regular grocery stores now!

[NYEXPAT]

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Originally Posted by Philliefan33 The other DD would be very sad if I didn’t make my usual stuffing recipe. It’s her favorite part of the dinner. (It’s nothing special, just the recipe on the back of the Bell’s Seasoning box). Maybe I’ll make two stuffings, the regular and a smaller batch of GF.

That is funny! For the past 5 years or so, I saw all kinds of "Bell's" products in our supermarket and always thought it was just a cheap Peruvian brand! Now I can buy it and tell everyone it is imported.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner I was making a more general observation about how most people avoiding gluten don't have any actual medical condition/disease that is motivating their choice. Clearly there are many who benefit, as you pointed out, like celiac sufferers and others with certain autoimmune disorders. And it seems the OP's SIL is one of those who has a medically-sound reason for avoiding gluten. But I believe those are the exceptions, not the rule, in our society, and (to the OP's original post) the big food companies are taking full advantage of the gluten-free fad.

Not sure how you can personally make an accurate observation about what “most people” avoiding gluten are doing or their personal motivations.

[ERD50]

It is nice to accommodate any special dietary requests/needs of a guest. But I really, really, don't think that makes it OK to spoil it for other guests.

In the OP case, I'd make 2 cakes, or buy a small serving of GF dessert for the one person that needs it. If the oven temperatures are the same, it's not that much extra work. Of course, that depends on the specific case. I've had some gluten free crackers that I really like, no sacrifice there at all.

Sometimes you can leave an ingredient out of a portion or two of a dish, or put it on the side, or as a 'topping' on some of the dish - depends on how it is prepared, but it's often do-able.

Our niece and her husband don't like pork (not a dietary or religious thing, just a preference), and we host all the holidays. I'd love to have a big pork roast at times, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a big beef roast. Maybe this year I'll ask DW to add a small beef roast, and they can have that. I love a big bone-in pork roast, too big for us to cook for ourselves, and it's our house darn it! I should get what I want!

-ERD50

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational When I read "According to what I've read, there are no tangible digestive or physiological benefits to avoiding gluten for those who don't have an actual condition like celiac." I figure it's got to be someone who doesn't realize how poor Western medicine understands autoimmune issues. Their answer is usually to suppress the immune system overall, and that causes a whole host of life shortening issues and is also hugely expensive. And, oh, often just takes the edge off the symptoms, doesn't eliminate them.

I certainly don't have (and never claimed to have) a thorough insight into how Western medicine treats or understands autoimmune disorders. Do you have any special insight into this? All I have to inform myself on this subject is what I read online or in books, and I try to get my information from reputable, science-based sources, like the NIH website. And I 'm always open to new facts and opinions based on sound science. Given that many (if not most) of those following a gluten-free diet aren't suffering from celiac or other autoimmune digestive disorders, it seems they are likely getting little-to-no health benefit from this lifestyle choice, other than maybe some sort of placebo effect. Undoubtedly it does help those who are suffering from certain autoimmune disorders (like celiac) and I never said otherwise. Clearly the OP's SIL falls into the category of people that a gluten-free diet is beneficial for.

[gretah]

I'm allergic to all grains, not just the ones with gluten.

I LOVE pumpkin pie so I just bake the filling in a casserole dish and forget the crust. Yum!

[Chuckanut]

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Originally Posted by gretah I'm allergic to all grains, not just the ones with gluten. I LOVE pumpkin pie so I just bake the filling in a casserole dish and forget the crust. Yum!

Have you considered a Chickpea crust?

Like many if not most of us, I go to the trouble of trying to provide for people who are vegetarians or have special dietary restrictions. But, I also don't think its fair for one person's issues to dictate the menu for everybody else, especially for an entire meal. Thankfully, the few people I know who have significant restrictions are good enough to also provide their own food if necessary. Friends and family work it out. It should not be a big deal.

[Sojourner]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 Not sure how you can personally make an accurate observation about what “most people” avoiding gluten are doing or their personal motivations.

It's not a personal observation. It's based on a survey I read about some years ago, where people buying gluten-free products were asked if they (or someone they were preparing food for) had been diagnosed with celiac. I don't remember the exact number, but I believe over 50% said "no".

[SumDay]

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Originally Posted by Spock I had a gluten free cake in a restaurant. once. It tasted like it needed gluten.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by Sojourner It's not a personal observation. It's based on a survey I read about some years ago, where people buying gluten-free products were asked if they (or someone they were preparing food for) had been diagnosed with celiac. I don't remember the exact number, but I believe over 50% said "no".

OK - you read one survey. And respondents only answered whether they were celiac or not, and it didn’t cover other health reasons why a person might be buying gluten-free products.

[ABQ2015]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud OP never said there was a disease or intolerance involved... This also seems to be a fad that a number of people are doing... When we have family get togethers it is the responsibility of the person who has the 'problem' to bring anything that they want that is not considered normal.... me, I hate nuts in food... my family puts nuts in off and on... if there are nuts I do not eat it... simple.. when my DW had food restrictions due to her religion, she brought a dish that she could eat... simple...

My niece insists on hosting Thanksgiving and made the family suffer through a gluten free Thanksgiving once because her son has Aspergers and she felt a gluten free diet slightly improved his condition. Six months later she had stopped the diet as she moved on to more fads. On the other hand, a friend developed a severe case of celiac disease in his 40's and it almost ended his career. This was years ago when the first foods being advertised as gluten free were often contaminated with wheat. Fortunately his wife was a SAHM and loved to cook and started cooking everything from scratch. Finally after drastic changes to his diet, he was okay.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliefan33 Today is DH’s birthday, and coincidentally DD and her husband will be visiting us for the weekend. Since there will be others to help eat it, I decided to bake a cake for the occasion. Since the SIL recently switched to a gluten-free diet (and it’s helping ), DH suggested I look for a gluten-free cake mix. I was thinking that SIL would just enjoy the ice cream and pass on the cake, but went looking for the cake mix anyway.[…]

I don't see anything wrong with your original plans. I'd just go ahead and cook normally, but perhaps be thoughtful enough to add something or other that those on a special diet can have too. For example, bake a normal birthday cake for your DH, and provide fruit or something like that for those who can't eat it.

Maybe I am just old fashioned but it seems to me that this would be very considerate and the person on the special diet should be extremely grateful that you went to the trouble to take their dietary restrictions into account. You are not running a restaurant and should not be expected to provide for special dietary needs.