How to Prepare for the Unpreparable When You're Gluten-free 

Hey everyone! One of my lovely viewers brought to my attention that the previous version of this video I uploaded was low resolution. My export settings must have been changed! Ugh! 😭 Anyway, here it is in its HD glory. If you left a comment previously, I'm SO sorry it got deleted, and please feel free to repost it. (I did screenshot them, though, so I didn't miss your Q&A questions.) Also, thank you again for 10,000 subscribers! 🎉 If you have any questions you'd like answered in a Q&A video, please leave them below. 🙏 Thanks for your understanding! 🙈💕 Robyn

I am a coeliac and one of the most bizarre situations that I’ve encountered was , I when I had a serious accident and I was in hospital for ten weeks, and it had a very limited gluten free menu. You would think that Hospitals would be be clued up on the requirements for coeliacs

Everything you recommended is right on. I would like to add the following recommendations. 1) Before going to a family event, alway ask what will be served and I bring my own GF equivalent. 2) Always bring a toaster (clearly labelled GF), a 12V Koolatron cooler and a 1KW inverter on road trips to make toasted sandwiches on the go anywhere. 3) Bring dehydrated meals and a 600W kettle to make a warm meal anywhere anytime in the car using the 12V inverter.

Thanks for sharing your story and advice! Catering is always such a nightmare, ugh. I got diagnosed with celiac about 6 months ago and recently spent about 10 hours in the emergency room for a different health problem (dw, I'm ok now!). I always try to carry a safe snack, but I didn't have my bag and was totally unprepared. You'd think a hospital would be good about accommodating allergies and dietary restrictions, but when I asked if they had anything I could eat, the menu they gave me had NO info about which items were gf, and the staff had no useful answers for me either. Most of the options were sandwiches and pasta! I wound up having a hearty meal of 1 fruit cup and 1 comically small Italian ice because the sandwich they gave me was toasted and I just had this feeling it wasn't safe. I was so hungry, but if I'd gotten glutened while also dealing with the health issue I went in for, I would have been miserable. I hate thinking about having to negotiate getting gf food if I ever have a longer hospital stay. I hope I have more practice advocating for myself by then!

I know EXACTLY what you mean, Robin. A few months ago, I was at a week-long academic conference with catered meals, and the exact same thing happened to me. Luckily, the venue was a block away from my hotel, where gluten-free options were available. But as you salid, I missed the social and 'networking' part of the conference, which tend to happen at meals.

So happy I found your channel a few months ago! As I was diagnosed with Celiac disease in March of 2023. Very helpful tips 😊

I once attended a professional day course. I advised the organisers of my dietary requirements. I was given an absolutely delicious sandwich, before any one else was served. (I was very newly diagnosed). Thought, "this bread is amazing", until I looked at everyone else's sandwiches.... oh no! We asked the serving staff, eventually they came back with a gluten free sandwich all it had for a filling was a lettuce leaf! Then American Airlines once served me my Gluten Free breakfast which included a muffin. I had an odd feeling about this muffin so read the ingredients - wheat!

I don't even know you but this video made me want to hug you and cry with you. This is so relatable. Words right out of my heart.

I feel your pain!! It is so hard to go out to eat when you can't have gluten or other forbidden foods! It is so hard for people who do not have food allergies to understand the problem. Eating out can be so hard or just plain scary! I have found your videos to be so helpful and informative not to mention fun! I have told so many people who need to be gluten free about your website and recipes. Keep the videos coming! Big thank you! ❤

I love this video, probably because sadly I can relate all too well. I don't know you personally, but I wish I did. You and your fabulous videos are one of the positive things I can say I've found since my celiac diagnosis. Thank you for all you and your husband do for our community.

I felt the story time… no one took my other food sensitivities seriously until gluten was added to the list. Never mind that beef makes me violently ill…

Newly diagnosed and new subscriber. Still trying to make sense of things. What a fantastic resource. I am sorry you had to go through such hard times but thank you for sharing and making things easier for the rest of us.

I recently diagnosed with celiac and first thing came to mind no sweet dessert anymore from now on. So first thing i purchase after diagnosis is dark chocolate bars, so anytime i feel down for not having anything I ate them and they sure are tasty.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips! Last summer I was in Tampa for a conference, and there were very few gluten free restaurants nearby - most were a half mile walk in the 95 degree heat, and I was pregnant and morning sick. It was terrible! I snacked on a lot of cheerios and instant meals I had brought (but I could only bring food I could take on the plane). In retrospect I wish I had had more kindness to myself and just ordered delivery - not worth almost passing out! it definitely made social situations challenging, I mostly only planned a few dinners with people I already knew

My worst experience has been when I was hospitalized. I sent back about 80% of the food they brought. Even the kitchen manager came by my room. He said he understood because they had hosted an international student. The kitchen staff didn't get the message. I ended up having my family bring food for me, bananas, apples, a loaf of GF bread, some peanut butter and jam. I have been in that same hospital 4x (covid, flu, heart attack, and finally emergency hand surgery) and the situation never changed. I sent back most of the food.

We took our first trip just a few weeks into going gluten free. Thankfully I’m gluten sensitive, and do not have Celiac. Cross contamination doesn’t cause an issue for me. I took baggies of snacks in the car. And I always have a couple of Kind Bars in my purse. We were visiting family. They were making home made pasta. I stopped at their local grocery store and was able to pick up gluten free pasta and dessert. On the way home, I didn’t plan well. 😮 So I ended up stopping and buying a big bag of Fritos when my husband was getting gas. Next time I’ll take a bag of gluten free buns with me, so I can at least order a burger and put it on my own bread.

OMG this was me a month or so ago on a trip to Thailand. Our hotel had a 3 course meal deal with the booking. We went to dine after asking head chef ahead of time & was assured it would be easy & there would be a few options. There we sit asking wait staff which options could be prepared gluten free, out comes a chef who speaks very little English & had not been informed. He asks if I can eat lettuce, I explain any salad veg prepared safely is fine, even cheese would be fine.... Out comes course 1....a bowl of lettuce. I am not kidding, just lettuce. I keep thinking, perhaps there is another plate coming to add to it.. but NOPE. So I ask if there is at least a safe dressing I can add, he returns with a lemon & oil dressing. We just shake our heads, I eat lettuce while my daughter has the most insanely good Pad Thai.. Main course.. I'm thinking that this will be better as they will have had time to whistle up something fantastic....OMFG, out comes a bowl of boiled chicken breast. No stocks, no seasoning, no flavor. I could only eat 2 mouthfuls. It was disgusting. I didn't bother asking about dessert options, we just left & ordered in Grab from a stunning Coeliac Mexican takeaway . I was so upset. Felt awful for my daughter who had guilt as he meal was so stunning. I did meet with one of the managers the next day. I really got the sense they felt it was all too hard bin & perhaps I was just one of those fussy people. I managed to give them a travelers translation card ( had also given to wait staff) , I can only hope that some thought will go in to it as I wont be the last, they have a load of tourists staying with them. If you are coeliac & staying in Bangkok, I highly recommend Sunrise Taco's , they have a few locations & stunning totally coeliac safe foods. Also, if you are travelling to Thailand ( or other countries) pack gluten free soya sauce. It makes a bowl of rice from 7 Eleven taste so much better lol

I can feel you badlyyyyyyyy😢 I have the same situation sometimes I feel soooooooooooooooooo embarrassed,weird and tearfully 😢

I have cried because gluten free food has been bad, like sobbed in front of my family at dinner at a restaurant like a child.

Thanks Robyn I got celiac disease too I had since I was 10 years I had same problem too it’s just happy now everywhere as in shop now but pub don’t have gluten free beer

Thanks for the video. Q: Does the "medical note" from the doctor actually work when you want to bring food and go through a security check? What are your favorite items to bring?

Not sure if i havd celiac (have not been diagnosed), a severe gluten allergy, or a severe intolerance, but I have been strictly gluten free for 6 months now. Our church cares only about the pastor or the pastor's wife dietary needs (former pastor's wife was celiac, current pastor is allergic to all nuts), so no one is paying attention to anyone else's needs. Myself and two other people at the church are GF, so I signed up to bring lots of items to the Thanksgiving potluck so we have options to eat. Rolls, cookies, and at least 2 sides. It's very frustrating, but i know my efforts will help others who also need to be careful.

When traveling, I always bring my packable cutting board (comes with knives and a colander for the bottom half), toaster bags and soups I can add hot water to. If we’re driving, my bin with my toaster, tea kettle, small cooler of food come with me. Then I can pack my own healthy lunch each day.

Just a heads up for everyone, Salt & pepper! I recently went to buy 2 and both had Gluten warnings. More recently in my work camp they had taken it upon themselves to 'season' all the hot food options in salt n pepper, this then left me with the Cold meat & salad 'option', suffice to say i quit after 4 meals of cold meat n salad.

I've been gluten free because of celiac disease for 4 years now and I'm starting to have a lot of trouble seeing restaurants and fast food chains that I can't eat at any more how do you cope?

This happened to me. I was away on a work trip. I rang the hotel so they knew my dietary restrictions. On day two I was told there was no gluten free bread and few options. There were two supermarkets across the road. The hotel didn't have the commonsense to send someone across the road to buy some. That is just one of the many situations I have found myself in.

Do you have any tips for when you’re stuck at the airport? I always need to take Dramamine right before getting our flights, and I am so sick of the still frozen fruit cup from the coffee place. PS I’m also allergic to nuts which definitely makes it more difficult.

I saw my new doctor a couple months ago and brought it up. They did basic lab work and said remove or limit carbs. The doctor sent an email saying try limiting gluten like in a week try and remove it 3-5 times and see how you feel those days. I sent an email today saying I have changed to gluten free cookies but when I eat gluten I get headaches and stomaches that last hours should we do the test and just continue to limit gluten until then. I'm 32 I'm already lactose intolerant so at this point removing more probably won't be too hard now that I live alone

I so wish that was true of Chocolate in Australia. They use Wheat Syrup in ALL commercial Chocolates, and some private brands too! Not safe to eat the Chocolate here, unless you read the labels.

10:32 this is exactly right. Big chains that started offering gluten free alternatives back when it was trendy no longer bother to do so and have instead replaced it with the current trend - vegan. I've been offered a vegan alternative at Costa or Starbucks. To which I invariably reply "I can eat meat... I can't eat wheat."

Hello, I was just diagnosed celiac. Can someone please tell me if you guys are able to find dried or canned beans labeled gluten free? Thank you

I didn't know that toblerone is safe . Hou ! Hou! OLE!

It's been me and my air fryer against the world, when it comes to travel. And with work (I am a teacher) I just eat gluten free breakfast bars til I can get home and eat like a slob lol