Friday night we had some friends over for dinner. Since going Gluten Free I have found that it is much easier to invite people over to our house for meals then risk it at someone else’s house. Even the most well meaning of hosts can put Gluten in a dish and not even know it. Many times dinner guests offer to bring something to contribute to the meal. My go tos are a salad without croutons or a bottle of wine. I find these are the safest options for Gluten eaters to bring. I have said dessert before and ended up not being able to eat the beautiful brownies brought by our guests.
For dinner I decided to make Crock Pot Lasagna! One, it tastes amazing and no one can tell its Gluten Free. Two, crock pot meals make dinner parties low stress and three, everyone loves lasagna! It came out perfectly and everyone had seconds. The twins even downed it! The salad brought by our friends was a perfect side dish.
For dessert I cheated and bought a store brand Gluten Free Spice Cake mix. I took a risk because I had never tried this particular brand before and wasn’t sure if Gluten eaters would enjoy it. I followed the directions on the bag and made a Gluten Free Carrot Cake topped with GF cream cheese icing. Our toddler then added sprinkles! It was so good and our friends even took some home with them!
Success!
Tips for dinner guests:
1. Have Gluten eaters bring safe side dishes or drinks
2. Prepare a good Gluten Free meal
3. Crock pot meals save stress and time
4. It’s OK to make the meal Gluten Free
5. Dessert can be simple – ice cream sundaes, fruit cobbler, box cake mix
I think your points 2 and 4 go together: it’s okay to make the meal gluten-free…as long as it’s also good! (Otherwise the guests feel pressured to pretend they like it, and the host feels stressed and embarrassed, and nobody enjoys the meal all that much.) I haven’t had a full-scale dinner party since going gluten-free, though I did have a friend over for dinner this past weekend. When I do host a party I’ll be sure to follow your tips! š