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As someone with coeliac disease, it doesn't take a lot to make me feel a bit ragey about food. There are many things that can be frustrating on a gluten free diet, and make you want to spontaneously combust with annoyance. But no fear, friends, we're all in it together! At least, I like to think we are.
I'm hoping you can relate to some of these - I'm sure there are probably more! Gluten-eaters, you have been warned! Here are 15 ways to make a person with coeliac disease angry...
Make all of the pizzas half price apart from the gluten free one
Pizza Express in Tesco, I'm looking at you. Why are your normal pizzas always on offer but the gluten free ones aren't?
Bring out a new gluten free sandwich and then make it unsafe for coeliacs
Oh Pret, what have you done!? 'Yay look at our new gluten free sandwich! But oh, wait, it's at risk of cross contamination so you can't eat it, soz......' rage
Make a meal deal with everything containing gluten
What's that? A meal deal on EVERYTHING apart from the gluten free sandwiches? Or the sandwiches are included but there's no gluten free crisps? Eurgh.
Dump non-gluten-free food in the free from aisle
Why do people do this!? It's so frustrating when you think there's a new gluten free product and it turns out it's just someone being lazy!
Make it super complicated to order gluten free food
Looking at you Domino's, hiding the gluten free base option at the bottom of the app as some obscure option, rather than the old-style way of ordering!
Deliver a takeaway gluten free pizza un-sliced, without a cutter
And then you have to use the end of a teaspoon to attempt to cut/rip it apart because you don't have any cutlery in your hotel room. True story.
Give them fruit salad for dessert
Go on, I double dare you to give me some sad-looking berries while you eat your cheesecake.
Dip your breadcrumb-y knife into the butter
Oh, spread that gluten round like you just don't care!
Keep pointing them to the vegan foods
What's that? You can't eat gluten? Oh yes, we have a brilliant vegan menu..... #NOTTHESAMETHING
Bring out a whole range of gluten free products that are twice the price and half the size of their 'normal' counterparts
I know we've discussed this before, but it never gets any less frustrating. Come on, give us normal-sized gluten free food!
Or just shrink the gluten free foods on sale already
M&S I'm looking at you, your snack sized bars used to be a lot bigger than they are now, but the price is still exactly the same!
Tell them to 'just try a little bit'
You really wanna see what happens? Some people just do NOT get it - it's not like we're avoiding gluten for fun, coeliac is a serious disease.
Tell your coeliac friend you're going gluten free to lose weight...
Yea, sure, go for it Sheila. Because eating gluten free cakes will be so much more conducive to weight loss than normal ones...
...and then give up a week later because 'it's too difficult'
Well at least you have a choice. If I decided that, things would end very, very badly...
Throw bread at them
Ok, that's just pure mean. I don't even know what dark place in my head that came from! Please don't do that.
Have I missed any out?
I'm pretty sure there are a lot more gluten-induced scenarios which would make me angry - are there any I've missed? I’d love to know anything I’ve missed in the comments below and share the laughs!
If you want a giggle, give these other posts a read!
- 14 things that are way too excited when you have coeliac disease
- 23 stupid things people have said about being gluten free
- 12 things everyone with coeliac disease has done (but may not admit)
- 19 things you’ll only understand if you have coeliac disease
- 13 things every coeliac feels about gluten free chocolate brownies
- 18 things that happen when you eat out on a gluten free diet
And don't forget, you can also join my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram if there's anything you'd like to see on the blog! Oh – and don’t forget to sign up for my e-newsletter where you’ll know about all my latest posts, recipes and finds!
Costa Coffee👎 no gluten free wraps/ sandwiches anymore, only salad bowls or porridge to choose from at lunch.
Yes Clare, i go to the movies straight from work and used to pick up the GF wrap really nice, but now i have to make sure to team member to make my own food or i am stuck with a bag of crisps (or one of those sickly sweet cakes that are ready wrapped on the top of the counter) 🙁
The standard gf option in any eatery - you can have a jacket potato 🤦
Staff in a restaurant not even knowing what gluten is despite all the new allergen guidelines. "Oh you can't have the panna cotta because it has dairy and gelatin". That's not gluten! When asking someone what they have on the menu that's gluten free: "macaroni cheese", "is it made with gluten free pasta then?", "no..." That dish is virtually all gluten then!!!
Saving up for years so you can afford a business class seat for a long haul flight thinking you will have a better food choice only to be served fruit salad for starter, salad for main (no protein!) and fruit salad for dessert. Guess what I was offered for the afternoon tea..... yup fruit salad!!!!!! Grrrrrrrr I’m looking at you BRITISH AIRWAYS!!! Grrrrr. When I asked if I could have either the steak or chicken option I was told no as they had gluten - you can imagine how happy my tween was at the option of salad!
We were upgraded at the gate to Business class on Emirates having ordered a gluten free meal in Economy. However, they ‘could not’ go and get the gluten free meal from the downstairs cabin because it was assigned to a specific seat and the seat in Business class was not assigned a gluten free meal? As if the seat was going to eat the food? And the stewards said they could not get an economy meal and bring it to the business class as if I was worried about snob value. Unbelievable!
When they really only have salad available at any fast food or other restaurant...no, I DON’T suddenly love salad just because I can’t eat the other 99% of the items on your menu!
completely agree with this!
I get annoyed paying the same price for a meal when one or 2 items are contaminated so you can't have it. I had a cooked breakfast at the Hilton Hotel once and they took away the sausages and bacon and gave me half a plate of mushrooms for the same price. I like mushrooms but not that much!
Ask staff in an expensive restaurant if they have Gluten free on the menu and they say they offer GF bread. Well thanks.
Gluten free foods being the low calorie options! Costa rolled gluten free and vegan into one and their wrap was less than 300 calories?! That’s not lunch.
Also trendy gluten-free-ers eating gluten free options then eaten the gluten full ones too 😡😡
I can excuse people’s ignorance of something they do not have to deal with themselves but professionals who are trained to deal with gluten intolerance or coeliac disease who are negligent or just plain difficult over things I cannot eat gets me frustrated. Most people I deal with are very accommodating but some restaurants and food sellers are just plain difficult over difference.
Yeah my biggest hate is on a works do where you order your food in advance and still only able to offer a fruit salad for dessert while everyone else gets Christmas pud or some other extravagant delicious dessert!! Then get luxury biscuits with their coffee while you get NOTHING!
Saying you are a family friendly GF restaurant and having no kids GF menu. Children have coeliac disease too!
Great list, and so, so true...
I had a good one when I tried to order gf pizza from Mamma Dough as a takeaway... eaten gf pizza in one of their branches before with no problem, but could only find the gf pizza base option on a couple of their pizzas on Deliveroo, so called up the place to ask what was going on - turns out if they think a mix of toppings is ‘too messy’ on a gluten free base, they don’t allow you to order it, even though all the toppings are gluten free! Rage!
Ordering GF bolognese in pizza Express to then suffer all weekend as it obviously wasn't made with GF pasta..
Then shopping in the local Coop and spotting warbutons sandwich thins on the free from shelves.. Checked ingredients and guess what they contain wheat.. Pointed this out to a supervisor to be told it's probably free from something..
I am actually terrified to eat out now. It's just not worth the pain..
Asking in a hotel/restaurant "do you have gluten-free beer?" - reply "no, but we have alcohol free beer."
Loved your gif of the tiny cake slice that made me laugh.
I recently went to a restaurant where there was a salted caramel gluten free cheesecake listed on the menu-I couldn't believe my luck! Double checked with the waitress on ordering who ran to kitchen to double check only to come back and tell me it contains wheat! Doh! Some of these places have no clue. *facepalm*
My 6 yo is celiac not myself but at every single school party someone brings Rice Krispie squares for my daughter. Not made with the gluten free Rice Krispies. Every. Single. Time. I make sure to send something she likes and can share but so frustrating.
You see something you really fancy in the supermarket, then nervously scan the list of ingredients, and great, nothing comes up in bold............... but then underneath you see the dreaded words 'May contain Gluten' MAY CONTAIN????? Does it or doesn't it? If it doesn't I can buy it, if it does I can't. Just tell me one way or the other.
Oh man that is the WORST!!
Recently a 'free from' item I like to order with my Tesco shop has been out of stock, and the app keeps suggesting an alternative, which surprise surprise is not gluten free. I did grumble at them over twitter about it but not had any response and it still does the same suggestion!
When at a restaurant and asking what is gluten free, when they bring out a huge Filofax and then drag the manager to the table to take the order. Any more attention to the table and you’d have a spotlight and a birthday announcement!!
I ordered from ASDA online one time, and as the gluten free pasta was on sale I added a bunch to my cart.
When my order came, they'd ran out of the gluten free pasta, and replaced it all with GLUTEN PASTA instead!
Wanted to get a meal at grill it restaurants. They have absolutely nothing gluten free even though they have lemon n herb chicken and plain chicken not gf. They did have gf brownies of course but not wrapped so cross contamination an issue. Had to just sit and watch my daughters eat. How can big restaurants still get away with it. Very upsetting x
I’m only have a gluten intolerance, but it’s pretty sensitive/bad and I have a *friend* who tells everyone she’s not ‘supposed’ to have gluten but then eats everything that’s so full of gluten it’s unreal. I went on a weekend away with her and some others and she was really shocked that I bought gluten free wraps and cereal and all my own snack bars/sweet treats, after telling my I didn’t need to get them because she will just eat the normal food. But then still proceeded to tell everyone she shouldn’t eat it... while eating it. I was so mad!