A Very Gluten Free Birthday

It has come to my attention that our fearless leader, Mike Lee (a.k.a. Curioduo) has a birthday today! To celebrate this grand occasion, I decided to dedicate this post to him, and to birthdays.

This will not be another “what not to do” article. On the contrary, I want to point out that your birthday should never be a cause of worry or concern. The fact is, your birthday is all about YOU! The day is yours to command with no worries of what to eat or who you have to convince. This is the one day of the year when the whole world is gluten free and you can live the good life. There are lots of ways to accomplish this, so join me while we cover a few.

I recently read a blog post that cautioned against serving gluten free cake for a party. The general thought was that feelings may be hurt if people don’t like it. I’m going to disagree with this on two points. Number one: Even before going gluten free, I discovered that I liked the gluten free chocolate cake mixes better than regular ones. The dense texture and rich flavor really impressed me. Number two: It’s YOUR birthday! If you want cake, eat cake!

For those of you that are looking for alternatives to the typical cake and ice cream, try some of these ideas.

• Sundae Bar- Three flavors of ice cream and a schmorgasboard of toppings definitely brings the happy to your special day.

• Brownies- Also great to add to the sundae bar.

• Appetizers- Dispense with the sticky sweetness all together and create a sampling of delectable appetizers your guests will love! Use the search box here on Gling to find appetizer ideas.

I am a firm believer that games are not just for children’s parties. Use these game suggestions for a few laughs, and to spread a little awareness. For added fun, grab some fun prizes from your local dollar store to offer to the winners.

Grocery Store Challenge

This game gives gluten eaters a first hand look at what shopping is like for the gluten free elite. You get to be the judge.

• The Set-up: Have each guest bring a few items from their pantries at home (They might want to put their names on them). The products can be anything from canned veggies to pasta to pancake mix, anything goes here since none of it will be eaten or opened. Split your guests into teams (or, for small parties they can compete individually) and give each one a printed “Don’t List”. Arrange all the products on one table. You need a timer as well.

• The Object: When you say go, guests will have five minutes to gather as many gluten free items from the grocery table as they can. They can use the list as a reference. At the end of the five minutes, the team with the most correct items wins.

• Tip: You may have to increase or decrease the playing time depending on how many items there are on the table.

Identifying Ingredients

This game is great for people who are either new to a gluten free diet or not on it at all. It can help your friends remember what is on the approved list for you to eat.

• The Set-up- Gather as many strange sounding ingredient names as you can. Some things that work well are: Xanthan Gum, Sorghum, Spelt, Millet, Tragacanth, Dextrin, Chilton, Seitan and Acetophenone. Make sure you know what each one is. Each participant will need paper and a pencil.

• The Object- As each ingredient name is read aloud, players write down what they think it is and whether or not it is gluten free. Don’t put names on answers. Everyone passes their answers in and they are read aloud. Points are awarded as follows: 1 point for correctly choosing if it is gluten free or not, 2 points for knowing what the ingredient is. You can award extra points for creativity if you want (It’s your day, remember?)

• Tip: The amount of time it takes to play this game depends on how many ingredients you have and how many players there are. If you want a long list of ingredients, you can get great ideas from “the Don’t List” (above) and “The Do List”

I wish you all the happiest of birthdays, whenever they may fall. And Happy Birthday to Mike! I hope this has been the best one yet!!