My FSMIL thinks she has a disease...

jerseydevil · March 2011

but she has not been diagnosed with it officially. If she had the disease, she would need to stay away from gluten products, but she won't know for sure if she has it for like 3 months. As a result, she is making everyone crazy with her newfound gluten-free diet. Just needed to vent a little.

Of course, I'll be as accomodating as the venue can be to make sure she is fed appropriately on the wedding day, however she was already high maintenence and this is just one more thing I have to deal with concerning her.

How many of you are also having to accomodate dietary restrictions like this? And how far are you going to make sure that everyone has the options they need?

LauraT25 · March 2011

My mom has declared herself gluten-intolerant. I gave her a gluten-free meal, and we already had gluten-free desserts available. I'm pretty sure she still ate some rolls and cake, though. I find her whole wishy-washy choice and tireless advocation of the GF lifestyle annoying, but it wasn't an inconvenience to accomodate her with a meal. I think you should do the same for your FMIL, regardless of a medical diagnosis.

We also had some vegetarians and non-cow-eaters, and again, not an issue to request special meals for them.

jessicabessica · March 2011

We are accomodating vegetarians, vegans, kosher (or at least will eat food that doesn't have anything explicitly nonkosher, our caterer's not kosher), gluten intolerance, diabetes, chrons/colitis. I think what takes the cake is my friend who can't tolerate wheat, corn, or dairy, and she has a slew of other allergies (some of them epi-pen-worthy). We're serving vegetarian food and fish, so she'll have a special meal of plainly cooked fish and plain veggies. I think everyone else will be accomodated by the buffet options.

LauraT25 · March 2011

jessicabessica - Just curious, what's the deal with the Crohn's/Colitis meal? Does that person have a particular trigger food that they know of and are trying to avoid? Because I've never heard of that as a specific dietary restriction.

jessicabessica · March 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_fsmil-thinks-she-disease?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:0c58762b-1cd2-47ff-bd75-136bd7470c7bPost:59aa07d0-fb8a-47cf-8265-b2979b23d68d">Re: My FSMIL thinks she has a disease...</a>:
[QUOTE]jessicabessica - Just curious, what's the deal with the Crohn's/Colitis meal? Does that person have a particular trigger food that they know of and are trying to avoid? Because I've never heard of that as a specific dietary restriction.
Posted by LauraT25[/QUOTE]

<div>I think it really depends on whether the person is having a flare up or not. I know some people with crohns/colitis that will eat "normally" when they're not having a flare up of the disease, but if there's a problem--or the disease is otherwise not well-controlled--then there might be some issues with raw veggies and that kind of thing. I have a cousin who has had some problems recently with her colitis, and I think things like well-cooked veggies, low-fiber starches (white rice, potatoes) are best for avoiding problems for her right now. It could be different for different people, of course, that's just been my observations and experience. </div>

mandi921vh · March 2011

You should talk to her and see what kind of food she can eat and talk to your caterer about preparing a special place for her.

SSaltzman87 · March 2011

Gluten allergies are so incredibly common now, I don't think it would be a problem for your venue to accomodate that.

My mom is allergic to gluten and dairy, as are a few of my guests-so we're making sure we have plenty of options in the buffet that they could have.

LauraT25 · March 2011

Thanks for clearing that up, jessicabessica. My H has Crohn's and while he does avoid some foods during a flare-up, it never occured to either of us to request a special meal. I think it's very considerate of you, though!

SD3194 · March 2011

It's pretty easy to make a gluten free meal. It should be no problem for your caterer.

jessicabessica · March 2011

Thanks, Laura! We're anticipating 150-200 people, and I don't know that we'll be accomodating everyone's needs, because I don't know them all, but it seems silly to not do something about the people that I eat with and cook with on a regular basis--I know their food issues pretty well.

As for the gluten intolerance, whether it's a dietary preference or an actual health issue, I agree with PPs that it's not hard to accomodate. I've been seeing GF menus at places like Legal Seafoods, I think it's getting more common for restaurants and caterers to expect.

jerseydevil · March 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_fsmil-thinks-she-disease?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:0c58762b-1cd2-47ff-bd75-136bd7470c7bPost:0678b491-2c92-4b18-a638-f02e7706f7d1">Re: My FSMIL thinks she has a disease...</a>:
[QUOTE]My mom has declared herself gluten-intolerant. I gave her a gluten-free meal, and we already had gluten-free desserts available. I'm pretty sure she still ate some rolls and cake, though. I find her whole wishy-washy choice and tireless advocation of the GF lifestyle annoying, but it wasn't an inconvenience to accomodate her with a meal. I think you should do the same for your FMIL, regardless of a medical diagnosis. We also had some vegetarians and non-cow-eaters, and again, not an issue to request special meals for them.
Posted by LauraT25[/QUOTE]

That's pretty much what I'm dealing with, she's always had some sort of weird food "thing" that I think she secretly enjoys. It's not too big of a deal, one of our meal options is filet mignion, so I already know that will be fine, just irritating to deal with considering her personality. I'll just have to make sure to include a veggie option that doesn't have gluten in the sauce. And I'll have to check on if there's something we can add to dessert so it's not just cake.

tesskerr · March 2011

Just be careful, if it is a TRUE allergy, then any gluten will cause a reaction, sometimes there can be gluten in the strangest things (even steak)

However, if it is an intolerance, then sometime they can tolerate certain amounts (it's all depends on the person)

Also, as a vegetarian, please don't lump all of the things into the vege meal, if you can help it. I hate when the vege meal is also wheat, gluten, dairy, corn and soy free (steamed veges and rice!) I know it can be really hard when you have lots of "fussy" eaters, but it is really nice and always appreciated if the caterers have a few different options for different people. I mean if there can be 10 different meat options for you to choose from, then maybe one of those could be made the "gluten free" one, and the vegetarian option can be left yummy!

kholle13 · March 2011

I am having food stations but my caterer said she can make just one plated meal for my grandmother if necessary. She is on a special diet due to kidney problems.

xxbrokendreamsxx · April 2011

Definitely do the best you can to accomodate.

I have crohn's disease(Which I see is mentioned above, plus tons of allergies) but just on the crohns thing alone, I have a hard time going places with people and I have to be really picky about what I eat. I've literally gone to parties/wedding and not eaten a single thing because there was nothing there I could eat!(With this thought in mind, I'm having to make sure that my reception has opitions for me and my mom) Also, as mentioned above, it's true that alot of crohn's patiants can eat normally while not having an 'attack' however crohn's does vary from person to person. Though one of the most common things that effects crohn's patiants is raw-veggies or milk products. But anyways, back to the original subject....

I understand she was high maintence already, but don't fault her for being allergic to gluten. Most people wouldn't choose to be. After all in the long run it makes their life a lot harder, finding gluten free products isn't exactly easy and as mentioned gluten can show up in some very unexpected foods. A friend of my mom's is highly allergic to Gluten and I know anytime we go out to restuarents she has to be very exact about what she orders.

inkfingers · May 2011

Many of my family members have celiac diseas (my great-grandmother died from it). You don't have to change the ENTIRE menu. Just provide a few things and let her know what is safe to eat. We're serving sheet cakes for my reception and one pan will be strictly gluten-free for my cousins, aunts, and grandmother. For the most part, they know what to avoid. Like I said, we'll have items that aren't gluten-free, but I will definitely let my grandmother know before she eats it!. Give your sister my best wishes! I think you are overreacting by "venting". Would you treat her differently if she had a peanut allergy?

My FSMIL thinks she has a disease...

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