Check out Gluten-Free Back to School Lunch Ideas
by Alea Milham at Foodie.com
Navigating the school lunch room can be intimidating for children, even if they don’t have Celiac Disease or a food allergy. Add in Celiac Disease and adults who do not entirely understand their dietary requirements and it can be a dangerous situation.
I once walked in on a substitute teacher telling my then 5-year-old that he could eat the class snack. My son was calmly repeating that he couldn’t eat it because it contained gluten. The teacher was annoyed with him and pointed to the list of ingredients on a box of crackers and said, “gluten is not listed on the list of ingredients”. He calmly explained that some ingredients, like flour, contain gluten and he could not eat it. I was very proud of him, but also incredibly upset that my 5-year-old was put in a situation where he had to protect himself from being given a food that would make him sick.
Later that day, I shared the story with the aid to try to ensure that my child wouldn’t be put in that situation again if the regular teacher was out and she said, “But it wouldn’t have killed him. It’s not like a peanut allergy, he wouldn’t die if he ate gluten”.
Right at that moment, I made the rule that my son could not eat anything that I did not pack for him. I did not want him to ever be put in a situation where an adult felt they had the right to tell him to eat something that would be hazardous to his health. Now that he is 7 and even more confident in what he can and can’t eat, I have loosened this rule a bit. However, I still pack his lunches and snacks whenever he is away from me to provide him with a selection of foods that are safe for him to eat.
While you can buy or make gluten-free bread, I like finding creative alternatives for the traditional sandwich for lunches. Here are 15 gluten-free lunch recipes to inspire you to think outside the sandwich when packing gluten-free lunches.
15 Gluten-Free Lunch Recipes
2. Taco Lettuce Wrap (make sure you use GF Taco Seasoning)
3. Gluten-Free Corndog Muffins
4. Gluten-Free Meatloaf Muffins
9. Pizza Puffs with Dipping Sauce
11. Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
12. Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
13. Chicken and Corn Lettuce Wraps
15. Gluten-Free Chorizo Empanadas
16. Ham and Cheese Apple Wraps
What gluten-free foods do you pack in your child’s lunch box?
I created the collection of gluten-free lunch recipes on Foodie.com as part of a sponsored post for Mode Media. Some of the recipes contained in the collection were created by me, but many were collected by perusing through the recipes on Foodie.com
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Bonnie Middleton says
I do a newsletter for our local celiac/gluten-free group. I will put your website in the newsletter so they can see what’s available. We have a session every year on what to pack for school lunches and this will give them a lot of ideas.
Casey the College Celiac says
How absolutely horrid – for your son and you! I feel “lucky” in that I was diagnosed with celiac disease at age 16 so I definitely had the understanding and confidence to turn away food that would make me sick. It doesn’t make it any less awkward, but being “polite” or “easy” isn’t worth getting sick!
Sherry Nappa says
These look divine! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday.
Lisa H. says
Good for you for teaching your son so well! Personally, I was diagnosed with celiac disease as a baby, but my mom gave up on keeping me gluten-free when I started public school, and she never really explained the disease to me. I thought I had “grown out of it.” I spent 15 years making myself sick without realizing it, and boy, did I pay the consequences.
I’m saving this list for ideas for myself. 🙂