Gluten-Free Living Tips for Seniors in Retirement Homes: A Quick Guide

*Disclosure: This is a compensated post.

When assisting a loved one in selecting a retirement home that meets their gluten-free needs, beginning the journey with thorough online research is essential. Start by exploring various retirement home options, paying close attention to their dining options, menus, and any specific accommodations they offer for dietary restrictions like gluten-free living. By conducting comprehensive online research, you can gather valuable information to narrow the choices and ensure that you or your loved one find a retirement home that caters to a gluten-free lifestyle with care and consideration.

Here are some simple yet effective tips to help navigate gluten-free living in retirement homes.

Communicate Dietary Needs Clearly

When moving into a retirement home, it's essential to communicate any dietary restrictions, including the need for a gluten-free diet, to the staff and kitchen team. Provide clear instructions and information about gluten intolerance or Celiac disease to ensure meals are prepared safely and appropriately.

Build a Relationship with the Kitchen Staff

Establishing a positive relationship with the kitchen staff can make a significant difference in ensuring gluten-free meals are prepared correctly. Take the time to introduce yourself and discuss your dietary needs with the kitchen team. Offer to provide recipes, information pamphlets on Celiac disease, and safe ingredient lists for gluten-free alternatives to help them accommodate your needs better.

Advocate for Safe Gluten-Free Options

Advocate for gluten-free options on the retirement home's menu. Work with the management or dietary staff to incorporate gluten-free alternatives into meal planning. This may include offering gluten-free bread, pasta, and snacks, as well as ensuring that sauces and condiments are gluten-free. Don't forget to ensure the propper understanding of cross-contamination and how to prevent it.

Keep Gluten-Free Snacks On Hand

Keep a stash of gluten-free snacks in your room to supplement meals and ensure you always have gluten-free options available. Packaged snacks like gluten-free granola bars, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits can provide convenient and safe alternatives for between-meal cravings.

Stay Informed and Involved

Stay informed about gluten-free living and advocate for yourself within the retirement home community. Attend meetings or events where dietary concerns are discussed and provide feedback on gluten-free options. By staying involved and engaged, you can help create a supportive environment for gluten-free living in the retirement home.

Gluten Free Cart - Canada's First Allergen Free Online Marketplace

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

Gluten Free Cart is a hyper-local Canada-wide online marketplace that connects customers with local bakeries, cafes, and shops which specialize in offering gluten-free products.

Think of Gluten Free Cart as Canada's First Online Marketplace for allergen-free ready-to-eat, cook, or bake food items.

Product options range from ready-to-eat items to baked goods and mixes. Whether you fancy baking with a premade mix, enjoying a pint of delicious ice cream OR just leaving the dinner-making to someone else, Gluten Free Cart has your needs covered.

Currently, there are 156 products offered on the website through 19 vendors in 19 cities. 

With a goal to ensure that the product selections are both affordable and easily available, Gluten Free Cart is truly a one-stop shop for Canadians looking for allergen-free food. Make that allergen-free AND fuss-free - they do all the leg work so you don't have to.

"Allergen living does not need mean restrictions. It CAN and SHOULD offer choices at affordable prices."

Let's talk about how GFC keeps costs down for both shop vendors and customers.

Each shop creates its own presence on the website and is responsible for providing its own shipping, pickup, and delivery options. Shoppers also have the option to purchase from multiple vendors in one transaction. 

The ability to customize shipping options with each vendor in one simple transaction not only saves time, but it allows YOU to ensure your needs are met.

Future plans are to expand its offerings in the future to include more snack options and easily shippable items.

By allowing these businesses to create their own presence on the website and manage their own shipping/pickup/delivery options, overall business costs are minimized, resulting in a more affordable experience for customers.

Gluten Free Cart aims to serve people who travel, live away from big cities, or simply don't have the time or energy to cook. It offers the comfort of ordering in advance and having gluten-free food available at your destination or ready for you to pick up. It works with your schedule and food needs.

Who doesn't love the convenience of ordering in advance and having food ready when you arrive at a new destination?! 

Gluten Free Cart provides convenience and comfort by eliminating the need to search for gluten-free restaurants and food options in general. We all know this can be a daunting task at the best of times, especially when traveling to an unfamiliar city. Depending on the vendor you choose, you can arrange to have your food delivered to you or be ready for pick-up when you arrive at your location. 

Gluten Free Cart also gives peace of mind by ensuring that your dietary needs are taken care of. Peace of mind means you can focus on enjoying your trip. Having food ready and waiting for you can also save time, which means that you can start enjoying your destination right away. It's a simple and efficient way to be prepared for both your food prep choices and needs.

Gluten-free isn't always simple and sometimes people need products that are gluten-free while meeting other dietary needs or wants. Everything on the Gluten Free Cart website is gluten-free, and some products are also vegan keto or peanut-free. 

Gluten Free Cart provides a customized experience that is tailored to your needs.

The website is very easy to navigate, and orders can be set for pick up, shipping, or delivery. 

So how does it work?

Let's talk about the three categories to choose from on the website - Shop Food, Shop Stores, and Shop Collections.

Shop Food:

Here you can filter products by Store Pick Up, Delivery, or Shipping. You will need to enter an address before sorting to allow the website to see what options are available for you.

Shop Stores:

This section allows you to browse the various shop vendors participating on the GFC website. Click on a shop to learn more about them and check out their available items. Interested in a vendor but unsure still? Hit "Review" and see what others have to say! This is also a great way to shout out your favorite vendors by giving them a happy review.

Shop Collections:

Collections is a really cool feature on the site! It allows you to shop an already sorted collection of ready-to-cook mixes, baked goods, various ethnic cuisine types, and desserts. This really helps narrow things down when you have a craving of sorts but don't quite know what you want just yet.

The process of ordering is as simple as 

1. Browse & Filter Shop by food, store, or collections & apply filters

2. Checkout

Add items to the cart, apply coupons, and checkout

3. Get Product

Head to the store for pick or get delivery/ shipping

It's really encouraging to see a Canadian company stepping up and ensuring that people who eat gluten-free due to Celiac or just by choice are not forgotten about. I can't wait to see what Gluten Free Cart does next!

You can keep up to date with Gluten Free Cart by following reading their blog here and by visiting their Instagram page here

The Gluten-Free Sunscreen List

Using a gluten-free sunscreen is a personal choice. Not everyone is going to want to and that's okay. I prefer to ensure gluten is nowhere to be found when it comes to skin, hair, and lip products. Call me old fashioned but, better safe than sorry is a term I happily roll with.

If It's On Your Face Or Hands, It's In Your Mouth

Think about those hot and sticky days where sweat is constant and unavoidable. That sunscreen is going to be sliding everywhere. How many times will your sunscreen coated hands wind up near your mouth without you noticing? Likely more than you think, meaning accidental ingestion is pretty darn probable. Not something that sounds appealing to me. 

This is why I prefer to stick with gluten-free protection. Some of the brands below are easily found in stores and others can be purchased online. I'm happy to see not only a decent choice in variety but, varying price points as well.

• Kiss My Face

• The Green Beaver Company

• Coppertone

• Blue Lizard

• Banana Boat

• Goddess Garden

• KINeSYS performance sunscreens

*Always confirm that sunscreen is gluten-free

Let's Talk About Bread

Gluten-free bread has come a long way since I had my first slice, over ten years ago. No longer does it require cringing and toasting. Better yet, gone are the days of tasteless crumbs. Unfortunately, gluten-free bread continues to be haunted by its cardboard-like predecessor.

I know what you're thinking - there is no comparing gluten-free bread to the soft lusciousness of "regular" bread. To put it simply, you're right. Gluten-free bread will never be exactly like its wheat-filled counterpart because well, science. What I can tell you, is that although there will always be room for improvement, the overall taste, quality and texture has improved immensely!

Let's talk about some of the fantastic gluten-free bread options available across Canada.

All But Gluten

Canyon Bakehouse 

Compliments (Sobeys store brand)

Genius by Glutino

Gluten Zero

Kinnikinnick Soft Breads 

Promise Gluten Free

Rudis

Schar

Udis

I have had the opportunity to try all of the above brands over the years. While they are all good in my opinion, some are more easily found than others. Also worth noting, prices vary widely. No longer do you have to pay $6.99+ for gluten-free bread!

Kinnikinnick is tops in my book! No toasting necessary and it holds up pretty darn well. Promise Gluten Free is a staple in my home for hamburger buns and chicken sandwiches. All But Gluten offers wonderful buns as well. The Compliments brand via Sobeys is pretty impressive as well. They make really great rolls that can be used for hot dogs and subs.

Canyon Bakehouse is a recent addition to stores in my area and I am enjoying their products thus far. I would like to see Schar and Rudis more widely available. As they are so difficult to obtain, I don't get to enjoy them often and that really bums me out.

Remember that it's okay to have a preference that differs from other gluten-free bread eaters out there. We all have individual pallets and likes. While one brand may be great toasted, it may miss the mark for sandwich making. Gluten-free bread also varies in size for a variety of reasons, mostly likely due to varied ingredients. 

The gluten-free bread industry is massive and full of competition. I'm confident that future innovations will hold impressive improvements! I'm always on the hunt for new and great gluten-free products so I can't wait to see what the future has to offer!

What are some of YOUR favourite gluten-free bread's?! Let me know in the comments below.

My Gluten Free Bucket List

1. Master the art of Gluten-Free baking. Seriously, I need help.

2. Visit Feast in Toronto. I've known about this gem for some time now and I really need to get there!   *Visited July 2015

3. Read:

• Gluten Freedom by Alessio Fasano, MD 
• The Gluten-Free Revolution by Jax Peters Lowell
• Mayo Clinic Going Gluten Free: Essential Guide to Managing Celiac Disease and Related Conditions by Joseph A. Murray

4. Take another Walt Disney World resort vacation, aka Gluten-Free paradise

5. Add final touches to the Gluten Free Doll website and officially launch it

6. Attend a Gluten-Free expo/conference

7. Cross-border shop for Gluten-Free goods which are not available in Canada

8. Encourage Rogers Centre to host a Celiac Awareness night

9. Help rid Celiac of the fad stigma

10. Find a delicious Gluten-Free croissant and eat it