Back in July I started working for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America  as an Information Specialist in their Information Resource Center. What this means in non Not-for-Profit and social work terms is that I provide educational and supportive resources to patients, physicians, families, friends, and others regarding Crohn’d Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

It is a great position, one that connects my passion for chronic illness with that of social work education and advocacy. It has also helped me learn a lot about other GI related diseases, as well as insurance, financial resources and disease management. Although it won’t be lasting much longer due to my difficulties coping with the commute (4hrs a day), I couldn’t have asked for a position any better right out of graduate school.

One thing it has also taught me is the importance of preparing for gluten free eating in an office environment. I have only ever worked in small offices prior, ones with a less established kitchen than this one. This meant I was used to having simple spare tea bags, and cleaning my silverware with papertowels. However, this kitchen is a bit more high tech and made me realize the ‘luxury’ I was missing, or which might mess up my typical morning work day.

This has got me thinking about some overlooked prep tips for gluten free eating in the office. Therefore, I’ve decided to compile a list of some items which you may want to bring to your office to create an “Office Safety Eating Kit” for yourself or a gluten free loved one:

1. Paper plates, cups, utensils: This might seem obvious, but some places may have a set of good old regular washable utensils. Obviously this could lead to cross contamination. Bring your own disposable ones or reusable ones to stay safe. I personally bring Tupperware and utensils from home and bring them back and forth each day.

2. Condiments: If you like sugar in your tea, or pepper, or some other seasoning or condiment bring it. Nothing can be worse than getting yourself some french fries because you saw an unopened ketchup in the fridge only to realize that it contains gluten.

3. Teabags: My work morning ritual every fall and winter since 2007 has included a cup of tea. However, this kitchen has a Keurig only. While Keurig states that their products are gluten free some of them do contain gluten (trace amounts), and not knowing the contraption well this brings up the red flag of cross contamination. Because some of those gluten containing flavors are the ones my office has I am out of luck in the tea realm unless I bring my own tea bags. So, if this is the case at your office bring some!

4. Sponge or rag: You don’t want to risk the harm of cross contamination by cleaning up after you ate with a sponge or rag someone just used to clean up the left over deposits of last nights pasta dish from their Tupperware.

5. Back up Desserts or Snacks: When it comes to large office gatherings, there may or may not be something you can partake in. If your office is healthier being able to grab something might be easier, although we don’t want to always resort to fruit. That being said, store some back up snacks and desserts for this long ‘lunch will be served’ meetings or other get togethers.

Simply putting this all together in a shoe box or basket makes for a perfect “Office Safety Eating Kit”. You can obviously store all the above in your desk drawer, or if your office kitchen has secure space (and you trust no one will take your stuff) store it in a cabinet.

I know it can be tough for some folks being that awkward person with their own supply of kitchen supplies, but just because you need to take precautions doesn’t mean you should feel awkward. You are making life more simple, and safer, for you, so try not to worry so much about what others think. It’s that easy to keep yourself safe, and feeling less isolated, in the office!