Gluten Free Cookbook

Archive for the ‘Gluten Free Foods’ Category

What are some gluten free foods I can feed my 4 year old son who has autisim?

You can buy anything in gluten free form. Like cakes and bread etc. In the health food section or health food stores

Anybody actually have a gluten free diet? I know the stuff you can pull off Google, like arrowhead root and stuff but I’d like some practical stuff. Like McD’s Fries I hear are acceptable. Anybody got great meal ideas or anything?

Nope. Macdonalds fries are not edible for celiacs. They are reconstituted with flour.

So far as fast food goes, most of it will be off the menu for your gf. Even the odd bits, like salad without dressing, may well be contaminated by being handled with implements that were previously used for other things.

There are places you can get gluten free food to go, but they are not your regular places, mostly. Though I believe that Wendy’s salad bar has a fairly good selection – but since it’s serve it yourself, it’s very likely somebody will have used the same spoon to pick up croutons and then salad… cross contamination.

Even a hint of gluten will damage your gf’s health. The life exptectancy of celiacs has been shown to be directly related to how well they adhere to a 100% gluten free diet.

Gluten is the protein in wheat, rye, barley, spelt and a few other closely related grains. It’s not in corn, rice, or oats, although oats are mostly contaminated during processing, so you would need to buy ones that are certified gluten free (meaning they were processed in a gluten free environment).

Your girlfriend is going to get a crash course in label reading – unless she wants to go entirely the natural route. Processed food almost always contains gluten for one reason or another, often just as a flavoring (malt), or to thicken, bind, stop stuff sticking together (grated cheese), as a carrier (in blue cheese), and so on. And if you buy a pack of something one time that you checked, and it was gluten free, it doesn’t mean that another pack bought on the same day or on a different day will also be gluten free.

Manufacturers change ingredients without any warning or mention on the front of the pack, depending on price and availability. So the only way to be safe, if you’re buying processed food not specificatlly labeled "gluten free" (and sometimes even if it is), you have to Check the Ingredients Label of Every Pack Every Time You Buy.

Having said that, there are lots of foods that are gluten free. Meat (not meat products), fish, non-blue cheese bought in a block or sliced (not necessarily processed cheese), eggs, fruit, vegetables and nuts are all gluten free, so long as there is no coating or sauce.

There is a set of cereals called Chex, in lots of different varieties that is changing over to a gluten free recipe. Check every pack before you buy as there are still some "normal" ones out there. The gluten free ones have a flash on the front that says "gluten free".

Many pizza places and other restaurants like PF Changs do gluten free menus. It’s impossible to know how thorough they are about avoiding cross-contamination, though. There’s a lways a risk if you have a kitchen that prepares gluten free food alongside the normal stuff that some gluten will get transferred accidentally.

That is foods that would normally contain gluten.

Hope this helps:

These sites will help guide u in the beginning:
www.csaceliacs.org
www.celiac.com
www.celiac.org

My Fave shopping sites:
www.glutenfree.com
www.glutensolutions.com (use code word SILLY at checkout for 10% off)
www.amazon.com great for shopping in grocery section for in bulk items once u find u liek something.

My FAVE Gf items (remembering that its often cheaper just to not use GF substitutes and stick to things that are inherently GF like meats, veggies, fruits, etc. But hey, everyone wants some chocolate cake every now and thenr ight??) So here’s my tried and true brands:

Cake, cookie, baking and pancake mixes: Pamela’s Products
Flours: Bob’s Red Mill
Cereals, breakfast bars, pizza (super yummy spinach and feta pizza is at whole foods) "Glutino"
Breads (premade), pastries, pizza crusts: Kinnikinnick
pastas: Tinkyada and Ener-G and Deboles

I am VERY picky and those are my ‘gf staples’. EVen ppl who dont eat gf have no idea they are GF when I serve them, especially Pamela’s Prodcuts Chocoalte Cake Mix and the pasta. YUMMMMMMM.

I suggest you join some support groups also bc u will get tons of ideas from them:

Online support at www.celiac.com
Yahoo Health Groups, "SillyYaks" and "USA_SillyYaks"

In person support groups are all over the country. Go to www.csaceliacs.org Click "Local Support" and see if theres a group in your area.

Best of luck! Feel free to email me with further questions.

I’m watching my carbs, and the restaurant we’re going to this weekend offers a gluten free menu – are those foods lower in carbs?

Not necessarily. Gluten free foods are just absent of the gluten that posses an allergy threat for many Pol. Carbs are not just found in gluten as gluten is actually a protein. The body needs a certain amount of carbs to burn energy so I would take a good look at the menu and see if it offers any additional info. But it really depends on the food you are eating w/o gluten as to whether it will be lower in carbs.

I’m a nutrition student and I still have lots to learn. One of them is about gluten free foods. I’ve heard people talk about it but what’s the deal with it? Why would someone care if it’s gluten free or not? Is it a health conscious thing or is it more of an allergy thing?

Celiac Disease

Also called: Celiac sprue, Gluten-sensitive enteropathy, Nontropical sprue .
If you have celiac disease and eat foods with gluten, your immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley. It is found mainly in foods but may also be in other products like medicines, vitamins and even the glue on stamps and envelopes.

Celiac disease affects each person differently. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system, or in other parts of the body. One person might have diarrhea and abdominal pain, while another person may be irritable or depressed. Irritability is one of the most common symptoms in children. Some people have no symptoms.

Celiac disease is genetic. Blood tests can help your doctor diagnose the disease. Your doctor may also need to examine a small piece of tissue from your small intestine. Treatment is a diet free of gluten.

Any gluten free foods in St. Louis?

Whole Foods Market at 1601 S Brentwood Blvd would be my recommendation. I am sure that local grocery stores have sections too. If you go to the help desk at Whole Foods, they can probably give you a list of gluten free products they carry. Carrabbas, Outback, Bonefish Grill all have gluten free menus and I have good experiences with all of them. Maggianos also carries gluten free pasta(at least the one in NC does). Another resource to check would be the local chapter of celiacs through csaceliacs.org.

Why have I recently seen so many foods that advertise being gluten free?

There are so many gluten free foods because gluten is such a common allergen. Gluten is the protein component of wheat and other grains. Many people are known to have allergies to gluten, and many times that are allergic and haven’t figured out what the problem is yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celiac_sprue

Better safe than sorry!

I have a friend that has Celiac. I am looking for a website that has a free list of all foods that are gluten-free.

I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and have since created a website to educate people and spread the word! On my website you will find lots of information about the gluten free diet, including a new list I’ve added of ingredients containing gluten. Below is the link to the page about celiac disease:

http://www.beatwheat.com/celiac-disease.html

Hope that helps!

I’m having dificulty finding a large range of gluten free products in Montreal, and I don’t have a credit card which makes ordering online difficult. I was wondering if there were any online gluten free stores, that ship to montreal and which accept paypal?

Hmm. I do not know about Ca persay but does Amazon take paypal? I am not sure if they do. I know ebay does and I have found some Gluten Free foods on Ebay. You can always request a catalog and some places will take money orders or checks. I like www.glutenfree.com. Request a catalog from them and see if they’ll accept a check or money order. I find they have a good selection. Also try gluten free trading company (not sure of web address). Good luck!

what are some good gluten-free foods to eat? Hope ice cream is one!

Most ice creams are GF! (but read all labels)
I suggest you peruse these sites bc they tell u more than any of us could in these little answers!
www.csaceliacs.org
www.celiac.com
www.celiac.org

And books by Dr Peter Green and Dana Korn
Foods to avoid:
wheat
oats (actually gluten free by nature but are cross contaminated by wheat in harvest. GF oats are available)
rye
barley