Going gluten free

Going gluten free

Monday 18th June 2018

Beginning a gluten free diet can be very daunting to start with. You need time to prepare.

It is so mush easier than it was a few years ago.

It is not so bad once you get organised. It may even be an opportunity to prepare gluten-free recipes and also lose weight. You can create tasty gluten-free snacks and meals.

Take time to stock your kitchen with important ingredients for gluten-free cooking , and throw out the ingredients you need to avoid. It’s also helpful to know what you can substitute for certain foods and ingredients in favorite recipes that you want to adapt to your gluten-free diet.

Checklist of Foods and Ingredients to Avoid in a Gluten-Free Diet

  • Avoid all foods made from wheat, rye, bran, enriched flour, bulgur and barley (cereals, breads, pasta, croutons, crackers, cakes, cookies..) Look out for wheat germ wheat starch or hydrolyzed wheat. Avoid semolina,durum,couscous. Kamut should also be avoided.
  • Avoid beer and other grain-based alcohol.
  • Avoid oats. Some oat preparations can be contaminated with wheat. Some food products can be produced in facilities that manufacture gluten. You may have gluten free oats.
  • Flavorings may also contain wheat,so check the ingredient list on packaging.
  • Soy sauce is usually fermented from wheat, but Tamari soy is fine.
  • Some of processed foods that may contain gluten such as canned soups, salad dressings, seasonings, ice cream, sweets, instant coffee, ketchup, mustard, croutons, fried foods,gravy, stuffing,processed and canned meats, sausages, and even veggie sausages…)

Read the labels before buying any product. Manufacturers are required to provide information about the ingredients used to make their food products. It may take time at first,but you soon get used to the products that contain gluten.

Gluten may also be in fillers in some prescription and over-the-counter medications. Gluten also can be found in many vitamin products, tablets, vitamin preparations and even cosmetic products such as lipstick, lip gloss, chapstick and toothpaste.

  • Avoid milk and other dairy products that contain lactose. Untreated individuals with celiac disease often are lactose intolerant. With successful treatment, dairy products can be reintroduced slowly into the diet. If you have been told you are fine with diary, don’t worry, however there is often a cross reactivity with diary.

Gluten-Free Kitchen cupboard

  • Gluten-free flours.
  • Xantham gum.
  • Guar gum.
  • Quinoa ,or quinoa flakes
  • Brown rice,or brown rice flour, and red rice flour.
  • Gluten-free bread crumbs
  • Gluten-free crackers
  • Arrowroot
  • Cornstarch
  • Tapioca flour
  • Potato starch flour and potato starch
  • Vanilla
  • Gluten-Free Ingredients that are fine.
  • Annatto, glucose syrup, lecithin, maltodextrin (even when it is made from wheat), oat gum, plain spices, silicon dioxide, starch, food starch and vinegar (only malt vinegar might contain gluten).
  • Citric, lactic and malic acids as well as sucrose, dextrose and lactose

Most supermarkets have a great range of gluten free products in the free from range. I like Warburtons and Genius range. Supermarkets also have their own range now.

f you decide to make some of your favorite recipes gluten-free here are some substitutions for a few of your favorite ingredients. Sometimes it’s trial and error.

  • Flour: If your recipe says, use a gluten-free flour or rice mix. Experiment with the many new flours available, like bean flours, sorghum, and amaranth.

If a recipe says bread coating use a similar preparation, consider using wheat- or gluten-free mix (either homemade or shop bought).
Use tapioca starch as a substitute for flour and other thickeners.

  • Binders: Consider using gelatin, xanthan gum, or guar gum.
  • Bread crumbs: Many gluten-free breads turn to crumbs when you look at them. Just use them as extras for cooking. Or crumble some bread slices, and toast the crumbs for a few minutes in the oven to make them crunch.
  • Croutons: Cut fresh, gluten-free bread into cubes, deep fry, and then roll in Parmesan cheese and spices. I prefer to sprinkle a little olive oil and bake in the oven.
  • Granola: IMake your own with gluten-free oats, add some nuts of your choice such as flaked almonds or walnuts. Throw in some seeds such as pumpkin seeds .Toss in some gogi berries and mix together. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to sweeten.

Other foods you can have

  • Corn in all forms (corn flour, corn meal )
  • Rice in all forms (white, brown, basmati,red rice). Puffed rice in cereals, rice crackers.
  • Amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat (kasha), cassava, flax, millet, quinoa, sorghum soy, tapioca and teff.
  • Flours made from gluten-free grain, nuts, beans and coconut,hemp.
  • Milk, butter, margarine, cream, real cheese, plain yogurt, most ice cream without gluten-containing flours.
  • All fruits, all vegetables (fresh, frozen and canned).
  • Meat, seafood, and fish.
  • Potatoes, sweet potatoes.
  • Eggs, nuts, nut butters.
  • Beans and legumes.
  • Distilled vinegar is gluten free.
  • Distilled alcoholic beverages are gluten free because distillation effectively removes gluten.
  • Oils such as olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil.
  • All spices and herbs.
  • Gluten free sauces, gluten free soups.