Gluten Free Diet

Article by John Kauri

So, you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a digestive disorder called Celiac disease, and your diet has to be changed to something completely new.

You may be wondering, what exactly Celiac Disease is. The short answer, is the body’s inability to process the protein Gluten, which is found in various wheat or grain products. On the surface, this may seem like it will cut out just about all of your guilty pleasures, or favorite foods. Rest assured, that is not the case, many items now have non-gluten alternatives to sacrifice very little, if any of the flavor, and still offer all the nutrition as Gluten containing products.

Do not worry, you do not have to cut out all of your favorite foods and live off of a strict list of unappetizing foods, or drinks. The lists of ingredients you can still eat or use as ingredients in the preparation of other meals, while slightly modified, is still as wide as ever, only now, it may be more important than ever to check the ingredients in some of your food choices, knowing what to avoid can make preparing foods, much easier and still allow you to be as creative as ever in the kitchen.

To start with, it is important to know what types of foods or products to avoid in general, however, some of the items listed do have non-gluten alternatives. When building your Gluten Free grocery list, products to avoid include:

Note: The lists below are only a small sampling of what can be on each list, for a complete list of products, consult your doctor, pharmacist, or consult a nutritionist.

* Bread and Bread Roll * Rye Bread, Pumpernickel * Yorkshire Pudding * Pretzels * Cakes * Muffins * Pastry or Pie Crust * Biscuits or Cookies * Crisp Breads * Bulgur Wheat * Durham * Couscous * Semolina * Scones * Anything in Breadcrumbs * All Bran * Sponge Puddings * Breadcrumbed Ham * Barley water drinks * Malted Drinks * Muesli

There are also products that contain wheat or flour, but are available in a non-gluten variety, be sure to check the label and ingredient list. Products with non-gluten alternatives can include:

* Stuffing’s * Pancakes * Pasta – Macaroni, Spaghetti, Etc… * Crumble toppings * Pizza * Some Breakfast Cereals

It is also vitally important to know that other available products often do include wheat, or wheat products that contain gluten as either an ingredient in the creation of, or used as a filler. These can include:

* Sausages * Luncheon Meat (filler) * Blue Cheeses (can be made with bread) * Gravy Powders and Stock cubes, such as OXO * Matzo Flour/Meal * Shredded Suet in packs (flour can be used to keep the strands separate) * Seitan (does not contain Gluten, it is Gluten) * Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein * Baked Beans (gluten can be in the sauce) * Farina * Meat and Fish Pastes * Pates and Imitation Crab Meat * Self Basting Turkeys * Sauces – thickened with Flour * Cummunion wafers * Soups (Roux based: made with flour) * Mustard – Dry mustard powder has Gluten * Instant Coffee (filler) * Brown Rice Syrup * Cheap Brands of chocolate * Some Potato chips (read ingredients carefully) * Soy sauce (Tamari is ok) * Drinking Chocolate * Licorice * Chutneys and Pickles * Salad Dressing * Curry Powder and other spices * White Pepper * Malt Vinigar * Supplements * Some Toothpaste * Some Lipsticks * Some medicine or pharmaceutical products.

With such an extensive list of items or products to avoid, it is understandable to wonder what is safe to eat, or prepare foods with. Luckily, the list of safe items is just as long, examples include the following Gluten free food products;

Vegetables such as:

* Artichokes * Asparagus * Beans * Broccoli * Carrots * Celery * Corn * Cucumber * Garlic * Kale * Lettuce * Mushrooms * Okra * Onions * Peas * Peppers * Potatoes * Radish * Spinach * Sweet Potatoes * Turnips * Etc…

Fruits

* Apples * Bananas * Blueberries * Cranberries * Dates * Figs * Grapes * Kiwis * Lemons * Limes * Oranges * Passion Fruits * Plums * Raspberries * Strawberries * Tangerines * Watermelons

Meat and Poultry products are often okay;

* Beef * Buffalo * Chicken * Duck * Lamb * Pork * Turkey * Veal * Venison * Dairy Products * Butter (check to verify no gluten containing products were used) * Cheese (expect blue cheese) * Eggs * Milk * Yogurt (unflavored, plain) * Even some other grains are safe: * Almond Flour * Bean Flour * Brown Rice * Buckwheat * Corn Flour * Corn Starch * Dal * Flaxseed * Millet * Pea Flour * Potato Flour * Rice * Soy Flour * In addition, other safe items are: * Eggs * Fish and Shelfish * Honey * Jams * Rice cakes and rice crackers * Tofu (made from Soybeans) * Yeast * Vegetable Oils

Some drinks you can have are:

* Champagne * Fresh Ground Coffee * Fruit Juice * Milk * Soda’s * Vodka * Tea * Wine and wine coolers

Finally, some prepared foods can be bought already made and are Gluten Free, some brands or products to watch for include:

* Baked Goods from Glutino, KinniKinnick and Ener-G Foods * Baking mixes from Bob’s Red Mill, Pamela’s Products, Cherrybrook Kitchen * Cereals from Brands such as Enjoy Life. * Pasta’s made from corn, such as Glutano and DeBoles * Pasta made from Potatoes like Patado * Even Pasta Made from rice, like Tinkyada and Notta Pasta

Hopefully, these lists of safe and unsafe products and ingredients can help you to better plan your new shopping list, yet still enjoy some of your family’s favorite foods.

In addition, Gluten safe recipes and gluten allergy food, can be found in this blog for Gluten Free Foods recipes and guides.

This article was originally published at Gluten Free Foods