What can I eat on a Gluten Free Diet?
A good rule of thumb is to choose fresh and unprocessed foods in general. Such as fresh meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, eggs and cheese. If you are GF and CF you will avoid casein and dairy as well.
Salads are a healthy and easily made item on the gluten free diet. When you are eating out, salads can be a life saver, just make sure they don't contain any croutons! It is important the people serving you at a restaurant understand your situation.
Safe Carbohydrates for energy, fiber and nutrition are rice, corn, and potatoes. Although, some people are also intolerant to soy or corn, (although in Canada, corn is not considered an allergen) and a variety of other things, depending on the damage to their systems, so you must determine your own diet, even if it is gluten free in some instances.
My husband Breck, couldn't tolerate almonds for a number of years, then after being on a gluten free diet for about 3 years, was again able to eat almonds and almond meal. But only once in awhile. He cannot tolerate gluten free oats, many other gluten free whole grains including buckwheat. And one of the staples in most celiac diets, tapioca is also off limits for him. He can eat fully cooked beans in moderation, but baking with bean flour seems to give him problems.
Methylcellulose, a common ingredient in many commercially made mixes and breads makes both of us choke.
I can eat many of the gf whole grains and gf oats, however, finding items that are by nature gluten free is sometimes a bit of a mine field, as many of these are processed or ground on equipment that has been used for grinding a grain containing gluten. From my personal experience, even items stating they were gluten free, gave me reactions, and on further examination I found they had been ground on so called "cleaned" equipment. In my opinion, only dedicated equipment can really be gluten free.
All of our ingredients used in Astoria Mills Mixes are sourced from Rigorously Certified Gluten Free sources, then blended and packaged in a dedicated gluten free facility.
There are many flours besides those containing wheat or gluten and they are profiled in Astoria Mills, Health & Nutrition, by Trina Astor-Stewart eBook. Here are some of the items mentioned in the book. Rice flours, Sweet Rice flour, Amaranth flour, Arrowroot Flour Bajri or Bajra Flour, Black Millet Flour, Buckwheat flour, Cassava or Tapioca starch, Chestnut flour or Castagnaccio, Chickpea flour, Also called Besan, Gram, Cici flour, Chana flour, and Garbanzo bean flour, Panelle, Chuno, Corn Flours/Starch, Harinilla Corn Meal, Cornstarch, Dal or Legume flour, Manioc flour. Flax Flour, Garbanzo Bean Flour, Garfava, Bean Flour, Gari or Garri Flour from Chick pea, Hemp Hearts, Jowar Flour, Konjac Flour, Lupine, Malanga Flour, Mesquite flour, Teff Millet Flour, Montina™. (Indian rice grass). Mung dal Flour, Nut Flours, Plantain flour, Polenta meal. Potato Flour; Potato starch; Psyllium; Peasemeal; Pumpkin Seed Flour Quinoa flour; Brown Rice Flour; Rice Bran; Sweet Potato Flour; Sorghum Flour; Bean Flours; Soy Bean Flour; Soy flour; Tapioca flour; Expandex®, which is a modified Tapioca. I have tested this, and am working on another book using Expandex additions. So far, in my testing, I have found there are some beneficial properties, a little goes a long way. Expandex can act differently in recipes so specific amounts need testing. Taro; Urad dal flour; Water Chestnut Flour; Yellow Pea Flour; & Yams.
Foods to strictly avoid are:
Any foods containing, wheat, rye, barley, triticale and oats (unless milled in a dedicated facility and then only if you test yourself for tolerance, and you are on the third or final stage of the healing diet.)
Learn to recognize how most foods are made when you are dining out.
Foods normally made with a wheat base are breads, rolls and croutons; cakes, pies, cookies and muffins & noodles, crackers or cracker or bread crumbs.
Commercially made Soups, sauces, & gravies as well as batters or breadings are normally made with a wheat/gluten base.
Many times a normally gluten free food, is laced with something extra containing gluten, watch for these hidden gluten containing items.
H.V.P. - Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein H.P.P. - Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Malt flavouring; Malt Malt Vinegar; , (Regular White Vinegar is gluten Free)
Modified wheat starch or other unidentified food starch
Many gluten containing ingredients are found in Bouillon cubes; Sliced or processed meats; Worcestershire sauce; Ordinary Baking powder, look for the Gluten Free, non aluminum kind of baking powder.
Salad dressings are another notorious hider of gluten, so read the labels carefully or learn how to make your own.
Soups or gravy bases as well as blended Seasonings often contain gluten. Pure spices are gluten free. Pepper comes in varying grades., I buy the peppercorns and grind them in a coffee grinder. Because good pepper is expensive, the shaker kind is often 'cut' with fillers.
Soy sauce is usually made from Wheat, so is also a no no, except in Canada the VH soy sauce is gluten free, while that sold in the USA is not. There are other soy sauces which are gluten free, you just need to choose those.
Butter is gluten free, but mixtures and blends may not be, so again, read the labels.
Methylcellulose and associates are said to be safe for Celiacs and are found in may gluten free mixes and baked goods. However, as there are some known side effects, Astoria Mills chooses not to use these in any of their mixes. Do your own search and see.
Life-Style Changes on a Gluten Free Diet
A Gluten Free Diet requires some lifestyle and household changes. Well worth it though! And you will only need to make these changes once, and then live by them. Did you know that people practicing the Jewish faith are required to eliminate many gluten containing items from their homes once a year? This turns out to be a boon for those of us who need to do this all the time. Look for 'Gluten Free for Passover' items. Be ever vigilant to read the labels though as they must be labeled ‘Gluten Free for Passover’.
Children on a Gluten Free Diet often have the hardest time coping as a natural tendency is to not want to be different when you are young. Maturity brings more understanding. Although, if you choose to use the Astoria Mills Cooking and Baking System and stock up on bulk items, you won’t have to feel deprived.
