A friend recently had her doctor suggest that she eat gluten free for two weeks. He believes she will feel much better and much of what ails her will dissipate.  He had his wife do the same and he  said it was life changing for her. ( I assume he too is GF)  I  believe it! I am and always be an advocate for removing gluten from the diet. Celiac or not, our bodies are just not programmed to digest the stuff.  Who needs something indigestible in their bodies? It is like eating rocks.

As friend and I were grazing the salad bar,she was asking me of the foods she already knowing that. I then remembered our beginnings of gluten free life, and how intimidating it seemed, yet I now I know it is not.

We have been gluten free for over 20 years, it is easy, NOW. I know what I can eat and don’t really think much about what I cant anymore.  I guess it may be a bit like the Jewish diet of kosher, no pork. They probably don’t think about it much, it is just what they do.  That is the way eating GF is for myself.  But those who are just starting, it is a different story. It is foreign.  Not having to think about where wheat is, then needing to read all labels, and finding it in everything, can be overwhelming.

It has not become easier with all the gluten free foods being added to the shelves. Ironically it seems a bit more difficult, to have all the choice.

There is a lot of misinformation and over cautious informationabout eating gluten free.There is no secret handshake needed to be privy to this info. Nor do you have to have a gold plated registration with CFA. We that ‘know’ gluten free, should be sharing more. Even if it does cut into our ‘business’ as coaches,(hire me page) dietitians, and the like.  My thought on this is, give freely then if they want more they will pay.  😉

This is gluten free living 101:

Do:

• Fresh
• Meat
• **Vegetables
• Eggs
• Fruit
• *Milk and products
• Liquors ( though Vodka is a night shade that could give issue)
• Wine
• *Corn
• Rice
• Soy
• Tapioca (cassava)
• beans
• quinoa
• buckwheat
• amaranth
• arrowroot
• millet
• quinoa
• sorghum
• nuts
• *oats (Yes they ARE gluten free)
• Gluten free soy sauce and sauces.
• *Some have issues with casein and have difficulty digesting corn and oats in addition to being gluten intolerant.

** Many, if not all Celiacs have some issues with the toxins in nightshades; potatoes, tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, goji berries. In moderation many can. I personally have issue with combinations i.e.: french fries with ketchup, salsa, Tomato sauce with onions.

Foods labeled gluten free should all be safe.  Those that are labeled gluten free by some magical removal of wheat should be ‘tested’ before ingesting great quantity. If you react, stop.

When you eat out:

• Eat Salad bar,
• Steak,
• Grilled meats (not blackened)
• Order bunless
• Ask for gluten free menu- confirm order when served

Cooking gluten free.

• Buy my cookbook
• You can do what ever you ever did, just with gluten free foods. Really.

When in question of a food check it out here: http://www.celiaccess.com/search.aspx

Focus on what you can have… Which is just about everything not pre ‘fabbed’. and everything labeled gluten free

Stop here and you can be gluten free.  

IF you want to know what you can not have….Continue….

The Obvious: 

• Anything that is wheat flour. (duh
• Bread whole wheat or white or rye or pumpernickel.  No bread with any wheat in it.)

Not so duh: 

• wheat starch
• wheat bran
• wheat germ
• couscous
• cracked wheat
• durum
• einkorn
• emmer
• farina
• faro
• fu (common in Asian foods)
• gliadin
• graham flour
• kamut
• matzo
• semolina
• spelt
• barley
• bulgur
• rye
• seitan
• triticale and Mir
• Pasta
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Pastries
• Cakes
• Doughnuts
• Pizza
• Battered and Fried foods
• Beer

The Hidden:

• Soy Sauce: most is made of wheat- But not ALL!
• Soups and gravy
• Fake lobster
• French Fries from: McDonalds, Burger King, Chilis, Taco Villa ….. Many restaurants have precut coated with wheat fries.
• Chips with cheese flavoring or ranch flavorings, read label
• Chips fried in restaurants, can have cross contamination. Ask if dedicated fryer/
• Pringles chips… all of them
• Modified food starch, this can be wheat. Unless specified corn or tapioca.
• Hydrolyzed anything, can be wheat whipped.
• Malt liquor
• Malt
• barley malt
• barley
• rye
• Taco Bell taco shells
• Taco Villa meat
• Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate
• Blue cheese (true blue cheese is made from mold from bread. Blech!)

Eating out: 

• This probably has gluten: Soups, Sauces, Blackened, fried, crusted
• Types of restaurants to avoid: Italian, Mexican, Fried Chicken chains, Cajun, Chinese, mom and pop diners.
• There are exceptions though. Many of the big chains have GF menus now.
• Restaurants to avoid: Taco Bell, Taco Villa, McDonalds, Burger King, Schlotzkys, IHop(eggs even have batter in them),

Remember too, you wont starve if you just cant find anything gluten free for one meal.  Get a glass of tea and grab  that a GF snack bar, or apple that you carry with for just these occasions.

Focus on the ‘Do’ list.