It’s been a year now that I’ve been 99.9% gluten-free and it’s GREAT! I feel so much better, for me I was really not aware of how much joint pain I was having in my entire body, until it went away. What amazed me was after about 4-5 months, the tooth and jaw pain I had had for several years was gone. I had never thought about my teeth and their roots as a joint, but certainly inflammation affects them. Before going 100% GF, I thought I was “mostly” gluten-free, well I was eating a lot more than I realized.
Talking to Leslie, my dental hygienist, I promised I would write about going gluten-free for her (and all the others who struggle with going 100% GF). The first thing is to realize how many places gluten hides and how a little bit here and there really adds up and makes a difference. So my challenge to you is to look at the food areas that are still bringing gluten into your diet and to choose different foods to try. I know change is hard and it’s easy to stick with the products we know and like. But I’m here to tell you there are great products out there and you don’t have to feel deprived for a moment once you find products you like.
But to come clean, I only have myself and my husband to cook for. I realize that cooking for a family with different tastes will considerably increase complexity. But consider that everyone’s health will benefit by decreasing the gluten in their diets. Make trying new foods fun, it can be very tasty and a food adventure. So lets begin!
Gluten-Free Products:
all rice, buckwheat, amaranth, teff, quinoa, corn, certified GF oats, all seeds: sunflower, flax, chia, hemp, etc., other starches; potato, tapioca or manioc, arrowroot, all nuts; almond meal and flour, coconut flour
Gluten-Containing Grains:
Wheat (malted, sprouted, white flour, whole-wheat flour, semolina etc.), Barley, Rye, Spelt, Kamut, Farro
Hidden Gluten Ingredients:
Malt, malt flavoring, maltodextrin, partially hydrogenated protein, fillers, flavorings, starches (could be corn but can also be wheat), soy sauce (use wheat-free tamari instead), beer, but not whiskey (they say the distillation removes the gluten), caramel coloring, also most body-care products have gluten and can cause considerable reaction, gluten is in many processed meats, chocolate chips…..as I learn more, I will add to this list (if you know of something I should add please comment)
My Favorite Places to Shop GF (and the products I use)
Trader Joe’s-
Brown Rice Pastas, Sesame Crackers-original, Corn Tortillas (freeze w/wax paper between each), Rice Noodle Soup bowls (dry mix add boiling water), Isernio’s breakfast sausages, GF frozen waffles, GF Cereals, Certified GF Rolled Oats, Quinoa, several kinds of Rice, almond meal
Plus great selection of very fresh nuts, seeds, un-sulfured dried fruits, cheeses, organic produce and ready-made frozen meals
Costco-
Nuts, dried fruit, GF Rudi’s bread in the freezer section, Quinoa, Rice, organic almond butter, organic flax seed (keep in freezer), some organic produce and dairy, gluten-free sausages
New Seasons-
Quinoa pastas, corn pastas and more (you can get GF lasagna noodles here), Food for Life breads in refrigerated section, Blue Diamond rice & nut crackers, Sonoma Teff wraps (the sandwich counter staff will use one to make your sandwich, they also have a “better bun” that’s GF), you can get all the Bob’s Red Mill products here to make your GF flour mixes, (they have many mixes and many ready made products but I don’t use them as they are expensive and it tastes better to make your own), in the freezer section are a line of GF products by Udi’s these are all very good (I like their hamburger buns and find restaurants will usually use my bun to make me a hamburger, the frozen pizza crust is also good, bagels are somewhat cakey in texture but tasty and very filling)
There are undoubtedly many more products out there that I don’t use due to my egg yolk and soy allergies; but please share what you have found to be tasty and useful so we can all benefit.
New Cascadia Traditional Bakery
They have amazing desserts, sandwiches, and really tasty breads. My favorite is the seed bread for a nice dense, hearty toast!
Common Substitutions
Breading Meats: you choose-brown rice flour, an all-purpose flour mix , GF bread crumbs (make your own from the end slices of bread and keep in freezer)
Thickening Stews and Gravies: brown rice flour, tapioca or arrowroot starches (I avoid corn as it’s genetically modified unless organic)
Bread Crumbs: to make your own, let cubes dry, use a food processor to make crumbs and store in freezer, GF oats work well in meatloaf.
Websites
I use these websites frequently for recipes and inspiration:
You can do a Google search for gluten free-anything, I usually find another good website with great recipes!
