Gluten Free

Introduction

Good morning everyone and hope you are all well. So for the past year now both my daughter and myself have been Gluten Free, this is not by choice, my daughter and I both have medical conditions that mean we can not consume foods with Gluten in it (you may have read my blog while I was on holiday on the Isle of Skye the difficulty of finding good Gluten Free places to it). So I thought it might be wise to write a blog entry on the journey we have had and what advice I might be able to give for new people who are now Gluten Free.

What contains Gluten?

• Wheat
• Varieties and derivatives of wheat such as:
• wheatberries
• durum
• emmer
• semolina
• spelt
• farina
• farro
• graham
• KAMUT® khorasan wheat
• einkorn wheat
• Rye
• Barley
• Triticale
• Malt in various forms including: malted barley flour, malted milk or milkshakes, malt extract, malt syrup, malt flavoring, malt vinegar
• Brewer’s Yeast
• Wheat Starch

(Source: celiac.org)

If you see any product containing any of the above ingredients....avoid them!

Bread

First off the big one, BREAD! It is true that for the most part Gluten Free bread does taste like cardboard, the best option here is to toast it, obviously ensuring that the toaster has never been used for anything else other than Gluten Free bread. One handy thing I have found if you are keen on having a sandwich but don't want that cardboard taste is to purchase "toasty bags" these can be found in any good supermarket and will allow to have a "toasty sandwich" plus can be handy to have if the toaster is used for non Gluten Free bread as well.

Make your own?

The obvious alternative is to make your own bread, now I have found this to be both a rewarding and frustrating endeavor and involves a lot of trial and error. The best bread by mile is a corn meal loaf, corn meal is naturally Gluten Free and tastes great, bad side of this is the loaf is rather small and as it is so tasty doesn't last long! Corn meal again can be purchased from any good supermarket or online, in addition to "Doves Farm" are the company I would recommend for both Gluten Free flours and recipes when it comes to making your own loaf of bread with recipes from both the company and online review. Remember Gluten Free bread will go stale a lot quicker, so your toaster is your friend!

Pasta

Gluten Free pasta has been the best out of most products, it tastes just as good as "normal" pasta and can make good meals in bulk. It is slightly more expensive than the other pasta but not by much and I haven't found a brand any better than another one and have found it to be less starchy then the other kind of pasta but that might just be me.

Cereal

Purchasing Gluten Free cereal is again a trial and error exercise and unfortunately can be quite a bit more expensive than the other kind. The best supermarket (if you are reading this in the UK) is probably Tesco as they have a vast range of Gluten Free cereals available and are ever expanding their range while keeping the price reasonable. Personally, I have found Gluten Free Cornflakes to be a bit of a no go but again that is personal preference more than anything else, you can get really good Gluten Free Granola but again you can also make this yourself if you feel inclined.

Sweet Stuff

Now as rule of thumb chocolate is Gluten Free but be mindful of additional ingredients that might not make it so.

BIG PIECE OF ADVICE! "CHECK EVERY PRODUCT!"

Even if you think the product shouldn't contain any Gluten in it there is a good chance that it just might. Anyway back to the good stuff, as I was saying most plain chocolates will be Gluten Free but they may have been handled in a factory that does contain Gluten, now from a personal stand point I stay clear of these products because I would rather this then become ill. Every supermarket will have their own selection of Gluten Free sweet products and Tesco even supply Gluten Free doughnuts (in the freezer section).

Going Out

The best advice I can give you here is "don't be afraid to ask" every restaurant/cafe should have a policy when it comes to allergies and the person serving you is obliged to go ask the kitchen staff what you can safely eat. Most good restaurants have a good selection of Gluten Free options available but certainly one of the best places by far has to be Debenhams Cafe (in the UK) who bent over backwards for myself and my daughter when it came to our Gluten Free dietary needs. But as with everything else it is trial and error, you will get to know yourself which places you want to eat at, which places helped you the most and which places you will never go to again.

Well I hope this was of some help and as always if you have any questions please feel free to ask.