Going Gluten Free, part one

"What do you eat on a gluten free diet?" "How do I get started?" I get asked these a lot since my daughter has been eating gluten free for the last 4 years. At first glance, the task seems insurmountable - everything seems to have gluten in it, and you must avoid any little trace of gluten. Yet many people do it and find lots of great benefits from eating gluten free. Here are some tips:

(1) Think outside of the box. Cut waaaay down on processed foods - almost everything boxed or canned has some form of gluten in it. It's healthier and cheaper for you anyway.

(2) Eat naturally gluten free foods - You can't eat bread, but there are still lots of delicious things you can eat such as fruits, veggies, nuts, rice, potatoes, meats, legumes, dairy, eggs etc.

(3) Avoid gluten free "substitute" foods. Don't go crazy at the health food store purchasing breads and other items that say "gluten free." These are very expensive, aren't usually the healthiest foods around, generally have little or no fiber, and typically do not taste very good.

(4) Some gluten free foods *are* worth the extra expense. Some gluten free substitution foods are worth the extra money - on occasion. Tinkyada brown pasta actually tastes good, has a good texture and lots of fiber, and even other family members like this pasta. Kinnickkinnick breads are probably the best GF tasting breads (but nutritionally like white bread). The pizza crusts are great to have on hand in the freezer if everyone else happens to be eating pizza. KinnickKinnick oreos and Montina chocolate chip cookies are fairly good substitutes when you get that craving.

(5) Change your thinking about bread consumption - When gluten free, you won't be eating bread like you used to. That's just the fact of the matter. Most Americans are used to eating some form of bread or grain with every meal, so one mistake many people make when first going gluten free is to try to purchase a gluten free substitute for that bread instead. That's costly, and quite truthfully, not all that tasty. Forego the bread/grains or substitute gluten free (easy to find) corn tortillas, corn chips to eat as rollups or with soup. Skip the buns for hamburgers. Buy rice crackers and use as crackers, or blend and use as bread crumbs.

(6) Eat ethnic foods. We tend to eat a lot more Chinese, Mexican, Indian foods, with some good old meat 'n potatoes thrown in. Soups are always easy to make gluten free too.

(7) Make your food from scratch - it is definitely cheaper to make your own foods from scratch and safer. Try Sue Gregg's blender waffles (inexpensive and the whole family likes them), arrowroot brownies (recipe posted soon), flourless chocolate cakes (gourmet dessert that everyone will love.)

(8) When baking, use GF substitutes in recipes - many recipes with little flour in them can easily be made GF. For example, use arrowroot or cornstarch for thickening soups and sauces, use sorghum flour in fruit crumbles, etc. The recipes that are most easily adapted to GF are those with little flour. I'll post a GF Flour primer soon.

(9) No need to purchase tons of GF Cookbooks - Truthfully, most any recipe you want can be found online. And most GF cookbooks are full of gluten free substitute recipes (like breads and such) which don't really taste that great. It's easier to eat naturally GF foods.

(10) Invest in a Blendtec or Vitamix - might sound like a strange investment for going gluten free, but the biggest benefit is being able to make "fast food" such as popsicles, fruit or green smoothies, soups, salsas, etc. We use ours a LOT!

Part 2: Health issues, other allergies, healing your gut, food ideas for breakfast/lunch/ dinner/ snacks, contamination, eating out, support groups, should the whole family go gluten free? and more...