I used to start this page by saying that the first thing you should NOT do when starting the gluten free diet is go out and buy every gluten free thing that you can find. You will want to and it is exactly what I did:
The day we found out our daughter had celiac disease, my husband and I headed straight to Whole Foods. We spent FIVE hours strolling the aisles, spent hundreds of dollars and rushed home to prepare a smorgasbord of gluten free childhood delights we were sure our family would love - namely cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese, and cookies. Sadly, the meal ended with ALL of us in tears. I mean we were literally all crying - it tasted horrid and we could not imagine eating this food for the rest of our lives.
Almost six years later there are so many tasty gluten free options that you actually can find some satisfying gluten free substitutions in most grocery store aisles. That being said, realize you may not like the gluten free food the first time you eat it.
First of all, if your starting the gluten free diet due to an illness such as celiac disease, you may feel awful from being sick for a long time. My daughter remembers not wanting to eat in general because her stomach hurt so much. So no food tastes really good at this point.
Second of all, gluten free food is different. It takes time for your taste buds to change. I still remember the first time I baked a loaf of gluten free bread. I did not like the taste of it, but I also could not stand the smell of it baking. Start with some of the simple tested and true good gluten free food mentioned in our Gluten Free Pantry and give yourself time to feel better and time for your taste buds to adjust.
Food You Can Eat Now
Remember that all vegetables, fruits, unprocessed or unmarinated meats, rice and beans are naturally gluten free and good for you. In addition to these:
Breakfast Ideas
Lunch and Dinner Ideas
- A sandwich on Udi Bread - you can go gluten free and still eat your favorite GF sandwich toppings on Udi bread. It is so good that you do not even have to toast it. The Best new gluten free item!!
- Lunch meat - Our family enjoys theHormel Natural Choice lunch meats. For an easy lunch, roll some lunch meat and cheese together and stick a fancy toothpick in it.
- Lundberg Farms gluten free rice and risotto.
- Hot dogs - We preferBoars Head. All of Boar's Head meat, cheese and condiments are GF. Serve plain or wrap them in a warmed gluten free corn tortilla.
- Thai Kitchen Instant Rice Noodle Soup - just add water and microwave. Look for the flavors marked gluten free or click on the link above.
- Baked Potatoes
- Nachos - Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips with melted cheese on top. Click on the Tositos link to see a list of Frito Lay products that are gluten free! Note that not all Tostitos meet the standard of less than 20 ppm.
- Peanut butter on some toasted Udi's bread or with some Glutino GF pretzels.
- Corn Thins - These served as our initial replacement for bread (before Udi started making GF bread). Real Foods corn thins are sold just about everywhere. Make sure you buy the ones labeled gluten free. You can also orderSuzie's Whole Grain Thin Cakes, Puffed Rice
 from Amazon.com.
Snacks
- Fruit and veggies: Do not underestimate the value of fruit and veggies. We eat more of these than anything else. Bananas and apples can be very filling. We love trying all of the fruits as they come out with the seasons, blueberries and raspberries in summer, apples and pears in the fall. I often just leave a bowl of carrots on my kitchen bar - they seem to disappear amazingly fast.
- Cheese: Assuming you can tolerate dairy, real cheese is a great option for anyone on a gluten free diet. Gluten is not included in the standard ingredients in cheese which includes milk, enzymes and sometimes salt. Most processed cheese is also likely though not guaranteed to be gluten free. You might find wheat in the seasoning used for some shredded cheeses, but anytime wheat is used it must be clearly labeled. Frigo cheese chicks are great for kids. Our family also loves Gouda and sharp cheddar. Contrary to some popular rumors,blue cheese is also considered safe for those on a gluten free diet.
- Chips: Not necessarily healthy but many chips are gluten free including Cheetos, Plain Lays, Tostitos. Click this link forFrito Lay Gluten Free List. Even better, try Food Should Taste Good chips which are certified Gluten Free and processed on equipment that does not process any gluten ingredients, and they taste wonderful. Really a cross between a cracker and a chip. We love the the Sweet Potato chip dipped in hummus.
- Real popcorn: Most microwave popcorn is gluten free but save yourself the worry and time and make your own popcorn. We bought our own popper and make our own popcorn. Of course this is how we grew up, but you'd be surprised what a treat this is for kids of the microwave popcorn generation.
- Hard boiled eggs
- Kozy Shack pudding
- Nuts
Desserts:
- Haagen-Dazs ice cream - Ice cream itself is gluten free but may contain products which are made from gluten so avoid ice cream sandwiches, cone products, cookie and ice cream flavors such as Oreo, and flavors which contain brownie pieces, cookie dough and cheese cake etc.
Back to Top
GET EDUCATED ABOUT GLUTEN
Now that you have at least a few things you can eat, it is time to get educated. Thankfully there are many gluten free resources. Some good ones to start with are:
Books about Living Gluten Free
Gluten Free Cookbooks
There are some great gluten free cookbooks and some really not so great ones as well. The biggest difficulty with gluten free cookbooks is that you are unlikely to find just one that satisfies all of your cooking requirements. One cookbook may be great for baking treats and quick breads, while another offers good suggestions for main entrees, and yet another for baking bread. This can leave you with a stack of cookbooks and going crazy to mix up all of the different flours.
With all of the information available on the internet, you can have great success cooking gluten free without ever purchasing a cookbook. When I am looking for a new recipe, I do a search such as "Gluten free recipe for -----" A couple of sites to try include:
- RecipeZaar Over 500 gluten free recipes but limitless more you can easily convert.
- Gluten Free Goddess The Gluten Free Blogging Diva - there is a great community of gluten free bloggers that not only share recipes but their gluten free life experiences. I wish I could list them all, but this is a great place to start.
- Gluten Free Girl Join Shauna James Ahern on her gluten free culinary adventure.
- Whole Foods Recipe Library A great resource that allows you to search by meal, category and special diets including the gluten free diet.
- Our Own Gluten Free Mom Recipe page Every recipe has been tested in our own kitchen. New recipes added regularly.
That being said, the following is a list of cookbooks that we turn to over and over again:
For Gluten Free Baked Treats we turn to:
For baking Gluten Free Bread with a bread machine we suggest:
Annalise G. Roberts. It has everything from great recipes, specific directions on how to set your bread machine and tips for when things just don't go right.
For Everyday Meals the easiest, healthiest and most affordable way to eat gluten free is cook meals from whole foods. Being your classical processed foods and carry out Mom when we first started this diet, the concept of eating whole foods was scarcely new to me. Now we don't eat but whole natural foods. If this is a new idea to you as well, some great cookbooks to start with are:
Magazines
- Gluten-Free Living is a great magazine. It is very informative and addresses current issues all celiacs face.
Organizations/Support Groups
- Celiac Disease Foundation holds an annual education conference and sends out a very informative quarterly newsletter that provides support, information and assistance. Membership is available and includes
a copy of Guidelines for a Gluten-Free Lifestyle, the Quick Start Diet Guide and quarterly CDF Newsletters.
- Celiac Sprue Association is the largest member-based non-profit celiac organization in the United States. Members receive Lifeline, their quarterly newsletter which contains gluten-free recipes, medical articles, contact information for gluten-free food manufactures, human interest stories, ads, and a variety of other items of interest to those with Celiac Disease & Dermatitis Herpetiformis.
- Gluten Intolerance Group mission is to provide support to persons with gluten intolerance's including celiac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, and other gluten sensitivities, in order to live healthy lives. They hold an annual education conference. The Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP) is one of their programs. Through it, you can find restaurants that provide gluten free meals.
- National Foundation for Celiac Awareness NFCA is a non-profit national organization that is affiliated with the leading researchers in the US who are working toward the goal of finding a cure for Celiac Disease. In addition to finding recent news on celiac disease, you can sign up for an email newsletterand they have aGluten Free Eventspage with various events across the United States.
- R.O.C.K. - Raising Our Celiac Kids is a support group for families with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. In the beginning, this group was a great source of support, encouragement, love and advice. It was also encouraging for my daughter to be around other kids that have similar diet restrictions. Follow the link above to find a ROCK group in your area. If you cannot find the group through this link, search for ROCK, celiac and the name of your state.
Other Resources
- Celiac ListServ is an un moderated discussion list for those with gluten-related intolerance's. The topics cover a range of issues from what to eat at Disney Land, recent scientific research, recipes, where to find mail-order gluten free food. Available in a digest version so your email is not constantly overflowing. It is very helpful when there are changes to mainstream products. This list is free to anyone with internet access.
- Gluten Free Life A wealth of helpful information put together by our gluten free friends across the pond.
- The Gluten Free Kid My daughter's web site. It has been a fun place for children with celiac disease from across the world to get connected.
Back to Top
SORTING OUT THE KITCHEN
Now that you have found enough food that you will not starve for the moment and you have learned a lot of new information, it is time to get back in the kitchen. Have you been wanting to reorganize your kitchen, get some new appliances? Well now is the time.
Deciding How Far to Go Gluten Free
Eventually you are going to have to decide how far to go on the gluten free lifestyle change. Most likely, similar to my family, only one or two eat gluten free. In our family, my oldest daughter was initially diagnosed with celiac disease followed by my realization that I, at a minimum, have gluten intolerance. If you have very small children, it may be easy to just cook gluten free for them. I know some families with toddler and preschool aged children who bake a gluten free pizza for the little ones and still order carry out for themselves.
However, if you have older children (my daughter was nine when she was diagnosed) I recommend that the entire family try to eat gluten free, at least when the gluten intolerant child is around.
First of all, no matter how good of a show the child puts on, it hurts when other people eat gluten around them! My daughter's worst experiences have been when other students have brought donuts into the classroom and she has had to smell them but also watch her friends eat them!! It is hard enough for my celiac daughter to see her friends eat gluten, much less her own siblings. It is bad enough that they have to constantly eat different food out in the real world. Shouldn't their home be a safe haven where they don't feel constantly deprived and where they can eat almost everything in the refrigerator and pantry?
Second, it will be a bigger adjustment in the beginning for the entire family to go gluten free, but it will make things easier in the long run. It will greatly diminish the cross-contamination issues in your kitchen. Occasionally, my kids who do not have celiac disease will eat gluten items. Wheat products such as bread and cookies are just messy. By the time I clean them up, and then clean the crumbs up from the kitchen, it usually seems hardly worth that slice of bread. Plus, it is enough to have to cook one meal every night, much less two.
That being said, we do have a designated gluten area and gluten toaster in our house, and my non-celiac's take wheat bread sandwiches to school in their lunch boxes. This is an easy compromise for me because the food is eaten out of the house and, most importantly, not in front of their celiac sibling.
Finally, even though my daughter was the only one diagnosed with celiac disease, I thought it was extremely important for me to experience what she was going through so I could be as supportive and helpful as possible. I know this may seem extreme - but I can sympathize with her because I know what it is like to go to a party and not be able to eat everything. I am also very motivated to cook great gluten free food because I know how it feels to see others eating pizza and to want some that is gluten free and just as good as my friends. That same motivation keeps me constantly searching for new and better products. As a side note, this is also how I figured out that I am gluten intolerant as well.
I know that not everyone has the time and resources to go completely gluten free, but just try to go as far as you can. Everyone will benefit from you efforts.
Sorting out Safe versus Unsafe Food
Now is the time to go through the food items in your kitchen and sort out the gluten versus the gluten free items. Arm yourself with as much information as you can and clean out your cabinets and refrigerator. Why not donate the gluten items to a local food shelter?
Reading Labels :
You need to become familiar with safe and forbidden ingredients and then read all labels carefully. If an unsafe item is clearly listed, then it is an easy decision. A food item can be changed at any moment, so it is necessary to read the label every time you purchase the food.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley:
Wheat includes, but is not limited to:
bran
bulgar
cake flour
couscous
cracked wheat
einkorn
farina
graham
kamut
matzo flour
matzo meal
modified wheat starch
anko
semolina (durum wheat)
spelt
triticale
wheat bran
wheat germ
wheat starch
whole wheat
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires food makers to list the top eight allergens whenever they are used in a food regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Because wheat is considered a top allergen, all foods which include wheat will be labeled as such. This makes living gluten free much easier. For instance, if modified food starch is derived from wheat, then the ingredients list must say "modified wheat starch" or contains wheat after the list.
Rye flavoring is not used very often and even though manufacturers are not required to label it, it seems to be labeled. Rye is mainly used in bread and, as such, is labeled.
Barley is a grain and also used to make malt flavoring.
It can be listed as barley, barley malt or just malt. Manufactures are not required to list barley as an ingredient so, although rare, barley malt can be simply listed as "flavoring." In the event of doubt, call the manufacturer directly.
Oats do not contain gluten
but are often contaminated with wheat so if you see them in an ingredient list you should not consider the product gluten free. The only exception would be gluten free food that is specially processed with certified gluten free oats such as Gifts of Nature Certified Gluten Free Oats.
Some, but not all, SAFE FOODS and Ingredients:
- amaranth
- arrowroot
- beans
- buckwheat - make sure it is not combined with wheat flour.
- butter
- canola oil
- cheeses
- chickpeas
- citric acid
- corn
- dextrin - a partially hydrolyzed starch that can be made from corn, potato, arrowroot, rice, tapioca or wheat. If made from wheat will be labeled as such and is not safe on the gluten free diet.
- dextrose - made from rice, corn or wheat starch but is so highly processed that it is gluten free regardless of the starch source.
- flax
- glucose syrup
- hydrolyzed vegetable protein - if derived from wheat will be labeled as hydrolyzed wheat protein.
- maltodextrin made in the USA is made from corn, potato or rice.
- manioc
- meat (plain)
- modified food starch - if made from wheat will be labeled as "modified wheat starch" or "modified food starch (wheat)" or "wheat" will be included in the Contains statement at the end of the ingredient list.
- mono and diglycerides are fats made from oil such as soybean, cottonseed, sunflower and palm oil .
- polenta
- quinoa
- rice
- sesame
- spices - pure spices are gluten free
- tapioca
- vinegar - distillation successfully removes gluten from the vinegar. One exception is malt vinegar which is made from barley and is fermented, but not distilled and thus not safe for those on a gluten free diet.
What about "flavorings" :
Under the FALCPA a flavoring derived from wheat must be labeled as "flavor (wheat)" or "wheat" will be included in the Contains statement at the end of the ingredient list.
The trickier issue is barley which can be used as a flavoring. Some companies voluntarily list barley or malt flavoring, or malt extract but they are not required to do so. While it appears that there are rare cases in which barley or malt are used and not labeled, when in doubt you can always call the manufacturer.
Caramel color:
Caramel color is generally made from corn, but it can be made from malt syrup. However, I have never seen an instance in which caramel color was made from malt syrup.
Some other items to be aware of:
Soy sauce is usually
fermented from wheat and is therefore not safe on a gluten free diet. However, some brands including Organic Wheat Free Tamarri Soy Sauce Tamari by San J do not contain wheat. Always check the label.
Pharmaceuticals and medications may contain gluten. Confirm the ingredients with your pharmacist or check Gluten Free Drugs.com a list that is maintained by a
clinical pharmacist as a public service.
Seasonings and seasoning mixes can contain gluten but if they do the ingredients will include wheat.
A Word of caution about Cross Contamination:
In theory, if something is clearly labeled and all of the ingredients appear to be gluten free, then the item should be safe to eat. Unfortunately, cross-contamination can be an issue that is not found on the label. Recently I purchased sun-dried tomatoes and the ingredients were clearly all gluten free. Nevertheless, as is my common practice, I dashed off an email to the manufacturer to double check. I received an answer back that they could not guarantee the item to be gluten free because of the manufacturing processes - they use gluten on the food production lines and do not clean them before processing the tomatoes. A similar thing happened with corn tortilla chips that should have been gluten free but were fried in contaminated oil. How far you carry this is really up to you but cross-contamination is something to be aware of whenever you eat processed foods.
Other Sources of Gluten to be Aware of:
Do not forget to check out other sources of gluten that you may be ingesting. Anything that you can ingest through your mouth can be a source of gluten. This applies to, but is not limited to, vitamins, Chap Stick, lip stick, Play Doh, toothpaste. Even bug spray and sunscreen can have gluten in it. Gluten cannot be absorbed through the skin, but how many times have you gotten some sunscreen in your mouth? Admit it, we all know what Play Doh taste like!
Contrary to some popular rumors, the adhesive in envelopes and on postage stamps does not contain gluten.
How do you handle all of this?
For me, all of the lists of safe and unsafe items were somewhat overwhelming in the beginning which is why I adopted the gluten free philosophy that simpler is better. Thus in the beginning if something had more than five ingredients and was not clearly labeled (this was before the new labeling law went into effect) I would not buy it. At that point in time, it seemed easier to go without than spend all the time it was going to take to find out if it was gluten free.
Following the labeling guidelines mentioned above, it is much easier to determine if a food is gluten free or not than when we first started. Nevertheless, I still have found that in most instances it is quicker and easier to make it myself, and find reassurance in knowing what all of the ingredients are and where they came from. Quite honestly, food cooked from scratch just taste better.
Even though we do cook a lot from scratch, every time I buy something I read the ingredients label and check the front of the package to make sure the item has not been changed (i.e., "new and improved" is a signal to check the ingredients again with the manufacturer). This is also why I like the listservs mentioned above. Ingredients changes by mainstream manufacturers show up on these lists relatively quickly.
Whenever I want to cook something new, I do research at home before I go to the grocery store to check for new ingredients that I might need. This always takes a little extra time but saves me from buying food that I cannot use.
Gluten Free Food Lists
While learning to read labels is a basic survival technique on the gluten free diet, gluten free food list can be handy at times. So here is a summary of some of the best.
You have to use these at your own risks! Ingredients change frequently!! These are only meant to be starting points. You must verify ingredients yourself.
You are your best and most reliable source of information.
Gluten Free Lists you can Purchase
With over 25,000 products listed alphabetically by category, you are sure to find something you can eat. You are at the grocery store and want some taco seasoning. Just turn to that heading and there is a list of GF brands. It also includes over-the-counter pharmacy products. Finally, it would be handy for travel when you are in a new area and not always familiar with the local brands.
You can also get product alerts on line.
Our life line when we first started the gluten free diet. The Smart List is software which contains gluten information on thousands of products. You simply type in an item name like "ice cream" and it gives you a list of manufacturers and what they say about their products. You can also search by individual manufacturers.
A 450 page list of commercially prepared gluten-free sold by the Celiac Sprue Association. It provides information on gluten-free friendly stores. I read this cover to cover when we first diagnosed and carried it with me to the grocery store. Unless they have changed the format recently, the only downside to this is that it is in a huge blue binder making it rather cumbersome to carry around.
Published by Triumph Dining and containing 20,000 brand name and store brand products that are GF.
Free On-Line Gluten Free Lists
An on-line list of the gluten-free status of brand name food products
An on-line source for gluten free medications.
Direct Links to Food Manufacturers
Lastly, check out the direct links to individual food manufacturers gluten free list and/or allergy statements on the side bar of this page.
Sorting Out Appliances:
Because of contamination issues, clean anything out of your kitchen that could have the residue of gluten on it. The main items you are going to want to replace with designated gluten free items are your cutting boards, strainers, wood spoons, toaster and any other porous items. You do not want to cut your gluten free fruit on a cutting board that has been used to cut bread. We also replaced our grill on our BBQ. A lot of marinades contain soy sauce which is made with wheat. I bought all new cookie sheets. It may not have been necessary (a good scrubbing can probably get any former gluten residue off) but I was a little too paranoid to use my old cookie sheets for my now gluten free cookies. Clearly label all appliances that are contaminated with gluten.
Labeling Food Containing Gluten:
We have a dedicated gluten area in our pantry where we put our "wheat" toaster and bread. You may not have this option, but I like to keep the crumbs out of the main kitchen area. We also have a dedicated shelf in our pantry and refrigerator that are clearly labeled as the "gluten areas."
Having these areas clearly labeled makes it easier on babysitters, sometimes spouses and any company that you have over. Yes, I am paranoid but I have seen too many family members and babysitters confess that they understand the cross-contamination issue then dip a knife with wheat crumbs on it in our gluten free butter. Eliminate the concern by eliminating this option when you are not around to monitor.
Back to Top
CELIAC DISEASE AND NUTRITION
Once you get enough of a handle on your diet that you are no longer starving and feeling like you actually still do have food options, you are going to want to consider what you need to eat to have a healthy gluten free diet.
The names may seem unusual at first (buckwheat and quinoa were new terms for us) but there are a variety of healthy whole grains that are safe to eat on the gluten free diet.
Back to Top |
Getting Started Gluten Free 
by Jules Shepard Great resource for anyone starting a gluten free diet. 
by Shelley Case 
by Jax Peters Lowell 
This is my favorite cook book for gluten free baked goods. The 
by Annalise Roberts 
by 
