• Cooking Gluten-Free and More
  There are a number of challenges associated with eating and cooking with food allergies/intolerances, celiac disease, autism, etc. Our experiences teaching cooking classes and consulting with gluten-free people nationwide, suggests that the challenges can be divided into the following situations.
  
  Some of us:
  1. Did not enjoy cooking before and now have to cook beyond skill levels
  2. Did not enjoy cooking and have no idea what to eat for breakfast, lunch 
      or dinner now that we cannot eat wheat cereal, wheat bread sandwiches 
      and pizza 
  3. Do enjoy cooking but are frustrated and/or inexperienced with the
      limitations of the special diet
  4. Are still recovering our health and are afraid to eat something that might make
      us sick (or more sick!) -- more facts are needed about what is safe to eat
  5. Do not know how to substitute appropriate ingredients and/or are unaware
      of the new products and ingredients available
  6. Don’t mind cooking but lack inspiration 
  7. Enjoy cooking, are willing to try new foods and are open to new
      suggestions and inspiration 
  
  Sound Familiar? Delicious Solutions are on the way!
  
• Menu Planning
• What Can I Eat?
• Cross Contamination and Hidden Sources of Gluten
• Lets Get Started
• Breakfast Suggestions
• Breakfast Smoothie Recipes
• Lunch Suggestions
• Tomato Soup Recipe
• Dinner Suggestions
• Product Substitutions
• Turkey Chili Molé Recipe

• Menu Planning
  We cannot over emphasize the importance of planning your meals. If you wait until you are half-starved and gaze into the refrigerator or pantry and scream, “There’s nothing to eat!” you are headed down a discouraging and frustrating path and may be tempted to cheat. Or the equally frustrating experience -- your family converges on you and asks that dreaded familiar question, the one you are totally unprepared to answer, “What’s for dinner?”
  
  BE PREPARED. If you don’t have a menu planned, the odds are good that you don’t have a grocery list and that leaves you at the mercy of impulse purchases and the search for safe prepared foods.

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• What Can I Eat?
  Good Grains - Bad Grains
  
  Safe non-gluten flours and starches include amaranth, arrowroot, bean flours (pinto, gar-fava, garbanzo), buckwheat, corn, millet, montina, nut flours, pea flour, potato flour and starch including sweet potato starch, quinoa, rice (white, brown, wild, black and sweet rice), sorghum, soy, tapioca and teff. 
  
  Safe, in this context, means that the above grains, flours and starches are allowed on a gluten-free diet, however each person may have additional unique allergies, intolerances or sensitivities to a particular grain. 
  
  Forbidden Grains: The common gluten grains are wheat (including bran, germ and starch), barley (barley malt, barley extract or barley flavorings), rye and oats. Although oats do not contain gluten, oats in the US are grown, processed and packaged in contaminated (by wheat) environments. Do not use oats without your doctor’s knowledge and permission. Additional grains to avoid include couscous, durum and semolina (types of wheat), graham, farro, matzoh meal, spelt and kamut (also versions of wheat and may be known as spelta, Polish wheat, einkorn and small spelt), bulgur is cracked wheat and triticale is a crossbred grain from wheat and rye. 
  
  The gluten-free flours, binders (xanthan gum and guar gum), specialty foods and prepared foods are typically more expensive. Good meal planning can avoid over spending and wasted purchases. 
  
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• Cross Contamination and Hidden Sources of Gluten  
  
  Cross Contamination
  If you share your home with people who can and do eat gluten you must be particularly careful to avoid cross-contamination. Gluten may be present in previously used cooking utensils, pans and equipment or non gluten foods

Suggestions to Avoid Cross Contamination

• Get your own toaster. (If you live alone, buy a new one and retire your old, contaminated toaster.) Do not share it with gluten-containing products. 
  
• No double dipping! Butter dishes, jelly and peanut butter jars that are used by others that might use gluten are sources of potential contamination.
  
• Make sure that the water you use to boil your gluten-free pasta (or anything else) has not been used for gluten pasta. 
  
• Do not use a skillet or pan that was used to cook gluten-containing ingredients for your gluten free meals. Thoroughly wash any pans, bowls, utensils and equipment such as mixers, blenders, microwave ovens, that were previously used with gluten products.
  
• You cannot safely “pick out” or remove croutons from a salad. Crumbs of bread (gluten) will still remain and contaminate your food. This theory holds true for removing a bun from a burger, bread from a sandwich, scraping gravy off meat. Be safe not sorry. 
  
• When making a purchase in a deli or meat counter, ask the employee to clean the slicer if purchasing gluten-free meats and also to change their gloves before handling your order. They may have just handled a breaded food or something with a gluten-containing marinade.
  

Hidden Sources of Gluten
When I was first diagnosed I didn’t realize how many foods contained gluten. I thought I would give up bread and pasta and that would be that. How wrong I was. (Including the fact that I can and do eat very-good gluten-free bread, pasta and desserts.) Gluten may be an ingredient in many salad dressings, marinades, sauces, soups, broths, candy, snack foods, basically any prepared food. We must become excellent food detectives and label readers! Recheck labels when you shop because manufacturers change ingredients.

Wheat and other glutens may be concealed in ingredients called: seasonings and flavorings, modified food starch, malt, imitation bacon and seafood. If the label is unclear, contact the manufacturer to confirm whether the product is safe to eat. A partial list of safe products is available at www.napervillegi.com go to the celiac patient link and follow links for lists of safe foods and medications. 

Over-the-Counter and Prescription Medications - 
Another potential hiding place for gluten! 

Check with your pharmacist or the product manufacturer to confirm safety of a product.

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• Lets Get Started
  An important question to answer before getting started is, What did you enjoy eating before the diagnosis? If you really liked meatloaf, make it with gluten-free products. Or, if pasta was your favorite food, there are a few excellent GF pastas. Pasta brands to consider: Tinkyada brand pasta is made with stone ground brown rice, rice bran and water. Not only is it delicious it is available in most stores, not just natural foods markets. Bi Aglut brand is good, more expensive and harder to find (see resources for locations to shop). BiAglut’s  pasta ingredients are: Maize starch, rice starch, potato flour, isolated soya proteins, defatted soya flour, emulsifier: mono and diglycerides of fatty acids. 
  
  Most meals can be deliciously adapted. Looking for something special that you miss? Contact us and we will do the research for you. sueson@specialeats.com
  
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• Breakfast Suggestions
  There are a number of gluten and dairy free cereals and frozen waffles for fast solutions. Eggs are always a good option as are smoothies, hot rice cereal or grits. Here are some suggestions for smoothies that are healthy, tasty and contain protein to start your day.
  
  Breakfast Smoothie Recipes
  Servings: 1 large 16 ounce or 2 small 8 ounce. Equipment needed: Blender. 
  Start with one banana* and add:

* You may use fresh or frozen bananas. If you have bananas that are getting old, take them out of their skins, cut them into 1 1/2-2" pieces and freeze for later use in smoothies or other recipes.

** If you are not using frozen fruit add 4-5 ice cubes

*** As of 01/2005 all Yoplait yogurts are gluten free except those with cereal or granola. The manufacturer asked that we check the label because if gluten were added in the future it would appear as such on the label. There are no hidden glutens.

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• Lunch Suggestions
  If you must have a sandwich there are a number of decent GF breads available. Enjoy Life Foods makes Rye-Less Rye Bread that tastes very good; ingredients: water; tapioca flour; white rice flour; rice starch; ground flax seed; grape juice concentrate; caraway seed; rice bran; honey; salt; yeast; expeller-pressed safflower oil; baking soda; lemon juice concentrate; xanthan gum; sodium acid pyrophosphate; citrus fiber; guar gum. Food for Life makes Brown Rice Tortillas that are very good and actually wrap without falling apart. They are excellent for making sandwich wraps or mini pizzas. Ingredients: brown rice flour, filtered water, tapioca flour, safflower oil, rice bran, vegetable gum (xanthan, cellulose), and sea salt.
  
  When you are enjoying a salad for lunch, Annie’s Naturals brand salad dressings are labeled for gluten contents and many are gluten-free. Annie’s salad dressings are also available in single service packages for travel or office. Annie’s has a wide variety of GF salad dressings, sauces and condiments. Tuna salad, a classic favorite may be a source of hidden gluten. Gluten in tuna fish? Some brands of tuna fish add broth when packaging their product and the broth may contain gluten. Check with the manufacturer if you are uncertain. 
  
  Soup is a good lunch option and if you make it yourself you can control what goes into the soup. Pacific brand, Imagine brand, Amy’s Organic Soups, and Health Valley brand all make ready to heat and eat GF soups. Not all varieties are GF so check the labels. Glutino brand makes  GF soup base and soup mixes, Gluten Free Pantry also make broth mix and soup mix. 
  
   Homemade soup is still an all-time favorite when you have the time. To thicken your homemade soup without using wheat you can substitute a “slurry” of cornstarch or arrowroot flour/powder dissolved in cold water (1 tablespoon starch to 3-4 tablespoons of cold water, mix well) and add to warm soup. Continue cooking the soup after adding the slurry to cook the starch, remove any raw taste and thicken your soup. Another way to get a rich, creamy soup without starch or milk is to add cooked white or brown rice and puree until smooth.
  
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Easy Tomato Soup Recipe
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped 
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes in juice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups rice or soy milk (not flavored such as vanilla) or cow’s milk
Slurry: 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot dissolved in ½ cup of cold water
1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large Dutch oven-type pan over medium heat; add olive oil and sauté onion and celery until soft. Do not brown. Add tomatoes (including the liquid) and tomato paste and mix well. Puree mixture in a blender or food processor in small batches or use an immersion (stick) blender. Be extra careful when blending hot liquids in a blender; hot liquids expand in blenders. Do not fill blender (or processor) more than half full and cover blender with a dish towel before turning it on to avoid being burned by hot liquid. Note: a blender will yield the smoothest finished soup.

Return mixture to the pan and add the milk, simmer (do not boil) for 10-15 minutes. Add sugar, seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add slurry of cornstarch or arrowroot to soup and blend well. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens. 

Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat and serve. 

Optional seasonings: Fresh or dried basil, fresh or dried thyme; or fresh or dried tarragon in place of marjoram. (Note use one not all.)

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• Dinner Suggestions
  It’s dinner time and you may have family members with multiple needs. Some may not have food intolerances or be on gluten-free and/or dairy-free diets. Does this mean that you have to make multiple meals? We would say a resounding NO! Each of you must decide what works best for your particular family situation. However, it is possible to please non-gluten-free people with gluten-free meals. Some of the challenges with encouraging allergy-free family members to eats our special foods, may arise from our own past complaints regarding the taste and quality of the special meals. It might be a good idea to just cook and not mention what the ingredients. 
  
  Some product substitutions to remember:

Are you looking for a particular product substitution? Ask us! We can help you; email sueson@specialeats.com with your question/request.

Here’s an easy and delicious recipe to warm up a winter night. 

Turkey Chili Molé Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds ground dark turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 – 28 ounce can crushed GF tomatoes in puree 
1 – 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed 
2 teaspoons Sueson’s Chili Molé Seasoning*
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Serve with:
Cooked white rice
Guacamole
Rice sour cream

In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté turkey, onions and red pepper over medium-high heat until turkey is cooked through (no pink remains). Add tomato sauce, beans and seasoning. Simmer for at least 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

* Sueson’s Chili Molé Seasoning Mix 
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon thyme
1 ½ teaspoon marjoram 
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cocoa 
2 tablespoons ground ancho chili powder (not a blend!)

Note about spice blends: Chili seasoning and some chili powders are may not be an individual spice and consequently a potential source of hidden gluten. Penzeys (www.penzeys.com) individual spices are gluten-free and they have a variety of chili powders to choose from. McCormick also makes ancho chili powder.

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