Gluten Free Diet Tips

If you have been told to exclude gluten from your diet here are a few basic tips.

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AVOID:

- All foods made from wheat flour like bread, pasta, crackers, biscuits, cakes and pastry
- Wheat based breakfast cereals like Weetabix, puffed wheat, All Bran , muesli
- Wheat, rye, barley or oats used as an ingredient

Less obvious sources of gluten in manufactured foods:

- Wheat flour as an added ingredient, processing aid, binder, filler or carrier for flavourings and spices
- Wheat starches used as a carrier for spices, seasonings, flavourings or as a filler or binder or for dusting during the manufacturing process
- Contamination with wheat, rye, barley or oats during food production or storage
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GLUTEN-FREE (SAFE) ALTERNATIVE FOODS:

- Rice (white, brown, wild, rice flour, ground rice, rice cakes, rice pasta, rice noodles)
- Buckwheat, buckwheat noodles
- Maize (corn), maize starch, maize flour
- Cornflour, corn starch, cornmeal, popping corn, corn pasta
- Polenta
- Potato flour, potato starch
- Soya, soya flour
- Bean flours (chick pea flour, split-pea flour)
- Sago, tapioca, cassava, arrowroot, millet
- Oats in moderate amounts (up to 50g a day, which is one portion) can be consumed by most coeliacs without risk though little research has been done on oats in children with coeliac disease.

Whilst the change in your diet looks to be a great challenge you will find that you can easily adopt to this in a few months and the health benefits will be great.

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Prawn and Pumpkin Coconut Milk Curry - Konju Pulungari

Prawn and Pumpkin Coconut Milk Curry - Konju Pulungari

on April 18, 2011
Recipe #453952

I found this recipe on a blog written by a Lithuanian woman now living in India, "Virtuve su indisku prieskoniu". Jurate's husband's family is from Kerala, which is where this recipe originated. The original recipe did not have spinach, but Jurate recommends it. I did not have the red pumpkin, so used a sweet potato, which worked out quite well. I also used medium shrimp, as I have never seen prawns in my area. I took some liberties in converting the metric measurements into US, and you should know that these slight variations make little difference.

Serving Size: 1 (362 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 4

The following items or measurements
are not included below:

ginger

fresh spinach

Amount Per Serving% Daily ValueCalories 475.1 Calories from Fat 15933%Total Fat 17.7 g27%Saturated Fat 12.1 g60%Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g8%Polyunsaturated Fat 2.3 g11%Trans Fat 0.0 g0%Cholesterol 239.1 mg79%Sodium 1396.5 mg58%Potassium 601.8 mg17%Magnesium 73.6 mg3%Total Carbohydrate 51.5 g17%Dietary Fiber 1.6 g6%Sugars 41.8 g167%Protein 28.2 g56%

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Crispy Fried Chicken for Celiacs

Gluten Free Crispy Fried Chicken recipe for celiacs from America (hence use of Chex).

To prepare this start the night before:

1. Cut Chicken Breasts in halves or strips.

2. Stir up a mixture of Tapioca Starch Flour with water in a cereal size bowl.
Make the thickness – liquid and not paste (somewhere in between). (optional)

3. Dip chicken in thinned Tapioca water.

4. Place chicken in a covered bowl in fridge, overnight (if time permits).

5. Place 3 Cups of gluten free Rice Chex in a zip lock bag & crush w/rolling pin.

The next day:

6. Take Chicken out & season w/salt, pepper & your regular chicken spices. (could be any – sage, oregano, garlic powder, 2 crumbled chicken bullion cubes, paprika, Tony Chacheries seasonings or any)

7. Dip into a (cereal bowl size) crushed gluten free Rice Chex Cereal.

8. Dip into Tapioca starch or your favorite gluten free chicken flours.

9. Fry in 1 1/2 inches of Canola Oil till brown & crunchy!!!

Fry in 1 1/2 inches of Canola Oil till crunchy!!!

You should note that this can all be done immediately and does not need to be refrigerated.

This can also be done by just leaving off the water.

As an alternative this could be done in the oven & baked w/Olive Oil sprinkles over the top.

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Helping Coeliacs read food labels

Knowledge of current food standards, food laws and ingredients are critical for a person with Coeliac Disease whose treatment relies solely on dietary management. They have to take ownership of understanding what ingredients are in what they eat.

For anyone in doubt celiac disease is: -

• A permanent intolerance to gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and possibly oats.
• affects the small bowel.
• Its treatment requires a life long avoidance of gluten.

Research was recently undertaken in New Zealand to see how people were helped to read food labels and the research found: -

• Forty percent of people had received no label reading education even though it was the most used method for identifying suitable foods.
• The majority of participants stated that they had a moderate confidence of reading food labels. However, when tested on the suitability of specific ingredients, it was evident that
further education was needed.
• Ninety nine percent of people indicated that they would find a label reading resource booklet useful.
• The majority of participants wanted a resource that included practical information put into every day language. They wanted a resource that was visually interesting and small enough to put in a bag to take to the supermarket.

The research project confirms the lack of understanding of people with Coeliac Disease when reading food labels and verifies the need for updated resources in this area.

A label reading resource booklet has been developed based on current information from the New Zealand government and the Manufactured Food Database. It includes information on the current standards, food additives, suitability of ingredients and precautionary warnings. Practical label reading examples have been provided to reinforce the written information.

This resource booklet aims to give people with Coeliac Disease the information required to choose suitable foods for their Coeliac Disease.

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World's Best Chicken Soup

World's Best Chicken Soup

on April 20, 2011
Recipe #454050

I LOVE chicken soup but am allergic to wheat so can't do noodles. My husband hates rice, so I used quinoa in this. It was absolutely delicious. My husband agrees, and that's a huge complement since he is the "soup chef" at our local VA hospital and his soups are very popular out there.

Serving Size: 1 (351 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 6

Amount Per Serving% Daily ValueCalories 216.1 Calories from Fat 8539%Total Fat 9.5 g14%Saturated Fat 2.5 g12%Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g23%Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g7%Trans Fat 0.0 g0%Cholesterol 32.5 mg10%Sodium 813.0 mg33%Potassium 518.7 mg14%Magnesium 50.1 mg2%Total Carbohydrate 13.2 g4%Dietary Fiber 1.9 g7%Sugars 1.8 g7%Protein 18.5 g37%

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