Celiac substitutions

Hey there!

Most of you know that I have Celiac Disease, an intolerance to gluten in wheat, barley, oats, malt, etc. that makes me very sick. My body treats these foods, even in miniscule amounts, as a poison.

Unfortunately, gluten is hidden everywhere. Some of the worst offenders contain distilled white vinegar, which is actually distilled using wheat. The distilled white vinegar retains the wheat's gluten, which means foods made with distilled white vinegar, like mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, salad dressings, salsas, worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce - the list goes on - also contain gluten. (Some sites debate this, but trust me, it makes me VERY sick.)

There are also foods that are made with a hidden component of wheat that you'd never suspect - soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, even Twizzlers, believe it or not!

Cross-contamination is also a big issue. If I eat a tomato that was sliced on the same cutting board as a piece of bread, for example, or have plain lettuce from a salad bar where someone was sloppy with the dressing, and got it into the lettuce bin, I'll get violently ill. It's not pretty, I assure you.

The result is that can't usually eat most complex foods in restaurants, delis (forget buffets), and fast food is out almost altogether (which is not necessarily a bad thing.) For example, everything in McDonald's is poisonous to me. (The FRIES even contain gluten!) :(

So if you know someone who has Celiac (1 in about 130 people do) or a sensitivity to gluten, here are a few easy brand substitutions that I've tried and that are pretty yummy. ALWAYS check the labels if you are buying food for a Celiac friend - different brands may actually contain gluten, even though they look nearly exactly the same on the outside!

Happy shopping!

Marni
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Here are the most common offenders for Celiacs, and some substitutions:

-Bread crumbs/croutons:
I've made my own using the breads below, but you can look for gluten-free bread crumbs or croutons Whole Foods or a natural foods supermarket

-Bread:
There are a lot of gluten-free options out there, and you'll find them all in the freezer section (make sure what you have is "gluten-free", not just "wheat-free"!) but my favorite is Food for Life's China Black Rice Bread. It's dark like pumpernickel, but sweet, not savory. This, toasted, with butter, tastes like chocolate cake to me. NUMMY!

-All-Purpose Flour, wheat or wheat flour, and gluten:
This seems pretty obvious that we couldn't have it... For tasty substitutions, check out Bob's Red Mill brand Gluten-Free baking mixes and flours. Their brownie mix is out of this world!

-Soy Sauce:
Wheat is a main ingredient in soy sauce, but you can find Wheat-free Tamari at Whole Foods and most natural foods supermarkets. Take it with you to your favorite Japanese Sushi place... ;)

-Worcestershire Sauce:
Pickapeppa Sauce is very similar to Worcestershire, but it's made with cane vinegar (which is okay for Celiacs) instead of distilled white vinegar (which is not).

-Oats:
No hope for this one yet. :( I understand someone somewhere is working on gluten-free oats and oatmeal, but nothing is available yet, to my knowledge. Instead of oatmeal in the mornings, Cream of Rice with butter and a little salt is tasty. I also like Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal.

-Barley or Malt:
Again, no substitutions yet. Go without. :(

A note about condiments in general: ALWAYS read the labels on condiments! Even "organic" labelled brands sometimes have distilled white vinegar in them!

-Mustard:
Whole Kids Organic Mustard at Whole Foods is a great yellow mustard substitute, made with apple cider vinegar. They also have and organic brown mustard and an organic german mustard. Eden Organic brands look good, too. Annie's Naturals also makes gluten-free Honey mustard and Horseradish mustard (although their other mustards contain distilled white vinegar).

-Ketchup:

Heinz ketchup is gluten-free!!!! Other than that, I have to say I haven't found a tasty one yet to eat on it's own... but if it's for a sauce or meatloaf, you can also use Muir Glen Organic Ketchup.

-Mayonnaise:
Hellmann's Mayo is Gluten-Free!!!! Other than that, there's only one other brand I've found that I can use - Follow Your Heart Vegenaise. Fortunately, it's pretty tasty!

-Salad Dressing:

Only a few are gluten-free, and my favorite is definitely Annie's Naturals Balsamic Vinaigrette. Some of the other Annie's are good, too - but make sure they say they're Gluten Free!

-Barbecue Sauce:

My absolute favorite is Bone Suckin' Sauce, made with Apple Cider Vinegar. SO GOOD!

-Distilled White Vinegar:

It's just the act of the distillation with wheat that makes distilled white vinegar bad. (Again, some "experts" will dispute this, but it makes me VERY ill.) Other vinegars are okay: balsamic, rice, apple cider, cane, and wine vinegars.

-Beer:

Because most beers contain wheat, barley, or malt, they're no good. There are four gluten-free brands, however, of which I'm aware (and they're great!): New Grist, Bards Tale Ale (their website was down today, but it's usually bardsbeer.com), Ramapo Valley HB (also kosher), and Redbridge, which is new and made by Anheuser-Busch (so it's less expensive!)

-Whiskey:

Can't have it. Some people have told me Maker's Mark is Gluten-Free, but I just checked their website, and they use winter wheat, barley and malt in their recipe, so I'm gonna leave that one alone for now.

Also check out The Gluten-Free Casein-Free Diet list of substitutions for more ideas... I'll keep adding products as I discover them. Happy Gluten-free eating! :)