Dealing With Gluten Intolerance: Gluten Free Food List - Vegan Nutrition with Marty Davey

I have gluten intolerance. I want to be a vegetarian but it's hard to get started because wheat, barley and rye are in so many vegetarian recipes. I pay $12.99 for a bag of gluten free oats and I have a vita mix. Any advice you have would be appreciated. I wish this issue were addressed more. My nephew is gluten intolerant and is going to college and being on a swim team he needs good food but cafetarias, airlines, etc. don't cater to gluten intolerance. Thank you.

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It is difficult to deal in a gluten world when you need to be gluten free, but life is far from over. You just need to think outside the box—pasta box, rice box or oat cereal box.

Below is a partial list of gluten-free grains. After that, I'll give you some ideas of keeping your life from being a Far Side Cartoon of hell where all you hear is accordion and bagpipe music by first year students.

Gluten free grains:

Quinoa - takes 20 minutes to cook. Excellent source of protein and fiber.
Aborio rice
Brown rice
Dal or split peas
Jasmine rice
Kasha or Buckwheat groats
Millet - 20 minutes to cook, can replace couscous for texture
Teff
Wehani rice
Wild rice

Okay, so I don't know what you're cooking or what the recipe limitations are so, let's focus on what you can cook.

First, get the bible on allergy free cooking with Food Allergy Survival Guide, by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD (in the top ten RDs in North America(, Jo Stepaniak (cooking goddess(, and Dina Aronson, MS, RD (moving like a bullet to join top ten RD group(. If you want somewhere to start while you're waiting for your book, try the website http://www.foodallergysurvivalguide.com/.

Of course, you can plunk "vegan gluten free" into your favorite search engine. I found recipes galore at All Recipes, and Karina's Kitchen. In fact, Karina has a host of substitutes for cooking. I even found gluten-free baking recipes on Land'o'Lakes butter, of all places. We don't do the butter thing, but they have a recipe for a flour blend which is gluten-free.

Dishes You Can Live with Forever Gluten Free

Appetizers - Guacamole is a beautiful thing, and gluten free. So is hummus, baba ganoush, edamame, miso soup, salad with lemons or vinaigrette and bean dips

Bread is basically out unless you buy gluten-free. However

Chapattis are made with channa flour (yellow split pea) or chick pea flour. So you should check the package to be sure there is no wheat.

Corn tortillas - should be fine, however be safe and check the label. You can roll up beans and veggies or use as tostada (open faced).

Breakfast - Tofu scramble is a happening thing. My husband's favorite, Tofu Rancheros is gluten free—corn tortilla, mashed beans with cumin, tofu scramble, salsa. I have an easy one on my website. So are miso soup, potatoes, smoothies, and one of my favorites when I'm home alone—nut butter on fruit. Weekends can include pancakes and waffles made with non-gluten flours or baking mixes.

Desserts just need some adjustments which can be found in the above mentioned book and websites. Pudding is in, just check out my website for a quick, yummy chocolate one (http://martydavey.com). So are ice cream adn sorbets. And don't forget about plain, ol' fruit.

Entreés - Pasta is out. On the other hand, rice noodles are perfect for asian dishes. Indian (minus breads), Mexican (minus flour tortillas), Middle Eastern (minus pita, cous cous), Ethiopian (ask how injeera is made) are all in.

Stir-frys are a breeze—you can eat any vegetable, liquid aminos or tamari, ginger, garlic and tofu or tempeh.

Mock meats can be dicey, so you have to read the package. But since most of them are high in soy isolates, why even put them into your recipe box. Remember soy isolates, which includes TVP, are great at growing cancer cells. I keep them at a minimum.

Salad - Unless you are making a grain salad, you should be fine in this category. Even if you do, quinoa, kamut, millet, red rice, lentils and kasha all make great, high fiber salads which are gluten free.

Soups- Mushroom barley and ramen noodle are out. Chowders, bean soups, vegetable soups, miso soup. All work for you.

It is true that when you are at the mercy of a restaurant, or institutional facility eating can become an interesting culinary challenge. Those of us long-timers generally have some food on us, especially when traveling. As for your nephew's college, he should set up a meeting with the food service director. They have a contract with the college which includes meeting special dietary needs. He can contact PETA or the local veg group. Usually there is a campus veg group. PETA has worked very hard on making in roads with university students. (I am still working on getting a group of dietitians to offer vegan foods at different events. So, know that we are all in the same boat somewhere in our lives.) Your nephew should have some ideas to help the food service director. If he needs more support, the Vegetarian Nutrition Group of the American Dietetic Association can help with a number of resources, including dietitians.

I'm really grateful that you asked this question because I have been thinking about wheat-free baking.

Your being gluten free has freed up me up not only to think out of the box, but move me away from the wheat and oat feed bag.

Thanks!

Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the chemicals in American meat made them unsellable to Europeans. She and her husband have raised their son as a vegan. She teaches nutrition and has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning to a plant-based regime step by step. Her website is martydavey.com

Get your own personal nutrition consultation with Marty here.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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