Gluten Free and Lost?
Photo: Seth Anderson
A member, diagnosed with wheat intolerance, recently asked me if I have any recipes for "yummy wheat free foods made with rice flour."
Just in case there are more people with the same concern here is my answer:
Unfortunately I just haven't had to write about or research this topic yet in my work. I would start by doing two things:
- I do know that Bob's Red Mill (www.bobsredmill.com) has a big line of gluten free grain products you should check out. They also have TONS of gluten-free recipes available on their website.
- And then I would search "gluten-free" on amazon.com and check out the various books/cookbooks done on this topic to see if there is one that suits you and your lifestyle.
Photo: Bill Tyne
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: gluten, wheat, Bob's Red Mill, healthy diet
9 Comments:
Excellent blog post. I get asked this question a lot.
I'm glad to see you beginning to address gluten-free diets, but why not ask someone knowledgeable for a little help? As it is, this post is not very helpful. It could easily be, and it shouldn't be hard to find someone who has addressed this since, as you say, everyone who's anyone has celiac disease these days!
To address the question listed in your post, tapioca starch is a good binding/thickening agent which is often needed in gluten-free baking; xanthum gum is crucial but expensive, so use in small amounts; and mixing flours [rice with potato, for example] will provide interesting contrasts in taste and consistency and make people with dietary limitations feel like they have some choices.
It helps some people to have not only a list of "No!" grains, including wheat, spelt, rye, kamut and barley, but also a list of "Yes!" foods such as quinoa, buckwheat, all rices and millet. Soy, potato and chickpea flour can be used in baking and have starkly different tastes, so experiment!
Chic? Are you kidding? How about bloated, rashy, crampy...chic? Please. That's almost insulting. The comments I have read were more helpful than the little article.
It would be nice if we could leave subjectivity out of this, both ways and stay with relevant information.
Add dizziness, muscular fatigue, depression, painful skin rashes,palpitations to what Anonymous said. For people like me who have suffered forever (36 years from birth to diagnosis)I think its downright rude for you to call us "chic". How about we say that its "chic" for "ignorant" doctors to say "its all in the mind"?
I have been retired for 20 years after some 40 years in the wheat flour industry. Very rarely would we get a request for gluten free bread recipes, and then mostly for children with Celiac condition. It would seem the incident of intolerance is growing, and possibly due to lower immunity to foods that have been consumed for hundreds of years.
Wheat gluten is a unique protein which has the ability to form a thin stretchable film which will retain the byproducts of yeast fermentation. Bread is composed of about 6 parts of air to one part of solid matter. Do not expect the same quality from gluten free recipes.
I do not believe the Doc was saying people with this condition are chic it is some people jump on band wagons saying I want no gluten in my diet. For these people it is chic not a necessity as with people with the celiac disease!
I don't think they're referring to us as "chic"....please. "Chic"? Try losing control of your bowels, then we'll talk about "chic". However, with the prevalence of gluten intolerance these days, there are some that ignorantly believe "gluten free" can help them lost weight, since it eliminates many carb sources. Unfortunately, gluten free products are often higher in calories because they are more dense per serving. Bob's RedMill makes a gluten free, all purpose flour that is actually very good. Try substituting it in your favorite muffin or cookie recipes, but just be sure to add 1 tsp xanthum gum per cup of flour to bind it.
I just wanted to comment regarding several people who mentioned adding xanthan gum to recipes. If you do have celiac desease make sure you do NOT follow that advice as xanthum gum is on the "no" list for celiacs which many people are unaware of. If you have celiac are you also aware to avoid some distilled vinegars? Apple cider vinegars and wine vinegars are fine. Beware when buying ice creams and items like cottage cheese or cream cheese since a lot of them also contain xanthan gum. I have done years of research as a doctor and a celiac. Hope it helps others.
I was diagnosed with celiac sprue after being hospitalized for 3 months, losing 65 pounds, dehydration, renal failure, pancreatitis and had therapy to be able to walk again. I did not think this was 'chic.' The symptoms I presented were, needless to say, "puzzling" to the doctors. I had diarrhea and vomiting for 2 weeks before I was even put in the hospital, and even then, I had to be taken there in an ambulance from my doctor's office. This whole thing started with a "simple" case of diarrhea. The doctors were amazed when I survived. It took 6 months of eating the "right" foods to get the minerals in my body on a level that would allow me to feel as normal as possible. This was nearly 10 years ago and I would NEVER eat anything I questioned. If I am not sure it is gluten free, I do not eat it. I am really happy to have survived, but I was left with some problems. The biggest being peripheral neuropathy. I now walk with a cane and sometimes a walker, but I would rather have the neuropathy pain than to go through again what I went through those years ago. Thank you.
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