Tips Living on A Gluten Free Diet
TIPS LIVING GLUTEN FREE
Read the Label- Avoid Gluten-Containing Cereals and Focus on Ingredients you want:
As a food allergy sufferer or not, it’s best to read the labels. Focusing on the nutritional labels of products you can quickly see if there is anything harmful for you as a Coeliac or a gluten-avoider.
Skim through the ingredients and confirm there are no gluten-containing grains like Wheat, Barley or Rye.
Reading the label empowers you as a consumer of what you’re going to be shortly ingesting in your body. See if the product’s claims stack up in comparison to its ingredients.
You can refer to Manna Dew’s Article ‘Eat Well, Promote Your Health‘ for an in depth perspective on the types of foods and diets you should eat for a more nutritious diet .
Ask Staf Members Questions- is it Gluten-Free?
If you’re buying a product that isn’t packaged, it will likely not have a nutritional label on it. My recommendation is to ask the waiter or any staff member.
I’m all for spending an extra minute to find out what I want to know about the product. If it safe and healthy, then indulge and buy, otherwise choose something else… or Run
Avoid Sauces Containing Gluten
Gluten is also prevalent in some sauces as many use wheat flour in them for thickening and texture. Make sure you stay away from those and, if you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own with Gluten-Free alternative flours (Recommendations are listed below).
Example Sauce That Can Contain Gluten (ALWAYS CHECK YOURSELF)
- Soya Sauce
- Imitation Crab Meat
- Oats (make sure they’re gluten free)
- Deli Meat
- Licorice
- Corn Flakes
- Chocolate
- Stocks (Chicken or Beef or Fish)
Separate your food utensils to avoid cross contamination
Coeliac UK really hammers this point for Coeliacs who suffers a severe allergic reaction to gluten.
If you’re family and friends are happy to avoid Gluten completely for you then you have nothing to worry about. If your family and friends do consume Gluten-Containing foods then it is wise to completely separate your crockery, cutlery, and glassware for use. Manna Dew recommends a separate storage facility for gluten-free and gluten-containing foods and to avoid cooking or working at the same time.
The reasons for this is that gluten flour particles become airborne and can contaminate a Coeliac’s air, food, and cutlery if exposed.
This is an important reason altogether to be cautious when visiting places teaming with gluten like traditional bakeries and pizzerias.
We discuss this aspect in more detail in our Coeliac Safety Habits blog, you can check it out here.
Use Gluten-Free Grains & Flours.
There are so many naturally gluten-free flours that are absolutely delicious and add incredible textures in your foods.
- Gluten-Free Corn Starch: Thickening agent, great for sauces and bread mixes. We are talking about the white one, not the yellow one!
- Gluten-Free Potato Starch: I recommend trying this flour out, it has an amazing structure, strong consistent doughs, and can add a beautiful texture to your products. Note: Manna Dew has its own configured mix of flours for cakes and breads, that’s our know how- we’ll share some of our secrets on this blog with you.
- Gluten-Free Rice Flour: Gluten-Free rice flour is a great replacement to traditional wheat flour. It is a critical ingredient in Manna Dew’s gluten-free recipes.
- Millet Flour: A golden coloured flour with a sweet muffled flavour. Used in conjunction with other flours to produce beautifully textured breads and biscuits.
- Quinoa: A new trendy alternative boasting many benefits including being rich in protein, high in fibre with nearly twice as much as other rains, iron and magnesium containing, and it’s naturally gluten-free. A great accompaniment to salads or meats.
- Buckwheat Flour & Grain: One of our favourites for making pancakes and a very nutritious additive in gluten-free recipes. It has a nutty flavour and despite the name similarity with wheat, it is a naturally gluten-free grain.
- Lentils: A great filling and delicious grain that works perfectly as a carb base with salads, meats, or as a soup. Try Manna Dew’s Gluten-Free Croutons as a Perfect Accompaniment.
Experiment with Gluten-Free Recipes
One of the fun things to do is to put your creative hat on and get your hands dirty in the kitchen. This is a happy activity that can add so much flavour to your food and so much depth to your skill set.
Manna Dew regularly post Gluten-Free recipes to try at home. There are plenty of recipes online and great online books on Amazon which can add a depth of understanding for Gluten-Free baking.
Remember to Avoid Some Types of Alcoho
There are many Gluten-Free alcohols in the market. Wine, cider, sherry, and spirits are gluten-free. However beer is made from wheat barley and rye. This also applies to ales. If you really are craving a cold one, there are several producers of Gluten-Free beers.
Visit Coeliac UK for Venue & Product Guides
We recommend all Coeliacs to visit this page and find out what’s new and hot with the Gluten-Free market.
Gluten Free Diet and Lifestyle
Please let us know if you’d like to add any points for our lovely readers, drop us an email or comment below and we’ll check and if the content is relevant and improves the content we’ll add it for sure!
Happy reading, happy living, stay healthy, stay fresh!
Much Love from Team Indulge @ Manna Dew