Sunday, January 1, 2012

The easy way to start living gluten-free.

The gluten-free lifestyle will seem overwhelming initially. It may seem impossible to learn everything you need to know in order to prepare and eat safe meals. The truth is, there will come a time that it will all be second nature and you will appreciate all you have learned about good food and nutrition.

I will break this down step by step for you, to help ease the first few days and weeks of panic. I want you to know there are things you can eat right now. I will teach you how to buy from the regular grocery store even on a limited budget and eat healthy nutritious meals.

The first several months of gluten free living are the hardest, because there is so much to learn. It is also hard because your body and mind will likely go through a gluten grieving time. Going gluten free is a drastic lifestyle change for most people. We have all become dependent on fast food and prepackaged foods to some degree. Gluten free living requires that you cook your own foods if you want to have the best tasting safe foods to eat.

This lifestyle change will be hardest on foodies - people that really love food. It will be absolutely necessary for you to learn to cook if you are a real foodie. Those that just eat to live will find gluten free living a little more tolerable, as there are many premade items available to satisfy the easily satisfied palate.
Starting with an enthusiastic search for substitutes for favorite food items is a normal reaction; however, it is not the easiest or most efficient way to go gluten free.

It is best to eliminate all prepackaged foods, preparing simple home cooked meals from all fresh products. Keep it simple initially and then add slowly over time. You will have a lot of label reading to do, and learning the diet can take months. Eliminate the hassles and start feeling better fast, by just going to simple whole foods cooked at home.
It can feel overwhelming when you first try to learn the diet and do the meal preparation. The real key to successful gluten free living is to keep it simple, be organized, and prepared.

Cleaning out the gluten

The first thing you need to do is thoroughly clean your kitchen and eliminate all gluten sources. Check all your pans and remove any scratched Teflon pans, as these can harbor gluten. Plastic storage dishes can harbor gluten if scratched as well. Colanders need to be replaced as you can never get all the gluten out of the holes.
Wooden cutting boards, utensils and salad bowels also harbor gluten and should not be used.

Most glass, Pyrex and stainless steel is fine to use, just do a thorough cleaning to be certain all traces of gluten have been removed.

Go through your refrigerator and remove or isolate all gluten containing items. Do the same with your freezer.

If you are keeping some gluten containing items, designate a specific spot for those items. All open condiments are likely to be contaminated and should be replaced or reserved for household gluten eaters. This includes mayo, butter, mustard, etc. Anything in a pour spout is less likely to be contaminated; you need to use your own judgment with those.

The pantry should be separated into things that are gluten containing and those that are gluten free if you are not eliminating all the gluten from your house, as in a trial of gluten free, or in the case that some family members will continue eating gluten.

Do not rely on your memory to keep the items sorted. Read all the labels and sort and separate and make sure everyone knows which shelves are to stay dedicated to gluten free items.

Once you have cleaned the kitchen, refrigerator, and pantry, you are almost ready to go shopping.

Prepare for your shopping trip

The key to successful gluten free transition and living is preparation. Even though you may never have been a Girl Scout or Boy Scout, it is time to adopt the motto “be prepared”.

Figure out what meals you want to prepare and what ingredients you need. Forget anything that requires a lot of ingredients, sauces, condiments etc. Don’t complicate things right now. Let’s keep this simple for now and get you something you can safely eat. Think about what you need for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Some celiacs are temporarily sensitive to dairy, but this can resolve once the body has recovered from the gluten. It may be necessary to eliminate dairy for a period of time if not getting better after eliminating gluten. Some people prefer to eliminate the dairy right away along with the gluten, then add it back later.

You will need new condiments, so look on the list of approved foods and pick out the brand you want to buy. Write the condiment and the brand or choice of brands on your list. An example list would be:

Mayonnaise –Kraft or Hellman’s
Canned chili – Hormel with beans
Syrup – pure maple syrup or log cabin country kitchen
Canned beef stew – Dinty Moore

Be sure that any special instructions about a brand are clearly noted on your list. For instance, not all log cabin syrups are gluten free. Just as not all Hormel chili is gluten free. You must also double check your label to make sure the ingredients have not changed. This will be a lifelong issue, so start the habit now. The good news is that you will get much faster at this process and it will become second nature after a while.

It is much better to make most of your decisions in the comfort of your home, rather than in the isle of the grocery store while reading label after label and finding the whole world is full of gluten and you have nothing to eat.

Keep in mind that you are going to need something to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Most people find they must take their food for lunch. Many of us found that we start eating some pretty untraditional foods for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Food must be healing and nourishing foremost; later we will turn it into culinary delight.

Shopping

You will want to shop in the meat, vegetable and dairy areas primarily. Fresh meat should be gluten free. However, sometimes chicken or turkey can contain chicken broth that contains gluten, so be sure to read the label. Pre-formed hamburger patties can have gluten in them, so be sure to check the label. A ham can be gluten-free, but have a glazing packet that contains gluten. Usually, the company will specify that the packet contains wheat.

Pork chops, steaks, ground beef, etc., are all safe if not in any prepared form. All FRESH vegetables are safe, all fruits are safe, eggs, and most cheese (not cheese spread), milk, and butter are gluten free. Avoid anything that is pre-seasoned or precooked unless you carefully read the label. Frozen vegetables can contain wheat, be sure to read the label.

Eggs can be your best friend when going gluten free. There are so many meals you can make for anytime of the day. Eggs can be boiled to have a convenient take along meal or snack. Omelets are easy to make and can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Quiche is another easy fulfilling entre for anytime. Scrambled or fried eggs are good anytime.

Cheese is another best friend for the gluten intolerant. This is an easy take along snack that goes well with veggies and fruit.

Peanut butter works great for getting through the early tough times while you learn the finer points of gluten free eating. Put it on an apple, celery, gluten-free cracker or gluten-free bread.

Salads with meat, eggs, and cheese can be very satisfying. Most ranch and Caesar dressings are gluten free, but read the labels. Kraft and Ken’s dressings are very reliable for labeling any gluten ingredients.

Chicken can be a handy meal. Frozen breasts are easy and fast to take from the freezer to the table. Add a potato or rice, and vegetable for quick easy and healthy meals. Be sure to buy the plain unseasoned breasts or make sure the seasoning does not have gluten.

Roasted whole chicken or beef will give you multiple easy meals. Roast it in the oven with the onions, potatoes, or rice, and vegetables. The next day you can convert the meal to a great soup. Do not buy the already roasted chickens in the grocery store, as most of these have gluten.

Pork chops can go from frozen to the table in fairly short order. I cook them in a skillet with onions. Brown them on both sides cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add a mashed or baked potato and a veggie.

Hamburger patties with or without cheese, beans, veggie, fries or fried potatoes are a good easy meal.

Ore-Ida has lots of gluten free potatoes to help out for a quick dinner. I cook the fries in the oven while I prepare the rest of the meal on the stove. Be sure to check the label, because they also make some that contain gluten.

You will probably be anxious to try some gluten free specialty items. I would not recommend starting with bread products, for you will likely be disappointed in them at this early stage. (Udi’s products may be an exception to this)

Some things that are really good and won’t break the bank are gluten free crackers, Laura bars, pretzels, Betty Crocker desert mixes, and Chex gluten free cereals.
I have compiled two lists to help with shopping. The first list contains gluten-free foods that can be found in most mainstream grocery stores.

The second list contains the best specialty gluten-free that I or people I know have found. There is a general consensus that these are the best. However, everyone’s taste is different, and you may find other products you like better. At least this list will give you better odds of liking the product.