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When you have Celiac Disease,
you know you must eliminate wheat, oats, barley and rye from your
diet. These grains, and ingredients that are made from them, are used
in the preparation of many foods and recipes and it may seem that
you can’t avoid them during the holiday season! Actually, there
are many ways to substitute these grains with other safe alternatives.
Of course, serving your favorite single ingredient foods such as plain
meat, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables is a great starting point,
but you can also adapt many combination foods to exclude the offending
protein found in these grains, called gluten. Below are some tips,
suggestions, and recipes to help make the transition to the gluten
free diet easier.
A first and simple step is to look for dishes that need very little
customization, perhaps just the substitution of one gluten free ingredient
for one that is not gluten free. For example, make baked ziti or lasagna
with gluten free rice, corn or lentil pasta, or prepare your favorite
pies with one of the many gluten free pastry mixes that are now readily
available in health food stores and supermarkets. Remember too that
there are lots of dishes that are naturally gluten free such as stir-fry,
risotto, shepherd’s pie, chili, and omelets.
Other recipes can be adapted to the gluten free diet. Don’t
let the gluten free diet restrict your cooking and baking habits;
use it instead as an opportunity to experiment with new ingredients
and baking styles!
Below are some suggestions for substitutions:
- For gravy: use arrowroot starch as a thickener.
- For stuffing: make your favorite recipe with
gluten free cornbread or white bread (homemade
or store-bought) or experiment with rice stuffing.
- For flouring or breading meat and fish: season
a gluten free coating to taste. Try cornmeal,
potato flakes, or mixtures of gluten free flours.
Whirl some dry bread or corn tortilla chips
in a food processor until fine. Or, some people
enjoy crumbled gluten free waffles or crisped
rice – these are not usually sweetened
and, when seasoned, create a tasty, crunchy
coating.
- For pudding and pie filling: try gluten free
starches such as cornstarch, potato starch,
tapioca or arrowroot.
- Find a prepared gluten free baking mix to
keep handy in your refrigerator. These
tried and true mixtures of gluten free flours,
starches and leavening agents can usually be
substituted with wheat flour on a one-for-one
basis.
- Use rice flour for a roux or white sauce – you
will find that bean and soy flours have too
strong a taste.
Don’t miss the exciting holiday event at the Kogan Celiac Center
of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System! For more information please
call the Center at 973-322-7272.
December 2008–Monday,
December 8 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. –Holiday Food Expo and
Guest Speaker – Come sample gluten free goodies and
hear poet and author of “The Gluten Free Bible,” Jax
Peters Lowell, give her inspirational message about living gluten
free. Bring your copy of any of her books for signing!
Celiac disease (also known as celiac sprue or
gluten sensitive enteropathy), is a genetic autoimmune disorder
that is characterized by an inflammatory reaction to the ingestion
of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. This reaction
causes damage to the fingerlike projections in the small intestine
that are involved in nutrient absorption (known as villi) and many
conditions of malnutrition can occur as a result. There is no
cure for this disease – the only known treatment is the
complete removal of gluten from the diet, which allows healing and
symptom resolution to take place. People with celiac disease become
avid label readers since gluten is found in many processed foods
with many different names. Upcoming changes in food labeling laws
will provide a lot of new and helpful information for individuals
who follow a gluten free diet, but these changes are also complicated
and require some explanation so that informed purchasing decisions
can be made.
Date: November 17, 2008
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