Gluten Free Cooking, ingredient issues, Is This Gluten Free?
Food coloring is almost certainly gluten free. The internet says very little about that subject. I read the label on McCormick’s food coloring and found out that water is the only natural ingredient. (That raises other issues, of course, but we can say that their food coloring is gluten free.) Continue Reading
Your tooth paste is probably gluten free. Tooth paste is not food, and therefore does not require an ingredients’ label. However, it is certainly an item that is ingested frequently so we need to be concerned. These four companies specify — in the Frequently Ask Questions section of their websites —that they are gluten free:
Crest
If you are concerned about gluten, stick with the four brands listed above. At least three of them should be readily available.
We’ve talked about commercially produced ice cream as well as ice cream that we consume in public places. Today, in the third and final part of this series, we consider the ice cream treats that we prepare at home.
Gluten free cookie dough ice cream is easy to prepare. Just make sure that your ‘cookie dough’ is gluten free. Try this recipe.
Here’s a recipe for gluten free cappuccino ice cream cupcakes. The ‘crust’ is made from ground up gluten free ice cream cones.
Try these gluten free ice cream sandwiches. The ‘sandwich’ part is made with what the author calls gluten free crispy rice snacks.
Virtually every recipe for home-made ice cream is gluten free. Our job is to make these ice cream into very special treats by adding ‘safe’ decorations. Dreyer’s ice cream has given up 14 suggestions for turning ordinary ice cream into extra-special treats. This is not a gluten free article but it will certainly enhance creativity. The substitutions will be obvious (if not always worth the effort.)
Gluten Free Food, Gluten Free Shopping, Is This Gluten Free?
Ice cream is naturally gluten free and is — in my opinion — absolutely essential to good living. But, as so often happens, various kinds of contamination creeps in and spoils our fun. I first wrote about gluten free ice cream in 2007, and that article is the most frequently-visited post on this site. It seems right to present updated information about gluten free ice cream during this week when I will be publishing my 1500th article. I’m dividing my coverage of the topic into three parts:
Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Meat is naturally gluten free, of course, but sometimes the meat is processed in such a way that it becomes unsafe for us. I identified three more companies that promise that at least some of their products are gluten free. These companies are Carl Budding, Organic Valley, and Welshire Farms.
I chose this topic because — as of today — gluten free meat products are the most sought-after items on this website . The only information I could provide is a four year old article containing only four company names. So, I made a few minor ‘repairs’ on the old list and added these three names. We now have seven options, all listed in the same newly-updated article.
I’ll be writing my 1500th article some time before the end of this month. I’m not running out of things to write about but I think it is time to build on what I have already accomplished. You’ll see more articles like this one in the near future. I hope this concept works.
Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Gluten free canned soup is available if you choose carefully. I’ve identified four brands that provide soups labeled gluten free but in every case you but must choose a specific type of soup. These companies all produce soups that are ‘safe’ and others that are ‘unsafe’.
Thirty varieties of Heinz soups “do not contain gluten gluten protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats”. Click here to read the list.
Gluten Free Shopping, Is This Gluten Free?
Granola is an important part of my gluten free summer. I posted a list of gluten free granola recipes in July and followed that with a an article about how to make ‘safe’ granola bars. This article completes the series by targeting people who prefer to purchase their gluten free granola ready-to-eat.
Udi’s Granola, Bakery on Main, Enjoy Life Foods, and Glutenfreeda manufacture gluten free granola and sell their high quality products on-line.
Several types of gluten free granola are available at the on-line supermarket ‘The Gluten Free Pantry’. Click on the rainbow widget in the right sidebar if you are interested.
As it so often does, Amazon (dot com) offers an incredibly wide variety of choices. In this case, you have 527 options (their computer counted them — I didn’t.) The prices on Amazon are excellent because they sell their items in case lots. You are welcome to share your costs (and the products you receive) with friends who live gluten free. Click on the words ““>gluten free granola” to see what is available.
This is the third in a series of articles on gluten free granola. Click here for recipes for making granola. Click here if you are interested in home-made granola bars.
Summer is a great time for salads. Take advantage of the fresh fruits and vegetables, all of which are naturally gluten free and relatively inexpensive at this time of year. This article works well with an article I wrote last week on no-bake gluten free desserts. Choose fresh naturally gluten free ingredients, combine them with the gluten free salad dressings mentioned below, add one or more of the no-bake deserts explained in the last article, and you will produce an excellent an gluten free meal without ever having to heat up the kitchen.
These links will lead you to collections of recipes for salad dressing. Click here and/or here and/or here and take a look at this recipe for home-made mayonnaise. Don’t forget the croutons. Keep in mind that crouton are primarily small squares of toasted and dried and that gluten free bread has a relatively short shelf-life. Click here and/or here for ideas.
Gluten free tortillas are readily available. They can be made with corn, teff, or rice flour. When you are shopping for tortilla, look for the brand names ‘Mission‘ or ‘LaTortilla Factory‘. With other brands, read the ingredients label carefully — a product labeled ‘corn tortilla’ could include other grains.
Are the corn tortillas served in restaurants gluten free? Good question! Items marked as ‘corn tortillas’ may contain other other ingredients. The tortillas may have been heated in a way that causes cross-contamination. Ask questions! Read this article for suggestions.
If you are interested in making your own tortillas, click here. Be aware that the terms tortillas, wraps, and crepes are at least somewhat interchangeable. These two links (click here for the second link) will take you to you-tube demonstrations on making tortillas at home. In both cases, the demonstrators have a simple method for avoiding the need for a tortilla press.
Gluten Free Recipes, Is This Gluten Free?
I posted recipes for gluten free granola last Thursday. Today, I’ll continue by suggesting recipes for granola bars. There are so many choices! Granola (both in the traditional form and in bars) is great for people with food sensitivities because there are literally thousands of options available that can be ‘adjusted’ to meet individual needs.
Here are two links to recipes for vegan gluten free granola bars. Click here for the second option.
Be sure to use certified oats when you try this recipe. Most experts agree that oats are gluten naturally gluten free but are often contaminated by being grown in harvested in close proximity to wheat, barley, and rye.
Here are two more recipes. There are hundreds more on the internet, but these will help you start your granola bar recipe collection and/or sharpen your skills as a gluten free granola chef. Click here and/or here to build your recipe collection.
This is one of three articles on gluten free granola. Click here for gluten free granola recipes and/or here for information about purchasing ready-to-eat granola products.
Gluten Free Cooking, Is This Gluten Free?
It certainly can be if you are creative and resourceful. And there are other benefits: inviting your wheat-eating friends to a fondue party will cause a different reaction than inviting them to share a gluten free dinner. Since everything I’m talking about in this article is gluten free, there are no cross-contamination issues to face. And there is a personal blessing — hosting a fondue party may deepen your belief that people who live gluten free can do almost everything if they plan it properly.
Read these five articles. Mix and match. Any of the fondue recipes can be used with any of the dippers mentioned in any of the articles:
Fruit Dipped in Chocolate Fondue
Gluten Free Fondue Party for Twenty (the photos of the ‘items to dip’ are the highlight of this article)
Bard’s Beer Fondue (the brand of gluten free beer shouldn’t make a difference)
This article remind me of article about sushi that I wrote in February. One reader (hopefully a bachelor) commented that “inviting a girl to share sushi is a lot classier than offering to share a gluten free dinner. I think the same principle applies to fondue parties. People who live gluten free can do things with class.
Sweeteners are almost certainly gluten free! That may be their only virtue. The websites for Equal, Splenda, Sweet ‘n Low, and Truvia all state that their products are gluten free. Virtually all natural sweeteners are fruits and vegetables and are therefore gluten free. However, sweeteners — even the traditional cane sugar — is a subject of of intense controversy.
Yes, it is. Gluten Free Living’s website states that “all brands sold in the United States are gluten free.” The National Federation for Celiac Awareness expresses the same idea. The only possible exception is brewer’s yeast since beer is often an ingredient. Some brewer’s yeast is made with sugar rather than beer — read labels carefully if you are buying this type of yeast.
Yes, hemp is gluten free, high in fiber, and a great source of protein. Times change! When I was a child, hemp fiber was used to make rope. I understand that the Declaration of Independence was written on paper containing help fiber. When I was a young man, the words ‘hemp’ and ‘marijuana’ were synonymous. Today, it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States but we are welcome to import it. We are not allowed to buy or sell it in raw form.
This video is from the Today show in 2006. The speaker (obviously a salesman for food made with hemp) referred to hemp as “the hottest trend in foods”.
The hemp being used in gluten free food is officially referred to as “industrial grade hemp. Apparently, it is very different from the form of hemp that many of us are familiar with. Have a look at this video, which repeats much of what I have been saying. One interesting thing about it is that it was recorded in a Whole Foods Market, a highly-regarded source of food that is ‘safe’ in every sense of that word.
I am not a political activist, at least not when I am working on this website. However, this situation brings up a lot of questions about government regulation, bringing jobs back to America, etcetera. Click here if you are interested in pursuing this topic.
Coppertone lists twenty items that are gluten free. The websites operated by the other manufacturers say nothing about this subject. Do we care? Virtually all of the experts agree that gluten must be eaten to be toxic — it is not absorbed through the skin. On the other hand, parents of young children understand that kids ingest many things that were not intended as food. And there a number of websites which argue that we should be “topically gluten free” — gluten should not be allowed to touch our skins. Click here to read my article on this topic.
Perhaps the simplest solution is to rely on Coppertone. It is a reputable, is available everywhere, and is reasonably priced.
food issues, ingredient issues, Is This Gluten Free?
Most pepperoni is gluten free, although it is still important to read every ingredient label every time. Hormel, Boar’s Head Meats, and Applegate Farms make an on-line commitment to provide a gluten free product. Some of you may enjoy the challenge of making your own pepperoni. If you do, keep in mind that it takes six weeks for the pepperoni to cure.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Yes it is, and Anheuser-Busch advertises their newly-introduced product ‘Michelob Ultra-Light Cider‘ as “… a light, refreshing alternative to white wine, champagne, and heavier ciders”. ‘Woodchuck Hard Cider‘ announces that their product is naturally gluten free. FYI, in order to access either of these sites, you have to convince the site that you are of legal drinking age. Does that answer your questions about the potency of gluten free hard cider?
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Margarine is probably gluten free. Earth Balance (which refers to its products as “buttery spreads’) and Land O’Lakes affirm on their websites that all their products are ‘safe’ for our consumption. Food Facts (dot com) shows photos of 79 gluten free margarines from 28 manufacturers.
While researching this article, I discovered that it is possible to make homemade margarine. Click here and/or here to read recipes.
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This is one of dozens (perhaps there are hundreds by now) of articles that enable you to find out if a specific food or ingredient is gluten free. By the way, my answer always “YES, if you take these precautions”. If you are interested in seeing more of these articles, click on the words ‘Is this gluten free? above the title of this article. Your computer will create a special page for you showing all the related articles.
Is This Gluten Free?, Living Gluten Free
Gluten free fiber supplements and laxatives are “no problem” for people living gluten free. Metamucil, Fibercon, and Citrucel specify in their frequently-asked-questions sections that they safe for us. Metamucil states that its fiber supplements contain <20 ppm of harmful gluten.
As far as laxatives are concerned, Fleet Laxatives, Phillips, and Senakot specify that their laxatives are gluten free. Phillips reminds us that its laxatives are not manufactured in a dedicated facility.
food issues, ingredient issues, Is This Gluten Free?
Many artificial sweeteners are gluten free. The websites for Equal, Splenda, Sweet ‘n Low, and Truvia all specify in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of their website state that their product is gluten free. The NutraSweet website does not mention the subject.
This is not an unqualified endorsement of artificial sweeteners. There are many problems associated with them. However, apparently they are acceptable for people who live gluten free.
Yes, if you choose the right brand. Before we continue, remember that barley is the most common bad-boy in beer. There are many brands of wheat-free beer available.
Read this article which gives information about thirteen brands of gluten free beer, and/or this one which talks about seven brands. The situation is not as good as the last sentence suggests — only Redbridge beer is available nationally and some of the beers are discussed in all three articles. However, the situation is definitely not hopeless.
My favorite among these beers is the brew from St Peter’s Brewery in the United Kingdom. I also drink Redbridge occasionally because it is available almost anywhere, reasonably inexpensive, and proof that celiacs can do anything that anyone else can — we just need to be more resourceful.
It is possible to brew your own gluten free beer, but the writer of the article includes the phrase “Should you try it?” in the title. I know I don’t intend to try, for cross-contamination reasons if for nothing else.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, ingredient issues, Is This Gluten Free?
Coke’s website states that the product is gluten free, and that may well be the case. Certainly, the cola itself does not contain grains. The issue is with the caramel coloring that may or may not contain gluten. I’ve written about caramel coloring before. Caramel coloring is — indeed — a “dark subject”.
Gluten Free, Is This Gluten Free?
Despite the common myth, all distilled products are gluten free. The toxic gluten molecules are so large that they are left behind when a product is distilled. Thus, malt vinegar is off-limited because it is not distilled. All other types of vinegar are OK.
Tehe prohibition of vinegar is an example of outdated information rather than a myth. We’ve come a long way since the 1930′s when the medical profession believed that celiac disease patients needed to survive on a diet of rice and bananas. Click here for more information about that era.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, ingredient issues, Is This Gluten Free?
Yes, pink slime (officially known as “finely textured ground beef”) is gluten free.
I suspect that is the only positive thing to be said about it. Pink slime is scraps of meat ground up and treated with ammonia to destroy bacteria.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Grits should be gluten free. Since the only grain involved is corn, a naturally gluten free product, cross-contamination accounts for any problems you find. Bob’s Red Mill and San Gennero Foods specify that their grits are gluten free. I have used grits from Quaker for years without problems. It’s interesting to note that the company I normally call Quaker Oats now labels itself with the single word ‘Quaker’.
Gluten Free Food, Gluten Free Shopping, ingredient issues, ingredient issues, Is This Gluten Free?, questions and comments
One reader’s question: Why does Canada not consider oats a problem? Is it because of different growing/storage practices?
Paul’s comment: Oats are definitely a problem, but the official Canadian definition of gluten free specifies that it is a problem with a solution. Most exports agree that the problem is not the gluten in oats but that the fact that they are usually grown, harvested, and processed in close proximity to wheat, barley, or rye. Oats are considered “certified” if they have been grown and processed in such a way that adding them product does not cause the product to have more than the prescribed number of parts-per-million of gluten.
The United States does not, as yet, have an official definition of “gluten” but our Food and Drug Administration seems to be going in that direction.
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This is the first in a series of articles that I am calling “Questions and Comments”. I am using the word ‘comment’ rather than ‘answer’ because these articles will bring up question where there is not total agreement as to a single correct answer. I welcome your comment on my comment or about the place of oats in the gluten free diet. E-mail me at gfceliac.com@gmail.com. I will publish “Questions and Comments” every Friday.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
My three articles on gluten free sushi are among the most controversial posts on the website. I must confess that I am not a sushi fan but I do love a gluten ‘heated discussion’. In my first article, I quoted a gentleman who considered sushi a lifesaver. He has a point — inviting someone to share sushi is a lot ‘classier’ than serving them a gluten free meal. His favorite sushi restaurant is ‘The Magic Fingers Sushi Bar‘ in Atlanta. I’ve linked you the restaurant’s website even though it is currently ‘under construction’.
As far as I know, this sushi restaurant is the only one in the nation that claims on-line that it is gluten free. (Please leave a comment at the end of this article if you know of others)
I do know that there are many recipes on-line that will enable you to cook sushi at home. This one is designed for novice sushi makers. This recipe is both gluten free and vegetarian. This recipe is for California Rolls, which are like sushi except that they do not involve consuming raw fish.
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Monday is the deadline for participating in our survey aimed at finding out which breakfast cereals are most popular with America’s gluten free community. If you have not already done so, please take ten minutes to complete the survey. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all the items listed. After you complete the survey, you will be able to cast your vote without ever leaving this page.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
Shirataki noodles are gluten free. They are also low calorie (40 calories for an 8 ounce serving) and almost completely fiber. If you are not familiar with these ‘miracle noodles’, click here and/or here for general information. They are different in taste, texture, and aroma from noodles that you may be familiar with, so it is probably a good idea to use recipes designed for use with them. Click here and/or here to view collections of recipes.
This product seems ideal for people who are trying to lose weight while maintaining your gluten free diet. For other weifht-loss suggestions, click on our “Gluten Free Weight Loss Diet” power page.
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?, Living Gluten Free
Yes! It is soy bean protein plus a curdling agent and is therefore gluten free (as well as vegetarian and vegan) unless wheat-based soy sauce or some other off-limited ingredients are cooked with it. Click here to read more about this question in the very-useful summary posted by Gluten Free Living (dot com).
food issues, Gluten Free Food, Is This Gluten Free?
I tried my first rugelach during the recent holiday season. About all I knew about it was that it came in a container labeled ‘gluten free’ . I enjoyed it very much. I found out later that rugelach is an important part of Jewish cuisine, particularly during Hannukah, and that it is somewhat like a cinnamon roll, a puff pastry and/or a croissant.
This article that will give you a a better description of rugelach, photographs, and a recipe for gluten free rugalach. Here is a similar article that produces vegan gluten free rugelach. Prepared rugelach is available from Katz Gluten Free (dot com). The site includes a list of stores that make it available.
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