Cooking For Celiac Disease
A gluten- free diet means avoiding food that contains gluten like bread, pasta, cereal, cookies and a lot of processed food that has wheat, barley or rye. If that is your staple food then you have change your lifestyle or find alternative ingredients. To keep diversity in your diet, you can still enjoy bread and pasta made out of potato, rice, soy, or bean floor. Today, it is easier since there are already manufacturers who sell gluten free bread, pasta and other food. Meat, fish, rice, fruits and vegetables does not contain gluten so these will be okay to include in your diet.
One of the difficulties of celiac sufferers is eating out. Following a strict diet makes it more difficult for celiac patients to buy lunch or food in the school cafeteria or food stalls near your work. The best way, therefore, is to prepare your own food to bring along with you. You could contact the manufacturers or restaurants that make gluten free food, but that can be quite troublesome if the location is quite far from you school or work. An excellent guide can be found at The Gluten Free Mall.
Consulting a dietician or a health care professional specializing in food and nutrition can help people learn about the new diet. There are also support groups made of celiac patients and their families that can help the patients to establish their new life.
Some people may think that cooking food for celiac patients is very much boring and routine. This just means that you’ve been cooking the same food over and over again and have not actually expanded on your repertoire. There are many ways of cooking a great meal without risking the person’s health. Look at it this way, now is the time to explore other dishes. Check out our cookbook section.
You will need to learn to adapt your recipes. You’ll need to find the ingredients to make your own flour. Or you will have to test many of the commercially available gluten free flours readibly available in most supermarkets and/or health food stores. I’ve tried many; some are simply unpalatable and some are quite wonderful. Keep in mind that gluten provides a certain texture that you won’t find in many of the gluten free flours available, but you will find the memory of that texture goes away.
Preparation will vary from flour to flour; some can be used in just about exactly the same way as the wheat flour you’re used to. I’ve found the biggest difference is in how gluten free flour mixes. Without the wheat, it is quite a bit lighter and so takes a slower, steadier mixing because the flour is lighter.
The trick is to determine which alternative ingredients to use and which foods do not contain gluten. Cooking for persons with celiac disease can be challenging, but with enough research, trials, and imagination, you can come up with a meal that is enjoyed by everyone in the family.
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