Since The Nully Kitchen has gone Gluten Free, I thought it would be helpful to share some resources and tips for running a G-Free kitchen.
First of all, there are so many resources out there that you can take advantage of. The Internet is a great place to look for information, but be sure that it's from a reliable source such as
www.celiac.com and
www.glutenfreeliving.com
Some books we like are "Gluten Free Cooking For Dummies", "Gluten Free Living For Dummies", and Elizabeth Hasselbeck's book, "The G-Free Diet"
Living with someone who is gluten intolerant can be a challenge to begin with because gluten seems to be in EVERYTHING! Seriously. Obviously, gluten is in bread and pasta, but it also hides in seasonings and uncommon items like licorice. It's even in some natural flavorings.
What to avoid:
Wheat & almost anything with the word "wheat" in it (except for wheat grass, since it's a grass and is gluten free), barley, rye, malt (from wheat) and so on.
Some foods that usually contain gluten are:
Bread, bagels, biscuits, most cereals, cookies, cakes, pastries, doughnuts - ok, most baked goods! -cornbread, crackers, croutons, gravies & sauces, imitation seafood, licorice, marinades, pasta, pizza, pretzels & soy sauce. Of course that's just a small list that I read about in "Gluten Free Cooking For Dummies". There are many more foods that contain gluten, so if you're cooking or baking for someone who can't have it, you need to be very careful about reading the ingredient list for any foods you're working with. Also, make sure to wash any utensil or cooking item thoroughly before making G-Free foods. You don't need to have separate tools just for G-Free cooking, but it's easier to have your G-Free items separate from the glutenated (my mom's word) items in your pantry, that way "someone" doesn't goof and accidentally cross contaminate what you had hoped would be G-Free!
Cross Contamination:
Cross contamination is a big deal and recently was the reason my mom had to go to the ER in the middle of the night. GAH! It's simple to avoid, but you must be vigilant and employ these few tricks.
Wash, Wash, WASH your utensils and work spaces between making glutenated and G-Free foods.
Don't make the silly mistake of double dipping. For example, if you're going to use peanut butter for a regular sandwich, you can't touch the bread with your peanut butter knife and then stick the knife back into the peanut butter. Then the whole jar is contaminated and cannot be used for the G-Free-er.... is that a word?
It might be helpful to have two sets of certain ccondiments. ie: ketchup, mayo, mustard...
Consider gluten to be a contaminate like raw meat. You wouldn't use a knife used to cut raw meat to then butter bread with. (Gross!)
Make the G-free foods first before you make any gluten containing foods.
Don't assume that because a food is "organic", it is gluten free. It can be organic and still contain gluten. Watch out!
Shopping for a G-Free-er can also be a challenge, but if you want to save time & money and eat more nutritiously, shop the perimeter of the grocery store where you will find fresh fruits, veggies, meats and dairy products.
You can ask the store manager if they have a Gluten Free section. Most grocery stores do these days. The store manager will most likely be happy to help!
The Bottom Line: If it makes you (or someone you love) feel bad, don't eat it.
I hope that you have found this to be helpful and look forward to receiving your feedback.
~Nully~
