Gluten-free cooking hacks

[kayb]

16 hours ago, TicTac said:

I can't sufficiently express the gratitude to you all for taking the time to post and share your experiences.  It means a lot.

 

@kayb - Thank you for sharing.  It must have been a rough 20 years growing up not knowing why she felt the way she did, until one day, such a significant change...one thing that I am curious about, which is hard to find concrete data on, is how people react to cross contamination or even minute amounts (if a mistake is made) - I have heard everything from very minor tummy aches, all the way to 2-4 day hospitalizations. 

 

Certainly lots of learning and experimentation to do.  My recent purchase which has been quite well received was Sweet Potato noodles.  Made a nice Korean dish with them, and a noodle soup as well.

 

 

There were a lot of health issues that befuddled us. She had her gall bladder removed at age 19 (none of the usual risk factors; not middle-aged, never been pregnant, not overweight). She had a thyroid issue (will be on synthetic thyroid hormone the rest of her life). But the thing that almost drove us over the edge was constant anemia. She went a hematologist in Memphis who simply treated the symptoms (iron infusions every three months, when one should last for more than a year!). I got a different hematologist in Memphis to see her. He took one look at her labs and said, "I would be willing to bet you have celiac disease," which neither of us had ever heard of. She went to a gastroenterologist for an endoscopy, and sure enough, there it was. 

 

I'm glad you caught this early. Hopefully you will avoid the worst of the associated health effects.

 

It's my understanding people suffer from different levels of sensitivity. My daughter's got much worse, for instance, after she had her second child. Her reaction to exposure to small amounts now is usually stomach upset and bloating, and inflammation in the joints of her hands.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by kayb (log)

[Okanagancook]

Here is a very good description of Celiac disease with various tabs at the top.  This tab talks about treatment.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352225

 

NO amount of gluten is good for those with Celiac.  Just to clear...NONE which means ZERO

 

sorry

just trying to be helpful

 

my two neighbours have Celiac and they aren’t that careful because they don’t feel bad...drives me nuts, but I have had my say with them..they are adults.

😍

[TicTac]

@Anna N - You are absolutely correct, just because a restaurant has a menu item labeled as 'GF' does not mean it is Celiac safe!  Though from what the dietician has told us, in Canada, if it labeled GF, it is safe to eat and there is no cross contamination. 

 

@Shelby - So sorry to hear your friend is suffering.  Hope she finds some answers so she can make the necessary adjustments to feel better (soon)!  Thanks for the link.

 

@Wolf- Very interesting that they eliminated proteins as  well, I don't quite understand that, but at least she is feeling better!  The Canadian gov offers tax rebates for GF purchases for someone with Celiac and we just learned there is a disability fund available (around $250/month) to offset the increased costs and medical expenses.

 

@kayb - At least she is aware of what she has to now deal with and no more befuddlement as to her symptoms.  I believe with smart choices, one can lead a relatively 'normal' life with this disease. 

 

@Okanagancook - That is quite strange, especially given the associated long term health effects of overexposure (lymphoma, low bone density, etc)

 

Interestingly enough I also learned that they are now starting trials of a drug 'NexVax2' to treat the disease.  Hopefully in his lifetime advancements are made to counteract the effects of gluten on a Celiac patient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Okanagancook]

If the patient’s gut is very damaged then a very limited diet would be prescribed to ‘rest’ the gut so it can heal.  Such a diet is usually in place for a limited time because it is inadequate nutrient wise.  In severe cases when the patient is malnourished to begin with, we have put them on intravenous feedings for several days in hospital in an effort to quickly heal the gut.

 

That is excellent news about the funding available.

[TicTac]

Interesting.  Makes sense.  It is also notable that my son, ever since changing over (apparently it only takes 3-4 days for the gut to begin to heal and be able to re-absorb nutrients) he has had a huge appetite.  One of the things to watch for is weight gain in kids especially who have Celiac and change to GF, as their bodies want to almost make up for lost nutrients, thus the increased hunger.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

a N - You are absolutely correct, just because a restaurant has a menu item labeled as 'GF' does not mean it is Celiac safe!  Though from what the dietician has told us, in Canada, if it labeled GF, it is safe to eat and there is no cross contamination. 

 I find that absolutely incredible and would take it with a grain of salt. If I or a member of my family or a friend was truly suffering from coeliac I would not take them into some of the restaurants where I have been that claim to serve gluten-free dishes.  YMMV. 

 

 Glance at this!  Gluten friendly! What the hell does that mean? I know someone who visited this restaurant and explained that she was gluten intolerant and they were extremely sympathetic.  Her meal was gluten-free but it was her birthday and they presented her with a lovely piece of birthday cake. She was wise enough to ask. No. It was not gluten-free.  They apologized and brought her ice cream.   Do you really want to trust anybody’s health to that?   Fortunately gluten-intolerant is a very different condition than coeliac disease. 

[Okanagancook]

Your son must be a happy little boy.  I bet you are very relieved.  Onwards and upwards as a good friend mine always says after a set back.

The weight gain will slow down.  He is replenishing is muscle and liver glycogen.  The glucose he is now absorbing couples with water to form glycogen thus the rapid gain in weight.....mainly water not fat.  Same thing happens to people following a low carb diet when they resume eating carbs...they throw their hands up and believe carbs are making them fat.

[kayb]

FWIW, rice and potatoes will help assuage the hunger he's feeling from the lack of simple carbs in bread products. Might try upping those in his diet for a while. Cara was big on grits, as well; she loved them before any of these issues showed up.

[Lisa Shock]

12 hours ago, Anna N said:

 Glance at this!  Gluten friendly! What the hell does that mean? I know someone who visited this restaurant and explained that she was gluten intolerant and they were extremely sympathetic.  Her meal was gluten-free but it was her birthday and they presented her with a lovely piece of birthday cake. She was wise enough to ask. No. It was not gluten-free.  They apologized and brought her ice cream.   Do you really want to trust anybody’s health to that?   Fortunately gluten-intolerant is a very different condition than coeliac disease. 

3

 

I looked at the menu. Their Caesar salad is one item in their 'gluten friendly'  section of the menu. One item listed as part of the salad is croutons. I suspect they don't have separate dishes, pans, linens, or silverware for people with celiac disease because they seem to have such a poor understanding of it. 

"Run away!" -King Arthur, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

[chromedome]

My daughter doesn't have celiac disease but does have a severe (diagnosed) gluten intolerance, which basically boils down to all the misery but without the physical damage (so...that's something, anyway). She finds the GF cheese pizzas from Costco to be adequate to scratch that itch, though certainly not stellar. As mentioned upthread, she also keeps a bag of masa harina on hand for making tortillas (and/or corn chips) when she feels the urge. She's on a fixed income right now, which makes it impractical for her to just buy them.

 

The gluten-free sandwich bread from America's Test Kitchen is the best my daughter knows of. You can make it with their custom blend of flours, or with any off-the-shelf GF all-purpose flour (it's best with their mix, though). It's paywalled at the ATK site, but a blogger who reviewed one of their cookbooks posted both here:

http://tasty-yummies.com/gluten-free-classic-sandwich-bread/

 

I'm pretty sure I originally got the link from someone here, so thank you whoever you are.

I've made it several times and it works well.

 

 

[pastrygirl]

Agreed, dont trust restaurants to be celiac-safe. Those gluten free menus might be fine for the whole 30, clean-eating, low-carb, GF=healthy, and other bandwagon-jumpers, but you’ll want to makes sure any food your son eats cones from a certified GF kitchen. 

[TicTac]

Thank you all for your contributions.  It really means a lot to me (and my wife, who is lurking in the shadows and taking notes - hi honey!! 💗)

 

Some very interesting thoughts.

 

One thing I want to further investigate is how far does the 'GF' governing body investigate the production of anything labeled as such, to ensure no cross contact.

 

I can envision the value of a 'CS' (Celiac Safe) labeling as well.  From what I gather thus far, something can be labeled 'GF' even if there are traces, so long as traces are noted.  An additional designation might be helpful for those with this disease....

 

 

[Okanagancook]

The Gluten Free certification program is what you are looking for.  https://www.glutenfreecert.com/faqs

 

As the most trusted Canadian resource for consumers seeking gluten-free products, the Canadian Celiac Association’s vision for the GFCP mark is that it will provide consumers with safe, trusted and easily identifiable gluten-free products at point of purchase.The GFCP mark on product packaging provides consumers with an added level of assurance that those products are manufactured in a facility which successfully passes routine third-party audits to verify that their gluten-free management system consistently meets the requirements of the Gluten-Free Certification Program.

[Alex]

TicTac (and others), you might want to check out Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

 

For gluten-free pasta, I've found the ones from Bionaturae and Schãr to be more than decent. I usually order them from Vitacost, although my local supermarket sometimes has them in stock.

[kayb]

Bumping this one back up, rather than starting a new topic. I'm hoping my cooking will eventually evolve to less dependence on "substituting" for non-GF foods, but for now, I'm in "what can I do instead?" mode. 

 

I've made it for a tad more than a week without gluten, save a couple of "oops" moments. Tonight's experiment was in hopes I might be able to sub a corn tortilla for a pizza crust (thankfully, I'm fond of thin-and-crispy crusts anyway). I topped a couple of tortillas with halved figs and blue cheese and some proscuitto; baked at 350 degrees for five minutes in the CSO on steam bake, then followed that up with 4 more minutes on broil. Then I drizzled them with a little honey.

 

 

Verdict: This needs work, although the flavor was good. 5 minutes is not nearly long enough at 350. I think I will up the temp and go six or seven minutes at maybe 450 next time and see how that works. Figs would have been better diced or sliced. And I used too much proscuitto (there is such a thing???). The whole thing was significantly richer than I expected, a tad too sweet (cut back on honey next time, too), and messy as all hell. Plus, one of the tortillas tore up as I was attempting to take it out of the CSO with a spatula. I ate about half of this. 

 

Next time, I will possibly use a double layer of tortillas, cook longer, use less proscuitto, use less honey. But this is somewhat promising.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@kayb, how about lightly frying the tortillas?

 

[kayb]

Wondered about that. I may try it.

 

[teonzo]

Better cooking figs on their own before putting them on the tortilla, they are going to release a lot of water if you add them raw. I would add prosciutto after all the cooking.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[MaryIsobel]

Venturing into gluten free cooking this weekend for friends who will be staying with us. She doesn't eat guten by choice, not an allergy. She has told me that "should gluten pass my lips, it's not the end of the world." That being said I don't mind catering to her. I'm wondering about any tips for using gluten free tortillas to make enchiladas. (She is also a pescatarian.) I made GF enchilaa sauce and will do sweet potato, black bean, onions, peppers and mushrooms and cheese. Just a little nervous about how the GF tortillas will hold up as enchiladas. We are good friends so if it is a disaster, we will just laugh and eat the sides. The ingredients in the tortillas are cassava flour, oat hull fibre, oil, lethicin, xanthan gum, guar gum, baking powder... I know corn tortillas may have been a better choice, but in these parts, we only get small ones, about 4" diameter and they seem to have an infinite shelf life.

The second night we'll have grilled fish and salad, so no concerns there.

Edited May 26, 2022 by MaryIsobel (log)

[heidih]

52 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

Venturing into gluten free cooking this weekend for friends who will be staying with us. She doesn't eat guten by choice, not an allergy. She has told me that "should gluten pass my lips, it's not the end of the world." That being said I don't mind catering to her. I'm wondering about any tips for using gluten free tortillas to make enchiladas. (She is also a pescatarian.) I made GF enchilaa sauce and will do sweet potato, black bean, onions, peppers and mushrooms and cheese. Just a little nervous about how the GF tortillas will hold up as enchiladas. We are good friends so if it is a disaster, we will just laugh and eat the sides. The ingredients in the tortillas are cassava flour, oat hull fibre, oil, lethicin, xanthan gum, guar gum, baking powder... I know corn tortillas may have been a better choice, but in these parts, we only get small ones, about 4" diameter and they seem to have an infinite shelf life.

The second night we'll have grilled fish and salad, so no concerns there.

In my world enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. If your available are smaller than you feel ok rolling you could try the popular "lasagna style". More of a "casserole" but the flavors and textures are there. Like this https://altonbrown.com/recipes/enchilada-lasagna/

[Darienne]

2 hours ago, heidih said:

In my world enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. If your available are smaller than you feel ok rolling you could try the popular "lasagna style". More of a "casserole" but the flavors and textures are there. Like this https://altonbrown.com/recipes/enchilada-lasagna/

I've made enchilada  'casseroles'  for a good number of years now and am always pleased with them.  They are not 'pure'...but then, neither am I.  Of course, I always use a chile verde...recipe given to me years ago by @andiesenji...and would add poblanos to the filling content.  Right.  And then I'd also use Puerco Pibil made following a recipe by Robert Rodriguez, film director, in this case of Once Upon A Time in Mexico, a dreadful (in my opinion) movie starring Johnny Depp.  But a wonderful recipe.  

[kayb]

One tip if you’re using corn tortillas for enchiladas…use the very freshest ones possible. Stale tortillas tearwhen you try to wrap them. 
 

Have done very little with cassava flour, so I’ve no idea how tortillas made with it will hold up. I find either King Arthur or Bobs Red Mill gf flour, which is brown rice, white rice, and potato starch works fairly well in most applications. 

[MaryIsobel]

On 5/26/2022 at 1:52 PM, heidih said:

In my world enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. If your available are smaller than you feel ok rolling you could try the popular "lasagna style". More of a "casserole" but the flavors and textures are there. Like this https://altonbrown.com/recipes/enchilada-lasagna/

Well the gluten free tortillas were just fine. If I hadn't know they were GF, I would have tought they were flour tortillas.

[Darienne]

I've stumbled upon what seems to be an excellent website for gluten-free cooking and baking, Foolproof Living.  It also often works with unrefined sugars.  To me, gluten-free cooking is not a  problem...it's the baking end of it that I am not at home with.  However, this website has many recipes which I've already tried and found quite tasty.  

[Alex]

I often have to do a bit of tweaking (not twerking—that would be terrifying) of proportions or baking time to get the result I want, but I've had good success adapting some recipes to be gluten-free. These are my general guidelines: 

• Instead of a-p flour, use a mix of almond flour, coconut flour, and Bob's Red Mill 1:1 g-f flour
• If measuring flour by volume, use more mix. For example, my original recipe for brownies called for 1/2 cup + 1 T a-p; I now use 1/3 c each almond and coconut plus 1/4 c 1:1.
• Increase eggs (for the brownies, 3 instead of 2), decrease butter (3 oz instead of 4), and increase the leavening (¾-1 t instead of ½ t baking powder)