Gluten in Home Cooked Meals
My sister-in-law is a wonderful woman and I am fortunate to have such a loving and caring woman in my life. I know whenever we get together for dinner at her house we are throwing her a curveball because of my gluten intolerance and both my husband and I are vegetarians as well.
The biggest challenge I find in my sister-in-law’s home cooked meals is she loves casseroles (and I do too!). Many casseroles call for creamed or other canned soups. In fact, I recently heard that when Campbells first came out with their creamed soups they weren’t designed to be soups at all but sauces. That has certainly become the case in many casserole recipes. Casseroles often add breadcrumbs or may have a main ingredient of noodles and some people may not realize that “egg noodles” are actually wheat.
In addition to casseroles, and of course any bread, rolls, or pasta, there are other places where gluten may show up in a home cooked meal that otherwise looks safe:
- Marinades are a trouble spot because of the frequent addition of soy sauce or other wheat or malt flavorings. This includes some pre-cooked chicken and some lunchmeats.
- Breading is something to be avoided since 99% of the time it is wheat (this includes panko which is the Asian-style breading and “beer battered” which has beer in the batter but is wheat-based).
- Any sauce should be investigated for ingredients, especially if it is thick (such as alfredo). This includes creamed vegetables. Vegetables can still be creamed using milk and cornstarch or substitute arrowroot or tapioca but if the person cooking is familiar or comfortable with these applications they have likely used flour. Sauces that are not thick have the possibility of having soy sauce in them, another common source of gluten.
- Soups, especially creamed or thick soups, will often have wheat in them. Or they may have noodles or orzo (which looks like rice but is wheat).
- Desserts are especially problematic, including some ice cream. Many special flavors of ice cream (like cookies and cream) have wheat in them. Always read the label to be sure.
- Prepared salad dressings are another source of gluten although if you make your own, the likelihood of gluten being in there is very small (unless you include soy sauce).
There are many modifications that can be made when you are cooking for yourself or if you have family or friends who are open and interested in learning new cooking techniques. Home cooked meals can be gluten-free and tasty, it just takes a little more education and effort.
November 19 2009 08:46 am | friend and family support and gluten free and gluten intolerance and gluten substitutes and shopping