When you are first diagnosed with celiac disease, a gluten intolerance or a wheat allergy, you may find yourself overwhelmed. Almost every food seems to have some sort of wheat or gluten, and it seems impossible to find a “safe” food to eat.
Gluten is a protein that you will find in barley, wheat and rye. It is also found in triticale, which is a product made by combining wheat and rye.
Also avoid the following foods:
- barley
- bulgur
- durum
- einkorn
- emmer
- farina
- flour
- food starch
- graham
- kamut
- malt
- maltodextrin
- modified food starch
- oats (may be cross-contaminated; only safe if it says “gluten-free”
- rye
- seitain
- semolina
- spelt
- starch
- triticale
- wheat
So what can you eat? Generally, I have found that the following foods are safe for me to eat:
- beans
- dairy products (check yogurt)
- eggs
- distilled alcohol (NOT beer or malted alcohol)
- distilled vinegar
- fresh meat
- fruits
- nuts
- vegetables
The following grains are also safe for me to use in my gluten-free recipes:
- amaranth
- arrowroot starch
- bean flour *
- buckwheat
- corn
- flax
- mesquite flour
- millet
- montina
- oats (ONLY if labelled gluten-free)
- potato
- nut flours *
- rice
- sorghum
- soy *
- tapioca
- teff
- quinoa
* I don’t use these products because my children are allergic to them.
