It all started with an innocent question in my inbox: Valorie–I have a friend who has a teenaged son who has to have a gluten free diet. Do you have any teen friendly recipes for that?
My initial reaction was “Are you kidding me?” I can’t imagine surviving without gluten. I think bread is one of my favorite food groups, and when I started to think of “teenage” foods, the only thing I could come up with were things like chicken fingers and pizza–both of which of course–contain gluten.
I’m always up for a challenge so I started to do a little research and realized pretty quickly that those who need a gluten free diet have to be very careful about what they buy. I suppose that goes without saying, but I didn’t realize that even products that don’t contain “gluten” can still be contaminated in the processing. For example, sometimes belts on the factory floor are dusted with flour to prevent sticking. . .and therefore the final product is still contaminated.
Then I started to research gourmet options. I can’t afford to feed my family or even one person in my family in that way. So I decided to take up the cause and add a new category to the food blog: gluten free diets. I am in no way an expert when it comes to gluten free eating, however, I will share what I learn here.
With that said, here are a few ideas for adapting your normal recipes to be gluten free:
1. Focus on flavor. Using fresh herbs, or other seasonings can help bring out the flavor of your dish without using gluten.
2. Redo your breading. I’ve now learned that you can substitute corn meal or potato flakes as a substitute for breading.
3. Cook from scratch and don’t rely on convenience foods. Learn to make sauces, gravies, and other sundry dishes to prevent any cross contamination of gluten.
Look soon for more ideas on a gluten free diet.
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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