Can you still enjoy food without gluten?
Can you still enjoy food without gluten?
It seems every month I am discovering a new food allergy attacking my gut biome. I am getting nervous that my next step is going to be to axe the gluten.
I am already lactose-intolerant. Most acidic things as well (i.e. tomatoes, pineapple, onion family including garlic). The latest is animal fat, no more lamb, oxtail, ribs, or ribeye steaks.
I'm fairly diverse and I'd call myself an accomplished home cook. I typically eat pretty well rounded I would say. No breakfast, or maybe a swig of kefir. Sandwiches for lunch everyday. Not big on sweets. No soda, lots of water. Dinner of meat and rice, with a side of sauteed veg is a typical easy night. I'll make my own pasta, stews and soups are fairly regular too. Try to eat one vegetarian dinner a week.
Is there any hope to have anything good left if I was forced to cut out gluten as well? Or am i doomed to blandness?
Does anyone have any foody websites they visit with such dietary restrictions? It seems i can't find anything quite niche enough that doesn't go full vegan (I understand I have to substitute some things myself in any recipes. But when 80%< is substituted I don't think that counts as following the recipe)
Or is there any cuisine in particular that seems to be easier to make gluten free?
Just looking for help in general here, any advice.
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A truly gluten free diet (not just wheat free, but gluten free, and without cross-contamination) can be really challenging and I'll be the first to admit that it can really stink sometimes to have very, very few options. That said, it's actually typically really easy to do yourself.
Today there are some decent gf breads available, and some good pre-made flour blends if you want to bake your own. Or, you can get your own constituent flours and powders and make your own flour blend. Pastas are similar - I prefer corn pastas as I find those that are primarily rice tend to be too flimsy to hold up both boiling and adding any sort of sauce. Though do be warned of a couple things. Gf pasta really sucks up sauce, so don't be afraid of adding extra sauce (mostly if you're expecting leftovers, by morning the sauce will be gone). Leftover gf pasta rarely holds up and can often be nothing but pieces by the next day - corn pastas are much more robust, and some pastas are decent at avoiding this.
Meats, veg, fruit, raw ingredients are very typically fine. Just be careful of cross contamination. If it's more than just plain butchered meat, for example a pre-marinated meat, either make sure the ingredients are fine (and accept risk of cross-contamination from prep) or don't get it - these often don't have ingredients listed.
Many cuisines are super easy to do gluten free. Indian is a great example - curries very rarely have flour added as a thickener, for example. But honestly, I typically make normal, glutenous recipes just with gf ingredients. Something like bread is the biggest no-no, needing special prep, but I rarely find things that need special provisions.
GF doesn't need to be bland - it's just a different prep style, usually.
Thank you for the tip on pasta. This is a big deal for me because i just recently got into it, and I'd like to continue making my own. With my health in decline making pasta is kind of good workout sadly enough. I haven't made any other types, but can imagine a corn pasta being tasty enough. I'm a big fan of Asian cuisine, so maybe rice noodles could be another direction too. (Though to be honest i didn't realize until posting this that rice is gluten free)
Definitely! Rice noodles (not pasta made from rice flour, but rice noodles like vermicelli) are absolutely fantastic! Of course, when made with an appropriate recipe, like pad thai. There's so much variety with eastern Asian cuisines to be able to use rice noodles, and like I say curries and such are very often fantastic options too!
Other starches are also options, for example corn tortillas. Working masa into tortillas might be an option!
In particular, you'll need to avoid wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. Pat is typically grown near and processed alongside wheat, so most oat is out - and some find trouble even with oats marked gluten free (processed gluten free). I'm fine with oats marked GF.