Living Gluten-Free For Dummies^® 2nd Edition

Foreword

During the last decade we have seen real advances in living gluten-free. Today, you can travel all over the world and find gluten-free bread or pasta in supermarkets or you can even be served them in restaurants. Ten years ago you would never be able to imagine walking into a high street pizza chain and be able to order off the menu. In fact, someone with coeliac disease couldn’t tell whether a can of beans or a carton of soup contained gluten or not! Now we have legislation that enables identification of all packaged foods containing gluten and a legal framework covering the use of the term ‘gluten-free’.

Although we have seen improvements in food labelling, and developments in the variety and quality of foods available both in retail and catering, there are still challenges to meet.

Coeliac UK is the national charity for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. Our mission is to improve the lives of people with coeliac disease through support, campaigning and research. We support those people who are on a gluten-free diet by providing a range of information booklets, diet and health advice, support networks and electronic services. Our campaigns focus on raising awareness about diagnosis, improving the care of people with coeliac disease, improving choice in restaurants, working with catering staff in hospitals and schools, and improving access to gluten-free foods.

Essential funding allows Coeliac UK to support research into the nature of coeliac disease, potential cures and research that improves our understanding of living with the disease. Ongoing projects include identifying the genes most likely to cause coeliac disease, benchmarking current diagnosis rates and understanding more about osteoporosis in coeliac disease.

To find out more about what Coeliac UK can do to help you, to learn how you can get involved and for information on how to become a Member, visit www.coeliac.org.uk or call the Helpline on 0845 305 2060.

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is an excellent introduction to help you understand more about coeliac disease, gluten sensitivity and the gluten-free diet. It can be daunting when you are first diagnosed with a condition like coeliac disease, and changing your whole diet and lifestyle can seem like a huge task. This book helps to put your mind at rest with explanations of what you can and can’t eat, and how to cope with a diagnosis, as well as practical hints and tips for living gluten-free.

Norma McGough, Registered Dietitian, Coeliac UK

Introduction

Not so many years ago, the gluten-free lifestyle was reserved for a small cluster of people who were forced to settle for foods that often looked like cardboard but didn’t taste as good.

Today, with improved diagnostic tools and with many people simply choosing to give up gluten, the gluten-free lifestyle is far more common. Attractive and palatable gluten-free products abound (and they’re a far cry from the only foods that used to be available), food labelling is far less ambiguous, and people no longer look at you as if you have four heads when you ask for a burger without the bun.

Being gluten-free isn’t about being on a diet. It’s about living a lifestyle. Whether you’ve been gluten-free for decades, or are only considering the idea, or you’re reeling from being diagnosed with a condition that demands a gluten-free diet, this book is packed with information that can help in every aspect of your life, from the obvious – your health and how you shop, cook and eat – to more subtle facets like finances, socialising and eating with friends and family.

We have no supplements to sell you and no gluten-free food products that we endorse. Between us, we have a wealth of personal experience to offer, from living gluten-free ourselves and caring for a loved one who lives gluten-free to working professionally with many people to help them make the transition to a gluten-free lifestyle.

This book is the reference you need to help you with living – and loving – a gluten-free lifestyle.

About This Book

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies, 2nd Edition, like all For Dummies books, is divided up so that you don’t have to read it all at once or from front to back if you don’t want to. You can read it sideways and standing on your head if you like; all you do is find a section you’re interested in and dip in. We suggest you peruse the Table of Contents and see whether any particular chapter or subject appeals and start there. Or you can flip through the book and see whether any of the headings catch your eye.

If you’re new to the gluten-free lifestyle and have plenty of questions, you’re probably best off starting at Chapter 1 and working your way through Part I first. After that, you may want to skip to Chapter 7, your quick-start guide to . . . well, making a quick start – that is, getting your gluten-free lifestyle up and running with the minimum of fuss.

If you’ve been gluten-free for years, you may want to take a look at Chapter 4. You may be surprised at some of the foods that are allowed on the gluten-free diet that used to be considered no-nos. This chapter can open a lot of cupboard doors that you once thought were closed! And Chapter 5 gives you an update on what you’ll be seeing on food labels and menus and hearing from waiters and chefs about the presence or absence of gluten in your food.

Whether you’re new to cooking gluten-free or do it all the time or only occasionally, you’re sure to find inspiration and ideas in Part IV, where seven chapters of recipes offer really scrumptious gluten-free foods. They’re all dishes that would normally contain gluten, and even include those tricky ones you probably thought were off the gluten-free menu: home-made pizza, breads and fresh pasta. And if you’re wondering where on earth you’re going to get hold of the ingredients you need to pull off these recipes, rest assured: everything we use is easily available either in the shops or online.

Conventions Used in This Book

To keep the book consistent and easy to follow, here are some of the basic ground rules and conventions we use:

In printing this book, the publisher may have needed to break some web addresses across two lines of text. If that happened, you can be certain that we haven’t put in any extra characters (such as hyphens) to indicate the break. So when using one of these web addresses, just type in exactly what you see in this book, pretending the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, simply click on the link to go directly to the particular website we mention.

We use bold font to indicate the action part of numbered steps, and ­italics when we introduce and define a new word.

Go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/livingglutenfreeuk for the online cheat sheet created especially for this book, and www.dummies.com/extras/livingglutenfreeuk for free articles and a bonus Part of Tens chapter.

Here are some conventions for the ingredients we use in recipes:

If an ingredient appears in a recipe, we mean it to be gluten-free. For instance, we don’t specify ‘gluten-free vanilla’, because all vanilla is gluten-free. But soy sauce usually has gluten in it, so you need to use a gluten-free one such as tamari, even if we haven’t pointed that out to you. Food manufacturers change their formulations all the time, so keep an eye on their labels to see what’s new on the market that you can eat and which foods that used to be gluten-free suddenly aren’t. While we’ve been putting the finishing touches to the book, for instance, the leading brand of baking powder has become gluten-free (yay!), but the leading brand of tacos has gone the other way (sigh!).

Baking with gluten-free flours works best if you use a mixture of them. Chapter 9 goes into detail about what to mix with what. All our recipes spell out which ones we use, in what proportion.

You can use milk substitutes in place of milk in most recipes.

Eggs are large and free-range.

Butter and margarine are interchangeable, although if we’ve suggested butter, we mean the unsalted kind, so if you replace it with margarine (which you can’t get unsalted), you may need to cut down on any other ingredients which are salty, and of course any added salt.

Feel free to tinker with the recipes. If you don’t have an ingredient that a recipe calls for, don’t worry: make a substitution. You may find your swap is a huge improvement. And that goes for your old gluten-containing recipes too. We give you all the techniques and substitute ingredients you need to make anything gluten-free – even bread and cakes – along with almost 100 gluten-free recipes.

What You’re Not to Read

You won’t get in trouble if you do read everything, but if you’re a skimmer, you can skip some parts and not miss anything important. In other words, we won’t be testing you on the following:

Anything that has a Technical Stuff icon: The Technical Stuff icon represents information that’s interesting but not crucial to your understanding of the subject.

Sidebars: These are the stories and snippets of information in shaded boxes scattered throughout the chapters. Just like the Technical Stuff, you may find the information interesting, but you won’t miss anything crucial if you skip them.

Recipes: Unless you’re actually using them to cook or to decide what to make for dinner, recipes aren’t the best late-night reading material. Feel free to skip them until you’re ready to whip up some gluten-free goodies. But do have a look through the recipe chapters even if you’re not a keen cook. You’ll be surprised at the range of dishes you can make and the general information about ingredients and methods.

Foolish Assumptions

You spent your hard-earned dosh on this book, and that means either you want to learn more about the gluten-free lifestyle or you’re related to us. Because our family members have already heard far more about gluten than any human should have to endure (sorry, everyone), we’ve written this book with you in mind – and we’ve taken the liberty of making a few assumptions about you. One or more of the following is likely to apply to you:

You’re considering going gluten-free and will use this book to determine whether to take the plunge.

You love or take care of someone who’s going, has gone or should go gluten-free, and you want to learn about the lifestyle so you can be ­supportive.

You’re new to the diet and are looking for the ‘manual’ that can tell you how to live a gluten-free lifestyle.

You’ve been gluten-free for years and noticed you’re meeting more and more people like yourself these days. You want to find out why and get the latest information about dietary guidelines, state-of-the-art research and new labelling laws.

You’re a professional who has gluten-free clients, pupils, charges, guests, attendees, participants, customers or patients – people of all ages and with all kinds of professional association to you. You want to find out more about the gluten-free lifestyle, the medical conditions that benefit from it and how to get your contribution to the lives of those you work with just right.

At the same time, you can make a few assumptions about us and what we tell you in this book:

We generally know what we’re talking about. As a card-carrying coeliac, diagnosed like most people these days in adulthood, Hilary lives the gluten-free life herself. Danna, our American co-author, raised her son on a gluten-free diet from when he was a young baby. As registered dietitians in the UK, Hilary, Sue and Nigel have worked for many years with patients who have coeliac disease or other gluten intolerances, seeing them through the transition from eating gluten every day to enjoyably avoiding it while still eating well and healthily. We all have the experience to help you too.

The book is endorsed by Coeliac UK, the charity that supports everyone with an interest in living gluten-free or in helping someone else to do so. Coeliac UK sits squarely at the interface of the medical profession, international researchers in the field, the food and catering industries, the National Health Service (NHS) and thousands of people just like you. Not only are those at Coeliac UK experts in the subject, but they’re also great at getting their knowledge across in terms you can understand, apply in real life and really relate to.

This book is intended to supplement but not replace medical advice from your healthcare team and the processes they use to diagnose and manage gluten-related disorders. Always consult your healthcare team for clarification if you’re unclear about anything we say – don’t forget, their advice is tailored to you individually, whereas our content is more general. Medical follow-up and monitoring is vital to staying in tip-top health on a gluten-free diet.

How This Book Is Organised

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is organised so that all related material goes together. So that we don’t repeat too much information, we sometimes include cross-references to related topics. This book has six parts. Each part has several chapters, and each chapter is divided into sections. In the following sections, we explain how we divide up the parts.

Part I: Ready, Set, Going Gluten-Free

As the name implies, this part gives you the big picture of living gluten-free.

Chapter 1 is an overview. If you read nothing else in this book, read Chapter 1, because then you’ll at least sound like you know what you’re talking about.

The rest of this part talks about who may want to consider going gluten-free and why. We describe the full range of gluten-related health disorders, explain the benefits of the gluten-free diet in their treatment and then delve more specifically into coeliac disease – who gets it, why and what it is.

Part II: Digging Deeper into Eating Gluten-Free

This part covers what you can and can’t eat on the gluten-free diet, and how to dig a little deeper so you’re sure the foods you’re eating are really safe for you. If you want the inside track on the fabulous range of substitutes for glutenous foods, how to interpret food labels and menus, and how to eat a diet that’s not only gluten-free but also good for you, we have it all in Part II.

Part III: Taking the Plunge: How to Go Gluten-Free

Part III takes you to the next level: how to get started right away on your new gluten-free diet and lifestyle.

We begin with a quick-start guide to what to do on day one and in the first week, and then take you smoothly on to the few changes and preparations you need to make at home and everywhere else where food is involved.

Chapter 9 amounts to a manual for cooking gluten-free at home, whether the whole household is kept gluten-free or not. We hope you find this section realistic, practical, upbeat and encouraging.

Part IV: Scrumptious Recipes for Gluten-Free Food

In this part, you can find nearly 100 recipes plus dozens of variations on the basic dishes and lots of practical tips, techniques and suggested ingredients to help you make your favourite dishes gluten-free. We take you right through the day, from breakfast to dinner, and include snacks and tempting baked treats.

You can serve all the dishes to all people, whether they normally eat gluten or not. The dishes don’t look like special diet foods that elicit ‘Poor you’ reactions from gluten guzzlers, and they certainly don’t taste that way. In fact, we’re often asked for our recipes.

You can make all our recipes with ingredients that are available easily and affordably in the shops or online. You don’t need a prescription for anything, which means you can serve the dishes to anyone.

So go ahead: get stewing or baking – or whatever it is you want to do in the kitchen. Whether you’re a culinary fledgling or high-flyer, you’ll find these recipes simple, delicious, sometimes impressive and always gluten-free.

Part V: Living – and Loving – the Gluten-Free Lifestyle

For some people, the gluten-free lifestyle presents unique social, practical and emotional challenges. In this part, we help you work out ways to deal with some of the issues like eating at social events and when out and about, travelling, as well as talking with friends and loved ones about your new lifestyle and raising happy, healthy gluten-free kids. We also help you deal with some of the emotional challenges that can come up, so that you can truly learn to love the gluten-free lifestyle.

Part VI: The Part of Tens

What would a For Dummies book be without a Part of Tens? Incomplete, that's what, because all For Dummies books have one, and this book is no exception. The Part of Tens contains a few short chapters, each with ten tips, questions and answers, factoids and nuggets of information about the gluten-free lifestyle. Take a look at www.dummies.com/extras/livingglutenfreeuk for an extra Part of Tens chapter: 'Ten Good Things About Living Gluten-Free'.

Icons Used in This Book

Some people are more visual than others. That’s why icons are helpful. This book uses several icons, and each has a little snippet of information associated with it. Here’s what each icon means:

Everyone can use a friendly little reminder. The Remember icon is a quick and easy way to identify some of the more important points that you may want to make a note of throughout the book.

Sometimes we get really into the juicy, technical and scientific stuff to explain a medical, food science or legal point in a bit more detail than you really need in order to grasp the subject. That’s why we put this info in its own area, marked by a Technical Stuff icon, so that you can skip it if you want to without missing the gist of what’s going on in that section.

These tips can help you live (and love!) the gluten-free lifestyle. They include info to help save you time or cut down on frustration.

            If you want a vegetarian recipe, just look for the tomato icons. (We assume you’ll use vegetarian cheese with no animal rennet for veggie recipes that call for cheese.)

Text flagged with the Warning icon can keep you out of trouble.

Where to Go from Here

What we suggest you do at this point is curl up in your comfiest chair and dip into the book. Eating out tonight and want to ensure your meal is gluten-free? Head to Chapter 17. Cruising the ‘free-from’ aisles? Chapter 8’s a good place to start. Do you glaze over when you read food labels? Chapter 5 helps you learn what to look out for. Your child has just been diagnosed as sensitive to gluten? Chapter 18 can help. Just want to make a clean, fast start on your gluten-free life? Head to Chapter 7 and go for it. Use the full Table of Contents and Index to find exactly what you need . . . or be our guest and read the whole book!

If you’re feeling a little down about going gluten-free, we hope our sincere passion for the gluten-free lifestyle and the healthy benefits that go along with it helps you, along with our positive, practical advice, support and ­inspiration.

Part I

Ready, Set, Going Gluten-Free

Go to www.dummies.com/extras/livingglutenfreeuk for online bonus content.

In this part . . .

Understand the different types of gluten intolerance.

Find out all you need to know about coeliac disease.

Know the association between dermatitis herpetiformis and coeliac disease.

Get familiar with the foods you can enjoy – and know which to avoid.

Enjoy the many benefits of living gluten-free, including the immediate positive effect on your body.

Go to www.dummies.com/extras/livingglutenfreeuk for online bonus content, including an extra Part of Tens chapter: 'Ten Benefits of Being Gluten-Free'.