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Eating gluten free

Gluten free products are not only for those suffering from celiac disease.

Some types of autism also benefit from a gluten free diet. This is also recommended on a temporary bases to help eliminate candida.

Eating on a gluten free diet

Avoiding gluten means keeping out of your diet cereals like wheat, rye, barley, and oats -the only gluten free cereals are rice and corn- which are the ones we mainly use to make breads and cakes. Don't forget pasta, made mainly from durum wheat.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Since many of the flour used for baking is made from these three grains, until recently, it was extremely difficult to find commercially produced flour, cereal and any baked goods. Flour is sometimes used as a main ingredient, as in gravy. Other times it is more difficult to notice as it is just used as a filler to bulk out a powder-like item, like instant coffee and curry powder. Today, we are learning how to manage with gluten allergies and doing so with incredibly delicious, gluten-free recipes.

Substituting Gluten

The gluten is what keeps cookies, cakes and pies soft, moist and held together. It makes baked goods have their texture because of the air getting trapped within the sticky boundaries of the gluten. When gluten isn't present, we need to find other substances that can form a sticky shield to hold the gasses in.

Xanthum Gum comes from the dried cell coat of a Zanthomonas campestris. Since it is made in a laboratory, xanthum gum is scientifically sticky. Guar Gum is another, more natural binder. A powder is created from the seed of the Cyamopsis tetragonolobus plant and is an excellent substitute for gluten. These alternative sticky-substitutes can easily be found in any health food store.

Gluten free substitutes

Every day someone is coming up with a new way to substitute a common item into recipes that call for gluten. There are ways to substitute combinations of ingredients, cup for cup, where you would use any of the three main gluten-based flours. Let's take a look at some of the less common substitutes for gluten and open up the realm of possibilities.

Potato starch flour

Potato Starch Flour is a great substitute. The thickening that this flour provides is outstanding and because of the high starch component, the ingredients bind to it like glue. Mix a little with water first to help hydrate the granules and get the glue working, then substitute potato starch flour in your recipe, cutting the amount of flour needed in half to get the right proportions.

Tapioca flour

This light, white, very smooth flour comes from the cassava root. You might be familiar with the chewy little balls found in tapioca pudding, so you can imagine how well it reacts with baked goods. Anything that needs to be chewy, like French bread or white bread, could use this kind of flour.

Soy flour, lentil or chickpea flour

High in protein, soy flour has a nutty taste and a smooth texture due to the high fat content. Soy flour is usually used in combination with other flours, to make baked goods such as brownies, cookies and muffins. Since soy flour can stand up to almost every thing, it is also good to combine with nuts and or fruits.

Chickpea flour or lentil flour are commonly used in Indian cuisine and gluten free. Adding a few exotic recipes to your repertoire may make a gluten free diet easier.

Brown rice flour

This gluten substitute comes from unpolished brown rice. Because this ingredient contains bran, it has a higher nutritional value that traditional flour. This type of flour is used best in more dense breads.

Gluten free products

Living gluten free is not difficult to do, but it does require a little foresight into what ingredients work best to replace the gluten. The basic premise is to figure out what ingredient, or combination of ingredients, will work the same as the ingredient they are replacing - gluten. Be sure to consult with your doctor before going on a strict gluten free diet to make sure there will be no adverse effects.