Edible’s Gluten-Free Diet Guide
A starter’s guide on avoiding gluten
Welcome to The Edible Project’s Diet Guide Series, a starter’s introduction to eating pescetarian, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo or keto. We cover the basics of each diet, pass along tips and tricks curated from the diet community, and provide some simple recipes and communities to get started.
PDF versions of all the guides can be found at www.edibleproject.io/guides. To help improve these guides, leave feedback in the comments or send an email to media@edibleproject.io.
gluten, noun | \ˈglü-tən\ : a tenacious elastic protein substance especially of wheat flour that gives cohesiveness to dough.
Overview
Gluten is found in wheat related grains (barley, rye, oat, and their subspecies), thus is most prevalent in bread products (pizza, baked goods, bagels, etc.). Also gluten is often the bases for imitation meats, since it absorbs broth and becomes firm to the bite when cooked. It is also prevalent in beer and soy sauce.
Those with a gluten allergy or disease such as Celiacs will be very concerned with cross-contamination of gluten-free options and may have problems with how the items are prepared. In this case it is important to always inquire further about the source of the food and identify any possibilities of cross- contamination.
Things To Note
There are some great gluten-free grain options such as rice, millet, quinoa, and buckwheat as well as all of the gluten-free pastas now found at nearly every store.
Avoid ❌
- Bread, toast, pizza
- Flour tortillas (enchiladas, burritos, etc.)
- Pastas, noodles
- Croutons
- Cakes, cookies, pie crusts, brownies
- Cereal & granola (made with non gluten-free oats)
- Pancakes, waffles, french toast, crepes
- Sauces & gravies: soy sauce (substitute tamari), often creamy sauces
- Imitation meats (unless stated otherwise, since seitan has gluten)
How-To Order
- Always double check with a waiter unless the menu clearly states dishes are gluten free
- Generally stay away from bread, flour tortillas, pizza pasta, croutons, baked goods, pancakes (waffles, french toast, crepes), sauces and gravies and imitation meats
- Be cautious of french fries, potato chips, processed meats, soups, and tortilla chips
Simple Recipes
These are some curated dishes that take 30 minutes or less that are great for any beginner on a gluten free diet! Bon appetit!
- Butter Chicken with Cauliflower Rice — 30 minutes
- Garden Veggie Vegan Buddha Bowl — 10 minutes
Community
While embracing a new diet can be daunting, there’s an entire Gluten Free community that can be a great resource. Below are some of our favorite organizations and online platforms.
- beyondceliac.org/bloggers has an expansive list of gluten-free food bloggers with gluten-free recipes, stories of living with food allergies, and more
- nobread.com is a gluten-free guide to eating out in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC
- For other groups search “Celiac Support Groups” in your area
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