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Archives for August 2008

Gluten-Free Diet: Do You Eat Oats?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

I’m sure most if not all of our readers are following a gluten-free diet, so I’d like to get your thoughts. Do you eat oats?

There has been a lot of discussion about oats and where they fit into the gluten-free diet over the last few years, so the only real safe thing to do is to avoid oats when you start out and later introduce them once you’re comfortably on the gluten-free diet.

According to What to Feed Your Kids:

Whether to include oats on a gluten-free diet is controversial. Many oats are not gluten-free because of crop rotation – the same soil is used to grow wheat one season and oats the next. There are oats which are specially grown to be gluten-free, but according to Wikipedia even the gluten-free oats contain avenin (a protein very similar in molecular structure to gluten) that is “toxic to the intestinal submucosa and can trigger a reaction in some celiacs.”

Studies regarding people with celiac and their ability to tolerate oats are mixed. Some studies show celiac sufferers can tolerate oats which are free from contamination, but a possible reason for this conclusion is that those who can’t tolerate oats end up dropping out (biasing the sample) midway through the study.

There is also new research indicating a molecular basis for oat intolerance in patients with celiac disease. People with celiac who have the DQ8 gene seem to tolerate oats better than those with the DQ2 gene. I have the DQ2 gene so I don’t include any oats in my gluten-free diet. The Celiac Sprue Association tends to have zero tolerance risk profile and “recommends that excluding oats is the only risk free choice for those on a gluten-free diet.”

Click over to check out the rest of this post! Also, we’d love for you to share your experiences. Are you able to eat oats?

Infant Recipe: Gluten-Free Ground Rice with Apples

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Hunting for some homemade infant baby food recipes? Here at Celiac-Disease.com, we’ve managed to locate a few recipes that can help parents who are looking for gluten-free baby foods they can make for their child at home. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Ground Rice with Apples Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 small eating apple
  • 2 tablespoons ground rice
  • 4 fl oz (110ml) milk or milk substitute
  • 1 tsp reduced sugar jam

Directions:

  1. You can use a microwave to prepare this meal, but allow time for cooling as you could burn your baby’s mouth if you feed it to him too soon.
  2. Core, peel, and slice the apple.
  3. Place it in a small bowl and microwave on high power until soft.
  4. Mash with a fork or pop in the food mill or processor.
  5. Meanwhile, place the ground rice and half the milk into another bowl and mix to form a paste.
  6. Add the remaining milk and microwave on high power for around 4 minutes.
  7. Mix the apple pulp and jam into the rice, cool then serve.

Looking for more baby food recipes?  Check out our Gluten-Free Baby Foods Category!

Infant Recipe: Gluten-Free Coconut Raisin Pudding

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

In the market for some homemade infant baby food recipes? Here at Celiac-Disease.com, we’ve managed to locate a few recipes that can help parents who are looking for gluten-free baby foods they can make for their child at home. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Coconut Raisin Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 small apple
  • 1 oz raisins
  • 4 tbsp unsweetened apple or orange juice
  • 1/2 oz desiccated coconut

Directions:

  1. Peel, core, and slice the apple.
  2. Put into a small saucepan with the juice and raisins and cook on a low ring for around 10 minutes or until the apple is soft.
  3. Take off the heat and stir in the coconut.
  4. Liquidise, cool, and serve.

Looking for more baby food recipes?  Check out our Gluten-Free Baby Foods Category!

Recipe: Gluten-Free Ham and Cheese Crepes

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

These delicious crepes are a favorite in our house. We eat them filled with scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese, but you can fill them with anything. If you are feeling especially creative, try adding different herbs and seasonings to the crepe mix for a different flavor.

Gluten-Free Ham and Cheese Crepes Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 8-10 eggs
  • 3 ounces of Ham lunch meat
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup cornmeal
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Shredded Cheese (we use cheddar but you can use whatever you prefer)

Directions:

  1. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add butter
  2. While the butter is melting, cut the ham into bite-size pieces.  A pizza cutter works great for this.
  3. Once butter is melted add ham to the pan and give a quick stir.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Crack 8-10 eggs in a bowl and whisk.
  5. Add eggs to skillet and sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper and stir.
  6. In another bowl crack 2 eggs.
  7. Add milk and a pinch of salt and whisk.
  8. Add cornstarch and whisk until cornstarch is dissolved.
  9. Stir the egg and ham mixture and continue stirring every couple of minutes until the eggs are cooked completely.
  10. Preheat a 9-inch, nonstick skillet over medium heat.
  11. Whisk the crepe mixture again to ensure that all the lumps of cornstarch are gone.
  12. Add cornmeal to the crepe mixture and whisk.
  13. When the 9-inch skillet is warm, whisk the crepe mixture and then pour a thin layer over the bottom of the skillet.  Crepes should be fairly thin.
  14. Allow the crepe to cook until the side that is facing up is cooked through and then flip.
  15. Cook for about 1 more minute then remove to a plate.
  16. Whisk the crepe mixture before pouring out additional crepes and cook the same way.
  17. To assemble, place the crepe on a plate and spoon the ham and egg mixture, while still warm, to one side of the crepe. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and then roll up and enjoy!!

Makes approximately 4 crepes.

Do You Celebrate The Gluten-Free Diet?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

I bet to most people that title probably sounds like an unusual question, but that question is something the gluten-free homemaker recently asked.

Obviously, the idea is not to celebrate having Celiac Disease, but instead to celebrate the fact that you’re living a healthy and gluten-free life!

The other day my 17-year-old son asked how long it had been since I was diagnosed. It will be eight years this fall. He said he thought we should have a party when I reached 10 years. A party? To celebrate finding out you have a disease? That’s not what he meant, and what he said was very encouraging to me. He thought we should celebrate the fact that I have learned to cope so well. He was old enough to remember the changes we had to go through, but he is very aware that much of the food he enjoys today is a result of my having to learn to cook all over again. While he knows that it’s hard, he sees a lot of good that has come from it, and he sees me as being someone who succeeded in the face of a big challenge. My thought was, it’s like climbing to the top of a mountain. You don’t celebrate the mountain, you celebrate the experience and the success of getting to the top. Celiac disease is still there and it’s pretty big, but I’m on top of it and enjoying the view. I hope you are too, but if you’re just starting out and the view from the bottom isn’t so great, be encouraged. The trail has already been blazed, and there are plenty of people to help you on the way. You can make it to the top and celebrate with the rest of us.

I think that kids always offer a fresh and unique perspective and am glad that the author took the time to share this.   Do you celebrate having Celiac Disease and the gluten-free diet that keeps you healthy?