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Taco Bell’s Gluten-Free Menu

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Do you have a Taco Bell in your area that you’d like to eat at?   It seems like most places around the United States have a Taco Bell, so I decided to do some research and see what Taco Bell has that is truly gluten-free.

Official Website Menu Information: Taco Bell Gluten-Free Menu
Location Finder: Find a Taco Bell Location Near You

Unfortunately, my research produced limited results, but I did find this Taco Bell allergens chart which includes gluten as one of the many allergens on the list.  It certainly isn’t an ideal or definitive list, but it was updated recently and hopefully will help some people who are determined to dine at a Taco Bell.

In the meantime, I will keep an eye on the official Taco Bell website for a gluten-free menu.  Once one is posted, I will be sure to get this post updated with their official gluten-free information!

As always, when dining out gluten-free, do your due diligence and make sure the staff understands your needs. There are very few restaurants that are 100% gluten-free, so cross-contamination is always a risk. If you don’t feel comfortable with what you are hearing from the staff, perhaps it is best to dine elsewhere.

For information about other gluten-free restaurants menus, check out our gluten-free restaurants page.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Cheese Bread

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Finding good bread can be difficult for anyone following a gluten-free diet, so I am always on the lookout for good-tasting bread. I’ve always loved cheese and have found that cheese can often be the dominant taste in the bread if done correctly.

Here is a recipe for a gluten-free recipe for cheese bread that tastes pretty good. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out in the comments. If you’d like to check out other recipe ideas, check out our gluten-free recipes page!

Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Recipe

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups White Rice Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Rice Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Sorghum Flour
  • 1/4 Cup Dried Milk Powder
  • 2 Tbs Sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
  • 3 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

Wet Ingredients:

  • 3 Eggs
  • 3 Tbs Oil (I used Olive)
  • 1 3/4 Cups warm water (110 degrees)
  • 1 1/2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Shredded

Directions:

  1. Mix the dry ingredients together and add the wet to them. Blend in the mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes. Place dough in a greased pan and allow rising for 1/2 hour in a warm place. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 mins.

Can Celiac Disease Cause Infertility?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Health studies suggest that celiac disease, a hereditary condition that often goes undiagnosed, can lead to infertility. Experts acknowledge that without treatment, celiac disease can cause repeated miscarriages and early menopause.

For women facing no explanation for their infertility, now there is a simple, accurate way to find out if the undiagnosed celiac disease might be the cause. For the first time in Canada, Health Canada has approved the Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit, an at-home test that measures gluten antibodies from a fingertip blood sample.

According to health officials, about one percent or one out of 100 Canadians are affected by celiac disease, which occurs when gluten–a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley–triggers damage to the lining of the small intestine, interfering with your absorption of nutrients. But that estimate increases to as much as six percent for women with unexplained infertility.

Infertility affects as many as one in six couples in their reproductive years in America. Of those, about 15 percent are from no apparent cause. At the same time, the symptoms of celiac disease are not always obvious. It may be years before symptoms worsen and the disease is diagnosed, and by then child-bearing years may be over. The Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit, first developed in Finland, gives these couples an easy way to find out if celiac disease is a possible cause of their infertility.

Celiac disease affects people differently and not all symptoms are obvious. Classic celiac symptoms include diarrhea, stomach pain, weight loss, and, in children, delayed growth. For others, the symptoms are subtler, such as bloating, or excess gas. Fatigue, weakness, joint pain, and migraines — symptoms typically not associated with the gut — are also reported, and the diagnosis is often anemia, stress, irritable bowel syndrome, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Without treatment, celiac disease increases the risk of malnutrition, osteoporosis (because of poor absorption of calcium and vitamin D), certain digestive tract cancers, and other disorders such as Type 1 diabetes and thyroid disease.

Average time for correct diagnosis of celiac disease – 12 years: According to a 2007 survey of the Canadian Celiac Association’s more than 5000 members, the average time it took to be diagnosed was 12 years. Many reported consulting with three or more doctors before their diagnosis was confirmed. In fact, health research experts estimate that some 97 percent of those affected by the disorder remain undiagnosed.

Home Screening Test Now Available

The Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit is an at-home test that measures IgA antibodies from a fingertip blood sample. While this easy test gives a high degree of certainty that you are either developing celiac disease or already have celiac disease, you still need to see your doctor for confirmation. Confirming a diagnosis requires a small bowel biopsy in which an endoscope is passed through the mouth into the stomach’s upper intestine so that the lining can be examined and a biopsy taken.

The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet for life. Still, the day you’re confirmed celiac and start your diet, is the day you’re on the road to recovery.

Information on celiac disease, the Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit, and links to key informational sites can be found at www.celiachometest.com/. The kit can be purchased online, or at London Drugs, Rexall Pharma Plus, and other major Canadian retail chains.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

If you are someone on a gluten-free diet, but don’t typically find you have problems with peanuts, here is a recipe for a gluten-free peanut butter cookie that is pretty good. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out in the comments!

If you’d like to check out other recipe ideas, check out our gluten-free recipes page!

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups peanut butter (natural or no sugar added)
  • ¾ cup agave nectar (light or dark)
  • 1 Tbs. gluten-free vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour*
  • ¾ cup buckwheat flour (or Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour)
  • 2 Tbs. mesquite flour (or Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour)
  • 2 Tbs. almond meal (or Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour)
  • ½ cup+ chocolate chips (optional)
  • Cinnamon and sugar (or granulated splenda) mixture (or cinnamon only) for tops of cookies

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Blend peanut butter and all liquid ingredients together, then add in the dry ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated.
  3. Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll balls of dough approximately the size of ping pong balls in your hands and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Dip a fork in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and press into each cookie to flatten with a criss-cross design.
  4. Bake for 10-12 minutes and remove to cool on the pan.

Gluten-Free Hotel Travel Guide

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Traveling on a gluten-free diet can be extremely difficult, especially the first few times you travel. The best thing you can do is to properly prepare before traveling!

Below you’ll find we’ve put together a gluten-free guide for hotel travel. If you have anything to add, feel free to submit a comment below!

Try to Stay in a Hotel Room with Cooking Facilities

If money is no object, then you can continue to visit your favorite five-star hotels and have the chefs and kitchen staff cater to your every need. If, like most of us, you’re on a budget, you’ll be more comfortable if you have access to kitchen facilities while you’re away from home.

Try to find an all-suite hotel

Accommodations in suite hotels usually include a refrigerator, a microwave, and possibly a stove top that will allow you to prepare food for yourself. Also, it will be easier to store any food you bring with you or buy locally.

Bring food from home

Bring a supply of gluten-free crackers, cookies, soup base, candies — whatever you like to munch on or that’s easy to prepare. Be sure to bring enough to last through your trip home. Don’t assume you’ll be able to buy gluten-free favorites on your trip.

Try to stay somewhere with easy access to a grocery store

If you’re close to a grocery store, you can easily replenish your supplies of fruits, vegetables, plain yogurt, and other fresh snacks. Some of the all-suite hotels will actually go shopping for you. If you use this service for anything other than fresh food, however, don’t forget that you’ll have to provide an extremely specific shopping list with brand names, because the hotel’s shoppers won’t read labels for you.

Bring along reusable toaster bags

If you’re staying in a hotel that provides a free breakfast buffet, you’ll hopefully have access to a toaster. Several companies manufacture heavy-duty reusable toaster bags that let you toast gluten-free bread in the hotel toaster without fear of cross-contamination. Toaster bag brand names include the following:

  • Toast It Reusable Toaster Bags
  • Toastabags
  • Kitchen Craft Non-Stick Reusable Toaster Bags

Bring some of your own baking pans

Some resorts offer units with full kitchens. If you bring your own baking pans and some gluten-free muffin or bread mixes, you can enjoy fresh baked goods even while you’re away from home. Measure out the dry ingredients at home before your trip and pack them in sealed plastic bags. Supermarkets now sell flexible silicone and disposable baking pans, which are easier to pack than regular metal ones.

No Kitchen in Your Hotel Room?

Explain your needs to the hotel’s dining staff.

Most hotel chefs are willing to modify the items on their menus. Often they will even prepare foods for you that are not listed on the menu at all, as long as they have the supplies in their kitchen. Don’t hesitate to ask for special treatment. Hotels are in the business of accommodating their guests and have probably accommodated people with Celiac Disease in the past.

Consider faxing a note and a restaurant card to the hotel’s chef in advance.

This is important advice for everyone, but it’s crucial if your hotel will be in a country where you don’t speak the language. Restaurant cards contain descriptions of the gluten-free diet in a variety of languages. They are included in several books and sold by a variety of vendors. You can hand them out to restaurant staff to help explain the gluten-free diet. If you will be traveling to Germany, consider faxing a restaurant card (with a letter, of course) in advance to your local hosts as well.

Ask for a room with a refrigerator

If you’re staying in a regular guest room with no kitchen facilities, ask if the hotel will put a small refrigerator in your room. Many will do this if you ask.

Consider these ideas for inexpensive restaurant breakfasts:

  • Bring sealed bags of gluten-free cereal, and add milk and fruit from the restaurant.
  • Bring your own rice cakes or granola bars, and ask the restaurant for cheese, fruit, or for individual servings of cream cheese.

Seek Help from a gluten-free Travel Specialist

Finally, if you’re going on vacation, don’t overlook the option of traveling on an organized gluten-free tour. One of the best-known organizers of such tours is Bob & Ruth’s gluten-free Dining & Travel Club.

If you have anything to add, feel free to post your tips in the comments below!