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Frito Lay’s Gluten-Free Potato Chips

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 6 Comments

Looking for a gluten-free potato chip to take with you on the go? Although potato chips typically aren’t a very healthy snack, I’ve always felt they have a value to anyone on a gluten-free diet as they can easily be taken with you on the go whether you are traveling or trying to pack a lunch. They are even sold in tiny packages for your convenience!

In addition to several gluten-free chip options you’ll often find in many specialty stores, the mainstream company Frito Lay also offers a number of gluten-free potato chips which are safe for those on a gluten-free diet to consume.   In fact, Frito Lay lists both their gluten-free chips and their gluten-free and casein-free chips on their official website for your convenience.

Notable Gluten-Free Chips from Frito Lay:

  • Cheetos
  • Fritos
  • Lays
  • Ruffles
  • Tositos

These are mostly corn-based and so they are naturally gluten-free.   For a complete list, including baked versions and other variations, you’ll want to check out their gluten-free or gluten-free and casein-free pages.

Have anything to add?  Feel free to leave a comment below!

Is Eggnog Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

In most cases, the answer is yes. Though they’re harder to find these days (thank goodness!), some ready-made brands of eggnog can contain gluten in the form of wheat. It’s easy to spot wheat on the label so therefore it’s easy to avoid gluten-containing eggnog. Kroger has a gluten-free eggnog in our area. At one time the 365 brands at Whole Foods made eggnog that contained gluten, or at least the label listed wheat in the ingredients. Ingredients often change so the product might be gluten-free now.

For whatever reason, companies don’t seem to use barley or rye when making eggnog. Why any would use wheat is a mystery but I’ll never forget picking up a container of eggnog that listed wheat in the ingredients. This was right after the labeling law changed so I wonder if there really was wheat in the product. More than once the legal departments at large companies have suggested they add wheat to the label of some products that don’t contain wheat ingredients. At one time a blue cheese at WalMart stated “contains wheat” but after running tests, the product was found to be gluten-free and the disclaimer went away. Nothing about the product changed except the label. It had always been gluten-free.

Most store-bought eggnogs won’t contain any alcohol so you need to add your own if you’re so inclined. I’ve seen recipes that call for Brandy, Bourbon, and even dark Rum. Distilled alcohols are considered gluten-free, even though some old outdated information on the subject would have you believe otherwise. It’s been several years since scientists figured out that the distillation process removes the gluten protein. You can check the gluten-free status of your favorite brands at GlutenFreeDrinks.com. Remember to watch out for flavored alcohols that can have gluten ingredients added after the distillation process. I’ve personally never run into flavored alcohol that contains gluten but a few do exist.

An easy way to understand that pure distilled alcohols are gluten-free is to think about the vinegar issue. Many kinds of vinegar are distilled from gluten grains and yet, they are considered gluten-free. The same rule applies to distilled alcohol. Malt vinegar is often made from barley, a gluten grain, but since it’s usually not distilled, it is not gluten-free. Malt vinegar is made from corn in some cases and that product is indeed gluten-free.

It would be hard to imagine anyone making eggnog from scratch that would contain gluten but anything is possible. If you attend a party where it’s being served, it’s best to check with the person who made it before consuming it. Cheers to all for a happy, healthy 2010!

Items Worth Ordering Online if You Can’t Buy Them Locally

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

It would be wonderful if we could all buy our favorite products locally but that might never be a reality for any of us. The truth is that many pretty awful tasting things sell really well because people are just happy to find a gluten-free bagel. For many people on the gluten-free diet, taste doesn’t seem as important as finding something – anything – they can eat.

We have one rule about gluten-free food at our house. It can either be as good as a great gluten version of the food or better. It can not offer a sub-standard taste however.  Therefore, we are willing to cut back on other expenses just so we can have the best of the best in the gluten-free market place. These are our favorite items and might not suit everyone else’s taste, of course.

Sorrella Bakery Biscotinnes are handmade gluten-free biscotti type cookies. They are crunchy but not as dense as regular biscotti. There are several flavors but we only tried the “Cinnamon Swirl” which is phenomenal. All Sorella’s Bakery items are peanut and dairy free. It’s rare to find a shelf stable gluten-free item that does not go stale fairly quickly once opened. We don’t go anywhere without packing this gluten-free travel friendly item. This fabulous biscotti was once sold at a store here but it did not move well. Too bad I wasn’t gluten-free back then as I would have cleaned them out of all their stock!

Go Picnic Gluten-free Meals and Snacks are a lifesaver when you get stuck somewhere that only offers you a safe salad to eat.  Each gluten-free meal or snack offers something salty, something sweet and some protein.  The turkey pepperoni packs are the perfect size for two and the stick is just enough for one person. The Go Picnic meals really are shelf stable meals in a box!

Udi’s gluten-free products, all of them we’ve tried anyway, are unlike any other gluten-free items we’ve had to date. Who knew it was possible to make gluten-free bread that tasted great without being heated? Udi’s products are free of gluten, dairy, soy and nuts. The only thing they don’t seem to be free of is incredible taste!

Joans’ GF Greatbakes Bagels and English Muffins are hands down the best we’ve tried and we’ve tried every brand in the U.S.  Nothing else comes close to these amazing breads, at our house anyway. In order to save money on shipping, I order with friends and that way the shipping cost for each of us is nominal.

Le Veneziane pasta from Italy is unlike any corn pastas I’ve had. The secret is apparently the quality of corn grown in Italy (nothing like U.S. corn) and the artful way the pasta is made. It’s basically like a wheat pasta, except that it is gluten-free!

Island GF Bakery gluten-free waffles are probably the best I’ve had in life. Note they are not the just best gluten-free waffles, but the best waffles period. In an attempt to find the perfect ready made gluten-free waffle I tried everything I could find – about seven brands/flavors. Finally, my search is over.

Everybody Eats Sticky Buns and Ravioli are the best items out there but sadly the bakery can’t ship the incredible Ravioli. It’s much too delicate. It tastes like hand made gluten pasta in Italy so I dream of the day when I can buy it in a  store near me. The Sticky Buns can be shipped and a dear friend of mine shipped me some of them for Christmas even though I can buy them here. What a lovely early gift that was!

Let us know if there is something you can’t do without, and are willing to order if you can’t find it in a store near you.     

What Flour Should We Use For Fried Foods?

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

The person who sent this question in used plain rice flour to fry something and apparently it didn’t work out too well. The batter kind of dissolved and fell apart. This is a common problem when using gluten-free flours in hot oil.

Gluten-free flour blends that contain both cornstarch and tapioca starch seems to hold up well for fried foods. The Domata Living Flour works well for several things like chicken fingers and fried fish. For Thanksgiving this year we used Jules gluten-free Flour for fried onions and they were the best we’ve ever made with any type of flour.

The Jules flour blend works well in most every recipe we’ve tried it in so far. From quick breads to battered and fried items to pizza crust. It’s the only flour that performed like wheat flour for fried foods. None of the batter came off in the pan, which is a problem with every other gluten-free flour blend we’ve used.

Many people like making their own flours but some of us don’t care to measure all those flours and then store the left over bags. If you’re cooking for a household you can save quite a bit of money by buying different flours and mixing your own blend. If you’re cooking for one or two people, you’ll likely end up throwing flour out when it goes rancid before you get around to using it all.

Carol Fenster’s website, Savory Palate, has several gluten-free flour blend recipes. Anyone looking to mix their own flours up will do well to start with Carol’s great recipes for various flour blends. Carol’s #2 or #3 blend recipes would probably work best for fried foods.

How Can I Determine What is Gluten-Free at a Buffet Dinner?

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

It would be great if there was an easy answer to this common question. Unfortunately, there is not only not an easy answer, there is really not a very good one either. In the almost four years that I’ve been gluten-free, the only buffet meals I’ve been able to enjoy much were gluten-free events. The exceptions were parties where I spoke to someone from the catering company to determine what was gluten-free beforehand.

Holiday dinners or potluck events in the South tend to be heavy on casseroles made with Campbell’s soup. Presently, Campbell’s does not consider any of the soups to be gluten-free, even though in the past they listed five of them as safe for people who can’t tolerate gluten. Most desserts at buffet dinners or potlucks also tend to contain gluten, as would be the case in most areas.

At a buffet meal where you are the only gluten-free guests and no one knows about your dietary needs, you’ll be lucky to find safe meat and possibly some potatoes or rice. Don’t assume these things are safe but at least ask whoever brought them if they can tell you exactly what is in the dish. Keep in mind that in the case of mashed potatoes, the cook using butter from a contaminated container is a concern. When asking about rice, remember to ask if chicken (or another) stock was used to cook the rice. Stocks can contain gluten. Recently, College Inn recalled some stocks that had undeclared wheat in them.

Possible safe snacking options might include fresh veggies – just remember to ask about any dip being served with them. Also, plain fruit is OK but a yogurt fruit dip could contain gluten. You might assume a bowl of nuts would be safe, but only if you can verify the gluten-free status by checking the package. Don’t ask why some flavored nuts contain gluten as that is a question for the companies that make them that way. All pure unadulterated nuts are gluten-free.

Before going to a social event where there might not be much for you to eat, consider eating something beforehand. Additionally, you can pack your own emergency food kit. Easy items to take are small packs of nuts (Ingles and Trader Joe’s sell gluten-free versions of these), energy bars, candy, snack-size cheeses, and small bags of chips. As always, check all emergency food kit products for their gluten-free status before purchasing.

If you take a gluten-free dish to share, consider putting some of it in a separate container for yourself before others get the chance to slip into a gluten-serving utensil by mistake. Earlier this year, I attended a potluck where the only things I could eat were the items I brought and the chili the hosts made gluten-free specifically for me. There were about 50 people at the party and they all brought food or wine. The best part for me regarding the food was that no one knew the cake I brought (thanks to Mark Fitchpatrick!) was gluten-free. The guests just scarfed it down and after they raved about it I quietly explained it was gluten-free. I would not want others to overhear me and make a point of avoiding the cake like the plague. Almost every guest I told about the cake looked at me like I had three heads. “That cake was gluten-free?” someone said, pointing to the scalded milk cake. They thought I was talking about something other than what they’d just devoured.