What You Need To Know To Live Gluten Free

Our Gluten Free Journey

One half of the 2 Cooks in the Kitchen is celiac and we have dedicated a lot of attention to learning about gluten free and gluten containing foods. Most all of our recipes are naturally gluten free or can be made gluten free with ingredient substitutions. We do have a few recipe videos from before the celiac diagnosis on our Youtube channel but if they can’t be made gluten free they will not be here on our recipe site. You can be confident that all these recipes are gluten free.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is the general name for proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale, which is a cross between wheat and rye. Gluten holds food together and helps it maintain its shape. It provides no essential nutrients to the human diet. The Celiac Disease Foundation has more information.

What is Celiac Disease?

People with Celiac disease have an immune reaction that is triggered by eating gluten. The most common form of this reaction is intestinal inflammation leading to extreme discomfort as well as a higher risk of intestinal cancer. Approximately 25% of people diagnosed with Celiac disease get a skin rash instead called Dermatitis Herpetiformis. You can find more information about Celiac Disease at the Mayo Clinic

How is Celiac Disease Diagnosed?

Celiac disease can be reliably diagnosed with genetic tests, blood tests that detect certain antibodies, punch tests that observe celiac in skin cells from lesions and intestinal biopsies. There are two genetic markers for Celiac disease and people with both are highly susceptible to the intestinal form of the disease. People with one of the markers are more likely to develop the skin rash. The genetic tests can only tell whether a person is predisposed to the disease, not whether they currently have it. The blood test is a reliable way to determine that. In our case it was a punch test that provided the diagnosis. You can find more information about celiac diagnosis at the National Institute for Health.

Is There A Cure For Celiac Disease?

While there is no cure for Celiac disease the affects of it can be completely eliminated by strictly avoiding gluten. This can be a difficult thing to do in contemporary society and one of our goals is to help with that. After being gluten free for a while a person becomes even more susceptible to even a small amount of gluten so diligence becomes necessary. Several drug companies are working on therapies to help alleviate the symptoms of celiac disease but none are very close to market. The Celiac Disease Foundation has more for you on this topic.

Are There Other Reasons To Avoid Gluten?

For most people there isn’t any real benefit to avoiding gluten. Some people experience gluten sensitivity with symptoms of bloating, diarrhea or cramps abdominal pain, while testing negative for Celiac disease. This is called ‘non-celiac gluten hypersensitivity’, and there isn’t much science yet about it. If these people can experience relief by avoiding gluten, then by all means they should. Harvard Medical School has an article you can read for more information.

Are There Downsides To Living Gluten Free?

There are certainly downsides to living gluten free. The first being that it is quite difficult to avoid all gluten in modern society. In addition to the obvious places we find gluten it is also hidden in some very sneaky places. Those ribs at your favorite restaurant might be soaked in beer before being cooked or that California Roll at your Sushi bar might have imitation crab that is made with wheat.

Secondly, according to Harvard Medical, gluten-free foods are commonly less fortified with folic acid, iron, and other nutrients than regular foods containing gluten. And gluten-free foods tend to have less fiber and more sugar and fat. Several studies have found a trend toward weight gain and obesity among those who follow a gluten-free diet.

How Can We Enjoy A Life Without Gluten?

Here we come to the heart of the matter. We enjoy some of the finer things in life such as fine dining, good wine and good tequila. Wine and tequila are no problem but we had to give up beer and bread. Restaurants can be tricky to navigate as many have no understanding of ingredients containing gluten and cross contamination. Fortunately there has been a lot of development in products and education around gluten free foods. Now we can find a lot of good gluten free products in the stores and some restaurants are offering a lot more gluten free options.

We Are Here To Help

Here at 2 Cooks in the Kitchen we are dedicated to helping you cook better food than you will find in most restaurants, all gluten free and right in your own home. A lot of great recipes do take some time to make but the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel combined with the health benefits of knowing what you are eating makes it all worthwhile. In our recipes we will make recommendations for some gluten free products that we have tried successfully and found enjoyable. We love pizza with a cauliflower crust!

One-To-One-Flour

A real game changer for gluten free cooking for us has been the discovery of one-to-one flour. We use it to thicken sauces, make crusts, coat fish and chicken before cooking. One-to-one flour allows us to enjoy most of the foods we loved before being diagnosed with celiac and beginning our gluten free journey. Having said that, we still haven’t found a good bread recipe and we’re still working on good cornbread. We use the one-to-one flour from Bob’s Red Mill which we can get in the bulk section of our local food co-op.

Gluten Free Pasta

We enjoy the gluten free pasta from Barilla. We’ve tried others and the texture just isn’t satisfying but the Barilla works fine. They have a penne and a fettuccine so we can enjoy our favorite bolognese recipe with pasta. It’s also good on a baked potato but it’s nice to be able to have pasta without getting sick.

Stay in touch with us. Subscribe to our Youtube channel. let us know if you have any questions or concerns on your gluten free journey.