Ranch Dressing

[glen4cindy]

Hello all. Been away from home this week and was at Denny's in Orlando, FL and was asking about the menu. I was surprised to find all of the steaks they serve are not safe for a gluten free diet. I was more surprised to find that RANCH DRESSING is not safe!

This evening, I am back home and was eating at Ruby Tuesday's and found that their Ranch dressing is also NOT SAFE!

Is there anyone else out there that has found this to be so? I am like really really dumbfounded to find this, as I never expected RANCH DRESSING to be a problem!!!

I have been having serious problems with GERD lately and have been mostly gluten-free (aside from eating ranch dressing!) and by mostly, I mean that there have been times that I have accidentally consumed it. I had an upper GI 2 weeks ago and asked that they biopsy me for celiac. I was told they would, but, to expect a negative result because of being mostly gluten-free for like 2 years. Well, now I find that they DID NOT biopsy for celiac! I have to go tomorrow for a gastric emptying study (where I get to eat radioactive eggs! ). They are also supposed to draw blood to check for celiac.

Does anyone know if this is an effective test? If yes, will regular eating of NON gluten-free ranch dressing actually HELP to confirm a positive problem with celiac?

Thanks!

[eKatherine]

No, that would not have been enough gluten. They say you need to eat several slices of bread a day for months to get a positive biopsy.

A gastrict emptying test will not be used to diagnose celiac. I suggest you look into enterolab for a genetic test.

[happygirl]

There are ranch, as well as other dressings, that are not gluten free.

Anything and everything can have gluten in it, honestly....even if it doesn't make sense to us! It is the joy of processed food.

#1 rule is to assume that everything has gluten in it, then find the ones that are safe. I believe some of the Newman's Own and Hellman's are safe (but, not all!)

[Girl Ninja]

The Denny's I worked at used a powdered ranch we had to mix up ourselves and I believe the mix was from Hidden Valley. Aren't their normal ranch dressings we can get at the store not safe either?

[bmzob]

Kensfoods.com which is Ken's Steak house...they have all types of gluten-free dressings. However, crosscontamination may be present b/c their processed in the same plant as wheat which they do warn about on their website.

[prinsessa]

I have noticed a lot of dressings contain gluten....especially if they are low-fat/fat-free. I buy all my dressings from whole foods because most of them will say if they are gluten free or not....or i just make my own dressing from oil and vinegar.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

Kraft dressings will not hide gluten in their ingredients.

I enjoy Kraft's Ranch and Creamy Bleu Cheese all the time.

[Guest ~jules~]

I just had a gastric emptying study 2 weeks ago. Just a heads up, take a book its very boring. You eat your little meal they give you, then you just sit there for 2 hours or more, getting up every 10 or so minutes to take the pic.

[glen4cindy]

No, that would not have been enough gluten. They say you need to eat several slices of bread a day for months to get a positive biopsy.

A gastrict emptying test will not be used to diagnose celiac. I suggest you look into enterolab for a genetic test.

Okay. I knew the gastric empty is not being used for celiac, it is being used to determine the extent of GERD and to see if the empty time is a factor.

The same Dr. office (actually he is a D.O.) did a blood draw today after the gastric empty that is to be used to determine celiac. I was just wondering if by my being mostly gluten-free aside from not knowing that ranch was dangerous if celiac was detectable by blood test. I wanted to avoid enterolab if possible due to cost if the celiac diagnosis can be made by a Dr. covered by insurance.

This has been a really great place to come to for great information. Thanks again.

[loraleena]

dressings might contain grain vinegars, malodextrin or natural flavor. Newman's own ranch is gluten free and yummy.

[glen4cindy]

dressings might contain grain vinegars, malodextrin or natural flavor. Newman's own ranch is gluten free and yummy.

I read on a related site that maltodextrin is a sugar, and is a polymer of glucose and is not related to malt but rather the sugar maltose so it is gluten free.

Is this a correct statement, or do most or all of you here avoid all foods that list maltodextrin as an ingredient?

[jkmunchkin]

For the most part I avoid dressings in restaurants. Like Laura said, I pretty much assume everything has gluten in it and then find the ones that are safe.

Outback's ranch dressing is great. It's actually probably one of the very few restaurants I will eat dressing in.

[CeliaCruz]

You can make your own gluten-free ranch dressing. Here's a recipe I cribbed from Epicurious.com:

Ranch Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons powdered cultured buttermilk blend* (Check ingredients to see if your brand is gluten-free. It usually is!)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried dillweed

*Available alongside the canned and powdered milk in most supermarkets.

Whisk first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill at least 1 hour to blend flavors. (Dressing can be prepared 5 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

[jaten]

I just had a gastric emptying study 2 weeks ago. Just a heads up, take a book its very boring. You eat your little meal they give you, then you just sit there for 2 hours or more, getting up every 10 or so minutes to take the pic.

WHAT???? You got to sit up and just go back and forth every ten minutes for the scan?????? I had a gastric emptying in the Spring, and I had to stay flat on my back on the table for 2 hours and wasn't allowed to move. They told me I could read if I could do it without moving, but there was no way to get the book in view because of the bulky machine.

FWIW: I wasn't given scrambled eggs, they were going to give me cereal. But I explained Celiac and they let me bring my own cereal with me. So, if any of you out there have to have a gastric-emptying scan, know that you will be asked to eat something with the nuclear med added to it. Insist that they allow you to bring your own cereal or whatever, and they just add the med to whatever you're eating. My diagnostic center said some places do provide scrambled eggs, but this place did not have a kitchen. Even if they want you to eat eggs, if you have a Celiac diagnosis or KNOW that gluten is a problem for you, I'd scramble my own eggs and take them along. Cold eggs are better than a gluten reaction!