Taco Bell?

[Bellasmama]

Do you think my daughter will be safe with Taco Bells beans and rice???

[lovegrov]

I wouldn't. Virtually everything there has gluten.

richard

[Bellasmama]

Ah...look what I found Open Original Shared Link

its the only thing she can eat except the steak bowl!!!!

[hathor]

Ah...look what I found [url=Open Original Shared Link

I particularly like the "...studies show that most soy-allergic individuals may safely eat most types of soybean oil." But we're not going to tell you which kind of oil we have Or what we mean by "most" individuals ...

[dally099]

oh my gosh, i cant eat any type of soy, not oil, lechtin (pardon the spelling im on my gluten challenge and my brain has stopped working) cant eat none of it, soy for me is fustrating its in everything! good luck, i dont know if you have taco time in the USA but i can eat there corn taco's with no problems, GOOD LUCK

[happygirl]

you could not pay me enough to eat at taco bell because of cross contamination.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

No way I eat there...

[RiceAddict]

I haven't eaten at a taco bell in probably 5 years, and don't plan to anytime soon.

But out of curiosity, what is the difference in a taco and a tostada? From what I can tell it is only the fact that the tortilla is curved or flat. Same stuffings, right? The tostada is listed as gluten-free but not the taco. What gives?

[Lisa]

Taco Bell:

Express Taco Salad - chicken only no beef

Fiesta Taco Salad - chicken only, no beef, no shell, no red strips

Southwest Steak Bowl - no creamy jalapeno sauce

Tostado

Zesty Chicken Border Bowl - no zesty dressing, no red strips

What in the world would you be paying for. Let alone the cross contamination. Not my idea of a tasty lunch.

I agree, what do you do with a tostado, when their shell are not gluten free. Go figure.

[Sweetfudge]

i loved the pintos when i was a kid, but tried it last month after visiting TB's site, and got VERY glutened. it was quite frustrating! I say, make your own at home w/ lots of cheese!!

[swittenauer]

My husband eats at Taco Bell once or twice a week & has never had a problem. He gets the Southwest Steak Bowl with no jalapeno sauce & a pintos & cheese. Thank goodness we didn't have to go without Taco Bell!

[larry mac]

I haven't eaten at a taco bell in probably 5 years, and don't plan to anytime soon.

But out of curiosity, what is the difference in a taco and a tostada? From what I can tell it is only the fact that the tortilla is curved or flat. Same stuffings, right? The tostada is listed as gluten-free but not the taco. What gives?

The tostado has beans but no beef. Just the opposite of a taco, beef but no beans. The beef does not contain wheat, but does contain oats (probably as a thickener), thus the gluten designation, (see link). Oats have oat gluten & likely wheat CC, they covered both bases (in practical terms however, any wheat content would be extremely small, if at all - not suggesting anybody eat it, just trying to be realistic). Both shells are OK as they are corn. Tostados used to be much more popular back in the '70s & '80s. Usually just a flat, crispy, corn tortilla. Spread with refried beans, topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and shredded cheese. Kind of a vegetarian taco. I used to order a side of sour cream. That way I could control my sour cream distribution. Of course one puts salsa on it.

I just don't see this place being considered in the same category as say, a KFC. Sure there's CC possibilities. But there's no wheat flour flying around in the air. I'm not advocating eating there. This is fast food after all. However, why not have an educated, objective evaluation. I mean, many Celiacs eat out at restaurants. Almost all have a hidden kitchen. You don't know what's going on in there. At least here everything is in plain sight, you can see exactly what's happening and where CC is likely to occur. Make sense? Maybe there's some hope here, lets see. There are two main areas of concern:

1) Items to avoid, items that contain wheat ingredients. The website allows extensive research, it's very comprehensive. See link below.

Flour tortillas & chalupa shells. Some specialty sauces as they contain wheat soy sauce (I wouldn't use those anyway, this is Tex-Mex, use salsa!). The big salad shells are wheat flour. The red strips, they contain wheat crumbs. The fire sauce has wheat soy sauce in it. The crisp tortilla chips are just corn but are fried in the same fryers that may also be used to cook wheat containing items (not sure what exactly). OK, that stuff is out, what's left? Lets see if there

[happygirl]

Problem is, that even if we took these steps, these steps weren't taken all day long before we were there. Contaminated gloves, utensils, (etc) have been used to touch all the things all day long. (Think of it like cross contamination at home...you can't clean everything, use a clean knife, etc and then dip into a contaminated butter that has had wheat in it before).

That is the problem everywhere, but it is potentially more of a problem at fast food restaurants who don't have training on cross contamination.

I have repeatedly taken all of the above steps, at numerous times/locations, numerous places, etc., and continually get glutened. Its because the gluten is already there.

Take me out to eat at a taco bell or other fast food place .... see what happens

[larry mac]

.........

I have repeatedly taken all of the above steps, at numerous times/locations, numerous places, etc., and continually get glutened........

Take me out to eat at a taco bell or other fast food place .... see what happens

Thanks for the reply hp, doesn't sound promising.

Boy, this Celiac thing sure does away with a lot of cheap dates!

best regards, lm

[happygirl]

It is pretty frustrating. I have had some positive experiences, but for me, the symptoms are so bad that it isn't worth it often. I would rather take my risk at a nicer place, where at least I can really enjoy the food

[swittenauer]

Nicer place? How much nicer can you get than Taco Bell? I'm kidding! We have gotten lucky & my husband has always done well with them. McDonalds is a totally different story though. It's like a roll of the dice.