Food Labelling And Protein

[dream77]

Hi,

I am realiszing following a gluten-free diet also means compromising on protein ALOT if you aren't a heavy meat eater.

I am a chicken eater 1-2 times a week and a daily lentil eater BUT I think the amount of protein dips on a gluten-free diet.

The aisle of gluten-free foods in whole foods is hardly sufficient for all my meals.. how do I reaad labels looking for hidden gluten.. Even a can of tomatoes has gluten,, !!

Also any pointers to higher protein vegetarian meals anyone ?

[Lisa]

Eating gluten free does not need to be expensive. Eat naturally and limit your gluten free processes foods.

Many companies wil clearly list all forms of gluten and those are the ones we like to support. Here is a listing:

Open Original Shared Link

[lovegrov]

A can of tomatoes has gluten? Which brand?

richard

[missy'smom]

Soon after starting this diet I saw somewhere that citric acid was not gluten-free and it was listed on so many tomato products so I thought, Oh no! so many things are off limits. Turns out that was false information.

Quinoa is a good vegetarian source of protein-one of the few if not only complete sources equal to meat-has all the amino acids etc. It cooks up quickly too-only 10 min. and can be used as a hot cereal, in warm pilafs and as cold grain salads. Nuts and nut butters are also a good source. Dairy and tofu are good sources as well. gluten-free doesn't have to be lacking in anything. There are many many choices, we just have to make different ones from what we used to in some cases. Most plain canned beans are fine as are dry beans.

Be aware that if you are a heavy lentil eater, you may want to pick through the lentils to see if there are stray grains there and toss them. This doesn't seem to be a problem with other legumes but I have heard it come up with lentils and have seen it myself. I have a vegetarian celiac friend who is a heavy lentil eater and was getting sick and figured out that this was a problem. She started picking through her lentils every time and has no problems now.

[foodiegurl]

Thank you for asking the question. I am also vegetarian, who tries to eat fish once a week. I try and eat a lot of beans, fresh fruit and veg. Like you, i know i am not getting enough protein.

I also eat tofu, but try to limit it, because I know tons of soy is not great either.

Quinoa is great though!

[Gemini]

Hi,

I am realiszing following a gluten-free diet also means compromising on protein ALOT if you aren't a heavy meat eater.

I am a chicken eater 1-2 times a week and a daily lentil eater BUT I think the amount of protein dips on a gluten-free diet.

The aisle of gluten-free foods in whole foods is hardly sufficient for all my meals.. how do I reaad labels looking for hidden gluten.. Even a can of tomatoes has gluten,, !!

Also any pointers to higher protein vegetarian meals anyone ?

Why would you think that following a gluten-free diet would compromise protein intake? I am not a big red meat eater either but eat a lot of fish and some chicken. There is also quinoa, beans and vegetarian sources of protein. I am eating more protein now than ever before because I have dumped much of the starches from my diet.

As far as learning to read labels, there are many good books out there which bring up this subject. You may have to invest some learning time if you want to get really good at this lifestyle. There are also many good cook books out there for vegetarians and you can alter the recipes and make them gluten-free yourself.

Most labels clearly state all ingredients and it's only a matter of learning which obscure foods and ingredients may have gluten components to them. There is little "hidden" gluten in food. If you know food and what it is made from, it'll make things much easier. Plus, with the labeling laws and voluntary allergy labeling that many manufacturers do anyway, it is much, much easier than ever before.

[lovegrov]

"Soon after starting this diet I saw somewhere that citric acid was not gluten-free and it was listed on so many tomato products so I thought, Oh no! so many things are off limits. Turns out that was false information."

I remember it well. There was -- and still is -- lots of misinformation out there. And unfortunately a lot of it came from the CSA.

richard

[tarnalberry]

well, it doesn't have to dip, as wheat isn't exactly this super high protein grain that people make it out to be. sure, if you've been depending on things like seitan for protein, you'll have to switch, but if you were using a concentrated, processed grain protein before, then try another one - like rice protein powder in smoothies. quinoa, amaranth, millet, wild rice, and buckwheat are all good substitutes for wheat/barley/rye/oats in lots of things. and the whole produce aisle is full of naturally gluten free foods. (canned tomatoes - plain old canned tomatoes - virtually NEVER have gluten in them. same for canned/frozen vegetables and beans. check your labels, of course.)

[dream77]

Thank you so much for your replies.

Sorry not a can of tomato but a can of tomato paste says it has gluten..

I don't remmeber the brand...

I bought quinoa and I bought gluten free oatmeal..

these gluten-free foods are leaving a hole in my pocket..

I still want cake and cookies abd brownies once in a whle but they are TOOOO expensive..

what do you all do.. recipes ?any pointers to a good healthy and tasty celiac recipe book ?

[foodiegurl]

I did once buy some Hunt's fire roasted canned tomatoes, and after some research, I determined they had gluten, and gave them away to a friend. Though, I use Muir Glen Fire Roasted with no problem.

I just tried the new Betty Crocker gluten-free brownie mix and they were super yummy, and reasonably priced.

One blog that I have come to love and depend on for delicious recipes is: Open Original Shared Link

I have made several items from here and they have all been amazing!

[dream77]

Also, where does everyone shop ?

I find the TX Hebs and whole foods are comparabale wrt the stocks of gluten-free foods..

Other resources ?

Thank you

I REALLY appreicate the help

[missy'smom]

Until you are ready to tackle gluten-free baking from scratch, there are some good mixes that are less expensive than the pre-made gluten-free stuff. Betty Crocker just came out with choc. cake, yellow cake, choc. chip cookie and brownie mixes. We haven't tried them yet but they seem to have gotten alot of positive comments. They are with the reg. mixes in the reg. markets. You may want to buy a new cookie sheet and/or new cake pans, esp. if the ones you have are non-stick. Old non-stick pans aren't safe to use and old handheld mixers aren't either, the flour is caught in the vents and can't be cleaned out. Disposable aluminum pans and mixing by hand will do just fine to start. Don't use old wooden spoons. Use one of your metal ones.

[ravenwoodglass]

You shouldn't have any problem with protein, there are lots of good sources of protein and wheat is not a good source of it to begin with.

You do have to become a bit of a label reader. Although wheat is required by the FDA to be listed barley often hides under 'natural flavors' but the list of reliable gluten labeling companies should help with that. If the company does not have a good labeling policy it is a good idea to call the company and ask. Also many times if you put the item in question into a search engine with the word gluten the companies gluten policies and lists of their gluten-free foods will be one of the first links you see.

Most plain tomato products are gluten-free but you do need to watch out for prepared sauce. If you can find Delmonte products in your area most of their prepared sauces are safe except for the ones with 'meat flavoring' and those are clearly labeled as not safe.

It takes some getting used to but once you learn the places gluten hides ie. usually in 'natural flavors' it won't be as hard.

As to where I shop I usually go to Wegmans. They label all their gluten-free products and I have never had an issue with CC with them. If you live in an area that has a Wegmans you should check them out.

[GlutenGalAZ]

Also, where does everyone shop ?

I find the TX Hebs and whole foods are comparabale wrt the stocks of gluten-free foods..

Other resources ?

Thank you

I REALLY appreicate the help

Hi.

My husband and I do majority of our grocery shopping at WalMart (we do some shopping at Smith's). Some things I get in normal brands and other things we get the WalMart Great Value brand which is nice b/c they label Gluten Free (some items may be gluten free but they won't mark it b/c it is processed in a facility that does wheat etc -- I still avoid these) we still look at labels though.

I thought in the beginning too that this was going to cost a lot and WHAT am I am going to eat.

Now we rarely go to the health food store to get stuff other then flours. We order online noodles or I get them at the health food store but I make desserts, rolls, etc from recipes now.

A LOT of our meals are just from the store... Steak, Ground Beef, Hormel Natural Choice Deli Meat (packaged), Mission White Corn tortialls or tortiall chips, tuna, canned chicken and fresh chicken, Mission has taco shells that are gluten free, beans etc

My husband does not eat gluten free but there are a lot of normal foods from the regular grocery store that are naturally gluten free.

David's Sunflower seeds I just bought a bag out of the shell last night to do a nut/seed mix and they have on the bag 9grams of protein per serving (bag is at home but I believe that is what it had as the amount).

Things will get easier as time goes by. You will start to learn what foods you like and play with mixing different foods and using recipes. GOOD LUCK

[dream77]

Thanks so much for the responses.

I have more questions

When I read labels, I know malt flavoring has gluten but there are lots of colors.. are they glutened ?

Like hershey M & M seem to not have gluten.. if I don't know what the colours contain ?

Any info here or pointers to resources ?

On the labels for packaged things (not deli or local restaurant items) even when the ingredients don't have gluten, it says .. prepared in a facility where wheat tc is prepared.

It doesn't make sense to me that a facility would put wheat or any other ingredient of product Y in a machine used to prepare X.

So I've been assuming it is ok to use those.

Please comment..

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks so much for the responses.

I have more questions

When I read labels, I know malt flavoring has gluten but there are lots of colors.. are they glutened ?

Like hershey M & M seem to not have gluten.. if I don't know what the colours contain ?

Any info here or pointers to resources ?

On the labels for packaged things (not deli or local restaurant items) even when the ingredients don't have gluten, it says .. prepared in a facility where wheat tc is prepared.

It doesn't make sense to me that a facility would put wheat or any other ingredient of product Y in a machine used to prepare X.

So I've been assuming it is ok to use those.

Please comment..

Coloring in foods is gluten free from what I have always understood. The one exception is caramel coloring, that does have the possiblity of being a low gluten source as it is made by heating starches. I usually call the company to make sure.

Personally I avoid products with the made in the same facility.... Some of us are able to tolerate those but if you are new to the diet it is IMHO best to avoid those at least until you are fully healed. That will make it easier to tell if you are someone who is sensitive enough to have a reaction.