Guarding against gluten

Jackie Geddes is grateful for the Atkins diet. “Now when I go into a restaurant and order a burger without the bun people don’t think I’m a nut,” she said. “But then they assume I don’t want the french fries, and I say ‘No, I want those french fries! It’s not a carb thing, it’s a wheat thing.’” Learning how to avoid gluten when eating out was a major challenge for Geddes, who was diagnosed with celiac disease about two-and-a-half years ago. “I ate out every single day before this diagnosis,” she said. “Then I got the diagnosis and I didn’t eat out for a year and a half. “Anytime you eat out, you’re taking a chance.” Celiac disease, also called celiac sprue, is an autoimmune disorder in which the body cannot tolerate gluten. When it detects gluten, the immune system overreacts and, in turn, damages the small intestine, disrupting the absorption of necessary nutrients. The only treatment is a gluten-free diet. But avoiding gluten — a ubiquitous protein found in wheat, rye and barley as well as many other ingredients made from these grains — is no easy task.

A recent scan of typical pantry items found gluten or suspected gluten in more than a dozen products, from the obvious pasta and pancake mixes to less suspicious canned chili, bottled barbecue sauce and sesame-ginger salad dressing.

Traditional baking ingredients are forbidden in a celiac’s diet. Even beer, which is made from barley, is off limits. Both were tough sacrifices for Mike Fuller. But now he laughs about making angel food cakes “with nine egg whites and it’s only 2 inches high.”

To satisfy her craving for bread products, Melba Tschirley orders doughnuts and bagels from a Canadian company (Kinnikinnick Foods of Edmonton) that specializes in gluten-free products.

At restaurants, the challenge is even greater. Many celiacs report frustration when trying to learn which ingredients restaurants use in their dishes. Some will call in the days leading up to their visit to try to ascertain how risky it may be to eat there. But most say the secret to eating out is simply ordering everything plain.

Geddes says she can order a steak, baked potato and vegetable as long as they don’t touch any sauces. Fortunately, she said, she’s isn’t very sensitive to gluten.

Still, if she gets too much, she said, “I just feel yucky for about three days.”

Daphne Taylor didn’t know much about celiac disease when she helped start Namaste Foods in Coeur d’Alene a few years ago. The company was born of a mother’s desire to find foods her allergy-prone son could eat. As a result, Namaste’s packaged mixes are all wheat-, gluten-, dairy-, corn-, potato- and soy-free.

That makes them more restrictive than a gluten-free diet requires, but Taylor says nearly all of her customers have celiac disease, which she has started researching herself.

“The incidence of celiac disease is astonishing,” she said. “If you don’t have it, you know someone who knows someone who does.”

And she called the prevalence of it “the tip of the iceberg.”

“We grew 500 percent last year, but we’re still tiny,” Taylor said.

The company’s brownie mix, one of the most popular products, is made with rice flour, brown rice or sweet brown rice, tapioca and arrowroot flours.

“No one can tell the difference. Even wheat eaters tell me they’re better than others,” Taylor said.

Of the company’s seven mixes, Taylor said four of them run neck and neck as top sellers each month: brownies, a spice cake with a carrot cake variation, pizza crust and the pancake/waffle mix.

She predicted that in five years, gluten-free brownie mixes will be sitting right next to traditional mixes in mainstream grocery stores.

In fact, in some stores they already are.

Geddes said she found a wheat-free brownie mix at the Shadle Safeway but said, “The hardest part is finding out where I can get what.”

Wheat-free versions of other products seem to be sporadically available. For example, a Super 1 store on the South Hill stocks a wheat-free soy sauce right next to traditional soy sauce and other supermarkets have wheat-free products in their natural and/or health food aisles.

“It makes it hard to know where to look,” Geddes said.

There is no shortage of cookbooks and Web sites offering recipes and information on how to maintain a gluten-free diet. Geddes said she’s found a lot of good information in online forums offered by celiac disease organizations.

Despite the challenges of a gluten-free diet, Fuller said, “Having this intolerance of gluten isn’t the worst thing. I can think of a lot worse things.”

While many celiacs follow recipes for gluten-free baking mixes, there are many dishes that can be prepared with everyday ingredients — even in homes of people without celiac disease. Here are a couple of recipes:

Tamale Casserole

From “The Gluten-Free Gourmet: Living Well Without Wheat,” by Bette Hagman

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 pound lean ground beef

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (8-ounce) can whole-kernel corn

1 (6.5-ounce) can sliced black olives

1 cup milk or nondairy liquid

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion, pepper and garlic in oil until onion is clear. Add beef and cook until browned. Pour off excess fat.

Add tomato sauce, drained corn, three-fourths of the olives and the milk. Stir well, heat through, then add cornmeal, salt and chili powder. Pour into well-greased 2-quart casserole. Decorate top with remaining olives.

Bake, covered, in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake about 20 minutes more. For the last 5 minutes of baking, sprinkle cheese over dish. It is ready when a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Yield: 4 or 5 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (from cookbook): 600 calories, 26 grams fat, 30 grams protein, 63 grams carbohydrate, 85 milligrams cholesterol, 7 grams fiber, 720 milligrams sodium.

Hawaiian Curry

From “The Gluten-Free Gourmet: Living Well Without Wheat,” by Bette Hagman

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

3 inches fresh gingerroot

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

3/4 cup sweet rice flour

1/4 cup curry powder (see note)

Salt to taste

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk or nondairy liquid

1 (7.75-ounce) can coconut milk

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

Chop the onion, mince the garlic and grate the gingerroot. Saute these in the butter in a large pan. Add the flour, curry, salt and sugar. Do not allow mixture to burn or lump. Slowly add the chicken broth and cook until well blended and smooth. Boil a little, stirring constantly.

Add milk and coconut milk; do not let boil. Add the cubed chicken and put pan over hot water. Keep water at a simmer and cook the curry for 4 hours, stirring often. You may need to add more chicken broth if sauce gets too thick, or more sugar or salt to taste. Serve with rice.

Yield: 12 to 16 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (from cookbook): 430 calories, 29 grams fat, 30 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 85 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram fiber, 200 milligrams sodium.

Homemade Gluten-Free Pasta

From www.celiac.com

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons potato starch

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon xanthan gum

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine flours, starches, salt and gum. Beat eggs lightly and add oil. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir. This will feel much like pastry dough. Work together into a firm ball. Knead for a minute or two. Place ball of dough on your bread board and roll as thin as possible. One pasta book suggests you should be able to see the board through the dough. The dough is tough and although almost transparent, will still handle well. Slice the noodles into very thin strips or if using for lasagna, into 1 1/2 -inch-by-4-inch rectangles. The pasta is now ready to cook or to freeze uncooked for later use. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water to which 1 tablespoon of oil has been added, for 10 to 20 minutes depending on the thickness and the size of your pieces. You will have to test for doneness.

Yield: 3 servings as noodles alone and 5 to 6 servings in a mixed casserole.

Variations

Spaghetti: Use the spaghetti cutter on a pasta machine. Cook for 10 minutes in boiling salted water to which a tablespoon of oil has been added.

Chow mein noodles: Make the pasta and cut as if for spaghetti. Then cut these strips into 1 to 1 1/2 -inch pieces. Drop uncooked into hot oil and cook for a few seconds (they will probably take less than 1 minute). Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Then use immediately or freeze. Makes about 5 to 6 cups chow mein noodles.