It used to be that only people suffering from Celiac disease needed to cut gluten completely out of their diets. Now, there is a well-established movement among the general public that prefer to limit or avoid foods with gluten in them altogether. Some people swear that avoiding it decreases the amount of bloating they experience. Others proclaim they simply have more energy throughout the day. This explains why at the thought of products like gluten free beer Australia locals are jumping for joy!
Whatever your reason for avoiding gluten you deserve to have as much choice as anyone else when it comes to delicious, nutritious meals. So what foods and beverages can you safely eat, you wonder?
Let’s go through a couple of scrumptious options.
1. Believe It or Not, Beer!
Some phenomenal breweries around the world own dedicated equipment used to create a completely gluten-free beer that some would argue tastes even better than regular beer.
Gluten free beer in Australia has become quite a big business too. Perhaps that’s because of the care and thought that goes into the brew. Yes, it’s for the gluten-free by choice. But when proclaiming something to be free from gluten, the product must also truly be safe for those that are allergic to the protein. Luckily, you can have 100% peace of mind that trustworthy brands now cater for this market when it comes to alcoholic beverages.
2. Perfect, it’s Not in (Some) Pasta
Typically made from wheat flour (which contains gluten), pasta is a favourite food for many. Luckily, there is a myriad of other grains that you can mill. The possibilities are actually endless when it comes to anything made with flour.
Spelt, Kamut, triticale and all varieties of wheat, barley, and rye are the ones to avoid, but here are the options for what is more or less gluten-free:
- Sorghum
- Quinoa
- Oats
- Buckwheat
- Corn
- Brown rice
Do you have a hankering for some mac and cheese? Just double-check the packaging label. There are loads of pastas made from different grains, some of which will suit your gluten free lifestyle.
3. Yes, Please! Potatoes
The ultimate comfort food. Potatoes.
Serve it in any form, fries, roasted, mashed, or baked, and you have a winning dish for many. The humble potato is safe for those wanting a gluten free diet. Just beware of the ingredients added during the cooking process when eating out. Some restaurants have dedicated fryers to avoid cross-contamination with other foods, but most aren’t so cautious.
That being said, if you’re doing some home cooking where you know the exact ingredients of each dish, you can have potatoes every night if you choose.
4. Nuts About Nut Butter
Thank goodness that the deliciousness that is nut butter is safely on this list. It not only includes your old faithful peanut butter but so many other healthy and creative options, like:
- Cashew nut butter
- Brazil nut
- Almonds
- Walnut
- Hazelnut
- Pistachio
Not quite nuts, but just as tasty are seed butters such as:
- Soybean
- Sesame seed
The possibilities are endless, and if you can’t find these strange and special concoctions at a store near you, they are so simple to make. All you need is a durable food processor that can handle some heavy duty work, a bit of time and your preferred nut of choice. Once you’ve mastered the basics, make up your own flavour profiles. For example, what about adding chocolate (see below) or spices (hello vanilla!)
5. Chocolate!
It would be horrible if the tasty cocoa product that many people love and crave was on the list of forbidden delicacies. Thankfully tragedy avoided! Chocolate can be safe to consume on a gluten free diet. But, like most of the other mass-produced foods mentioned on this list, there are always exceptions and that comes into play by two methods:
- Cross-contamination: This happens when a factory or manufacturer makes a product that contains gluten, as well as, a product that doesn’t. It’s nearly impossible to avoid slight contamination in this setup. But, unless you are extremely allergic, it shouldn’t be a real problem.
- Added ingredients: Chocolate products can be mixed with hundreds of exciting flavours, such as honeycomb, nuts, fruit and others that pair well with chocolate. Double-check that your choice of treat doesn’t have a hidden gluten component.
6. Last But Not Least, Corn
Can we agree that we prefer corn over wheat almost any day of the week:
- Popcorn while watching a movie?
- Corn chips to scoop up some dip.
- Nachos and tacos that possibly contain no gluten! But this doesn’t apply to the soft flour tortillas though. Those, unfortunately, are made out of plain old wheat flour. But you can still eat most best-loved Mexican inspired foods.
[Conclusion]
How many of these foods did you know were gluten-free? Are you excited to go and try every single one of them as soon as possible? Perhaps start with some nachos and a cold beer?
Also read: Top Popular Tips on How to Create the Gourmet Cookie Gift Boxes