Best/worst gluten and dairy substitutes?

[socalgal59]

BTW. gluten lurks in some unlikely places:

Soy Sauce & Teriyaki Sauce: (unless the soy sauce is Tamari style and specifically labeled wheat/gluten free, it will contain wheat). Most Asian restaurants don't use the wheat free Tamari soy sauce because it is more expensive. So if you eat out at Asian restaurants, you need to ask about the addition of soy sauce in the food.

Blue Cheese: those veins in really good quality blue cheese are bread mold. Since you don't know which brands of blue cheese are cultivated with bread mold, the rule of thumb for those on a gluten free diet is to avoid all blue cheese.

Commercially produced soups (including those in restaurants): more often than not, flour is used as a thickening agent in soups. I have only three times in the past 2 yrs found restaurants that did not add flour to their soups.

When I eat out, I ask the server about wheat/gluten in the dishes; he/she will then ask the chef. Only once did I find the server unwilling to discuss the matter with the chef. More and more restaurants have gluten free menus--even the chain restaurants, simply inquire at the hostess station.

Vitamins/medications: capsules, coatings, and other seeming inert components of vitamins and medication often contain gluten. When being prescribed medication, ask your doctor/pharmacists whether the medication is gluten free. Most Vitamin/supplement companies clearly mark their products gluten free.

Speaking of vitamin/supplement companies, there is controversy over their use of barley and wheat grass juice. These companies will use these grasses in their productions, then label their product gluten free. Some say their is no gluten in the immature grass--yet those with Celiac and gluten intolerance insist they get a reaction when they use the wheat and barley grass juice. I personally will not use these products. It's a personal choice you have to make for yourself.

[shootingstar]

Commercially produced soups (including those in restaurants): more often than not, flour is used as a thickening agent in soups. I have only three times in the past 2 yrs found restaurants that did not add flour to their soups.

Swing to consomme soups. Then the flour thickening agent situation is solved.

Alot of Asian consomme style soups do not use flour. Some might use cornstarch. One can usually tell from the consistency.

And no, alot of Asian soups do NOT need to use miso nor soy sauce if it is made properly. I actually never tried any miso until my early 40's.

[Groundhog]

My 17yo DS is GF/DF and I am GF (although I am restricting GF replacement breads and starches right now to lose weight), so here are our favs.

Bread and Bagels: UDI's Another poster above said she doesn't like the bagels but my very picky DS has never liked one of the GF breads I've bought or made from scratch and he LOVES the bagels. So since everyone has different tastes, you might like them.

Waffles: Nature's Path Homestyle is good. Also the Buckwheat and the blueberry. We like these better than Van’s but everyone will have a personal opinion on this kind of stuff, so you should try some.

Pizza crust: I like Glutino unless I'm making my own zucchini pizza...let me know if you want the recipe. It substitutes grated zucchini mixed with egg whites and garlic to sub for crust.

Cookies: Lucy’s cookies are sold at Starbucks, so if we’re out riding and DS needs a snack, we can stop in a Starbucks.

Soup: Progresso Vegetable, Pot Roast, Southwestern Chicken, Chicken and Rice and Wild Rice/Chicken were all GF/DF last time I looked (I read labels each and every time, even if I’ve bought the product before because ingredients change). However, don’t be fooled by the “lite” versions which have wheat. DS takes these in his lunch for school every day or Hormel Chili.

Pasta: I like Schar’s pasta the best. Absolutely cannot tell it apart from semolina pasta. Also like some of the quinoa pasta but can’t find the name.

Oats: I react to Bob’s Red Mill oats but love all their other products. I got “Gluten Free Oats” (that’s the company name) online from amazon dot com and I don’t react to that.

Prepared Mixes: Pamela’s is good, but it is NOT DF. For DF, Bob’s Red Mill is good but it has too much bean flour for some things. I mix my own.

Snacks: Yay for Glutino Pretzels...DS loves them. I like Mary's Gone Crackers but they are too much like eating twigs for DS.
Blue Diamond Nut Thins are great, but I react to them – I think that they are cross-contaminated. Again, others may or may not be as sensitive.
Kettle chips are GF but I think I react to the safflower oil, which I think may be contaminated or is just an intolerance of mine. Other oils are ok for me.

Best of luck!