How to Eat Out on a Gluten-Free Diet

When it comes to a life changing diet, gluten free is a very difficult one to be stuck with. This problem is usually contributed to Celiac disease, but is by no means limited to this problem. There are a couple reasons why a person can not eat any gluten. No matter what the reason behind your need to avoid this annoying little problem is, you do not have to feel like some sort of freak when you go out. In fact, you can lead quite the normal life. There are a few things that you should avoid and a couple questions that need to be asked, but once you get the groundwork out of the way, you can just go about everything quite normally. One of the best things that you can do is find a place that is courteous enough to clean all the cooking surfaces between dishes. This is one of the most important things to this diet. You can easily make the right choices, but eating foods that have even touched the surface that gluten rich foods were cooked on will cause problems.

While cooking surfaces may be a huge instigator in your problem, there are a couple other things that you can do to help yourself. Knowing the different foods that contain gluten is one of the biggest steps you can take. It is much easier to remember the foods that contain gluten than the many that do not. Basically, stay away from anything with flour. While this does limit the places you can frequent and the foods you can eat, it will serve two purposes. The most important being the treatment of your gluten diet. This will, however, also lead to a healthier diet. The fact that just about everything that is fried is dipped in flour and anything fried is cooked in the same oil as breaded foods, fried foods are off limits when eating out. This includes tempura. While many people believe that tempura is cooked with rice flour, it is not.

When you do eat out, you want to find a place that understands that you have dietary concerns. It is very amazing how many places will just pluck the problem food off of your plate, microwave the food, and try to reserve it to you. This is not only inconsiderate, but for someone that has a food sensitivity, this could even be deadly. This should be a driving force into finding a regular spot. You will want to have a couple of places that consider you a regular so that you can have a little variety to your outs, but, above all, you need to find a place that will oblige you.

There is a large variety of foods that you can eat though. Since gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats, these are off limits. Blue cheese also has gluten, but other cheeses and most dairy products are fine. You will want to avoid butter and other than plain yogurt. Avoiding butter is difficult. You do not have to avoid all butter, but many margarines are made with gluten ingredients. Natural butter with no salt is usually safe, but you will want to make sure. Most respectable restaurants will keep an ingredient list or even the case on hand for you to review the ingredients if there is a question. Pasta, pizza, and bread are a no go, but there are some places that will cater specifically to the gluten sensitive. Extreme Pizza is one of these locations and all of their pizzas are gluten free. There is a new insurgence of eateries that will advertise being a gluten free zone.

When it comes to starches, you will need to use potatoes, rice, or make it at home. Unless you are at a place that is specifically gluten free, you will never be able to be completely certain that it is gluten free. Even with all of these restrictions, you can still enjoy yourself. Potatoes (without the butter), rice, Chinese (without the noodles), steaks, and vegetables are all free of gluten. All meats and vegetables are fine. The only thing you need to remember is to steer clear of the breads and pastas. For many of us, that is a hard enough challenge. You will also want to avoid ground meats. Many people will use breadcrumbs to plump ground meats and make it appear to be more than what it is. Only order whole meats when you eat out and no more fried foods. One thing you need to remember, though, is to only go to places that you can trust. This is your life that is at risk. Make sure they are not the kind of place that will just pick off the problems and reserve it. By going to nicer places and ones that do not serve many gluten containing foods, you can feel safe and sure that you will be eating right. Going to places like Black Angus, Red Lobster, Benihana's, or other big name places is one way you can be certain. Going to places that advertise being gluten free is a very good idea. This usually means that someone very close to the manager, or even the owner themselves, is gluten sensitive and they understand what needs to be done. By frequenting these places, you not only ensure your safety, but you ensure that other places know that there is a problem and you are not just being picky.

Sources:

List of Gluten Free Foods

Gluten Free Indy

Gluten Free Food List

Celiac Disease