gluten free

[sarahrose]

We are gluten free as well and get alot of our stuff at Whole Foods...I did hear there was a store in Gilbert called the Gluten Free Country store...www.gfcountrystore.com Off Val Vista...Have not been there yet though due to it being on the other side of town.

[aiwei]

I have found a lot of Mexican food is actually GF if prepared properly. My husband and I could eat at Chipotle for fast food. For Mexican restaurant dinning, we order dishes made with corn meal. Tamale or anything wrapped with corn tortilla, for example.

Cooking GF is not complicated. Other than staying away from all wheat bread and pasta, I have learned to substitute thickening ingredient in recipes with tapioca flour/ starch if it calls for wheat flour. If you want to deep fry anything, you could use Zatarain's breading instead. I use Z's seasoned fish-fry/ crispy southern style at home since it is corn flour.

My suggestion is to read ingredient labels when you buy any partially or completely prepared food at stores. First look at the bottom of the fine print for "wheat" "barley" "rye" "oats" and "gluten." (Many companies list the most common allergens in bold at the end for quick reference.) If no quick reference available, look for these words in the actual ingredient list. You should also avoid "modified food starch." I do not trust it because it could have traces of gluten in it. Types of food starch I trust are tapioca, corn, and potato starch.

Some ideas-
Get a couple bags of pizza dough mix (Whole Foods/ makes 2x med pizza/ bag) for a pizza night and rice spaghetti (TJ) and Italian sausages for a pasta night. Eat out, if you wish, at a nice Mexican restaurant for lunch. Want to cook Chinese food? La Choi soy sauce is made from only soy beans (Walmart). Lee Lee's food market (in Chandler) has GF hoisin sauce by Dynasty and oyster sauce (green label) by Lee Kum Kee. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce has been GF. Steak (seasoned with salt and pepper only) and potato with all the fixings.