The Wheat-Free Cook

A few weeks back, I was in Omaha visiting some peeps and I ‘happened’ to stop in the Half Price Bookstore. It is like a treasure hunt of DVDs and gently used books and books on clearance.

I spotted & picked up: The Wheat-Free Cook: Gluten-Free Recipes for Everyone on clearance for $2. It currently looks ‘nice’ among my other cookbooks. I’ll eventually flip through it on a rainy day when I get tired of the same ole, same ole & feel adventurous about hitting the grocery store or Trader Joes or if I’m having people over. Having good options is great, but cooking for one isn’t so fun.

Are gluten-free foods are healthier?

“There are many myths about gluten, but this is perhaps the most common — that gluten-free products are healthier than foods with gluten. But many gluten-free versions of otherwise glutenous foods (such as pasta, bread, and baked goods) are filled with more sugar and sodium and are actually more processed. Additionally, gluten isn’t a harmful substance in itself, unless the person eating the gluten has celiac disease, an allergy, or intolerance.”

From: 19 health myths you should stop believing right now

A Vaccine?

An experimental “vaccine” called Nexvax 2 is being scheduled for human clinical trials to evaluate its effectiveness in celiac disease. Immusan T is a biotechnology company focusing on developing therapeutic vaccines and received $40 million in 2017 to fund Nexvax 2 to reduce the “suffering of those with celiac disease since it is a serious inflammatory autoimmune disease caused from gluten”.

Read more: “Vaccine” for Celiac Disease

Celiac disease vaccine appears promising way to restore immune system

Foods to Avoid

Here are a few other foods I have to avoid unless they are labeled as gluten-free:

  1. Pasta (like mac’n cheese?)
  2. Bread (even garlic bread & Texas toast?)
  3. Cakes (even cheesecake?)
  4. Pies (even pumpkin pie?)
  5. Crackers (so, no crackers on cheese?)
  6. Cookies (please say it isn’t so)
  7. Beer (okay)
  8. Dressings (at least my Ranch with Avacado is GF)
  9. Sauces (this will be tricky)
  10. Gravies (even with trying the gluten-free version, I can still enjoy roast beef open-faced sandwiches.)

Well, shoot, so remind me, what is left?

  1. Meat, poultry, & seafood
  2. Eggs
  3. Dairy
  4. Fruits
  5. Gluten-free grains, such as quinoa, rice, buckwheat and millet
  6. Vegetables
  7. Legumes
  8. Nuts
  9. Healthy fats
  10. Herbs and spices

Hmmm… after giving this some thought, no thanks, I’d rather keep eating from the first list! 🙂