*Gluten Free Hints and Tips*. I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread that has hints and tips for people who are glut

We use the rice sticks here too.They're inexpensive and are a good substitute for spaghetti in bolognaise etc.Everyone likes them, so as with you herika, no need to cook separate meals.

I have searched in vain for gluten free Rice Noodles can anyone give me a brand I can buy from the supermarket?

The brand I buy (from Countdown or New World) is the Erawan Brand.Here are the details from the pack so you can ask your local supermarket if they would be able to get them in: 118B Manu Tapu Drive, Auckland Airport 2150. Ph:0800 103 305

A tip when baking with GF pastry:roll out/shape a small amount at a time and press round baking dish or do small separate dishes such as ramekins.This is what I do and find it makes it much easier to handle.

I have copied & pasted info & thought this may be of help to some people. Can't remember where I got the info from :-)
Eating Out on a GF Diet
Pizza
More and more pizza places are becoming gluten conscious. If making a booking, call ahead to ensure there are gluten free bases available. Hells Pizza, La Porchetta, Gina’s, Il Buco and now Dominos all have gluten free options. Just make sure your toppings are also gluten free.
Indian
Most Indian food is gluten free. You can even have pappadums!
Just steer clear of the breads and deep fried starters and you should be ok.
Thai
Thai food is also mostly gluten free. If you want to order a noodle based dish make sure you ask for rice noodles. Again, say no to those deep fried starters.
Mexican
Be wary of tortillas! CHECK with the kitchen as to what their burittos are made from as the supermarket brands contain wheat. You should be able to get the kitchen to make a simple dish on rice if their tortillas aren’t made from corn.
Chinese
If you want to eat this cuisine, you have to have a lot of faith in your communication skills (and your local takeaways). Ask for no MSG, choose dishes on rice, or rice noodles and avoid battered options like sweet & sour pork. Remember, soy sauce is made from wheat, so it’s safest to ask for an unseasoned meal.
Burgers
Burger Fuel, Burger Wisconsin, Murder Burger, The Chip Shop are all safe. Just make sure you check your fillings are also gluten free.

Turkish
Falafel, hummus, salads and rice are gluten free. So you can definitely find a meal at a Turkish restaurant. Avoid breads, and if you want other sauces, check if they are gluten free first. Always ask about the meat before ordering – some places combine with breadcrumbs.
Fish & Chips
The problem with chips is cross contamination – so these are totally out for coeliacs unless you make them yourself at home or go to The Chip Shop in Royal Oak. Grilled fish should be ok, but almost everything else is a no go zone.
Japanese
Beware of sushi! It’s not just the soy sauce, check which vinegar they use to cook the rice with. Avoid all noodles, tempura and dumplings and check about sauces and condiments before ordering. Wagamamas is a good place to go.
Steakhouse
Stick to simple dishes. Most decent places will make you a simple meal like steak with steamed vegetables. Be sure to let the chef know you are gluten intolerant to ensure they take the best care with your meal.
In general...
Keep ordering simple. If you want a sauce, check whether it is safe with the kitchen. Avoid breads, pastas, crumbed or battered foods, noodles and MSG. Order simple and satisfying dishes – non processed meats, vegetables, legumes, rice, tofu, fruits and cheeses are fine to eat. If you can, call and ask ahead. The kitchen will be easier to deal with if they’re prepared.
If you have coeliacs, or are very gluten intolerant it is always best to let staff know.Most people are still not aware of issues around cross contamination and will not even think twice about re-using a knife, or putting your gluten free bread into their normal toaster.Just let them know.Explain that it is a serious allergy which can make you very ill.This way you can feel more confident about how safe your food is, and they will know more for next time.

Hi nzbadger, thanks for all that!
Yes, we do have to be very careful when eating out.I ordered a seafood rissotto once, talked to staff about it explaining all my food intolerances etc and was assured they would make it suitable.The next day I had a bad reaction and after talking to the chef who made the meal found out he thought it looked a little dry as he was cooking it and added some fish stock he had handy.Unfortunately it wasnt gluten free stock!I always make sure I know exactly what is going in to any meal now and tell them not to add anything else, even if they think the meal doesn't look appealing to them.I guess they are only trying to help but they do need to understand the consequences for us.
Some (frozen) chips at takeaway places are the ones with a dusting of (wheat) flour.Ask if they serve these ones or "home made" ones which dont have the flour coating to be safe getting gluten free chips.

Rice noodles are normally found with the Oriental/Japanese foods, like the sushi stuff and seaweed etc.

I ate out over the last week as we went away.I highly recommend Robbies!We went to the one in Nelson (Richmond) and they are absolutely fantastic!They have a separate gluten free menu.

Great stuff, thanks fbw!

Please be aware falafel is not necessarily gluten free at a Turkish Takeaways.It could be but sometimes it isnt because they put bulgar wheat into it.
I would also ask what ingredients are in the hummus just to be on the safe side.
Also check what thickener is used in any Indian meal, sometimes they use maize cornflour but some places dont, and check each time you order because a different chef may use a different thickener.

Safe sweets for mum on Mothers Day:using the Edmonds Cookbook make coconut ice using GF icing sugar, leave out the cochineal and if you want to colour it use beetroot juice.
Hokey Pokey or the Nut Toffee recipe on page 173 could be good (it doesnt use vinegar).
Another one would be the Russian Fudge.(Use goat milk if you are intolerant or allergic to cows milk).

Herika, your bakery, are you able to give contact details.I can't seem to find anyone here in Dunedin who makes good bread.There was one but it closed.Thanks Arabian

Hi,
Not sure what you mean by my bakery??? I dont own one. Good GF bread is hard to find.I think Bakers Beyond at Invercargill will ship around NZ.Their phone number is: 03-218-6911, you may like t give them a ring.Their GF bread is a good sized loaf.I freeze it and use staight from frozen making toast or toasted sandwiches. :)

He he, I didn't think you owned a bakery I just meant the one you shop at.Thank you for the contact.:)

Hi arabian,
Thats ok then! lol Glad to help :)

Hi buzzy,
Have done so and will bump this thread for mike too.:)

I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread that has hints and tips for people who are gluten intolerant.
A lot of gluten intolerant people are also lactose or casein intolerant. There are lactose free milks on the market now and I use Nanny Lane Goat milk, it makes my morning coffee (freeze dried is GF)lovely and creamy.
Adding a tsp of arrowroot to each cup of flour used to any baking recipe can help improve it. Melrose Worcestershire sauce is brilliant, its adds flavour to sauces and meat meals as does Braggs All Purpose seasoning.
Check out my Banana Goldies recipe on the Hubbards website, these keep really well in an airtight container :)

I have a lot of stir fry mealsand I love using Braggs All Purpose Seasoning to flavour them. I also love Rice Stick Noodles served up with the stir fry. They are so quick and easy and are a nice change from rice and GF pastas.
There is so much "hidden gluten" inpre prepared and packaged foods we need to make sure we check the ingredients list on the item carefully. The manufacturers often change the ingredients but dont change labels unfortunately.
I find I have a few basic products in the pantry but everything else I eat is fresh or frozen. If I make a sauce I make extra and freeze some. I also do this with the liquid when cooking corned silverside etc:)

My local bakery makes an excellent GF loaf.
They toast slice it for me, I buy it in bulk and freeze it when I get it home. I then use it straight from frozen, make up as sandwiches and cook in my sandwich press. They are yummy! Just like bought ones.
I use numerous fillings such as cheese (aged)tomato, lettuce, my home made pickle, Food by Chefs Natural Chicken Pate, chives, onions, pineapple, left over home cooked casseroles, mince etc.

I find because Im not buying a lot of the pre packaged gluten free foods its not so expensive for me. Apart from Braggs Seasoning and Melrose Worstershire sauce, and perhaps the odd packet of GF sausages I only buy rice and maize corn flour which arent expensive and rick stick noodles and GF pasta.
I found a lot of GF recipes have ingredients in that some gluten intolerant people cant have, such as vege gums, soy or starches. Often a gluten intolerant person also has other food intolerances and its this that complicates matters.
Also I found a lot of recipes in GF books did have suspect ingredients in, one being Vanilla Essence.
Hansells say theirs is GF when you ring but I rang and talked to the Lab. Technician and question her at length and in the end she had to admit that because the alcohol base used is imported they cant guarantee its 100% GF! So we do have to check these ingredients out with care :)

These things have fibre: nuts, dried fruit (wash first in case it has been dusted with agluten containing flour), potatoes cooked with the skin on, brown rice, beans, lentils, and peas and fruit and veges.
Rolled oats have a protein (avenin) that is similar to gluten and most rolled oats are contaminated with gluten unfortunately so arent gluten free. Harroways of Dunedin are very careful to reduce the contamination problem but never claim theirs are gluten free :)

Going onto agluten free diet doesnt necessarily mean you have to go out and buy lots of GF foods. Most of it is full of additives and preservatives anyway, which arent good or some people react to as well.The main problem with being a Coeliac is staying off ALL gluten as there is so much hidden gluten in packaged food, such as MSG, "natural flavour", modified starches etc even in some foods labelled GF (often manufacturers dont realise or hide it by using other words to describe ingredients). Your evening meal wont need to be changed much, just use maize corn flour or arrowroot powder as thickener when making sauces or stews etc.
I only eat meat I have cooked myself to be on the safe side. Corned beef is generally cooked with malt vinegar so watch out for that. I buy GF bacon which I dont seem to have any probs with. Labelling is such a pain. But if a manufacturer labels something GF then puts "natural flavour" as one of the ingredients the natural flavour could contain gluten! Im okay with that because I react so definately to anything with gluten in it, but for anyone who doesnt have obvious symptoms - how would they know?
Hope this info is helping :)

GF Mango cake
425g can sliced mango in natural juice,drained, 6 eggs separated, 1 cup castor sugar, 250g almond meal, sliced mango and srawberries, plus mint to decorate. Grease 22cm round pan line with baking paper. Pat mango dry with absorbent paper. Blend in blender till smooth. Place egg yolks and sugar in small bowl beat till light and fluffy. Transfer to large bowl. Add mango puree and almond meal stir to combine.Place egg whites in small bowl beat with electric beater till soft peaks form. Add to egg yolk mix in 2 batches fold in gently. Pour mix into prepared pan. Cook in moderately slow oven 160oC for about 1 1/4hours or until firm to touch. Cover with foil if cake is over browning while cooking. Cake will still have a slight wobble when cooked. Remove from oven and cool in pan. To serve turn out onto serving plate and decorate with mango, strawberries and mint.
I havent made it yet so if anyone does please let me know how it turned out :)

When I was first having all my troubles and trying to sort out what I could and couldnt eat I stayed off all baking. Since then I have learnt some people have trouble with starches, such as some flours, potato, etc (even if the flours concerned are GF). I know refinement ruins a lot - for instance I read somewhere that the only healthy way to eat wheat would be to eat it in its natural form as a whole grain not after the outer layers of bran etc have been removed (most white bread uses the refined grain). I have found the GF diet basically to be eating more fresh and home made foods, which has the spin off of being much more healthy and better for me.
Brown rice may help you, I cook up some then keep it covered in the fridge. I have it for breakfast with fruit, almonds and Goat Milk and I dont get hungry until lunch time therefore bypassing the need for baking at morning tea. :)

I think ifwere diagnosed to go gluten free I would try and go back to fresh foods as much as possible, trying to keep away from the pre made products.That being said I think I would have to buy the G/F pasta`s

Another thing which has always stuck in my mind is, Focus on what you can eat Not on what you can`t.Mind you, this might be easier said than done!!

I have a friend whos daughter is ceoliac (sp), so do make gluten free dishes on occasion.

You can have takeaway chips as long as they havent been dusted with a gluten containing flour before being frozen and are cooked in a separate vat. I have a regular takeaways I go to because I tried their chips and didnt react badly in any way to them. Also some people may need the chips to be fried in oil, not fat. I read somewhere that McDonalds fries were GF but they do have traces of gluten (I checked out their website)so they are not gluten free :)