“Swapping Foods: Wheat Part 1” Disclaimer: None of the information provided in these posts should be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your doctor before trying recommendations or if you have concern
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This is part one of a two-parter (because I really don’t want to post 1,000+ word articles).
What are the worst words a carb lover could possibly hear?
“You’re allergic to wheat.”
Or are they?
I have to admit, my wheat allergy was a frustrating surprise…at first. Once I accepted the fact that some of my favorite foods (cakes, breads, cookies, brownies…want to guess which types of sweets I prefer?) were “off limits,” I went in search of information on what I could eat instead.
Thus began my journey down the rabbit hole of gluten-free eating. I covered how gluten affects the body for people with wheat allergies, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity in my last post. Today, I want to share with you some of what I learned and discovered as I navigated this new way of eating.
What is gluten?
Gluten is a naturally occurring protein in wheat and some other grains, such as rye and barley (my personal nemesis). It helps bind ingredients together in baked goods and sauces. It also reacts to baking powders and baking sodas, creating air bubbles that make breads, cakes, and biscuits fluffy. Manufacturers can also extract and concentrate gluten, adding protein, texture, and flavor to processed foods.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, most food allergies react to the protein in food. People with a milk allergy, for example, are most likely allergic to one of the two proteins, casein or whey. For people with a wheat allergy, the usual reactions are to gluten.
Different types of wheat
There are several types of wheat, as well as different ways they appear in foods. And while rye and barley affect people with celiac or gluten sensitivity (or me, the person whose weird body doesn’t like to follow rules), let’s stick to wheat for now…mostly. These are:
- Wheat
- Wheatberries
- Durum
- Emmer
- Semolina
- Spelt
- Bulgur
- Farina
- Graham
- KAMUT® Khorasan wheat
- Einkorn
There are a variety of foods you can find wheat in besides breads, baked goods, and pasta. Many breakfast cereals contain wheat, as do many sauces, particularly sauces made from a roux (combination of flour and fat cooked before adding liquid). Salad dressings can also contain wheat.
I have noticed that most marinara and pasta sauces tend to be gluten-free. Definitely check the label ingredients before purchasing, consuming, or feeding someone with a wheat allergy.
So what “grains” are safe?
There are a surprising number of gluten-free “grains” (some of them are seeds) available to eat. These include:
- Quinoa is a “complete protein” food and is a great replacement for orzo pasta or bulgur wheat in salads.
- Rice is versatile and works well as a cooked grain and as a flour.
- Sorghum is a go-to for me in flour blends.
- Amaranth is excellent as both a flour and a cooked grain.
- Millet is a tiny grain that easily replaces potatoes as a healthy starch.
- Corn is safer for gluten-free people if it is a non-GMO version.
- Buckwheat, which is not a wheat despite the name, has more protein than other gluten-free grains and works as a cooked breakfast cereal or in a grain salad.
- Oats are a familiar food for many, but make sure they are labeled “gluten-free” to avoid the cross-contamination that can happen when oat and wheat fields are near each other.
- Teff is a tiny ancient grain that works well in stews as well as flour blends.
I’m not a big fan of salads, but I love tabbouleh, a Lebanese grain salad, which, unfortunately, usually includes bulgur wheat. Today I’m going to offer you a gluten free alternative recipe. Here you go.
Gluten-free Tabbouleh
Makes 4 servings
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 minced small garlic clove (or teaspoon of minced from a jar)
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 3 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
- ½ pound finely chopped tomatoes (or a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained)
- 1 cup finely chopped green onions
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cook the quinoa according to package instructions and cool completely. Add the other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Can sit safely at room temperature.
How do I avoid wheat in its various forms?
Read labels
All of them. Products labeled “gluten-free” are safe for most people with a wheat allergy (Mx “Ridiculous amount of food allergies” here still has to check gluten-free labels thanks to the legume and milk allergies).
Check ingredients
Keep an eye out especially for malt. It’s usually made with barley, but it can sometimes cause reactions for people with a wheat allergy. It will add time to your grocery shopping, and it is worth it to avoid getting sick (or making someone else sick).
And, as I have said before, if you have any questions about what is safe to feed someone allergic to wheat, ask. Please, just ask us. It lets us know that you care about us enough to keep us safe and healthy.
Real talk time: When someone has food allergies, it can make them feel left out, especially if it’s an allergy like wheat. Think about how many birthday parties or weddings you’ve gone to in your life. Imagine not being able to eat the one food that is the highlight of the party. Now imagine having to do that as a child. It hurts, and it makes one feel “othered” really quick. By asking us questions, you remove some of that “being othered” feeling.
That’s all for this week. Next week I’ll talk about different gluten-free products that work well (based on my experience) and offer a couple of recipes on flour blends (as well as a surprise recipe).
And let me know what you think of the tabbouleh recipe. I would love to know how it turned out for you.
Be safe. Eat safe. And savor life!
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