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WHEAT-FREE CHEF OFFERS TIPS FOR
LIVING WITHOUT AMERICA’S
FAVORITE GRAIN
DENVER, CO: Despite our love
affair with wheat, about 10-15%
of us can’t eat it due to food
sensitivities or celiac
disease––an autoimmune condition
where wheat damages the
digestive system––and must learn
a new way of living without
America’s favorite grain.
“Whether you’re dining out or
cooking at home”, says Carol
Fenster, Ph.D., a wheat-free
chef whose company, Savory
Palate,
(www.SavoryPalate.com)
develops wheat-free
products for manufacturers,
“it’s important to maintain a
positive attitude, educate
yourself, and enlist the support
of family and friends to help
you avoid wheat and maintain
your health.”
Fenster, who had to learn to
cook all over again when she
discovered that wheat caused her
sinus problems, says you can
speed up the learning curve and
avoid accidentally eating wheat
with these basic tips from her
cookbook:
• When dining out, choose
upscale restaurants where food
is more likely prepared on-site,
from scratch. This gives the
chef more freedom to accommodate
your request for plain meat
since breading contains wheat.
• Ask for steamed vegetables
without sauce since sauces are
often thickened with wheat. Be
leery of side dishes such as
rice which can unexpectedly
contain wheat in the form of
bulgur.
• Call ahead or check the
restaurant’s web site to see if
they feature a wheat-free or
gluten-free menu. Many national
restaurant chains, including
Outback Steakhouse and
Maggiano’s, offer special dishes
for people with wheat
sensitivities.
• For baking at home, choose
wheat-free flour blends at your
local health food store. They’ll
save you time and can be used in
Fenster’s recipes. And, don’t
forget the xanthan gum. Without
it, baked goods crumble and fall
apart.
• When choosing any food or
ingredient, read labels
carefully to detect hidden
wheat. Ingredients such as
all-purpose flour, unbleached
flour, semolina, durum, or
farina are actually wheat.
• And wheat’s cousins––barley,
rye, spelt, and kamut––are also
off-limits because they contain
gluten, a protein that is the
chief culprit in wheat
sensitivities.
Fenster’s cookbook,
Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus:
Delicious Dining without Wheat
or Gluten, is available at
health food stores,
www.Amazon.com, and her
publisher,
www.SavoryPalate.com.
Information for food allergies,
celiac disease, autism, and
other special diet conditions
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