Finding Coeliac friendly & gluten free Thermomix recipes doesn’t need to be hard or scary. When you have a Coeliac disease diagnosis, it is life-changing – hopefully this beginners guide and Skinnymixer experience can help you make the transition.
Not many people realise that all the recipes in the Skinnymixers Cookbooks are Gluten Free!
What is gluten?
A very basic description of gluten is that it is a protein that is found in Wheat, Barley, Oats and Rye so any foods containing these ingredients, contain gluten.
A Coeliac Diet Isn’t So Scary
There are a lot of resources available out there, so I thought I would share some tips I have learnt along the way and hopefully they might make the journey a little less daunting for some of you!
Tips from a Coeliac Disease Household
Get Tested for Coeliac Disease
If you suspect you are a Coeliac, please please have the correct testing done before you change anything with your diet. I’m a really strong believer in this for many reasons.
By correct testing I mean a blood test and, if the markers indicate it, a biopsy performed by endoscopy.
Coeliac Support Network
If you are a diagnosed Coeliac, join your local Coeliac society – whether that be becoming a Member or by joining their social media pages.
There is a National organisation, then most states and territories have regional ones as well. In Australia is is ‘Coeliac Australia‘.
Learn food labelling rules and learn to read labels.
BORING, I know – but it is crucial.
While most of the food in our house is now cooked from scratch, you still need to check every sauce, spice and packaged ingredient that you may need to use.
Coeliac Australia has some really great information you can find in this linkhere
Gluten hides in many foods, not just cakes, biscuits and bread! Some surprising places it has turned up are – mayonnaise, cornflour, sauces, spices, stock powders/liquids, dressings, potato chips, processed meats, drinking chocolate.
Also, if you are choosing based on checking ingredients – you need to check every time! Sometimes manufacturers change recipe without making it obvious.
Another thing to consider is that one item in a brands range might be ok, where another is not!
AvoidCross Contamination
This is something a lot of people don’t think of and is so important.
In my house we only have one person with Coeliac disease so while we mostly eat gluten free, there are a few strategies we have come up with along the way to keep gluten in our house and keep our house Coeliac safe as well –
- Separate toasters and toasted sandwich makers.
- We have a strict ‘No double dip’ rule for all spreads, butters, condiments – often results in 10 butter knives in the sink for just one round of sandwiches, but it works 😛
- One drawer contains all of the gluten foods, the rest of the house is basically gluten free. Any food containing gluten that is not in that one special drawer is labelled clearly with the word GLUTEN.
- Sponges and tea towels are changed often for us, I know some people run separate cleaning sponges/cloths but we haven’t found that necessary.
Gluten Intolerance
If you have a gluten intolerance the above tips may or may not be of use.
The main difference between having a gluten intolerance and having Coeliac Disease is that while the consumption of gluten is usually pretty unpleasant for both, it can be life threatening for someone with Coeliac Disease – long term consumption can result in an increase in the chance of developing many other autoimmune diseases, cancers, inflammations and also malnutrition.
EATING OUT
The key to eating out is planning. Every time you eat in a non-dedicated gluten free kitchen you are taking a risk and taking a chance on how careful the person preparing your food is going to be.
I have learnt along the way to research before we go – either searching online, making phone calls to ask what they can provide. Then when I am there it involves quizzing the serving staff and often kitchen staff about how safe they can make the food.
It has also meant that there has been times when we’ve walked away from a restaurant because I didn’t feel satisfied they could safely feed my Coeliac child.
Local Coeliac Support Groups
Your local Coeliac group will have information on places where people have eaten safely or there may be a Facebook group dedicated to gluten free food in your area – here is the one I belong to for Adelaide (along with a few other Skinnymixers!)
SHOPPING
Look for naturally gluten free foods!
This will help keep your costs down. Prepackaged gluten free food is convenient – but boy it can be expensive. And to be honest, they often substitute the lack of gluten for extra sugars and salts making them even unhealthier than you first might think.
Packaged Gluten Free Food
If you are buying packaged gluten free foods – my process is this, look for one that states GLUTEN FREE (and is made in Australia), if there is no product like that, then you need to read the ingredient label and allergen statement and then choose your product.
People with a gluten intolerance are usually ok with foods that have the ‘May contain gluten… statement’. Coeliacs will generally avoid these foods as well.
Gluten Free Supermarket Brands
Here are my favourite general Supermarket brands that I will look for if buying packaged foods (but still check the labels… just in case!)
- Chang’s Asian sauces
- Bulla, Golden North and I think even Peter’s now all have Gluten Free ice creams in their ranges
- Spring Gully Worcestershire
- Heinz and Fountain sauces (be very careful with BBQ sauce)
- Chris’ dips
- Smiths Potato crisps
- Mission Mexican products offer a few items
- Hans smallgoods – bacon and cold meats
- Sakata rice crackers
- Mitani chicken salt
As for spices, bread mixes etc… I always go to our friends at Grandma’s Pantry– their range of GF items is ASTOUNDING – and includes lollies (and we have a discount code 😉 SKMIX
Our Top 10 Gluten Free Thermomix Meals
Here is a list of ourTop 10 gluten free meals (what a surprise, they are all Skinnymixers!)
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Kievs
- Mexican Red Rice
- Avocado Dip
- Chile con Queso
- Curried Eggs
- Cheesy Pumpkin Puffs
- Arancini made from Riso al Forno
- Creamy Garlic Prawns
Oh and I need to add a special mention for Coconut curried sausages because we can’t forget that one (and 10 recipes wasn’t quite enough, lol)
If you are looking for more coeliac gluten free Thermomix recipes, I strongly suggest you have a look at the Mega Bundle of Skinnymixers Cookbooks – when you buy the whole collection you save money & get Free Shipping 🙂
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