Gluten-Free Foods

Here's a quick quiz: Which of these foods contain gluten?
pizza
fried chicken
pasta

If you said all three, you're right! Pizza was the easiest choice because you know the crust is bread. But did you know that battered foods like fried chicken and even some French fries contain gluten? Pasta also contains gluten because it is made from wheat. Luckily, you can make or buy gluten-free pizza crust, make fried chicken with a gluten-free batter, and find gluten-free pasta. In fact, nearly all of the foods we eat can be made gluten-free.

In addition to foods that contain gluten, you'll need to watch out for foods that may have been contaminated with gluten. That means a food doesn't contain gluten as an ingredient but came into contact with gluten-containing foods. This is most likely to occur at home in your own kitchen -- for instance, wheat bread crumbs in the toaster, the butter, or peanut butter.

If you have celiac disease you will need your own toaster and you should also have separate spreads and condiments to avoid this cross-contamination. Some foods are contaminated during processing, so your mom or dad can help you by finding foods that are certified as gluten-free. For instance, gluten-free oats are now available for people with celiac disease.

The best approach is to read labels, but here are a few foods to steer clear of until you can verify that they are gluten-free:
packaged rice mixes
lunch meats
sausages
instant cocoa
canned soups