Quick Dining Out Tips

Here are some quick eating out tips to make eating out easy and enjoyable.  It will take some planning and looking ahead.

1.  If possible, meet with chef or manager regarding food preparation.

2. You may have more choices at a full service restaurant than at fast food restaurants.

3. Fresh fruit, raw vegetables and vegetable juices are good choices for appetizers.

4.  Choose plainly cooked meats, poultry and fish that are not breaded or fried.  Make sure ground beef is 100% beef.

Baking With Gluten Free Flour

Some helpful tips to baking with gluten free flour.

1.  Rice flour and cornmeal tend to have a grainy texture.  You can make a smoother texture by mixing the rice flour or cornmeal with the liquid called for in the recipe.  Bring this liquid to a boil.
Cool and then add the other ingredients.

2.  Always use soy flour with another type of flour, not as the only flour in a recipe.

3.  Longer baking times and lower temperatures are usually required, especially when the product is made without milk and/or eggs.

4.  When using coarse meals and flours in place of wheat flour, use 2 1/2 tsp. of baking powder for each cup of coarse flour to help the product rise.

5.  Keep muffins or biscuits small for better texture.

6.  Keep cakes moist by frosting and storing in closed containers.

Substitutes For Wheat Flour In Recipes

Here are a few suggestions for substituting wheat flour in your recipe.  Any one of the following may be substituted for 1 cup of wheat flour in recipes:
- 1 cup corn flour
- 3/4 cup coarse cornmeal
- 5/8 cup of potato flour
- 7/8 cup of rice flour
- 1 cup soy flour plus 1/2 cup potato flour
- 2/3 cup of rice flour plus 1/3 cup of potato starch flour plus 1/3 cup of tapioca flour
You may add 1 tsp. per cup xanthan gum for texture.

For thickening, 1 tablespoon of wheat flour many be replaced by 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch, potato flour, rice starch, or arrowroot, or 2 Tbsp. of quick cooking tapioca.

Tax Deduction For People With Celiac

If you or a dependent has Celiac disease  you might be eligible for a tax break.  You will need your grocery receipts for this.  The government agrees that you can claim the difference in price between gluten food and regular food.

What do you need to do.  You first need an official diagnosis of Celiac disease from a doctor that also states you need to follow a gluten free diet for your treatment.  As of now this is only for people with Celiac disease, not gluten intolerance.

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Genetics Behind Celiac Disease

Thirty to 40 percent of people in the US have one or both of the genes
called HLA-DQ2 or DQ8, which are the ones associated with Celiac
disease.  The National Institutes of Health says only about 3 percent
 of those with the genes actually get the disease.

The HLA molecules help decide whether your body will have an immune
 response. HLA molecules hole onto protein, foreign or not, and show it
to a deciding white blood cell, which then figures out whether to attack it
or not.  While the human body has many HLA molecules, the only ones
 that can bind onto gluten tightly are DQ2 and DQ8.

If a person tests negative for the genes this rules out ever having Celiac
 disease.  However testing positive for the genes does not mean you have
 the disease, a trigger is still needed to activate the disease in your body.

Should Your Relatives Be Tested For Celiac

Celiac disease is an inherited disease, which means genetics plays a role.  The chances of a first degree relative developing the disease is higher than the general population.  First degree relatives are children, parents and siblings of someone who has the disease.  This is why it is recommended that first degree relatives be screened for the disease.  There is also an increase among second degree relatives than the general population. 
Screening is done through blood tests that test for antibodies.  There is also the genetic test, if the gene is not present you can not develop the disease.  Now if the gene is present but antibodies negative, it is important to be aware that Celiac disease can develop at anytime.  You need to watch for symptoms and be screened for antibodies yearly.