6 Foods Where Gluten Hides

If you've read my previous post and found that eliminating gluten from your diet will improve your health, you may be feeling overwhelmed about the prospect of living gluten-free. Don't panic! It's not as difficult as you may think. Because the gluten-free diet has become somewhat of a trend, there are a significant number of gluten-free options available. Restaurants, grocery stores, and even places like Walmart have begun to offer a wide variety of gluten-free foods. It really has never been easier to be gluten-free.

While there are more options than ever, giving up gluten is still overwhelming. When you first give up gluten, the first thing you'll need to do is check your pantry for wheat, barley, and rye. If you don't have celiac disease, you don't need to exclusively things labeled "gluten-free." Just check the ingredient labels.

Gluten hides in many foods you may not think to check. These things don't always have gluten, but you should check every label to make sure.

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Here's a list of foods where gluten hides:

• Pasta, bread, and pastries
• Cakes, cookies, and brownies
• Broth, soup, and bouillon
• Spices and spice mixes
• Soy sauce
• Granola bars and granola

Because gluten is such an incredible binding agent for baked goods, there are a few things that are much harder to replace directly. You can usually find suitable foods to take their place though.

1. Pasta, Bread, and Pastries

I have yet to find a gluten-free bread recipe that tastes good, doesn't go bad quickly, and has the right texture. That's because gluten is a major component of bread. It's very hard to make gluten-free bread from scratch. If you aren't keen on buying gluten-free bread from the store, sourdough bread doesn't make a lot of people with gluten intolerance sick. If you want to learn more about why that is, read this article.

Pasta is easier than bread, but it's still hit-and-miss. I haven't had luck with pasta made from vegetables, it's usually very crunchy and crumbly. I've had really good luck with brown rice pasta. Making your own is also an option. This recipe has always worked for me.

Pastries are another hit-and-miss situation. Usually, they're pretty good gluten-free, but they're frequently too dry or crumbly. I recommend buying pastries from your local grocery store, rather than making them yourself. 

2. Cakes, Cookies, and Brownies

These are by far the easiest treats to replace. My husband told me once that gluten-free cake is better than gluten cake. In most cake, cookies, and brownie recipes, you can directly replace cake and all-purpose flour with gluten-free one-to-one flour. I like Bob's Red Mill. 

These treats are your best options for gluten-free. Another plus: no-bake cookies are just about always gluten-free!

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3. Broth, Soup, and Bouillon

ALWAYS LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS! Flour hides in broth, soup, and bouillon. It's a common thickener. There are many options for broths, soups, and bouillon that are gluten-free, but you always have to check.

4. Spices and Spice Mixes

Lower-end spice mixes (ie: taco seasoning) frequently have flour as a filler. This is easy to avoid, just check the ingredients in the store.

5. Soy Sauce

My local grocery store has this great brewed soy sauce that's all soy with no wheat. Some people use coconut aminos. I don't like this option as much because it's more expensive. Just look in the Asian section of your grocery store for soy sauce that's specifically labeled "Gluten-Free".

6. Granola Bars and Granola

Granola and granola bars are tricky because flour is so commonly used to bind them together. You don't have to only buy ones that are labeled "Gluten-Free," you can just check the ingredients to make sure they don't have wheat, flour, rye, or barley. If something is labeled "Gluten-Free," it just means it was made in a gf facility.

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These are the most common places I've found gluten hiding. When you start your gluten-free journey, go through your kitchen and start reading ingredients! The list above is a great place to start.

Let me know in the comments how your gluten-free journey is going.