Carrie S. Forbes - The Everything Gluten-Free College Cookbook: Includes Pineapple Coconut Smoothie, Healthy Taco Salad, Artichoke and Spinach Dip, Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and

THE

GLUTEN-FREE
COLLEGE
COOKBOOK

Carrie S. Forbes

Avon, Massachusetts

SO YOURE HEADED TO college. Youve packed your bags, signed up for your first classes, and purchased your textbooks. Its time to live on your own and be free. Except, you cant eat gluten. You may have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and/or food allergies, and its up to you to figure out how you can eat safely now that youre away from home.

A few years ago, the term gluten-free seemed like a foreign language. Thankfully, huge strides have been made in the medical field, and more and more doctors are becoming better educated about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. They are also much quicker to have their patients tested for a gluten-related allergy. With all of these changes occurring, its no wonder that the gluten-free food market has exploded with products over the past few years. However, while there are now tons of resources available for children and adults, theres one group of people who are often left out: you, the college student.

College students seem to fall in that gray area between youth and adulthood, and in many ways, youre left on your own to swim the shark (or gluten)-infested waters of college living. Adults often have a hard time learning how to adapt to the gluten-free diet, and they have complete control over what they eat. But you? As a college student, you may have some control over your meals, especially if you are buying them yourself from the grocery store, but many colleges require students to purchase meal plans so that they will have access to balanced meals on campus. Unfortunately, not all college campuses are up to par when it comes to making safe, gluten-free meals.

The first chapter of this book will help you learn the right questions to ask when you are visiting college campuses. The experience of simply visiting colleges and their dining halls will help you get a taste of what life will be like on your own. As a gluten-free college student, one thing thats very important for you to learn is that you are your own best advocate. As a young adult, you are now responsible for your health and you have be able to take charge of your gluten-free diet. This means that you have to be willing to stand up for yourself and ask for help in figuring out the best ways to get safe meals on your college campus. There are people there to help you, and this book will assist you in finding the right staff members and asking the right questions.

College should be a really fun and exciting time for you. If you feel overwhelmed with trying to fully follow the gluten-free diet away from your safe zone of home, think about joining a local gluten-free support group, either in person or through social media sites like Facebook. Even if there arent a lot of other people your age in the group, you will get to know other people who have been gluten-free for a long time and have a huge depth of knowledge about living gluten-free in general. Make it a priority to find other gluten-free students on campus and share your difficulties with them as well as your successes (like when you find a great gluten-free option).

Another great thing about college? If you havent started before, now is a great time to learn how to cook and bake on your own. Preparing your own gluten-free meals is an important skill to learn, and college is a great time to do it. This cookbook provides you with 300 easy, healthy recipes and will encourage you to learn more about cooking your own gluten-free meals.

From ideas for easy, quick breakfasts, lunches, or late-night dinners to party foods and study grub, this book will teach you basic gluten-free cooking techniques and baking skills. Youll be able to make delicious gluten-free muffins, cookies, and brownies from scratch (or using your favorite gluten-free baking mix) that will impress any of your college friends. Youll also find vegetarian meals, stellar sandwiches, and a whole chapter of fast microwave meals. This book will give you everything you need to make the transition to gluten-free college life fun, easy, and delicious.

These days, more and more students are entering college with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and/or food allergies. Its currently estimated that one in 133 people have celiac disease, and even more may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. This means college dining halls and cafes are slowly becoming more aware and educated about how to prepare gluten-free food for their students with dietary challenges. However, many colleges are still learning the gluten-free ropes. This chapter will review the basics of being gluten-free, as well as teach you how to navigate your college life as a gluten-free student.

To begin, lets review what gluten is and where its found. Gluten is the term used for several types of proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. The proteins gliadin and glutelin are found in these grains and together form a substance called gluten. Gluten is a storage protein, which means that it holds the key ingredients for these grains to continue proliferating. Gluten is primarily found in foods such as traditional breads, pasta, cakes, muffins, crackers, pizza, etc. These grains are used because gluten provides excellent elasticity, structure, and texture to baked goods. Gluten is what causes pizza to have a chewy, stretchy texture. Gluten gives French bread its soft, white center and chewy crust. Gluten makes cinnamon rolls stretchy, soft, and light. Gluten helps give structure to yeast as it expands bread dough so that the bread becomes tall when rising and stays tall after baking and cooling.

Gluten can be deceiving for several reasons. The biggest reason is that there are a number of foods and food products that contain gluten, but because gluten is simply a protein found in the ingredient itself, its not listed on the package. By law, the top eight food allergens must be listed on every food label in the United States. This is helpful because wheat is one of the top eight allergens. The remaining seven are milk, eggs, tree nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts, etc.), fish, shellfish, peanuts, and soy.

However, in addition to wheat, you also need to avoid these foods (most are derivatives of wheat), which also contain gluten:

• Barley
• Bulgar
• Couscous
• Durum flour
• Farina
• Graham flour
• Kamut
• Rye
• Seminola