What to Eat Gluten-Free at Subway

For folks with celiac disease, eating out without getting glutenized is tough. It seems like everything is suspect.

Subway sandwich shops, however, at least make an effort to not lace everything with wheat. Go to this link and scroll down to "Information for People with Food Allergies."

Of course, all the buns are out. Don't order a sandwich or BYOBun.

The salads, however, are pretty straightforward. With the exceptions of the the Meatball Marinara, Seafood Sensation, and Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken, all the other salads are safe if you tell them to hold the croutons. Meat, cheese, veggies: it's all good.

As for the salad dressings, the only one with wheat is the "Atkins Sweet as Honey Mustard." All the other ones are free game and GF. Enjoy!

What to Eat Gluten-Free at Ruby Tuesday's

The following information is from the Ruby Tuesday's website, under the general FAQ. While RT has been snotty in the past, at least they've put up some info. Good luck.

Currently all of our fried food is prepared in soybean oil. Our French
fries are fried in the same oil as our breaded items.

Please be aware that we do serve white and wheat hamburger buns which all contain wheat flour. Our premium knot roll and rolls used for Ruby Minis are white bread, while our Golden Bun used for most burgers is a wheat bun. All are made from wheat flour.

The following menu items are acceptable for guests with a gluten
intolerance or Celiac Sprue disease:

Steaks (with Ruby's seasoning only)
Chicken Oscar
Chicken Fresco
Any burger without bread (EXCLUSIONS: turkey burgers, the onion tanglers on minis, French fries)

Sides
Broccoli as currently prepared
Mashed potatoes as
currently prepared
Baked potato without sour cream
Salad bar with discretion (excludes prepared salads on the salad bar)

Acceptable salad dressings:
Bleu Cheese
Ranch
Lite Ranch
Honey
Mustard
Caesar
Thousand Island
Italian
French

Unfortunately, for all other food items, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. cannot provide a listing of allergens that might be present in our menu items for the following reasons:

It is always possible, as we are preparing food in over 800 restaurants every day, that one item will be substituted for another, and that the substitute product's contents may be different from the ingredients in the products we normally use.

As food is being prepared in our restaurants, it often comes in contact with other food, so even though a specific item may not contain allergens, it could be affected by another food item that does.

Celiac Maniac's Mighty Muffins (Gluten-Free) Recipe

These muffins are moist and have great cell structure. They're even relatively low-fat.

The batter is very thin, so don't try to put strudel or more than a light sprinkle of sugar on top. It will fall through the muffin in a "China Syndrome" meltdown and end up on the bottom.

This easy recipe can be stirred together in a mixing bowl. I let my preschooler mix the batter together in a big bowl set on the floor with a whisk. Have been doing this for two years.

Easy substitution below also makes these muffins dairy-free (casein-free and lactose-free).

You can also add up to 3/4 cup pureed vegetables to make these more nutritious in a "Sneaky Chef" way. Pureed carrots work great.


Dry Ingredients:


1 cup Celiac Maniac's Muffin Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg


Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons corn oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or non-dairy liquid (soymilk or non-dairy creamer works best)
1 teaspoon GF vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray 8 cups of silicone muffin pan with GF cooking spray. (These rather low-fat muffins will stick to anything else, even paper liners. Spray 9-12 muffin cups if adding pureed veggies.)

Sift dry ingredients together to eliminate lumps onto waxed paper. Single-sift is fine.

Stir wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Dump dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Whisk or stir thoroughly. (You don't have to worry about toughening the gluten.)

Ladle the batter into the sprayed muffin cups.

Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.

If eaten right away, muffins are a little crunchy on the outside and tender in the middle. Placing warm muffins in a sealed plastic bag (like a Ziploc) will soften the crust.

Muffins stay moist in a sealed plastic bag for up to a week at room temperature, or freeze in an evacuated Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.

What to Eat Gluten-Free: Chipotle Grill

TK Kenyon, the Celiac Maniac, is pleased to tell you thatChipotle's Mexican Grill is a great place for celiacs to eat gluten-free.

According to their allergen card, the only thing that we can't eat is a flour tortilla. Indulge in corn tortilla tacos, bowls, rice, beans, meats, and salsas. Yummy, yummy, yummy! I'm an Arizona native, and I know good salsa when I taste it. The salsa is GREAT! When I'm traveling, I look for a Chipotle.

Allergen card: http://www.chipotle.com/Chipotle_Allergen_Card.pdf

Find a Chipotle: http://www.chipotle.com/#flash/restaurants_locations

What to Eat Gluten-Free: Bonefish Grill

TK Kenyon, the Celiac Maniac, is pleased to tell you that the Bonefish Grill is a nifty, upscale seafood and landlubber restaurant with many locations in the US.

 The downloadable GF menu includes a couple starters, most entrees, two sauces (mango salsa and lemon butter,) most sides, and even TWO desserts: the flourless brownie and berry creme brulee.

Gluten-Free Menu can be downloaded here.

Location finder here.

What to Eat Gluten-Free: Taco Bell

TK Kenyon, the Celiac Maniac, is here to tell you that Mexican food is one of the mainstays of the celiac diet. Its reliance on corn and beans makes it especially amenable.

Taco Bell, the ubiquitous fast food restaurant in the US, has some options for us gluten-free folks.

Try the following:

• Tostada
• Fiesta Taco Salad (order Chicken instead of Beef; order without the shell and without the Red Strips)
• Express Taco Salad (order Chicken instead of Beef)
• Zesty Chicken BORDER BOWL® (order without the Zesty Dressing and without the Red Strips. I use Hot or Mild Sauce instead.)
• Southwest Steak Bowl (order without the Creamy Jalapeno Sauce)
• Pintos N Cheese
• Mexican Rice
• Fruitista Freezes
• Hot sauces (Mild and Hot, not Fire or Tomatillo.) 

For what to eat at 60 Chain Restaurants, including Taco Bell, Wendy's, and Burger King, consider the following ebook: 

Contrary to common sense, the hard tacos are not GF.
The beef is not GF. Contains wheat gluten. 


Taco Bell is really problematic with their gluten info on their website. For example, they say that all the hot sauces are ok, when the Fire and Tomatillo Sauce packets list wheat right on the packet. They also say that the Steak and Flatbread thingee is gluten-free, when the flatbread is obviously bread.

At this point, Taco Bell is Not Recommended for GF folks, due to serious, ongoing concerns with information from the company.

What to Eat Gluten-Free: In Your Sandwich

If your favorite celiac sandwich on GF bread has been giving you stomach aches, it's not the bread.

Luncheon meats are a hidden source of gluten and a real pain in the gluten-free celiac's diet. It's meat, right? Says so on the front the package. Turkey.

When you turn the lunch meat package over, however, you find not only a huge list of preservatives, but also modified food starch, wheat starch, and just plain wheat gluten.

Boar's Head Luncheon Meats are all gluten free. As a matter of fact, All Boar's Head meats, cheeses and condiments, as well as Hans Jurgen Pickles are gluten-free. They even have hot dogs and brats.

For the folks with other food sensitivities, many of Boar's Heads products are accepted by the Feingold Program for folks on the Feingold Diet. A bunch of products have also been approved by the American Heart Association as low-fat and heart-healthy.

Luckily for us, Boar's Head makes the best lunch meat, anyway. I mean, why buy "Boxcar Myrear" when the good stuff is gluten-free?

Boar's Head products are available in many supermarkets and delis. Even my Farmer's Market carries them. They're sliced fresh, so ask at the meat counter.