Product Description
Gluten, be gone!

Gluten intolerance affects almost three million Americans with painful and frustrating symptoms. Although testing for it is fairly simple, it can be difficult to diagnose—and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life. Armed with this book, post-diagnosis readers can meet the challenge. It contains lists of “legal” and “illegal” foods, food substitutions, a lesson in how to find gluten in food labels and keep flavor in gluten-free meals, and a section on dieting.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 6 reviews)

A godsend for gluten-intolerants and their families

In order to produce The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Eating, writer Eve Adamson paired up with dietitian Tricia Thompson, MS, RD. Thompson specializes in nutrition consulting for celiac disease, a condition in which the ingestion of gluten found in wheat, barley, and rye results in damage to the body in ways that reduce its ability to absorb needed nutrition. In order to best understand the concerns of gluten-free eaters, Adamson went entirely gluten-free while writing it.

Adamson and Thompson explain what celiac disease is, why you shouldn't try to diagnose yourself, and how to get a proper diagnosis. They give you a general idea of the foods that do and don't have gluten in them, as well as a guide to reading food labels and interpreting menus. While they can't tell you which specific items will or won't have gluten (as this changes all the time), they give you an idea of which foods tend to have gluten in them, or have gluten-free alternatives available. They also recommend some specific favorite gluten-free brands that each author prefers.

One of my favorite parts about this book, however, is that the authors understand that you aren't just dealing with the grocery store---you want to go out to eat, and you want to eat with friends. They tell you not just how to make things easier on yourself, but also how to make things easier on others so that they can better accommodate your needs.

On top of all that they even manage to fit in some recipes. There's a baking mix and several recipes that use it. Given that it's particularly tough to bake without gluten, I of course had to try this out. The baking mix's 'secret ingredient' is xanthan gum. This is a rather expensive ingredient, but when you consider that a teaspoon of the stuff is enough to last through a batch of cookies and a pancake breakfast, you realize that the high price spreads itself out pretty well.

The pancakes were incredibly delicious and surprisingly thick and decadent. To quote my husband, "I expected to say that these were good for gluten-free, but they're just *good*." We both agreed that we'd happily make those again as a delicious recipe in its own right.

If you have to eat gluten-free or have a friend or family member you want to help out in that regard, I highly recommend this book. It's packed full of fascinating and useful information, encouragement, and delicious recipes!
April 30, 2008

Gluten free friendly advise

I found this book most helpful. It helps demystify the gluten free diet. You are given information on a tough diet in a reasonable fashion; easy to digest and use!
Hats off to the authors!
A good read with great info!
January 07, 2008

A celiac's review

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten Free Eating is a very comprehensive resource for newly diagnosed celiacs. The beginning chapters discuss why celiacs cannot eat gluten and the diagnosis process without getting too technical or overwhelming the reader with obscure medical tidbits. The next chapter explains which foods are safe and not safe to eat and explains how to decipher food labels and eliminate potentially harmful ingredients. There are also alphabetized lists of foods that are safe and not safe to eat. I consider all of these lists as part of a gluten free encyclopedia, which is pretty neat and very useful. I find it so easy to just look up any food I'm unsure of here. And even though the unsafe food lists look long and scary, this book does a great job at reassuring celiacs that their lives as they know them are not over. There is even an entire chapter devoted to building the self-esteems of celiacs and dealing with family and friends who just don't seem to understand the gluten free diet.
The book also recommends gluten free packaged products that are favorites of celiacs everywhere. There is also an entire chapter devoted to the ins and outs of gluten free alcohol. There are also recipes for cookies, pancakes, breads, pasta dishes and an all purpose baking mix. The authors even map out a gluten free meal plan for an entire week that's full of healthy, low fat foods and has substitutions for vegetarians. The book ends with a crash course on eating out, taking out and staying healthy on the gluten free diet. Overall this book is very helpful to newly diagnosed celiacs and their families. It's very easy to follow and written in fun, simple English. It's also sprinkled with "Good for You" tips by Tricia Thompson and cute anecdotes from the "Fearless Eater". This book is even great for celiacs who need a confidence boost or people looking for more diet options and recipes.

January 01, 2008

Good advice found here in an easy, fun read

I have a bunch of these Idiot's books, so I was pleased to find this one on Gluten Free eating, which is something I struggle with. This book broke down the principals behind this diet very well, and it's becoming easier for me to stick with. I definitely recommend this as a primer for a gluten free lifestyle.
December 06, 2007

Highly readable, entertaining style, full of the information needed

I've seen many of the books on the gluten-free diet and this is by far the most fun to read. Eve Adamson is a professional writer who knew nothing about the diet before taking on the assignment, but she totally got "into character" by going gluten-free to gain first-hand knowledge of the dietary challenges celiacs face on a daily basis. Tricia Thompson is a registered dietitian who has built a reputation as a first-rate nutrition consultant & researcher based on a series of publications on the gluten-free diet in various peer-reviewed scientific journals. The book unfolds as an entertaining narrative of Eve's experiences under Tricia's watchful eye, with useful and up-to-date scientific detail provided in various boxes under the headings "Good for You", "Read the Label", and "def-i-ni-tion". All in all, the book covers most everything offered in previously published works but in a much more 'digestable' form--just what the doctor ordered for people with celiac disease!
December 01, 2007

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