Suspect Foods

When you cannot keep it simple or be your own chef, there are a number of things to watch for on the label... or just plain avoid in a restaurant.  
Note-- I do note touch most of the things on this list, but if you are still indulging be afraid, very afraid...

Suspect Foods  
ale, baking powder, barbeque sauce, beer, breads, broth, casseroles, cereals, chocolates, chocolate bars, coffees (flavored), cookies, crackers, condiments, deli meats, drinks (flavored), gravies, grilled fish, grilled meats, hamburger patties (unless stated 100% beef), hot dogs, ketchup, lager, licorice, meatballs, potato chips and french fries, ice cream, imitation bacon bits, imitation seafood, marinades, meats, medications (check with your pharmacist-- even for topical medications), pastas, processed meats, processed foods, sauces, sausages, seasoning blends (herbs, spicing, and other agents), salad dressings, sauces, sausages, seasonings, seasoning packets (generally have thickening agents with hidden grains), spice mixes, stews, stir fries, soups, soup bases, soy products, soy sauce, syrups, taco seasoning, teas (flavored), Worcestershire Sauce.

Sneaky Sneaky Grains

Watch out!! Hidden grains are everywhere, especially in processed foods. Single source foods are of course the most safe (you know, a zucchini, spinach, an egg). Here are ingredients that are of concern.

Grains, Grain Ingredients or Likely Grain Ingredients:
artificial colors, artificial flavors, baking powder, barley -flakes/flour/pearl, binders, blue cheese, bread, breading, bread stuffing, brewer's yeast, brown rice, bulgur, bulgar wheat, cereal fillers/protein/starch, cheese -grated (if anti-caking agent used), citric acid, coatings, colorings, colors, corn, corn starch, dextrins, dinkel, durum (it is wheat), dispersing agents, emulsifiers, excipients (in prescription medications), farro/faro (type of wheat AKA spelt or dinkel), flavorings, flours (barley, corn, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, tapioca, wheat), food starch, graham flour, grated cheese ((if anti-caking agent used), grain alcohol (ale, beer, bourbon, grain vodka rye, scotch), hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed wheat protein, kamut (type of wheat), malt, malt extract, malt flavoring (barley malt, malt vinegar), malt syrup, malt vinegar, malted milk, matzo, matzo meal, modified food starch (from wheat), modified wheat starch, maltodextrin, natural flavors, rice, thickening agents (dextrin, corn starch, modified food starch, etc.), mono-glycerices, di-glycerides (made using a wheat starch carrier), natural flavorings, oatmeal, oat bran, oat flour, oats, oils (wheat germ oil and others with gluten additives), preservatives, rye bread, rye flour, seitan (vegetarian protein made from wheat gluten), semolina, spelt (type of wheat AKA dinkel, faro, farro), semolina, spelt (type of wheat AKA dinkel, faro, farro), sorghum, soy sauce, spices (if anti-caking agent used), starch (modified food starch, edible starch), textured vegetable protein (TVP), triticale, vegetable gum, vegetable protein or starch, vinegars (white, or malt), vital wheat gluten, vitamin e oil, wheat bran, wheat flour, wheat germ, wheat starch.

I have probably missed a few things, be vigilant!

My sister once told a crowd at a gathering, "Lisa is food intolerant." It's not far from the truth. I spent years attempting to find the key to resolving my IBS symptoms. I gave up dairy nearly 30 years ago and gluten about six years ago. That really helped, but then thankfully I stumbled across a reference to the FODMAPs research in April of 2011. That's when my life changed. I never thought I could feel so good. I never dared to dream.

VEGETARIAN PRODUCTS: Udi's GFCF Bread

Udi's white sandwich bread is usually good for low FODMAP vegetarians and is usually suitable for the elimination phase. However, you need to be careful. They usually use tapioca syrup, which seems to be okay. Unfortuntely, they sometimes substitute with Brown Rice Syrup-- definitely not okay. Read the ingredients every time.

 It makes amazing toast. It even tastes decent without microwaving or toasting. It's a bit dry, but the first gluten free bread I've found to be edible without some kind of cooking.

You will find Udi's in the gluten free freezer section. I have found it in the Stop and Shop natural foods aisle, Whole Foods, the Good Food Store, the Fruit Center, and best of all Trader Joe's where they keep it out with the regular bread and sell it for aout $5!

VEGETARIAN RECIPE: Low FODMAP French Toast

I prefer to cook this frenh toast in a cast iron skillet to give it a nice texture.

Heat cast iron skillet on medium heat for five minutes. After four add a quarter cup of canola oil

1 c Trader Joe's vanilla rice milk
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1 egg
4 slices Udi's White Sandwich Bread

Note that some of it will fall apart-- but it tastes great anyway!

GFCF Bagels

I just made some really good bagels from a recipe in Living Without Magazine (October/November 2009 issue). If you have a subscription to this magazine (and if you can't eat gluten or dairy, you should) then you can logon and find recipes from past issues (http://www.livingwithout.com/).

Search for the Gluten Free Dairy Free Bagel Recipe.
You'll also have to do a search for the Multi-Grain Flour Blend (don't forget the dash, as it didn't recognize multi grain).

The only thing that got left off in the website is how to top the bagels-- here's how:

To add toppings whisk together 1 egg white and 2 Tablespoons cold water, brush on bagels and sprinkle toppings (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt, etc.) over top

The best part is the ones I made have toppings I like (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, salt), but also they aren't sweet like the GFCF bagesls I've bought at the grocery store. They're also more chewy and fresh tasting.

The ones I made aren't as pretty as the ones pictured in the magazine, but I'm sure I'll get better with practice!

Glutenus Minimus bakery (GF w/ some CF in Belmont, MA)

Glutenus Minimus bakery (http://www.glutenusminimus.com/Glutenus_Minimus/ABOUT.html)
offers gourmet GF baked goods.

They supply the GF pizza crust at Zing Pizza and offer GFCF treats at their bakery.

Dairy free options include: Pumpkin Bread, Carrot Cake Muffin, Coconut Macaroons, or Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. I went this weekend and tried the pumpkin bread and the carrot cake muffin-- very yummy. The options for dairy free are limited so get there earlier in the day rather than later.

They opened a brand new bakery in October.
697 Belmont St. Belmont, MA 02478.
The hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm.
617-947-1438


You can also find their products at

• The Natural Food Exchange. 343 Main Street, Reading, MA 01867
• Cafe Zing, Porter Square. 15 White Street, Cambridge, MA 02114
• Equal Exchange Cafe. 226 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114
• Stone Hearth Pizza. Cambridge/Belmont/Needham
• City Feed and Supply. 672 Center Street, Jamaica Plain, 02130
• Lexington Farmers Market (every other Tues., starting June 16)
• Or order online

Zing Pizza (GFCF pizza in Cambridge)

Zing Pizza (zingpizza.blogspot.com)

GF pizza, unusual choices (e.g. squash sauce w/ blue cheese and; sausage), menu changes from day to day-- check the blog to see what they have. They are not very flexible about changing what they are offering for the day, they will leave off the cheese though so it can be GFCF. Plan on 45 minute wait for GF pizza, but you can call ahead to order. The crust is great-- it comes from Glutenus Minimus bakery, it's dairy free, but does contain eggs.

This place recycles everything, I love it!

Casual atmosphere ($$)

1923 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

(617) 497-4300

Papa Razzi restaurant (GFCF Pasta in MA, WA DC, NJ, NY and RI)

Papa Razzi (http://www.paparazzitrattoria.com/)


GF pasta that they will make to order, so you can get it without dairy. Sometimes it's really good and sometimes it's just okay. It depends on the chef. The main thing is that they are exceptionally careful when it comes to food intolerance issues.
Upscale ($$$)

Locations in Massachusetts:
*Boston (271 Dartmouth Street) 617-536-9200
*Hanover (2087 Washington Street) 781-982-2800
Wellesley (16 Washingotn Street) 781-235-4747
Concord (768 Elm Street) 978-371-0030
Burlington (2 Wall Street) 781-229-0100
Chestnut Hill (199 Boylston Street) 617-527-6606
Framingham (155 Wocester Road) 508-848-2300

Locations outside of Massachussetts:
Georgetown, Washington DC (1064-1066 Wisconsin Ave) 202-298-8000
Paramus, NJ (298 Garden State Plaza) 298-843-0990
Short Hills, NJ (The Short Hills Mall) 973-467-5544
Westbury, NY (1500 Jericho Turnpike) 516-877-7744
Cranston, RI (1 Paparazzi Way) 401-942-2900

(*Locations I've been to indicated with an asterisk)

Macaroni and Cheese-less - GFCF from Gluten Free Goddess

Cheesy Uncheesy Sauce
For an outrageously great cheese sauce alternative check out the recipe on the gluten-free goddess blog (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/12/cheesy-uncheese.html)

I leave the white wine out of this recipe and it still comes out great. I prefer it with hemp milk, but if I use rice milk I thicken it with a little corn starch (2 tablespoons corn starch and 2 tablespoons water, mixed in slowly). I've used both almond butter and cashew butter with it, which is good, but I prefer the tahini.




Best Vegan GF Macaroni and Cheese
There's also a fabulous recipe for macaroni and cheese recipe the cheesy uncheesy sauce with GF pasta and  artichoke hearts. (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/11/kicked-up-baked-mac-and-cheese.html)

Alice's Diner (GF with some GFCF options in Fall River, MA)

Alice's Diner (http://www.alicesdiner.com/)

Gluten Free (GF) waffles, pancakes, pies and other desserts, sandwiches and fried clams. You can get a gluten free dairy free (GFCF) sandwich here. If you call ahead the owner will make up most of the above dairy free.

Very casual ($)

2663 South Main Street, Fall River, MA 02724
508-675-9210

If you make the trip, check out the gluten free (gf) store right down the street in North Tiverton, RI. Healthy Haven has a great selection of gf grocery items and plenty that are cf as well.
80 Main Road, Tiverton, RI 02878
401-816-5844

Stone Hearth Restaurant (GFCF Pasta in Boston area)

Stone Hearth Restaurant (http://www.stonehearthpizza.com/)
GF Pizza -- this is really good, but it does have a little dairy, so if you can't have dairy, skip it.

& GFCF Pasta - this is really good if you get it cooked to dine in, if you get it for take out they don't bake it the same way, so it's not as good.
Casual dining ($$)
Three Locations:
Belmont, MA (57 Leonard St.) 617-484-1700
Needham, MA (974 Great Plain Ave) 781-433-0600
*Cambridge, MA (1782 Mass Ave) 617-433-0600

(*Locations I've been to indicated by asterisk)

Surrender to Win

Giving Up
For most of my life I’ve been giving things up, letting things go. It seems this is my life’s lesson. My husband is fond of saying, "Life keeps teaching us the same lessons until we learn them." Once in a while I feel the need to test a food item and see if it still makes me violently ill. But mostly I try to find fun restaurants and great recipes that are alternatives for the foods I love.

My plan is to post the things I've learned over the years. I gave up dairy (casein) 26 years ago, shellfish 14 years ago, soy 3 years ago and gluten a year and a half ago.

I focus on GFCF because Gluten and Dairy are the most difficult to avoid, especially in restaurants.

My dietary restrictions

My Restrictions, My Approach to Food
I do not eat dairy (casein) or gluten as my stomach hates those things. I also avoid most soy at least in high doses as it doesn't always agree with me. If I eat shellfish I end up with hives... so that's out too.


I eat eggs in limited doses, but don't eat other animal products/meat because I don't care for them.