Image by Flickr user kev_walsh
Updates are at the bottom:
Gluten-free menus for people with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivites are rising stars in the food world. Over the last half-decade its gone from a "what's that?" to must-have.
For those of you unfamiliar, Celiac disease is a condition that leaves the body unable to digest gluten -- so those that have it can't eat foods containing wheat, rye, barley spelt, kamut, and oats
It's pretty shocking just how many foods contain them. Sure, bread and beer are out, but so is fried chicken, french fries that have been fried in oil that the chick was, salad tossed with croutons, and it goes right on down to many soy sauces that contain small amounts of gluten.
While many restaurants are willing to work with diners to help keep gluten out of the meals they make, they often aren't entirely sure if the cornmeal has any flour nor do they have the time to read the full ingredients.
And, so, I was glad to see Charlie Magazine highlight several area restaurants that have done the work in advance and devised gluten-free menus.
Update February 9: Local gardening guru Nikki Seibert recently penned a fantastic feature on the trials and tribulations, as well as the solutions and suggestions she's discovered on living a "gluten-free" lifestyle in Charleston.
Not only does has Seibert created an up-to-date list of restaurants offering up gluten-free menus, but she has also created a list of her "Top 10 Gluten-Free Must Haves." Included on her list are delicious treats like Diggity Doughnuts' gluten-free cinnamon-sugar donut holes and Redbridge gluten-free beer.
Hop over to her piece to not only learn how and where you can go gluten-free, but what it's like to accept and adjust to lifestyle.
