12 gluten-free breakfast suggestions.

You’ve got a diagnosis, and they said “Don’t eat anything containing wheat, oats, barley or rye - avoid all gluten”.

OK - but what does that mean? What can you eat?

Your first thought might be ‘oh, that’s not so bad - only four things to avoid’ but after a trip to the supermarket, and looking at some labels, you might be thinking ‘I’m going to starve’.

Like all of us, my coeliac daughter’s favourite breakfasts seem to go in phases, so something will be the best-ever breakfast for a while, and then it will be something else. If you’re just diagnosed, though, working out what you can and can’t eat can be difficult. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Gluten free breakfast cereal. Favourites at the moment are Doves Farm Chocolate Stars - but we’ve also had Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise, Whole Earth Organic Maple Frosted Flakes and Nature’s Path Crispy Rice. We are avoiding cereals that contain barley malt - no matter how little the cereal contains.
   
   
Luckily, the truth is in-between, and you may end up with a healthier diet than when you were eating gluten, because you’ll probably eat more fresh and home-prepared food.
2. Gluten free toast. Don’t use the same toaster as everyone else, unless you use a Toastabag, because of the risk of gluten crumbs from normal toast. Toastabags are available from various places, including Amazon. The best ones I’ve found, though, are from Lakeland Ltd. You can, of course cook toast under the grill - but please be sure that your grill pan is clean, to avoid cross-contamination.
   
   
So - what can I eat?

• Cereals and grains: rice, millet, maize, quinoa, tapioca, sago, buckwheat, teff and sorghum.
• Meat fish and eggs: all are basically fine - just check any coatings, sauces and spices you add, and check wafer-thin meats too (sometimes wheat flour is added to make them ‘peel apart’).
• Dairy products: milk and most cream, cheese and yoghurt - check any added ingredients, and check ready-grated cheese (sometimes wheat flour is added to stop the slivers of cheese sticking together).
3. Eggs. Boiled eggs are a favourite here, with soldiers made from gluten-free bread. Other options are scrambled eggs, fried eggs, omelette or poached eggs. Poached eggs are wonderful on bread spread with Marmite.
   
   
4. Pancakes. My favourite recipe for pancakes (English style) is 4 oz of gluten free flour, one egg and 10 fluid ounces of milk. Beat these together until there are no lumps left. Often people say you should leave a pancake mix for at least half an hour - but we never have time in the mornings, and it doesn’t seem to matter much. Heat a buttered pan, and tip in enough mix to cover the base of the pan. Leave it for a few minutes until the top begins to set, and you see small bubbles - then you can flip the pancake over and cook the other side. My girls like this with sugar - I like to add a little lemon juice too.
   
   
• Flours: rice, corn, potato, maize, gram, soya, chickpea, sorghum, tapioca and chestnut flours are all OK.
• Fruit: all fruits are naturally gluten free - check ready-made pie fillings, though.
• Vegetables: all vegetables are naturally gluten free - check any coatings, sauces and spices
• Fats: you can eat butter, margarine, oils, lard and dripping (if you want!) but avoid suet and check low-fat spreads.
• Breakfast cereal: tricky one - check carefully, and avoid any containing wheat, oats, barley or rye. You might also want to avoid malt extract.
5. Waffles. If you’ve got a wafflemaker, it will have instructions - but Lakeland have a recipe for waffles …
   
   
6. Bought-in breakfast goods, such as croissants or danishes, bought from somewhere like Lifestyle. My daughter likes the chocolate croissants, and their pain au chocolat. Not cheap - but for a special treat, why not. Sometimes the other children complain - why does she get chocolate croissants, it’s not fair, she always gets the good stuff (etc., repeat till fade)
   
   
• Bread, crackers and crispbreads: avoid all the conventional ones, and eat only those labelled as gluten free, or those you’ve made yourself and know to be gluten free.
• Cakes, pastries, cookies and biscuits: avoid all the conventional ones, and eat only those labelled as gluten free, or those you’ve made yourself and know to be gluten free.
• Pizza and pasta: avoid all the conventional ones, and eat only those labelled as gluten free, or those you’ve made yourself and know to be gluten free.
• Soup and sauces: check every time, in case wheat flour has been used to thicken a soup or a sauce.
• Pies, quiches, flans and tarts: avoid all the conventional ones, and eat only those labelled as gluten free, or those you’ve made yourself and know to be gluten free.
7. Grapefruit - or other fruits. Mix and match to your heart’s content. Just remember that fruit alone may not be very filling.
   
   
8. Porridge. Recent research indicates that adult coeliacs can have some non-contaminated oats every day. If you are catering for a child, or if you are super-sensitive, you might want to be careful about this. Please check the CUK list of acceptable foods for providers of non-contaminated oats. At the moment, these are available here in the UK from Mornflake, Rabbi E. F. Kestenbaum, Spoff and Tilquhillie Puddings. Oat-free and gluten free versions of porridge are produced by Barkat and Orgran, among others.
   
   
• Puddings and desserts: check every time - meringue, jelly and most icecreams and sorbets will be fine, but unless specifically labelled gluten free, cheesecakes, pies etc will not be good for you.
• Snacks: nuts, raisins and seeds are all naturally gluten free, but check any added coatings and check all packets of crisps (chips) and other savoury snacks - we’ve been caught out by these before, especially when the recipe is changed.
• Sweets (candy): check every time - chocolate is usually OK to eat, but not if it covers a biscuit! All sorts of unexpected sweets contain wheat, such as Smarties, here in the UK, and licorice.
9. For meat-eaters, there is always the bacon or sausage option. Daughter 2 loves a sausage sandwich, like her father, but these only ever happen on very special occasions. Do check that it is a gluten free sausage.
   
   
10. Yoghurt. Obviously not with added biscuit bits or with gluten cereals in - but standard fruit-flavoured yoghurt should be fine.
    
    
11. Eggybread - sometimes known as French Toast. Beat an egg with a little milk, and then soak a slice of bread (or maybe two slices, since gluten free bread slices are often very small) in the mix for a while. When it is all soaked in, fry the bread gently in a little butter. It should puff up slightly - then turn it over and cook the other side. Probably 2-3 minutes a side, but this will depend on how hot your pan is. My son likes this with golden syrup - or maple syrup.
    
    
• Alcohol: wine, spirits, liqueurs and cider - avoid real ale, beer, lager and stout (unless specifically labelled as gluten free).
• Soft drinks: coffee, tea, juices, cocoa, fizzy drinks and most squashes - but check that they don’t contain barley or ‘cloud’, and don’t drink from vending machines.
• Spices and seasonings: pure salt, pepper, herbs, vinegar - check spices and mustard powder for added flour.
• Spreads and preserves: jam, marmalade, honey, Marmite (UK only - check in other countries), nut butters.
• Pickles and dressings: check every time.
• Cooking ingredients: yeast, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar - check baking powder for added flour.
12. Or simply abandon the usual breakfast menu, and have whatever you feel like eating. After all, why be constrained by tradition? How about a gluten-free scone and jam? Or a ham sandwich? Or soup?
    
    

Whatever you feel like, do eat something - breakfast is an important meal, and shouldn’t be skipped altogether.