Going gluten-free is certainly a change in lifestyle, especially if you love to eat out.
Take away options become limited and sometimes it feels like you'll be relegated to salads and steamed veggies. But there are plenty of eat-out options, you just need to ask around, and search your local area too.
This
website (a gluten-free eating out directory) may get you off to a good start.
Here are some top tips for eating out or getting take away when you're gluten free:
- Always ask - Many restaurateurs and takeaway outlets will happily cater, you just have to ask. Calling ahead is a good way to avoid disappointment, or to organise a special meal.
- Chips - You may think these are a safe bet - potato & oil? But sometimes wheat flour is added. So do remember to ask before you eat - especially if you have coeliac disease.
- Fish n chips - So you don't want one without the other? Call around and you may find your local will batter your fish in rice flour or grill your fish for you. Both easy options to make it a gluten-free meal.
- Pizza - Tonnes of places are now offering gluten-free pizza bases. The only limitations being they normally come in just one size (medium/small) and expect your pizza to cost up to $3 more. Gluten-free usually means a thinner crust too. Well-known pizza franchised
Dominos and
Crust are now offering gluten-free pizza.
- Noodles/rice - Perhaps the easiest way to eat out when you're gluten-free, just opt for rice or rice noodles with your chosen dish. But do be wary of some sauces (such as soy), which can contain gluten. Sushi is another easy gluten-free option.
- Burgers - This is the one thing that gluten-free dieters often misses out on. Gluten-free bread doesn't have the same texture to other bread flour varieties, and it's hard to find a gluten-free roll (unless you bake your own). The
Urban Burger franchise does however offer gluten-free.
- Pasta - Check if the restaurant offers a gluten-free pasta variety, and if not, you can always ask if the pasta can be made as a risotto for a similar result.
Not happy with your eating-out options? Go all Masterchef and create your own. Gluten free may seem a frustration at first but the more you experiment with new foods and gluten substitutes, the easier the change becomes, and the better at cooking with them you will be.
Know of any other gluten-free eating-out or takeaway options? Or handy websites or apps for gluten-free dieters? Let us know in the comments section below.
