What Does My Child Need to Avoid on the GFCF Diet?
First, what are gluten and casein? It is easier to identify foods and products that contain these proteins if you understand what they are!
Gluten is a special protein that is found in wheat, rye, barley, bulgur, Kamut, spelt, and foods made from those grains. Gluten gives breads and grains their texture. It is often used as a filler in meat products like hot dogs and lunchmeat. Gluten is found in food starches, semolina, couscous, malt, some vinegars, soy sauce, flavorings, artificial colors, and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins.
Casein is a protein found in milk and foods containing milk. These include cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, whey, and many brands of margarine. It also may be added to non-milk products such as soy cheese and hot dogs in the form of caseinate.
Are all “soy” or “dairy-free” products gluten- and casein-free?
No! This cookbook uses a lot of soy products (i.e., soy cheese and soy milk) but it can be hard to find truly casein-free soy dairy products. Many of them contain caseinate, so it is imperative to read labels carefully! Often, these items can be special ordered online, or your local grocery store may be able to order a supply to keep in stock. There are online resources that make it easier to locate GFCF foods.
The List
Below you will find a list of ingredients to avoid, as they indicate the presence of gluten and casein. It is important to look for words such as these on all food ingredient labels. Check for words like these every time you shop. Manufacturers change their ingredients often, so you do need to check the label
Abyssinian Hard (wheat triticum duran) |
Acidophilus milk |
Artificial butter flavor |
Avena or wild oat |
Baking powder and soda (read labels, may be okay) |
Barley |
Barley malt or barley extract |
Barley Hordeum vulgare |
Beer, ale, or any fermented beverages |
Blue cheese (contains gluten and casein) |
Bran |
Bread flour |
Broth (may contain wheat) |
Bouillon (There are some GF bouillons — read labels!) |
Bulgur |
Butter |
Butter fat, butter flavoring, butter oil |
Buttermilk |
Calcium caseinate |
Caramel colorings |
Casein |
Caseinates |
Cheese (hard and soft) |
Cereal, cereal extract, or cereal binding |
Chilton |
Chorizo (check label) |
Coffee Creamers and coffee creamer substitutes |
Cottage cheese |
Couscous |
Cracker meal |
Cream |
Cream cheese |
Cream yogurt |
Croutons |
Curds |
Custard |
De-lactosed whey |
Dextrin |
Dinkle |
Durum |
Einkorn wheat |
Emmer |
Faro |
Farina |
Flavorings, natural or artificial (need to check with manufacturer) |
Filler |
Fu (dried wheat gluten) |
Flours (all purpose, barley, bleached, bread, brown, durum, enriched, gluten, graham, granary, high-protein, high-gluten, oat, wheat, whole meal, and white) |
Galactose |
Germ |
Glutamate |
Glutamic acid |
Gluten |
Graham flour |
Gravies, prepared with gluten and casein, check labels |
Gum base |
Half and half |
Hard wheat |
Hydrolysates with casein |
Hydrolyzed oat starch, hydrolyzed plant protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed wheat gluten, and hydrolyzed wheat protein |
Kamut |
Lactalbumin and lactalbumin phosphate |
Lactic acid (need to verify source) |
Lactoglobulin |
Lactose and lactulose |
Magnesium caseinate |
Malt, products including beverages, extracts, milks, flavorings, syrup, and vinegars |
Matzo or matzah flour and/or meal |
Milk (condensed, evaporated, dry, whole, low-fat, nonfat, skim, and goat's) |
Milk protein, milk powder, milk solids |
Miso |
Modified food starch (check with manufacturer as might be wheat) |
Mustard powder |
Oats that are not gluten-free oats (It is possible to order gluten-free oats in the Untied States) |
Oriental wheat |
Orzo |
Panko |
Potassium caseinate |
Pudding |
Rennet casein |
Rice malt, rice syrup, and brown rice syrup |
Rye and rye semolina |
Sauces (check labels) |
Seitan |
Semolina |
Sodium caseinate |
Sodium lactylate (check with manufacturer) |
Sour cream, sour cream solids, sour milk solids |
Soy sauce (may contain wheat) |
Spelt |
Starch, edible |
Stativa |
Triticale and triticum |
Udon noodles |
Wheat, wheat bran, and wheat germ, wheat germ oil, wheat grass, wheat starch, and whole-wheat berries |
Whey (all forms) |
Whey protein |
Yogurt |
This list of unsafe foods can be overwhelming. Take time to read it, copy it, and take it to the grocery store each time. Please remember that you do not have to memorize this list, just take a copy with you while shopping and read the labels. After some time on the diet, the list will become familiar and comfortable.
Hidden Sources of Gluten and Casein
Certain foods are easy to identify as safe or unsafe. Others might be a little trickier. These items might also contain gluten or casein and it may require a little more research to determine if the food is safe.
Please read the labels of these items carefully to eliminate those that contain gluten and casein from your family's lifestyle. It might be necessary to call the phone number on the back of the product and ask the manufacturer the sources of some of these ingredients. If they are not from a gluten or casein source then they are safe to consume.
Breadings |
Over-the-counter medication |
Brown rice syrup |
Play dough (You can find great gluten- and casein-free recipes for this with some searching.) |
Candy |
Prescription medications |
Coating mix |
Roux |
Communion wafers |
Sauces |
Gloss and balms |
Self-basting poultry |
Herbal supplements |
Soup bases |
Imitation bacon/seafood |
Stuffing |
Lipstick |
Thickeners |
Luncheon meats or vegetarian meat substitutes, certain types |
Vitamin and mineral supplements |
Marinades |
