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Pav's wheat-free diet advice
Prepared by dietitians Catherine Saxelby and Karen Kingham
Designed for
Wheat - where you'll find it
Wheat-free diet food selection guide
Wheat-free meal plan
Cooking hints
Shopping tips
How wheat-free must I go?
Designed for
People with wheat intolerance or those who want to avoid wheat (for irritable bowel, Crohn's disease)
Wheat - where you'll find it
Wheat is a staple crop in most Westernised countries and is the basis for a wide number of foods such as breads, pasta, bulgur, cous-cous, breakfast cereals and any food made from flour including cakes, biscuits, pies, pastry, sauces, gravies and pretzels.
Due to cost and availability, wheat is generally the basis for starch from which commercial thickeners and glucose are derived. If you are especially sensitive to wheat, you may need to avoid these minor ingredients and wheat-based additives as well. For more detail, go to How wheat-free must I go?.
Wheat-free diet food selection guide
(not suitable for coeliacs - go to Gluten-free diet guide)
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Foods |
Foods to avoid |
Foods to substitute |
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Flour |
Wheat flour (white, wholemeal, self-raising) and all foods made with flour
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Cornflour made from maize (corn starch)
Rice flour (ground rice)
Corn meal (polenta)
Rye meal, rye flour
Barley meal, barley flour
Oatmeal, oat flour
Arrowroot
Besan flour (chickpea flour)
Soy flour
Potato flour
Wheat-free flour mixes like Pav's |
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Grains & cereals |
Wheat cereals (Weet-Bix, Vita-Brits, Weeties, ),
Wheat germ, semolina, bulgur
Wheat bran, bran cereals (All Bran)
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Rice cereals (Rice Bubbles), rice bran, baby rice cereal
Corn cereals (Corn Flakes), pop corn
Oat cereals (rolled oats/porridge), oat bran
Barley cereals, barley bran, quick-cook barley, pearl barley
Millet flakes, rolled millet
Buckwheat, sago, tapioca, quinoa |
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Pasta |
Wheat based pasta, macaroni, noodles |
100% rice noodles, cellophane noodles, rice and maize pasta, 100% buckwheat noodles. |
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Breads |
Ordinary bread & rolls, muffins, crumpets, flatbread, crisp bread, Breadcrumbs |
Pav's wheat-free rice breads, Pav's Just Rice breadmix
Puffed rice cakes, corn thins, rice crackers
100% dark rye breads, pumpernickel, rye crisp bread
taco shells, pappadams (made from besan or lentil flour) |
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Vegetables |
Textured vegetable protein (TVP) |
All vegetables suitable including fresh, frozen and canned |
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Fruit |
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All suitable including fresh, frozen, canned and juices |
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Meat, fish, chicken |
Sausages, salami & other small goods (check ingredients)
Stuffing in poultry
Meat or fish coated in breadcrumbs or batter (crumbed cutlets, schnitzel, fried fish fillets, fish fingers) |
All fresh cooked meat, fish & poultry
(make gravy & sauces with cornflour or arrowroot)
Wheat-free sausages (available from sausage specialist shops) |
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Dairy foods and alternatives |
Flavoured milks (check ingredients)
Cheese spreads (check ingredients) |
Fluid or powdered milks,
buttermilk, yoghurt
All cheeses, natural & processed
Soy beverages, plain and flavoured |
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Sauces
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Commercial sauces with flour or wheat based thickeners |
Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, salad dressing, mayonnaise, cole slaw dressing, chutney, sauces without flour or thickener, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato puree |
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Soups |
Soups thickened with wheat flour, macaroni or noodles |
Clear soups, broth
Soups thickened with cornflour, rice, barley, lentils, split peas or wheat-free macaroni |
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Cakes & biscuits |
Ordinary cakes, pies, pastries, biscuits made from wheat flour
Packet cake mixes
Baby rusks
Wheat cracker biscuits and crisp bread |
Cakes & biscuits made from cornflour, wheat-free mixes, rice flour or arrowroot (see Pav's range)
Wheat-free biscuits such as Pav's almond biscuits, cornflake biscuits or choc chip biscuits |
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Desserts & sweets |
Desserts or puddings made with wheat flour or bread
Pies
Ice cream cones & wafers
Custard powder (unless maize based) |
Desserts made with rice, cornflour, tapioca, sago
Ice cream (except those with cake or coated)
Meringue, pavlova
Fruit-based desserts, jelly, junket |
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Alcohol |
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Wine, beer, sherry, rum, port, whisky, scotch, gin |
Wheat-free meal plan
Breakfast
Fresh fruit or fruit juice
Cornflakes, Rice Bubbles or wheat free muesli with low fat milk
1-2 tablespoons rice/oat bran/psyllium, if needed for fibre
Wheat-free bread such as Pav's Rice Plus loaf, toasted, with margarine and peanut butter, cottage cheese, jam or marmalade
Egg, grilled tomatoes or mushrooms (optional)
Tea, coffee or milk (or soy drink)
Morning tea
Rice cakes with cheese and sliced tomato OR
Pav's Fruit-E-Rice loaf , toasted and spread with margarine
Tea, coffee or milk (or soy drink)
Lunch
Stir-fried chicken and vegetables
Steamed rice
Piece of fresh fruit
Mineral water, soft drink or fruit juice
Afternoon snack
Piece of fresh fruit OR Pav's apple muffin
Dinner
Meat, fish, chicken or vegetarian bean casserole
Potato, rice or wheat free pasta
Vegetables or salad
Fresh fruit or fruit salad or stewed fruit with low fat ice cream
Mineral water, juice or milk (or soy drink)
Cooking hints
- Keep rice flour, arrowroot, soy flour or potato flour for thickening sauces and gravies.
- Make sauces and dressings from ingredients you are sure are free of wheat e.g. oil, vinegar,
- Invest in a bread maker and use Pav's wheat-free bread mixes to bake fresh bread at home.
- Substitute soy flour or rice flour or potato flour or corn flour for the wheaten flour in your favourite cake or biscuit recipes. A blend of 1/3 soy flour with 1/3 rice flour and 1/3 potato flour or corn flour is a good mix, but remember that you will need to vary the quantity of liquid needed in some recipes. Or simply use Pav's gluten-free pre-mix.
- Blend a little baby rice cereal into rice flour or corn flour to give a lighter texture to cakes.
Shopping tips
- Check labels for ingredients that could be sources of wheat such as wheatmeal, bran, semolina, cornflour or starch.
- Check the ingredient list for additives like STARCH or THICKENER (additives code numbers 1400 to 1450. If they are derived from maize or potato, they will generally say so. If it doesn't tell you, assume they are made from wheat and should be avoided.
- Most light rye breads are a blend of rye and wheat flours so are not suitable. Look for black bread, pumpernickel or heavy dark ryes labelled 100% rye.
- Keep a stock of Pav's rice breads, muffins and cakes in your fridge or freezer. Most will keep in the fridge if kept unopened. For best results, store in the freezer in the bags (for up to 6 months).
- Some foods carry a wheat-free symbol (a sheaf of wheat with a line crossed through it) to help alert to suitable foods at the supermarket.
- Gluten-free products will all be suitable for wheat-free diets.
How wheat-free must I go?
1. Cut out major sources of wheat
Many people find that their health improves and symptoms abate if they eliminate the obvious sources of wheat like bread, cereals, pasta, biscuits and cakes. The small quantity of wheat in sauces, gravies, etc is below the threshold that triggers problems and can be tolerated.
- Strict wheat-free approach
Very sensitive bodies may need to scrutinise labels and be vigilant when shopping and eating out. Best option is to cook for yourself from raw natural ingredients such as fish, meat, eggs, fresh vegetables, herbs, pure spices (not blends) and plain yoghurt so you know exactly what's in foods.
See also Pav's gluten-free diet advice
For general nutrition and diet information, go to www.foodwatch.com.au
Updated Sept 2002
Copyright Pav's Allergy Bakery |
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