Lucinda’s guide to gluten-free living

Look for the crossed wheat-ear symbol on products, which means Coeliac UK has approved them as being gluten-free.

• Use wine, not beer, in casseroles

• Try tamari sauce in place of soy sauce

• Add fresh stock not stock cubes

• Cook with brown rice or quinoa instead of couscous and cracked wheat

• To prevent delicate, home-made gluten-free pastry from breaking up, roll it out between two sheets of cling film.

• To thicken soups, sauces and gravies, substitute an equal quantity of rice flour or cornflour for wheat flour

• Swap wheat noodles, pasta and pearl barley with rice, buckwheat noodles or rice-and-millet pasta, beans and pulses

• For cakes and puddings, replace plain flour with 50% rice flour, 25% ground almonds and 25%  cornflour

• For self-raising flour, add 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder per 110g gluten-free flour. To ensure the cake is moist, light and holds together, use three eggs for every 110g flour

• In recipes calling for barley wine, stout or ale, substitute rum, brandy, earl grey tea, wine or Grand Marnier

• For a balanced diet, eat brown rice, quinoa and millet; pulses; gluten-free cereal, bread and pasta; and lots of veg, fruit, meat, fish, eggs and dairy produce.