Gluten-free, flourless, wheat-free. For the large numbers of Americans facing gluten-intolerance, the resulting diet has long been about what you give up. However, the gluten-free diet is one of the fastest-growing health-related food trends among manufacturers, restaurants and even celebrities including Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rachel Ray. And according to the Nutrition Business Journal, gluten-free food is the fastest-growing U.S. grocery category, with sales increasing more than 18% per year.

Gluten is found most commonly in wheat, rye and barley. But that doesn’t really limit you in what you can prepare for a meal. For example, a line of shelf-stable, fast-cooking, sprouted foods is available from truRoots (www.truroots.com) like sprouted lentil trio, sprouted rice trio and sprouted quinoa. Use as a side dish or find recipes on the website.

Another example is Caesar’s Pasta which has been making meals from family recipes for over 40 years. They have introduced to their line of frozen family classics gluten-free and wheat-free manicotti, a cheese and a vegetable lasagna in marinara sauce, potato and spinach gnocchi. Additionally San-J (www.san-j.com) offers a line of gluten-free Asian sauces, dressings and marinades to help chef up an Asian side dish or meal that contains no wheat.

Cooking Light has also brought back the flavors and foods you love most with The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook (Oxmoor House) with more than 150 recipes offering flavor, ease of use and healthfulness. There is shopping advice, tips on decoding food labels, gluten-free pantry and shopping list, plus kitchen safety information. There’s also a glossary with pictures identifying and describing ingredients commonly found in gluten-free meals such as cornstarch, xanthan gum and tapioca flour. You’ll find a wide variety of gluten-free alternatives for recipes that are normally off limits such as spaghetti and meatballs and oven-fried chicken. There’s advice, too, on how to avoid natural and hidden sources of gluten.

The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook (Ten Speed Press) features 99 quick and easy recipes, from pancakes to eggplant Parmesan to chocolate cake, that are highly nutritious, rich in vitamins, minerals, “good” fats and flavor, made with readily available almond flour.

Or find The 50 Best Gluten Free Recipes at your fingertips with Kindle and/or itunes. Gling (http://www.gling.com) provides information on food, recipes and gluten-free locations to the celiac and gluten intolerant community. It has also partnered with the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research, the largest celiac research center in the world, to help keep the gluten-free public aware of the latest research being done.

A gluten-free diet is imperative for celiac sufferers, but also enormously benefits those with diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, and IBS.

Recipes:

Basic Breading Mix for Fried Foods

Chicken-Fried Steak with Soy Milk Gravy

Ann Hattes has over 25 years experience writing about both travel and food for publications both in the US and internationally. A senior living in Wisconsin, she’s a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the Midwest Travel Writers Association.

Meet Ann