Basic Ingredients for Gluten-Free Cooking

Cooking gluten-free meals is easier if you stock your pantry with some basic gluten-free ingredients. Here's a handy list of the staples you should always have on hand — plus a recipe for a versatile, gluten-free flour mix — to help you prepare delicious and healthy meals.

• Gluten-free flours — the wide range includes potato, tapioca, and rice flours, as well as amaranth and sorghum

• Xanthan gum

• Guar gum

• Quinoa (great to toss into soups and other foods)

• Rice (brown rice is best for nutrition)

• Gluten-free bread crumbs (which can be ordered online)

• Gluten-free crackers (which you can crumble and use as coatings on foods, fillers in meatloaf, and in soups and salads.)

• Gluten-free snacks (which are great for to have around for kids)

• A premixed batch of gluten-free baking mix — the recipe follows

Gluten-free flour mixture

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Yield: 5 cups

2-1/2 cups rice flour

1 cup potato starch flour

1 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

2-1/2 tablespoons xanthan gum

1. Sift all the ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Stir ingredients together with a whisk.

3. Spoon the mixture into a self-seal freezer bag and freeze until needed.

Per 1/4 cup: Calories: 138; Total fat: 0g; Saturated fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 1mg; Carbohydrates: 32g; Fiber: 2g; Sugar: 0g; Protein: 1g.