Since being diagnosed with celiac disease, I have for the most part tried to eliminate most grains (even those considered to be gluten-free) from my day-to-day routine. There are a few items, like pizza, baguette, and tortillas that I find myself having to have occasionally. I just can’t deny the urge for a slice or two of pizza with the kids on a Friday night, a crusty baguette dipped in a good olive oil or a big tortilla (sorry, corn tortillas are just too small and I just happen to not like corn that much) to use as a crunchy tostada, a simple wrap (in place of a sandwich), or if I’m really feeling hungry, a burrito.

Thankfully, there are a few good tortillas available and one of my favorites is the Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla. In terms of trying to fold a burrito, it’s not perfect, but the flavor is outstanding — a slight nutty flavor) and the texture is decent. I found that it does really well cooking it in the oven to make a crispy flat tostada and it is great for rolling up (at room temperature) any sort of lunch condiment as a replacement for sandwiches. If you are heating them up from frozen, be very careful as they don’t need much time to thaw out and if overcooked, you can forget about trying to roll it around anything as it will just break. I usually heat if for just about 2 minutes in a hot oven and that will usually do the trick.

All in all, it’s a versatile snack item that is a great solution for snacks, quick lunches and even eating by itself. The fact that it’s made from brown rice just makes it that much better of an option than the masses of gluten-free items based on white rice and corn.

Ingredients: Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour, Filtered Water, Tapioca Flour, Safflower Oil, Rice Bran, Vegetable Gum (xanthan, cellulouse), Sea Salt.

Chipotle has long been a favorite of many newly diagnosed celiacs for their seemingly celiac friendly menu. According to Chipotle, everything on the menu with the exception of the flour tortillas is naturally gluten-free. They do recommend skipping the lettuce and the cheese as it is handled by gloved hand along with the flour tortillas increasing the risk of contamination. They also recommend being cautious of the red tomatillo salsa as it contains distilled vinegar. Lastly, they warned that it’s possible that their corn may have a small amount of gluten from potentially co-mingling with gluten-containing grains in the field.

So with no lettuce, no cheese, no red tomatillo salsa, no corn, and no flour tortillas, what is a celiac to eat at Chipotle? The answer is that there are still quite a few ingredients that are available to make up a reasonably satisfying meal. You can still eat any of the meats, pinto beans, black beans, rice, fresh cut tomatoes, Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa, fajita vegetables, and of course the guacamole. This sounds like the makings of a pretty good meal if you ask me.

Also, in an effort to clear up some misinformation out there, none of their meats are marinated in soy sauce (soy sauce contains wheat), this has been a rumor that has been floating around on more than a few Websites and is not true according to Chipotle.

For a restaurant that does not offer a gluten-free menu, Chipotle does have a menu that can be adapted to the needs of a celiac quite easily. Options abound and the risks for cross contamination are relatively minimal (but still possible). On top of that, their commitment to sustainably raised food and locally sourced produce makes them a far better option than most other fast food restaurants. While a lot of the sustainability talk is most likely marketing language used in their advertising — if it’s happening at all — it’s definitely better than what most of their competitors are doing.

Have you had a good (or bad) experience at Chipotle? I’d love to hear more from celiacs who have been successful (or not) with Chipotle.