If you find out that you are gluten intolerant, your first reaction is usually mild panic. Cookies, pastries, pasta, cereals - it seems that you will have to give up all your favorite foods, what is there to eat now? We tell you how to comfortably organize meals on a gluten-free diet.
Step 1. Know the enemy by sight
The first step is to find and eliminate gluten-containing foods and dishes from the menu. There are a lot of them.
The obvious ones that everyone knows about include:
- cereals (wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, spelt, couscous and spelled);
- products made from wheat: flour, bread, cookies and pastries, pasta, breakfast cereals, baby cereals.
And if everything about flour and cereals is already clear, then many people are not aware of some products containing gluten.
For example:
- store-bought dairy products that contain additives and thickeners (curds, yoghurts, cheese curds, milk powder, processed cheese),
- semi-finished meat and fish products (especially breaded),
- dumplings, pancakes, dumplings,
- ice cream (not only because of the waffle cone, the ice cream itself also often contains gluten),
- sausage, canned food, imitation seafood ("crab meat" and "crab sticks"),
- chips, bread and crackers.
Wheat gluten and protein can end up in food colorings and additives. Therefore, even seasonings and bouillon cubes, sauces (soy, ketchup, teriyaki, tomato paste, many other sauces where flour is used for thickening), chocolate, coffee and alcoholic drinks (beer, vodka, whiskey, wine drinks with dyes orflavoring and aromatic additives).
Recommendations
- Read labels carefully. Pay attention to traces of gluten in the composition. Whenever possible, choose products labeled "Gluten Free" or "Gluten Free", these can be found in the diet section of supermarkets.
- Use whole foods for cooking: fresh meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and oils.
Step 2: Replace gluten with healthy alternatives
Flour from cereals and legumes - instead of wheat.
- Flour for bread, pasta, pastries, pancakes and desserts can be made from grains, nuts and legumes.
- Flour made from buckwheat, rice, chickpeas, soy, flax, corn, almonds is great for these dishes. It’s easy to make it yourself, just grind the ingredients in a special mill.
What is important to know about preparing flour
- To get the most out of homemade flour, we recommend soaking the seeds and nuts in advance and then drying them in a dehydrator. This will reduce the concentration of phytic acid in the seeds, which interferes with the normal absorption of minerals from plants.
- It is better to grind the flour in small portions right before cooking. This will help avoid oxidation of the seeds and preserve all the beneficial substances.
Breakfast is not just oatmeal and sandwiches
- There are many equally tasty alternatives: homemade yoghurts from a fermenter, potato pancakes, smoothies and colorful bowls, pancakes and pancakes made from buckwheat or rice flour.
- You can make healthy green buckwheat granola in a dehydrator or cereal in a mill for breakfast.
- If it’s hard for you to imagine your morning without porridge, buckwheat, rice, millet, gluten-free oatmeal, amaranth and flax will come to the rescue.
Legumes and grains - instead of pasta
- For lunch, as a side dish, you can eat legumes or cereals (rice, quinoa, polenta, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, corn grits) that do not contain gluten.
- You can replace your usual pasta with rice, buckwheat and bean noodles or make pasta from gluten-free flour.
- Meat and fish can be breaded in crushed corn flakes, and the batter can be made from chickpea or rice flour.
- It's easy to thicken gravies and sauces using potato or corn starch.
- Instead of bouillon cubes and store-bought mixtures, try homemade seasonings: dry vegetables and herbs in a dehydrator, or grind them in a food mill or blender. You will get a natural aromatic seasoning. Powder made from dried mushrooms or jerk meat will add a rich taste to broths and sauces.
Snacking Gluten Free
- For snacks, try homemade potato chips or gluten-free bread in a dehydrator.
- Meat and fish pieces can be dried to create natural and satisfying snacks.
Desserts have not been canceled
- Use nut or rice flour to make them.
- Instead of store-bought cream, use coconut cream or homemade coconut yogurt from a fermenter.
A good alternative to store-bought sweets is fruit chips and dehydrator pastilles, as well as healthy candies made from nuts and dried fruits (without oatmeal).
Step 3. Organize gluten-free baby food
- Prepare the same dishes, only from gluten-free flour and cereals (we have already discussed options for pasta and cereals above).
- Try making pancakes, pancakes or cheesecakes with coconut, buckwheat or rice flour.
- Dumplings and dumplings can also be made from rice-based flour.
- Sweet bars, cookies and candies can be made from nuts, dried fruits and cocoa crushed in a blender (and even turn it into a joint game, for example, making cookies of different shapes from coconut and banana).
- Don't forget about vegetable and fruit chips (instead of store-bought crackers), marshmallows and natural ice cream.
Gluten Free Recipe Ideas
| Menu #1 | Menu #2 |
Breakfast Flax porridge with fresh fruit |
Breakfast Green buckwheat granola + boiled eggs |
Dinner Pumpkin soup with flax bread and avocado salad |
Dinner Homemade borscht with cashew sour cream Stuffed cabbage rolls with soybean and lentil sprouts |
Afternoon snack Fresh vegetables with homemade hummus |
Afternoon snack Gluten-free Avocado Bread |
Dinner Zucchini pasta in tomato sauce with herbs |
Dinner Risotto with curried chicken legs and cashew nuts |