A lot of people assume that being gluten free means that you have to give up carbs. NOT TRUE!!! Although you need to steer clear of a lot of conveniently packaged, carbohydrate-loaded foods, following a gluten free diet gets easier with time and practice.
The first thing to do when starting a gluten free diet is to stock your pantry with alternative flours/ starches. In general, I always have the following things on hand:
Alternative Flours:
1) Rice Flour (white/ brown)
2) Corn starch
3) Tapioca Starch
4) Xanthan Gum
5) Sorghum Flour
6) Coconut Flour
7) All purpose GF flour
8) Potato Starch
You can make your own All Purpose Flour Blend by combining the following ingredients:
1.5 cups sorghum or brown rice flour
1.5 cups potato starch or cornstarch
1 cup tapioca flour
10 starches that you can keep around to help you make complete meals:
1) Quinoa
2) Rice
3) Potatoes
4) Sweet Potatoes
5) Parsnips
6) All varieties of beans / lentils
7) Corn pasta
8) Quinoa pasta
9) Rice pasta
7) Corn pasta
8) Quinoa pasta
9) Rice pasta
10) Polenta
DEEP FRYING:
If you love to fry things, you can make an easy batter by mixing equal parts all purpose GF flour and cornstarch!
DEEP FRYING:
If you love to fry things, you can make an easy batter by mixing equal parts all purpose GF flour and cornstarch!
You will notice that most grocery stores are carrying more GF products than ever before. I encourage you to try a lot of different products to find ones that fit your budget, tastes and schedule. Not everyone has time to create all of their meals from scratch and not everyone wants to pay the premium price for prepared GF foods. I have tried almost everything on the market in the past 5 years of being gluten free and I have definitely got some favorites that I always have around...
Here are my favorite replacements for.....
BREAD: In my old life (read: gluten-full life), I ate a LOT of sandwiches. I loooooooove sandwiches. I have found a way to love sandwiches again but it took a while to find the right wheat bread replacer. My all-time favorite is Udi's GF White Sandwich bread. You have to toast is to really get a good flavor, and you have to eat it within 10 minutes or it will cut the roof of your mouth, but when you get it just right, it can be as yummy as "regular" bread.
Also, Rudi's (oddly similar to "Udi's", right?) Cinnamon Raisin Bread is a great way to start your day. Toasted, of course:) I love it with peanut butter, cream cheese or just a little salted butter.
COOKIES:
Trader Joe's GF Joe Joes are a wonderful replacement for Oreo cookies. They are similar in taste and texture and they look identical. They have even passed the kid test on multiple occasions when my niece and nephew have come around. :)
Trader Joe's Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies- Seriously, I know a lot of people who don't follow a gluten free diet but they buy these because they are AMAZING!!
BAGELS:
Udi's - all varieties of bagels are tasty but you MUST toast them!
PIZZA CRUST: If you are into making homemade pizzas, it is totally not worth it to make the dough yourself. I have tried a GAZILLION times and it is never very good. However, Kinnikinnick Frozen Pizza Crusts are delicious and are handy to keep around for a quick meal. I load mine up with marinara sauce, spinach, feta and bacon...
FROZEN PIZZA: I have eaten every single frozen GF pizza on the market and Against the Grain is the yummmmmmmmmiest. Don't look at the nutrition info if you don't want to know why it is so damn good :) Glutino pizzas are the easiest to find because they seem to be everywhere, but the crust is reminiscent of the cardboard with which it is packaged...
CRACKERS:
Kinnikinnick S'moreables are, hands down, my favorite sweet cracker. I make smores in the toaster oven all the time with these little hunnies... just layer with chocolate and a marshmallow and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes!
For savory crackers, I loooooove the salt and pepper rice crisps from Trader Joes. They are inexpensive, crunchy, are a huge hit at parties and are perfect for dipping in ANYTHING.
If you prefer the homemade method, you can easily turn a traditional frico (Italian cheese crisp) by substituting gf all purpose flour. Click here for a Traditional Frico Recipe.
GRANOLA BARS/ ON THE GO SNACKS:
Luna Protein Bars are gluten free and come in three flavors: Peanut Butter, Cookie Dough and Chocolate Cherry. All of them have a chocolate coating and are quite chewy. The p.b. and the cookie dough ones are really tasty and the cherry ones are barely palatable for me...
BEER: Definitely one of the things I miss the most about my gluten-rich life is a nice beer that tastes like beer. You will see Red Bridge everywhere you go: don't let this fool you into thinking that it is the best! It is made by Anheuser Busch so it is, by far, the most widely distributed. So far, my favorites are (and these are all live links for your convenience:) Bard's Tale Beer Company, and Daura, and my favorite cider is Angry Orchard- Elderflower.
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