Going gluten-free, any suggestions?

monicalosesweight

I agree, Bakery on the Main makes great Granola.

I think the bread part is just something we're so used to having that it feels weird to not be able to make typical sandwiches. That's why I suggested the Julian Bakery stuff because my friend has been testing brands and was shocked at how these breads came out. She was eating them straight from the bad and they weren't dry (like the Udi and other brands) and hard as rocks. Normally, I toast all my gluten free breads.

Oh, fair warning, I've tried MOST of the breads that are pre-mixed (tend to have beans) by Bob Red Mill and they are downright awful. They are great at producing grains but you'll be absolutely stunned at how bad their mixes are as I couldn't stomach them. I tried like two of them and even had my mom (whose not gluten free) taste one. You know there's a problem when she runs to the sink and spits them out.

I think half of the cost to getting a good bread is finding one that's not awful and finding someone whose tested them before you. Grin.

Now, whole foods makes a great cinnamon toast and I used to sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar and cinnamon on it and toast it in the oven. It was delicious. I didn't love their bread for sandwiches. That particular bread seemed only good toasted with the cinnamon sugar.

itsme_timd

Well I hit up Whole Foods today and did some shopping. Wow, gluten free stuff is insanely priced! $4.00 box of rice mac & cheese, an $8.00 bag of pretzels, $7.00/lb for quinoa, $6.00 for a loaf of bread. Ouch! I expected things to be a bit more but was pretty surprised at some of the prices.

Looks like my best bet is to stick to lean meats and veggies for the most part. I did find a recipe for lemony quinoa that sounded good and another one for a Greek tuna salad that sound really good.

Eve23

Udi's is expensive but so far the only bread that I have liked store bought anyway. I have made a few that were ok. Be aware that many lunch meats are not totally gluten free. They also have hamburger and hotdog rolls.

I don't eat sandwiches a great deal but sometimes they hit the spot. Today I am making a dairy free, gluten free, potato vegie pizza with leftovers. Yesterday I ate some rice with a fajita mixture that I made up. I know that these may not be what you were thinking of but they can give you some ideas on what you can do. Salads are good but I am not a huge salad fan.

I am enjoying feeling good finally. But the transition can be a hard one. Message me if you need other ideas.

monicalosesweight

I would recommend rice as being a base food. It's cheap and you can make it in a rice cooker. Also, legumes are pretty cheap.

StarvingDiva

I am about 90% gluten free, but I will occasionally break down and eat a really nice piece of bread. But when I am off gluten my tummy thanks me.

I do rollups, so I buy Boars Head (all boars head is gluten free) roast beef, weigh out about 5 ounces, and then roll them up with a little mustard in them and just eat them like an appetizer, no bread at all. Delicious!
Salads with chicken/steak/shrimp on them
Feel Good Foods makes these FANTASTIC gluten free dumplings that I will splurge and buy once in awhile (They are expensive) can be found at health food stores.
Any veggie/meat combos are naturally gluten free
I bought this book a few years ago by Triumph Dining, it's a grocery store guide, tells you all the foods that are gluten free that aren't in the "gluten free section" of the grocery store. There are a lot of things natural gluten free, namely fruits and veggies!
Gluten free bread is kind of terrible tasting I'm not going to lie, Udi's is probably the best one I've tasted but even that isn't fantastic, I have a gluten free flatbread recipe that is really good and takes approximately 30 mins total to make, I will make that if I really need to eat a sandwich.

I will say since cutting out gluten, I do not have anymore painful stomach issues or "gotta go gotta go gotta go right now" embarrassing runs to the bathroom. It's been life changing.

Starla_

a lot of my lunches are salads with chicken breast... I cook up the chicken and bag it into portions to freeze then I heat it up individually for a quick and easy lunch - its also pretty cheap and very versatile as you can use the chicken for anything.

GF products can be expensive if they are labelled gluten free - the trick to find the cheaper items is to read the labels. There are a lot of products which will be gluten free but wont label as such, so you look at the ingredients to make sure theres no gluten ones in there, this is where knowing what to look for will be very handy. A lot of known brands will actually have their gluten free foods listed on their websites now too.

skinnybefore

I cut gluten out of my diet this past week, after some advice from fellow bloggers / acid reflux sufferers. I couldn't believe how the swelling in my feet went away in just a few days (I wasn't expecting that!), and I've been feeling pretty good! The acid reflux is still there, but it wasn't the terrible choking feeling that I've been accustomed to for the past year & a half!

And by the way, you CAN lose weight eating gluten-free. I lost 4 pounds this week! It's a lot easier staying within your calorie range when you cut out all of the gluten-filled snacks! Also, it's a lot harder to find a restaurant that serves gluten-free foods, so you can save money to buy healthy foods to eat at home.

We're on the journey with ya!

monicalosesweight

@Skinnybefore - The Outback Steakhouse has an entire gluten free menu that is really, really good. There's only one problem, the calories add up fast. If you want to keep the calories down, go for the 6 ounce sirloin and veggies. The chocolate lava gluten free desert is a killer but it would blow your diet. You may have to leave that for a day when you exercise a WHOLE lot and earn some extra calories.

skinnybefore

@Skinnybefore - The Outback Steakhouse has an entire gluten free menu that is really, really good. There's only one problem, the calories add up fast. If you want to keep the calories down, go for the 6 ounce sirloin and veggies. The chocolate lava gluten free desert is a killer but it would blow your diet. You may have to leave that for a day when you exercise a WHOLE lot and earn some extra calories.

Thanks Monica! Hopefully more restaurants will add gluten-free to their menu. Then again, maybe that wouldn't be a good thing! It's been great staying under my calorie goal eating at home!