Suggestions to living dairy/gluten free? Help!

How about eating more naturally GF foods instead of the expensive, usually gross, replacements? Rice, beans, meats, eggs, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds are all GF. Get some GF staples like cereal, gf soy sauce etc and you're all set to make some meals.

As for the dairy - eat what you tolerate, cut out/replace what you don't. It gets easier after you do it for awhile.

I just eat naturally gluten free foods. The processed stuff is too expensive, usually has more calories than regular foods and often tastes like crap. I can tolerate things that have minimal amounts of gluten and I eat oatmeal without buying special certified gluten free because I'm not celiac so it's more of a discomfort issue if there is too much gluten in something rather than a damaging health issue.

I've just learned to eat more real foods and make food from scratch so I control the ingredients. In the long run it's often cheaper than buying regular processed foods.

Look into Paleo recipes. It might also be a good idea to stop trying to replace those things that you can't eat anymore. The replacements taste disgusting and aren't worth the calories.

I learned I was lactose intolerant as a sophomore in college. It was a tough lesson because the consequences of messing up were painful. Now there is soymilk, almond milk, and rice milk readily available on the market. Luckily I tolerate gluten okay. DH had some sensitivity to it but isn’t actually allergic or highly intolerant. We tried a lot of things while we were trying to deal with it. I have many suggestions, so here goes:

Breakfast: Rice Chex is gluten free. I’m not sure about Corn Chex, but you can easily look it up on line. Cheerios has no gluten in it but I read the oats may be hauled in trucks that also carry wheat so if you’re really sensitive, be careful. Oatmeal is nutritious and filling. Get the organic stuff that isn’t hauled in trucks that also haul wheat. Eggs are wonderful. You can hard boil a bunch and they become fast food. I like one egg white and one whole egg. I also make them into egg salad for lunches.

Lunch: I like to put leftover meats like chicken or beef into a green salad. Yum. No gluten, either. I’d suggest sandwiches, but I don’t like the gluten free bread I’ve had. Soups are great for lunch or dinner. while sandwiches may be out, you can roll up sandwich filling in a corn tortilla. It can be very pleasant, especially if you heat the tortilla just a bit.

Dinners: Beef, poultry, fish. Potatoes are a standby. Quinoa is a seed and is a nutrition powerhouse. Pass on white rice, but consider brown rice. It is more nutritious but takes longer to cook. Sweet potatoes are also a nutrition powerhouse. I like them as French fries, boiled, baked, or fried. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts are full of goodness, as are kale, chard, and collards. We like the collards sautéed in olive oil with other veggies. (NOT boiled. Yuck.)

Snacks: Cheese if you can tolerate it, and fresh fruit like apples, oranges and grapes. Raw veggies like carrots, celery and sweet peppers. I personally like raw cauliflower, too. I really enjoyed cuties oranges last winter.

Equipment: Get a crockpot. You may able to find a used one in a thrift store, but new ones aren’t all that expensive either. Put it on your Christmas wish list. You can put on your dinner in the morning and it is waiting for you when you get home after class (unless your roommates eat it all before you get there.)

Good luck.