Gluten Free Suggestions!?

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faithog
faithog Posts: 76
in Food and Nutrition
My husband and I took a trip home last week and stayed with his parents, (who are gluten free). We realized by the end of the week that we were both feeling better- and are considering switching our diets.

We're planning on slowly getting rid of the glutenous items in our pantry/ fridge and replacing them with GF alternatives. We already snack on fruits, veggies, and nuts... but I was curious about other gluten free snacks that might be more exciting =)

Does anyone have any snack (or meal) ideas- or any suggestions for someone who is looking to make the leap to GF? I'd love to hear what the pro's have to say about the lifestyle!

Replies

  • rjnandjosh
    rjnandjosh Posts: 168
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    Go to glutenfreemall.com It is where I buy some of our snacks from. also amazon.com
  • krissypea79
    krissypea79 Posts: 362 Member
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    I'm experimenting with it as well because I have always had a sensitive stomach and gluten free food seems to help me as well. You can find lots of gluten free "pastas" in the health food section of your grocery store (the super Wal-mart near me has a very good health food section, actually) - they have pasta made from brown rice, or spinach, or corn - all gluten free. Also I've discovered a few snacks so far - Blue Diamond Nut Thins, made with nuts & rice (crackers) are good and there's another brand that has cheddar and other flavors. Also, you can still make bread and goodies - look for coconut flour or almond flour. I am considering going totally gluten free eventually, but for the time being I've started just incorporating some of these things into my daily eating. I bet there is another thread where you could find recipes, too!! :)
  • abbigail_r
    abbigail_r Posts: 283 Member
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    baked potatoes with taco fixins. Its so good. A way better alternative than the tortilla :)
  • ashaaleigh94
    ashaaleigh94 Posts: 15
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    I have celiac disease which means i can not intake wheat or gluten.

    Great foods for this is:
    anything Leda (brand name) bars and such, there also vegan, diary free, all all that kind of stuff.
    Gluten free crackers, which taste way better then the gluten free bread.
    Gluten free sites are available.
  • ninelives58
    ninelives58 Posts: 160 Member
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    I've been gluten free for over 15 years. You can buy GF bread, cereal, pasta, cookies, GF flour, etc. at a health food store. I eat a whole lot less of these items though than I used to when I was not GF. If you want to eliminate gluten from your diet, stay away from processed foods and packaged foods, and of course all regular wheat-based products, and eat mostly whole foods - meat, cheese, fruit, veggies, nuts, beans, yogurt. Many corn and rice based products are gluten free as long as no offending ingredients have been added. If you're already snacking on fruit, veggies and nuts, that's a good start. A lot of the paleo diet recipes are naturally gluten free. There's tons of recipes online.
  • ninelives58
    ninelives58 Posts: 160 Member
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    baked potatoes with taco fixins. Its so good. A way better alternative than the tortilla :)

    Sounds yummy. But the hard tortillas are made with corn, so they're GF. The soft tortillas are not GF, they're made with wheat. (You can get soft GF tortillas, though they're harder to find.)
  • faithog
    faithog Posts: 76
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    Thanks for these suggestions, guys =) I appreciate it!
  • irunforfun
    irunforfun Posts: 113 Member
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    I've suspected I've had a Gluten allergy for a while (I'm just waiting the next 2 days for my bloodwork to come back), but my doctor told me there is a huge list of things you can eat (veggies, meats, fruits...anything unprocessed). I know Bob's Redmill Steel Cut Oats are GF. I love grains so it'll be my hardest thing to cut out.

    Did you by chance notice a difference in your stomach? That was my first sign. I look like I'm 4 months pregnant if I eat gluten products, if I eat gluten free it's completely flat.
  • mandy_lynn
    mandy_lynn Posts: 165 Member
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    One of my children is gluten free and her tummy bloat has gone down. I tend to eat this way myself for the bloat and because I lack self control with the carbs. I have a good recipe for sesame chicken that I make because we used to love getting Chinese takeout.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    We're slowly going that way ourselves but in the meantime I have several friends who already have so I tend to use a lot of GF recipes. Here are a couple of sites I like:

    http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/2011/09/13/double-down-chocolate-power-muffins/ (Haven't tried these yet but boy do they look good!)

    http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/recipes/ - Main Index for the above site

    http://www.healthyindulgences.net/2009/05/healthy-chocolate-cake-with-secret.html (Made this recipe for my son's 11th birthday. I put sliced strawberries in the middle and everyone loved it. This is saying a lot because bake and decorate cake as a hobby and we're kind of cake snobs. The whole site has some great recipes and I've used quite a few of them.)

    I also like www.glutenfreegirl.com
  • frostysmama
    frostysmama Posts: 10 Member
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    I'm one month in to being gluten free and I'm struggling with eating enough fats and carbs in a day. It's been a challenge finding healthy foods to fufil my daily caloric goals.
  • ninelives58
    ninelives58 Posts: 160 Member
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    Fat calories? -- meat, cheese, nuts, olive oil, chocolate. Carbs? -- GF pasta, GF cereal, GF bread (if not at your local grocery store, try a health food store or you can even order items online). But I hardly ever eat as many carbs as MFP calls for and I always go over on protein. Works for me.
  • Haileystockdale
    Haileystockdale Posts: 2
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    I also have just switched to gluten free. I found out recently I have an allergy to Wheat as well as nuts. I feel a lot better and it makes weight loss much easier! I am also much more energetic and proactive! I struggle with going out to eat, does anyone have any suggestions or know of restaurants with a gluten free menu. I struggle with snacking also, I feel like I need to sit down and make time to make a meal in order to eat at all. I am a college student at age 19, so it is a bit harder for me than the average person. I also was curious if anyone had any ideas for what weight goal I should set myself at. I have been loosing a few pounds a week since the gluten free diet. I am 5'7" and pretty active. I weigh at the moment 140.
  • amycal
    amycal Posts: 646 Member
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    I have been following a gluten free diet since Oct 11 as a part of a diet plan my mom's doctor recommended to her. I think my diary is public. I am eating a lot of real foods. I haven't tried any gluten free substitutes yet. I am going to follow this plan until Thanksgiving.
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
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    I just posted about this on my news feed - I love the blog edibleperspectives, and she has been GF for a while. Lots of great posts there including this one: http://edibleperspective.com/2011/09/going-gluten-free-part-ii/

    :bigsmile: Hope you find that helpful! Lots of great link love on there too... Blogs are great for the "snowball" effect... Just keep clicking!
  • ashleycat23
    ashleycat23 Posts: 43
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    gluten free pasta is awesome (and addictive :P )
    Almonds are my fave ( butter toffee flavored! yum! and still healthy!)

    for on the go- think thin protein bars. They are sugar and gluten free, just know that they are 240 cals a bar..
  • ninelives58
    ninelives58 Posts: 160 Member
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    . . . I struggle with going out to eat, does anyone have any suggestions or know of restaurants with a gluten free menu. . . .

    A lot of restaurants post their menu online, so you can scope out your options ahead of time, which is nice when you're with a group of people and want to make it easier to order without a big fuss. A lot of places are adding gluten free items to their menu recently, but it's still not too easy to find. My standby is a big salad with some grilled chicken, salmon, tuna or steak on top and a non-creamy type dressing on the side. Make sure they know not to add croutons! Stay away from anything fried, even if it isn't breaded, most restaurants fry everything in the same fryers so even french fries which are only potatoes would be contaminated by the fryer oil. If you're in the mood for a burger, just get the burger with all the fixings without the bun. Mexican restaurants are good because they use a lot of corn products. Chinese restaurants are not good because they put soy sauce in everything, which contains wheat.
  • missinmybiscuits
    missinmybiscuits Posts: 100 Member
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    I've suspected I've had a Gluten allergy for a while (I'm just waiting the next 2 days for my bloodwork to come back), but my doctor told me there is a huge list of things you can eat (veggies, meats, fruits...anything unprocessed). I know Bob's Redmill Steel Cut Oats are GF. I love grains so it'll be my hardest thing to cut out.

    Did you by chance notice a difference in your stomach? That was my first sign. I look like I'm 4 months pregnant if I eat gluten products, if I eat gluten free it's completely flat.

    I just got my bloodwork back and it was negative for the antibody that signals Celiac disease. My doctor encouraged me to stay GFree for at least 3 months, though, to completely rule out the allergy because it doesn't always match the blood test!

    I thought it would be hard to cut out the grains, but actually a lot of the gluten free alternatives are delicious! Trader Joes Gluten Free french rolls are awesome, as well as Blue Diamond nut thins... I'm sure you'll find a ton of things to satisfy your cravings! :)
  • mehaugen
    mehaugen Posts: 210 Member
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    I like Mary's Gone Crackers for whole grain, low glycemic crackers and cookies.

    Back when I was in college and dirt poor I made every baked good from scratch, so now I can't eat most GF ready-made items because they have way too much sugar and starch for my taste.

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