Gluten free carbs?

shakybabe
shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
I've gone gluten free/low carb to drop weight and its working great.... I allow gluten free bread once a week.. I'm not bothered about pasta anyway... wasn't a big fan before, but looking for other gluten free/lower carb substitutes for when I'm ready to re-introduce more carbs (2-3 days a week) but keeping them gluten free. obviously potatoes are ok but grains are confusing.

I wondered if Quinoa and/or pearl barley are wheat gluten-free? also is brown rice lower calorie and lower carb than white rice? whats cous cous made from? would that contain wheat gluten?

Thanks

Replies

  • msallymae
    msallymae Posts: 112 Member
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gluten-free-diet/my01140
  • msallymae
    msallymae Posts: 112 Member
    cous cous is not gluten free.

    http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/83405-cous-cous-gluten-free-on-menu/
  • msallymae
    msallymae Posts: 112 Member
    and no rice is high carbohydrate. if youre eating low carb i would not eat the rice, etc.
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    I bought some brown rice pasta the other day, spaghetti noodles made entirely from brown rice.......can you eat that??.....in case you miss pasta!
  • Lisa_222
    Lisa_222 Posts: 301 Member
    Cous cous is gluten. Brown rice and white rice are no different. Possible you get a couple more fiber points for the brown but that's about it. Go to a good health food store like Fruitful yield if you have one near you. Or go online to Udi's site or Pamela's site, both very good gluten free companies. Watch the potatoes. I went gluten free before I started counting calories and gained weight. Potatoes are killers. (doesn't help that most of mine were in the form of chips, lol) But fruits and veges are always free, of course, meats, obviously. Yams are nice, but still you have to watch the calories. There's really no gluten free carb that isn't as bad or worse than any white bread type carb. Its very hard to do gluten free and get your fiber because its all rice or potato based. . If you're into baking, get a good receipe for flax bread and use Pamelas GF flour or a good gluten free receipe. That will get you a lot of fiber without gluten. I have been meaning to do that, myself.
  • ali139
    ali139 Posts: 17
    Cous cous is wheat, sadly! "Brown version" are generally better than white versions!

    I'm doing something similar, cutting out most carbs specially wheat and gluten. have you tried substituting veggies for starchy carbs? I shred carrots, courgettes or butternut squash, blanche it and have it as a replacement, generally works quite well as they're substantially lower in calories.

    HTH
  • VegGrrl
    VegGrrl Posts: 336 Member
    Quinoa, amaranth, millet, rice = gluten free.

    Barley, rye, wheat, spelt, triticale, etc = gluten.

    But there's lots of unhealthy gluten free stuff out there so beware! Gluten free does NOT mean low carb nor nutritious necessarily!
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    Thanks that's a useful list.. I'll print it off tomorrow. :happy:
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    crikey loads more answers since I typed my reply to first person.. lol!.. I got to learn to type faster!

    I have been doing things like using cauliflower as rice/ cous cous by whizzing it up in processor to that size and then steaming in microwave, doesn't taste too bad with a home made low cal curry on top!

    I allow sweet potato once a week, but also use butternut squash and turnip cut into roast potato shapes or 'chips' in place of potato, carrot and swede mash is nice too in place of mashed potato, occasionally I allow a small baked potato just to mix things up and rest of meal is usually very low cal salad items.

    Just trying to think of new ideas so my new diet is 'sustainable' as I'd like to stay on it for most of the time... though I can see me allowing a few roast potatoes with xmas dinner! :wink:

    I'm not much into baking but did wonder if there was things like gluten free pancake mix or dumpling mix etc?

    Thanks to everyone who answered!!
  • Lisa_222
    Lisa_222 Posts: 301 Member
    spaghetti squash is also a very tasty substitute for pasta . And yes, Pamela's makes an excellent gluten free flour which will work with nearly everything regular flour does. The pancakes are very nice. Also use it in sauces, etc.

    I would say that if you have neither celiac disease nor any gluten, wheat sensitivity, just stay low carb, don't bother with the gluten free It's really a pain in the butt and its not necessarily more healthy if you don't have issues with it. In fact, its more starchy and hard to stay low cal.

    I went gluten free because I had severe inflammatory arthritis and was at my wits end. Finally I tried going GF and it helped. That's the only reason I do it. A good whole wheat bread or bran food product is infinitely healthier than a ricey gluten free muffin or slice of bread Not worth it if you don't need to do it for medical reasons.
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