I have had several folks ask me about eating gluten free, so I thought I would share a bit of the basics that I have learned over the past couple of years.
First you have to figure out what you CANNOT eat and then go from there. To play it safe in the beginning I cut out ALL processed foods. Once I figured out what I could not eat I began adding safe foods back to my diet.
For a complete list of unsafe foods click here, just print this list and post it on the frig for a quick reference. It is just over 4 pages of delightful reading... uhm... Obviously, we cannot have Wheat, Barely, Rye & Oats. In addition to the basics gluten MAY be hidden in artificial color, natural flavoring & soy sauce just to name a few... basically all processed foods. Again, please see the forbidden list for all the details.
What does this mean for you?
Whether you want to or not you will be eating healthier from now on! And, you will be much happier. YAY for energy!
The first survival food we will be discussing is the Chocolate Chip Cookie.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
I like Alton Brown's Chocolate Chip recipe called The Chewy Gluten Free. I have made it several times and my entire family really enjoys these gooey cookies. (You may have to hide them, like me, or they disappear quick and in a hurry!) The first time I made them I followed the recipe and of course they were fabulous and they second time I used my AP Mix instead of his flours and it was even better, according to my husband. He told me he thinks they may be his all time favorite cookie!
Here is what I did- Instead of measuring out the brown rice flour, cornstarch and tapioca flour I used approximately 2 1/4 cups of MY AP Mix. (I would NOT use a store bought mix, they are just too grainy in my opinion, I would just follow his recipe in that case) Oh, nor do I roll mine into balls- too much work for this momma. After I refrigerate the dough I use a spoon and drop them onto the parchment paper and they still look beautiful. With my oven, I baked them for 5 minutes rotated them as the recipe instructed and then baked for another 5 minutes (my cookies were fairly large). Happy baking!
Note: Be sure to store all of your flour in the refrigerator as it can spoil.
BREADS
Pre-Celiac diagnosis I ate whole wheat bread, not really because I enjoyed it, but because it was the healthy option. Once I was diagnosed I just did without for almost a year. I had tried some GF bread and of course it tasted like cardboard even after toasting so I gave up on it. Then I stumbled across the Udi's brand. I totally LOVE it. In fact I PREFER it to my glutinous whole wheat bread! In my opinion it doesn't even need to be toasted. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is a tiny little loaf. Yes, it is WORTH EVERY PENNY! I usually buy mine from Whole Foods, but Raley's also carries it. Whole Foods is an expensive place, but I have noticed they still seem to have the best prices on GF foods so go stock up!
In addition to bread Udi's has pizza crust, bagels & muffins that I buy a little too regularly! I am in LOVE with their Double Chocolate & Blueberry Muffins. Go buy them, enjoy and then come tell me how right I am! ha!
COOKING
The thing about eating GF is baking & cooking can turn complex fairly quickly or at least tedious for sure! This momma cannot do tedious, time consuming meals. Some days I am happy to just get chicken nuggets heated through in the microwave for my kiddos! This is why Everyday Food is my "go to" place for recipes. As I have mentioned before their recipes are simple, easy & tasty. This is NOT a gluten free website, but the recipes I have looked at do not require processed foods, which may contain gluten. When they do call for something that does contain gluten like this YUMMY Honey-Teriyaki Chicken recipe. It is an easy substitution. I use gluten-free Tamari instead of regular soy sauce and the entire family is happy!
Well, that is all I have for today. Hopefully, this has been helpful & you can make it on these "survival foods" until the next post!
Happy Eating!
