If you discover that you are gluten intolerant, your first reaction is usually mild panic. Cookies, pastries, pasta, cereal, it looks like you're going to have to give up all your favorite foods, what's there to eat now? We explain how to comfortably organize your meals on a gluten-free diet.
Step 1. Know the enemy by sight
The first step is to find and eliminate foods and dishes containing gluten from the menu. There are many.
The most obvious ones that everyone knows are:
- cereals (wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, spelled, couscous and spelled);
- wheat products: flour, bread, biscuits and pastries, pasta, breakfast cereals, baby cereals.
And if everything about flour and cereals is already clear, then many people do not know about some gluten-containing products.
For example:
- commercial dairy products containing additives and thickeners (curds, yogurts, cheese curds, milk powder, processed cheese),
- semi-finished meat and fish products (especially breaded),
- dumplings, pancakes, dumplings,
- ice cream (not only because of the waffle cone, the ice cream itself often also contains gluten),
- sausages, canned goods, imitation seafood ("crab meat" and "crab sticks"),
- chips, bread and crackers.
Gluten and wheat proteins can be found in food colors and additives. Therefore, even seasonings and stock cubes, sauces (soy, ketchup, teriyaki, tomato paste, many other sauces where flour is used to thicken), chocolate, coffee and alcoholic beverages (beer, vodka, whiskey, wine drinks with colorings or flavorings and aromatic additives).
Recommendations
- Read labels carefully. Pay attention to traces of gluten in the composition. If possible, choose products labeled "Gluten-free" or "Gluten-free", these can be found in the health food section of supermarkets.
- Use whole foods when cooking: fresh meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and oils.
Step 2: Replace gluten with healthy alternatives
Cereal and legume flour - instead of wheat.
- Flour for bread, pasta, pastries, pancakes and desserts can be made from grains, nuts and legumes.
- Flour made from buckwheat, rice, chickpeas, soy, flax, corn and almonds is ideal for these dishes. It's easy to prepare yourself, just grind the ingredients in a special grinder.
What is important to know about preparing flour
- To get the most out of homemade flour, we recommend soaking seeds and nuts beforehand, then drying them in a dehydrator. This will reduce the concentration of phytic acid in the seeds, which interferes with the plants' normal absorption of minerals.
- It is best to grind the flour in small portions just before cooking. This will prevent oxidation of the seeds and preserve all the beneficial substances.
Breakfast is more than just oatmeal and sandwiches
- There are many equally tasty alternatives: homemade yogurts from a fermenter, potato pancakes, colorful smoothies and bowls, pancakes and crepes made from buckwheat or rice flour.
- You can make healthy green buckwheat granola in a dehydrator or cereal in a breakfast mill.
- If it is difficult for you to imagine your morning without porridge, buckwheat, rice, millet, gluten-free oatmeal, amaranth and flax will come to the rescue.
Legumes and cereals - instead of pasta
- At lunch, as a side dish, you can eat legumes or cereals (rice, quinoa, polenta, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, corn grits) which do not contain gluten.
- You can replace your usual pasta with rice, buckwheat and bean noodles or make pasta from gluten-free flour.
- Meat and fish can be breaded in crushed cornflakes and the batter can be made from chickpea or rice flour.
- It's easy to thicken sauces with potato or cornstarch.
- Instead of stock cubes and store-bought mixes, try homemade seasonings: dry vegetables and herbs in a dehydrator, or grind them in a food mill or blender. You will get a natural aromatic seasoning. Powder made from dried mushrooms or jerk meat will add a rich flavor to stocks and sauces.
Gluten-free snacking
- For snacks, try homemade chips or gluten-free dehydrator bread.
- Pieces of meat and fish can be dried to create natural and satisfying snacks.
Desserts have not been canceled
- Use nut or rice flour to prepare them.
- Instead of store-bought cream, use coconut cream or homemade coconut yogurt from a fermenter.
Fruit chips and desiccant tablets, as well as healthy candies made from nuts and dried fruits (without oatmeal), are a good alternative to store-bought sweets.
Step 3. Organize Gluten-Free Baby Food
- Prepare the same dishes, only from gluten-free flour and cereals (we have already discussed the options for pasta and cereals above).
- Try making crepes, pancakes or cheesecakes with coconut, buckwheat or rice flour.
- Ravioli and dumplings can also be made from rice-based flour.
- Sweet bars, cookies and candies can be made from nuts, dried fruits and cocoa ground in a blender (and even make it a joint game, for example by making cookies of different shapes from nuts). coconut and banana).
- Don't forget vegetable and fruit chips (instead of store-bought crackers), marshmallows and natural ice creams.
Gluten-free recipe ideas
| Menu #1 | Menu #2 |
Breakfast Flax porridge with fresh fruits |
Breakfast Green buckwheat granola + hard-boiled eggs |
Dinner Pumpkin soup with flax bread and avocado salad |
Dinner Homemade borscht with cashew sour cream Cabbage rolls stuffed with bean sprouts and lentils |
Afternoon snack Fresh vegetables with homemade hummus |
Afternoon snack Gluten-free avocado bread |
Dinner Zucchini pasta with tomato and herb sauce |
Dinner Risotto with chicken thighs with curry and cashew nuts |