Step 1. Know the enemy by sight
The first step is to find and eliminate foods and dishes that contain gluten from the menu. There are a lot.
The obvious ones that everyone knows about are:
- cereals (wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, spelt, couscous and spelled);
- wheat products: flour, bread, cookies and pastries, pasta, breakfast cereals, baby cereal.
And if everything about flour and grains is already clear, then many people are not aware of some products that contain gluten.
For example:
- store-bought dairy products containing additives and thickeners (curds, yogurts, cottage cheese, milk powder, processed cheese),
- meat and fish semi-products (especially breaded),
- dumplings, pancakes, dumplings,
- ice cream (not only because of the waffle cone, the ice cream itself often contains gluten),
- sausage, canned food, imitation seafood ("crab meat" and "crab sticks"),
- chips, bread and crackers.
Wheat gluten and proteins can end up in food colors and additives. So even spices and bouillon cubes, sauces (soy, ketchup, teriyaki, tomato paste, many other sauces in which flour is used for thickening), chocolate, coffee and alcoholic beverages (beer, vodka, whiskey, wine drinks with colors orflavors and aromatic additives).
Recommendations
- Read labels carefully. Pay attention to the traces of gluten in the composition. Whenever possible, choose products labeled "Gluten Free" or "Gluten Free", which can be found in the nutrition section of supermarkets.
- Use whole foods for cooking: fresh meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and oils.
Step 2: Replace gluten with healthy alternatives
Flour from cereals and legumes - instead of wheat.
- Flour for bread, pasta, pastries, pancakes and desserts can be made from grains, nuts and legumes.
- Buckwheat, rice, chickpea, soybean, flax, corn, almond flour is excellent for these dishes. It is easy to make it yourself, just grind the ingredients in a special grinder.
What is important to know about flour preparation
- In order to get the most out of homemade flour, we recommend that you soak the seeds and nuts in advance and then dry them in a dehydrator. This will reduce the concentration of phytic acid in the seeds, which interferes with the normal absorption of minerals from plants.
- It is better to grind flour in small portions just before cooking. This will help to avoid oxidation of the seeds and preserve all useful substances.
Breakfast is not just oatmeal and sandwiches
- There are many equally delicious alternatives: homemade yogurts from the fermenter, potato pancakes, smoothies and colorful bowls, pancakes and pancakes made from buckwheat or rice flour.
- For breakfast, you can make healthy granola from green buckwheat in a dehydrator or cereal in a grinder.
- If it's hard for you to imagine a morning without porridge, buckwheat, rice, millet, gluten-free oatmeal, amaranth and flax will help.
Legumes and cereals - instead of pasta
- For lunch, as a side dish, you can eat legumes or cereals (rice, quinoa, polenta, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, corn grits) that do not contain gluten.
- You can replace your usual pasta with noodles made from rice, buckwheat and beans or make pasta from gluten-free flour.
- Meat and fish can be poached in ground corn flakes, and the dough can be made from chickpea or rice flour.
- It's easy to thicken sauces and dips using potato or cornstarch.
- Instead of bouillon cubes and mixes from the store, try homemade spices: dry vegetables and herbs in a dehydrator or grind them in a grinder or blender. You will get a natural aromatic spice. A powder made from dried mushrooms or jerk meat will add a rich flavor to soups and sauces.
Gluten-free snack
- For snacks, try homemade chips or gluten-free bread in the dehydrator.
- Pieces of meat and fish can be dried to create natural and satisfying bites.
Desserts were not cancelled
- To prepare them, use flour from nuts or rice.
- Instead of store-bought cream, use coconut cream or homemade coconut yogurt from the fermenter.
Good alternatives to store-bought sweets are fruit chips and dehydrator pastilles, as well as healthy candies made from nuts and dried fruit (no oatmeal).
Step 3. Organize gluten-free baby food
- Prepare the same dishes, only with gluten-free flour and grains (we already discussed the options for pasta and grains above).
- Try making crepes, pancakes or cheesecakes with coconut, buckwheat or rice flour.
- Dumplings and dumplings can also be made from rice flour.
- You can make sweet bars, cookies and candies from nuts, dried fruit and cocoa chopped in a blender (and even turn it into a joint game, for example, making cookies of different shapes from coconut and banana).
- Don't forget vegetable and fruit chips (instead of store-bought crackers), marshmallows and natural ice cream.
Gluten free recipe ideas
| Menu #1 | Menu #2 |
Breakfast Flax porridge with fresh fruit |
Breakfast Buckwheat granola + boiled eggs |
Dinner Pumpkin soup with flax bread and avocado salad |
Dinner Homemade borscht with cashew cream Stuffed sausages with soy and lentil sprouts |
Afternoon snack Fresh vegetables with homemade hummus |
Afternoon snack Gluten-free avocado bread |
Dinner Zucchini pasta in tomato sauce with herbs |
Dinner Risotto with curry chicken legs and cashews |