The Practical

Making changes in ones life doesn't come easy but if you have a desire even if its a very slight one... don't get stuck, just start moving forward....

I was standing in my kitchen a few weeks ago mentally taking note of all the no-no food I had stashed in my cupboards...uhhh the 5 lbs of whole wheat pasta I just bought from the co-op, granola bars, white flour...and the list went on and my frustration mounted. My thoughts at that moment? You don't want to know. So what did I do? I called on my expert friend who lives the GF life. She sent me a wonderful list of things I could eat and it was like I was charlie opening up that chocolate bar and getting the golden ticket...never mind about the chocolate I've got that ticket!

So here you go. Just a few things to get you started from my awesome friend KatieO.



Just so you know all dairy, meat, veggies and fruit are naturally gluten free. ...the only exception might be bluecheese:)...(hotdogs and deli meat rarely have gluten but we do get the ones w/o hormones/nitrates etc. just because we like them better

Breakfast:
Frozen GLuten Free Waffles/French Toast Sticks (we get VANS)
Gluten Free Oatmeal (BiLo, and Greenlife) the company is called BOB MILL...but it needs to say GF
Yogurt
Eggs
Bacon/Sausage
GF cereal (Rice Chex, are at WAlmart cheap and gluten free!!)....the BIG thing to look at with cereals is if it contains, barley...malt...oats...and obviously wheat.
Fruit
Protein Shake (i use Chocolate Rice Protein in Rice Milk(do not use Rice Dream if you want to use Rice Milk) but you could use any protein powder that says it is GF and any kind of dairy or nut drink)
Gf muffins that i make from a mix (i can share that with you if you want it) ...i mix in chocolate chips, apple, banana, etc.
Brown Rice Bread Toasted with cinnamon and butter (the bread is called Food for Life...must be toasted...you might hate it but my kids like it..there is MUCH better bread but Mason is allergic to eggs so that limits our options:)


Lunch:

Corn Thins (b/c they are much thinner and tastier than Rice Cakes) w/ peanut butter, sunbutter, or hummus
Chicken Salad (shredded chicken, diced veggies, sliced almonds, and we use vegan mayo but Helmanns is GF)
Egg Salad over spinach or lettuce (just Gage and i eat this:)
Tuna, Sardines, and even canned salmon mixed with the same things i do with chicken salad
Turkey,Ham, Roast Beef, 'roll up' with a couple cheese strips
Salad(rare but it happens)
Leftovers from the night before
GF Crackers with Peanut/or Sunbutter (we like Healthy Valley's Rice ones...somewhat like graham crackers)

Dinner:

Tacos (just watch out for the seasoning...look for one that is JUST seasonings no extra junk..or make your own...stay away from anything with MSG)
Grilled Chicken Strips, over Brown Rice (i put sauteed diced carrots and onions in at the last minute) , with fruit
Rice Pasta (they sell it at Walmart...the brand we like the most you would have to get at Greenlife called Tinkyada...you can save leftovers and they heat up just fine or even taste good cold where not all Rice Pastas will do that) w/marinara sauce (i hide veggies in it) and meatballs
Fish (frozen tilapia, or salmon...i try to buy wild caught but doesnt always happen) grilled or broiled w/olive oil and we like to put a strawberry/mango/cilantro salsa on it...or capers and toasted almonds w/ sweet potato fries (we buy a brand called Alexia...but its super easy to make them yourself)
Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers w/o the bun, steamed carrots/broccoli and sliced apples
Quesidillas/salsa...i get flour tortillas for Ryan but use corn for us....i cook ours first in the pan and then his
We buy a gluten free Pizza made with Rice crust but it would taste much better and be cheaper if you have an all purpose mix (anything but BOB MIll is gross) and make your own
Pulled Pork in the crockpot with BBQ sauce (there are cheap ones but you really need to make sure it doesnot have soysauce b/c it is made w/wheat)
Stirfry (brown rice, whatever veggies we have, a meat...and Tamari(wheatfree soysauce)
Shish Kabobs (meat/shrimp and veggies grilled over rice)
Roasted Chicken w/ veggies....and i use leftovers for Chicken salad


Snack Ideas:

Popcorn (we airpop it and use coconut oil...and then bag it up and it can last for over a week or two still tasty:)
Potato/Corn Chips (wheat free)
jello/pudding
yogurt
fruit strips or fruit roll ups (Target sells Archer Farms Fruit Strips they are the cheapest i have found)
apple sauce
Pirates Bootie/Veggie Bootie/Tings (Greenlife-its cheap)
Celery w/ peanut or sunbutter and raisins
Handful of nuts/seeds
Trail Mix (i make my own but just check it if you buy it already mixed)
Betty Crocker GF brownies, cookies, cake mix....best mix for these three things and you can get them at Walmart:)
GF pretzels (expensive but we splurge once a month or so...about 7.99 for a big bag:(
Hummus with veggie sticks


okay so real quick watch out for lingo like this:

Wheat, Barley, Spelt, Oats, Malt, Soysauce(b/c it contains wheat), MSG, ...here is a full list below but those are the ones that are clearest

here is a good unsafe list:

http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html

here is a good 'safe' list just for more ideas:
http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

here is a list of Gluten Free Medications---gluten is in some so you have to check:
http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/Glutenlist.htm