Step 1. Visually identify the enemy
The first step is to find and eliminate foods and dishes that contain gluten from the menu. There are many of them.
The obvious ones that everyone knows about are:
- grains (wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, spelt, couscous and spelt);
- products made from wheat: flour, bread, cookies and pastries, pasta, breakfast cereal, baby cereal.
And if everything about wheat and grains is already clear, many people are not aware of some products that contain gluten.
For example:
- store-bought dairy products that contain additives and thickeners (rinse, yogurt, cheese, powdered milk, processed cheese),
- semi-processed meat and fish products (especially breaded),
- dumplings, pancakes, dumplings,
- ice cream (not just because of the waffle cone, the ice cream itself also often contains gluten),
- hot dogs, canned food, imitation seafood ("crab meat" and "crab sticks"),
- chips, bread and crackers.
Wheat gluten and protein can end up in food colors and additives. Therefore, there are even herbs and bowls, sauces (soy, ketchup, teriyaki, tomato paste, many other sauces where flour is used for thickening), chocolate, coffee and alcoholic beverages (beer, vodka, whiskey, wine drinks with coloring orflavors and aromatic additives).
Recommendations
- Read labels carefully. Pay attention to traces of gluten in the composition. Whenever possible, choose products labeled "Gluten Free" or "Gluten Free", which can be found in the diet section of supermarkets.
- Use whole foods for cooking: fresh meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and oils.
Step 2: Replace gluten with a healthy alternative
Flour from grains and legumes - instead of flour.
- Flour for bread, pasta, cakes, pancakes and desserts can be made from grains, nuts and legumes.
- Flours made from buckwheat, rice, chickpeas, soy, flax, corn, almonds are great for these dishes. It's easy to do it yourself, just grind the ingredients in a special grinder.
What is important to know about preparing flour
- To get the most out of your homemade flour, we recommend soaking the seeds and nuts beforehand and then drying 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 the flour in small portions just before cooking. This will help avoid oxidation of the seeds and preserve all the beneficial substances.
Breakfast is not just oatmeal and sandwiches
- There are many equally tasty options: homemade yogurt from a fermenter, potato pancakes, smoothies and colorful bowls, pancakes and pancakes made from buckwheat or rice flour.
- You can make healthy green buckwheat granola in a dehydrator or cereal in a mill for breakfast.
- If you find it difficult to imagine your morning without porridge, then buckwheat, rice, millet, gluten-free oatmeal, amaranth and flax will come to the rescue.
Legumes and grains - instead of pasta
- For lunch, as a side dish, you can eat legumes or cereals (rice, quinoa, polenta, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, corn) that do not contain gluten.
- You can replace your regular pasta with rice, buckwheat and bean noodles or make pasta with gluten-free flour.
- Meat and fish can be breaded in ground corn flakes, and the dough can be made from chickpeas or rice flour.
- Sauces and gravies can easily be thickened with potato or cornstarch.
- Try homemade spices instead of store-bought bowls and mixes: dry vegetables and herbs in a dehydrator, or grind them in a food processor or blender. You get natural aromatic spices. Dried mushroom powder or jerky will add a rich flavor to broths and sauces.
Gluten-free snacks
- For a snack, try homemade potato chips or gluten-free bread in the dryer.
- Pieces of meat and fish can be dried to make a natural and satisfying snack.
Desserts have not been cancelled
- Use nuts or rice flour to make them.
- Use coconut cream or homemade fermented coconut yogurt instead of store-bought cream.
Good alternatives to store-bought sweets are fruit chips and dehydrating lozenges, as well as healthy candies made from nuts and dried fruit (without oatmeal).
Step 3. Plan gluten-free baby food
- Prepare the same dishes, only with gluten-free flour and cereal (we've already discussed options for pasta and cereal above).
- Try making pancakes, pancakes or cheesecakes with coconut, buckwheat or rice flour.
- Dumplings and dumplings can also be made from rice-based flour.
- You can make sweet bars, cookies and candies from nuts, dried fruit and cocoa crushed 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 recipes
| Menu #1 | Menu #2 |
Breakfast Flax porridge with fresh fruit |
Breakfast Green buckwheat granola + boiled eggs |
Dinner Pumpkin soup with flax bread and avocado salad |
Dinner Homemade borscht with pickled cashews Stuffed cabbage rolls with soybeans 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 |