I went to the woods and played with my camera this weekend.
Seriously, being gluten-free is not the end of the world. You will not starve. You will still eat pancakes. No babies will die. Listen up, here’s your list of substitutes:
- Brown rice pasta is fine. This brand is the one I like. The best part: the tag line is “Gluten Free Joy!” I love that. Love it.
- I use Bragg liquid aminos instead of soy sauce. Yes, I even bring my own bottle into sushi restaurants. Just doing my best to live up to the label of self-sustaining high-maintenance.
- I drink this almond milk. I know, cow’s milk doesn’t contain gluten but those with celiac often have an allergy to dairy as well. This one is really the best nut beverage of its kind.
- I use this “bread” for toast. Really it’s nothing like toast or bread at all. Banish that thought from your mind and just go with this hard crusty thing that takes twice as long to brown. I like millet the best. You can find it in the refrigerated section of most natural food stores.
- I hear that this kind of “bread” is best for sandwiches. I think they sell it at Whole Foods.
- I don’t eat a lot of sweets or baked goods but I hear Pamela’s has some great mixes.
- Bob’s Red Mill has some good gluten-free mixes and gluten-free oats. Oats are hotly debated in the gluten-free world. They’re often processed in the same facilities that process wheat products. Some say that even if oats are not contaminated by the facility they still contain gluten. Cut them out to be safe and test them later.
- These are my favorite crackers. The first few times I had them I thought they were terrible. They really grow on you. Give em a try.
- I use brown rice flower for a cooking substitute – usually as a thickener in gravy.
- I love this bar. It’s gluten free and contains almond butter, date paste and organic bio sprouts (whatever the hell those are). Bio-sprout joy! Yum!
- I didn’t eat pizza for about five years until I found this: Garlic Jim’s gluten-free pizza. The first time I had it, I put a piece on my plate and commanded silence from Paul and Josie (nearly impossible) so I could appreciate the historic moment. It was heaven. It was a monumental for me (and my waistline). They deliver to my house. Do you hear that people? I can get gluten-free pizza delivered. Oh, gluten-free joy!
- We eat a lot of quinoa around here. I substitute it for couscous in lots of recipes and it works pretty well. I’ll post one for you to try in a few days. OK?
Hey, all you gluten-free-ers, post your tips and favorite products or recipes in the comments. Send this link to your gf friends and get them to post their favorite tips. Share the love.
Gluten-free joy to you!
I am not gluten free but I do know Amy’s organic has some great gluten free products. I’ve never had anything from Amy’s that I didn’t love. Thanks for the tips, Katherine. I have a friend that is contemplating this, and these are all great recommendations.
We used the Pamela’s bread mix to make pizza crust last week – it looked strange but turned out tasty! Our non-GF family was happy as well, so a nice turnout. Costco has some yummy Gluten Free multi-grain chips right now: http://www.foodshouldtastegood.com/#/multigrain/.
Of course! I love Food Should Taste Good chips. Their sweet potato chips are also awesome. Thanks Anna!
And this tip from a comment on Facebook: “Hey! I bought a new cookbook yesterday called “babycakes” to get more gluten-free sweetness at my shop, so far it’s looking great, and lots of people have raved about it. Check it out if u haven’t already.”
Quinoa is a new favorite at our house. We have it in the morning instead of oatmeal (great with fresh raspberries), and I have it for lunch with organic cherry tomatoes and blak pepper. I need to branch out. Whole Foods has fabulous gluten-free chocolate cookies – not in the bakery dept, but in the cookie aisle. Can’t remember the brand, but they are dark and very chocolate-y and not too sweet.
Mmm. Quinoa. Recipes, yes, please.
Another Facebook comment: Katherine you know me. I am so bad in the kitchen. The other people probably know more than me already. 🙂 We do like our Ana Bread. It is so tasty with olive oil. I will have to go get that Babycakes book. Sounds good for my kids. If I could I would hirer a chef to cook for us. My family would surely love it. 🙂
Another Facebook comment: Having just gone gluten-free, I’m enjoying exploring foods from other cultures more than trying to replace my foods with rice flours and such. Japanese and Mexican foods are great for GF. That said, we make some pretty good buttermilk pancakes with buckwheat and ground up oats.
Our favorite GF/CF (dairy free) items that are kid friendly:
1. EnviroKidz cereals
2. Amy’s salsa
3. Xochitl organic white corn tortilla chips
4. Applegate farms hotdogs and deli meats
5. Glutino pretzels
6. Coconut milk – great for chocolate milk!
7. GoGo squeeZ applesauce pouches on the go
8. Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops
9. Van’s frozen waffles and french toast
10. Organic raisins 🙂 Instead of gummy bears!
My kid is the best eater in the house…..we are trying to follow suit and all go GF. Definitely a work in progress but we are getting there. Thanks!
Also this from a Facebook comment:
Cucina Fresca has fresh, GF noodles in refrig section at PCC…not bad.