Over the past year, one of the most frequent comments I have encountered from gluten-eaters is that they cannot fathom how I live without gluten. I understand where they’re coming from – when I was first navigating the diet change, I was constantly stressed out about possible hidden sources of gluten, and I was devastated over the thought of never having good pizza again.
Aside from learning that yes, I can still have good pizza, I also realized that I was naturally eating close to gluten-free anyway, and the modifications I had to make were pretty simple. The biggest hurdle, both for me to deal with and for others to comprehend, is no more bread. My understanding is that there are decent breadlike options for sale, and better recipes, but I haven’t really explored them. I’ve made quick breads, but I have stayed away from making yeast bread since I had to cut out gluten. The two main reasons for this were a. I had repeatedly read that it will never be like gluten-containing bread, and b. I haven’t found that many recipes that don’t use xanthan gum, and I at first didn’t have any, and now I am still a bit hesitant to use it. I do plan to make yeast bread again in the future, but for now I will stick to yeast pizza dough as the extent of my g-f/yeast crossover. These days I mostly don’t crave bread, though I would still consider killing to get a nice fluffy/squishy g-f donut.
Anyway, I wanted to share what my day looks like in terms of food. The later it is in the day, the more variety shows up. I do not want to have to think about what I’m eating first thing in the morning before my coffee has finished brewing, and I feel like I’m wasting work time if I make much effort during the lunching hour. I would also like to note that I am not a nutritionist and I have never been to a nutritionist, so please don’t take this as advice in that realm – this is just what works for my body, and if it’s craving something then I listen, because it usually means I haven’t been getting enough of something that I need.
Breakfast:
- 2 Eggs, over hard (break yolks, cook on one side, flip and cook other side) – sometimes with some basil on (fresh basil, if I have it, is best)
- 1 Cup of Coffee (sometimes I will have a second if I’m of a mood)
Lunch:
When I first went off gluten, I ate what I liked to call “Celiac Sandwiches”. They were not sandwiches at all, in fact, but were instead just the meat and cheese I would put on bread before. It was still filling, but more expensive than what I eat now, and also somewhat visually underwhelming.
- 1/4 cup Hot Cereal – either Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty G-F Cereal or Arrowhead Mills Organic Rice and Shine
- Milled Flax Seed (usually around a Tbsp or so? I just pour it in the bowl)
- Instant Dry Milk (same procedure as with the flax – if you have non-dry milk, then go with that, but maybe reduce the water content)
- 1 Tbsp organic honey (if you’re in the St. Louis area, I highly recommend Stinger’s Honey, which can be found at a few of the farmer’s markets)
I microwave the first 3 of those together and then add the honey after. In addition to that I usually either have a cup of berries or a fruit on the side, or if I don’t have either of those, then I mix in craisins or raisins (usually omitting the honey, since those sweeten the cereal nicely). I also sometimes add in an ounce of cheese if I need a little protein. I sometimes switch up lunch by having left-overs from dinner (not common, I usually incorporate those into the next night’s dinner), or more commonly by having greek yogurt (plain and add honey) with fruit.
Dinner:
Dinner is where things get really mixed up. I generally have three versions of dinner, so here are the basic forms:
Ramyun
- Thai Kitchen Instant Rice Noodle Soup (Ginger type is my favorite, but I also like the Garlic. I haven’t tried any of the others yet)
- 1 egg
- Sriracha
- Red Pepper Flakes (yum! I love using these in dinner)
- Frozen Vegetables (usually, sometimes I have fresh produce which I chop up for it – I most frequently use frozen green beans)
I usually have two things on the side – an ounce of cheddar cheese and some kimchi is my usual, but I also sometimes have half an avocado, raisins, steamed brussel sprouts… It really depends on what I have in the fridge, how many calories I need, and what I’m in the mood for. Cheese and kimchi is my favorite because the cheese is really mellow in texture and flavor, and then kimchi is spicier than the ramyun and also provides a nice texture change, since it’s quite crunchy.
Stir-Fry
- 1 yellow onion (as with all ingredient for this recipe, size/amount depends on how many people you are feeding or how much you want in the way of left-overs)
- Chicken (usually – sometimes I use beef or go vegetarian and only use an egg or 2)
- Carrots
- Schnucks Frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables (I like these because I don’t have to chop, making stir-fry a much quicker option, and they’re still fairly inexpensive for that being the case – also means I don’t have to know I’m doing stir-fry b.c I can leave them in the freezer for weeks, rather than having to use fresh produce on hand)
- Rice! I usually use Jasmine or Basmati.
Liquids I may use for making the sauce:
- G-F Tamari (I get San-J brand reduced sodium. Kikkoman makes a respectable g-f option as well, but I have never seen a reduced sodium version, so I generally prefer San-J. By the way, if anyone knows where I could get g-f soy sauce in bulk, I would adore you for telling me.)
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Olive or Canola Oil
- Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce
- Sriracha
I also usually incorporate minced garlic, powdered ginger, and red pepper flakes. Sage also makes an appearance here and there.
Baked Meat and Vegetable
This is easily my most boring and passive option. Usually the meat in question is chicken breast. I plop it in a pyrex baking dish (sometimes with butter or oil, but frequently without) and sprinkle spices/herbs over top. I like baking chicken at 425F for 15-17 minutes because it’s juicy, but adequately cooked. The vegetable is frequently steamed in the microwave or baked in another pyrex. Brussels I steam (I love brussel sprouts and do not understand how anyone couldn’t), cauliflower I bake in olive oil with lots of powdered cumin, green beans are steamed (occasionally buttered, usually not), broccoli is baked or pan-fried..
Other than that, I snack a decent amount. My body is happiest when I eat every few hours (I get a little dizzy and/or nauseous if I go too long without eating). Snacks include the assorted lovely things I bake, as seen on the blog, cheese, peanut butter (yes, by itself), Glutino Crackers (I’ve only tried the original and cheddar varieties – original I eat when my stomach can’t handle exciting, cheddar is good all of the time), Chex cereals, fruit, vegetables… I could probably make an entire post dedicated to my snacking habits, really, because it’s much more varied than my main meals.
So there you have it! I eat a lot of things, and I think I eat pretty well. I would like to branch out on the dinner front (I specifically want to try more Korean and Indian dishes – I make beef bulgogi, dak galbi, and curries, but that’s it for those two realms), and I could probably stand to shake lunch up a bit more. I still eat a fair amount of grain, and most notably, I eat pretty normal food. Gluten-intolerance and Celiac Disease are not the end of the world as far as tasty food is concerned, it just takes some time to adapt.