Gluten-free diet: How to change up your daily menu without stress

If you find out you have a gluten intolerance, your first reaction is usually mild panic. Cookies, pastries, pasta, cereal – it looks like you’re going to have to give up all your favorite foods, so what’s left now? We tell you how to plan your meals comfortably on a gluten-free diet.

Step 1. Visually understand the enemy

The first step is to find and eliminate gluten-containing foods and dishes from your menu. There are many of them.The obvious ones everyone knows include:

• Cereals (wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, spelt, couscous and spelt);
• Wheat products: flour, bread, biscuits and pastries, pasta, breakfast cereals, baby cereals.

If everything about flours and grains is already clear, many people are unaware of certain products that contain gluten.For example:

• Store-bought dairy products (curds, yogurt, cheese curds, milk powder, processed cheese) containing additives and thickeners,
• semi-finished meat and fish products (especially bread crumbs),
• Dumplings, pancakes, dumplings,
• ice cream (not just the waffle cone, but ice cream itself often contains gluten),
• sausages, canned goods, imitation seafood ("crab meat" and "crab sticks"),
• Chips, bread and cookies.

Wheat gluten and protein could eventually be used in food colorings and additives. Therefore, even seasonings and bouillon cubes, sauces (soy, ketchup, teriyaki, ketchup, and many other sauces thickened with flour), chocolate, coffee, and alcoholic beverages (beer, vodka, whiskey, containing dyesor flavoring wine drinks) aromatic additives).

suggestion

• Read labels carefully. Watch out for traces of gluten in the ingredients. Whenever possible, choose products labeled "gluten-free" or "gluten-free, " which can be found in the food and beverage section of the supermarket.
• Cook with whole foods: fresh meats, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and oils.

Step 2: Replace gluten with healthy alternatives

Flours from cereals and legumes - not wheat.

• Flour for bread, pasta, pastries, pancakes and desserts can be made from grains, nuts and legumes.
• Flours made from buckwheat, rice, chickpeas, soybeans, flax, corn, almonds are ideal for these dishes. Making your own is easy, just grind the ingredients in a special mill.

Important things to know when preparing flour

• To get the most out of your homemade flour, we recommend soaking seeds and nuts ahead of time and then drying them in a dehydrator. This reduces the concentration of phytic acid in the seeds, interfering with the plant's normal uptake of the mineral.
• It's best to grind the flour into small portions before cooking. This will help avoid oxidation of the seeds and retain all the beneficial substances.

Breakfast is more than oatmeal and a sandwich

• There are many equally delicious alternatives: home-made yoghurt in fermenters, potato pancakes, smoothies and colorful bowls, pancakes and pancakes made with buckwheat or rice flour.
• You can make healthy green buckwheat cereal in a dehydrator or cereal for breakfast in a mill.
• If you have a hard time imagining your morning without porridge, buckwheat, rice, millet, gluten-free oatmeal, amaranth and flax will come to your rescue.

Legumes and grains – instead of pasta

• For lunch, as a side dish, you can eat gluten-free legumes or cereals (rice, quinoa, polenta, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, corn grits).
• You can substitute rice, buckwheat and bean flour for your usual pasta, or make the pasta with gluten-free flour.
• Meat and fish can be coated in crushed cornflakes, and the batter can be made with chickpeas or rice flour.
• Gravy and sauces are easily thickened using potato or cornstarch.
• Instead of using bouillon cubes and store-bought mixes, try making your own sauce: dry vegetables and herbs in a dehydrator, or grind them in a food mill or blender. You will get natural aromatic seasonings. Powder made from dried mushrooms or jerky will add rich flavor to broths and sauces.

gluten free snacks

• For snacks, try homemade potato chips or gluten-free bread from the dehydrator.
• Meat and fish fillets can be dried to make a natural and satisfying snack.

Dessert has not been canceled yet

• Use nuts or rice flour to make them.
• Instead of using store-bought cream, use coconut cream or homemade coconut yogurt from a fermentation jar.
  A great alternative to store-bought candy is fruit slices and dehydrated gummies, as well as healthy candies made from nuts and dried fruit (without oatmeal).

Step 3: Organize Gluten-Free Baby Food

• Prepare the same dish, using only gluten-free flours and grains (we've already discussed pasta and grain options above).
• Try making pancakes, pancakes or cheesecakes with coconut, buckwheat or rice flour.
• Dumplings and dumplings can also be made with rice flour.
• Sweet bars, cookies, and candies can be made from nuts, dried fruits, and cocoa crushed in a blender (you can even turn it into a joint game, like making different shaped cookies out of coconut and banana).
• Don’t forget vegetable and fruit slices (instead of store-bought cookies), marshmallows, and natural ice cream.

Gluten Free Recipe Ideas

Menu #1	Menu #2
breakfastFresh Fruit Flax Porridge	breakfastGreen buckwheat cereal + boiled eggs
dinnerPumpkin Soup with Flax Bread and Avocado Salad	dinnerHomemade Borscht with Cashew Sour CreamSoy Bean and Lentil Sprouts Cabbage Rolls
Afternoon tea snacksFresh vegetables with homemade hummus	Afternoon tea snacksGluten-free avocado bread
dinnerZucchini and Herb Pasta in Tomato Sauce	dinnerCurry Chicken Legs and Cashew Risotto