Gluten free/dairy free diets?

**peanut** · 11-03-2011, 06:55 PM

I've just been put on this. Does anyone know anything about what I CAN eat? Websites, recipes, food alternatives? Anything would be helpful...

**daylily** · 11-03-2011, 07:15 PM

Welcome to the Vegan Vegetarian Cooking School. is dairy-free and has gluten-free breads, cakes, etc. I make the GF Buns for DS and he really likes them. Lots of good info here.

**2ndGenGranola** · 11-04-2011, 02:42 AM

Take a deep breath. It is not that difficult. Back when I was actively counseling people on the diet, our first rule was to "start simple".

Too many people run to the grocery and pick up every GFCF sub then hate the taste or it rips their gut out (many with G/C issues also have issue with items in the subs -- plus, GFCF cake is just as unhealthy as regular cake) in addition to paying $$$ for those new groceries.

Get a simple menu going with a protein (beef, chicken, fish, egg), a healthy carb (br. rice, potato, corn, gf oatmeal), a green veggie, a colorful veggie then a fruit. Don't do anything fancy with it, just get the routine going.

When you are comfortable with your simple meal plan, try your first sub. You don't want to try a bunch of subs at one time. Like I said earlier, many people have issues with the subs. You want to know which one it is so you can stop it. A good first sub is pasta. Tinkyada cooks the most like regular pasta. Look for the brown rice instead of white rice. Corn pasta also works great. You will probably want to slightly undercook the pasta as the GF texture is off from regular pasta. Depending upon your issue, you may have to still avoid some of the spelt and other wheat like subs.

You may want to try a milk sub next. Use caution and read labels. Do NOT depend upon the dairy free label as they can still contain the protein Casein. Read, read, read. Most "dairy free" cheese does contain dairy. Dairy free desert toppings usually have dairy. Many dairy free people opt for nutritional yeast instead. A little of that sprinkled on top of the dish will give a light flavor of cheese. It is cheaper and stores better too. The kids LOVE it on popcorn.

As you start trying new items, try only 1 at a time. If you like the product and it agrees with your gut, look for it on amazon. It is usually cheaper there by the case. Remember these items are not healthier. They are often higher in calories.

**joyofsix** · 11-04-2011, 06:57 AM

My 19 yo is now GF. She is a vegetarian and that has complicated things. Her days (busy college student working 2jobs) tend to be monotonous but
B-GF toast w/pbj or GF pancakes(made and frozen so quick)
L-salad and Lentil soup, vegetable soup or vegetarian chili
D-baked potato w/chili, GF pasta and sauce, or veggie omelet

Not too exciting but reasonably health, cheap and quick

She does eat dairy so has yogurt, fruit and GF crackers for snack. I made her GF granola bars and GF rice irksome treats too. She reports m&ms are GF

**peanut** · 11-04-2011, 09:51 AM

I found some websites for Gluten free recipes, but not so much the combo GF and Dairy free. Will check more today. I'd rather make my own stuff. That way I know what's in it and can sub for low fat, no sugar options. This is a bit of a mess. But we'll see if it works.

**krbshappy71** · 11-04-2011, 10:06 AM

This one is specific for you: Gluten Free and Dairy Free

Look at all the options!!! That is just one page of the site.

YOU CAN DO THIS!!

**2ndGenGranola** · 11-04-2011, 10:37 AM

Don't use "special" recipes. Just use the one's you are already familiar with and learn to sub.

Dairy is a 1:1 sub

Find a flour blend you can use and often they will be a 1:1 too. Use caution if you have diabetic tendencies. Some are higher glycemic than others - esp those with white rice/potato/tapioca. Bean flours give many issues too.

**Libby** · 11-04-2011, 10:58 AM

I agree with what 2ndGenGranola has said. My sister is on the same diet restrictions as you peanut but then add in a ton of other stuff ranging from specific veggies, herbs & spices etc. Cooking for her has become a chore but I don't think its fair for her to sit and watch our family eat an entire Thanksgiving feast while she gets a potato, turkey and cranberry sauce. KWIM?

Just strip down your meals, instead of a casserole or stew. Make all your own sauces so you know whats in them. My sisters meals are usually: meat, rice/potato and veggies. Luckily for my sis, she loves simple meals like that - grilled/bbq'ed meat, rice & veggies - boiled, steamed, baked etc.

She just told me that during her last visit with her naturopath - they discussed bread. Bread should be 3-4 ingredients and when trying to make GF bread - its 10 extra and you don't know what they are. Instead she's decided to omit bread and if she really wants it, she pays the $7 for the half loaf of rice breads (found in freezers at health food sections of Sobey's/Metro/Loblaws etc)

This diet reminds me of the diabetic/south beach diet - eat simplified foods. If you're entertaining, add in the extras that you can't eat but others can..usually its only an extra dish or two with sauces. This is very doable - even more so if you love veggies

**zakity** · 11-04-2011, 11:28 AM

Check out celiac sites. They are gluten free. I don't know about the diary. The lady that I know that is GF can have dairy, but her son is allergic to it (he is GF also).

**Nishu** · 11-04-2011, 12:29 PM

We are gluten free and dairy. I tend to focus on things that are naturally dairy and wheat free, but we do rely on a few substitutes.

We use store bought almond milk, but you can find recipes for rice milk and nut milk all over the place. It's probably cheaper to make your own. It might be reasonable to buy store bought for drinking and use homemade for cooking if you like the taste of the storebought better.
How to Make Rice Milk

We use this flour mix:
2 cups brown rice flour
2/3 cups potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum

I use it for just about everything.

Trader joe's has the cheapest gluten free pasta I've found, 1.99 a pound. (I think the price might have gone up.) I think you're in Canada so I'm not sure if you have trader joes. Tinkyada is a really good gf pasta, and I think that's made in Canada.

I try to avoid soy as well, so we use earth balance butter. The earth balance in the red tub. It's $3 a tub though so I might try my own olive oil butter. Just olive oil and salt put in a tub and refrigerated. Has anyone tried this?
Homemade olive oil spread

Some of our favorite meals:

Boston Baked Beans Recipe - Allrecipes.com
Tacos, just without the cheese (home made taco seasoning, because the stuff from the store usually has wheat)
Black Bean and Chorizo Soup Recipe at Epicurious.com
Mother-in-Law's Chops Recipe - Allrecipes.com
Roast beef with just salt and pepper, potatoes and carrots
Chili with homemade chili seasoning

Don't forget Amazon. They have a lot of great deals on GF flours and foods.

Anyway, good luck. I'll try to add more meal ideas as I think of them.

**Nishu** · 11-04-2011, 12:30 PM

Oh, and my favorite gluten free tip... If you want to make pumpkin pie, don't bother with a GF crust. Just add 2tbsp cornstarch to your filling recipe and bake it as a crustless pie.

**2ndGenGranola** · 11-04-2011, 02:20 PM

I'll have to try that crustless pie. My guys hate crust of any kind (as do I).

**peanut** · 11-04-2011, 03:17 PM

Wow! Thanks everyone! I was soooo hungry when I came home today for lunch. I had a 'green' smoothie (that was actually purple because I used purple beets) for breakfast at 8 AM, and then nothing to eat till 12:30 PM. When I had (thank you for mentioning it!) leftover chili on a potato.

I normally eat meals with meat, starch, and veggies separate. However I do admit to enjoying far too much bread and baked goods in my life. This is so going to be a big turn around for me. I looove veggies. So that part is fine by me!

I've toyed with stevia before several times. I think I finally have the powdered stuff figured out and can do a lot of cooking/sweetening with it. And I've used fruit and squash to replace fat quite a bit in the past too.

Almond milk...I'm going to have to check the nutritional label on it. Some of the store bought stuff has lecithin in it, which is soy, a product I am also supposed to avoid. But I sure could make my own homemade version.

I'm getting excited about shopping tonight at the grocery store, and Monday at the local health food store's 15% off day.

Thanks for simplifying things so much for me everyone.

And keep the ideas rolling! I can use all the help I can get!

**Nishu** · 11-04-2011, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by 2ndGenGranola

I'll have to try that crustless pie. My guys hate crust of any kind (as do I).

I have always used a glass pan... I envision it working better... Not sure if it works the same with a metal one. I might be making that up.

**Nishu** · 11-04-2011, 06:26 PM

If you like stevia, this is the cheapest source I've found.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Stevia-Extract-Powder-3-5/dp/B000VRSR84/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320445340&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Pure Stevia Extract Powder - 3.5 oz - Powder: Health & Personal Care@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31eldb4JIxL.@@AMEPARAM@@31eldb4JIxL[/ame]

I bought 2 1.3 oz bottles in the spring and I've got most of it left still. I use it several times a day for tea, coffee and smoothies. The scoop inside is tiny. I haven't tried baking with it. I'm not sure that would work since there's so much less bulk to it than traditional stevia and sugar.

Read the comments. This stuff is awesome.