Enjoying Gluten-Free Life

Tempting Tastes
 

When we first start eating gluten-free, our focus is on finding anything we can eat. We want foods that are familiar so we try gluten-free pasta, cereal, bread, cookies, crackers . . . anything we can find that has a gluten-free label. As time passes and we become more comfortable with this lifestyle, we get bored. Just flat out bored. The bread we liked is, well, the same every single time. The cereal is boring. Are you starting to think the gluten-free diet is boring? Nope. To begin with, there are other brands of cereal and different varieties of bread. (Here’s an interview with Rudi’s.)

Now is the time to spice things up. How?

Well, first try some new spices. (You didn’t see that one coming?) Most of us are creatures of habit; we tend to use the same herbs and spices in everything. Sprinkling paprika and Italian seasoning – this is my favorite – elevates a hamburger to something special. I like Italian seasoning on zucchini (sauté zucchini in a pan with olive oil, add salt, pepper – minced fresh garlic optional – and sprinkle on the seasoning.) Cinnamon on a baked sweet potato with butter/margarine is fun.

At this time of year, I’m also using fresh herbs from the farmer’s market. I have basil and rosemary in my fridge right now. You’d be surprised at the number of foods these two herbs can liven up. Speaking of the farmer’s market, if you haven’t found one near you yet, you need to see if you have one. For those who live in the country or in other countries, any place that is selling fresh, seasonal produce, preferably organic, will do.

Try something you haven’t tried before. I bought beets on Saturday and, gulp, am going to roast them for dinner tomorrow night, and eat them. (I haven’t tried beets since I hated them as a kid but have heard many times that they’re great roasted.) There are many fruits and vegetables that most of us walk right by but looking for something new doesn’t mean you have to try something exotic. If you always eat strawberries, try some blueberries. If red delicious apples are your favorite, try a gala.

Exotic could be fun, though. I’ve never had star fruit. It’s beautiful so that I may have to give it a try sometime. Check out new veggies too. Always eaten orange sweet potatoes? Try a purple one. Potatoes also come in many varieties. (Check out this interview with Jenn Cuisine. She enjoys exploring new foods.)

When it comes to gluten-free baking, it’s easiest to begin with a pre-made flour mixture such as Better Batter (interview with Naomi of Better Batter soon). These continue to be useful over time but many flours await you – if you’d like to try them. Simple recipes such as pancakes or muffins are a good place to start because they’re edible even if the combination isn’t perfect and the same can’t be said for a cake. Brown rice flour, teff, sorghum and amaranth offer up whole grain nutrition (although amaranth isn’t technically a “grain”).

One good way to find new foods is to explore your grocery store or natural foods market. Always eaten peanut butter? Try almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter. A note on this: I find that each brand is very different, particularly with almond butter – some are creamy, some dense. Sunflower seed butter is generally sweetened. Part of your exploring may be trying more than one brand of something to find the right one for your tastes.

For snacking, I often eat nuts and I try to mix up the varieties. I particularly like hazelnuts and cashews, and know that each offers somewhat different nutrients. The whole point of eating gluten-free is to feel good, to be healthy. Eating a variety of foods provides a variety of nutrients and that’s a win-win for your taste buds and your body. So I challenge you to try one new food or a new way of cooking or seasoning this week. I’d love it if you tell us how it was and I’ll let you know what I thought of those beets.

(Photo Credits: Top Photo www.public-domain-image.com, Apple Photo Courtesy USDA)

When we start on the gluten-free diet, we’re just trying to find food to eat. It’s a matter of survival. Once we learn we can do that (because you can do that), it’s easy to tweak it and make it our own, find foods we really want to eat, find ways to change this from a life we can survive into a life we can enjoy.

1. Visit the different grocery store chains in your area to see what gluten-free foods they carry. Each is different and, at least in my area, stores within the chain may carry different products or have a larger or smaller gluten-free section. Our nearby Kroger has a good number of gluten-free products including those in the freezer section but doesn’t carry the Tinkyada pasta we enjoy that the Publix across the street does.

2. When we first start eating gluten-free, many of us, myself included, go out and buy all of the pre-made gluten-free food we can find. Forget vegetables. Forget fruit. Give me the gluten-free cookies and bread. While delicious, these foods aren’t what your body needs to heal. Visit your farmer’s market. Most areas have one that runs at least through the summer months. This is produce at its freshest. Mine also has wonderful meats and eggs. I’ve found that the cost is comparable or less than other stores.

3. Google “gluten-free” and your city (or area if you aren’t in/near a city). “Gluten-free Nashville” gives me gluten-free restaurants, a gluten-free dietician (whom I saw when I was new to this) and another gluten-free blogger who lives in Nashville.

Of course it’s wonderful if your doctor is connected to the local gluten-free community. My internist isn’t but my chiropractor told me about a gluten-free restaurant.

4. On my own, I discovered that we didn’t have a gluten intolerance group (GIG) here, but we did have a chapter of another organization. I visited them for their last meeting but will go one more time before committing to join. I like to visit a time or two to make sure the group’s a good fit. I also just learned that we have a new GIG, and they will have their first meeting soon.

5. Visit your library’s catalog online to see what books they own on a gluten-free diet. Searching “gluten-free” should work. This is a great way to get some general books on the gluten-free diet like Donna Korn’s Living Gluten-Free For Dummies or Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide (Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate). It’s also great for previewing cookbooks to see what fits your tastes.

Remember that just like every restaurant, every cookbook has a style of cooking. I’ve learned to love thyme because it’s an herb Carol Fenster often uses in her 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes (1,000 Recipes.

Once you’ve exhausted your library, consider searching Amazon – or another online book supplier if you have a preference - to find more. Read the reviews. If someone says the book uses a lot of dairy products and you can’t eat dairy, then move on for now. Later, you may become skilled enough to start making substitutions. Once you’ve narrowed down the list to books you think might help, you have two choices. You can buy them, or you can do what I often do and order them first via interlibrary loan which my library does for free. If it’s truly a good fit, I then order it or request it for Christmas or my birthday.

6. Start experimenting in the kitchen. You may find you enjoy it, even if you didn’t in the past. Let’s face it, once you need to eat gluten-free, you will most likely need to cook in order to get the food that you want and/or need to eat. Whether the meals are simple or more elaborate is your choice. (Read Shreve Stockton’s story on this blog.)

7. Blogs are a wonderful source of information and inspiration. There are many that are excellent. Here are those I’ve interviewed. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom so you don’t miss the interview with Shirley from glutenfreeeasily.

When you’re looking for technical information such as what to eat, check carefully to be sure you’re on a reliable site so you know you’re getting accurate information. You want to make sure someone isn’t telling you it’s ok to eat spelt. (Yes I’ve seen that.)

Recipes online need to be evaluated, too. If the site has comments, read them. Do people seem to be successfully making the recipes? Does the blogger seem to make them more than once before posting or just make the pancakes for breakfast and call it good? You can often tell this from the post itself.

Now, take the next step into your enjoyable gluten-free life: try a new recipe, maybe invite a friend over to share something you’ve made from the post. I invite you to share something you’ve enjoyed about your gluten-free life. I know there has to be something.

Remember that you aren’t alone

Photos courtesy USDA