Naturally Gluten Free Foods

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If your child's doctor, or yours has said those fatal word's "I think she's allergic to gluten" your first reaction may have been relief that there was finally a diagnosis to their mystery ailments, but then the first grocery trip comes and you became overwhelmed at how many foods your family used to eat contain this mysterious little binding agent.

I completely understand getting overwhelmed, in my house one or more persons can not eat the following: Gluten, Bananas, Avacados, Kiwi, Dairy, any Mold Carrying Food (aged cheeses like Parmesan or cottage chesse are out), Peanut Butter, and Almonds.  Trying to make a dinner that everyone likes, and everyone can eat can be a daunting challange indeed.  However, I am a huge proponent of only making one meal for everyone in the home, it really is cheaper if you're making everything from scratch, convience foods are a different story.

So what foods are gluten free?

• If it doesn't come in a box or bag, it's probably gluten free. Most unprocessed foods just don't have gluten in them 
• Unprocessed meats are gluten free, don't get anything with a marinade without first reading the label. (Check your spice rack to make sure none of your spice blends contain suspicious fillers)
• Unprocessed fish, be sure to read labels carefully however if you're buying fish from a box, can, or bag.
• Unprocessed fruits and veggies are gluten free.
• Eggs
• Milk, and most forms of dairy.  Cottage cheese, hard cheeses, sour cream, plain and flavored yogurts, and best of all most ice creams : ) (check labels!)
• Potato Flakes (check the label)
• Rice, be wary of rice mixes but plain rice is fine.
• Cornmeal, just make sure it isn't mixed with flour
• Specialty Convience foods that are labeled gluten free. There is even a banquet dinner or two that's gluten free.  My recommendation however is to skip the convience foods as much as possible because they tend to make this diet more expensive.  I'll buy pasta and bread but that's about it.

You can do this! Gluten free grocery trips aren't that hard once you learn what you can eat.  Yes, you or your child may have to give up some of the premade processed foods you once loved, but almost anything can be duplicated with the right recipe.  Patience and experimentation (not to mention a lot of prayer) will pay off and before you know it you won't even miss gluten, seriously there will come a point when cravings stop and you embrace the new normal, because really it's not that bad.

Feel free to send any questions about living gluten free or recipes to joyfulkasey at gmail dot com.  I'm not a licensed nutritionist just experienced in this diet.