Gluten Free

Stir fry with the green beans and peppers, add some cooked egg towards the end. A little Chinese five spice, sesame oil, salt and pepper and cooked meat if you wish.

Sweet potato bisque and omelets with the eggs, cheese, and peppers.

I like to make a kind of hash thing with black beans, onions, peppers, celery, and a little cooked meat (sausage or roast or what have you) Maybe some peas on the side.

is that tortillas I see? Corn tortillas make a wonderful quesadilla with cheese and whatever you like in your quesadilla. Quick, crispy and yummy. Dip in ranch, heaven!

That brown rice pasta is really good. Cook that, drain and rinse, add a jarred white sauce, sliced olives, meat if you wish (I like browned ground), garlic, of course, a little cheese mixed in, put into your baking dish, spoon a red spaghetti sauce (read labels) over, but don't mix in, sprinkle with cheese and bake about 30 minutes. good enough for company and makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.

Is that a loaf of bread? I don't like the store gluten free breads but they can make tolerable french toast with the bread, milk and eggs. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and you have a breakfast to satisfy any pastry sweet tooth.

Along the lines of the french toast, a really good sandwich when you want just something a little more is a french toasted cheese sandwich. Put your cheese on the bread like you are making a cheese sandwich, then dip in the egg/milk mixture you would use for french toast (except without the vanilla of course) and pan fry, lightly browning on both sides. Kinda messy to dip but oh so yummy and really special. For company dress up with a pickle on a toothpick or cherry tomato.

Fidgiegirl - restaurants:
http://northlandceliacs.fastmail.fm/dining.html
http://angelaskitchen.com/recipes/tw...e-dining-list/
The only place I ate out while on the full elimination diet was Ecopolitan, the raw food restaurant in Mpls. They have a separate menu that lists all ingredients for each item.

I agree that it's very handy to have at least a couple of "emergency" dinners on hand. That's what the rice pasta was for us - did not like the texture as much as wheat pasta, but after months off wheat it's good in a pinch, and a convenient, quick dinner. My daughter and husband were happy enough with that - I prefer to put the pasta sauce over steamed or sauteed vegetables.

Other quick meals - combine with whatever veggies you can eat -
frittata or omelette
poached fish
salmon cakes, from canned salmon. Instead of breadcrumbs, use flax meal, rice flour, or instant oats
stir fry (need GF tamari or soy sauce)
Most homemade soups - may need more cooking time, but prep time is minimal
Poached or roasted chicken pieces

Subs in wheat-based meals:
Pizza: portobello mushrooms for mini-pizza crusts, or make a polenta crust
Lasagna: sliced, roasted summer squash or eggplant in place of lasagna noodles
Pasta or barley in soups: quinoa, rice, wild rice, etc. Or use lentils or other legumes.

Cake, cookies, etc: consider alternative desserts like apple crisp, baked apples, pudding, etc. I made some delicious baked pears this weekend. Halve pears and core. Process together toasted hazelnuts, currants, small amounts of butter and maple syrup until slightly sticky (for 4 pears I used 1T each). Put pears in baking dish, pour over some juice or sweet wine, and bake for about 30 min @350. Add filling and bake another 10-15 min, until lightly toasted. Modified from a recipe in Deborah Madison's "Seasonal Fruit Desserts."

Also - I still have a list of diet-friendly food items posted on the fridge - the 'menu' from my blog - I suggest you make your own list of meals you can make for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and post it somewhere that you can reference when you are hungry.

Thanks, guys! I do have the list going already, but need to add your awesome suggestions to it. The lasagna trick, I never would have thought of that! :)

I was skeptical about the bread, peggy, but figured I had to try it to see. :)

I made 2 quesadillas with beans and cheese. Very yummy and kept me satisfied until dinner. Dinner was a great pork chop crock pot recipe and a baked potato. Of course, with some flourless chocolate cake. I can see why I would need to avoid having THAT all the time. Super rich and delicious - and FULL of calories. :)

For lots of gluten-free meal ideas, check out chowstalker.com. It pulls contributions from many different blogs and websites, and tends to be focused on paleo eating; I find this focus more useful than most GF recipe sites because it's focused more on eating well without wheat (and other grains), and less on replacing/substituting.

Yes, it seems like all the GF blogs are just about baking. That's great, but I'm not going to be eating cakes and cookies for every meal. It was interesting that when I posted a plea for GF advice on my FB page I also got all kinds of baking tips and very little everyday eating ideas. So that's why I really appreciate this thread! It's been a lifesaver and a big confidence booster. Four days down! :)

I am on about day 10 of really healthy eating post-holidays, and today I feel fabulous inside and out. That background congestion is gone, I had more energy, the back pain and stiffness that flared over the holidays has vanished, and I've dropped a few pounds. The only foods I've really eliminated this time are sugar and wheat.

Kelli, hope the days are getting easier for you. I started this post to tell you that I found the "what can I eat?" and cravings to be worst around day 3. Now I am feeling so good that I just don't want to eat any of that stuff. Of course, I've been here before, and had to start over... but I hope that you're feeling better now, too!

Yesterday and today we had tacos with turkey meat that I froze after roasting a turkey breast last week, and black beans. Well, DD and DH had tacos. I sauteed a bunch of vegetables and had my turkey and beans over that instead. I am not opposed to the occasional tortilla, but I really wanted the vegetables instead. More flavor, more color in the plate. Much more appetizing than a dry tortilla.

A couple of riffs on things Rosemary and peggy mentioned:

* At my MIL's we have done an appetizer with the GF Stagg chili - pour a can of it over a block of cream cheese, microwave & serve as a dip with GF tortilla chips. Popular with non-GF eaters as well.
* Pie with nut crust: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...raw-fruit-pie/
This is to-die-for! But you do need a food processor. I have made the strawberry & an alternate version with mango & lime (we froze that and slightly defrosted to serve) or sub whatever fruit you can have.
* My SIL's tip for GF bread is to buy a loaf and keep it in the freezer, then toast by the slice to keep it fresh. GF bread seems to go stale pretty fast. I have also heard Udi's is the best brand.

Rock on!

PS Love chili mac! I have also made that GF. Very tasty with rice pasta.

Tonight we had taco bowls. I might be getting the hang of it. I think I finally got enough options in the house that I don't feel perplexed and frustrated. I am noticing a difference in how I feel, too. Today I wasn't as obsessed and worried about the whole thing, so mentally, I'm feeling better. And my belly bloating is going down.

My coworker suggested I do waist and hip measurements. I did weigh myself. I am not doing this to lose weight, as you have read, but I am curious to see what might happen. Though if we continue to have the flourless chocolate cakes from TJ's, that ain't gonna happen ;)

Fidgie, my coworker who is both GF and lactose intolerant borrowed my Middle Eastern cook book. She found so much good stuff in there that she said she is going to buy it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fidgiegirl

Tonight we had taco bowls. I might be getting the hang of it. I think I finally got enough options in the house that I don't feel perplexed and frustrated. I am noticing a difference in how I feel, too. Today I wasn't as obsessed and worried about the whole thing, so mentally, I'm feeling better. And my belly bloating is going down.

My coworker suggested I do waist and hip measurements. I did weigh myself. I am not doing this to lose weight, as you have read, but I am curious to see what might happen. Though if we continue to have the flourless chocolate cakes from TJ's, that ain't gonna happen ;)

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You go girl! It will get easier, and become second nature when you grab something off the shelf. One tip is to plan your meals ahead of time, like a week, so you aren't standing there hungry trying to think of what to fix for dinner/lunch.
You can have corn tortillas with tacos, but I like Rosemary's suggestion of having the 'stuff' on a bed of vegs. Another yummy way of having the taco is to put a layer of re-fried beans in your pie plate, add the taco meat and cheese on top, microwave till hot and bubbly then add the lettuce and such.
I'm so glad you are feeling better and the bloating is going down. You should just keep feeling better and better.
The reason most gf blogs/websites center around baking is this is where most people have their problems. No gluten in a steak and baked potato, but pizza, burgers with buns, and all manor of breakfast breads are of course off limits. Really, you don't need to change your way of eating unless most of your meals featured pasta or bread stuffs. You do need to know which little things we don't normally think about have gluten, like soy sauce and beef broth, that sort of thing. But once you get into it, you'll do fine. :)