May 29, 2025 • 21 mins
After going gluten-free, one of the most common questions I hear is—what do I even eat now?
If you’ve ever stared at your pantry or felt totally overwhelmed at mealtime, you’re not alone. Today, I’m walking you through exactly what to eat when you're new to gluten-free living—sharing real-life meals, snacks, and simple tips that will help you feel nourished, satisfied, and confident in your kitchen again.
Resources to Support Your Journey
Wanting some gluten-free meal and snack ideas? Download our Simple Gluten-Free Meals & Snacks Guide for some delicious inspiration!
Save money, and no more guessing for dinner! Use code GFE to get 20% off annual membership at thedinnerdaily.com. Plan meals for less than $4/month and save money at the grocery store!
Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer.
It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode.
This podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
After going gluten-free, one ofthe most common questions I
hear is what do I even eat now?
If you've ever stared at yourpantry or felt totally
overwhelmed at mealtime, you'renot alone.
Today, I'm walking you throughexactly what to eat when you're
(00:22):
new to gluten-free living,sharing some real-life meals,
snacks and simple tips that willhelp you feel nourished,
satisfied and confident in yourkitchen again.
And if you're a seasonedgluten-free person, then maybe
this episode will also give yousome additional ideas of what
you can add into your rotationso that you don't feel deprived
and you feel very satisfied.
So let's dive in.
(00:42):
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
(01:03):
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about whatdo we really eat whenever we go
(01:26):
gluten-free.
What are some meals, somesnacks and items that we can eat
that helps us make us feelsatisfied mentally, physically
and from a taste and enjoymentperspective, because we want to
make sure we're still enjoyingour food when we're eating.
So, when we have thegluten-free food shift, whether
you're celiac gluten eating, sowhen we have the gluten-free
food shift, whether you'receliac gluten intolerant or
(01:48):
choose to be gluten-free foranother reason, we're not just
swapping out bread, pasta andthe common things.
As I'm sure you've guessed,your whole mindset around meals
must feel, they might feelshaken and they must change.
So how do we help our brainsdeal with that and we've talked,
touched on this some on theepisode is that it can, you know
, really cause a toll on ourmental energy, our mental
(02:12):
stability and things like that.
When we're really shaken andyou know, we basically toss the
cookies in the air, virtualcookies in the air, you know.
And so we're going to really bechanging our meals, if you
haven't already.
So many people fall into one oftwo traps that I have typically
found.
They only eat ultra processed,gluten free replacement foods
(02:33):
which, like we've alluded to onthe podcast, is great and nice
for a treat and it can beconvenient, but it's not
something you should like fully,wholeheartedly go into because
it's not that healthy for you.
Any kind of processed foodsreally's not that healthy for
you.
Any kind of processed foodsreally isn't that healthy for
you, or you might be in thecategory where you're overly
restricting and feeling deprived.
That's one of the reasons why Icreated the Gluten-Free
(02:54):
Engineer website and our podcastand the recipes that I keep
uploading every week is I wantto help you not feel deprived.
So let's break that cycle withsatisfying, real food options,
because we deserve to eat foodthat makes us feel good
physically and emotionally.
So let's first go into a day, asimple day, of eating
(03:16):
gluten-free meals.
What could that be?
So for me personally, I love toeat a local.
In our local store there'schicken sausage and I absolutely
love it.
It's low in fat, not that I'msaying like low in fat is like
the thing to do, but I wouldrather not eat pork sausage all
the time and I eat a bowl ofstrawberries and sometimes I
(03:39):
might have gluten-free toastwith butter or peanut butter on
it, so that can be a greatoption for you.
That's got not only someprotein for you, it has some
carbs too, as well as some fruitand some healthy fats in a
peanut butter.
I personally like Jif brand nosugar added.
Once you get used to the nosugar added, you're going to
(04:01):
feel better not eating all thesugars in the peanut butter.
It takes a little bit to getused to that it did take me and
there are other great.
You know that's obviously amainstream brand, but there are
other, even better brands ofpeanut butter.
It's just one I stock too.
So another example for abreakfast idea could be
scrambled eggs, sauteed spinachand fresh fruit.
I know a lot of people likesomething like that.
(04:21):
You can also do gluten-freecertified gluten-free oats with
chia, almond milk and berries,and then you can do that like as
an overnight oats and preparethat the previous night If you
tolerate oats.
Some gluten-free people do nottolerate oats, so I do want to
note that.
So you may not.
That may not be very good onyour tummy.
And then other people reallylike gluten-free toast with
(04:42):
peanut butter, which is likewhat I said, but with a banana.
So that's another example.
I personally can't eat bananaseither, so I don't do with a
banana.
I do love the taste of bananas,but I can't do that.
So those are some gluten-freeoptions that can be pretty
standard and stable.
Now, if you do want to go on alittle bit more processed
obviously the bread's a bitprocessed.
But if you want to do a littlebit more process for a treat,
(05:03):
there are some really greatgluten-free baking mixes, like
Bisquick.
Bisquick makes a certifiedgluten-free baking mix where you
can make pancakes and waffles.
There's other really good ones,like Birch Tree, I believe it's
called, or Birch Bender.
You can find some really goodcertified gluten-free pancake
mix.
I have not found one yet thatwas terrible or disgusting and
(05:28):
that's a really great option.
Sometimes we do that.
We do that as breakfast, fordinner, and we'll make pancakes
or waffles and then we'll maketypical pork sausage that's
gluten-free.
We might make some eggs.
We might make some hash browns.
All those things are usuallynaturally gluten-free.
Double-check the sausage, ofcourse.
Double-check all your labels,of course, but that's another
(05:50):
great option if you really wantto go into the comfort food
realm of breakfast, and there'snothing wrong with doing that
occasionally.
It's just something you know.
We obviously shouldn't beeating processed foods, which
are basically man-made foods,all the time.
And then for lunch.
So what could we do for lunch?
A lot of people like to do arice bowl with grilled chicken.
You could do avocado if youlike that.
(06:10):
You could add salsa if youtolerate tomatoes.
You can make up any really ricebowl you like.
I love doing leftovers fordinner.
So let's say we make agluten-free chicken stir fry.
I'll just warm that up.
For lunch, we might make maybesmoked ribs, we might make
smoked pork, we might makesmoked brisket occasionally.
(06:32):
We do love to do smoked brisketoccasionally.
So any leftovers like that andleftover sides are really great
for lunch.
Another thing I do like to workin there and especially I'm
trying to do this a lot morelately is get back on the salad
kick, because salads can be verygood for us, and so I like to
do a big salad with some proteinon it.
(06:53):
You can look towards eggs, tuna, leftover meat I typically put
like ham or chicken on mine I'mnot a tuna person and I can't
tolerate eggs very well and thenyou could do like gluten-free
crackers on the side if you needsome starch to go with it.
I will note the Tessame brandas well as Primal Kitchen brand.
I know Primal Kitchen's allgluten-free.
(07:14):
I'm pretty sure all ofTessame's products are
gluten-free as well, and both ofthem are dairy-free, which is a
bonus because many people withceliac or gluten intolerance
cannot tolerate dairy.
And the Tessame Ranch if youlove ranch, I will vouch for
that one.
That is the best tasting ranch.
It tastes like you made it fromscratch.
It's delicious, and they bothdon't use some of the scary seed
(07:35):
oils out there too, if you'relooking to avoid that.
So pick a favorite dressingthat's certified gluten-free
that you love and use that onyour salads, and you can really
mix up your salads.
You can toss in carrots orgreen peppers or cucumbers or
you know whatever type ofvegetable sprouts, bean sprouts,
whatever type of toppings youlike, and so you can really make
(07:56):
a boring salad pretty darninteresting and you can rotate
those toppings around, and thenit makes it different each time.
And then for dinner what can wedo for dinner so they're always
a go-to is grilled protein,roasted vegetables and potatoes
or rice Like.
That is a very simple one.
You can mix up what yourprotein is, what your vegetables
(08:17):
are, and then whether you havepotato or rice with it.
So that sounds kind of boringand bland, but you can really
kick this up a notch by yourseasonings.
So how do you want to grillyour protein?
Do you want to just use saltand pepper?
Do you want to add a spiceseasoning to it that you might
have that's gluten-free?
How do you want to make yourprotein nice?
(08:39):
You can also fry your proteinstoo.
There's nothing wrong withoccasionally doing some fried
foods.
I don't think, because it makesus mentally happy, brain-wise.
And you can easily do that withsome gluten-free flour, some
gluten-free panko crumbs,something like that, and so you
can fry things, just like youdid whenever you didn't know you
(09:00):
couldn't eat gluten.
You can pan fry, you can fry ina deep fryer, you can air fry
to make a little bit less oil.
You can also oven fry.
I've done that so many times,and let me tell you, when you
make homemade french fries too,let's just go on that fry route,
homemade french fries, even ifyou do them in the oven, so
they're a bit healthier for you.
They are so delicious and somuch better than what you get
(09:23):
out in the store.
We also like to rotate throughgluten-free tacos or fajitas.
Those are always fun.
I love the Siete brand.
I mentioned that several timeson this podcast.
They have a deliciousgrain-free corn style there's no
corn in it, though, becauseit's grain-free Hard shell tacos
as well as they make severaldifferent varieties of soft
(09:44):
tacos.
One has almond flour, anotherone has cassava flour in case
you have a nut problem, andtheir brand is great.
They also have really greattaco seasoning mix.
I used to make my taco seasoningfrom scratch until I found
their brand and it's just sodelicious I don't even bother
making it from scratch andusually I'm a from-scratch
person.
It from scratch, and usuallyI'm a from scratch person.
(10:10):
You can also do like baked fishif you love salmon or tilapia
or catfish, and you can do likewith green beans If you tolerate
quinoa.
You can do like quinoa If youwant to have a grain in there.
I've been actually latelyavoiding grains again because I
just feel better on no grains.
So those are some options youcan do there, and I did mention
like on the lunch part you coulddo a stir fry and I love doing
(10:31):
stir fry.
For dinners.
We sometimes do shrimp stir fry, chicken stir fry, and we use
coconut aminos instead oftraditional soy sauce.
If you do tolerate soy, youcould use the tamari sauce,
which is gluten-freedouble-checked that it's
gluten-free.
So those are some dinner andbreakfast and lunch options that
you can do and mix them up,play with them.
(11:00):
It's a really good startingpoint if you're not sure what to
do and it could be a goodrefresher if you're already
gluten-free.
On some other ideas you mightwant to work back into your menu
.
Now, as far as snacks and treats, if you tolerate grains, you
can do popcorn with some oliveoil and sea salt.
I have always found that whenwe pop popcorn not in a
microwave, back is so muchbetter.
I just simply got one of thosepopcorn makers from Pampered
(11:22):
Chef.
I'm pretty sure you canprobably find it on line two in
other places and they really doa good job and it's so much
cheaper than buying themicrowave popcorn.
You don't have all that craphonestly in it in the microwave
popcorn that they use to likebutter it and all the different
weird oils that they put inthere.
So just make your own popcorn.
It's much healthier for you,safer for you and you can just
(11:45):
put a little olive oil or butterand some sea salt on it or
whatever type of toppings you'dlike that are gluten-free.
I also love to get gluten-freegranola bars or protein bars
whenever I need a snack and I'min a pinch.
Annie's Chewy Chocolate ChipGranola Bars are so good, but
you do need to be able totolerate oats with that one,
because that one does have oatsin it.
(12:05):
So look for some really goodgluten-free granola bars or
protein bars that you might like, and those are great for snacks
.
Yogurt with fruit and nuts isalso great, and I will tell you
if you're lactose intolerant orhave a dairy problem.
Silk brand has a coconut milkGreek style yogurt and it is so
good.
I've even had people who'vetried it say it was better than
(12:27):
the dairy version, and they havelike a strawberry flavor, lemon
flavor and, I think, a vanillaflavor, at least in our stores.
So the Silk Brand Coconut MilkGreek Style Yogurt is divine and
great for a snack if you liketo get your probiotics that way
but you don't want to have thedairy.
If you tolerate chickpeas,hummus is great with baby
(12:47):
carrots or rice crackers, ormaybe your favorite siete chips,
like I would do.
I love using their dipper chipsin hummus.
I absolutely love that.
It's so good.
You could also do hard boiledeggs, gluten-free trail mix and
cheese cubes.
Now note, on the trail mix Iwant you to make sure that it
doesn't say processed in afacility that also processes
(13:08):
wheat or doesn't trail mix.
I want you to make sure that itdoesn't say processed in a
facility that also processeswheat or it doesn't.
You know we also want to makesure it doesn't contain wheat
and that it's certified glutenfree.
A lot of trail mixes the nutsare processed in the same
facility with wheat or withother add-ins that would have
gluten in it whenever they makea trail mix.
So just be very careful if youdo look for a trail mix that is
certified gluten-free.
There are some out there.
(13:28):
And then obviously, the cheesecubes that I mentioned.
I absolutely personally lovecheese and thankfully it doesn't
bother my stomach, especiallyif I go for the grass-fed style
of cheese and dairy.
Then my stomach doesn't getbothered, which might be a hint
for you.
If you do have some dairyissues and you'd like to try a
grass fed to see if it makes adifference, it might make a
(13:48):
difference for you.
It creates different fats inthe products of the cows
whenever it is grass fed, or youmight also want to look for a
two cows and cheese, milk anddairy.
It's only from A2 cows.
That can be a lot easier on ourtummies.
And then you could go for yourfavorite gluten-free desserts,
like the strawberry cake we have.
(14:09):
On our website.
We have a link for a strawberrycake recipe or a chocolate cake
or a vanilla cake.
You could also, if you don'twant to make something from
scratch, jolly Llama has somedelicious hopefully it's in your
stores near you some deliciousice cream sandwiches and they're
actually dairy-free too.
My favorite is the mintchocolate chip.
(14:29):
I absolutely love it.
It's actually one of my freezerright now.
I might go down after recordingthis podcast and have one.
And I want you to keep a go-tosnack shelf in your pantry so
the gluten-free options arealways on hand.
You know we've had actuallyrecently, as of this recording,
some family emergencies latelyand we've had to leave the house
pretty quickly.
We were able to just go in ourpantry, grab some gluten-free
(14:51):
stuff, some protein stuff, somegranola type things, some fruit
strips that are gluten-free, andjust take off and go and take
care of family and not reallyhave to worry about going to the
store and finding somethingsafe and we can bring something
safe with us, so it's a reallygood idea.
It's great for when you'regoing to your kid's soccer game
or something.
(15:11):
You're like oh, we forgot toeat dinner, we didn't leave
enough time for dinner.
You can grab one of thosesnacks and take it with you.
So having a go-to snack shelf isreally important, especially
when you're celiac or glutentolerant and can't have gluten.
And then we want to make surewe stay nourished and full
without overcomplicating it.
When we focus on real wholefoods, single ingredient foods,
(15:34):
they are naturally gluten freeand they're going to make you
fuller for longer.
That's one of the reasons why Iencourage you not to eat too
much processed foods that aregluten free.
Now, yes, they can be good onour mind and in our soul, but we
don't want to be eating themtoo much because we will be
getting a lot of empty calories.
So we want to focus on thewhole foods apples, bananas,
(15:55):
berries you know cucumbers,carrots.
Pure protein you know proteinthat's not really been modified
at all and that's going toreally help you feel fuller
longer and you're going to bemore satisfied and you'll
actually start to really love it.
Say that's not your normal.
Say that's not your normal toeat single ingredient foods.
Once you get in the habit of it, you're actually going to find
(16:16):
that, you're going to love itand you're going to find that
you just feel much better.
And I can say that fromexperience because we used to
eat a lot, a lot more processedfoods till we had to be forced
not to, till we found out I wasceliac and then later on, our
kids.
And, believe me, you will feelbetter once you start doing that
long-term and make sure that wealways are including a protein,
(16:40):
a healthy fat and potentially acarb for longer lasting energy.
And we want to make sure we'renot skipping meals.
This is something that I findpeople do a lot.
Many times going gluten-free,they just skip a meal and we
don't want to eat less.
We need to make sure we'renourishing our bodies with
enough calories.
And then another thing you cando is batch cook or prepare one
(17:02):
thing at the start of the week,say roast, vegetables, cooked
rice, a grilled protein, andthen you can mix it up with
different other things.
So you can batch cook on aSaturday or Sunday or whatever
day of the week.
That really helps you be ableto do that and you have the time
for it, and then it makes thewhole rest of your week a lot
easier.
And even meal prepping is areally good idea, or meal
(17:24):
planning is a good idea, mayberight before you go to the
grocery store, so you havethings planned out, so you don't
feel flustered at the store.
You have a plan, you have anaction and you can just execute
it and you don't have to thinkas much.
It's really good to find ways tonot over exhaust our brain,
especially when you're newer togluten free or whenever there's
(17:45):
some stressors in your life.
So just note that you don'thave to eat perfectly, just eat
what works for you.
Like I said, if you want to mixin some of those processed
gluten-free foods, go rightahead.
You know it's healthy for us tobe happy mentally too.
But, like I said, also makesure that you're working on a
lot of those whole foods too, soyou feel full, satisfied and
(18:06):
they're getting the nutrientsthat you need.
And make meal planning easier,as it's going to just be easier
as you discover your go-tos.
You know we have, you know,typical meals and we all we all
fall in that route of.
You know we go through the samemeals about every other week or
so.
So note that that's okay andjust mix in a little bit of
(18:26):
variety, as you have the timeand capacity to it, and give
yourself permission to enjoyfood again.
The goal isn't just avoidinggluten.
It's creating meals that helpyou feel good while you are
enjoying gluten or enjoying nogluten.
So we want to make sure thatwe're not just avoiding gluten.
Let me say that again, since Iflubbed that one up the goal is
not to just avoid gluten.
It's to create meals that helpyou feel good while being
(18:49):
gluten-free, while staying offthe gluten because it's not
healthy for you.
So I want you to keep mealssimple protein, vegetables, a
gluten-free grain If you chooseto do grains, it's an easy
formula to do.
You can add fruit in there tooas well and build a short list
of your meals and your snacksthat you love.
That way, whenever you'reexhausted it's been a long week
(19:09):
at work, lots of activities withthe kids If you have kids you
can just look at that list ofyour favorite meals and snacks
that you love and you can usethat for your meal planning and
go right off to the grocerystore and get what you need to
make sure that your life iseasier, simpler and more
(19:37):
enjoyable while you aregluten-free.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
(20:00):
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode, and we will see younext week.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
(20:21):
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode.
This podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
After going gluten-free, one ofthe most common questions I
hear is what do I even eat now?
If you've ever stared at yourpantry or felt totally
overwhelmed at mealtime, you'renot alone.
Today, I'm walking you throughexactly what to eat when you're
(00:22):
new to gluten-free living,sharing some real-life meals,
snacks and simple tips that willhelp you feel nourished,
satisfied and confident in yourkitchen again.
And if you're a seasonedgluten-free person, then maybe
this episode will also give yousome additional ideas of what
you can add into your rotationso that you don't feel deprived
and you feel very satisfied.
So let's dive in.
(00:42):
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
(01:03):
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about whatdo we really eat whenever we go
(01:26):
gluten-free.
What are some meals, somesnacks and items that we can eat
that helps us make us feelsatisfied mentally, physically
and from a taste and enjoymentperspective, because we want to
make sure we're still enjoyingour food when we're eating.
So, when we have thegluten-free food shift, whether
you're celiac gluten eating, sowhen we have the gluten-free
food shift, whether you'receliac gluten intolerant or
(01:48):
choose to be gluten-free foranother reason, we're not just
swapping out bread, pasta andthe common things.
As I'm sure you've guessed,your whole mindset around meals
must feel, they might feelshaken and they must change.
So how do we help our brainsdeal with that and we've talked,
touched on this some on theepisode is that it can, you know
, really cause a toll on ourmental energy, our mental
(02:12):
stability and things like that.
When we're really shaken andyou know, we basically toss the
cookies in the air, virtualcookies in the air, you know.
And so we're going to really bechanging our meals, if you
haven't already.
So many people fall into one oftwo traps that I have typically
found.
They only eat ultra processed,gluten free replacement foods
(02:33):
which, like we've alluded to onthe podcast, is great and nice
for a treat and it can beconvenient, but it's not
something you should like fully,wholeheartedly go into because
it's not that healthy for you.
Any kind of processed foodsreally's not that healthy for
you.
Any kind of processed foodsreally isn't that healthy for
you, or you might be in thecategory where you're overly
restricting and feeling deprived.
That's one of the reasons why Icreated the Gluten-Free
(02:54):
Engineer website and our podcastand the recipes that I keep
uploading every week is I wantto help you not feel deprived.
So let's break that cycle withsatisfying, real food options,
because we deserve to eat foodthat makes us feel good
physically and emotionally.
So let's first go into a day, asimple day, of eating
(03:16):
gluten-free meals.
What could that be?
So for me personally, I love toeat a local.
In our local store there'schicken sausage and I absolutely
love it.
It's low in fat, not that I'msaying like low in fat is like
the thing to do, but I wouldrather not eat pork sausage all
the time and I eat a bowl ofstrawberries and sometimes I
(03:39):
might have gluten-free toastwith butter or peanut butter on
it, so that can be a greatoption for you.
That's got not only someprotein for you, it has some
carbs too, as well as some fruitand some healthy fats in a
peanut butter.
I personally like Jif brand nosugar added.
Once you get used to the nosugar added, you're going to
(04:01):
feel better not eating all thesugars in the peanut butter.
It takes a little bit to getused to that it did take me and
there are other great.
You know that's obviously amainstream brand, but there are
other, even better brands ofpeanut butter.
It's just one I stock too.
So another example for abreakfast idea could be
scrambled eggs, sauteed spinachand fresh fruit.
I know a lot of people likesomething like that.
(04:21):
You can also do gluten-freecertified gluten-free oats with
chia, almond milk and berries,and then you can do that like as
an overnight oats and preparethat the previous night If you
tolerate oats.
Some gluten-free people do nottolerate oats, so I do want to
note that.
So you may not.
That may not be very good onyour tummy.
And then other people reallylike gluten-free toast with
(04:42):
peanut butter, which is likewhat I said, but with a banana.
So that's another example.
I personally can't eat bananaseither, so I don't do with a
banana.
I do love the taste of bananas,but I can't do that.
So those are some gluten-freeoptions that can be pretty
standard and stable.
Now, if you do want to go on alittle bit more processed
obviously the bread's a bitprocessed.
But if you want to do a littlebit more process for a treat,
(05:03):
there are some really greatgluten-free baking mixes, like
Bisquick.
Bisquick makes a certifiedgluten-free baking mix where you
can make pancakes and waffles.
There's other really good ones,like Birch Tree, I believe it's
called, or Birch Bender.
You can find some really goodcertified gluten-free pancake
mix.
I have not found one yet thatwas terrible or disgusting and
(05:28):
that's a really great option.
Sometimes we do that.
We do that as breakfast, fordinner, and we'll make pancakes
or waffles and then we'll maketypical pork sausage that's
gluten-free.
We might make some eggs.
We might make some hash browns.
All those things are usuallynaturally gluten-free.
Double-check the sausage, ofcourse.
Double-check all your labels,of course, but that's another
(05:50):
great option if you really wantto go into the comfort food
realm of breakfast, and there'snothing wrong with doing that
occasionally.
It's just something you know.
We obviously shouldn't beeating processed foods, which
are basically man-made foods,all the time.
And then for lunch.
So what could we do for lunch?
A lot of people like to do arice bowl with grilled chicken.
You could do avocado if youlike that.
(06:10):
You could add salsa if youtolerate tomatoes.
You can make up any really ricebowl you like.
I love doing leftovers fordinner.
So let's say we make agluten-free chicken stir fry.
I'll just warm that up.
For lunch, we might make maybesmoked ribs, we might make
smoked pork, we might makesmoked brisket occasionally.
(06:32):
We do love to do smoked brisketoccasionally.
So any leftovers like that andleftover sides are really great
for lunch.
Another thing I do like to workin there and especially I'm
trying to do this a lot morelately is get back on the salad
kick, because salads can be verygood for us, and so I like to
do a big salad with some proteinon it.
(06:53):
You can look towards eggs, tuna, leftover meat I typically put
like ham or chicken on mine I'mnot a tuna person and I can't
tolerate eggs very well and thenyou could do like gluten-free
crackers on the side if you needsome starch to go with it.
I will note the Tessame brandas well as Primal Kitchen brand.
I know Primal Kitchen's allgluten-free.
(07:14):
I'm pretty sure all ofTessame's products are
gluten-free as well, and both ofthem are dairy-free, which is a
bonus because many people withceliac or gluten intolerance
cannot tolerate dairy.
And the Tessame Ranch if youlove ranch, I will vouch for
that one.
That is the best tasting ranch.
It tastes like you made it fromscratch.
It's delicious, and they bothdon't use some of the scary seed
(07:35):
oils out there too, if you'relooking to avoid that.
So pick a favorite dressingthat's certified gluten-free
that you love and use that onyour salads, and you can really
mix up your salads.
You can toss in carrots orgreen peppers or cucumbers or
you know whatever type ofvegetable sprouts, bean sprouts,
whatever type of toppings youlike, and so you can really make
(07:56):
a boring salad pretty darninteresting and you can rotate
those toppings around, and thenit makes it different each time.
And then for dinner what can wedo for dinner so they're always
a go-to is grilled protein,roasted vegetables and potatoes
or rice Like.
That is a very simple one.
You can mix up what yourprotein is, what your vegetables
(08:17):
are, and then whether you havepotato or rice with it.
So that sounds kind of boringand bland, but you can really
kick this up a notch by yourseasonings.
So how do you want to grillyour protein?
Do you want to just use saltand pepper?
Do you want to add a spiceseasoning to it that you might
have that's gluten-free?
How do you want to make yourprotein nice?
(08:39):
You can also fry your proteinstoo.
There's nothing wrong withoccasionally doing some fried
foods.
I don't think, because it makesus mentally happy, brain-wise.
And you can easily do that withsome gluten-free flour, some
gluten-free panko crumbs,something like that, and so you
can fry things, just like youdid whenever you didn't know you
(09:00):
couldn't eat gluten.
You can pan fry, you can fry ina deep fryer, you can air fry
to make a little bit less oil.
You can also oven fry.
I've done that so many times,and let me tell you, when you
make homemade french fries too,let's just go on that fry route,
homemade french fries, even ifyou do them in the oven, so
they're a bit healthier for you.
They are so delicious and somuch better than what you get
(09:23):
out in the store.
We also like to rotate throughgluten-free tacos or fajitas.
Those are always fun.
I love the Siete brand.
I mentioned that several timeson this podcast.
They have a deliciousgrain-free corn style there's no
corn in it, though, becauseit's grain-free Hard shell tacos
as well as they make severaldifferent varieties of soft
(09:44):
tacos.
One has almond flour, anotherone has cassava flour in case
you have a nut problem, andtheir brand is great.
They also have really greattaco seasoning mix.
I used to make my taco seasoningfrom scratch until I found
their brand and it's just sodelicious I don't even bother
making it from scratch andusually I'm a from-scratch
person.
It from scratch, and usuallyI'm a from scratch person.
(10:10):
You can also do like baked fishif you love salmon or tilapia
or catfish, and you can do likewith green beans If you tolerate
quinoa.
You can do like quinoa If youwant to have a grain in there.
I've been actually latelyavoiding grains again because I
just feel better on no grains.
So those are some options youcan do there, and I did mention
like on the lunch part you coulddo a stir fry and I love doing
(10:31):
stir fry.
For dinners.
We sometimes do shrimp stir fry, chicken stir fry, and we use
coconut aminos instead oftraditional soy sauce.
If you do tolerate soy, youcould use the tamari sauce,
which is gluten-freedouble-checked that it's
gluten-free.
So those are some dinner andbreakfast and lunch options that
you can do and mix them up,play with them.
(11:00):
It's a really good startingpoint if you're not sure what to
do and it could be a goodrefresher if you're already
gluten-free.
On some other ideas you mightwant to work back into your menu
.
Now, as far as snacks and treats, if you tolerate grains, you
can do popcorn with some oliveoil and sea salt.
I have always found that whenwe pop popcorn not in a
microwave, back is so muchbetter.
I just simply got one of thosepopcorn makers from Pampered
(11:22):
Chef.
I'm pretty sure you canprobably find it on line two in
other places and they really doa good job and it's so much
cheaper than buying themicrowave popcorn.
You don't have all that craphonestly in it in the microwave
popcorn that they use to likebutter it and all the different
weird oils that they put inthere.
So just make your own popcorn.
It's much healthier for you,safer for you and you can just
(11:45):
put a little olive oil or butterand some sea salt on it or
whatever type of toppings you'dlike that are gluten-free.
I also love to get gluten-freegranola bars or protein bars
whenever I need a snack and I'min a pinch.
Annie's Chewy Chocolate ChipGranola Bars are so good, but
you do need to be able totolerate oats with that one,
because that one does have oatsin it.
(12:05):
So look for some really goodgluten-free granola bars or
protein bars that you might like, and those are great for snacks
.
Yogurt with fruit and nuts isalso great, and I will tell you
if you're lactose intolerant orhave a dairy problem.
Silk brand has a coconut milkGreek style yogurt and it is so
good.
I've even had people who'vetried it say it was better than
(12:27):
the dairy version, and they havelike a strawberry flavor, lemon
flavor and, I think, a vanillaflavor, at least in our stores.
So the Silk Brand Coconut MilkGreek Style Yogurt is divine and
great for a snack if you liketo get your probiotics that way
but you don't want to have thedairy.
If you tolerate chickpeas,hummus is great with baby
(12:47):
carrots or rice crackers, ormaybe your favorite siete chips,
like I would do.
I love using their dipper chipsin hummus.
I absolutely love that.
It's so good.
You could also do hard boiledeggs, gluten-free trail mix and
cheese cubes.
Now note, on the trail mix Iwant you to make sure that it
doesn't say processed in afacility that also processes
(13:08):
wheat or doesn't trail mix.
I want you to make sure that itdoesn't say processed in a
facility that also processeswheat or it doesn't.
You know we also want to makesure it doesn't contain wheat
and that it's certified glutenfree.
A lot of trail mixes the nutsare processed in the same
facility with wheat or withother add-ins that would have
gluten in it whenever they makea trail mix.
So just be very careful if youdo look for a trail mix that is
certified gluten-free.
There are some out there.
(13:28):
And then obviously, the cheesecubes that I mentioned.
I absolutely personally lovecheese and thankfully it doesn't
bother my stomach, especiallyif I go for the grass-fed style
of cheese and dairy.
Then my stomach doesn't getbothered, which might be a hint
for you.
If you do have some dairyissues and you'd like to try a
grass fed to see if it makes adifference, it might make a
(13:48):
difference for you.
It creates different fats inthe products of the cows
whenever it is grass fed, or youmight also want to look for a
two cows and cheese, milk anddairy.
It's only from A2 cows.
That can be a lot easier on ourtummies.
And then you could go for yourfavorite gluten-free desserts,
like the strawberry cake we have.
(14:09):
On our website.
We have a link for a strawberrycake recipe or a chocolate cake
or a vanilla cake.
You could also, if you don'twant to make something from
scratch, jolly Llama has somedelicious hopefully it's in your
stores near you some deliciousice cream sandwiches and they're
actually dairy-free too.
My favorite is the mintchocolate chip.
(14:29):
I absolutely love it.
It's actually one of my freezerright now.
I might go down after recordingthis podcast and have one.
And I want you to keep a go-tosnack shelf in your pantry so
the gluten-free options arealways on hand.
You know we've had actuallyrecently, as of this recording,
some family emergencies latelyand we've had to leave the house
pretty quickly.
We were able to just go in ourpantry, grab some gluten-free
(14:51):
stuff, some protein stuff, somegranola type things, some fruit
strips that are gluten-free, andjust take off and go and take
care of family and not reallyhave to worry about going to the
store and finding somethingsafe and we can bring something
safe with us, so it's a reallygood idea.
It's great for when you'regoing to your kid's soccer game
or something.
(15:11):
You're like oh, we forgot toeat dinner, we didn't leave
enough time for dinner.
You can grab one of thosesnacks and take it with you.
So having a go-to snack shelf isreally important, especially
when you're celiac or glutentolerant and can't have gluten.
And then we want to make surewe stay nourished and full
without overcomplicating it.
When we focus on real wholefoods, single ingredient foods,
(15:34):
they are naturally gluten freeand they're going to make you
fuller for longer.
That's one of the reasons why Iencourage you not to eat too
much processed foods that aregluten free.
Now, yes, they can be good onour mind and in our soul, but we
don't want to be eating themtoo much because we will be
getting a lot of empty calories.
So we want to focus on thewhole foods apples, bananas,
(15:55):
berries you know cucumbers,carrots.
Pure protein you know proteinthat's not really been modified
at all and that's going toreally help you feel fuller
longer and you're going to bemore satisfied and you'll
actually start to really love it.
Say that's not your normal.
Say that's not your normal toeat single ingredient foods.
Once you get in the habit of it, you're actually going to find
(16:16):
that, you're going to love itand you're going to find that
you just feel much better.
And I can say that fromexperience because we used to
eat a lot, a lot more processedfoods till we had to be forced
not to, till we found out I wasceliac and then later on, our
kids.
And, believe me, you will feelbetter once you start doing that
long-term and make sure that wealways are including a protein,
(16:40):
a healthy fat and potentially acarb for longer lasting energy.
And we want to make sure we'renot skipping meals.
This is something that I findpeople do a lot.
Many times going gluten-free,they just skip a meal and we
don't want to eat less.
We need to make sure we'renourishing our bodies with
enough calories.
And then another thing you cando is batch cook or prepare one
(17:02):
thing at the start of the week,say roast, vegetables, cooked
rice, a grilled protein, andthen you can mix it up with
different other things.
So you can batch cook on aSaturday or Sunday or whatever
day of the week.
That really helps you be ableto do that and you have the time
for it, and then it makes thewhole rest of your week a lot
easier.
And even meal prepping is areally good idea, or meal
(17:24):
planning is a good idea, mayberight before you go to the
grocery store, so you havethings planned out, so you don't
feel flustered at the store.
You have a plan, you have anaction and you can just execute
it and you don't have to thinkas much.
It's really good to find ways tonot over exhaust our brain,
especially when you're newer togluten free or whenever there's
(17:45):
some stressors in your life.
So just note that you don'thave to eat perfectly, just eat
what works for you.
Like I said, if you want to mixin some of those processed
gluten-free foods, go rightahead.
You know it's healthy for us tobe happy mentally too.
But, like I said, also makesure that you're working on a
lot of those whole foods too, soyou feel full, satisfied and
(18:06):
they're getting the nutrientsthat you need.
And make meal planning easier,as it's going to just be easier
as you discover your go-tos.
You know we have, you know,typical meals and we all we all
fall in that route of.
You know we go through the samemeals about every other week or
so.
So note that that's okay andjust mix in a little bit of
(18:26):
variety, as you have the timeand capacity to it, and give
yourself permission to enjoyfood again.
The goal isn't just avoidinggluten.
It's creating meals that helpyou feel good while you are
enjoying gluten or enjoying nogluten.
So we want to make sure thatwe're not just avoiding gluten.
Let me say that again, since Iflubbed that one up the goal is
not to just avoid gluten.
It's to create meals that helpyou feel good while being
(18:49):
gluten-free, while staying offthe gluten because it's not
healthy for you.
So I want you to keep mealssimple protein, vegetables, a
gluten-free grain If you chooseto do grains, it's an easy
formula to do.
You can add fruit in there tooas well and build a short list
of your meals and your snacksthat you love.
That way, whenever you'reexhausted it's been a long week
(19:09):
at work, lots of activities withthe kids If you have kids you
can just look at that list ofyour favorite meals and snacks
that you love and you can usethat for your meal planning and
go right off to the grocerystore and get what you need to
make sure that your life iseasier, simpler and more
(19:37):
enjoyable while you aregluten-free.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
(20:00):
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode, and we will see younext week.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not provide amedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
(20:21):
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
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