7 Swaps to go Gluten-Free….
Have you been asked to trial a gluten-free diet, or recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant? Sometimes making changes to your daily food choices can become overwhelming.
Unfortunately, a common thing that happens when a new diet comes into “fashion” is that the market responds with a myriad of new food-like products in an attempt to make the consumer’s life and food shopping easier. The problem is, many of these food products are highly processed, high in sugar and void of nutrition, making them almost as damaging as the gluten itself.
Let’s get one thing straight…being gluten allergic (Coeliac’s disease) or gluten intolerant is NOT a fashion or a fad! In fact, gluten is one of the most difficult proteins for our bodies to digest and it is also one of the most inflammatory foods irrespectively of whether you are a Coeliac sufferer or not. If you are allergic to gluten, it is critical to your health that you avoid gluten 100%.
Just because the packet says Gluten Free, doesn’t mean its good for you!
Take a look at this list for some healthy food swaps to help you go gluten-free and continue to make healthy choices.
| Swap | For… |
| Your morning slice of toast | Sweet potato toast.
Homemade bread – try out some paleo bread recipes, try some gluten-free alternative flours such as rice, buckwheat, fava or chickpea flour. |
| Your bowl of weetbix or other wheat-based cereals. | Quinoa Porridge
Chia Pudding Homemade muesli or granola using nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, millet, brown rice flakes etc. An omelette A bowl of miso soup |
| Your BLT or chicken salad sandwich | Salad with grilled chicken or fish.
Brown rice sushi Free-range, organic bacon with tomato on a slice of homemade gluten-free bread with fresh avocado Nori seaweed sheet with smoked salmon, baby spinach, avocado and saurkraut. |
| Crackers | Rice cakes or Quinoa cakes.
Homemade seed crackers Homemade sweet potato or vegetable crisps. |
| Your 3 pm muffin or biscuit | Make your own at home with almond flour, flax meal, coconut, tapioca flour etc. There are heaps of great gluten-free or grain-free recipes online. |
| Salad Dressing | Make your own at home with extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, pepper. Add a dash of tamari and use sesame oil for an Asian twist. |
| Chips, crisps, snacks, desserts | Sweet potato or broccoli chips are easy to make and delicious!
Dark raw chocolate. Stew some fresh fruits and serve with coconut yoghurt in place of ice confection desserts. |
So you see, there are heaps of great options when you are going gluten-free and you certainly won’t go hungry. All it takes is learning to look at foods a bit more closely, along with a little planning and preparation. Start by mastering one meal at a time – you’ll be surprised how this will become your new “normal” and you will wonder what all the fuss was about, to begin with.
