Losing Weight!

[Guest memoryofaspyn]

I am trying so hard to go gluten-free, this is so hard, I dont know how you guys do it. I have a 10 month old, and my husband has been out of town, so it is so hard to make a meal. So instead of taking the chances of eating something with gluten , I just skip meals. I weighed 105 3 weeks ago and now I am down to 99. What can I make fast and what can I have just laying around to snack on. I finally bought some fruit tonight, so at least if all else fails i can have fruit. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much.

[tarnalberry]

Really really fast?

Beans

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1. Open up a can of garbanzo beans, drain, rinse, pour into a bowl, season with a touch of garlic salt and cumin. Eat. Consider adding olive oil for a bit extra fat.

2. If you've got 10 minutes, open a can of garbanzo beans, black beans, and kidney beans, drain and rinse. Grate a large zucchini, and a large carrot and throw that in as well. Chop up a small red onion and a small red bell pepper into small pieces, or use a cuisinart to do this for you, and toss it in. Chop one avocado and toss it in. (Leave out one or two of those vegetables if you don't have them or don't like them.) Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp cayanne. Add honey mustard dressing if you've got any (I like Annie's), or 2-3 tablespoons good oil and 1-2 tablespoons white wine or cider vinegar.

3. If you've got 15 minutes, and some leftover chiken, make the item above, then chop up the chicken and throw it in.

4. If you've got 20 minutes, brown 1 lb ground turkey in 2-3 tablespoons oil, add one can drained kidney beans, one can drained black beans, two cans diced tomatoes, and one chopped onion. Add 1-2 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp sage. Simmer 10 minutes, then stir in one can of tomato paste.

5. If you'll be home for a few hours, and can spare 1 minute out of every half hour for the cooking, combine a cup of Bob's 13-bean mix, a box of Imagine Chicken broth, one onion, 1/2 tsp sage, and 1 tsp salt in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, and for the next four hours, check it every half hour or so, stirring and adding water to cover the beans as necessary.

Veggies

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1. If you've got some time at home, but only 10 minutes for the prep work, slice a sweet potato into thin slices, toss with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, spread out onto a cookie sheet, and cook in a 350F oven for 45 minutes or so.

2. If you've got a cuisinart and five minutes, blend one can drained garbanzo beans, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 cloves garlic, 2-4 tbsp lemon juice, and 1/4 cup tahini. Serve hummus with baby carrots.

For really quick snacks:

A can of tuna.

Half an avocado.

A handful of almonds.

Peanut butter on rice cakes.

Peanut butter on an apple.

[plantime]

What I do is cook and freeze. When I make a gluten-free meal for me, I make enough to put some in the freezer. That way, I have a "nuke it" meal for later. It makes cooking easier because I'm not "wasting time and energy" on just one little meal, and I have something for the times when I don't feel like cooking.

[lilliexx]

quick meal

take a corn tortillia ( i use mission) heat it on the oven rack for 5 mins at about 350 degrees, then add refired beans and shredded cheese ( bearitos beans and kraft cheese). when the cheese is melted add diced tomatoes and sliced avacados to the top ( and sour cream if you like) it's so good and easy to prepare!!

try tinkyadya pasta (gluten free and tastes like the real thing)

you can make macaroni and add velveeta cheese or kraft sredded

i would suggest stocking up (if you like pasta) and for a quick fix you can boil some up and add many different veggies and you can try different variations. (classico and rague sauces are gluten free)

since you need to gain weight, you should snack on avacados, bananas, nuts,etc. (look for bumble bars, they are made of seeds and nuts and gluten free)

quick dinners ideas (cook a package of chicken legs with kraft BBQ sauce, cover pan w/ foil and cook about 45 mins.) or make salmon w/ lemon juice and butter on top and a baked sweet potato on the side)

i hope you like some of these suggestions...i hate cooking but love to eat so everything i make is simple but good

you NEED to eat though!!

[lilliexx]

one more thing:

if you have a blender, make milkshakes!! i use bryers vanilla icecream, frozen rasberries, or a banana and a little soy milk. they are good and filling. i also throw flaxmeal into it to keep me regular

[Guest gillian502]

I've been eating Bumble Bee canned salmon, either red alaska salmon or the pink. I mix it with just a touch of Hellman's mayo for flavor and to moisten it up a bit. If you like eggs, that's a quick idea, and the freezing foods idea is a must for me...I make chicken and rice soup and freeze tons of it for later. Having fresh fruit around is a must for me, too (I hate to cook) and rice cakes and peanut butter. If you trust eating certain processed foods, Ballpark 100% beef hot dogs are gluten-free (I've called the company 3 times over the past few months to confirm and re-confirm this) and they're pretty good after only a minute or two of microwaving.

[tarnalberry]

smoothies/milkshakes are definitely a way to go. they work great for me for breakfast, since I get up at the last possible minute, can make a smoothie in 5 minutes, pour it in my nalgene bottle, and take it to work with me and drink it over the subsequent hour. being dairy intolerant, I use soy milk and frozen fruit. for added calories, or to balance out the amount of sugar (I have hypoglycemic tendencies, though the soy is usually enough for me on that one), add ground flax meal (in the freezer right next to the frozen fruit just waiting), or coconut milk.

[gf4life]

Don't forget rice. You can cook a large pot of rice and then as long as you refrigerate it when it is cool, it will last for quite a few days. Then you can heat up a bowl of it anytime you need, and top it with any of the wonderful suggestions the others have made. You don't want to do too much low carb meals or you won't keep the weight on.

I also like to have Progresso soups on hand for a quick easy meal. They clearly list wheat, rye, barley, and oats on the labels.

If you have a crock pot you can start a meal on low when you go to bed and then you have ready made food when you get up. You can unplug it and it stays hot nearly all day. Some good crock pot meals are chicken noodles (Tinkyada brand is the best) with veggies, beef stew, pot roast with veggies, or just cook the meat (beef, chicken, or pork) and then you have meat ready to eat anytime.

Some other snacks are dried fruit, tortilla chips, nuts, jerky (Pacific Gold Beef Jerky Original, Peppered and Hot & Spicy are gluten-free and can be bought at Costco, also Pemmican Long Lasting Style Beef Jerky Original flavor is gluten-free), Blue Diamond Nut Thin crackers, rice crackers, canned fruit, canned veggies, Enviro Kids cereal bars, ANDI bars, Gluten Solutions protein bars, Alpsnack fruit/nut bars.

Many of the foods on your shelves might be safe and you don't realise. This is a link to a very good gluten-free food list. You should use it only as a guideline, but don't trust it 100%. You still need to check labels on all the products you buy/consume because ingredients change very frequently. But it will give you ideas of what foods are safe. Open Original Shared Link

I know it is hard to find good things to eat when you first start the diet, but you need to keep up your energy and get plenty of nutrients, so you can take care of your precious baby.

God bless,

Mariann

[lovegrov]

I know you're new at this but when you think about, there's more that we can eat than can't. Fry a piece of meat and cook some vegetables (or open a can). Do NOT skip meals, especially with a 10-month-old to take care of.

richard

[kabowman]

Don't forget the potatoes. Agree with the freezing, with 3 active kids, in three different schools with three different schedules, a husband who works until who knows when this time of the year, pets, etc. I bake meat for lunches and quick meals later in the week for me, the kids and husband have easier food since none of them need to eat gluten-free and therefore, easier, faster, etc. That way, I am really only cooking a couple of times a week. Just add potatoes (cook a bunch at once for re-heating during the week), veggies, and fruit or almods for quick snacks. Sometimes I cook about 2 pounds of ground sirloin (lower quality meats bother my digestive system so that is why I use sirloin or better) into hambergers to use in spaghetti (use brown rice pasta) or to eat as is later in the week too...

The rest of my family eat my gluten-free meals about 50 % of the time, they just add extras to theirs like sauces, cheese, and regular bread products.

It gets easier...

-Kate

[Carriefaith]

Quick and easy foods that I eat:

- plain 100% rice cakes and gluten-free peanut butter

- salads and gluten-free dressing

- fish fillets fried with gluten-free margarine and gluten-free vinegar

- fried streak (takes like 5 mintues if it's thin!)

- veggies cooked in the microwave with margarine and salt

- 100% rice pasta with ragu sauce

[Aeval]

Hi,

I apologize for posting here when I have nothing to add (I'm new to all this gluten-free stuff, just joined this site today). But I keep posting new messages and they don't show up so I wanted to see if this one would.

Aeval

P.S. The cooking tips on this thread were helpful. Thanks.

[Guest memoryofaspyn]

Thank you all for your suggestions, they all sound great! You made me hungry ! I hope it does get easier, I find that there are many things that are gluten-free, but I have found thingss that I would have never guessed had gluten actually do. Does anybody have any good suggestions for a breakfast cereal? I thought for sure Rice Krispies would be okay, but I just found out while at the grocery store that they have malt just like almost every other cereal I looked at, even corn flakes, and corn and rice checks, i just couldnt believe it, here I thought I could have some rice krispie bars. thanks again for all the great ideas, I will print them all out. And thank you to for that link, that should help me quite a bit.

[lilliexx]

for cereal try envirokidz or areowhead mills ( they may not be at the local grocery store)...but definately would be at a health food store!!

[Pegster]

Do you have a George Foreman Grill? They are great! I can put a few frozen chicken tenders on for ten minutes and I have the basis for an easy meal. The gluten-free cereals I buy are Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles and Kashi Cranberry Sunshine. Also for easy snacks/meals: cheese quesadillas, Omelettes, yogurt, trail mix, Healthy Choice chicken and rice soup, Kozy Shack Puddings, Fritos, Corn Tortilla chips, most salsas, etc.

[tarnalberry]

I do hot cereals a lot at the moment (easy to take to work premixed with liquid) - quinoa flakes, Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal, rice bran, cream of rice, and cream of buckwheat. Flavored with a bit of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla, it's all good. :-)

For cold cereals, I've done the Corn or Rice Crunch-Ems (Health Valley, I think), I have Gorilla Munch on occasion (but find it too sweet for anything but dessert), and really like Erewon's Brown Rice Crisps with Berries.

[lilliexx]

are cocoa pebbles really gluten free?? i didnt think any of the really good ones were i will be stocking up on that if it is infact gluten-free!!!!

another suggestion is going to allrecipes.com. there are TONS of recipes there ( it is not a glutenfree site) BUT you can pretty much substitute anything a recipe calls for. i have been wanting to make chicken parmesan and there is a really simple recipe on there and all i have to do is get some gluten-free flour mix. (bob's redmill makes one)

but at least check that site out for ideas.

[Donna F]

wow this is great. I had the exact same problem and all these ideas will definately help.

I was having the same problem: felt like a good gluten free meal had to be elaborate and time-consuming. And snacking was a big problem - like you, I need to eat things in a hurry, and I'm hypoglycemic, so, I need to eat often, AND avoid sugar as well as gluten.

Here are my snacks:

Mozzerella cheese sticks (Frigo) with Edward & Sons' Brown Rice Snaps and V8

Veggies w/Cabot dip

Fritos, Lays chips, Cheetos, Act II popcorn

Philadelphia cream cheese with EnerG crackers

Yoplait light yogurt or Yoplait Light Nouriche (much less sugar than the rest!)

Salads w/gluten-free dressings & EnerG prezels

Pamela's gluten-free cookies w/goats milk (eaier to digest if lactose intolerant)

My meals:

Fresh fist (steamed) w/Success boil in bag rice & fresh veggie

Steak w/mashed potatos and broccoli

gluten-free Tinkyada pasta w/hamburg in Contadina sauce

Fresh chicken marinaded in gluten-free dressing, or baked cornish hens (takes a bit longer)

w/boil-in-bag rice & fresh veggies.

Ham steak w/veggies (very simple and fast)

gluten-free TV dinner (Amy's)

Once a week a cook a stew or soup or roast and have leftovers later in the week.

All of these meals can be prepare & cooked w/in about a 1/2 hour - except for the cornish hens which can take up to an hour or so depending on how big they are.

I just start my longest cooking veggies first and follow with the remaining things. I may start my grill while I peel the potatos and it's ready to cook on when all the veggies are on the stove. And steak, chikken and pork don't take long to cook on the grill - and no mess when you're done. The Success boil-in-bag rice only takes 10 minutes to cook and stays nice and hot in the bag when it's done if you didn't time it to be done with everything else, and simple to clean up after (the other rice makes a sticky pan after. I love steamed fish - it tastes fresh and it's very simple and fast to cook. Put a fine strainer in a big pot with very little water and it's boiling and ready to steam fish in - in just a few minutes. And fish cooks VERY quickly this way - just don't OVER cook it. 10-15 minutes is good, depending on thickness and type (Salmon takes about 15).

I'm still trying to gain weight. I just started baking some of my own good in the hopes that I can gain weight this way. Snacks like veggies and light yogurt don't add pounds, but hopefully a little banana bread here and there will (Bob's Red Mill's gluten-free all-purpose flour has recipe on back). I also snag a tablespoon of peanut butter (Skippy) after my meal. I've just started gaining a few pounds doing this (still only 93), but praying I'll gain some more - tired of clothes hanging all over me, and childrens' clothes don't really appeal to me.

Hang in there. This site is awesome and has helped me so much. I totally sypathize with you. I've got a 3 year old boy at home and 2 in school with soccer practice/games, outside activities, new puppy, other animals and.... let's not forget...A HUSBAND (!) We need all the energy we can get. So stock up on some quick foods, but, try to take time to eat right - it is SO important. I will not let our crazy, busy, lifestyle lead us all into eating tv dinners every night!

Bless you!

-donna

[anglepoise]

There's a company called "Amy's" which has come out with a line of frozen, packaged gluten-free meals. And they taste terrific! My local grocery store, Harris Teeter, just started to carry them. They're mostly Mexican style,from what I've seen, meaning that they would not be good for folks sensitive to corn or lactose. For me, they've been a blessing for those times I don't have the energy or time to cook. And my Celiac-free boyfriend loves them too!

Good luck....

Angel