In Need Of Some Suggestions

[tls002]

Hi! I found out about 3 months ago that I have Celiacs. I am a third year college student, and have barely any background with cooking. Do you know of any quick, easy recipes that I could start off with? Up until now I have been going to the health food store and buying relatively basic things to eat that I could just take to school with me, but that has gotten to be pretty expensive. Any suggestions are definitely appreciated:) thanks!

[ShayFL]

Got a microwave? Make potatoes and sweet potatoes your friends.

What do you have at your disposal to work with? Stove? Oven? Microwave? Freezer? Pots & pans?

[Phyllis28]

What kind of cooking facilities do you have access to?

Below are some of the things I eat:

Soft corn tortillas (I like Mission), cold cooked meat, chicken or fish, cheese, tomatos and lettace. Place corn tortillas on a plate, place cooked meat, chicken or fish and chicken on one half of the tortilla. Microwave for about 45 seconds. Add tomatos and lettace.

Bush Original Baked Beans and hot dogs. Pour 1/2 can of beans into a bowl, cut 1 hog dog into the beans. Mircowave for 45 seconds to 1 minute

Microwave Pizza - Take two soft corn tortillas, place them on a plate, spread gluten free pizza sauce on top on tortillas ( I like Enricos) add shredded or thin sliced cheese and pepperoni (Hormel and Boars Head are gluten free), put one corn tortilla on top and microwave for 45 seconds to minute.

PB&J on Lundberg Rice Cakes

Leftovers - find simple receipes on this site and seaching the internet. Make lots and put into single servings, refregerate or freeze. I do this with spagetti sauce and rice or rice pasta, chili and rice or rice pasta, soups and stews.

Look into buying a crockpot. Most of the receipes are simple and freeze well. I make soups and stews in mine.

Contact your celiac local support group. If you ask someone may volunteer to help you improve your cooking skills.

[tls002]

What do you have at your disposal to work with? Stove? Oven? Microwave? Freezer? Pots & pans?

I live in an apartment next to campus, so I have all of the above.....not very many pots and pans though

[Juliebove]

Cooking for one can be tricky!

One thing I sometimes do is cook up a lot of taco meat and freeze it in single serving size portions. I don't have an exact recipe. I just use ground beef with chopped white onion and bell peppers. I brown it all, chopping it up as it cooks. I then add pleny of chili powder. I mean like several tablespoons full for a couple of pounds of beef. Also add some salt and pepper. I just season to taste. You can add hot peppers to this if you like something spicier.

Then when it comes time to eat, I put a serving of frozen meat in a large microwaveable bowl and heat it through for a minute or two. When it is warm I add toppings for an upside down taco salad. This would be things like lettuce, tomatoes, onion, peppers, black olives, cheese, sour cream, guacamole or avocado and a few tortilla chips. Maybe even some canned beans. You can also use this filling to make tacos.

I also like to cook up a large amount of chicken breasts. I use a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and season with salt, pepper and a bit of parsley. I keep the seasonings simple so I can flavor as I like when I reheat these. Store in single serve bags in the freezer.

Bean and corn chili is another super easy recipe. It makes a ton so you can freeze the leftovers. Simply take three cans of beans (different kinds), a can of corn and a jar of salsa. Mix and heat through. Serve over a bed of rice if you like, then top with the same sort of things you'd put on a taco salad.

When I could eat eggs, I would boil them up a dozen at a time. These were great to grab for breakfast or a snack or to make a quick egg salad for stuffing into a tomato. You can also use chicken or tuna salad or cottage cheese in a tomato.

Eggs can also be used to make omeletes and scrambles. Grease a non-stick skillet with some butter, olive oil or whatever you prefer. Then whisk up some eggs, adding some water or milk if you like. Then pour into your pan and begin cooking. Add whatever cheeses and vegetables you like. You can also add ham, sausage or bacon. One that I used to like started with bacon and potatoes. Cook a few pieces of bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and remove most of the bacon grease. This will serve as the grease for the pan. Then add a potato that has been thinly sliced and cook until almost crisp. Then add some chopped onion and pepper and cook until softened. Add your eggs, the bacon (crumble it in) and cook till the eggs are done. Then sprinkle on some cheese.

Another quick meal is an apple, hollowed out and stuffed with peanut butter. You can add some vegetables and maybe some gluten-free chips or pretzels to round it out.

In this house we eat a lot of popcorn. I pop it in a pan with coconut oil, but you can get healthy microwaveable stuff that has no oil in it. My daughter likes to eat it for breakfast with some juice or rice milk to accompany. My mom would put it in a tall glass and pour milk over it then eat it like cereal. That's common to do in the midwest. We also like to eat it along with soup and salad.

[tls002]

Phyllis,

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I have what seems like a year's supply of corn tortillas, so the pizza idea will come in handy. I haven't really gotten tied in with a support group yet, but hopefully that will get done soon.

Also, is cheese okay to eat? I guess I was under the impression that I couldn't have cheese, hot dogs, or anything processed.

[ShayFL]

Cheese is fine if you tolerate dairy. Some Celiacs dont. Try it and see.

One thing I used to eat a lot when I was single was I would saute some chopped onions, throw in a can of refried beans and a dash of cumin. Then eat with tortilla chips. You can find gluten-free tortilla chips at Whole Foods. Someone else might be able to suggest actual brand names.

You can also spray some olive oil on your corn tortillas and bake until crisp. Cut into wedges and dip them into the beans. Yummy!!

Boil in the bag rice with chopped broiled chicken, then sprinkled with cumin and fresh cilantro added was another favorite.

[Phyllis28]

If you are doing well on the gluten free diet after 3 months you should be able to introduce processed foods back slowly if you choose. Of course, it is always healthier to eat non processed food gluten free or not. It is easier to determine if a food is gluten free or not eating non processed foods. I try to buy processed food with simple ingredients I can indentify by sight. The other alternative is to research each processed food you want to eat. Always read the ingredients. If in doubt leave it out. Furture research can be done by checking with the company and searching the internet and this site. Know the companies that will always disclose gluten (Kraft) and companies where cross contamination is an issue (Quaker Oats).

The majority of hot dogs are gluten free. I know Boars Head hot dogs are gluten free (expensive). Cheese is fine as long as you are not lactose or casien intolerant. I use hard cheese and slice it or shred it myself. I use Kraft or Boars Head. I only use packaged cheese. Having cheese or meat cut in the deli risks cross contamination.

Hope everything goes well for you.

[IMWalt]

Hi! I found out about 3 months ago that I have Celiacs.

Welcome! My daughter was diagnosed just as she was starting school, so I understand your dlilema. Here's a couple things I do.

I eat a lot of fruit, both fresh and dried. At least two apples each day, oranges in season and bananas. All inexpensive and easy to carry along.

I make my own mixed nuts. Cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, pistachios, walnuts, whatever I happen to have on hand. I always have a bag of them with me.

Tonight I made polenta. Just get some corn meal and cook like this. Boil 4 times the amount of water as you use corn. When the water is boiling, whisk in the corn. You can just use a spoon if you don't have a whisk, but you may get lumps. Just add the corn slowly while stirring. Cook on low for about 15 minutes, stirring often. I like to add some heavy cream, butter and romano or parmesan cheese, but they can be omitted if you don't want all the fat. You can eat it warm or put it in a dish and then when it is cool, you will be able to slice it and fry in a little butter. Put some jelly on top and it makes a yummy breakfast.

I also made arepas, which are corn griddle cakes. Sounds like I live on corn, doesn't it? I get Goya yellow corn masa flour. The recipe is on the bag. Easy to make and very tasty. You can put peanut butter on them, or jam, or tonight I put sofrito on them. Very good.

I was in a cooking mode tonight so then took some dried plums (also known as prunes, but plums sounds better) and wrapped them with prosciutto. Stick a toothpick in to hold together and bake at 400 until crispy (about 15 minutes). Very good and good for you. Plums are very high in anti-oxidants.

One of my favorite breakfasts is gluten-free cereal with plain yoghurt. I mix in fresh berries if I have any. Buy Rice Chex. Cheaper than other specialty gluten-free cereals.

Rice and beans is an easy way to make a cheap and nutritious meal. You can get a can of black beans for less than a buck. Cook up some jasmine rice and flavor with salsa or sofrito or whatever spices you like. Just be sure to read the label on the beans. I have seen canned beans with wheat in them.

Do you have Aldi stores near you? A great place to buy staples and fruit. You can't beat some lowfat cottage cheese with fresh pineapple chunks mixed in as a snack.

Good luck!

Walt

[Amyleigh0007]

I second the crockpot idea. You can throw in some chicken breasts and BBQ sauce and eat that over rice or make sandwiches. It's also good in tortillas with cheese. You could eat for several days with crockpot cooking. It's easy, economical, and good!

[Cheri A]

Great ideas in here!!

I love my crockpot these days too. Since you are only cooking for yourself, you could get your freezer stocked well with single servings quickly for those nights that you can't cook.

This is another Mexican recipe. My family absolutely loves this. I have frozen it for later. I posted this recipe a long time ago here and it was in the recipe thread, but I don't see it there now. Replace the beer with chicken broth. I also usually only use 1 can of each and frozen corn, too. Delish!!

Open Original Shared Link

[missy'smom]

If you have any doubt about a product don't hesitate to check thier website(info about gluten can often be found by clicking on FAQ's or Contact Us), call the 800 number on the package or e-mail them. Many companies provide good info. , a few don't. If I remember right Nathan's hot dogs are not gluten-free, it says wheat right on the label and Fisher, which I found out is made by the same company as Nathan's gave me an unsatisfactory answer.