Completely Grain Free

[rachel-gf]

If you want to try something a little bit different:

Greek food is tasty, and has very little grain! Maybe try buying a Greek food cookbook or trying some Greek recipes online. They do a lot with meat, veggies, and dairy.

[Philippa]

These are really good! I made them a few days ago and they were awesome. Thanks for the recipe.

[1desperateladysaved]

"I'll never go back to the gluten grains, but I'm not going to be so tough on myself as to cut out everything at once. Later I'll cut down the others bit by bit"

I took the another approach. I would rather cut everything first, so I don't have more bad news later! I cut all grains in hopes I could have some back. However, I found that I had withdrawl, so I don't think it is advisable to try. I am still hoping that if I have time to heal I might tolerate some dairy, nightshades, or citrus.

[T.H.]

I've been grain free for about 2 1/2 years now. No grains, no grain derivatives (even corn derivatives like cornstarch, citric acid, xanthan gum, that sort of thing). I've tried to find ones I can eat, but so far, they all make me sick, so they're out of here.

Paleo, primal, and raw foods diet blogs have been a good source of grain-free recipes, along with some of the SCD and GAPS diets blogs.

What I've learned doing this for a couple years:

1. The extras make a huge difference. I have a limited diet, which gets REALLY boring after a while. So since I can't change my limitations, I now make sauces, condiments, dips, spreads, veggie-based 'croutons' - anything to change things up, so that it doesn't feel like I'm only eating that one same food. :-)

2. Oil + nuts + an herb = a pesto sauce. You can add cheese if you have dairy, but playing around with herbs and oils and nuts (or even oil and herbs) can get you some great combinations. You can use some veggies in the mix, too. Asparagus pesto, basil and lemon thyme with pine nuts, broccoli and walnuts, oregano and hazelnuts. Lots of good stuff.

3. Most veggies can be steamed/boiled/roasted and blended up in the blender to make the base for a sauce or dip for meat, beans, even other veggies. Or a base for a soup. Roasted eggplant and roasted onion go great together, for example.

4. An herb garden is a life-saver. About 6 months into the diet, I started an herb garden. It's the best thing I've ever did with re: to food. It's usually faster to buy a small herb plant, but you'll get more bang for your buck if you buy seeds. I buy any herb that is edible, even if I don't recognize it and have to go look it up once I get home, but I don't think there's been an herb I've regretted purchasing - they all taste good with something, and oftentimes it's something I never ate before so it's worth exploring.

5. Some nice veggie noodles: get a julienne peeler and peel a zucchini, yellow squash, carrot, etc... length-wise until you have a lot of little noodle-like strips. Let them sit in open air (usually in the fridge) for a few hours until they are limp. Then boil them briefly and you have veggie noodles. I always thought the carrot ones would go well in chicken soup. :-)

6. Comfort food helps. I found one or two foods I really, really like, and I make extra whenever I make them so I can have a small store in the freezer. If I'm feeling down, or the diet is feeling really frustrating, having that 'nice' food to break out is really nice for my mood. I think it helps stick to the diet when your having a crummy day, you know?

7. Keeping track of nutrients has been important for me as well. Without the grains, it's sometimes hard to make sure I get enough of the nutrients that are plentiful in grains, so it's something to be aware of.

So far, this diet has worked for me quite well. Hope it works well for you, too. :-)

[cavernio]

For flours there's a number of different options that are grain free that you should be able to buy from a store:

Tapioca flour, potato flour (both are pretty blank in taste). Also a couple different chickpea flours, but these have a flavour and I would be careful in what you use it in. All of are very fine, and so could be used in place of cornstarch or regular flour in things like gravies and sauces.

For courser texture, plain mashed potatoes are possible (and they're kinda sticky on their own too), and ground nutsare downright scrumptious. (My favorite baked goods have always been the ones filled with ground nuts anyways.) Note that you should keep nuts, especially once ground, in the freezer.

Pretty much all starchy veggies you can experiment with in lieu of grains.

Ah yes, one I haven't used yet also is coconut flour, as the brownie recipe has.

[bl0nde]

i am vegan, and completely grain and legume free. cauliflower rice is a go-to! simple mills makes a great grain free pizza crust mix that i also use as breading. kelp noodles, spaghetti squash, and shirataki noodles are also good replacements for pasta. there are a couple of smaller brands who now make grain free pastas - i find them at whole foods or local health food stores.

barely bread is grain free bread and it's pretty amazing.

also! watch out for plain vinegar / white vinegar, it's usually from grain sources and gives me a reaction. i only use apple cider vinegar. paleo chef makes some great sauces using grain free vinegars.

 

[Ennis-TX]

1 hour ago, bl0nde said:

i am vegan, and completely grain and legume free. cauliflower rice is a go-to! simple mills makes a great grain free pizza crust mix that i also use as breading. kelp noodles, spaghetti squash, and shirataki noodles are also good replacements for pasta. there are a couple of smaller brands who now make grain free pastas - i find them at whole foods or local health food stores.

barely bread is grain free bread and it's pretty amazing.

also! watch out for plain vinegar / white vinegar, it's usually from grain sources and gives me a reaction. i only use apple cider vinegar. paleo chef makes some great sauces using grain free vinegars.

 

You responded to a post from 2012 please check dates. On a side note THANK you on being another grain free follower lol. I also can not have starches myself, and the only animal products I really eat are egg whites since I do not digest meats, egg yolks, and have a dairy intolerance. I do love the Shirataki noodles and rice by miracle noodles, you can even buy konjac flour for making porridge in combination with nut meals/butters and nut milk.  One of my go to foods.
I used to buy Julian bakery coconut and almond breads but as a baker I started making my own keto bread and selling it with a much better texture and....about the same price.