What Are Your Top 10 Gluten Free Staples ?

[BillJ]

Hi there

I am new to the boards and I am just getting started with being gluten free.I was diagnosed in Nov of 2009 while going thru the steps to have gastric bypass surgery done.I gave myself 18 months after that to adjust to the surgery and the diet that came with and now it is time to adapt my life to being gluten free! I would like to know what are the TOP 10 items that you have at the core of your gluten free diet. I dont mean what are you favorite things to eat but rather what are your staples that form the foundation of your Gluten free diet. So what are the things that you put on your shopping list consistently and then you fill in the rest of your diet with things that you like on occasion , like sides to a meal. So for example ...When you have the munchies what do you reach for ? I think you get my drift ....It doesn't have to be 10 items ...Just an idea of what the core of your diet is .I think the hardest part about going gluten free is just getting started with the basics. Thank you in advance for your input !

[T.H.]

I have to eat really basic foods, so they take a bit more prep work. However, they are also usually cheaper than processed gluten-free food, so that's one for the plus side. I lost a few of my staples (reaction issues), but here's what they were.:-)

1. Quinoa - I get 25 pound bags of this from Ancient Harvest on-line

2. Buffalo meat

3. sweet potatoes

4. carrots

5. dried chiles

7. Olive oil

8. salt

If I could eat corn, corn masa would definitely be on the list, and so would potatoes.

[mushroom]

Sweet potatoes

Rice

Yogurt

Veggies from the brassica family and root veggies

Chicken

Lamb

All fruits except citrus

Gluten free pasta

Olive oil

Sorghum flour

Larabars

[eatmeat4good]

Grass fed ground beef

Grass fed steak

Hormone free chicken breasts

Salad Greens

Ranch Dressing

Mango's

Blueberries

Raw Cashews

Raw Walnuts

Unsalted Sunflower seeds

Almond flour

and

Chocolate 3 ways

Snickers

Chocolate Chips

Nutella

[ravenwoodglass]

Kinnickkinnick Pizza Shells and Hormel pepperoni

Udi's bread

Dinty Moore Beef stew

Boneless pork chops

chicken breasts- I buy these and chops in large quantity packages and freeze.

Snyders Gluten Free Pretzels

frozen and fresh single ingredient veggies

clemetines

Rice

Wild Rice

Glutenfreeda Burritos

Organic pnut butter

Glutino crackers

[aeraen]

I eat pretty much the same as I did before, with the exception of reading lables to make sure there isn't any hidden guten. However, the staples that I keep in my kitchen now, that I didn't before are:

Rice flour

Sweet rice flour

Tapioca starch

Potato Starch

Potato Flour

Buckwheat flour

Masa Harina

rice crackers

Xanthan gum

Brown rice

chex cereal

puffed rice cereal

[jerseyangel]

olive oil

garlic

berries

veggies (except legumes)

Greek yogurt

organic chicken

beef

Cabot low fat cheeses

Enricos No Salt Added Tomato sauce

Lara Bars

Tazo Awake Tea

[lynnelise]

Greek yogurt

Fruit (especially berries and citrus)

Nuts

Udi's bread

Larabars and Kind bars

gluten-free Pasta

Meat

gluten-free Cereal

Cheese

Pamela's gluten-free Baking mix

[Strawberry-Jam]

Rice, brown and white

olive oil

almond milk

rice chex

canned fish (salmon, sardines)

canned and frozen veggies (fresh go bad on me too often >_<; )

fresh fruit (apples, strawberries--like me name!, bananas, blueberries) and fruit juices

dried beans

peanut, almond, and sunflower seed butter

for snacks I have larabars, bananas, a spoonful or two of nut butter, or a handful of cashews. Sometimes a bag of popcorn.

[K8ling]

Rice (White and brown)

potatos

Udi's bread

larabars

almonds/pistachios

ricecakes

Quinoa

chicken breast

Kinnikinick gluten-free pizza crust

assorted gluten-free salad dressings

[Marilyn R]

Vegetables (especially onion, romaine lettuce, spinach, potatoes, zuccini, green beens, cabbage)

White and brown rice

Dried beans and legumes

Canned gluten-free Tuna and Salmon

Frozen Fish and Shellfish

Meat (including nitrate free applewood smoked bacon)

Fruit

Chick Pea Flour

Eggs (even though I'm allergic to yolks)

Oils/Vinegar (make all my own dressings and marinades, it's easy and cheap)

Canned tomatoes

Kettle S&P Chips

Nuts

OOps, I went over 10! At first I hated grocery shopping, but it's preety cool to avoid 3/4 of the store and just zone in on what you need.

[love2travel]

I don't use mixes or anything as I love to bake too much! So, my freezer is filled with 20 different flours. So far I have found very few gluten-free foods and snacks I like. So, I stick to mainly non-gluten-free foods. Excluding the 20 flours (that would make my list too long) my staples would be:

- arborio rice for risottos

- jasmine rice (stick in a few bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, lemon juice, juniper berries, whatever)

- fresh herbs ALWAYS for pestos, compound butters, seasoning blends and so on

- fresh lemons and limes for cooking/baking/making tons of things

- fresh strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, etc. for smoothies

- falafel chips

- garbanzo beans to make hummus

- all sorts of potatoes for different uses

- huge pantry of over 100 spices (many very exotic)

- nuts and dried fruits

- pomegranate molasses for Middle Eastern cooking

- many cheeses (I love to marinate feta and goat cheese and throw halloumi or provolone right onto the grill)

- duck - LOVE it!

- whole chicken for roasting

- exotic meats like goat, pheasant, quail, squab and so on when I can get it

- venison, elk, caribou

- butter

- bacon - it's true; most things ARE better with butter and bacon!

- gluten-free pancetta when I can find it

- various greens including arugula, radicchio, endive, escarole, mustard greens, microgreens - have to have intriguing salads

- stash of about 30 flavoured oils and vinegars for vinaigrettes, simple syrups, aiolis, and so on

- my pride and joy - aceto Balsamico tradizionale de Modena (aged REAL balsamic from Modena that is as thick as molasses and INCREDIBLE drizzled on strawberries and vanilla ice cream with freshly-ground black pepper - my splurge item

- 20 artisanal salts for various uses (i.e. finishing)

Sorry - that is well over ten but I have so much stuff I could go on and on and on...

[pondy]

Rice Milk

Udi's Bread

Safflower Oil, Olive Oil

Chicken Breasts - hormone free

Pork - fresh cuts, natural if I can find them

Bacon

Eggs

Chex cereal

Pears, Apples, Celery, Carrots, Potatoes, Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Zucchini

Peanut Butter - natural

Lara Bars

Gluten Free Pasta

Tomatoes - canned, organic (till I get my garden going)

McCormick spices

Rice

Oil & Vinegar Salad Dressing - Newman's Own

just to name a few...

[arabookworm]

Sweet potatoes

Rice

Yogurt

Veggies from the brassica family and root veggies

Chicken

Lamb

All fruits except citrus

Gluten free pasta

Olive oil

Sorghum flour

Larabars

what are larabars?

[adab8ca]

I don't use mixes or anything as I love to bake too much! So, my freezer is filled with 20 different flours. So far I have found very few gluten-free foods and snacks I like. So, I stick to mainly non-gluten-free foods. Excluding the 20 flours (that would make my list too long) my staples would be:

- arborio rice for risottos

- jasmine rice (stick in a few bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, lemon juice, juniper berries, whatever)

- fresh herbs ALWAYS for pestos, compound butters, seasoning blends and so on

- fresh lemons and limes for cooking/baking/making tons of things

- fresh strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, etc. for smoothies

- falafel chips

- garbanzo beans to make hummus

- all sorts of potatoes for different uses

- huge pantry of over 100 spices (many very exotic)

- nuts and dried fruits

- pomegranate molasses for Middle Eastern cooking

- many cheeses (I love to marinate feta and goat cheese and throw halloumi or provolone right onto the grill)

- duck - LOVE it!

- whole chicken for roasting

- exotic meats like goat, pheasant, quail, squab and so on when I can get it

- venison, elk, caribou

- butter

- bacon - it's true; most things ARE better with butter and bacon!

- gluten-free pancetta when I can find it

- various greens including arugula, radicchio, endive, escarole, mustard greens, microgreens - have to have intriguing salads

- stash of about 30 flavoured oils and vinegars for vinaigrettes, simple syrups, aiolis, and so on

- my pride and joy - aceto Balsamico tradizionale de Modena (aged REAL balsamic from Modena that is as thick as molasses and INCREDIBLE drizzled on strawberries and vanilla ice cream with freshly-ground black pepper - my splurge item

- 20 artisanal salts for various uses (i.e. finishing)

Sorry - that is well over ten but I have so much stuff I could go on and on and on...

I wanna come eat at your house!!!

[GFinDC]

Meat

brown rice wraps

Daiya shredded cheese

Hellman's canola oil cholesterol free mayo

lettuce, parsley or other greens

mushrooms

oranges

bananas

Food For Life Chips, some are GFCFSF, but not all.

Nuts, except walnuts.

Peanut Butter, only natural or organic kinds with no soy.

Wine

Pamelas gluten-free cookies, sometimes as a treat. Some of them are GFCFSF, but not all.

Sweet potatoes

Eggs

Olive oil

Onions

Salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic powder and mixed herbs.

I make wraps with the brown rice tortillas fairly often.

I am trying to follow the Eat to Defeat Cancer diet somewhat so I am trying to work some of those foods into my diet more.

[love2travel]

You can come on over! We'll have a proper gluten-free pigfest...

[eatmeat4good]

Love2Travel just needs to open a Gluten-Free Bed and Breakfast so we can all visit her and partake of her fare!

... and meet all of our friends from Celiac.com while we are at it.

[BillJ]

Thank you everyone for you great input ! This is exactly what I was looking for ! Is a perfect start for me to get my head around this. Like I said I just had a difficult time knowing where to start ! I am sure glad I found a community that knows exactly what I am going through and what it takes to succeed. Thanks again everyone ..I look forward to learning and eventually contributing!

[WinterSong]

Brown Rice

Quinoa

Udi's/Rudi's bread with pumpkinseed butter and dried cranberries (also with almond butter)

Fruit

Steamed veggies

Hummus and carrots

Lightly salted cashews

Walnuts

Salmon with garlic and dill

Sweet potato french fries

Green tea

Almond milk

Dark chocolate (thank goodness for chocolate!)

Greek yogurt (may have to cut that soon, though)

Spaghetti squash with peccorino romano cheese (again, dairy may be cut)

YUM!!!

[catsmeow]

Kinnickkinnick Pizza Shells and Hormel pepperoni

Udi's bread

Dinty Moore Beef stew

Boneless pork chops

chicken breasts- I buy these and chops in large quantity packages and freeze.

Snyders Gluten Free Pretzels

frozen and fresh single ingredient veggies

clemetines

Rice

Wild Rice

Glutenfreeda Burritos

Organic pnut butter

Glutino crackers

I love the Kinnickinnick pizza crusts too!!! I use to use hormal peeperoni, but a friend of mine had me try bours head, and I've never looked back. It's hands down better.

[catsmeow]

I like this thread,thanks for posting it. It's fun to get a virtual peek into everyone's pantry and fridges.

frozen chicken tenderloins (my biggest meat source, I buy organic)

pork chops

7 bone roast

venison (ours from hunting)

wild caught salmon

olive oil

potato starch (for chicken breading)

Artisan gluten-free flour blend (I make it with around 10 different flours)

eggs

butter

coffee

cream

Rudy's/Udi's bread

Kinnickinnik pizza crusts

Boars head pepparoni

various shredded cheeses

ragu pizza sauce

Kinnickinnik frozen chocolate donuts

Schar's snack crackers

Tinkyada pastas

Ham slices

Aidelles chicken apple sausage

Granny smith apple sauce (for dipping sausage in and chicken in)

fresh veggies

fresh fruits

Pamela's ginger snap cookoie

Designer whey protein powder (if I'm short on protein for the day, I have a shake)

[etta694]

I wanna come eat at your house!!!

I distinctly remember there is a group meeting at love2travel's place..and she promised to do pick up at the airport in Edmonton.... Am I right love2travel? Wasn't that a group meeting?

Well there you go...she posted before I could... It's a date!

[Macbre]

These are the items I won't go without:

Mrs. May's trio bars

Kinnikinnick smoreable graham crackers (I spread Peanut butter & then add a few "enjoy life" choc. chips & YUM!!)

Pamela's Products (especially the pecan shortbread cookies)

Bob's Red Mill brownie mix

Bob's Red Mill pizza crust (add a little garlic salt & italians)

Enjoy Life Boom choco boom bars

Apples, oranges, bananas, grapes

Canyon Bake House Raisin bread

Canyon Bake House Multi-grain bread (These breads I have found have the best flavor and texture - doesn't fall apart)

Bubbies pickles

Gluten Free Pantry all purpose flour (does great in place of all purpose flour)

Van's gluten free waffles

Almond milk

Greek yogurt w/frozen berries

Maranatha Peanut Butter

[sb2178]

Ancient Harvest gluten-free pasta (ordered in 10 lb bulk boxes via amazon)

eggs

rice (brown or red)

corn tortillas

apples (mainstay, other fruit seasonally or canned/frozen as desired)

carrots or sweet potatoes

olives or nuts

dried beans and lentils

frozen peas or spinach

finely ground kasha or pocono cream of buckwheat

That's the winter list of basics. Specifically gluten-free items are the buckwheat, pasta, and then I do have a pancake mix (allie's 123 gluten-free buckwheat) and specialty flours for baking which I use much less often.

Summer/fall would be different.