New To Gluten Free

[TessaG]

So I am new to being gluten free. I usually make hotdishes with cream soups or crockpot dishes. Are there any quick and easy recipes to make the meal edible for everyone? I am not big into cooking or baking so anything that is SUPER easy, and not fancy. Thanks for all the help! I am on this diet for 2 wks!

[Judy3]

Hi there,

You can still make crock pot dishes just have to eliminate gravy made with wheat flour. If you aren't into cooking I won't go into the laundry list of special things you can buy to substitute but the one thing you should have on hand if you need to thicken something is rice flour. Casseroles you can find gluten free condensed soup, I believe it's made by Pacific (not sure on that) I've seen cream of chicken, cream of mushroom etc...but you need 'condensed'... Noodles you need to get rice noodles.. I prefer Tinkyada Brown Rice pastas because they cook up nice and don't get mushy. Just made myself a nice dinner with some tonight. Vegetables without sauce (add your own seasoning) I try to stick to fresh food and not packaged because packaged foods can and most do contain some mystery starch and you can't be sure what it is. Shop produce, meats, cheese (if you can do dairy) eggs, rice, rice pasta, and some seasonings (whole foods) and you'll be surprised what you can come up with!!! Good Luck and happy cooking! (psst it's really fun if you get into it lol) I make all my old recipes now, just substitute my flour blend for wheat flour and it even works with baking, breading foods, etc...

[mamaw]

Hello & Welcome

Since you like to use a cream base I will tell you to stock up on Full Flavor Foods sauces & mixes. They are the very best....

mamaw

[Lisa]

Hi Tessa and Welcome!

I'm sure that everything is a bit overwhelming right now, but I can assure you....it will get easier.

I would recommend, in the beginning to keep things simple. Meats, fish, rice, potatoes, veggies and fruit. You might want to stay away from processed foods for a while, and limit your dairy intake (it might make you feel ill while you heal)

Here is a thread about cooking and baking:

https://www.celiac.com/forums/forum/27-gluten-free-recipes-baking-cooking-tips/

Have you been on the diet for two weeks, or just giving it a two week try? I wasn't sure by your post.

If we can help you in any way, please ask.

[mushroom]

Hi Tessa. Do not be oeverwhelmed by gluten free - it is just like regular cooking, just missing some of the ingredients and which eventually you will learn to sub for most of them. In the meantime, while you are learning, and especially now it is winter and casseroles are great, the crockpot is excellent. It is so easy just to brown some meat (chicken, beef, whatever you like) and some onions, put them in the crockpot with some vegetables and some gluten free stock (you have to make sure of this because most stocks do have gluten)or canned tomatoes and seasonings, set it and forget it. Then thicken with rice flour. You can make infinite variations of this every day of the week if you want

However, some pasta is nice and I too like Tinkyada. It is so easy to make a tomato sauce with crushed canned tomatoes and herbs and salt and pepper. Just eat whole foods that naturally contain no gluten and when you have to buy the subs like the pasta and the stock - sometimes to make life easier you just have to do that until you get the hang of it. If your kids (if you have them) are dying for cookies, buy some Pamela's Baking Mix. You can use this also for waffles and pancakes

Just don't panic, because it is really easy once you get used to the idea of it.

[Marilyn R]

Hi Tessa, you may like browsing this web site for gluten-free crock pot recipes crockpot365.blogspot.com/ -

[gluten free overseas]

I have a grill. Season some meat and put in the fridge in the morning... later on, slap it on the grill... make a quick mushroom/wine sauce or whatever... add a grilled vegetable... super easy, you don't heat up your kitchen, and there are minimal dishes. We grill a lot of salmon and chicken.

Good luck!

[Adalaide]

I'm just past the 2 week mark myself. I have found that the Tinkyada pasta is absolutely amazing. Made some mac & cheese and couldn't tell the difference. I've found that a lot of the stuff that is made to replace what I would have normally bought is prohibitively expensive. I've bitten the bullet and stocked up on some soups and such though, sometimes I just don't feel like really cooking and it's nice to have on hand. I've just switched from flour to cornstarch slurry for gravies, you just have to be a little more careful with how much more quickly it can thicken on you. I've long been a baker but never so good with cooking so it's been a learning process for me so far.

[lynnelise]

Most of my casseroles I stir in cream cheese instead of a can of soup. The gluten free cream soups are a bit too runny. Cream cheese mixed w/ a touch of broth and sauteed mushrooms works good. I second the recommendation above for crockpot365.blogspot.com. The Indian butter chicken is my favorite dinner ever! She has so many great recipes.

[Marilyn R]

Does your family like corned beef? You can scrub little white or read potatoes, no need to peel, or cut up larger potatoes into roughly uniform size, chop an onion or a bunch of green onions, and toss a corned beef with seasoning mix in the crock pot. You could add a gluten-free beer or water (I just use water) and cook it all day.

Left overs are great on their own. If you can buy Chebe's bread mix, that's easy to make, and a corned beef sandwich on a toasted Chebe's bun with your favorite toppings (for me, grainy mustard and a bit of horseradish, or some heated, drained saurkrat, is pretty darn close to Nirvana.

If you buy the Chebes, don't worry that the mix seems so crumbly. Follow the directions to the T (except you can skimp on the cheese), don't add any more liquid. I love the onion garlic breadstick recipe to make sandwhich buns. The box says to make four, but I make six out of a mix and they reheat great straight from the freezer into the pop up toaster. I make a batch or two every weekend, and my non gluten-free partner loves them. If you have a Nutrition Smart close to you, the mix sells for about $1.25, but you need to add dry cheese or milk, which could become problematic later (and 2 eggs and 2 T. of oil.)

I love the Chebe rolls for breakfast sandwiches or BLT's too. The are really good! (And I have no connection to the company btw.)