Typical Daily Menu

[dbuhl79]

I am thinking this will be a interesting topic to start. I have to vent, its been a rough few days. In fear of need for a biopsy I've delayed going gluten free. However, after days of pain and nothing staying in my system I'm ready to go gluten free.

Now that I am stopping to consider whats currently in my cupboards and what to buy, I am feeling that true frustration set in. What do all of you eat on a typical day?

[pixiegirl]

Well since I found out I need to be gluten-free (about 4 or 5 weeks ago) I decided this was a perfect time for me to be healthier.... and initially its easier to go gluten-free if you cut your diet down to more basic stuff.... on top of that I wanted to lose about 7 pounds (my clothes are too tight and I can't afford a new wardrobe) so I started the Carbohydrates Addict's Diet at the same time as my gluten-free. (i won't go into the whole diet thing but it tries to limit most carbs to just your evening meal). And btw I've lost 5 lbs as of today and I've never once been hungry.

So for breakfast I usually have eggs, scrambled, omlet, always with veggies (in the omlet or I love sliced cherry tomatoes with salt and balsamic vinegar).

For lunch I almost always have a salad with chicken, tuna, cheese, eggs whatever is left over... or I make a stir fry (la choy soy sauce is gluten-free) I love salad! I use Newmans Own lowfat italian (its gluten-free).

For dinner I eat "regular" (i.e. not low carb) fish, chicken and on rare occasion steak with a veggie (usually sauted in olive oil and garlic) and potatoes or rice or gluten-free pasta. I eat fruit and milk at dinner too. Sometimes I have gluten-free bread or crackers with it. Once in a while I'll have gluten-free pound cake or short bread cookies after dinner.

I've not been hungry at all, I've lost weight and for the most part I feel so much better now. I do take calcium and some other supplements, I drink Lactaid milk with 50% more calcium in my tea.

Also for some who may be concerned about my egg eating, my bad cholestrol levels are so low and my good so high, that last time I had it tested (less then a year ago) my doctor told me I would "never" have to worry about artery/heart disease. Its been low like this all my life. I also use salt which some people don't or can't use but I have very low blood pressure too, so I use salt and drink a lot of water (both boost up your blood pressure some).

Pretty basic but again I feel really good.

Susan

[dbuhl79]

Susan,

Thanks, just trying to get creative ideas. I tried gluten-free for a week, and because my digestive system was so out of wack (as is today) I wound up eating a lot of gluten-free soups, rice cakes, and occassionaly spaghett (soy pasta).

Luckily, my better half is willing to gluten-free the entire house! Too bad we just bought groceries, prior to my getting tested.

Can't wait to have my normal stomach back! All ideas are appreciated, to prep for my next grocery run!

[lovegrov]

Open Original Shared Link

At the above web site you'll find a PDF file with lots of info and a two-week "survival" menu, basically all kinds of ideas for each meal.

richard

[FreyaUSA]

I first went gluten-free accidentally by following the South Beach Diet. The first two weeks you have no grains or refined cr*p. I basically still eat that way, though I don't want to lose anymore weight. Lots of whole foods, vegis, lean meats, etc. (Basically, I eat a low glycemic diet, with the emphasis on the glycemic load rather than the glycemic index of foods.)

This would be a typical day for me:

Breakfast: ff plain yogurt (usually sweetened with a little flavored syrup...white chocolate or caramel are my faves) mixed with 1 Tbs flaxmeal on top of at least a cup of chopped fresh fruit (apples, cantaloupe, pears, peaches, bananas, whatever I have on hand) and 2 Tbs soy nutlettes (these look like grape nuts, but are just crunchy soy things, high in fiber and such.) This is an very satisfying breakfast!

Lunch: A large salad with dressing on the side and a little lean meat (chicken, salmon, shrimp, etc.) OR a stirfry with beans, vegis, mushrooms, a little ham, little spaghetti sauce, served with grated cheese on top. (Lunches are high in vegis and low in meats.) OR (when I've no enthusiasm for cooking) pizza rollups - two corn tortillas with cheese and some turkey pepperoni, heated, rolled up, and then pizza sauce to dip it in.

Dinner: About 4-6 ozs of lean meat (I can only eat poultry, pork and seafood), lots of vegis and about 1/2 cup of some grain or pasta or a slice of gluten-free bread (if I have any at all.)

If I'm hungry during the day I might have cheese sticks, nuts, celery (stuffed with something), vegis and hummus, caramel corn cakes w/natural peanut butter (my latest evil pleasure...hehe!), a healthy muffin, etc.

Beverages are coffee with nsa soymilk, chai (made with a teabag and sweetened soymilk), flavored seltzers, plain iced tea (only at restaurants), water (I don't like sodas.)

Desserts are custards, a little ice cream, maybe a gluten-free cupcake, a candy...

I'm trying to add another tablespoon of flaxmeal a day to what I eat and get rid of the caramel corn cakes I can't imagine anymore how I would add wheat into how I eat anyway now. Also, most grains (all but corn, actually) cause me to have out of control cravings, so I generally avoid them until dinner and usually then too. I don't really miss it now. It's cross contamination and hidden gluten that get to me.

Pixiegirl, as far as controlling cholesterol, eggs are currently on the good list. Also, we may be following different diet plans, but to look at what we're eating and how, it's almost identical. Funny! Congrats on the weight loss, too.

[tarnalberry]

I've done this a couple times, and it ends up changing, but only just a bit. (Note that I'm dairy free as well as gluten free, and have hypoglycemic tendencies, so need plenty of fat/protein if I'm having carbs...)

Breakfast:

• rice cakes with peanut butter
  
• berry-banana smoothies
  
• pumpkin smoothie (this morning's breakfast - yummy!)
  
• quinoa flakes and rice bran (in soy milk)
  
• Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (in soy milk)
  
• omlettes (on the weekend when I have time)
  
• hard boiled eggs and a piece of fruit
  
• gluten-free pancakes (so many mixes are available - but it's a weekend thing for me)
  
• homemade blueberry or banana muffins
  
• homemade banana or pumpkin bread
  

Lunch:

• anything listed on the breakfast list :-)
  
• leftovers from stuff on the dinner list
  
• bean salads
  
• chicken salads
  
• deli meat with avocado
  
• soy yogurt
  
• nuts
  
• raw veggies (usually cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, etc.)
  
• dip for the veggies (hummus or other bean dip, usually)
  
• fruit (usually apples, pears, bananas, oranges, kiwi, peaches, berries, etc.)
  
• did I mention leftovers from dinner? ;-)
  

Dinner

• beef stew
  
• chicken rice soup
  
• chicken stir-fries over rice
  
• veggie stir fries over noodles
  
• sweet potatoes
  
• grilled fish
  
• steamed veggies with seasonings
  
• roasted chicken
  
• stuffed bell peppers
  
• shrimp pad thai
  
• roasted chicken
  
• millet pilaf
  
• bean soup
  
• fajitas
  
• tacos
  
• enchiladas
  
• lasagna
  

I've put a lot of the recipes I use day to day on Open Original Shared Link, and you can use Open Original Shared Link to find lots of websites that have gluten-free recipe collections. (I believe Open Original Shared Link has some, and there's another well known, mainstream, site that has some, but I forget the name.

[pixiegirl]

Tiffany,

I tried to see your recipes but it said that I was unauthorized to enter your web site.

[tarnalberry]

pixie, sorry about that... I left the .html off the link! I fixed it and it should work now. The full string (to cut and paste if the link doesn't work now) is: Open Original Shared Link

[Carriefaith]

Breakfast examples:

- banana

- pear

- gluten-free waffles

- gluten-free buns or bread

Lunch examples:

- gluten-free rice pasta with gluten-free tomato sauce

- leftovers from dinner!

- salad

- carrots

- rice cakes and peanut butter

Dinner examples YUM!:

- gluten-free curry

- gluten-free shake-in-bake chicken with potatoes+carrots

- steak/fish/turkey/roast beef/chicken with potatoes, carrotes, + mixed veggies

- veggie and rice casserole

- stir fry (veggies, meat, sauce, and rice)

- soup

- chili

- gluten-free hamburgers with corn on the cob

Snack examples:

- cashews

- popcorn

- corn chips and gluten-free salsa

- fruit to go bars

- carrots

- oven baked fries

[dbuhl79]

Thanks guys! The responses are wonderful and will give me a great place to start. I really appreciate this site, it gets me going in the mornings when I've had not such a great start!

[Guest PastorDave]

Just a thought from Pastor Dave's wife.

Once you and your family get started cooking gluten-free the sky is the limit. I make pizza, doughnuts, vanilla pound cake with streusel, lasagna, soups, etc. Almost anything someone can make with wheat I can make without it! And it is easy too! Just look at the scientific properties of the grains v. wheat in a reference book (I use The Gluten Free Gormet Makes Dessert) and you can substitute for anything and make wonderful food! Since you are able to gluten-free the whole kitchen, just experiment and have fun. (I did find if you are going to do a lot of baking and special foods that a grain grinder is much more economical than buying all of the specialty flours. I can get the grains/soy/etc at a local Amish store for a quarter of the price of the flours and grind my own.)

Good luck and God bless!

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Hi there,

this is what i eat from time to time. It varies at different days:

Breakfast:

Quinoa flakes or Brown Rice Cream as hot cereal. Tastes a little like cream of wheat, which i loved before i went gluten-free. Then sometimes the EnviroKids cereals or gluten-free bread (toast) from Ener-G Foods. When you toast it, take care, that you have your own gluten-free toaster, which isn't contaminated from the toast of your better half. On the toast i eat gluten-free breadspread like Nutella or Liverwurst from Boars Head.

Noon:

Sometimes a salad with a gluten-free salad dressing. I use the Thousand Islands from Wish-Bone, which is gluten-free. What is fast and uncomplicated are potatoes, rice, gluten-free pasta. I try to make different sauces with it and exchange the meat with poultry (chicken...) or (but that's more seldom in our household) fish. Sometimes i cook asian food, which is also very easy with a little exercise.

And in the evening i normally just eat some bread with different breadspreads and sometimes i eat warm food. But in the evening that's not that good for your body anyhow. Well, and then of course some fruit in between the meals. Sometimes little bit of "candy". That just has to be once in a while... And mostly i drink water. The Nestle cocoa mix, which you put in warm or cold milk is also gluten-free. And what is my favorite is: Just take plain strawberries and throw them in the mixer. A little bit of lemon juice (very little), sugar (that depends on how much of sugar you like) and 1 or 2 ice cubes. Hmmmm!!! You can do the same thing with oranges, very yummy...

Well, and then i also take some Nature Made's Multivitamin every noon with my daily meal. That's pretty much it. Sometimes i bake gluten-free cake, brownies, pie or cookies to give myself a treat. And it worked pretty good with me.

Greetings, Stef

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Oh, and i forgot the pizza... I make gluten-free pizza, too.

[FreyaUSA]

Breakfast:

Quinoa flakes or Brown Rice Cream as hot cereal. Tastes a little like cream of wheat, which i loved before i went gluten-free.

Oh! I sometimes have Cream of Buckwheat cereal. I really like it. In my grocery it's sold in the ethnic Jewish section, not that I know why... Here's something that I tried that came out great (and I bet you could do the same with any cream of whatever cereal)

With 1/2 the liquid called for, make a very strong herbal tea of your choice. I've made it with peach tea but you could use cinnamon apple or whatever. Then add the remaining liquid as milk or soymilk or whatever and make the cereal as directed on the package. Since the soymilk I used was sweetened vanilla, I ended up with a Peaches and Cream type of cereal. It isn't exactly like the instant oatmeals out there, but it is very good!

There, another breakfast I have sometimes when I'm out of yogurt.

[dbuhl79]

Has anyone tried a juice fast or a type of "cleansing" for a few days and then continuing with a normal gluten free diet?

I know some people recommend fasts, and cleaning out the system. I was curious if this would help with the process of getting the gluten (i.e. poison for some of us). A jumpstart to the road of recovery, even though it will still take some time to repair the intestines.