Gluten-Free Foods to Consider Adding to Your Diet
A gluten-free diet is sometimes necessary if you have celiac disease or other digestive issues. The problem is that gluten is everywhere, so it can be overwhelming to make the switch, but it’s not impossible. The following are a few gluten-free foods you should add to your diet.
Gluten-Free Flour
Many people love baking, but they generally use regular flour with gluten. The good thing is there are many suitable gluten-free flour options – all you have to do is make a few adjustments to your recipes, such as increasing your use of liquid ingredients. Not sure where to start? Gluten-free flour options can include almond flour, oat flour, and arrowroot flour. Brown rice flour is also an option, and there’s even masa, which is a type of nixtamalized corn flour for added digestive benefits. All of these flours give you a chance to get back to baking the way you’re used to.
Oats
It may feel like all your food options got snatched away, but that’s not the case. You’ve got loads of options. Your choices include gluten-free oats for breakfast, which gives you so much to play with. You can make oat granola with yogurt, or you can just have oatmeal for breakfast with a bit of cinnamon and maybe a chopped-up apple. There’s so much you can do with oats. If you decide to use oat flour, then you open yourself up to even more food options, like pancakes or funnel cakes for breakfast. Don’t be afraid to explore everything you can do with oats.
Natural Meats
If you eat meat, you want to stick to organic options that are as fresh as possible. Heavily processed meat may not be an excellent option for you if you’re going to remain gluten-free. Fresh meat is naturally gluten-free, but heavily processed options like sausages or hot dogs could contain gluten. You could consider making your version of certain meat to have more control over your food. You could also visit a butcher or a health food store and look for a gluten-free version of the processed meats. Learn to read labels and stay away from ingredients like wheat starch which is usually added.
Rethink Beer
Beer is not naturally gluten-free. You’re going to have to actively look for gluten-free beer options or just opt for safe alcoholic beverages like tequila made from agave or rum that comes from sugarcane. You could also switch to wine, which is naturally gluten-free. If you want something more like a beer, there’s also hard cider from apples. Alcoholic beverages in moderation can be good for you. They even aid digestion, but only if done in moderation. You can continue to enjoy alcoholic drinks even if you are on this diet. It may be a little strange to make the switch when you’re used to beer, but this allows you to explore all sorts of different drinks, which is exciting.
Tofu
Vegetarians and vegans have little to worry about because vegetables and fruit are gluten-free. The problem is that once you start using other vegan foods, like vegan burgers or vegan sausages, you begin to run into some issues. Some of these foods contain gluten, and you have to be careful. You’ll have to read the ingredients or make sure you get a gluten-free version of whatever you’re trying to purchase. To avoid this problem, opt for tofu-based foods. Tofu is versatile; you can make a variety of dishes using tofu or tofu products, like tempeh, including burgers and sausages if you want. Plus, it’s naturally gluten-free.
From tofu to oats and flour, there are a variety of gluten-free options to add to your diet. You’ll probably want to invest in a gluten-free recipe book to help you on your journey.
