Basic Gluten Free 101

The Prince and I have been gluten free (GF) for approximately two years. I have been approached by people out of curiosity and out of necessity with regard to "Where do I start?" So I thought I would post some very basic starting points. Here's the thing about the Prince and I, we are both vegetarian (often vegan) which made things a bit more challenging at first, but I learned and so can you. I sometimes take things to extreme (okay, all the time...but who's counting) so, I now make most things from scratch, from cakes to vegan GF chicken nuggets...but I'm crazy and that's way too much info. for a newbie; so luckily for you, none of that non-sense will be included. This is basic folks, basic.

Let's start with the basic foods that are naturally Gluten Free:

Meat
Poultry
Fish
Eggs
Potatoes
Rice
Fruits
Veggies
Beans
Most Dairy

**These need to be closely examined is they have pre-made sauces. Sauces often contain gluten.**

The above list can be a great starting point for a newbie! Now, let's move on to various GF products....this can be dangerous...to your pocket! I can not tell you how much $$$ I wasted on various GF items that tasted like dirt. Luckily, I have tasted lots of them and have my favorites. Different stores offer varying amount of GF items, but Whole Foods will most likely have every item I have listed.

Bread, muffins, waffles, etc

Canyon Bakehouse Hamburger Buns - these buns, in my opinion, are the most superior GF bread I have had.

Canyon Bakehouse Slice Bread is also a good bread.

Udi's is good too. If you have a Jason's Deli restaurant near you, they sale Udi's bread and the slices are much larger, for some reason Udi's bread has tiny slices...??
  
Against the Grain GF Baguettes...holy yum!

Van's GF Waffles provide an easy breakfast.

Udi's frozen muffins are good when toasted.

Bob Red Mill's GF Oatmeal - Click HERE for on of my favorite easy oatmeal recipes

Cereal : Kix, Chex, Fruity Pebbles and then tons at Whole Foods. My favorite right now is Nature's Path: Crunchy Maple Sunrise

OH! and I really like Enviro Kids Panada Puffs; they taste like Captian Crunch.

Frozen Pizza

Udi's make a decent pizza crust to make your own pizza
  
Against the Grain makes a delicious pizza (my favorite)



Cookies

Two all time favorites: WOW and Udi's

Ordinary Snacks that are GF

Most tortilla chips and salsa

Original Lays potato chips

Fritos

Most microwavable popcorn

Most rice crackers


We don't eat fast food, but everyone should have a fast food option in case of an emergency hunger pain!

Wendy's : baked potato and side salad (no croutons)**make sure you read the ingredients of the salad dressing** and a hamburges sans the bun.

Chik fil a : fries, salad (no croutons), and they will grill chicken if you ask

Chipotle: everything on their menu except flour tortilla and they will change their gloves before preparing your food if asked

Jason's Deli: has a GF menu, just ask


**This is post is meant to be fairly basic. I know there are tons of items not listed. Two points I want to make, you must READ the ingredients (Did you know most soy sauce contains wheat??) on everything you buy and when dining out there is always a chance of cross contamination and everyone's intolerance level is different. 

More and more restaurants are offering GF menus, if you are not sure before heading to the restaurant call and ask or check their website. This will save you stress of whether or not you will have options.

Hopefully this post was helpful and if you ever have more specific questions or food recommendations...ask away!

Now, pictures of my Prince and one of my Gma...just because :)

Yep, it's freshly squeezed.