More and more frequently my friends are asking what I eat on a gluten and dairy-free diet whether it be curiosity or because they want to change the way they eat. I started eating this way because of health reasons and now I don’t think I could ever go back. Even though it would make my eating life way easier, this “diet” helps me stay on track for eating healthy and I feel so much better! Here is my break down of where to buy, ingredients to avoid, and my favorite foods and brands.
Where do I buy gluten & dairy-free?
Stores:
- Walmart (Dairy-Free)
- Trader Joes
- Natural Grocers
- Smiths/Safeway
- Target (Dairy-Free)
- Whole Foods
Look for the gluten-free section (some stores have those, but others gluten-free is mixed in with the regular stuff.
For dairy-free, there is usually a section for the cheese and vegan meat near the butter or eggs. Other things are mixed in.
Why gluten-free?
I have celiacs disease, that’s my why. If you don’t know celiac disease is a serious, genetic autoimmune disorder triggered by consuming a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, and rye. So my body can’t absorb it correctly.
Gluten isn’t necessarily bad, but over the years the production has over-processed with fillers and it’s just not good. You should just avoid a lot of heavy starches in general.
You can still have an intolerance to gluten even if your blood work comes back negative when being tested. Some symptoms of gluten intolerance are:
- Gastrostational Problems
- Headaches
- Exhaustion and depression
- Irritability and behavioral changes
- Infertility, menstrual irregularity
- Cramps, tingling, numbness
- Slow infant, child growth
- Fatigue, foggy thinking, feeling tired after a meal with gluten
- Fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue
- Decline in dental health
- Inflammation, swelling, pain in joints
My Favorite Gluten-Free Foods/Brands:
- Franz Bread
- Quaker Gluten-Free Oats
- Mary’s Real Thun Crackers
- Jasmine Rice
- Quinoa
- Lentils
- Any Potatoes
- Van’s Waffles
- Simple Mills Sea Salt Crackers
- Glutino Animal Crackers (only get this brand for desserts/cookies, not crackers)
- Schar bread and crackers
- Beyond Meat
- Daiya Pizza (any flavor)
- Amy’s Lentil Soups
- Trader Joe’s Pretzels
- Coconut Aminos – Instead of Soy Sauce
- Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps
- Anything from Enjoy Life – Cookies, Chocolate chips
- Larabars – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter
- Kind Bars (Check for Dairy Free on flavors)
- Amy’s Gluten-Free Bean Burrito
- RXBARs
Ingredients to AVOID:
- Wheat
- Barley
- Rye
- Malt
- Wheat protein
- Cake Flour
- Matzo (Matzah)
- Durum Flour
- Farina
- Graham Flour
- Kamut
- Semolina
- Spelt
Things You Wouldn’t Think Contains Gluten:
- Beer
- Imitation Crabmeat
- Couscous
- Soy Sauce
- Licorice
- Boutin Cubes
- Fried Foods
- Breaded Foods
- Floured Foods
- Ice cream with cookies, brownies, added baked goods in the mix
- Meat Substitutes
- Creamy Soups (cream of…)
- Noodle Soups
Here is a list of a whole list of Gluten Free brands (it’s massive and really good!)
Here is another list for all things flour, bread, pasta, snacks, and some sweets.
Why dairy-free?
After I was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease, I had acne that just wouldn’t go away. I read that people would get acne from dairy. At this point, I already gave up gluten, I didn’t want to give up dairy, but I needed to try. Low and behold, I found out that I was, in fact, allergic to milk protein.
Dairy is just gross! Why are we drinking another animal’s milk? Also, there can be pus in milk from infections from the cow’s udders. Other than it being gross, a lot of people’s stomach can’t handle dairy. Either people are allergic to lactose and some are allergic to the protein in milk. They are different allergies with different symptoms
Lactose Allergy Symptoms:
- Upset stomach or nausea
- Cramps
- Bloating
- Belly (abdominal) pain
- Gas
- Loose stool or diarrhea
- Vomiting happens more often to teens
Milk Protein Allergy Symptoms:
- Skin rash or eczema (acne)
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Blood in the stool, mucousy stool, and diarrhea
My Favorite Dairy-Free Foods/Brands:
- Daiya Cheese
- Orville Redenbacher Simply Salted
- Optimum Nutrition – Protein Nature Bites
- Nutritional Yeast Flakes – Cheesy taste (use sparingly)
- Earth Balance Butter
- So Delicious Cashew Milk Ice Cream
- Silk Soy Milk
- Almond Breeze Almond Milk
- Kite Hill Cream Cheese
- Reddi Whip Almond Milk Whipped Cream
- Orgain Protein Powder
- Daiya Mac and Cheese
- Reddi Wip Almond Milk Whipped Cream
- Califia Creamer
Ingredients to AVOID:
Be careful with protein powder, pills, supplements, some chip flavors, and deli meats.
- Butter, butter fat, butter oil, butter acid, butter ester(s)
- Buttermilk
- Casein
- Casein hydrolysate
- Caseinates (in all forms)
- Cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Cream
- Curds
- Custard
- Diacetyl
- Ghee
- Half-and-half
- Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate
- Lactoferrin
- Lactose
- Lactulose
- Milk (in all forms including condensed, derivative, dry, evaporated, goat’s milk and milk from other animals, low-fat, malted, milkfat, non-fat, powder, protein, skimmed, solids, whole)
- Milk protein hydrolysate
- Pudding
- Recaldent(R)
- Rennet casein
- Sour cream, sour cream solids
- Sour milk solids
- Tagatose
- Whey (in all forms)
- Whey protein hydrolysate
- Yogurt
Examples of What I Eat:
Breakfast:
- Oatmeal, Banana, Peanut Butter
- Eggs, Daiya Cheese, Avocado, Franz toast
- Rice cake, Peanut Butter, Banana, Cinnamon
Lunch
- Franz toast, Tuna, Daiya Cheese (broiled)
- Amy’s Lentil Soup with Simple Mills Crackers
Dinner
- Chicken, Riced Cauliflower
- Rice, Red Roasted Pepper Hummus, Carrots
Snack
- Veggies, Hummus
- Simple Salted Popcorn
- Smart Sweets Candy
- Almonds
- Hard Boiled Eggs
Here are some meals that I like from Pinterest (I don’t cook or bake often so there aren’t many that I feel like are super outstanding to make the time to make it, but these are the exceptions)
- Black Bean & Quinoa Enchilada Bake (you will have to make some modifications for Dairy-Free)
- Healthy Mac & Cheese (there are options for dairy-free, but make sure you used GF flour and GF bread crumbs)
- Avocado Egg Salad
- GF Apple Crisp
- No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Almond Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
I know this is a super long post, but I wanted it to be informational with as many resources as possible! What items do you need gluten and dairy-free substitutes for?
XO, Annie