Whole Foods Archives - A Byte of Life

Gluten-Free 101

Pasta, Bread, Cookies, Pizza…

Why would you ever say goodbye to these wonderful LIFE staples!? Well, how about you find you’re allergic to gluten and they’re basically Krypontine to you?

When I first discovered as a teen that I was lactose-intolerant it was awful trying to navigate the lifestyle changes. Finding alternatives for my beloved milk, cheese and ice-cream were the least of my worries. Eating out became a nightmare, explaining that “it’s an allergy, not a preference” while fiercely praying that the kitchen might understand that I wasn’t TRYING To be high-maintenance and serve up my meal without any “special” presents from the kitchen. From helping a waitress to understand that yes that butter slathered on my toast might be delicious but it is still “diary” to learning how to navigate the hidden dairy in menus…food intolerance was frustrating and embarrassing to the extreme.

I state all of this only to lend validity to my statement, “gluten-intolerant friends… I UNDERSTAND your pain!” Whether it’s a choice to minimize gluten in your diet to an allergic necessity, the initial stages of gluten-free living will take work! I promise you though that like lactose intolerance you will learn what to look for and what to stay away from while embracing your choices as such and not as an ailment or your own personal “freak” button.

The may clinic has a GREAT article that lists gluten/gluten-free foods and what to generally avoid. Typically, you’ll need to avoid wheat, oats (unless specifically listed gluten-free), barley, rye, spelt and other flours. Gluten can reside in VERY obscure places so you will have to learn to navigate food labels. For example, beer and soy sauce contain gluten. As do many gravies, dressings and sauces. The Mayo Clinic Gluten-Free Article gives you a few great lists to read up on where you’ll find gluten and what to avoid.

Basic List of Gluten Free Foods

Beans, seeds, nuts
Eggs, Soy and most dairy products
Fresh meats, fish and poultry (not breaded, batter-coated or marinated)
Fruits, vegetables
Rice, Corn/Corn Meal, Flax, Quinoa
Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean), Hominy (corn), Amaranth, Arrowroot, Buckwheat, Tapioca, Millet, Teff, Sorghum

So, now that you have a basic list of what your new best friend foods are, let’s dig into the FUN part!! Thankfully the now mainstream nature of food allergies has done wonders for the food industry. No longer does gluten-free mean “taste and texture of cardboard”. I LOVE giving my family and friends treats that are gluten-free and/or vegan only to tell them afterward that the cookie they just ate was in fact gluten AND diary free! I have to give a little humor here and share a name with you that you may here now that you are on a gluten-free path: glutard. Pronounced glue-tard. Definition: one who can not process gluten. I have my version also: lactard. Pronounced lack-tard. Definition: one who can not process lactose. (if you can’t laugh at yourself what’s this world coming t0!)

Shout out

Here I have to pause and give a shout out to my wonderful local Flying Apron Cafe who has been helping glutards and lactards like ourselves enjoy cakes, cookies, muffins and savory dishes for years now! Their commitment to quality and TASTEFUL food paved the way for much of Seattle’s gluten-free progress and I’m forever grateful! If you’re not located in Seattle you can STILL enjoy their amazing food thanks to the new recipe book Flying Aprons Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book.

Our Tried and True Recipes
There have been quite a few requests for gluten-free recipes on the blog and we’ve been enjoying some wonderful gluten-free recipes that I’ve been posting on the Gluten-Free page as we try them! Also I wanted to highlight a few great sites for you. If you have any that you discover on your gluten-free journey that you’re loving PLEASE write and let me know so I can include them in this list! This is a journey for ALL of us to share and I’m happy to update this list as more resources that you find to be “tried and true” surface!
Update: I’ve also created a page dedicated to living gluten-free which you can view here: Gluten-Free Living

Recipe Inspiration

elana’s pantry includes many gluten-free as well as paelo recipes for everyday foods that you may have thought were “off-limits” due to dietary restrictions or lifestyle changes. She also includes substitution’s for making recipes gluten-free which I found incredibly helpful! There truly is a science to baking and keeping the right ratios of ingredients to retain the right consistency and taste.
cannelle et vanille has a long list of some really wonderful looking gluten-free goodies from sweets to savories, breakfast to dinners and everything in between you’ll find some great inspiration for gourmet gluten-free cooking
one of my go-to sites for natural and healthy living is Whole Life Nutrition which contains a plethora of recipes for not only gluten-free living, but also cleanses and natural living recipes, tips tricks and plans (they also have a section of the elimination diet which might be helpful for you to read up on if you’re newly gluten-intolerant)
gluten-free goddess is an EXCELLENT blog about all things gluten-free and some lovely food photography as well!
gluten-free girl and the chef is a fun site with recipes and videos for a gluten-free lifestyle
another site i love, 101 cookbooks, has some great gluten-free recipes that you can take a look at and their photos are truly inspiriting!
Whole Foods is my go-to market for gluten-free baking and cooking. They also have awesome recipes and menu ideas posted online!
PCC Natural Markets also has online recipes, tips for gluten-free living as well as aisles stocked with products and friendly staff that can help you on your journey! Go wander for a few hours and you’ll find some treats!
Search Results for Pintrest Boards titled Gluten-Free Living (I have not clicked through and verified that all recipes listed are gluten-free. I’m merely providing a way for 4 more hours of you day to dispensary while you get lost in Pintrest!)

And there you have it wonderful friends! A VERY swift gluten-free 101 guide! PLEASE contact me if you have specific questions, need recipe help, have a recipe or resource to share!!!

Cheers to delicious living!!!

Cheese is Back in my Life, Thank you Galaxy

Now, cheese may seem like a small matter to those of you who can eat it or have completely cut it out of your life. But to someone who made peace with saying goodbye YEARS ago, thinking that I would never again taste the sweet taste of a cheesy panini, nachos, grilled cheese, cheese pizza, sliced cheese with wine… okay I think you get the picture by now…it’s a gaping hole in my culinary consumption.

Well, that was pre “Galaxy”! I can’t tell you how excited I was to be able to eat some form of “cheese” again! We happened upon the Galaxy Food’s rice based shreds on a recent trip to Whole Foods a few weeks back when it was on sale. I love trying new things almost as much as I love a good sale, but still have the tarnished taste of some “alternative food” taste tests gone wrong so I was a bit apprehensive about venturing into the world of “cheese alternatives”.

But, looking at the nutrition info I was quite surprised! Take a look :

Serving Size 1/3 c.
70 calories (35 from fat)
4g Fat (1 gram saturated, 0g Trans)
6g Protein
0 mg Cholesterol
370mg Sodium
3g Carbs

Look at that protein content in ONE serving! That’s the thing that I miss about cheese, it’s a quick and easy non-meat protein. I feel like an entirely new playground of culinary fun has opened up to me again! It also delivers 30% of your daily calcium, which is important for building strong bones and something that those of us that are dairy-free or vegan to keep an eye on since it’s usually found in dairy-based products.

The day after we bought it to try I literally woke up and the first words out of my mouth were… CHEESE!! There was a bee-line to the kitchen and I was eating it right out of the package! Now this is coming from the girl who doesn’t like eating first thing in the morning! (Which has inspired a “Breakfast” series I’m working on… stay tuned!) I looked like the little kid who got caught with one hand half in the cookie jar and the other already delivering a handful of cookies to my mouth!

The taste is actually quite good, the melting leaves a BIT to be desired on the cheddar, it didn’t melt very well on nachos but when I tried the mozzarella shreds on top of my spaghetti squash for lunch last week it melted PERFECTLY! It also melted wonderfully on the stuffed tomatoes from dinner last night! I’ll have to try melting the Cheddar a few more ways to see how it does. “oh darn”… more cheesy cooking!!

I have only tried the shreds so far, but they have a whole line of vegan, rice and soy cheese as well as cream cheese alternatives, Parmesan crumbles, and “cheese” slices. You can see the line up of their products here: Galaxy Foods.

Simple Tapas Dinner

Everyone has had those days where you’d rather gnaw your own arm off than cook. No matter how much you usually adore it, there is just no inspirational energy left in your body. Those types of days pose a special problem for me because, surprise surprise, I’m picky. I like my food how I like it and when I want it and I want to use fresh ingredients. If you opened my freezer you wouldn’t find any Hungry Man dinners or Lean Cuisine Steamers.

But alas, last night I just did NOT want to cook and was so thankful that I’ve learned to plan ahead and stock the kitchen! It’s NOT hard to eat delicious enriching and nutritious meals, even on those days that come hell or high water you are NOT picking up a pan! Below is an illustration of a simple, healthy meal that I literally “threw” together from what was in the fridge.

Those are the days I’m thankful that it is so easy to eat wholesome food if you just plan ahead a bit and stock GOOD quality ingredients. Above is a little plate of broiled zucchini and yams, sliced heirloom tomatoes with cracked sea salt and pepper dusted with dried parsley, a few grapes, fresh basil and arugula and some balsamic drizzled grilled chicken breast and a few rosemary crackers. We recently tried a salad at Bisato in Seattle (my review posted here) with 20 year aged balsamic dressing and it was INCREDIBLE! We wound up ordering another of the salads and that weekend went on a hunt to Pike Place to find a bottle! Stocking your pantry with fresh ingredients and using quality oils/vinegar and spices really does wonders for sprucing up a meal! Even a simple meal like chicken and veggies becomes a work of art with the right flavors!

Shown in this picture at left clockwise from the wine 🙂 is….
Rook Wine
La Panzonella Rosemary Croccantini (Whole Foods stocks them)
Oven Grilled Zucchini
Baked pepper chicken with 20 year balsamic drizzled over the top
Fresh Basil
Oven Grilled Yam Fries
Heirloom tomatoes with fresh cracked salt and pepper
Red Grapes

How do you spruce up a simple meal?