Genesis

Ok! So fellow Aussie, you've found out! You can't eat gluten or dairy (for whatever reason, be it IBS, or celiac, autism or allergies).

DON'T DESPAIR!

If it makes you feel any better I'm not allowed to eat fructose as well! That cuts out all dairy, gluten (moist, soft, elastic, nice tasting grains) and most fruits and vegetables. I was a vegetarian. But since my 2 main food groups are rice and meat, I've kind of had to go back to it! And not to mention I'm soy sensitive-I can have small amounts but not large.

I am very grateful that i am still able to eat nuts, though I cannot stomach seeds (which I sorely miss!)

Anyway! Here are some of my top tips into helping a GFCF (gluten free casein free) diet seem that little bit more easy at the start.

1- Cook recipes without gluten or dairy. I know, thats a given, but are you aware of so many recipes you can eat that naturally do not contain gluten or dairy to begin with? Say, an endless soups! Endless amounts of Salads! Fruit Salads! Tasty risottos and rice oven casseroles. Easy slow cooker recipes! Actually, most of these are really healthy for you and are what you should be eating anyway! Amorotti cookies, meringue, flour-less torte...Tacos are actually gluten dairy free! YUM! And old favourite! Quick, easy, delicious! Omelets, Stir Fry's and meat/poultry and veggie dishes!

2- Substitute. This is particularly easy with dairy. For cows milk just use rice milk, or almond milk...or whatever floats your boat. Use margarine instead of butter (it's surprising how nearly all margarine is naturally GFCF and you don't need to go and buy special brands which are more pricey)! This works true for most recipes, except ones with require cream and such- but there is a way to sub that too! Vegetable shortening, or lard, or even whipping some coconut cream with sugar (thick cream! YUM!) and even soy cream cheese! There is always a way. Don't worry my precious. Substitute bread for rice cakes, they taste lovely, and are low calorie but do tend to snap if you don't put a soggy spread and heat it for a bit- but don't make them too soggy they fall apart! They come in many delicious flavours! Though i'll let you know, subbing in normal flour, for gluten free, isn't easy. You need several flours to get the best taste and texture. Like pasta? Why not try vermicelli noodles!

3- Experiment. Its fun (trust me), and when you loose it's sad, but when you win it is TRIUMPHANT! Only you know what you like, toss together a bunch of flavors you like and you never know, one combination just might win it for ya!

4- You don't always have to buy specific gluten dairy free! READ LABELS CAREFULLY! The ones with the allergens in bold are amazing, but you will find one or two brands of chips that are GFCF and brands of other sauces and random things. So, don't despair, keep on trouping on! There are cheap brands of margarine that are naturally GFCF. Check your favourite brands first. Infact some cheap brands tend not to muck around with a long ingredient list so chances are the cheaper brand will be GFCF (but they do use cheap fillers which tends to be wheat flour- be careful).

Well those are my 4 tips.

Things every GFCF dieter out there should have in their pantry?

Rice, xantha gum, rice cakes, patience, Rice milk, honey, brown sugar, ground nuts, many flours and helpers.

Rice is a great " i don't want to read lables" dish. Relatively easy to cook, and so versatile (oven, fry, sole, boiled, steamed, etc), just add veggies that you like and meat that you like! Or straight out of a pack and heat in the microwave, or heat up left overs! Easy! Xantha Gum. If you don't know already gluten free things don't have gluten. The word gluten basically means "nice and elastic" (ok i made that up.) So all your bread will never....ever turn into a "dough", one which you can kneed. No. It will turn into a paste...and then a thicker paste.

Xantha gum, adds the elasticity. It's actually funny, if you add too much your mixer machine sounds like it's about to die....and, get this, after you cook it you can squash it in your hands and wait- it will puff right up again! Amazing stuff kids, seriously, you CANNOT do without it and a little goes a long way too. Do be careful because eating more than 3 teaspoons a day will act as a very very good laxative indeed-which is NOT what we want! But still my pretties, do not be afraid! I only add 1-2 tsps to any batch and i don't eat an entire loaf in a day, or 20 muffins a day, so i see no ill effect what so ever!

I'm going to include rice cakes and taco shells. They act as bread. There is a homebrand of "tortilla" bread, that is out of corn and elastic and great! Amazing. These are great to make quick and easy sandwiches out of. Nothing tops, pulling out crackers from a bag, opening a tin on tuna, and forking it onto it. And biting. EASY. Clean up is easy too. It's great. I probably eat rice cakes for at least 1 meal a day, usually it's breakfast. Scrambled eggs on rice crackers/corn crackers or luncheon ham, lettuce, grated carrot, kalmata olives on rice crackers zapped in the microwave for 10 seconds. Rice crackers....don't grill or toast them, they ignite. DO put moist things on them. Like tomatoe, or a sauce. This helps soak in it, so that if you have a lot inbetween the rice cakes (like lettuce which is bulky or a thick slice of ham or chicken pieces or tuna) then they wont snap into pieces and fall- this is EXTREMELY frustrating. Scrambled eggs add heat and moisture (from steam) which really helps them form the correct amount of bend. If you wait too long or get them too soggy they literally fall apart into a slimy soggy mess. So be careful.

Patience. If you don't have this....life is going to be one tough ride.

Rice Milk. It's great, doesn't taste divine but works, my favourite brand is Vitasoy it has more creaminess to it than the other cheaper brands, I don't actually like the Aussie brand, watery and not sweet at all a real blah taste! Soy milk is epic. I actually used to drink this before i couldn't have milk, which, lack of lactose probably made me lactose intolerant? Anyway... I can drink some soy- but not a lot. And soy is creamy and awesome, for those who can drink it, but rice milk is cheap and does the job. Almond milk is probably the best, but it's expensive! Try to buy it with enriched calcium and vitamins, especially if you are vegetarian or under 25, you need calcium. Coconut milk! Sweet sweet coconut milk! To some it may taste funky, just ad a bit of flavour to it. Or mix it with rice milk. The best coconut milk is one you make at home by blending shredded coconut with water for several minutes, putting the mixture in cheese pulp and squeezing the milk out! Eat within a few days. Fresh is best as they say!

Honey and brown sugar can be lumped in one category. They are moist, honey is a humuctant. This means it draws in moisture- at the right ratio to water. It's also sticky. So, basically, what was once bland dry crumbly bread. Is now sweet, moist and retains it's moisture well!

Ground nuts goes along with seeds (which i can't eat). These give your bread PIZAZZ and not to mention a kick of nutrients. Don't make gluten free bread be BORING! Give it something special that regular bread doesn't have and you'll have the people next to you wondering how many seeds is in your bread and why it smells like vanilla almond and blueberries. Moisture is your friend. Fruits, dried or fresh, will also add moisture! (see where I'm going here?)

Many Flours. Buy them all. Taste them all. Just like Pokemon, ok not quite. You odn't taste pokemon...at least i hope you didn't.... Find out which you like the most (taste) and which you find holds moisture better, or has a better texture over all. This will help you batch up flours to create a purpose (the moister, sweeter ones for a nice fudge brownie. The bland for breads). And don't worry if you stuff up, you can make your "failure" breads into croûtons, of if they are really crumbly- bread crumbs- to batter your chicken in! Mixes are always better than one type of flour, even if it's just 2, it's always better than just one.

Helpers....what are these? Things that make your life EASIER! Some seeds: chia- they are anti-inflammatory and have a gel that soothes the gut lining, some vegetables-fennel aids in digestion, soy yogurt, aids in good bacteria (also the inner health plus or other intestinal flora tablets), and aloe vera juice on an empty stomach, soothes and repairs the gut, teas-chamomile, peppermint, acacia tummy powder is good apparently, nuts- almonds are good for the colon,

Keep in mind if you soak nuts and seeds first it denatures the enzymes which stop you from taking up their nutrients like calcium. So soak soak soak!!! 2 Hours ought to be enough!

You don't receive a lot of calcium, so eat a lot of sardines with bones, broccoli (can upset IBS sufferers), tofu, egg, enriched rice/soy milk or take supplements. Salmon, mackerel also help with vitamin D, as well as the sun, which plays a role in calcium absorption!

Avoid beans, cruciferous vegetables or lentils. These make you bloat and if your tummy is sensitive it can be quite painful.

Here are a few other ideas to get you started.

Other then sticking to mostly salads at the start browse your health isle for ready made treats and stock up on on them.

I'll list my personal favourites. I will warn you, I'm a sweet tooth that for the most part enjoys bland flavours- and is in a love hate relationship with chilli ( i can only tolerate weak chilli and often find recipes with no chilli in it too spicey). I like cream and chocolate. I was raised with Mediterranean dishes for most of my life only discovering Asian and other cuisines in the last 2 years. Just before I was diagnosed with IBS. I dislike curry or anything resembling curry in most cases.

My favourite 'ready made' store bought "basics" (things I always like to have on hand)

Melinda’s gluten free goodies “heavenly chocolate fudge brownie”
Great for special occasions as a cake or mini cup cakes, i like them fudgey so i undercook them and dust them with icing sugar. They cost $6 bucks a pop so i make sure that it's a good reason to bake- and to keep it special. If i ate it every day it would loose its amazingness. But seriously, better than anything in the world. Seriously. That's why it's at the top. It's the best cake/fudge brownie. Go. Buy it now. NOW! I am making it my life's mission to cook something that tastes better than this. I'll probably be 90 by the time i do.

SAKATA balsamic tomato and basil The bbq is not bad either.
EXCELLENT for snaking with. YUMI's dips are CFGF! You can make your own by processing beans for a nice creamy one with chives, or making a mayo based one (be sure it is CFGF, some most definitely are like Praise 97% fat free, or make your own mayo!) adding capsicum or green or kalamata olives. What ever floats your boat! You could even make a curry and coconut flavour. I think that plain rice crackers are probably best for this. I found these ones SPICEY, i think they contain jalapeños from memory.

Lauke easy baker gluten free flour (white) draws with The real bread mix.
Bread turns out mostly good when i use this mix. I almost always add extra xantha gum and also some almond meal and add a bit more water to compensate. This leaves it with a delicious nutty flavour. Even ground peanuts make it taste better without the price of almonds.

Buckwheat pancake mix (orgran)
These taste healthy like wholemeal. Back when I ate bread I was a "whole meal multi-grain" type of person, and white bread tasted like "plastic" to me (as did pre sliced cheese), unless it was a continental style, nice and crunchy. Gluten free is crumbly, dry and chokey. But this batch of pancake reminded me of the old days! You could feel the roughage as you chewed (the good kind). After eating so much white rice basic boring bread, this healthy food eaten at breakfast, high in fibre, was what i craved. I spiked half the mix with cocoa. Sprinkled pancakes in the pan with choc chips, 100s and 1000s, bits of nut or fruit or hulled sunflower seeds. Yummy and healthy (well some of them...). But a bland mix will taste very "health food" and in my books, that's a bad thing!

Smart rice 90sec cook & Uncle Ben's “chicken savoury”
Great when you literally cannot be bothered! Zap in the microwave for 2 minutes and have the fun of instant noodles all over again!

Back to Nature “Cookie bitez”
OMG. That is all. BUY IT NOW! Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Rowies Chewy Cookies
Ok, i'll admit, once i found a bit of rope in it, but i still buy them, WHY? Because they are divine! They are dry- but not chokey. I love the taste, it tastes like dairy gluten ridden cookies, and i like that!

Rice bubbles (lowan brand? Or freefrom...i can't remember)
Back to the old rice bubbles days! Slightly less good tasting, but i still like em lots!

Sun rice “tomato and basil rice cakes”
These are great with an UNSALTED omelet. They really do not need MORE seasoning. PERFECTION. Or with tuna/chicken and salad on top!

Corn Thins! Rice and corn thins and Rice thins
1 and 2 for savoury, 3 for sweet like fairy bread and sweet spreads.

Arborio rice
Great for risottos. It's creamy and it's the creaminess in food i miss, so this helps :) People don't notice that we don't just miss the TASTE but we mostly miss food that doesn't make us choke it's so dry, or taste like water when it's supposed to be a viscous creamy milk.

Tropical source/Noble Choice “mint crunch dark chocolate bar” and Pink Lady dark chocolate
Taste GREAT! I love mint chocolate!

Homebrand dark cooking chocolate bar
375g (and only 2 bucks). Doesn't taste heavenly but well worth the money and great for baking with! Perfect for baking with, not too sweet. It's awesome. Very unhealthy though...

Ok, that ought to start you off!

My blog is CFGF, if your only GF sub in the real dairy product. If you are just CF, sub in the easy gluten filled product. :). I cook LOW fructose usually or just have a smaller serving. So you can up the fructose if you wish! Some vegetables have less and i can eat more of them. Sometimes i put being healthy over some discomfort also.

Enjoy and remember to never stop having fun in the kitchen and be grateful for what you have. The day I'm allergic to nuts i will truly be saddened! But until then, I'll keep on, keeping on!

I've evolved from my posts in 2010 already, it always changes. Keep an eye out. Learn with me.