Quick gluten free meals

[Belladonna]

This is a little bit of an obscure topic for our tiny forum. I'm posting some ideas because I've had several years of experience cooking for a person who can't have wheat. I remember how daunting the idea was when we found out what we were facing with our son. I don't like to cook, but I do get into a mood and create some crazy things for a few months. If I didn't have kids to feed, I would rather just eat out of a peanut butter jar than cook.

For an easy meal, cook meat such as a whole chicken, pork or beef roast. You can use the drippings to make gravy with corn starch. Bake the large yellow potatoes for your mashed potatoes. Using milk, real butter, salt, and a little cream cheese. Using real, full fat ingredients makes up for the lack of wheat.

There is a withdrawal period that everyone who goes without wheat experiences. You feel empty. Find a good flour like Namaste or Krusteaz. Get a waffle iron. I'll find my recipe for really yummy GF waffles, I have to work in a moment so I can't post it right now. You can make a quick sandwich for kids with pb and j and a warm waffle.

I will post more tips later. If you are newly GF and have questions I would be happy to help. My mother struggled with stomach issues. Her only full sister and my cousins went wheat free the same month my son did and we weren't even discussing it when it happened. All of them tested negative for Celiac and wheat allergy but they are all completely healthy now unless they ingest wheat.

[Coco DuPont]

Thank you!!!!

I cannot eat wheat anymore and it's a pain in the ass to make something quick -- like a sandwich. I never thought of a waffle. I have a bag of Namaste flour but haven't used it. Any tips on it would really help.

I got some of the GF spaghetti -- I wish I could remember the name, it was in a green package and was rice based I believe. After I cooked it longer than the package directions said, it was edible.

[Belladonna]

That's the trouble with the pasta, it takes forever to cook to a palatable consistency.

I like to bake, meaning desserts. I hate to cook more than the times I get in some kind of weird mood. My cousin has lost around 30 pounds since going GF and she is like Einstein in the kitchen. I am going to post her recipe for waffles after I visit her on Thanksgiving. Sorry for the wait, she texted the recipe and my old granny flip phone won't download it.

I know that she uses King Arthur flour, oil and milk. That's it and they turn out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

When I made them I used about 2 cups of flour, a couple spoons of oil, and milk until they were the proper thickness. She makes batter thicker, mine is thinner. They both turn out good, my son loved them both times.

[Belladonna]

Thank you!!!!

I cannot eat wheat anymore and it's a pain in the ass to make something quick -- like a sandwich. I never thought of a waffle. I have a bag of Namaste flour but haven't used it. Any tips on it would really help.

I got some of the GF spaghetti -- I wish I could remember the name, it was in a green package and was rice based I believe. After I cooked it longer than the package directions said, it was edible.

Are you wheat free or gluten free? My son does fine if we stay away from wheat. We don't have to be as cautious as some, I hope that's not a mistake. His pediatrician said he would do exactly as we do if it were his child. Because he has tested negative for Celiac and allergies we can't be sure what is wrong with him. The reason I ask is because we have it a lot easier than Celiac people. I don't want to tell you to eat something he does and have it hurt you.

We buy rice noodles and make something similar to ramen with them, but I doubt that the seasoning is GF. I simply use the seasonings out of the ramen package for his noodles and he loves it. He has to miss out on so much and I feel bad for him when he wants what his cousins are eating. If you add canned beef, deer or chicken to your ramen as it is cooking you might really like it. He does.

[Coco DuPont]

I haven't been tested. I know that eating wheat products (bread, flour, even my beloved cookies!) means I pay for it dearly the next day. I don't need thousands of dollars of tests to tell me not to eat something that makes me sick.

I work with a man who has gone through months of testing and diagnosed with celiac disease and we've talked about his symptoms, etc. and mine are not as severe as his problems.

I've been reading about how the baking process has changed, sped up so they can get more product out in less time and it can sit on the shelf longer. I really wonder if this doesn't have a lot to do with some of the problems we're all having. I've tried to find a link to the article about this, but I can't find it and my boss now needs some attention

[D’Angelo Williams]

We are gluten free in my house too.

[Belladonna]

Keeping simple foods available has saved my sanity. If I cook meats, I always try to make a few meals worth because he has to take his lunch every day. Keeping washed and prepared veggies and fruits saves time because I can just put them in a Ziploc and toss them in his lunch box.

Meatballs are one of his favorites. Jasmine rice is a nice binder. When I use rice I make a red sauce for the meatballs. If I use GF breadcrumbs I make a sauce with brown sugar, ketchup, mustard powder, garlic powder, maple syrup, Worcestershire, and a little GF soy sauce. You can't do much wrong with meatballs. I always toss the egg, binder, and wet ingredients in a bowl and mix. Then I add them to the meat and mix by hand. Large meatballs save time and hold together better. He likes when I put cheese in the middle, and I plan on using a hardboiled egg inside each one next time I make them.

[Guy Valentino]

I'm not saying to DO this. But to look into this idea: set your wheat berries in a bowl of water for a few days, they will start to ferment. Then rinse and let dry, then grind them and use as normal. Seems a lot of problems are eliminated this way with ppl that have a intolerance to wheat.

They're a good book(s) on fermenting food by Katz I believe is the name. Very good alternative to freezing, canning, vacuuming....

[Coco DuPont]

I'm not saying to DO this. But to look into this idea: set your wheat berries in a bowl of water for a few days, they will start to ferment. Then rinse and let dry, then grind them and use as normal. Seems a lot of problems are eliminated this way with ppl that have a intolerance to wheat.

They're a good book(s) on fermenting food by Katz I believe is the name. Very good alternative to freezing, canning, vacuuming....

This is something along the lines of the article I read. it said that bakeries were now using a "quick rise" process in baking and to get the quick rise, they're pumping the dough with chemicals so it will rise in 12 minutes or less. So there's no fermentation and lots of chemicals.

This on top of the chemicals that are added to keep it "fresh" for months. Ever notice how store bought bread no longer molds or gets hard?

[Guy Valentino]

90% of the problem with people having food issues is bad bacteria in the gut and bad chemicals in the food. Milk is another example. Raw milk from the cow can sit out for DAYS and be fine(safe) it will sour which is ok, it will separate the cream, ect.
But once you pasteurize it, it will go bad in hours if left out. And they pasteurize it to make it safer for us.
( actually they destroy ever good bacteria in it because almost nothing can grow in raw milk that is bad for you )
It's quite fastinating how they are killing us with the FDA.

[Guy Valentino]

Gamgee can cover it from here, I got it almost to making cheese for him.

[TheRabbit]

I'm allergic to raw onions.

[Belladonna]

I'm allergic to raw onions.

I hear they're bad for dogs, too.

[TheRabbit]

I can eat green onions.

[Coco DuPont]

90% of the problem with people having food issues is bad bacteria in the gut and bad chemicals in the food. Milk is another example. Raw milk from the cow can sit out for DAYS and be fine(safe) it will sour which is ok, it will separate the cream, ect.
But once you pasteurize it, it will go bad in hours if left out. And they pasteurize it to make it safer for us.
( actually they destroy ever good bacteria in it because almost nothing can grow in raw milk that is bad for you )
It's quite fastinating how they are killing us with the FDA.

It's all about the money rover. Every decision made is about the almighty dollar.

If milk and other foods go bad faster, that means we have to throw it out and buy more.
Pumping bread full of chemicals means they can churn it out faster with less labor costs and less ingredient cost because it's all cheap chemicals.

"Real" food gives you better immunity to fight off diseases. If you have a good immune system because you eat good food, then you don't need pills and doctors and again, they lose money.