The gluten-free diet is needed primarily for those who are intolerant to gluten and can not digest this protein, getting diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating when you eat this protein, as is the case with people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
The gluten-free diet is sometimes used to lose weight because various foods, such as bread, crackers or cakes, are eliminated from the diet, for example because they contain gluten and thus lower the calorie intake, making it easier to lose weight on a slimming diet .
But in the case of a celiac patient the elimination of gluten involves the detailed reading of all food labels and even components of medicines or lipsticks. Because even small amounts of trace amounts of gluten in these products can trigger a serious inflammatory process. In these cases, sorghum flour, which is naturally gluten-free and quite nutritious, may be an alternative. See their benefits and learn how to use this flour.
Gluten-free diet menu
The menu of the gluten-free diet is difficult to follow, as many foods commonly eaten on a day-to-day basis are eliminated. The following is an example.
- Breakfast - gluten-free bread with butter and milk or tapioca. See some recipes with tapioca in Tapioca can replace the bread in the diet.
- Lunch - rice with grilled chicken fillet and lettuce, tomato and purple cabbage salad, seasoned with olive oil and vinegar. For dessert watermelon.
- Snack - strawberry vitamin with almonds.
- Dinner - baked potato with hake and boiled broccoli, seasoned with vinegar and lemon juice. Apple for dessert.
To have more alternatives to the diet and consume all the important nutrients for the body it is necessary to make the gluten-free diet with the follow-up of a specialized nutritionist. Here are some tips:
To find out more foods to include in the menu, see: Gluten-free foods.
What foods can you add in your diet?
To create your own menu, you can follow some of the examples in this table:
| Type of food | You can eat | Can not eat |
| Soups | Of meat and / or vegetables. | Of miojo, canned and industrialized. |
| Meat and other proteins | Fresh meat, poultry, seafood, fish, Swiss cheese, cream cheese, cheddar, parmesan, eggs, dry white beans or peas. | Prepared meat, industrialized foods, soufflés with flour or cottage cheese. |
| Potato and potato substitutes | Potato, sweet potato, yams and rice. | Cream of potato and industrialized preparations of potatoes. |
| Vegetables | All fresh vegetables or canned. | Creamy vegetables prepared with flour and industrialized vegetables. |
| Breads | All breads made with rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca or soy | All breads made with wheat, rye, barley, oats, wheat bran, wheat germ or malt. All kinds of cookies. |
| Cereals | Rice, pure corn and sweet rice | Snacks with cereals, wheat flour, dried grapes, oatmeal, wheat germ, corn cereal or cereals with added malt. |
| Fats | Butter, margarine, oil and animal fats. | Prepared and industrialized creams and sauces. |
| Fruits | All fruits are fresh, frozen, canned or dried. | Fruit prepared from wheat, rye, oats or barley. |
| Desserts | Homemade pies, cookies, cakes and puddings made with corn, rice or tapioca. Gelatines, meringue, milk pudding and fruit ice cream. | All sweets and desserts industrialized. |
| milk | Fresh, dry, evaporated, condensed and sweet or sour cream. | Malted milk and industrialized yogurt. |
| Drinks | Water, coffee, tea, fruit juices or lemonade. | Fruit powder, cocoa powder, beer, gin, whiskey and some types of instant coffee. |
However, it is always recommended to take a dietitian-oriented diet, especially in the case of celiac patients. A good substitute is buckwheat, know how to use it here.
Gluten-free recipes
Gluten-free recipes are mostly recipes for cakes, crackers or bread without wheat flour, rye or oats because these are the cereals that have gluten.
Gluten-free cookie recipe
Here is an example of gluten-free cookie recipe:
Ingredients
- Half a cup of hazelnuts
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons of rice flour
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- Half a cup of rice milk
- Half a cup of brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Method of preparation
Place the hazelnuts, sugar, honey, olive oil and rice milk in the blender until smooth. Mix in a bowl the flour and pour the cream stirring well. Make balls with your hands, flatten the balls into a disc and place in a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180-200ºC for 30 minutes.
In addition to intolerance, gluten can cause swelling and gas, so see:
- Gluten Free Cake Recipe
- Gluten-free and lactose-free menu for weight loss
