3 Preparations for Starting Gluten-Free Diet

A gluten-free diet is a diet that cuts out all wheat products.

Bread, pasta, pizza, cookies, cakes, noodles; all of these foods are made from wheat and are basically not eaten on a gluten-free diet. 

When gluten-free, you need to supply nutrition with foods other than wheat, such as vegetables, fruits, rice, meat, and fish. When you want to eat bread, you need to choose "gluten-free bread."

Gluten-free was originally designed for patients with celiac disease whose wheat consumption causes inflammation of the small intestine.

But after many athletes and  celebrities began adopting it for their health, this diet became widely known around the world.

We often hear comments from people who follow a gluten-free diet such like "After going gluten free, my body is no longer swollen." or "my skin tone improved."

Do you want to know more about Gluten- free? Click here.

Before you start gluten-free, let me explain some disadvantages too.

I don't mean that there are problems for health purpose. If you go a well-balanced diet without gluten, you can get enough nutrition from other foods.

However, depending on where you live, gluten-free might not be known still, and it may be hard to go completely gluten-free when you eat out or buy commercial products since even some condiments contain wheat.

Therefore, if you want to follow the principles and start a complete gluten-free diet, the following preparations are recommended.

Cook Your Food

Generally speaking, not all restaurants are gluten-free friendly. However, if you continue to cook your meals, it is possible to be gluten-free and maintain a nutritional balance.

Fortunately, in the Asian region, there is good quality rice, vegetables, fish, and other rich foods available. 

If you eat out every day, you may want to start by getting your cooking equipment to make it easier to cook for yourself. Starting by getting a lunch box may be a good idea, too.

Clarify what is OK/NG for gluten-free

Going gluten-free means avoiding wheat in general, but do you know what foods exactly you can eat? The key to success is to know available foods.

You can't eat pasta and udon noodles, but you can eat 100% buckwheat soba noodles and pho. 

Also, konjac noodles and vermicelli are OK too. 

Basically, you can't eat bread and cakes, but there are cakes and bread made from rice or buckwheat these days.

If you know available foods, you can broaden the scope of your cooking. You will be able to enjoy your gluten-free life without holding back too much from the foods you want to eat.

Keep a gluten-free "emergency" food supply on hand.

Cooking your own meal is the ideal way to follow a gluten-free diet, but we are sure sometimes you can't find time to cook.

The key to staying gluten-free for a long time is to have your own emergency rations ready to eat at such times.

These days, there are more and more gluten-free snacks and bakeries. 

Gluten-free pouch-packed curry and instant noodles are also available on the market too.

The secret to maintaining your health is to keep balance. By supplying instant gluten-free foods that you can have when you are tired or busy, it will be easier to stay gluten-free for long periods.

There is no point in stressing yourself out trying to be perfect. Sometimes it is important to take a break.

Even if you decide to cook for yourself while gluten-free, you may get bored with the same menu every day. Simple meals like rice, vegetable soup, and grilled fish are gluten-free, but sometimes you may want something different.

Even gluten-free, you can enjoy a variety of foods and flavors, depending on how creative you are. Here are a few for your reference.

Rice omelet

Rice omelet is one of the easiest recipes to make gluten-free because you only need rice, vegetables, eggs, and chicken. You don't have to do anything complicated. Make omelet, chop onions and other vegetables finely, saute them, and mix them with rice.

Just be careful not to use flour in the seasoning. White sauce is not a good choice because it contains flour, and consommé and ketchup may contain flour depending on the manufacturer, so check their label.

Rice Flour Pancakes

You may think you can't eat pancakes during gluten-free, but you can easily make it with wheat-free rice flour. Recently, gluten-free pancake mixes are available, and even if you cannot find one at the store, you can make them as long as you have rice flour on hand.

All you have to do is mix an egg with a little rice flour, add honey or other sweetener, and cook in a pan with coconut oil, butter, or other oil. Easy, isn't it? Finish with fruit and you have a luxurious gluten-free breakfast.

Curry and Subzi

In fact, many commercial curry sauces contain flour. So if you want gluten-free curry, you have to make it from scratch with spices. It might be hard at first, but once you get used to it, it is fun to make it the way you like. To add richness and thickness to the flavor, you can use yams, soy bean paste, peanut butter, etc.

Another recommended dish is "sabzi," a curry-flavored steamed vegetable dish with spices. It is an Indian dish, and is easy to make. It does not need to be simmered for as long as curry. 

To make sabzi, first add oil and spices (cumin seeds, mustard seeds, garlic, turmeric, ginger, chili powder, etc.) to a frying pan and saute lightly. Then, add vegetables of your choice such as potatoes, onions, okra, etc., saute further, add a little water, and steam to cook.

Garam masala and lemon juice will go well with vegetables too.

If you have any questions about gluten-free, please read this article again at any time.