Know All About Gluten-Free Diet for Healthy Living

In the wake of a changing planet landscape, there is a compulsive need for awareness about adapting to this change. The human body is becoming largely intolerant to a lot of environmental and dietary substances. One such substance is a protein called gluten. This protein is found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale. Its presence is often related to the elasticity of dough and binding of food molecules. A gluten free diet implies a diet devoid of this protein – entirely! During a gluten diet plan, the disciple will have to look for alternative gluten-free grains like rice, quinoa, corn etc.

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Gluten-Free Diet for Eat Well

Purpose of A Gluten Diet

The purpose of a gluten-free diet is mainly to relieve the symptoms of a celiac disease. People suffering from it are called gluten intolerant as consuming gluten may affect their intestine badly. This will lead to incomplete mineral absorption. There are cases of gluten intolerance in healthy individuals too, who don’t even suffer from Celiac disease. This can be related from an allergic reaction to an autoimmune disorder. Shifting to a gluten-free diet may bring back the life to normal for gluten sensitive people.

With a large scale popularity about the gluten-free diet benefits, many people are also seeing this diet as a pathway to losing weight and solve skin problems. Following this diet plan has an upside of staying away from unhealthy sugars and processed foods. With complete knowledge, careful choosing of meals and a regular check on a diet, one can work wonders with this diet plan. On the downside, it is important to realise that sudden transformation of diet patterns is no game for your body! One should be very sure about the upcoming difficulties and implications of this diet.

Gluten-Free Diet Details

The first tip to survive on a gluten free diet is to start reading food labels. One must adopt a conscious eating routine where everything on the kitchen shelf should undergo scrutiny. Compulsorily, all the packed food item labels should read 100% gluten-free and reflect the same on their ingredient list.  Another important thing is to be aware of the maybe gluten maybe not category. There is a lot of suspicion around few food items like oats, food starch, beer, spray cheese, seasonings etc. A gluten diet may starve your body of few essential nutrients that came handy in unrestricted eating. Though this issue can be handled by balancing the portions on the plate, it is always a great choice to consult a dietitian in the initial phase of adopting a gluten-free diet. There are certain cases when additional health supplements are prescribed to tackle chronic deficiency.

Foods To Eat On Diet Plan

Broadly, anything gluten free is allowed.  At the first thought, this might look like a blank plate. Zooming in further in this category will give you a long list of healthy food items to satisfy your appetite and taste buds at the same time.

1. Beans and Nuts: Beans are power-packed healthy food items that can be used in soups, salads, curries, or rolls. Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and mostly all other nuts are gluten-free in pure, unadulterated, or processed form. And these days, you would often find them in most food recipes, especially at this point where electric nut chopper has been selling like hotcakes. Still, one should be careful with the labels here.
2. Dairy Items: Milk, butter and other dairy extracts can be still a part of your diet. In fact, if you aren’t lactose intolerant, it’s a major source of filling your calcium needs.
3. Fish, Meat and Poultry: For all those lamenting the lack of variety on their plates – cheer up! You can go gaga with your non-veg choices. Just make sure it’s ain’t breaded or batter coated with an extract containing gluten.
4. Fruits and Vegetables: Many vegetarians don’t realise the host of choices nature has offered to them. Green vegetables and watery fruits can work wonders for the human body.
5. Corn, Buckwheat, Rice and Millet: If you are looking for a more substantial meal, flours made out of gluten-free grains can serve exactly what you are looking for.
6. Quinoa: This is something that a tasty and healthy breakfast would be like. Quinoa is a convenient and popular pick on the road to get fit.
7. Flax: Though flax seed has no major, prominent taste of their own, they can be sprinkled on salads and meals for increasing the overall health quotient. They are great for digestion by the way and can curb many digestion issues. 

Other Foods to Allow 

• Fresh eggs
• cassava
• fonio
• cornstarch
• Annatto
• glucose syrup
• lecithin
• polenta
• maltodextrin
• Amaranth
• Arrowroot
• Corn and cornmeal
• Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean)
• Sorghum
• Soy
• Tapioca
• Teff
• Distilled vinegar
• Spices

Foods to Avoid in Gluten Free Diet

Of course as mentioned below, foods with even a hint of gluten are to be best avoided. Though there are alternative for many foods nowadays, a cautious approach many save you a sinking diet effort.

Pasta, Bread and heavily processed foods are best avoided unless gluten free. This rules out cakes, cookies, wafers and pies out of the landscape.  The people’s favourite snack – conventional french fries are also not allowed but you can always skip the gluten rich coating while cooking them at home.  Salad dressings and seasonings also need a thorough checking before being acceptable on the gluten-free diet. processed snacks like potato chips, tortilla chips are also to be escaped. Refraining from squashes, lager, stout, ales and beer is also recommended. The biggest blow will be to understand that sodas and coke are also to be given up for best results. Going by some popular opinions, few soda drinks contain caramel colour which can contain gluten but even if it gluten free one should leave it for the sugar blows it can give to your body! This will help especially if you are aiming for gluten-free diet for weight loss.

Other Foods Avoid 

• Barley and malt (malt flavouring and malt vinegar and which are made made from barley)
• Rye
• Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)
• Wheat
• Durum flour
• Farina
• Graham flour
• Kamut
• Semolina
• Spelt
• Licorice
• soy and teriyaki sauces
• spelt
• kamut
• einkorn
• farina
• cake flour
• bread
• cakes
• cereals
• cookies
• crackers
• pretzels
• pasta and pizza crusts

Drinks Allowed in the Diet Plan

Coming to drinks, you have comfortable choices both in the alcoholic and non-alcoholic section. Although, keeping alcohol intake in check is a good practice while on a diet. It optimises your benefits over the long term.

Fruit juices: Any kind of fruit juice proves to be a good start of your day. Fresh, homemade juices have a better value content.

Flavoured water: You can flavour your water with cardamom, tulsi, mint, cloves and lemon. Other than these, I wonder if you have read about detox water? If you haven’t you should definitely dig in to know more about it. Its worth a try and gives you so many refreshing, easy and healthy options for the drinks.

Cider, wine, spirits and Sherry: All these are acceptable on a gluten free diet. In fact, in addition to these gluten free beer and lager are also allowed.

Maybe or Maybe Not Foods in Diet

Beer:  Beer made from barley is popular for being gluten free. But one should understand that it just makes it gluten-removed not gluten-free.

Food Starch: Expect in the case when it contains wheat extracts, food starch can be used in your gluten meals freely.

Oats: Oats are inherently gluten-free but cross-contamination is very common in them. Hence, it is often recommended to go for gluten-free labelled oats. The same applies for granola bars, oats cookies and other oats containing gluten-free foods.

Seasonings: Certain flavourings may use wheat or barley in their preparation. In such cases, they have to be avoided.

Soy Sauce: Most popular production of soy sauce is via fermenting wheat. However, recent developments have brought gluten-free soy sauce in the market too.

Processed cheese: Spray cheese contains gluten but not all processed cheese is gluten prone. In fact, most of them can be included in a gluten-free diet.

Medicines: Strict gluten diet banishes the use of medicines containing gluten too. In such cases, doctors must be consulted to prescribe an alternative drug.

Other Maybe or Maybe Not Foods

• Breads
• Cakes and pies
• Candies
• Cereals
• Communion wafers
• Cookies and crackers
• Croutons
• French fries
• Gravies
• Imitation meat or seafood
• Matzo
• Pastas
• Processed luncheon meats
• Seasoned rice mixes
• Self-basting poultry
• Soups and soup bases
• Vegetables in sauce

5 Easy Gluten Free Recipes

Following are the useful gluten free recipes for healthy living:

Recipe 1: Prosciutto-Wrapped Basil Seasoned Shrimp

Ingredients

• 20  peeled, deveined, thawed shrimp
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil
• lemon zest to match the taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of red chilli flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 10 thin slices of prosciutto
• Cooking spray
• 8 lemon wedges

Preparation

• Preheat the broiler.
• In a large bowl, mix the shrimp, basil, olive oil, zest, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
• Mix up everything properly.
• Cut the 10 slices of prosciutto thinly to total them to 20.
• Wrap the prosciutto around each shrimp ( leave the tail hanging out, and thread on an 8-inch skewer)
• Repeat with remaining shrimp for a total of 4 skewers with 5 shrimp each.
• Place the skewers on a broiling pan lightly coated with cooking spray.
• Broil the shrimp 2 minutes on each side.
• Garnish with lemon wedges.
• Serve hot.

2. Risotto Soup Recipe

Ingredients :

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• Lemon rind based on your preference
• 3/4 cup of any short-grain rice
• 3 (14 1/2-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups of thinly sliced asparagus
• 1 and a half medium sized onion
• 2 cups of roughly chopped spinach
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• Vegetable or chicken broth

Preparation:

• Pour olive oil in a large saucepan and keep on a medium flame.
• Add onion to hot oil and cook them till they turn golden in colour.  
• Add grated lemon rind and mix well.
• After 2 minutes add rice and stir in all the contents of the pan.
• Stir in chicken or vegetable broth, and bring to a boil at this stage.
• Cover the lid and simmer for 10 minutes on low flame.
• Remove the lid, stir in asparagus, spinach, and nutmeg; cook until asparagus is crisp-tender.
• Top each serving with cheese.
• Serve hot.

3. White Bean and Spinach Stew Recipe

It’s a healthy, power packed recipe which can be a part of any weight loss diet plan.  

Ingredients:

• 1 medium coarsely chopped onion
• 4 minced cloves of garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 16-ounce of rinsed and drained white beans
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 drained canned plum tomatoes
• 14-ounce can of less-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups of roughly chopped baby spinach leaves.
• 2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:

• Heat oil over medium-high heat in a saucepan.
• Add onion to it.
• Cook for 5 minutes until the onions turn tender.
• Add garlic and thyme to it.
• Cook for 1-minute and stir continuously.
• Add beans, water, tomatoes, and broth to it.
• Increase heat to high until stew begins to bubble.
• Reduce heat.
• Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Smash up the tomatoes with a spoon.
• Add more water, if necessary.
• Put spinach and after stirring for a while add chicken.
• Cook for 2 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve hot and fresh.

4. Artic Lime Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

• 12-ounce of concentrated thawed limeade
• 12.3-ounce of package reduced-fat silken firm tofu, drained
• 1 and 1/2 cups of water
• Few Mint sprigs and grated lime

Preparation:

• Put  limeade and tofu in a blender.
• Process until they are smooth.
• Add water to it if needed and mix well.
• Pour the mixture into an ice-cream freezer.
• Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Spoon the mixture into a freezer-safe container.
• Cover and freeze until firm.
• Garnish with mint and lime.

5. Summer Salad Recipe

This recipe is great one for a vegetarian diet plan.

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup of boiled corn
• 1 cup of diced and microwaved green capsicum
• Half a lemon
• Griller panner cubes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Chop up the cucumber and tomato.
• Cut the carrots into julienne.
• Take a big bowl and mix the veggies well.
• Add corn, capsicum and paneer cubes.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper.
• Add a dash of lime.
• Serve fresh.

The Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest is becoming a popular and practical notation at the same time. It is imperative to take care of your health and body. A balanced and tailor made gluten free diet plan for healthy living can bring in a lot of positive flow within your body. A healthy diet will keep you more active, immune and aware amidst harsh environmental alterations. Above all make sure you listen well to your body and note its response to various diet alterations. A glove may not fit in all sizes, similarly, it is of utmost importance to know what suits your body regardless of the bold guidelines.