Whether you have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, a child with autism, or are gluten free for some other reason, getting started can be overwhelming. The good news is that it gets easier. Trust me. It really does.
What can I eat?
The biggest pressing matter you are facing is that of what you can eat right now. Actually, there is a lot of food that is perfectly safe for you to eat. But first you need to know that basics. What you need to avoid is wheat, rye, barley, and oats (unless the oats say gluten free).
Go to the produce section of the grocery store, and all the fresh fruit and vegetables that you see there are gluten free. That includes:
- lettuce
- broccoli
- apples
- oranges
- berries
- green beans
- carrots
- potatoes
- corn
- spinach
- celery
- cucumbers
- peppers
- tomatoes
- grapes
- pears
- peaches
- melons
- zucchini
- onions
- and the list goes on…
If you go to the meat section of the store, start out by sticking with fresh meat (not lunch meat, hot dogs, etc.) Plenty of those foods are gluten free too, but not always. For now, stick with plain fresh meat such as:
- beef steaks
- beef roasts
- ground beef
- chicken breasts or tenderloins
- chicken thighs or drumsticks
- whole chickens
- ground turkey
- pork chops
- pork loin
- fresh fish
Next, move on to other single ingredient foods such as:
- eggs
- milk
- butter
- rice
- dry beans
You can also use salt, pepper, and single-ingredient herbs and spices. If there is no ingredient list on a bottle, then it only contains the herb listed, such as basil.
As I said, there are certainly more gluten-free foods than listed above, but these are the easy ones. And it’s enough to get you started. You can make three meals a day and eat off of those foods for a long time, if needed. So go make yourself a steak, baked potato, and salad dinner and enjoy it!
However, most grocery stores today sell gluten-free brands of foods like bread, pasta, cookies, crackers, and more. If it’s labeled gluten free, it should be fine. At least for getting started. (I say that because some people are very sensitive and react to cross contamination in such foods after going gluten free.)
You can also check out my list of 30 processed food that are usually gluten free.
Now what?
Now that you are fed and know what to eat, it’s time to get educated. I have two resource pages here:
- Celiac Disease Information
- Gluten-Free Diet Information
- I also have lots of Gluten-Free Recipes.
The above information pages provide you with links to various blog posts on a number of topics. If you want information all in one place, I also have an eBook, How To Be Gluten Free, that is for sale on Amazon. You can find out more or purchase at these links.
- More about How To Be Gluten Free
- Purchase on Amazon (affiliate link)
If you’re not sure about something, try searching my blog. You can also Google it, but be aware that there is a lot of out-of-date and wrong information on the internet. It’s good to get information from multiple sources.