Guest guest Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 I think it is definitely possible to eat a gluten free diet that is not high in protein. Some people eat a lot of salads and chicken and meat and enjoy that kind of diet- but, it's not for me. Also, while a diet high in hamburger or other high fat meats might be bad for you long term, there are lean meats, fishes, and chicken. For me, I have the most success and health on the GF diet if I hang out in the vegetable aisles. Some healthy, filling options (that don't have to be high calorie or high fat) are sweet potatoes (my current addiction is sweet potatoes cut into fries and baked in the oven with spices and a little olive oil), regular potatoes, acorn squash, spaghetti squash (great for dieting- you can top with tomato sauce and lowfat cheese for a 'low carb' lasagna type thing), brown rice, basmati rice, risotto (arborio rice), beans, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, popcorn, onions, wild rice, corn polenta, tofu, spinach, brussel sprouts (broiled in the oven in a little olive oil and spices), corn tortillas, lentils... jicama, carrots, sweet peas, green beans... I won't put up with being hungry. While some marinades (especially those with soy sauce) contain gluten, you are by no means limited to flavorless, spice free food! There are some naturally GF marinades- or you can make your own following recipes- and it will probably taste better than the prepared stuff. Most spices are gluten free, with the exception of a few seasoning blends. Another option for handling the gluten free diet is to go crazy with International cuisine. So many are naturally gluten free! Thai pad thai made with rice noodles, Indian dosas (admittedly a challenge but so good if you can get the method down- I'm still working on it), Japanese sushi, Chinese vegetable sautees, mexican enchiladas (make the sauce yourself or use a salsa rather than enchilada sauce as a lot of enchilada sauce contains flour), homemade corn tamales... You just need a really good cookbook (or 20) and the passion to learn how to create new yummy things. I completely agree that many specially made foods don't taste that great (especially premade foods). There are some real lemons out there in the various products out there. But, in my opinion, there are some that are very good. Also, the specialty flour blends (especially mixed yourself according to Bette Hagman's recipes) can make excellent products. It's just a matter of practicing, finding good recipes, and learning a new art of gluten free baking. Please trust me- the things I make do not taste like crap! I wouldn't bother otherwise. As far as dieting and weight loss- it is possible to lose weight on a gluten free diet. I used Weight Watchers point system and, even though GF bread is a bit different, still managed to lose the weight I gained- it helped me think a lot about portion size (a big problem here in the US), and rethinking the amount of certain foods I consumed, like rice and (GF) pasta. It also helped me find certain " free " snack foods like pickles etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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