Gluten-Free Diet Snacks

You may have a sensitivity to gluten, which is a protein in wheat, barley and rye, if you notice symptoms like bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, migraines, arthritis and nightmares. Removing gluten from your diet can alleviate these symptoms if you have an intolerance or a gluten allergy. Food items containing gluten include bread, bagels, muffins, cake, cookies, cereal and chips. Gluten is difficult to metabolize because of its large size. When your body metabolizes this protein and it crosses your intestinal wall into your bloodstream, your body can initiate an immune response because it sees gluten as a foreign object.

Fruit and Vegetables

A good alternative for a snack with gluten includes fruit or vegetables. You can increase your fiber through substituting carrots or an orange for a muffin. This helps you avoid wheat, barley and rye while providing you with an array of vitamins and minerals.

Dairy

You can avoid gluten in your snacks by eating dairy products. For example, yogurt and cheese are both healthy gluten-free snack options, which also provide you with calcium and probiotics.

Nuts

Nuts also do not contain gluten, so you can incorporate them as a snack. You can choose almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans and Brazil nuts. Also, try mixing raw nuts, like raw almonds and cashews, with dried cranberries or dried blueberries to make your own trail mix.

Gluten-Free Baked Good Mixes

There are many substitutes for wheat flour, such as almond flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, arrowroot flour and potato starch flour. Brands like Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mill produce baking mixes, such as gluten-free cornbread mix, cookie mix and cake mix.

Gluten-Free Prepared Foods

If you want a snack that is already prepared, you can find food items like gluten-free muffins, gluten-free bread, gluten-free tortillas, gluten-free Thai noodles, gluten-free pizza dough and gluten-free crackers, like rice crackers. Check the ingredients list on the food items for gluten, wheat, rye or barley. Also, many stores have a section with gluten-free prepared food items.