A gluten-free diet is about balance. Your diet should contain the same food groups as if you were not gluten-free. However, choosing gluten-free options within those food groups can be a challenge. There are a lot of gluten-free diet choices; find a balance and make your food choices nutritious.
Breakfast
For breakfast, you could have gluten-free rice cereal, skim milk, and half of a banana. Or, you could try two slices of gluten-free turkey bacon, 4 ounces of 100 percent apple juice, and one slice of gluten-free brown rice toast. On another day, you might like a gluten-free corn muffin and half of an apple with peanut butter.
Mid-Morning Snack
A mid-morning snack helps curb your appetite until your next meal. Try celery with peanut butter, a tangerine with 1 oz. of cheese, or measure out a quarter cup of homemade trail mix with salted nuts, cashews, dried cranberries, and gluten-free white chocolate chips.
Lunch
Whether you are eating at home or packing a sack for work, a nutritious gluten-free meal is possible. Try a quesadilla with hummus, cheddar cheese, and feta cheese, paired with carrots sticks and dill pickles. Another option could be a spinach salad with grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, boiled egg, and garbanzo beans. Drizzle with your favorite gluten-free dressing. Then later in the week, try a breakfast inspired lunch, having almond butter and grape jam on a toasted gluten-free brown rice English muffin. Pair it with zucchini slices and a fresh pear.
Mid-Afternoon Snack
As with the morning, a mid-afternoon snack may be needed before dinner time. One ounce of gluten-free tortilla chips and salsa may be the perfect trick. Or, steamed asparagus wrapped in gluten-free deli turkey and cheese. Another day, you could try layered tomato and mozzarella cheese slices with a gluten-free balsamic drizzle. Not hungry before dinner but get the midnight munchies? These options would work well then as well!
Dinner
Dinner can be a fun time to get creative with gluten-free cooking. You could make a ground turkey and quinoa casserole with roasted Brussels spouts one evening and try a vegetable quiche with a potato hash brown crust the next. Pair with a side salad and blueberries and you have a complete meal. Then over the weekend, you could create a
gluten free mushroom risotto, 3 ounces of baked chicken, and 1 cup of cooked broccoli.
Beverages
Water not only hydrates but is non-caloric, leaving plenty of calories in your day for food. Limit 100 percent fruit juices to 6 oz. per day; avoid juices that aren't 100 percent fruit juice. Choose low fat or fat free milk options. Limit alcoholic beverages to one drink per day for females and two drinks per day for males. Ensure that your alcoholic beverages are gluten-free.
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