Wheat-Free inspiration!

[vermontgirl]

Hey wise ladies,

I recently stopped eating wheat...and basically all flour. I have been really loving the new diet and the way I feel on it but I am starting to lose some inspiration steam.

What are some of your favorite flour-free things to eat? I would love a large list created by everyone interested. :)

Have a great day!

[greenmom4]

Have you looked on the paleo blogs?  Lots of good ideas there (wheat free and low carb, but it would be easy to add in potatoes or rice or whatever if you didn't care about the low carb thing).  My favorites are modernpaleowarfare.com, primal-palate.com and, of course, marksdailyapple.com

We've been having braised beef shanks on a regular basis, and also lots of curries, chicken drumsticks, BLTs (minus the buns).  I'll try to think of some more good ones!

[cristeen]

There used to be a paleo thread (and a grain-free thread) or 3 around here somewhere, you might want to see if you can dig them up for all the good info. 

I make a BLT salad or stuffed tomatoes when they're in season for the BLT flavor.  Love me some bacon.  I think you just stimulated a pg craving. 

Tonight's dinner will be meatloaf and potatoes (baked?  mashed?  haven't decided).  I don't use a binder in my meatloaf - just meat and veggies.  And then I think some daikon or seaweed salad, since that's all that's in my fridge.  Maybe I'll roast a squash instead, we'll see. 

If you're only cutting out wheat and not other grains, that still leaves plenty to get creative with...

Curry over rice

Udon noodle salad or soup (you have to search for one that doesn't have wheat but they do exist)

Stroganoff over rice

Chili I like over mashed potatoes

Any number of ethnic dishes - particularly if you look in SE Asia, avoiding wheat is pretty easy.  Lots of S/Central American it's pretty easy too. 

We'll eat tacos, enchiladas or quesadillas on corn tortillas.  Corn chips for my guac. 

Just about any meal salad - tostada, taco salad, shrimp louie, cobb, etc., is easy to do without wheat. 

Really, what it comes down to if you're only cutting out wheat is that you're cutting out bread and pastries.  There are no replacements for them.  There are quasi-substitutes (see the GF boom), but none of them will really compare.  IME it's just easiest to move on to other things. 

We eat a lot of "meat and veg" meals, like pork roast or whole roast chicken with whatever on the side.  Our "replacements" are corn tortillas and corn/quinoa pasta.  We use those just like we did before.  If I want a sandwich when I'm off wheat, I take a piece of meat, put a piece of cheese on top, maybe add a pickle spear, roll it up and eat it. 

All sorts of things, from casseroles like moussaka to meatballs over spaghetti squash with marinara. 

One of the things I recommend to people making a switch like this is that instead of concentrating so hard on what you can't have, write up a list of what you can have.  All your fave foods that are "safe", whether that's chocolate truffles or carrot sticks (prepared dishes or ingredients).  And then take a look at that list and draw up your menu plans from that.  It's a lot easier, and less depressing. 

[SundayCrepes]

www.elanaspantry.com