Best/worst gluten and dairy substitutes?

[bluebug32]

At the suggestion of my acupuncturist, I'm going to try an elimination/reintroduction diet for two weeks. I already know that I'm lactose intolerant (so much pleasure, so much pain), so this is something I've known I should be cutting back on or eliminating. Anything else will be an interesting insight.

I'm trying to gather some foods now. What gluten-free foods or dairy substitutes do you recommend? Any that you absolutely can't stand? I've found some great gluten-free waffles, enjoy quinoa, and have substituted avocado for cheese. I'm still looking for a gluten-free hot breakfast cereal and a decent bread or something for toast and sandwiches.

[violetpurl]

Bread and bagels - Udi's (yum!) Udi's is the best bread I've found, and I now no longer bake my own. Hot cereal - I love Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Steel Cut Oats.

[ccnyc]

For a milk replacement I recommend So Delicious Coconut Milk/unsweetened. It's neutral tasting - doesn't taste like coconut at all. This company also makes coconut milk yogurt.

If you like hot cereal, cream of buckwheat is GF. Whole grain buckwheat (kasha)can be cooked/used like rice.

[gfbikernyc]

I also like Udi's multi-grain bread - it's one of the better ones.

For Spaghetti - Schaer is the best. Schaer also makes excellent bread but unfortunately you can't find them in the US.

[ccnyc]

GF Pasta:
Tinkyada Brown Rice pasta which can be found at Whole Foods and most health food stores. Trader Joe's has brown rice pasta also.

Treats:
Pamela's Cookies are gluten-free and most are also dairy free. Their Biscotti and mini-chocolate cookies are delicious IMHO.

Stay away from Food 4 Life breads. They are truly awful. However their brown rice tortilla is really good.

I'm gluten intolerant and casein (in dairy) intolerant, and I'm also a Clinical Nutritionist, so I've studied and lived, in-depth, the GF and DF life.

BTW, if you eliminate grains from your diet you won't be missing much nutritionally. Non-starchy veggies actual have more of the nutrients that are found in grains and have at least as much fiber. Plus they're not acid-forming as grains are.

HTH

[JennK13]

Add me to the Udi's products and Bobs red mill list. Love it!

[bluebug32]

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful! Keep the recommendations coming.

Are there any cheese substitutes you like?

[Melalvai]

I tried out Daiyya (a cheese substitute that is not soy). My family hated it. I thought it was ok but it gave me a stomach ache every time I ate it. I know--you asked for what I liked, not what I disliked, but that's all the info I have.

I just tried it to see, I haven't gone dairy-free. Yet.

[OakLeaf]

When I crave junk food I like the Food for Life rice tortillas.

They're not organic, though, and I really HATE buying anything from rice that isn't organic. Rice is some of the most toxic environmentally destructive stuff on the planet, when it's grown in non-traditional ways.

[socalgal59]

Manufactures always change their productions, so what may be gluten free today, may not be gluten free tomorrow. So always read the labels.

Bread/Muffins

• Udi’s multi-grain bread is the best!
• Udi’s blueberry muffins are delicious as well; the lemon muffins are okay.
• Glutino Cinnamon Raisin Bread is good toasted--the trick is to toast the bread.
• Do NOT waste your money on Udi’s bagles or their granola--they suck.
• Food For Life is awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t waste your money. The stuff isn’t edible. Not even toasted is this bread edible. Yuk, double, yuk.
• The other gluten free breads out there are worse than Food For Life--so you can imagine how horrible the stuff tastes.

Pasta

• Ancient Harvest Quinoa pastas -- I like the quinoa pastas better than the brown rice flour pastas by far. The brown rice flour pastas are too gooey for me.
• Annies Mac & Cheese -- the best of the mac & cheeses

Baking Mixes

• Pamela’s makes very good all purpose baking mixes, bread mixes, and pancake mixes.

Cereal/Breakfast Foods

• Bakery On Main, Gluten Free Granola, makes the best granola
• Buckwheat -- despite the name, it is NOT wheat and contains no gluten.
• Vanns blueberry waffle is the best gluten free frozen waffle

Cookies/Snacks

• Pamela’s makes a good chocolate chip cookie
• Glutino makes the best chocolate wafer--these wafers are awesome. The lemon favor is real awlful.
• Glutino makes a few decent crackers and a good pretzel
• Be careful with Glutino--a lot of their products are awful!!!!!!!!!
• Blue Diamond makes an array of very good gluten free crackers: almond, hazelnut, etc
• Mary’s Gone Crackers are okay--not the best, but not too bad of a cracker
• Lundberg makes a great rice chip
• Kind makes really good fruit and nut bars
• Kettle chips are gluten free

Meats/Cold cuts: (if you eat meat)

• Boar’s Head
• Jones Dairy Farm frozen sausage
• Applegate Farms
• Aidells Sausage

[socalgal59]

BTW. gluten lurks in some unlikely places:

Soy Sauce & Teriyaki Sauce: (unless the soy sauce is Tamari style and specifically labeled wheat/gluten free, it will contain wheat). Most Asian restaurants don't use the wheat free Tamari soy sauce because it is more expensive. So if you eat out at Asian restaurants, you need to ask about the addition of soy sauce in the food.

Blue Cheese: those veins in really good quality blue cheese are bread mold. Since you don't know which brands of blue cheese are cultivated with bread mold, the rule of thumb for those on a gluten free diet is to avoid all blue cheese.

Commercially produced soups (including those in restaurants): more often than not, flour is used as a thickening agent in soups. I have only three times in the past 2 yrs found restaurants that did not add flour to their soups.

When I eat out, I ask the server about wheat/gluten in the dishes; he/she will then ask the chef. Only once did I find the server unwilling to discuss the matter with the chef. More and more restaurants have gluten free menus--even the chain restaurants, simply inquire at the hostess station.

Vitamins/medications: capsules, coatings, and other seeming inert components of vitamins and medication often contain gluten. When being prescribed medication, ask your doctor/pharmacists whether the medication is gluten free. Most Vitamin/supplement companies clearly mark their products gluten free.

Speaking of vitamin/supplement companies, there is controversy over their use of barley and wheat grass juice. These companies will use these grasses in their productions, then label their product gluten free. Some say their is no gluten in the immature grass--yet those with Celiac and gluten intolerance insist they get a reaction when they use the wheat and barley grass juice. I personally will not use these products. It's a personal choice you have to make for yourself.

[shootingstar]

Commercially produced soups (including those in restaurants): more often than not, flour is used as a thickening agent in soups. I have only three times in the past 2 yrs found restaurants that did not add flour to their soups.

Swing to consomme soups. Then the flour thickening agent situation is solved.

Alot of Asian consomme style soups do not use flour. Some might use cornstarch. One can usually tell from the consistency.

And no, alot of Asian soups do NOT need to use miso nor soy sauce if it is made properly. I actually never tried any miso until my early 40's.

[Groundhog]

My 17yo DS is GF/DF and I am GF (although I am restricting GF replacement breads and starches right now to lose weight), so here are our favs.

Bread and Bagels: UDI's Another poster above said she doesn't like the bagels but my very picky DS has never liked one of the GF breads I've bought or made from scratch and he LOVES the bagels. So since everyone has different tastes, you might like them.

Waffles: Nature's Path Homestyle is good. Also the Buckwheat and the blueberry. We like these better than Van’s but everyone will have a personal opinion on this kind of stuff, so you should try some.

Pizza crust: I like Glutino unless I'm making my own zucchini pizza...let me know if you want the recipe. It substitutes grated zucchini mixed with egg whites and garlic to sub for crust.

Cookies: Lucy’s cookies are sold at Starbucks, so if we’re out riding and DS needs a snack, we can stop in a Starbucks.

Soup: Progresso Vegetable, Pot Roast, Southwestern Chicken, Chicken and Rice and Wild Rice/Chicken were all GF/DF last time I looked (I read labels each and every time, even if I’ve bought the product before because ingredients change). However, don’t be fooled by the “lite” versions which have wheat. DS takes these in his lunch for school every day or Hormel Chili.

Pasta: I like Schar’s pasta the best. Absolutely cannot tell it apart from semolina pasta. Also like some of the quinoa pasta but can’t find the name.

Oats: I react to Bob’s Red Mill oats but love all their other products. I got “Gluten Free Oats” (that’s the company name) online from amazon dot com and I don’t react to that.

Prepared Mixes: Pamela’s is good, but it is NOT DF. For DF, Bob’s Red Mill is good but it has too much bean flour for some things. I mix my own.

Snacks: Yay for Glutino Pretzels...DS loves them. I like Mary's Gone Crackers but they are too much like eating twigs for DS.
Blue Diamond Nut Thins are great, but I react to them – I think that they are cross-contaminated. Again, others may or may not be as sensitive.
Kettle chips are GF but I think I react to the safflower oil, which I think may be contaminated or is just an intolerance of mine. Other oils are ok for me.

Best of luck!

[divingbiker]

I tried out Daiyya (a cheese substitute that is not soy). My family hated it. I thought it was ok but it gave me a stomach ache every time I ate it. I know--you asked for what I liked, not what I disliked, but that's all the info I have.

I just tried it to see, I haven't gone dairy-free. Yet.

Huh, I loooove Daiya. It's changed my world, after 19 years of not eating cheese or the nasty cheese substitutes.

I like quesadillas and cauliflower with daiya.

Love love love it.

[Atlas]

A lot of gluten free stuff has been covered so I'll go with dairy-free. Daiya is the only cheese substitute I'll eat. I know there are some awesome ones available in Europe and bigger cities, but where I live Daiya is my one and only. Teese is not good, Follow Your Heart is passable, Tofutti is ok for cheese singles since they taste like Kraft and work for nostalgic grilled cheese, there are a couple over brands that are soy based but watch out for casein which makes its way into a lot of them.

Tofutti also makes sour cream and cream cheese that is pretty good. Granted, I haven't had the real thing in years so I'm not sure how someone used to dairy versions would find them. There are lots of delicious ice cream options as well.

For milk I love Organic Valley soy milk, but Almond Breeze is a close second. Silk is ok for when I'm not near a coop or health food store. For the asceptic packages of milk Soy Dream has always been my favorite.