A day in the GF life...

  Recently a friend of mine ask me about eating gluten free and wanted help designing a diet since he was knew little about it. Now, he wasn't diagnosed with Celiac or an intolerance but rather wanted to see if it would help him feel better, eat better or maybe loose a couple pounds. Going GF while not medically necessary used to annoy me because treating a medical condition as if it's a trend is just dumb. BUT after a while I accepted the concept and realized that eating GF could be an effective way to treat the most under diagnosed and misdiagnosed disease in our country. If people truly felt better eating GF then what's the harm (gluten is evil anyway and I don't think most can digest it properly). With that said, I also think it's important to keep a balance in your diet when eating GF. Yes, most carbs are out which is probably why some people lose weight. However a lot of the packaged goods are loaded with all the same bad fat, carbs and high calories as the gluten foods. There are a large amount of products out there for the taking now but choosing natural is best. Here's an example of a gluten free diet:

Breakfast: 
Eggs
GF cereals
Gf waffles
GF toast or bagels (yea they got them!)
Fresh fruit
GF oatmeal
Cream of Rice 
Grits


Lunch or dinner:
Salads (pretty wide selection with that...just hold the croutons and check the dressings)
Soups (watch for barley or malt flavoring)
Sandwiches (I got my awesome GF breads!)-tuna, turkey, roast beef, ham, PB&J, etc.
Baked potato
Chili
Tacos
Grilled chicken, steaks, fish (watch any seasoning if not preparing this yourself)
Steamed veggies
rice
polenta
rice pasta (they even have ravioli..I know this might have been a concern for some)


Snacks: 
popcorn
rice chips
rice cakes
fruit
snacky veggies like carrot sticks
tortilla chips with salsa, hummus, or guacamole
GF pretzels (I love Snyders!)

Sweets:
Most ice creams (not the ones containing cookies and such)
There are a huge variety of cookies, cakes, and sweet treats available

Beverages:
water (duh)
natural juices
soft drinks (although, again, not really healthy for you)
coffee
tea
GF beer
wine
vodka (distilled from potato)
rum
gin


With any of the food or drinks listed you just need to be aware of the ingredients..READ READ READ AND READ AGAIN. Manufacturers are not required to warn you of ingredients changes to read them EVERY time if they are not labeled GF. 

Now what about eating out? THAT can be a b*tch. To put it lightly. You can usually win with Mexican or Asian cuisine but, again, check the ingredients or talk to the manager. Most places are knowledgeable when it comes to food allergies. Below I listed a few places I have been that I safely ate and enjoyed:

http://www.redrobin.com/

http://www.chinaseaofabsecon.com/

http://bonefishgrill.com/  This company actually owns several different chains that offer GF menus!

http://triobyob.com/v3-2012/ Would love to go here again! Highly recommend it.

http://greeneggscafe.com/  Awesome breakfast!

http://www.pfchangs.com/index.aspx

These are just some of the places I have been fortunate enough to go to, there are lots out there now. Most have menus online too! Call before and check also. Nothing more frustrating then going out to eat and there's nothing but salad!