Contributing Author: Lillea Woodlyns
One of the challenges when eating gluten free is having enough food choices that make eating pleasurable.
Potatoes are a wonderfully flexible food to include in a GF diet. Yes, potatoes are gluten free, but you must be cautious.
3 Reasons Potatoes Are a Great Choice for GF Diets + Why You Should Be Cautious
1. Ease of Preparation
Potatoes are simple to prepare, unlike other GF starchy carbohydrate sources which often require special preparation to create a pleasing taste.
Simply peel the potatoes, if you like, then slice them up if appropriate and cook them in the way that you like: boil, steam, bake, slow cook, fry, microwave, sous-vide, BBQ… potatoes can be delicious when cooked in every way imaginable.
2. Highly Digestible
The skin of a potato is the only part that commonly causes digestive distress.
While the skin has trace nutrients and fiber, the majority of the nutrient content in a potato is in the flesh, so don’t worry about discarding the skin, you can get your fiber in other ways.
Given that people with gluten issues often have a problem with digestion in one way or another, the more easily digestible a food is, the better.
3. Nutritious
Potatoes contain decent amounts of minerals, easily digested carbohydrate and complete protein. Yes, complete! That means that, unlike most plant foods, potatoes contain the 9 essential amino acids that the body needs.
The protein level is not high per potato, but it can still be a positive contribution to daily protein intake, particularly if potatoes are favored over other carbohydrate sources that don’t contain complete protein.
Caution!
Potatoes in their whole form are gluten free, but watch out with processed foods that are potato based, including potato chips. Be sure to check labels for gluten ingredients and any warnings about possible cross-contamination with gluten foods in the factory they are processed in. Write/call manufacturers if in doubt, and also be careful when buying prepared potato dishes from delis and restaurants. Always ask to verify that a dish is truly gluten free.
Are potatoes gluten free? You bet! Learn more about the health benefits of potatoes, benefits and risks, and where to buy certified gluten free potato flour for baking at http://www.glutenfreeshoponline.com/gluten-free-diets/potatoes-gluten-free/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lillea_Woodlyns
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One concern that you may have when you start a gluten free menu in order to rid yourself of unwanted belly fat or to remove gluten sensitivity symptoms is that following a specialized diet is too expensive. That’s a valid concern. If you’ve been to the grocery store lately you can see that many food costs are on the rise while our income levels are staying, well, level. I’m all for spending the least amount of money you can on food so that you can have the resources for the other important things in your life. However, spending wisely on the right food choices so that you can experience optimal health is not only possible, but crucial to an overall healthy lifestyle.
Let me show you why following a gluten free menu may actually save you some money over what you are eating now.
Many of the foods which contain gluten are packaged and processed. Because they are wheat or grain based they are the types of foods that are easily stored in bulk. This makes them abundant; however, does it make them the best choices for your health?
Back in 1999 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that a family of four can eat at home at cost of $95.00 to $185.00 per week. Over ten years later you can still do that. The obstacle that most people have is that there are now so many processed and pre-made food choices and our lives are hectic so it’s easiest reach for those more expensive type of meals that do a little planning and cooking on your own.
I would argue that by cooking a few more meals at home you can have better control over a gluten free menu and a full array of healthy choices. Making your own stir-fry rather than purchasing a ready-made frozen variety allows you to be in control of what goes into your food and what goes into your body. Have you ever really considered the amount of sodium that you are ingesting, cumulatively, over the course of a day?
And don’t let the idea of pre-planning or cooking homemade meals scare you off. It’s amazing how much food you can freeze or store with the help of a vacuum sealer. If you are making one pan of spinach lasagna, why not make two and freeze the second one for later. By removing much of the air during storage you can keep your gluten free menu choices fresh. They will be ready to grab and go, just like the stuff that’s in your grocery freezer aisle; however, you know what’s in your gluten free homemade meal and it’s better for your body.
Just consider this one easy example. If you love to have banana bread at breakfast since you no longer need cereal on your gluten free menu, then you can make several loaves at the same time and freeze what you are not eating immediately for future use. If you purchase over ripe bananas at the store they are usually less expensive and perfect for gluten free banana bread. Once they are baked and cooled, you can wrap them in wax paper and then seal in a storage bag or a vacuum sealer. Later, just pull a loaf from the freezer, defrost and enjoy.
There are also gluten free sources that will sell their selections for your gluten free menu in bulk, thus reducing the cost. Be sure to check out the sources for a great banana bread recipe and ideas on where to buy gluten free food.
Dawn Damico is a Research Diva. With a wide range of interests she is always ready to dig to the depths of any subject, get to the meat of it, and then deliver it in a comprehensive manner. Healthy Living is her passion and that includes Food, Fitness, Finances, Family and Fun. After discovering all the benefits of a clean diet with great tasting food choices, she was thrilled to discover the added benefit of sexy gluten free abs. Discover more about Gluten Free living and receive a free Gluten Free Starter Menu by clicking through to: http://WhyBuyGlutenFree.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Damico
Being organized in the kitchen simply takes a little practice to condition some new habits. Once you get familiar with your new ‘patterns’ – cooking becomes more fun and easy, and can create more desire to want to cook more. Which means, you have more control over what you eat, preparing yourself healthier foods for greater health and vitality.
Preparing ahead, also minimizes the anxiety often associated with a gluten-free diet, as you will have plenty of delicious food at hand, made for meals and snacks on the go. It reduces the temptation to ‘cheat’ (which is not good for your health) and increases your psychological satisfaction along with your stomach (delicious taste) and body (healthy food) praising you!
Below are twelve tips to being organized in the kitchen, to help you along your way with cooking:
1. Allocate an hour or two one day a week (perhaps the day before your ‘shopping day’) to plan your meals for the week ahead. Make sure you consider your personal time constraints. Set your meals up for success. Keep them quick and easy for during your working week.
2. Create a ‘gluten free stock inventory’ list of your regular foods you purchase and mark when required, before they run out. Make a pad of multiple copies of this list and stick to the fridge. (Note: It’s handy to share this list with family and friends who may want to cook for you. It helps ‘relieve’ them of the “but what food can you eat?” fear.)
3. For meals that freeze well, make a double batch and freeze single or family sized meals for those ‘nights off’. Make sure you mark the container with the name of the meal and the date it was made/frozen.
4. Co-ordinate your meals so that many of the fresh ingredients are able to be used up and none go to waste.
5. Buy meat in bulk and make up BBQ packs, stir-fry meat packs (marinade strips of meat or chicken and freeze, ready to go). Also, create stir-fry vegetable packs and store in airtight container or zip-lock bags.
6. Store flours and dry goods in labeled air-tight containers in the pantry, so things are easy to find and get used before they expire.
7. Freeze left over liquids such as stock, lemon juice, coconut cream, evaporated skim milk and percolated coffee, in a covered ice tray for later use in meals and dessert dishes requiring only a little of the ingredient. Once frozen you can transfer to larger containers or zip lock bags so you can reuse the ice trays.
8. Buy seasonal fruit in bulk when on sale and freeze, eg. Bananas, strawberries, mangoes. Peel and slice or cut up fruit into chunks and store in zip lock bags. These make great ready-to-use serving portions for fruit smoothies, milkshakes, muffins or cakes.
9. Keep your bench tops clean and uncluttered. Wash and put dishes away each day. Inspiration to cook is often thwarted when the kitchen is in a mess.
10. Invest in a good set of quality knives and store correctly, in a block or on a knife rack. Keeping sharp knives in drawers with other utensils blunts them very quickly. A good knife to prepare food with makes ALL the difference to your cooking experience.
11. Have the quality tools – pots, pans, cutting boards, blender, several sized mixing bowls, quality containers and utensils are just some of the kitchen tools that make cooking all the more fun. Start with the basics, and go for quality rather than quantity.
12. Consider doing your grocery shopping online. With the advent of the internet, and online shopping, most countries and locations have stores that now allow you to place your order online, pay and have it delivered to your door! You could save yourself several hours a week (no queues, screaming kids, trying to find a space to park your car, etc). Once you are familiar with your online shopping account, and create a regular list, it usually takes no more than 15 minutes to place your order. You can use the rest of the time now saved (travel, store-time, queue time) to allocate it to more desirable things you want to do – or even cook!
Enjoy!
Cheers to your health & vitality – and fun, being organized in the kitchen.
