A gluten and dairy free breakfast

A former teacher and friend of mine recently was told he would need to go gluten and dairy free. This can come as quite a shock when as an adult you have been eating anything you prefer and developing favorites for decades. I went gluten free in January of 2011 after discovering an allergy to wheat and it was soon thereafter I went dairy free as well. The first 6 months of this radical diet change were rough for me. I kept cheating with gluten and dairy with my favorites like pizza justifying it by saying, 'No... I don't need to be gluten free' only to realize a mere hours after the 'gluten-ing' that I would continue to be sick if I kept up this trend.

This will be the first in a series of posts about what works for me now, what substitutions you can make in a gluten and dairy free diet that keep the flavor and nutrition values high, and what solutions I've come up with for eating out and going to friends parties.

My breakfast this morning: yogurt parfait. Here are the products I used.

The granola clusters on the left are from Trader Joe's. Believe it or not, oats and granola are a controversial gluten free subject. I tend to purchase oats and granola that are specifically labeled gluten free like Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats, Udi's Granola Bars, etc. I have felt sick from products that don't indicate their gluten free status even though there are no gluten containing ingredients listed specifically. I have also made my own granola cluster bars for monetary and personal preference needs. I have recently switched from a soy milk based yogurt to almond or coconut milk based products. The protein content is actually higher latter two milks. The brands I like are Almond Dream (pictured above center) and So Delicious Dairy Free Greek Style Yogurt. Sometimes I'll split the serving of yogurt down by half to avoid the sugar intake and make the yogurt last longer-I am a starving artist after all.

Another breakfast favorite of mine is sunny-side up eggs. Unfortunately, I am running out the door most mornings, so I don't have time to cook and sit down to eat. The great part about eggs? They are naturally gluten free. So are cooking sprays and oils. So where do you get the dipping bread that makes sunny-side up eggs so good? That's easy: Udi's Gluten Free Multi-Grain Bread. This is the best bread I have had to date and something I keep stocked in my freezer. I eat this bread about every other day, so the freezer helps keep the bread fresh since gluten free bread products tend to dry out quicker than products with wheat and all the preservatives. This bread is made with rice flour so it isn't as dense as GF bread made with potato flour for example. I use Smart Balance Buttery Spread Lite with Omega 3 oils to top off the bread and voila, sunny-side up eggs! The green pepper is for when I am feeling super fancy.

Besides granola bars and bread, another American staple for breakfast is pancakes. Now, I don't eat pancakes a ton, but I have used the Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake mix along with the butter mentioned above and maple syrup and have mostly enjoyed the results. Sometimes with certain GF flour mixes there is a chalky after taste. I'll post more on that subject as I experiment.

But where are the muffins you ask? They're right here:

These are my favorite kind of store bought muffins, but I really prefer making them at home with the King Arthur's Flour Gluten Free Muffin Mix. My favorite add-on combination is cinnamon, brown sugar and Craisins with a brown sugar crumble topping.

But most importantly, coffee. Coffee was, is and always will be gluten free.

And now it's off to work! Enjoy your Thursday!