Gluten and dairy free - overwhelmed

[Peanutbutterismyjam]

I've recently been advised to go gluten and dairy free. I was mostly gluten free anyway but I know dairy doesn't agree with me either (not just lactose but all all dairy now).

However, I'm finding all completely overwhelming. Obviously, I know stuff like meat, vegetables, fruits and such is fine but trying to conjure up flavoursome meals has me a bit lost.

I love cheese so have always relied on that for lunches. I don't fancy free from cheese. I have two young children so don't have time to be cooking different meals or lots of time in the kitchen. I didn't realise how much we have dairy until I can no longer have it.
Where do I even start? Any tips of going gluten and dairy free? Just finding it difficult and overwhelming to remove both overnight, without relying too heavily on processed free from stuff.

I’m vegan and have IBS and am both dairy and gluten free. It’s not that difficult. There are so many plant milks nowadays you can try which ones you prefer- I like oat milk and the barista version for frothy coffees, but occasional almond or coconut milk for a gluten free porridge. Vegan cheese is very hit and miss and don’t rely on it for protein - Violife have. a creamy philadelphia like spread which is tasty and you can get their cheddar which is ok if you want a bit of flavour. Yeast flakes are good as Parmesan- like sprinkled over pasta, plus it has B12.

Peanut and other nut butters, hummus, felafels are all good for lunches.

You say you don’t want free from but honestly try at the start. My elderly Dad is dairy free and my mum (and me,dd) are coeliacs so they have a dairy and gluten. Free house. Aldi do superb free from cheese yoghurt, ice cream etc at low price and you won’t notice. Gluten free is easier than dairy free imo. Roast dinners are all gluten free as long as you use cornflour for gravy thickener or gluten free gravy granules. Pasta, rice, bolognese, most “lunch” things (meats/hummus/fruit/plain crisps etc. Also lots of vegan pizzas are also GF in the freezer section but you can make your own. You need to build up slowly, a meal at a time. Use your freezer and honestly you’ll soon adapt.

Who has advised this? Is it gluten free as in no traces of gluten etc? That’s much harder than choosing naturally gluten free stuff like rice and potatoes over pasta based meals.

Lots of traybakes with potatoes as the carb e.g. chicken, sausage and salmon

Curries like coconut chicken, Thai red fish, sweet potato satay and cauliflower.
Along the same lines, kedgeree and most pilafs are also fine.

If you make spag bol, you could serve it with a jacket potato for yourself. It doesn’t mean you need to cook two different meals.

I'm vegan and gluten free - I follow Healthy Living James on instagram whose recipes are all dairy and gluten free with some fish recipes as well. The recipes are all very quick and easy and good to batch cook and freeze etc. He's also just got a cookbook out which is great.

Are you at home at lunchtime or do you need transportable ideas?

Perhaps check with a dietitian as nutrition for you and dc must be maintained.

However, I found it easiest at the start to have a bit of time doing recipes I know are safe - stir fried with rice, baked potatoes, Mexican with rice, a good Sunday roast. Rice pudding in the slow cooker with rice milk is pretty bloody good.

This will give you thinking and research time.

who has said to give up dairy and gluten? A dietitian will help with that. Is it all dairy or just cows milk? Might oats be ok? You need to remove wheat, oats, barley, triticale etc but that leaves millet, quinoa, rice, teff, buckwheat and more https://foodsubs.com/groups/grain-products

I’m GF and swerve a lot of dairy too.

I try to think about things I CAN have, and build from there.

• the traditional roast. ie meat and 2 veg. Or fish.
• anything Asian! Historically they’ve never had dairy in their diet, so their recipes reflect this.
• Indian food, for the most part can be made dairy free.
• Persian food is often DF and GF. Check out Ottolenghi et al.

So look for rice, rice noodle and potato options. Quinoa, too.

Obviously, there are loads of GF options wrt bread, pasta etc. You’ll find what works for you. Baking cakes and cookies is easy with GF flour and something like Flora. You can also bake good stuff using ground almonds.

Check labels, as there are dairy free options outside the dairy free aisle… like Flora. I found cooking chocolate was DF, too.

Don’t panic! Just explore a bit and ease yourself into it.

Correct me if I’m wrong but kosher cooking separates meat and dairy. Have a look at that, too.