Sunday, 31 May 2020

Gluten Free Meal Ideas

I have struggled with a gluten intolerance for months now and when I first started eating gluten free products, I all of a sudden stopped being able to face them and would go whole days without eating anything. I googled this and it was actually something pretty common so instead of taking advice I went back to eating normal food but as time progressed, I started to feel so much worse when I had eaten it so I put a stop to it and started meal planning. I decided to have most meals naturally gluten free and then the only gluten free thing I can still stomach is pasta so I made the most of that too. The only things I do eat that still contain gluten are crumpets and wraps and even then I stick to specific brands that I know I can stomach well. I wanted to bring up a few suggestions for people in the same boat as me who need some inspiration and it’s all about trying something new as well. 

1. Thai Red Curry
Thai red curry is one of my favourite meals and I most definitely could not do without it but I have found a way to do it without gluten in. Aldi sell Thai red & Thai green curry kits in their stores which are great and completely gluten free. They are also so easy to use and all you need to mix in is some chicken and some oriental stir fry mixed veg. Of course all your meat and veg is naturally gluten free and a lot of healthier than most foods. I will link one of the kits below so you know what to look for in your local Aldi store.

2. Sweet Chilli Chicken Wrap
If you enjoy sweet chilli and chicken then this is for you. Iceland sell frozen sweet chilli chicken mini fillets which taste amazing and are naturally gluten free. I love to put these into a Weight Watchers wrap with some extra Blue Dragon sweet chilli sauce and it’s the perfect lunchtime snack. I will link both the chicken fillets and the wraps below.

3. Salmon Bowl
Not only is this completely gluten free but it’s also very healthy and suitable if you are a clean eater. I found this recipe on Pinterest and I haven’t tried it yet but looking forward to trying it. I will link the recipe below. 

4. Feta Cheese Omelette
I saw this on Clean Eating Alice’s post and loved it when I tried it. I’m not a fan of omelettes I think they are so boring but this one was really nice and I would recommend it. You can add bits on the side if you want to or you can also add extras into the omelette like tomatoes for a better meal. I will link the recipe below.

5. Peri Peri Chicken With Garlic Kale & Crispy Potatoes
This is a dish that I am still experimenting with so I would usually cook the chicken breast in the oven wrapped in foil with a drizzle of water at the bottom of the tin just to prevent it from drying out. Once done I drizzle peri peri sauce over it, the one I use is only sold in Canada but you could easily use your favourite Nando’s sauce. The sides are currently what I am experimenting with, for the kale to be perfect all you need to do is fry it up with some onions and garlic cloves. Since my mum doesn’t like having fresh garlic in the house I have tried using garlic butter and garlic powder but neither worked so I am next to try garlic cooking oil which I will link below and if that doesn’t work then my mum has spotted some frozen garlic sold by Iceland which I will try next. For the potatoes, I have only seen this recipe this morning on Laura Meachem’s vlog and all she does is slices up some salad potatoes, lays them in a baking tray and drizzles it with garlic oil, salt and pepper and then roasts it in the oven. I am looking forward to trying these potatoes.

6. Pork Stir Fry W Chinese Curry Sauce
I know curry sauce is a strange thing to have with a stir fry but trust me it goes so well! It’s something I have always had and my grandma used to do the best chicken stir fry so I just used her recipe for this which is so simple. All you need to do is fry up your meat and a pack of oriental stir fry veg, you can also add in some mushrooms and some baby corns as well if. I know that noodles aren’t gluten free and I am currently on the hunt for some that I can stomach so if you have any recommendations please let me know. For the sauce the best gluten free one to use is Mayflower which you can buy from B&M. It tastes the same as Maysan Chinese curry paste if you have ever had that before. I will link the curry sauce below.

7. Chorizo & Boiled Egg Salad
This is definitely something a little different that I am willing to try. So you have to be careful with chorizo as this can sometimes contain gluten but if you check the packaging you should be fine, I will try to find one that doesn’t have gluten in and link it below and then all you need is boiled eggs green beans and salad potatoes.

8. Mozzarella Meatballs W GF Pasta & Bolognese Sauce
This is something I have recently been experimenting with and I have managed to find my favourite recipe. To season my mince I use salt, pepper and garlic powder. For the mozzarella, I recommend using the ball rather than the grated kind as the ball melts better inside the meatballs. For my pasta I buy Morrison’s own gluten free pasta which I find is the best one I will link it below and then for Bolognese sauce I use Dolmio which is naturally gluten free. To heat my sauce I put it in a microwave bowl and then heat it for around 2 minutes, it’s just so much quicker than heating it in a pan.

9. Carbonara W GF Pasta
This is the first of the pasta dishes, trust me there are a lot that I have chosen but that is because pasta would be the main thing I missed if I didn’t like gluten free. I have my own recipe for a carbonara. You can use carbonara sauce if you want, we usually go for Dolmio which I will link below or something I found that I really liked was to use White Lasagne sauce instead as the flavours from everything else soak up into the sauce. I will link a white lasagne sauce below as well. I would usually fry up my gammon steak, we usually get ours from Farmfoods but their site isn’t the best for links and if you didn’t want to use gammon then you could switch it up for Turkey for a different twist. I would also fry it up with some mushrooms and frozen peas (yes that sounds weird but trust me it goes well) once that is done and the pasta is done I mix it all in one pan with the sauce and wait for it to heat up, by doing it this way, the juices from the gammon go into your sauce which adds more flavour. Once I have it served out I season it with plenty of pepper and truffle oil.

10. Spaghetti Bolognese W GF Pasta
My mum’s Spaghetti Bolognese is my favourite meal and now I can have it with GF pasta I’m even happier. All she does is boil her mince with onions. Once that’s done she drains it off and adds tomato purée, garlic purée or powder, chopped mushrooms, tinned tomatoes or sometimes cherry tomatoes depending what we have in, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and a crumbled beef stock cube. Once all that is done she adds in the Dolmio Bolognese sauce that I linked earlier I will link some of the branded ingredients that she uses if you are wanting to do this one for yourself. We usually top it with Red Leicester cheese as we prefer this to Parmesan.

11. Chinese Chicken Curry & Rice
I’m sure we all love a good Chinese curry from the local takeaway and we may sometimes be naughty and have one anyway knowing how much gluten Chinese food has in it. With my mum’s recipe it is so much easier to stomach as it’s totally gluten free. She fry’s up her chicken and onions together and then while that is cooking, she makes up the sauce which is usually Mayflower that I mentioned earlier, to give it more flavour she adds in a beef stock cube to thicken the sauce a bit, for spices she puts in a teaspoon of each but it depends how much you like spice as to what measurements you want to use, she adds in cumin, turmeric, Chinese 5 spice, paprika, garlic powder and mild chilli powder and then cooks it with the chicken & onions inside, she then adds mushrooms and beansprouts and sometimes water chestnuts and then she also microwaves a bowl of peas and sweetcorn and adds them in. Whilst this is cooking she cooks up the rice which is also naturally gluten free and then she serves it with prawn crackers.

12. Minced Beef Rogan Josh & Rice
This is another one of my mums recipes and surprisingly, minced beef goes well in it. To make this curry, she boils her mince and onions and then drains it once cooked. She then adds a Rogan Josh sauce into it and some chopped tinned tomatoes to make it more mild. I will link the sauce that she uses below. She also cooks the rice alongside and then serves it with mini poppadoms.

13. Chicken Madras & Rice W Mini Poppadoms
If you are like me and don’t like too much spice don’t worry there is a way to cool it down so it tastes a lot better. I actually tasted my first madras not long ago at my friends house and he did a much weaker version that was amazing and made me fall in love with madras, I don’t have his exact recipe but I know he used a madras paste in there which I will link below and then I am assuming he weakened it by using coconut milk. I know you can also use tinned tomatoes to weaken a curry down if you want to. So me personally, I would fry up chicken with onions and while that’s cooking, I would make up my madras paste and put the coconut milk inside. Once the chicken is done, I would mix it in with the sauce and heat it all up. Also for rice, because I would be the only one in the house to eat this curry I would probably buy a microwave pack.

14. Spanish Chicken & Rice
I bought a gluten free Spanish chicken ready meal from Morrison’s a few months ago to try and it was actually really nice but it made me want to do my own version of Spanish chicken so instead of doing it from scratch, I found a jar sauce from Asda to mix my chicken and rice with. I will link the sauce below which is completely gluten free!

15. Chicken Satay
Chicken satay is another favourite of mine from the local Chinese takeaway but I have found a gluten free version which I cannot wait to try. I will link the recipe for this below.

16. Tikka Turkey Burgers
If you have never tried turkey burgers before, I highly recommend you do, I haven’t tried this tikka one just yet but I am looking forward to trying it especially when we have a family bbq. For the bread bun, Morrison’s sell some gluten free brioche bread rolls by the brand Genius. This is the only gluten free bread I can eat but it goes so well with a burger. I will link the recipe below for these burgers and I will also link the bread rolls.

17. Creamy Salmon & Asparagus Gluten Free Pasta
Like meat, seafood and shellfish is also naturally gluten free so you are safe to eat it. I absolutely love a fresh salmon fillet and I also really like asparagus surprisingly so I think it will go well together in a pasta dish and of course switch the pasta up for gluten free and your meal is fine. I will link the recipe below.

18. Fajita Chicken Gluten Free Pasta
Fajitas and pasta are 2 of my favourite things combined in one! I am really looking forward to trying this with gluten free pasta. I will link the recipe below.

19. Chicken & Mushroom Gluten Free Pasta 
I don’t know about you but I know I absolutely love those Bachelors & Aldi versions of those pasta and sauces you can either put in the microwave or in a pan with milk but of course they are full of gluten. By making your own it will taste better and be a lot easier to stomach. I will link a recipe below.

20. Prawn, Chilli & Garlic Gluten Free Pasta
You always seem to find this or something similar on the menu at an Italian restaurant and again Italian restaurants are full of gluten so by recreating your own it will be much better for you. I will link the recipe below for this meal.

21. Sweet Chilli Chicken Salad
Going back to the Iceland sweet chilli chicken fillets from earlier, instead of keeping them in a wrap you can also create your favourite kind of salad and add them in there too and it goes perfectly. With mine I usually add in shredded iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, finely chopped spring onion, sliced peppers, garlic and chive cream cheese and I sometimes may add some radishes as well. It is also a really filling meal to put you on until teatime.

22. Tuna Mayo Pasta
Tuna mayo pasta is a really simple and easy lunchtime meal idea. When I make tuna mayo, I always mix it with salad cream instead of mayo as I think it has a nicer flavour. What I also love to do with tuna mayo is finely chop a spring onion into it because it adds texture to it, you can also do this with tinned sweetcorn if you prefer. A hack I always use with pasta as well is rather than setting it aside to go cold before the tuna goes in I drain my pasta and then keep it in the sieve whilst running cold water over it evenly and for a couple of minutes, it instantly takes the heat out of it and lets you eat a lot quicker. The problem with doing this with gluten free pasta is that it can harden as it goes cold so it feels a bit undercooked but it’s not too much of a big deal. 

23. Gluten Free Fajitas
We all love fajitas and will definitely be missing out on them but did you know you can get gluten free fajita kits by Olde El Paso? I will link one below and then all you have to bring to the table is the meat & veg or a yum vegetarian/vegan twist would be to use Halloumi instead. 

24. Gluten Free Katsu Curry
I know the whole point of a katsu curry is to have breaded chicken but it won’t taste any different without breadcrumbs right? And if so then you can also buy gluten free breadcrumbs or make your own. I will link some below. I have also discovered that Asda do a gluten free Katsu curry sauce which I will also link below. There’s not a lot in Katsu curry so it’s very easy to make and you can just serve it with rice. 

25. Red Pepper Gluten Free Pasta
Aldi do a lovely pepper stir in pasta sauce which is so much easier to use, all you need to to do is cook your pasta as normal and then stir in the sauce and it’s done. You can add meat in if you want, chorizo would go really nice with it but I also like it on its own. I will link the sauce below.

26. Gluten Free Tuna Pasta Bake
We all love a good tuna pasta bake don’t we but of course it involves pasta and flour but if you switch that to gluten free then you should be able to still eat it. I will leave the recipe below for a gluten free pasta bake.

27. Sweet Chilli Prawns & Noodles
As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t found any noodles that I can stomach just yet but I think this will be a good idea to try, all I would do is cook the prawns and the noodles and then just coat the prawns in sweet chilli sauce and mix it all in. Both prawns and sweet chilli sauce are naturally gluten free so it’s definitely a win and kind of like a chow mein from your local Chinese but minus the gluten and vegetables which you could add in if you wanted.

28. Bacon, Mushroom & Truffle Oil Gluten Free Pasta
I have had this pasta dish before and honestly it is one of the best I have ever tasted! It is also really easy to make up. The way I did it was fry up the bacon and mushrooms together and then also make your sauce which is just double cream,  Parmesan cheese and truffle oil. Also cook your pasta at the same and then just whack it all in one when it’s done. I will link my favourite supermarket truffle oil below. 

29. Smoked Mackerel & Spring Onion Jacket Potato
This may be a very weird combination for a jacket potato but I am really wanting to try it as it looked nice online. For jacket potatoes, we usually buy boxes of frozen ones which just go in the microwave for 5 minutes and they taste just as good as doing your own. I will try and link them below. I will also link this recipe below in case there are any other extras involved.
Smoked Mackerel & Spring Onion Jacket Potato Recipe- https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/smoked-mackerel-and-spring-onion-jacket

30. Spicy Tuna & Sweetcorn Jacket Potato
This recipe did also include red kidney beans but I’m not a fan of those so I decided I wouldn’t add them on but when I link the recipe you can add them in if you like. We’ve all had a tuna and sweetcorn jacket potato before but have we had a spicy one? I am personally looking forward to trying this one. If you are worried about adding hot sauce to it, I would recommend trying Nando’s perinaise with it, I will link some below as this is a lot milder and may actually end up tasting really good.

31. Greek Chicken Gyros
The only thing that does have gluten in is the flatbread, but if you want, you could always use the weight watchers wraps I mentioned earlier instead or I find that pitta breads are easier to stomach as well. I will link the recipe below.

32. Gluten Free Mushroom Carbonara
If you are vegan or wanting to try more vegan meals then this mushroom carbonara may be for you. This is a completely vegan meal and I will link the recipe below.

33. Tomato, Feta & Cucumber Salad
This salad recipe is so simple and easy to make and also very summery and light. I think it would make the perfect summertime lunch. To make it, you only need tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumber and red onion. You can add dressing if you want but I think it would be nicer without personally. I am looking forward to trying this. I will link the recipe I have found below if you want to use the same dressing as they have.

34. Chicken W Garlic Butter Asparagus & Broccoli Salad
Another clean eating idea which is all naturally gluten free. For this, I would cook my chicken the same as earlier and then fry the asparagus and drizzle garlic butter over it. For the broccoli salad, I will link a recipe below. Honestly this is one of the nicest summer side dishes and goes with pretty much everything. This meal will also be nice and light for a summers evening.

35. Garlic & Paprika Chicken W Sweet Potato Fries & Coleslaw.
Not only can you put this together as a meal but you could also do this chicken on the bbq for something a little different to burgers and hot dogs. I will link the recipe below for the chicken and then I will also link the sweet potato fries that we buy at home below. I think this is a really summery meal that is super light and will definitely taste amazing!

36. Greek Chicken Burgers W Tzatziki
Although this is pretty similar to the chicken gyros, I think this will either make a beautiful light lunch or even a nice summers evening dinner with some salad. You can always use the brioche buns from earlier as your bread too. I will link the recipe for these burgers below.

37. Hunters/Smothered Chicken W Sweet Potato Fries & Coleslaw
Smothered chicken is something I always get when I’m in a pub/restaurant. It is honestly the best meal and at the minute if you know how to recreate it you can feel like you’re in Spoons or Brewer’s Fayre. The way I would do it is coat the chicken in bbq sauce, I would use Heinz bbq sauce which I will link and then I would wrap it in bacon strips and wrap sliced cheese around it and then cook it in the oven. For a side I would serve it with the sweet potato fries I mentioned earlier and coleslaw. 

38. Chicken In Feta Cheese Sauce W Salad & Crispy Potatoes
I have had chicken stuffed with feta cheese before but never in feta cheese sauce and I am excited to try this. I will link the recipe below and then for sides I would serve it with salad and the crispy potatoes I mentioned earlier from Laura Meachem’s vlog.

39. Chicken Tikka Wrap
We all love a good chicken tikka wrap from the local takeaway when we’re steaming after a night out don’t we? Well those wraps aren’t no good for anyone with a gluten intolerance but when I came across these I needed to share them. The only thing that involves gluten is the wraps but you can use the Weight Watchers ones I keep mentioning instead. I will leave the recipe for these below, these are also so easy to make just by using a tikka paste rather than making your own seasoning.

40. Feta Stuffed Chicken In Red Pepper Sauce W Savoury Rice.
This is a recipe that I have tried before and honestly it is so worth it. You can choose whatever sides you want but I went with savoury rice because I thought it would go well with it. I will link the rice that I would use below and I will also link the recipe below.

41. Chilli Cheese Fries With Criss-Cross Potatoes
These are most definitely for a cheat day but surprisingly they are still gluten free, my favourite potato criss cuts were from Morrison’s but I have just found out they have been discontinued so I will try and find some more. I will also link the chilli recipe below as well and then all you need to do is top it with some cheese, chopped spring onions and chopped crispy bacon and you could top them with sour cream if you want wanted as well. Definitely a hangover treat.

42. Salmon, Watercress & Potato Salad
This is another twist on a classic salad which I think sounds amazing, the recipe does include a lot of things that I won’t but I would definitely stick to most of it and it will still be as nice. I will link the recipe below if anyone wants to follow everything in it.

43. Tandoori Chicken Burgers 
These are another fun twist on a classic chicken burger which are going to taste great. The only thing with gluten in this recipe is naan bread but you can easily switch that for the gluten free bread rolls I mentioned earlier. I will link this recipe below.

44. Lobster Potato Salad W Truffle Mayo
This is a very fancy lunchtime meal but if you have the money to spend on a lobster then this is definitely for you, for the mayo you can easily just add truffle oil to a pot of mayo so you don’t have to make it from scratch. I will link the recipe below and I will try and find the cheapest lobster tails I can find.

45. Chinese Pork & Rice Or Cous Cous
This is one of my favourite meals to eat when I want something light for tea. It’s also really easy to make. All I do is cook a Chinese pork/chicken steak in the oven which we get from Farmfoods and then you just need to do your rice or Cous Cous. Cous Cous is so much easier to make as it only takes 5 minutes and just sits in boiling water. You may think it’s a weird meal idea but it actually goes so well. I use golden vegetable flavoured Cous Cous and it goes perfect.

46. Lamb Burgers W Tzatziki & Salad
This is a recipe that I cannot wait to try, these will be really nice for a summer meal and they would also be nice on a bbq. You can serve them in a gluten free bread roll with salad on the side and it will be the perfect gluten free meal. I will link the recipe below. 

47. Jerk Chicken W Corn On The Cob & Salad & Coleslaw
Something that I started to love last year during my Canada trip was Jerk Chicken. If you enjoy spicy bbq chicken, then this is definitely for you. Levi Roots Reggae Sauce is gluten free as well so you can easily coat your chicken in that and then all you need to do is serve it with a corn on the cob and a salad or coleslaw or both. 

48. Peri Peri Chicken Burgers W Salad & Coleslaw
These chicken burgers sound absolutely amazing. I am so looking forward to trying these. They will keep me on until Nando’s reopens properly. I will link the recipe below.

49. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Wrap 
This wrap is definitely a controversial one, it all depends if you are comfortable with pineapple being part of a savoury meal, I personally think it will go well like it does with gammon. I will leave a link below to the recipe.

50. Chilli Garlic Prawn Stir Fry W Noodles
Chilli & garlic is actually a great combo for somebody who doesn’t like a lot of spice or anything hot because it’s not as bad as you think. I personally think this would taste so nice in a stir fry with some noodles. I will link the prawn recipe below.

51. Thai Salmon W Noodles
As you can see from this post I love anything in sweet chilli sauce and I think it would go so well with salmon and then served with noodles or stir fry. I will link the recipe below.

52. Fish W Pomegranate Salsa & Salad Or Garlic Kale
I saw this on Pinterest and wasn’t sure about the pomegranate salsa but I am willing to try it, I think it would be nice and something a bit different. I will leave the recipe below.

53. Salmon Traybake W Salad
This is a tasty, healthy and gluten free meal idea that can feed a whole family and it’s also very light. I will leave the recipe below.

54. Salmon & Sweet Potato Fish Pie
A fish pie is a really easy summertime meal and can be filling enough on its own. Fish pie is a great gluten free meal idea because it is just made up of mostly potato rather than pastry. Also salmon and sweet potato add a bit of a different twist than your normal fish pie with mash and parsley sauce. I will leave the recipe below.

55. Salmon Burgers W Avocado Salsa & Salad
I honestly can’t imagine how salmon burgers would taste but I reckon they would be quite nice, I can’t wait to experiment with them. If you’re like me and don’t like avocado then you could switch it for guacamole or you could just try it if you want and hope it tastes like guacamole. (No there isn’t a that much of a difference but guacamole is so much nicer than avocado itself) I will link the recipe for these burgers below.

56. Salmon & Sweet Potato Fishcakes
So I know with fishcakes you have to breadcrumb them which you can easily use gluten free breadcrumbs for. Fishcakes are the best in a butty but of course you can also buy gluten free bread to make it completely gluten free. Salmon and sweet potato also mix it up from just a regular fishcake. I will link the recipe below.

57. Loaded Naans
Although we cannot buy gluten free naan bread, we can make it from scratch and apparently it tastes just as good as the real thing. I will link a recipe below and also for the loaded naans. I think this is something a little different to your regular pizzas. I am looking forward to trying this.

58. Pizza Nachos
This is probably about to make your day like it just has mine but nachos are completely gluten free! I am actually so happy to have found that out. Anyway, if you mix nachos with your favourite pizza toppings they actually taste so good! I have tried these nachos in past and they were amazing I would highly recommend them. I will link the recipe below.

59. Sweet Chilli Chicken Pizza 
I have yet to try a completely gluten free pizza base to see if it tastes ok so I am open to any recommendations but I will link one below anyway.I honestly think sweet chilli chicken will go amazingly well on a pizza and I need to try it. I will link the recipe below

60. Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms & Salad
If you love mushrooms and pizza then this is definitely for you! These sound amazing and I think they will be nice and light with a salad. I will link the recipe below.

So I finally got to the end, there were so many ideas on Pinterest and there’s probably many more too. I would highly recommend Pinterest for inspiration on anything whether it’s gluten free recipes or fashion inspiration you will find something you love on there. The one thing I do want to say is that a few of these recipes involve things from the gluten free aisle and instead of rushing straight for those things I would recommend looking at the normal product first as sometimes they just stick gluten free on it and sell it for more when really the normal product is naturally gluten free anyway. An example of this is a lot of cooking sauces and sweet chilli sauce, both of these are naturally gluten free. I recommend to anyone who is just beginning a gluten free diet to just check the ingredients before you buy straight from the gluten free aisle because you could be paying a lot more for something which doesn’t have any tailored ingredients in the first place. I hope that you decide to try some of these recipes and I would love to see what you thought of them especially ones of my own or my mums.


























































































































































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