Gluten Free Substitutions

Since making a dietary change as big as going gluten free, I've made quite a bit of other changes in my diet as well.  No, I'm not giving up my red wine but I have been eating a lot less processed foods and sugar.  Other than bread, I've been trying not to get into the snacky GF stuff that's out there because just like with "regular" food, a lot of it is crap.  Only when it's GF, it's really expensive crap.  There are, however, a few things that I've really been missing.  My now and again splurges.  I'm happy to say though that I've finally found substitutions for all the things I loved so much that I thought I'd never be able to have again.

First up, pizza...meaning really yummy pizza.  I already talked about this one but it's worth mentioning again.  Sami's Bakery makes the best pizza crust that I've had since going gluten free.

Their millet and flax crust is simply out of this world.   I have a friend who is also gluten free and Sami's pizza crust is the one thing that she can get her husband and boys on board with.  It's just that good.

The other snacky/treat/indulgent food that I loved to have around pre-gf was Barbara's Peanut Butter Puffins.  Holy yumness.

I would pour a big 'ol bowl and eat it 'em like chips.  No milk, just straight up peanut butter puffin awesomeness.  When I was at Wegman's the other day, I spotted all lonely, down on the bottom shelf of gluten free cereal no man's land, a box of EnviroKidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs.  Say what???

I brought that sucker home, busted it open and holy mother of all peanut butter puffin/panda puff!  They taste almost exactly the same.  The only negative I can find is that they are quite a bit smaller so when you are stuffing your face in front of the tv, you have to pay attention a bit more or you'll end up spilling the little things all over yourself.  A minor complaint really.

The other thing that I would only buy on rare occasions because despite the fact that the bag clearly states that there are 6 servings, I would eat the entire bag in one sitting.  Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips.

Oh the sugar.  And the crunch.  Yum, yum, yum.  Today I was at the health food store buying another pizza crust and more bread when I found these:

First of all, take note that it is Sami's Bakery again!  I don't know who this Sami is but I'm a fan!  I snatched up four bags because I was so positive I was going to love them.  And I was right!  I didn't bother waiting until I got home, I busted open that bag as soon as I got in the car (but I have to say that I had been at the gym, Whole Foods and Trader Joes so I was good and hungry by this point....um....not that I would have waited anyway, but I digress...).  They are SO good!  Not an exact replica but pretty damn close!  Close enough to satisfy my craving for cinnamon sugar pita chips, that's for sure!  According to Sami, there are 6 servings in this little bag. Ha!  There are 91 calories per serving, 3g fat, 15g carbs, 8g fiber and 3g of sugar.  Not great, but not horrible!  Way better than Stacy's where in the same 1oz serving you get 140 calories, 5g fat, 20g carbs, 1g fiber and 6g sugar.  So yay!

And finally, not necessarily a snack food, but not something that I would indulge in every day either....quesadillas.  Now that flour tortillas are out, I thought quesadillas were gone for good.  I know, I can use corn tortillas but unless I'm in a Mexican restaurant, I just can't do it.  On a recent trip to Whole Foods, I found these rice tortillas.

I'm happy to report that they fit the bill perfectly!  I haven't had one as lunch wrap, I've only cooked with them but I didn't miss the old flour tortillas at all.  I will say that when making a quesadilla with one - as in folding it over - it does fall apart a bit but when I made a full size dinner quesadilla, it held up perfectly.

I used spicy black bean dip, a little bit of chesse, spinach and black bean salsa.  Yum!

So basically, it is possible to find equally yummy gluten free substitutions for the foods that you love and think you'll never have again.  You just have to be on the look out all the time and read labels to be sure in your effort to give up gluten, you are not adding a ton of other junk that you really don't need.