Sneaky Gluten Tips & Tricks
One way to simplify the grocery shopping process is to stick with buying minimally processed foods that are either naturally gluten-free or clearly labeled gluten-free.
Selecting naturally gluten-free foods is also a great way to decrease your spending on groceries as well as to increase your consumption of more nutrient-dense foods.
Since gluten is commonly found in pre-made salad dressings, marinades, sauces, and spice blends, consider making homemade versions.
Basic salad dressing: 3 parts olive oil to 1 part favorite vinegar, salt and pepper to taste (with possible add-ins: mustard, touch of honey, garlic, or favorite herbs (basil, dill, mint, tarragon).
Basic tomato sauce: Sauté 2 cloves crushed garlic (¼-½ tsp dried garlic) in 2 TBSP olive oil, add 1 tsp dried basil, add 1 can crushed tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste (add-ins: crushed red pepper flakes, touch of ground cumin, GF Herbs de Provence, sun-dried tomato paste). It is easy to make a double or triple batch in order to freeze the extra for a future meal. This sauce can be used on GF pasta, GF grains, GF pizza, preferred protein, or grilled/sauteed vegetables.
All-purpose marinade: Start with olive oil and salt and pepper (with possible add-ins: favorite GF mustard, fresh or dried garlic, assorted herbs, GF tamari, GF miso paste, GF spice blends
(It is important to note that some spice blends are not gluten-free. Since a lot of single herbs and spices are gluten-free, it is fun to create your own spice blends by combining single spices.