As 2019 comes to a close, it’s “New Year, New Me” resolution time. Whether going GF is a dietary choice or a necessity, these 7 tips will help you achieve your goals this year!
1) Purge Your Gluten: The best way not to give into temptation is to remove it altogether! Donate unopened gluten products to local food pantries. For things like bread or other perishables, try giving them away to friends or family who might use them. If you aren’t going gluten free for medical reasons, ease yourself into the diet by donating unopened pasta, but finishing out the loaf of bread for sandwiches.
For me, sticking to a diet means a lot of planning. I use week plan sticky notes to plan meals ahead and put them on my kitchen calendar. I plan grocery shopping and eating out in a planner so I can keep track on the go!
2) Stock up on Guilty Pleasure Foods: When starting a new diet, the hardest part is sticking with it through the first few weeks. For this, buy some snacks to eat in between meals. Fruits and veggies are always a good, healthy go-to. Popcorn and flavored rice cakes are lower calorie savory choices. For emergency snacking, keep a favorite bag of chips (most are GF: just check the label or the internet) or some Glutino cookies (GF Oreo alternative) handy and enjoy in moderation. Making a lifestyle change doesn’t happen overnight and easing in will help you stick with it for long haul.
Glutino cookies (link) are a good emergency snack for when you have a sudden craving.
3) Make Food Prep Easy: Food prepping can be hard to adjust to if you haven’t done it before. To ease in, start out by buying a few bags of frozen veggies. Try to avoid canned goods where possible if dieting: they have added salt or sugar to preserve the food. Cooking is as easy as pan frying or steaming the veggies with no extra prep time! Next, pick up some Italian seasoning (or whatever spice mix you prefer), some boneless skinless chicken breasts, and a couple of sauces you like. Season and bake the chicken (bake all of it at the beginning of the week to save time), add the veggies, and pour some sauce over it all: Voila! Dinner is ready! You can also add some Barilla GF pasta or some rice for a starch (or riced vegetables: available prepared and frozen).
An assortment of frozen vegetables keeps meals interesting and simple to prepare.
4) Prep and Freeze Ahead of Time: At the beginning of the week or month, chop and prep an assortment of veggies. Freeze a meal’s worth in reusable, freezer safe containers. Repeat this process for fruits to use in smoothies. For meat, freeze the package from the store or process (chop, skin, de-bone, etc.) ahead of time if necessary and then freeze.
Freeze meat in full packages, separate 1-2 pieces to freeze, or trim/de-bone/slice before freezing to simplify meal time.
5) Plan Meals Ahead of Time: Take some time at the beginning of the week to plan dinners for each night. Make extra to eat for lunch the next day. Eat simple, easy meals on weekday mornings: granola bars, cereal, smoothies (use the prep-ahead fruits, some protein powder, and GF oats so it's tasty and filling!). Planning ahead takes the pressure off at night and helps stop the urge to just order take-out. Remember to plan nights to eat out or order in, too, so you don't break your plans!
Having an arrangement of reusable containers makes it easy to prep ahead and save. Fun colors and designs can also make meals fun for kids!
6) Research and Plan New Foods: Being GF can feel limiting and start to seem like eating the same few foods over and over when first starting. Make a goal to find a new recipe and try it out on your night off each week. Include family and/or friends in planning and cooking to make your new diet feel less isolating. There are GF cookbooks and the internet is an excellent resource for thousands of free recipes. Our resolution this year at O'Malley's Oven is to start rolling out recipes and cooking vlogs for you to try this year that are simple and stress-free (and delicious!).
7) Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help: Talk to loved ones and ask for help keeping you honest, keeping the kitchen GF, or even going GF with you! Having the support of the people you live with, eat out with, or spend time with makes a world of difference when changing diets. And, as always, feel free to leave comments on our blog posts with any questions, suggestions, or recipe requests.
Let's make 2020 the best year yet!