What Do You Eat When You Can't Eat Wheat?

This question baffled me when I made my first weekly menu after taking Dino off gluten. No pasta, no sandwiches, no panninis, lots of potatoes.

That was how it started.

Then I noticed all the 'gluten free' products out on the market. There is pasta--Pasta Joy is excellent. There is bread--not the normal 'fluffy' bread but a thick dense bread that makes great panninis. And there is so much you can do with potatoes.

I decided to focus my meal plan on all we could eat and avoid the items we just could not eat.

Breakfast has almost always been eggs, salsa and chicken sausage. That was all gluten free. I mourned the loss of pancake day but quickly discovered some Van's frozen waffles that are wheat free-- the apple cinnamon are the best choice.

Lunch I learned to get a bit more creative. We have embraced the Tex-mex spirit of the state and have had more taco salads and nacho meals than I can count. Luckily, the kids are bigger fans of Tex-mex than Italian. We also became very big fans of fruit and cheese plates without any crackers. It took a while but I think the kids are not missing too much.

Dinner was very easy thanks to all the gluten free pastas and the 'low carb' meals so popular these days!

Following is this week's dinner plan:

Monday: Mike's b-day so we ordering out (I will post gluten free restaurants next week)

Tuesday: Chipolte with dried cherry sausage and roasted potatoes with a green salad

Wednesday: Taco Salad (tortilla chips, spinach, bison meat seasoned with taco seasoning (gluten free), and freshly shredded Mammoth cheddar) On the side, salsa and guac (gluten-free)

Thursday: Butternut squash with Kale Casserole (quite possibly my favorite fall dish using gluten-free brown rice pasta and no bread crumbs)

Friday: Sweet Chicken Soup (rather than noodles, I added peeled, diced sweet potato with the veggies in the beginning)

Saturday: Pizza (the crust is already pre-made courtesy of Whole Foods and only $4.95!)

Sunday: Chicken Curry Soup with a salad

Next week, I will be discussing learning how to eat out and being gluten free--it's not as hard as it sounds!

For more menu ideas, check out Jen at Chive Talkin'