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Whole grains are a big part of a healthy diet. They make up a large part of the bottom of the food pyramid. But it’s not just whole wheat and brown rice. As you take on the wheat-free lifestyle, you soon discover the wide variety of grains to choose from.
In recent years there has been a frenzy of interest around quinoa. It’s just one of the grain alternatives you can choose from. All of these are healthy swaps in your favorite breads, pastas and side dishes.
Quinoa an alternative to wheat flour.
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah)
This is a nutritious super-food that’s actually a nut from Peru. Quinoa has a slightly nutty flavor. It cooks faster than rice, in about 15 minutes. It’s a versatile ingredient that’s good as a hot cereal or ground into flour. It adds moisture to baked goods. Try it in a dish like Autumn Root Vegetables with Quinoa.
Flaxseed
This seed has a nutty flavor. They need to be ground to get the most nutritional fiber value, although they can be toasted whole first than Flax seed an alternative to wheat flourground for later use. Add them ground to add to salads, cereal and bread dough.
Liquid flaxseed oil is also available. Try this recipe Buttermilk Marinated Chicken Breast with Flax and Wheat Germ Breading.
Buckwheat
This alternative to wheat is not a member of the wheat family and it isn’t technically a grain, but it’s often used in place of grains. It’s a good alternative for those with wheat allergies. Diets rich in buckwheat seem to promote lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Buckwheat is sold both roasted and raw and used whole, cracked or ground into flour. Use as a flour in pancakes with this recipe Gluten Free Buckwheat Pancakes.
Amaranth
The amaranth is a broad-leafed, bushy plant that grows about six feet tall. It has brightly colored flowers that can contain up to 60,000 seeds. The seeds are nutritious and are ground into flour. Not a true grain, amaranth is often called a pseudo-cereal. Amaranth belongs to the plant family that includes beets, chard, spinach, and some weeds. Try these recipes made with Amaranth flour, like Amaranth Pasta , Amaranth Pancakes, or Traditional Amaranth Atole Recipe.
Rice flour
Rice flour is used to enhance other grains. Available in both white and whole grain brown, rice flour is finer than wheat.
Millet
Millet is a drought-tolerant grass. The seeds can be used as a sorghum substitute. It can be used like rice, served creamy or fluffy.
Oat Flour
Oat flour is another great alternative to wheat. When using oats you should select gluten-free oats. These are specially-selected varieties that have eliminated the cross-contamination with wheat, barley and rye.
There is also Almond flour and Coconut flour that are becoming the top of the list alternatives to using wheat.
These are the most popular whole grains or other plant sources you can find to substitute for wheat. Each has its own unique flavor and can be used in many different ways to add variety to your cooking and baking.
Going gluten-free can really hit hard. But chin up: There's absolutely nothing that they can make with gluten which we can't make without. These eight gluten-free recipes are the ones you want to master so that you really just won't feel the pinch of that missing gluten -- and you won't be tempted to cheat on your gluten-free diet.
With them, you'll pack those school lunches without a problem, wrap up a burrito for a quick dinner, serve the proper side with your famous chili (cornbread!), make gravy or cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese, bake for the bake sale, and even satisfy that gummy-loving sweet tooth. Nothing is out of reach!
1. Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas: The best thing about these flour tortillas is just how authentic they taste. The second best thing? They freeze beautifully. Just let them cool, then wrap them in a stack (no need to place any parchment in between the tortillas--just stack 'em up) in freezer-safe wrap, and place them in the freezer. Defrost them overnight in the refrigerator, or even in a quick spin in the microwave. I always have at least a dozen in my freezer. I consider it dinner insurance.
2. Old Fashioned Gluten-Free Cornbread: If flour tortillas are always in freezer, this easy all-cornmeal, no-flour skillet cornbread is always at the top of my mind. It is a super-easy recipe to throw together, and bakes in about 20 minutes. It's the perfect accompaniment to that tried and true naturally gluten-free chili recipe your family loves, and I've even served it for breakfast, drizzled with a bit of honey.
3. The Best Gluten-Free Wonton Wrappers: Unlike conventional wonton wrappers which are sold ready-made in large grocery stores in the refrigerated case, if we want gluten-free wonton wrappers, we have to make them ourselves. And since wonton wrappers are the foundation of everything from eggrolls and crab rangoon to steamed dumplings and wonton soup, this is a gluten-free recipe to master right now. Like the gluten-free flour tortillas above, they freeze beautifully, stacked without filling, or filled and shaped. You can even boil filled wontons in soup without defrosting them at all!
4. Basic Gluten-Free Flour Roux: A flour roux is really one of the simplest ways to thicken everything from soups and sauces to cheese sauce and gravy. But have you ever tried to make a gluten-free flour roux with a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum or guar gum? Not a good scene. Master this recipe for a basic gluten-free flour roux, and you can even follow a conventional recipe the rest of the way.
5. Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Yogurt Quick Bread: Quick breads are nothing more than baked goods that are leavened with chemical leaveners (such as baking powder and baking soda), instead of yeast. So, all muffins are quick breads. So are most cakes and cookies. But not every muffin recipe will work well in a loaf pan. This recipe for a tender gluten-free yogurt quick bread, made here with miniature chocolate chips (but you could use any dry mix-in piece you like), is a wonderful basic quick bread loaf recipe to have in your back pocket.
6. Soft Batch Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Whenever someone new to gluten-free eating, who is a bit spooked and afraid to bake, asks me what they should bake first, I always say "drop cookies." No rolling out cut-out cookie dough when you're right starting out. Just drop cookies, which you "drop" by the tablespoon on a baking sheet and bake away. These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are rolled into big, round balls of dough, and they bake into a thick, pillow-soft cookie that tastes like it just came out of the oven, even once it's cooled.
7. Gluten-Free English Muffin Bread: Did someone say lunch? This is the easiest, softest, and fastest gluten-free yeast bread, and it is absolutely perfect for those school lunches. There is no shaping involved in making English Muffin bread, as it's a very, very soft dough. No learning curve!
8. Gluten-Free Red Cherry Licorice: Finally, gluten-free licorice. Read the package on most licorice, and one of the very first ingredients is wheat flour. It's just one of those things that most people just don't realize isn't naturally gluten-free. It's candy! It should be safe, right? Well, break out those candy thermometers. This is a fast and easy recipe, and it's one to master early on because you will feel like a total gluten-free rockstar when you pull it off.
