We talked about gluten and inflammation. Now let’s talk about what you can eat while going gluten-free. The good news is fat is good for you! At least some kinds of fat. This makes it much more satisfying. You can eat meat! There are some grains you can eat too. Vegetables are in! And as you are probably aware, the local grocery store has tons of gluten-free foods. We’ll go over what to look for there, too. You’ll want to check labels for other ingredients that could undermine your gluten-free diet. I’ll start the gluten-free-diet food list with things you can eat. Then we’ll talk about what to eat in moderation.
Related Article: Does Gluten Cause Inflammation?
I was pretty nervous when I started going high (good) fats and low carb. It went against everything I thought I knew about diet and health. But that definitely went away when I had my cholesterol levels checked recently. My triglycerides (the bad ones) were half of what they had been for the last 5 years, as I had been eating low fat and high carb.
The good fats are: Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT Oil), grass-fed Ghee (clarified butter) or butter for the Vitamin K2 and Omega 3s. You can get Omega 3s from fatty fish, like salmon, or supplement it with algae-based Omega 3s or a fish oil-based supplement. Krill oil is an excellent bioavailable source of Omega 3s.
If you’re committing to going gluten free, it’s a good idea to clean out your kitchen of all the wheat and gluten-containing foods. Dr. Perlmutter recommends starting with a one-day fast before going fully gluten-free.
Food lists taken from The Grain Brain Cookbook by David Perlmutter, M.D (2014).
What You Can Eat Freely:
Fats and Raw Fruit Fats
- Almond butter
- Avocado oil
- Cashew butter
- Coconut oil
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Ghee
- Organic or pasture-fed butter
- Tahini
- Walnut oil
- Avocados
- Coconuts
- Olives
Nuts and Nut Milks:
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Unsweetened coconut milk
- All nuts (except peanuts)
Dairy Products:
- All cheeses except blue and processed cheeses like Velveeta or American
Seeds:
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseed
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
Herbs, seasonings, and condiments:
- All fresh and dried herbs, spices, and rhizomes
Low-sugar fruits:
- Avocados
- Grapefruits *
- Kiwis *
- Lemons
- Limes
- Nectarines *
- Orange zest
- Peaches *
- Pears *
- Plums *
- Tomatoes
Those with an asterisk [*] signify higher sugar content. Limit to once a day.
Vegetables:
- Alfafa sprouts
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Bell peppers
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Collards
- Cucumbers
- Eggplants
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Green beans
- Haricots verts
- Jicama
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Leafy lettuces and greens
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Mustard greens
- Onions
- Plantains
- Pumpkins
- Radishes
- Rutabaga
- Sauerkraut
- Scallions
- Shallots
- Spinach
- Summer squashes and squash blossoms
- Swiss chard
- Tomatillos
- Turnips
- Water chestnuts
- Watercress
- Winter squashes
- Yellow wax beans
Proteins:
- Whole eggs
- Wild fish
- Black cod
- Halibut
- Herring
- Grouper
- Mahimahi
- Red snapper
- Salmon
- Sardines
- Sea bass
- Trout
- Shellfish and mollusks
- Calamari (squid)
- Clams
- Crab
- Lobster
- Mussels
- Octopus
- Oysters
- Shrimp
- Grass-fed or pasture-raised meats
- Beef
- Bison/buffalo
- Lamb
- Pork
- Veal
- Grass-fed organ meats
- Brain
- Heart
- Liver
- Kidneys
- Sweetbreads
- Tongue
- Free-range, organic poultry and wild birds
- Chicken
- Duck
- Goose
- Guinea fowl
- Ostrich
- Quail
- Turkey
What You Can Eat In Moderation (once per day)
Nongluten grains:
- Amaranth
- Buckwheat
- Millet
- Oats if specifically says gluten free
- Quinoa
- Rice (brown, white, wild)
- Sorghum
- Teff
- Nongluten flours in small amounts: Tapioca starch, chestnut flour, brown rice flour
Legumes:
- Dried beans
- Lentils
- Dried peas
Vegetables:
- Carrots
- Parsnips
Alcohol:
- Wine, preferably red, no more than one glass a day
Full-fat dairy products (Use sparingly):
- Cottage cheese
- Cream
- Kefir
- Milk
- Yogurt
Whole sweet fruits:
- Apples
- Apricots *
- Bananas
- Berries (best choice)
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Mangos *
- Melons *
- Papayas *
- Pineapples *
- Pomegranates
* are extra sweet. Moderation only.
Sweeteners:
- Natural stevia
- Dark chocolate having at least 70 percent cacao content
Flavorings:
- Unsweetened dark cocoa powder
David Perlmutter, M.D. wrote a fantastic gluten-free cookbook, The Grain Brain Cookbook, as a companion book to Grain Brain. The below recipes are not from that book but you can get your own copy. He even shows how to make your own tomato sauce and other condiments and delicious dishes, having full control of your ingredients. Get it today!
Avoid packaged foods with any of the following gluten ‘code words’ that are disguised as gluten:
Amino peptide complex, Avena Sativa, brown rice syrup, caramel color, cyclodextrin, dextrin, fermented grain extract, Hordeum distichon, Hordeum vulgare, hydrolysate, hyrdolyzed malt extract, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, maltodextrin, modified food starch, natural flavoring, phytosphingosine extract, Secale cereale, soy protein, Triticum aestivum, Triticum vulgare, hydrolized vegetable protein (HVP), yeast extract.
Avoid packaged foods labeled ‘fat-free’ or ‘low-fat’ unless they never had fat to begin with.
Dr Perlmutter also says to avoid unfermented soy products, like soy ‘meat’ replacements.
Charley's Slow Cooker Mexican Style Meat
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 4lb chuck roast You can substitute pork, chicken or venison
- 1 tspn sea salt
- 1 tspn ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 Lg onion, chopped
- 1 1/4 cups diced green chile pepper
- 1 tspn chili powder
- 1 tspn ground cayenne pepper to taste
- 1 5oz bottle hot pepper sauce
- 1 tspn garlic powder
Instructions
- Trim the roast of any excess fat and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Please the meat in the hot skillet and brown it quickly on all sides.
- Transfer the roast to a slow cooker and top it with the chopped onion. Season with chile peppers, chili powder, cayenne pepper, hot pepper sauce, and garlic powder. Add enough water to cover 1/3 of the roast.
- Cover, and cook on High for 6 hours, checking to make sure there is always at least a small amount of liquid at the bottom of the cooker. Reduce heat to Low, and continue cooking for 2 to 4 hours, or until meat is totally tender and falls apart.
- Transfer the roast to a bowl and shred it using two forks (reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid, if desired). Serve in tacos or burritos.
- If using chicken, reduce cooking time to 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low.
Lasagna Pepper Boats
Equipment
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
- 10x15-inch baking dish.
Ingredients
- 6 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
- salt to taste
- water as needed
- 1 lb ground beef grass-fed preferable
- 3 8oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 6oz can tomato paste
- 1 tspn sea salt
- 1/2 tspn dried oregano
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 12oz ricotta cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Arrange bell peppers, cut-side up in a 10x15-inch baking dish; season with salt. Pour enough water into the dish to make 1/4-inch depth.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5-7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, 1 tspn salt, oregano, and black pepper to ground beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes.
- Fill each bell pepper with a heaping tablespoon ricotta cheese; top with a layer of mozzarella cheese, a layer of Cheddar cheese, and meat sauce. Sprinkle each 'boat' with more mozzarella cheese and Cheddar cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until peppers are tender and cheeses are melted, 50 to 65 minutes.
Thank you for visiting and reading today! If you have a favorite gluten-free recipe you’d like to share, email it to me at paula@mywellbrain. We’d love to try it.
If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please post them in the Comments section below. Thank you!
Brain-Boosting, Fat-Burning, High-Energy, Fuel. Shop MCT Oil!
Hello Paula,
Even since the Top tennis player Djokovic switched to Gluten-free a few years ago and he
attributed his results to this key diet change, Gluten-free diet has been gaining a larger audience.
Rightfully so to my opinion.
The value of your article is furthermore important as its showcase many food options to people
who may be concerned about the restrictions of this diet.
I appreciate your due diligence in presenting your research.
Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Hi! I did not there were so many foods you could eat that were gluten-free foods. I’ve seen anti-gluten media and advertisements but did not realize how important that was. Thanks for your gluten-free diet food list because I am really trying to transition to a good brain diet for myself and hopefully my family after that. Thank you again.
You’re welcome. I’m glad it helped. 🙂
For me too, the high fat low carb really went against all we have learnt about and known over the years, so incredible. But many persons have been saying nice stuffs about this high fat, low carb.
I never really knew much about gluten free food. This list is so huge and I am loving it.
Awesome. Thanks for visiting.
Hello Paula, thank you for sharing the good brain diet. This list of gluten free diet is quite impressive and kinda annoying too. I was not really happy when I saw we can eat all nuts except peanuts! But peanut is my favourite among these nuts. I am glad that I have easy access most of these foods and fruits.
Well, peanuts are actually a legume, not a nut. On this diet, they can be eaten in moderation. Thank you for reading and your comments!
Hi Paula, thank you for the article on gluten free diet food list. It’s a time saver and a life saver. I can confirm that gluten is part responsible of skin inflammation and joints inflammation. I noticed that going gluten free has helped friends suffering from eczema and arthritis. Thanks for the yummy recipe which proves that it is possible to enjoy gluten free lifestyle.
Thanks for contributing to the conversation. 🙂 You’re welcome.
This is a great resource! I’m going to be bookmarking this so I can just quickly search for things that I’m hoping to cook. You specifically mention red wine. For whites, I know they’re minimally healthy, but as we’re heading into the holiday season of champagne toasts…do white wines contain gluten, or are they just inconsistent with a healthy diet? Thanks! Trying to figure out what’s okay vs just inadvisable.
White is okay but red has other health benefits. Both are made from grapes but the red grapes have another nutrient in them that make them even better for you. Wine coolers very likely have gluten and definitely glucose (sugar). Wines made in stainless steel casks are the best because you can be more sure there was no gluten used to seal the cask. Only way to know that is to contact the winemaker. Even champagne should be fine for the holidays. Thanks for commenting and saving and I’m glad you found this helpful. 🙂