Running With Gluten Intolerance

Bread and pasta are a runner's best friend right?
Not so fast. There seems to be a rise in something called...gluten intolerance. You've seen it in the stores, "Gluten Free". What does it mean to you? Nothing unless you are diagnosed with the dreaded gluten intolerant words.

I found out I was gluten intolerant about nine months ago. I hoped anything was wrong with me except that. Bread is was my favorite food (along with ice cream. But I also found out I was lactose intolerant). But in the past nine months, I have been so thankful I finally found out what was wrong with me. I was tired, weak, my body was exhausted. I couldn't run even for 20 minutes without feeling like I'd just run a marathon. I finally went to the doctor and am so glad I found this out.

At first it was really hard eating gluten free. My main problem was getting enough calories in for the high intensity training I was doing. I was eating rice cakes and cereal. That's about it. Sick. So here are my favorite foods for each meal time.

Breakfast:
 Favorite Cereal: Corn Chex with Almond Milk, I also love Honey Chex
 Favorite Pancake Mix: Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake mix. It is so good I like them WAY better than normal pancakes.
 Favorite Frozen Waffles: Van's Gluten Free Waffles Blueberry or Totally Natural (I've found them pretty much everywhere but I usually buy them at Target or Sunflower Market)


Lunch:
 I've tried a million different kinds of gluten free breads. I like Ener-G Light Brown Rice Loaf or their Tapioca Loaf but my hands down all time favorite is Udi's Whole Grain bread. It is amazing. It is fluffy, tasty, not grainy, and tastes amazing plain, as toast and as any kind of sandwich. It is expensive but if you Google Udi's coupons they usually have a $1 off printable coupon. It is worth the money. You can find a ton of Udi's gluten free products in the frozen section of most grocery stores including Smiths, Harmons, and Sunflower Market. I haven't seen them at Target or Walmart yet.
 
 I also really like Nature Valley crunchy granola bars (Dark Oats N' Chocolate is my favorite). They aren't certified gluten free so if you are on a really strict GF diet I don't know if I would recommend them, but I have never had a problem with them.
 

Dinner:
 Most of the GF noodles I have tried I like. I really like the Ancient Quinoa Harvest brand and Tinkyada. I tried an all corn brand that I wasn't that fond of but I don't remember the brand name. Mostly I eat a lot of chicken and rice.


Snacks:
 I love Glutino plain crackers. They are so delicious and taste most like a normal cracker. They are really expensive though and not a whole lot comes in the box. I also like Lundberg Rice Chips Honey Dijon. They have a great texture and no weird after taste. The other brand of crackers I like the most is Blue Diamond Nut Thins. They have a ton of different flavors that are all really good. Glutino also makes amazing pretzels that I think taste exactly like normal ones.
 

Dessert:
 Betty Crocker makes the best GF dessert products by far. And they are usually the cheapest! I love her cakes, brownies and cookies.


Things I do NOT recommend:
  GF eating is definitely a lot of trial and error. There have been a few things I've made that I couldn't finish because I thought they were so gross. You may not think the same, but I hated these two things: Namaste Brownie Mix and some noodle dinner thing (that was kind of like hamburger helper or something).



I've tried making some GF stuff from scratch with Bob's All Purpose GF Flour (which really is pretty good), but the pre-made stuff or the mixes are just so much better. I guess I haven't learned the art of GF cooking yet. I'd welcome any tips!


I hope this helps you GF runners out there! What are your favorite GF treats?? Please share!