Gluten-Free Carb Ideas

Ready for Some Gluten-Free Carb Ideas?  

It’s time for allllll the macro cheat sheets!

Just because you’re gluten-free doesn’t mean you have to suffer and not still enjoy tasty food. Here’s tons of options for gluten-free carbohydrate ideas for your next trip to the grocery store!

Since fruits and vegetables are also sources of carbs, I also included some macro cheat sheets that cover how many carbs and fiber are in fruits and vegetables. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Fiber

If you look carefully at the fruit and veggie macro cheat sheets, you may notice that most vegetables aren’t super high in fiber, while many fruits tend to give you a little more “bang for your buck.”

Just something to keep in mind that while you might be eating mostly real whole foods and a decent amount of fruits and veggies each day, you may still be falling short on fiber goals.

This is a perfect example of why I’m a big fan of tracking your macros, because aside from knowing how much protein, carb, and fat you consume each day, it also lets you easily keep track of how much fiber you’re consuming each day!

To give an example: let’s say you’re dealing with some digestive woes and experiencing bloating, constipation, etc. As a nutrition coach, one of the first things I would be looking into would be how much fiber you’re averaging and how much water you’re drinking.

 

Potential Signs You Aren’t Getting Enough Fiber

• Constipation
• Bloating
• Slow digestion
• Feeling hungry right after meals
• Constantly feel tired or sluggish
• Blood sugar fluctuations
• High cholesterol levels
• Hemorrhoids
• Constantly hungry or feel the need to snack

 

Daily Fiber Needs

Research currently supports getting about ~10 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat. Don’t forget to also be drinking lots of water too. Aside from fruits and vegetables, you could also include things like lentils, beans, high-fiber gluten-free oatmeal, etc.

If you can do this, you’ll easily be smooth sailing on fiber goals!

 

Gluten-Free Food Brands I Love

• Gluten-Free Bread: Canyon Bakehouse, Little Northern Bakehouse, B Free
• Gluten-Free Tortillas: Siete Foods + La Tortilla Factory
• Gluten-Free Oatmeal: Purely Elizabeth, Nature’s Path, Glutenfreeda
• Gluten-Free Crackers and Baked Goods: Simple Mills
• Gluten-Free Pancake Mix: Birch Benders, Simple Mills
• Gluten-Free Protein Bars: RXBar, GoMacro Bar, Rise Bar, Over Easy Bar
• Gluten-Free Pasta & Noodles: Lotus, Jovial, Tolerant, Banza
• Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets: Sprouts, Trader Joes, Golden Platter
• Gluten-Free Muffins: Make Veggies Great Again, Abe’s

 

Eating Gluten-Free

At the end of the day, avoiding gluten isn’t terribly difficult and finding gluten-free carbohydrate ideas will be easier than you think. It just takes some adjustment, lots of label reading, and finding brands you like for products that also fit your ingredient needs (:

*I will give the heads up that gluten-free products are usually a 50/50 shot: they’re either great and “taste like the real thing”, or they absolutely suck. You have been warned! But things have gotten a lot better.

Even just a few years ago, everything was made with brown rice flour and tasted pretty poopy, all bread products were dense and hard, and options were very limited. It’s been awesome to see brands innovate and create products that are delicious and amazing using almond flour, cassava flour, etc.

Either way, just don’t forget that if you’re super active, you likely need to eat a lot of carbohydrates to support that. Which means that things like rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, instants oats, etc are probably gonna be a major staple in your routine if you need to be gluten-free.

Worth mentioning that if gluten doesn’t bother you, then by all means eat it and there’s likely no reason to be gluten-free. But if you feel best eating gluten-free, hopefully, these cheat sheets help!

 

Where To Go From Here

I’m always posting educational content regarding nutrition, fitness, and sharing what I’m up to on my Instagram. You can also follow us on the Paragon Training Methods Instagram for tons of free workouts and more tips to help you look and feel your best!