My Favorite Gluten Free Replacement Foods

There are many, many gluten free products out there. Most of these products are meant to replace glutenous foods. There are gluten free breads, cakes, cookies and pretzels. You can buy gluten free pie crust, gluten free pizza crust and even gluten free bread sticks. Sadly, most of these products suck.

The secret of gluten free eating, for me, is to eat foods which are naturally gluten free. Meat, vegetables, potatoes and rice always taste good. Corn tortillas have become a staple of my diet. There is nothing better than a steaming bowl of grits on a cold day.

There are exceptions to my gluten free rule, however.

-Almost every day I have crackers and hummus for lunch. My cracker of choice: Kame Rice Crackers. I don't love the wasabi or soy flavors but the original and sesame varieties cannot be beat. Kame rice crackers can be found in the cracker aisle of most grocery stores, most grocery stores in New York anyway. www.kame.com

-As far as I'm concerned, the ONLY gluten free bread worth eating is Udi's. The white bread ACTUALLY TASTES LIKE WHITE BREAD! I bought the whole grain variety this week and it is also delicious. A lot of the bread out there is incredibly heavy (think dry fruitcake) or incredibly bland. Udi's is light and bready and, at around five dollars, is relatively inexpensive as far as gluten free breads go. I don't know how they pull it off. I don't eat a lot of bread but when I do it's gotta be Udi's. Unfortunately Udi's is a bit difficult to find. So far I've found it at Whole Foods and I know Fresh Direct sells Udi's. There is a store locator on the website.

-One of my favorite gluten free menus is at Nizza on 9th Avenue in Manhattan. The pasta there is a-mazing. I found out they use Le Veneziane pastas. This is the only gluten free pasta I've eaten that even comes close to the texture of wheat pasta. It is fantastic and, I think, only has two ingredients: corn meal and water. Even gluten gluttons like this pasta. The drawback, again, is that the pasta is difficult to find and can be pricey. You can buy it on Amazon and Quattrobimbi. I found Le Veneziane at a small Italian importer near my neighborhood in Brooklyn for about $2.75 a box. So it is out there, finding it just requires some research.

Lucky for me, I never was a carb lover. I don't care too much for cake or cookies and I never ate a lot of bread. This probably made the gluten free thing easier for me.