Nevermind the Gluten, Here's Duck
It’s come to my attention that most people don’t actually know how to go gluten free. I’ve gotten so used to it that I forget the challenges some people face in changing their lifestyle.
Changing over is quite easy if you have enough healthy, satiating alternatives to fill the void. The shift comes with adding in other, more health giving foods into the mix while you consciously drop gluten.
Most folks who are having trouble with keeping sugar, gluten, or grains in general out of the diet aren’t eating enough protein and fat. Switching primary energy sources from carbohydrates to fat will stabilize your energy and mood, without offending the gut.
When you remove a huge source of carbohydrates in the diet, like that pasta beneath you’re chicken, you need to up the chicken, veggies, and maybe the most important; fat. Here’s my cheesy artistic rendition of the usual meal I see in a diet log. Low protein, low fat, hardly any vegetable, and the bulk of the energy coming from a cheap and nutritionally inadequate grain.
The standard american plate;
Thinking differently about meal planning is the way to start. You need three basic things to make a well proportioned meal;
Protein…….The easy one. Pick anything; chicken, beef, pork,lamb, fish, shrimp, etc., etc……Your protein source is the best bang for the buck as far as spending. Since this is the most nutrient dense part of a meal, make sure it’s wild, organic, and all that jive. If you have to choose, spend the extra for organic HERE.
Carbohydrates……….Go green, go big, or go home. Fill up half the plate with broccoli. Put butter on it. Make it fun and add seasonings as necessary. Green vegetables get a bad rap because most people don’t put much more effort into ‘em besides putting bland steamed vegetables on a plate. Booooooring. I make big huge salads with homemade dressing. I add feta cheese and bacon bits. I love ‘em! Get creative and aim for every meal.
Fats………. Add fats, liberally. Butter, olive oil, avocado, coconut oil, nut butters, whatever. Fat is an amazing slow burning energy energy source that doesn’t spike insulin (aka fat storing molecules), and it’s the main satiating element in a meal. If you’re hungry a couple hours after eating a meal, chances are you didn’t eat enough fat in the first place. Don’t make this very common mistake! I tend to gravitate towards fattier cuts of meat in the first place, which fill me up and don’t leave me needing starchy carbohydrates for energy.
Check out this chart. This is the starting point for tweaking. Half the plate is vegetables, 1/3 is protein, and the fat is variable, but always there in good quantity.
Make simple meals that can be cut into those three parts, and then take stock of how you’re maintaining energy throughout the day. Learning how macronutrient ratios affect you is paramount to creating healthy, energizing meals. Diet logs are very helpful here.
Pick a protein, pick a veggie, then add fat as necessary. It’s really that simple.
Here’s what I ate last night;
2-3 Roasted Chicken thighs
Curry Cauliflower (apprx. 2 cups)
and BUTTER for the chicken thighs.
Nutrient dense, energy dense, and fully satiating. Most people won’t do well on that much fat, but I exercise a tad more than most.
Take a protein, take a vegetable, and then add fat until you feel satiated.
not so hard right?
