Celiac Food Diary: The Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Meals This College Student Relies On

Eating with celiac disease in college can be difficult. Besides avoiding gluten, I also prefer to avoid dairy (which doesn’t sit well in my stomach), eggs, and red meat! This makes it even more of a challenge. To make it easier for all my gluten-free, (and perhaps, by choice, dairy-free, egg-free and red-meat free friends), I have decided to share some of my go-to meals. While they are pretty simple, I try to experiment with a new recipe every few weeks to keep things interesting, and include a variety of nutrients. I upload nearly every meal on my Instagram (@collegeceliackc). Check out my daily eats!

Breakfast:

Breakfast doesn’t have to be boring just because you’re gluten-free.

• Banana Berry  “Nice Cream”: frozen bananas, other fruits and veggies of your choice, chia seeds, Greek yogurt, coconut flour and coconut milk blended in my Nutribullet with loads of toppings (any nut butter, seeds, cacao nibs, chopped up fruit, etc).
• Oat-less Oatmeal (a mixture of rice and buckwheat flakes, chia seeds and flavorings of choice topped with nut butter, fruit, seeds and cacao nibs).

Lunch:

I usually go for whatever leftovers I have from the previous night, so I’m always sure to make enough for a few meals. It can range from gluten-free pizza to cod, potato and vegetable soup, to fish with sautéed veggies (like this Rainbow Lunch Bowl) and a dairy-free cheese quesadilla on the side. Almost always, though, I eat a big salad with cucumber, cabbage, other veggies I have on hand, and lemon juice on the side!

Dinner:

This meal varies as well, but I have a handful of recipes that I always return to:

• Salmon and Sweet Potato Sliders land on my meal plan at least once a week, though I’ll sometimes use pulled pork, or another type of fish instead.
• I also love gluten-free pizza, any kind of fish over zoodles (zucchini noodles), turkey burgers on a bed of greens, and fish stews.
• One recipe that I devour during the colder months is Chicken Pot Pie — gluten-, dairy-, egg- and nut-free but full of that comforting flavor!

Snacks:

As for snacks, I usually munch on a few Bliss Balls after my afternoon workout, and end the day with a rice cake slathered in nut butter, fruit slices and cinnamon microwaved for a few seconds (or until everything turns into gooey goodness!).

Note: PLEASE consult with  your doctor before making any changes to your diet or medications. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only, and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.