A Gluten-Free Kitchen

Starting up a gluten-free, dairy-free kitchen can be a bit of a commitment. You want to have yourself set up to be successful, with many opportunities to create the most wonderful, delicious meals, and treats for yourself and your family.

Basics to have around the cupboards:

• White Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Honey
• Maple Syrup (The real stuff. Don't buy the poison. Keep it in the fridge or it will go moldy!)
• Sorghum Flour
• Rice Flour (brown or white, whichever you prefer)
• Tapioca Flour
• Corn Flour
• Millet Flour
• Buckwheat Flour
• Potato Starch
• Corn Starch
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Yeast (Both rapid-rising, and not)

All flours I have found at Whole Foods. Most of them are made by Bob's Red Mill- Whole Foods does have some in bulk (rice and buckwheat).

Great spices to have on hand:

• Cloves
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Turmeric
• Curry Powder (check the ingredients labels before buying!)

For the fridge/freezer:

• Fruits and Veggies. I cannot stress the importance of having these around to snack on!
• Fresh salsa! Grab some at your local farmer's market or deli! Fresh is best!
• Kale!!!! Kale chips....so good. Try using red or black kale for a bigger crunch!
• Frozen berries for smoothies!
• Unsweetened Almond Milk (The Silk brand is just terrible. Try Almond Fresh)
• Gluten-free Soy Sauce (Kikkomen makes it! Available at Safeway!)
• Chef's Natural Sausages (Available at the Vancouver Farmer's Market! Try Apple and Pork)
• Soy Good Frozen Dessert (ICE CREAM!!!!)
• So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (AKA YOGURT! This is BETTER than the real stuff. Available in Strawberry, Blueberry, and Vanilla. Just try not to get addicted)

For the cupboards:

• Vegetable Oil
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar (Get both your Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar from an international market or deli! You'll absolutely find the best quality there.)
• Natural Peanut Butter (Try Adam's 100% Natural Crunchy! A little tip out there...next time you're buying peanut butter, check out the ingredients label on Skippy brand- one ingredient in there you probably didn't expect...)
• Rice pasta- vermicelli, as well as your standard penne, rotini...find a variety of brands at your local Whole Foods!
• Rice! Lots of it! Those who know me know that rice is my absolute favourite food.

Canned Foods:

• Black Beans
• Corn
• Campbells Chicken and Rice Soup. Great for a quick lunch.
• Young Sweet Corn (Stir Fries, and Curries)
• Bamboo Shoots (Thai Curries)
• Coconut Milk
• Dalla Terra Roasted Pepper Antipasto (Put on grilled chicken, mix into your thai curries...so versatile...so delicious)

Just a note: don't buy canned tomatoes. If you're going to: find them in glass jars. The acid in tomatoes leeches the metal out of the cans and creates an unhealthy metallic balance for you to consume. Google it.

Snacks

• Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
• Annie Chun's Seaweed Snacks (Try the sesame flavour)
• Rice Cakes
• Rice Crackers
• Make some of my OMG Bread and keep it on hand for sandwiches and toast!

I'll continue to add to this list as I discover new products! As of right now I've got most of this on hand. The baking ingredients may seem like a bit excessive- but all gluten-free baking uses a variety of flours versus just one to create a great product. Different flours for different recipes for different baked ingredients!