Gluten Free and Dairy Free Recipes for a Healthy, Happy Tummy

You went on a gluten-free diet because you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, but your tummy still doesn’t behave.

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gluten free and dairy free recipes pinterest image showing coconut milk beside a halved coconut and picturs of other gluten and dairy free recipes

Coconut and Coconut Milk Photo by Tijana Drndarski on Unsplash

Jump to the section that interests you, or scroll through for all the info:

Why Eat Gluten and Dairy Free

How to Eat Gluten and Dairy Free

Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Why Eat Gluten and Dairy Free?

If this sound like you, then you may need to try a gluten and dairy free diet, at least for a little while. Here are some possible reasons why dairy is giving you trouble.

Gluten Free and Lactose Free

Celiac disease causes damage to the small intestine, which happens to be the place where our bodies produce the lactase enzyme. This lactase enzyme is necessary to digest lactose. Because of this, many people with celiac disease need to avoid lactose at least temporarily while their small intestine heals. If you want to know more about celiac and lactose intolerance go here.

Gluten Free and Casein Free

If lactose free dairy products still upset your stomach, your problem might be casein. Casein is the protein in milk and there is some evidence of “cross-reactivity” between the gluten and casein. If this is the case you will likely need to avoid all cows milk products. People with a casein intolerance can often handle goat or sheep milk and cheeses made from these milks. If you want to know more about celiac and casein intolerance go here.

How to Eat Gluten and Dairy Free

You may be wondering, what can you eat if you are gluten and dairy free? Well, if you are already gluten-free you may be feeling a bit frustrated. You’ve already given up one big food group and now you have to give up another?

Don't worry, once you learn a few tips and what to substitute for dairy, you’ll get into a rhythm like you did with gluten. You’ll find you can enjoy most of your favorite foods by tweaking the recipes just a bit.

Eat Naturally Gluten and Dairy Free

If you've spent much time on this site, you know about my food philosophy.

Natural is best.
Balance is essential.
Simplicity is the thread that ties it all together.

This is a good philosophy in general, and you've seen me apply this to living gluten-free. It also applies to dairy-free. Many delicious and nutritious foods simply don't contain dairy. Things like fruit, vegetables, whole fresh cuts of meat, nuts, seeds, beans and so on. If these foods form the bulk of your diet, you'll find there is still a huge variety of foods to choose from and you may not feel deprived at all.

Read Labels

Dairy, like gluten, hides in unexpected places. Lactose is often used as a binder and a carrier for other flavors. I was surprised to find dairy in flavored potato chips, deli meats and medications. So, just like for gluten, always read labels.

Look For Substitutions

Naturally Dairy Free Alternatives

There are many products on the market that work nicely in recipes and are naturally dairy free. I keep several cans of coconut milk in my pantry because it make the perfect substitute for cream in any recipe. Other plant based "milks" are made from soy, almonds, rice, or oats.

Dairy Free Vegan Products

Though I'm not vegan myself, I'm happy that food producers have come up with products to serve the vegan market. The reason is that they are dairy (and egg) free and I am intolerant to both. I suggest to limit your use of these products though because they are highly processed. They contain lots of ingredients that our grandmothers wouldn't recognize as food (to borrow from Michael Pollan).

Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes

I have a casein intolerance, so I've had to completely and permanently cut (cows milk) dairy out of my diet. Because of this, almost all of the recipes on Naturally Gluten-Free are dairy free or have dairy free options. Here are a few for you to try.