When you first realize you or someone in your household has food sensitivities it can be overwhelming. Label ingredient reading becomes a MUST not just an if I have time. You have to know what is in everything you’re bringing into your house for some sensitivities. Others you just need to know what you or your loved one can’t eat. Then you begin to notice that some of the “regular” food items you purchase need to go bye bye. What in the world are you going to use in it’s place??

We went through this process in our house when my son began his first elimination diet plan. It was a rough transition, but it was well worth it in the end. We had to find alternatives to several of the ingredients that we normally would use in cooking. That process can seem tedious and frustrating to say the least. At least in my experience it was.

For my son we had to mainly eliminate wheat gluten, dairy, and processed sugars. Then for me it was mainly gluten. Why I say mainly is because both of us have more foods we are sensitive to that we eliminate but these are the biggies. Since removing these foods from our nutrition we’ve seen a lot of improvement in our symptoms and we’ve come to find many alternatives to those “common” ingredients we couldn’t consume.

Here’s a List of Our Alternative Foods for Common Ingredients

Cereal

• Bob’s Red Mill – Steel Cut Oats – gluten, wheat, dairy free
• Bob’s Red Mill – Organic Brown Rice Farina Hot Cereal – wheat, gluten, dairy free

Flours

• Bob’s Red Mill – 1 to 1 Baking Flour – gluten, wheat, dairy free
• Anthony’s – Premium Cassava Flour – gluten free, vegan
• NOW Real Food – Organic Coconut Flour – gluten free, no added sulfites, non-gmo

Cheese Flavor Substitute (as mentioned in the vlog)

• Frontier Co-op – Nutritional Yeast Large Flakes

Butter Substitutes

• 4th & Heart – Ghee Butter Himilayan Pink Salt – lactose free, grass-fed, NOT dairy free
• Trader Joe’s – Organic Cold-Pressed & Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil
• Spectrum – Non-Hydrogenated Organic All Vegetable Shortening – dairy, gluten free

Milk Substitutes

• Rice Dream – Original Enriched Rice Drink – lactose, gluten, dairy, soy free, non-gmo, kosher & vegan
• Blue Diamond Almonds – Unsweetened Almond Breeze
• Trader Joe’s – Reduced Fat Coconut Milk
• Trader Joe’s – Organic Coconut Milk

Sweeteners

• Ground Stevia Leaf
• Raw Pure Honey
• 100% Pure Maple Syrup

Egg Substitute In Baking

Flax Eggs –  To make them you’ll need flax meal (provided a link below of the kind we use) For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed (measure after grinding or as meal) with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the refrigerator to set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the result should be a sticky egg-like substitute.

• Bob’s Red Mill – Organic Gluten-Free Whole Ground Golden Flaxseed Meal – gluten free

There are many alternative options to the common foods that we need to get rid of when dealing with food sensitivities. Do some research and don’t give up on finding an alternative to what you once enjoyed.