Gluten-Free Lunch Ideas
- In This Quick Guide:
- How Much Should I Eat?
- Lunch #1: Tuna Salad Crunch with Mixed Green Salad
- Lunch #2: Quick Stir-Fry and Fruit
- Lunch #3: Cold Quinoa Salad and Orange Slices
- Lunch #4: Curried Egg Salad with Tomato Salad
- Lunch #5: Fajitas with Mixed Green Salad
- Lunch #6: Vegetarian Chili with Brown Rice or Tortilla Chips
- Lunch #7: Potato Salmon Salad with Tangerine Slices
Eating gluten-free can sometimes be a challenge, especially at lunch time when you may be away from your own kitchen. But with just a little preparation, you could be enjoying a healthy, gluten-free lunch that satisfies! In this guide we’ll show you seven tasty lunches that are nutritionally balanced, and not heavy of high-fat, so you won’t start nodding off around 3 p.m. We recommend serving lunch with sparkling water served with a lemon or lime slice or a glass of herbal tea, hot or iced.
How Much Should I Eat?
We won’t be including portion sizes because these would vary so much according to your individual needs. Some people with celiac disease have suffered such a nutritional deficiency that once they start healing, they may feel the need to eat a little more. Others may start gaining too much weight once their bodies start to heal and take in more nutrients, and may need to eat a little less. We hope you won’t feel frustrated that these pseudo-recipes don’t give exact amounts. This is freestyle cooking—a little of this, a little of that. Just add what you think looks good. None of these meals are complicated.
Lunch #1: Tuna Salad Crunch with Mixed Green Salad
Isn’t tuna salad the quintessential lunch? Try this healthy version.
- Tuna salad crunch. Mix water-packed (not oil-packed) light tuna (not albacore, which is high in mercury), drained, with a tiny bit of mayonnaise and minced celery, shredded carrot, and pickle relish. Or mix it with salsa. Serve on top of gluten-free (plain) rice cakes.
- Mixed green salad with gluten-free dressing.
Lunch #2: Quick Stir-Fry and Fruit
I like this lunch whenever I have leftover rice.
- Quick stir-fry. In a nonstick pan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat, sauté onion, garlic, bok choy, snow peas, carrots, or whatever vegetables you have, along with an egg or any leftover beef, chicken, fish, or tofu. Season with gluten-free tamari or gluten-free soy sauce. Serve over brown rice.
- Apple or any other fresh fruit, if you need something sweet to top off your meal.
Lunch #3: Cold Quinoa Salad and Orange Slices
Bring this to work, and everyone will want to know what you’re eating. Give them a taste, and they’ll want the recipe.
- Cold quinoa salad. Combine cooked quinoa, canned kidney beans or white beans (drained and rinsed), chopped green onions, shredded carrots, the juice of one fresh lemon, finely chopped raw spinach, and just a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Orange or tangerine slices. Eat them alone or better yet, mix them into the quinoa salad.
Lunch #4: Curried Egg Salad with Tomato Salad
I love egg salad. It is my favorite lunchtime comfort food. I also like this curried version.
- Curried egg salad. Chop hardboiled eggs. Mix one yolk with the whites from several eggs. Mix a small amount of mayonnaise, gluten-free brown mustard, minced celery, chopped walnuts, and just about ½ teaspoon curry powder into the eggs. Roll mixture up in big leaves of romaine lettuce.
- Tomato salad. Toss chopped tomatoes with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh chopped basil.
Lunch #5: Fajitas with Mixed Green Salad
This is my favorite lunch when I’m craving Mexican food.
- Fajitas. Warm up corn tortillas, and fill with cooked fish, chicken, beef, or black beans; a little low-fat cheese; and cooked onions and green pepper strips. Top with salsa and just a smidgen of sour cream.
- Mixed green salad with gluten-free dressing.
Lunch #6: Vegetarian Chili with Brown Rice or Tortilla Chips
A lot of people, and not just vegetarians, love vegetarian chili. It’s low in fat, high in flavor, and quick to make if you pick up a good gluten-free canned variety like Amy’s Medium Chili with Vegetables. Or make your own.
- Vegetarian chili. Sauté onions and garlic in a little olive oil. Add pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed if canned, a can of crushed tomatoes, and some chili powder. You can also add corn, carrots, green peppers, hot peppers, or other veggies—the more, the better! Add water if it gets too thick. Simmer until heated through.
- Brown rice or corn tortilla wedges, if desired.
Lunch #7: Potato Salmon Salad with Tangerine Slices
Potatoes taste great with salmon. Try this delicious salad for lunch.
- Potato salmon salad. Cut a potato into cubes and boil for 15 minutes, or cut leftover potato into cubes. Sauté a salmon filet with a little onion, green pepper, and garlic. Mix with the cubed potato, and serve over salad greens, drizzled with fresh lime juice and a little olive oil.
- Orange or tangerine slices.
Quick, easy, and delicious—the way gluten-free eating ought to be. Happy cooking, and have a great lunch!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Gluten-Free Eating by Eve Adamson and Tricia Thompson, MS, RD
