Gluten off the menu? Give your tucker a nutritional boost with these five dietitian-approved tweaks.
Going gluten free doesn’t have to be boring. Give your run-of-the-mill gluten-free lunch a makeover and transform it into a tasty, nutrient-packed one.
+ MORE WHOLE GRAINS
Whole grains such as brown rice are less refined than their white counterparts. They are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre, and research has linked eating whole grains with reduced risk of some chronic diseases.
- Swap: Your sandwich for a salad by replacing white gluten-free bread for a microwave brown rice and quinoa cup.
+ MORE VEGIES
Less than 9 per cent of people eat enough health-giving vegetables. To help you reach your target of five or six serves a day, fill half of your plate with veg at lunch and dinner.
- Add: One cup of mixed roast vegetables to your salad. This will add around 100mg of vitamin C – more than your
entire day’s needs – to support your immune system.
+ MORE HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN
Processed meats like ham, salami and prosciutto are jam-packed with sodium, which is bad news for your ticker when consumed in excess. Research has also linked processed meats to increased risk of bowel cancer.
- Swap: Ham for tuna. This tweak almost quadruples the amount of hunger-busting, muscle-building protein in your lunch.
+ MORE IRON
Many products that contain added iron – such as bread and cereals – also contain gluten. Gluten-free sources include red meat, legumes, nuts and seeds.
- Add: A handful of mixed nuts and seeds to your salad for an extra 1.3mg of iron. That’s around 7 per cent of an 18-50-year-old woman’s daily needs, or 16 per cent of a male’s needs, or that of a woman over the age of 50.
+ HEALTHY FATS
Butter is rich in saturated fat, which can be detrimental to heart health when consumed in excess. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) though, is brimming with healthy unsaturated fat and disease-fighting antioxidants.
- Swap: Butter on your sandwich for a dressing made of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This simple swap removes 1.2g of saturated fat.
Upgraded gluten-free lunch
This upgraded gluten-free lunch ticks all the nutritional boxes. We’ve bumped up the amount of veg, tripled the protein and doubled the fibre. Plus, we’ve halved the sodium and removed a third of the saturated fat.
Roasted veg and tuna salad
Per microwave brown rice and quinoa cup, 1 cup lettuce, ½ tomato, 1 cup mixed roast veg, 1 can tuna in oil (drained), handful of mixed nuts & drizzle each of EVOO & balsamic vinegar: 2972kJ (711cal), 30.7g protein, 39.9g fat, 5.2g sat fat, 52g carbs, 11.9g sugar, 10.2g fibre, 327mg sodium, 3.2mg iron
- Eating out on a gluten-free diet
- How to shop gluten-free
- Your guide to building a gluten-free brekkie bowl
- Gluten-free swaps
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