On-The-Go Gluten Free Lunch and Snack Ideas :: Easy Like A Sunday Morning

September 3, 2012 by Laureen Fox | 25 Comments

Easy Like a Sunday Morning, that’s how the recipes in my “Easy” category will be. Nothing rushed or frantic, nothing with a long list of ingredients. Something that is so easy, you don’t really need a recipe. Something that almost cooks itself or requires no cooking at all.

I don’t really have a recipe for you today. Instead I thought I would share some easy on-the-go gluten free lunch and snack ideas but before I do that, I’m excited to have hit a milestone with my last post. It was my 100th post and I missed it…I guess I had other things on my mind. Oh well, it’s not too late to celebrate, is it?

These lunch and snack ideas should come in handy for those of you who are working, going to school, or have kids going back to school. We don’t have any school age children in our household anymore and I retired from work last year, so I don’t often pack lunches but last week, I had to draw on some of these ideas while staying with our son in the hospital.

Gluten Free Snack Ideas:

Fresh fruit and vegetables are naturally gluten free, making them an excellent choice for nutritious on-the-go snacks.

Carrots – do up a whole bunch of carrots sticks and keep them refrigerated, in a sealed bag, or container for up to a week.
Celery – much like carrot sticks, you can prepare a whole bunch of celery in advance. Seal in a bag, or to avoid browning, store in a water filled container.
Radishes – you can also prepare radishes in advance and refrigerate in a sealed container.
Cucumber – cut into slices, or sticks. They make a great snack on their own, or paired with cheddar cheese, or humus.
Snap Peas – delicious, easy, no prep required.
Tomatoes – especially little grape or cherry tomatoes are an easy no-prep-required snack to have on hand. Tip: to keep tomatoes from turning mushy, do not refrigerate. Store at room temperature.
Avocado – makes for another easy no-prep-required snack. All you need is a knife and a spoon (plastic will work if you’re not opposed to using plastic). A knife to pierce the outer skin and cut the avocado in half and a spoon to scoop out mouthfuls of the fruit. An interesting botanical note about the avocado fruit, it a large berry that has a single seed of the tree.
Apples – I love apples because they are so versatile. They are good plain, sliced, peeled, or not. Add them to plain unsweetened yogurt, serve with slices of cheese, spread with almond butter, cook them in Apple Raisin Mini Pancakes. Original recipe by Easy Natural Food, fritters, or you can make some delicious applesauce out of them.
Strawberries – plain, sliced or quartered, are good on their own, stirred into plain unsweetened yogurt, or served with cottage cheese.
Melons – watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew all make sweet snacks. Leave the peel on to cut in slices, or wedges. Remove the peel to cut into bite size cubes.
Bananas, kiwi, grapes, plums, apricots, peaches and pears are examples of some other easy, naturally gluten free, no-prep-required snacks that are handy to have on hand.

I’ve listed more fruits than veggies here but remember it is important to always eat a good balance of fruit and veggies. If you’re watching your sugar intake, keep in mind that fruit is high in natural sugars.

Snacks I Love!

Gluten Free Recipes From Other Food Bloggers:

Pepita Brittle. Original Recipe by Affairs Of Living.

Rosemary Almond Crackers. Inspired by two Original Recipes from Diet Dessert and Dogs and Comfy Belly

Sweet and Spicy Kale Chips. Original Recipe by The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen.

Cornmeal Muffins. Original Recipe by gluten-free girl and the chef.

Gluten Free Lunch Ideas:

Salad:

I love my salads, all kinds of salads! Ones made with greens, grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruit, veggies and cheese. On occasion, if I need extra protein, I add grilled chicken, or grilled salmon to my salad.

Soup:

If you have access to a microwave oven at your workplace, or school, or you have a wide mouth thermos, soups make for a delicious lunch.

Sandwich:

I’m not big on sandwiches, especially since going gluten free. I find that gluten free bread doesn’t hold up as well as bread made from grains that have gluten. I will leave the subject of sandwiches to other bloggers who have more experience than I do in that area.

I don’t eat processed meats but if I did, I would either buy them prepackaged and clearly marked as gluten free, or I would buy them from Heritage Meats in Langley BC. It would be lovely if every community had something like this little gem of a store!

Heritage Meats is a family owned and operated store that specializes in naturally raised meat and poultry that contain no hormones, antibiotics or animal by-products. Their Sausage is Made In-House (all natural, no MSG, no dairy, no wheat).

I find the staff are very knowledgable about food allergies and take great care to avoid cross contamination.

Bonus, they also carry a variety of specialty, allergy friendly foods that can otherwise be difficult to find. Pricing? I find their prices are pretty competitive. Despite being a specialty store, their goods are not priced out of this world.

Ham, pickle and cheese roll-ups

I made these ham, pickle and cheese roll ups for my grandson who does not have to eat gluten free. Note: I don’t recommend buying processed meats from a deli counter unless the Deli is 100% gluten free. Even if the staff could show you which meats are gluten free, there is a high risk of cross contamination from the machines they use to slice the meats.

Most pickles are gluten free but make sure you read the labels just to make sure.

Something to remember, as long as dairy is not a problem for you, cheese is your friend. Most all cheese is naturally gluten free. The few exceptions, are some light, no-fat brands that use additives, and some blue cheese that uses bread to cultivate the mold.

One of my favourite on-the-go lunches these days is a cubed apple, topped with some plain unsweetened yogurt and my Homemade Coconut Granola. When I first made this, I added a teaspoon of maple syrup but found that it didn’t need the added sweetener.

One Apple, peeled, cored and chopped

If you are making this for a child, you will probably find a half of an apple will be enough. Save the other half (uncut) in the refrigerator for an after school snack.

Add plain unsweetened yogurt

Spread the yogurt out so it covers the apple layer. It will keep the apple from browning too much. This lunch is best kept refrigerated, or in a thermal lunch bag with an icepack.

Top with Homemade Coconut Granola

To help to keep the granola crunchy and fresh, leave it layered on top until ready to serve. Don’t forget to pack a spoon! Stir it all together and enjoy.

Lunch And Snack Ideas Shared By Some Of My Favourite Food Bloggers:

Allergen Free School Lunch And Snack Ideas by Adventures Of A Gluten Free Mom. This includes a link to downloadable Teacher Letters.
Linda from The Gluten Free Homemaker has a great roundup of links in her Lunch Ideas For Back To School post.
Amy at Simply Sugar And Gluten Free has a Gluten Free Lunch Roundup post.
One more…10 Five Minute Whole Food Lunches You Need To Make by Beyond The Peel. Although her site is not exclusively gluten free, France sticks to unprocessed whole foods that are mostly GF. The recipes in this particular post are not really geared towards kids but ooh, do they ever have adult appeal! France is a very talented cook and blogger who has posted lots of recipes that are quick to fix. I love how her recipes often include options that are bound to satisfy most food allergies and picky eaters.

Before I sign off, here is one last Recipe link for you…

I don’t often make, or buy gluten free breads. I hadn’t found one to get excited about. That was before I made this Grain Free Cheese Flatbread yesterday and again today

This Cheese Flatbread comes together quickly, takes 15 minutes to bake and is delicious either topped with pizza toppings and baked for an extra 10 minutes, or cut into plain wedges, with Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce, Pizza Sauce, or Ranch Dressing for dipping. YUM!

For a text listing of my gluten free recipes, click here.

Need more inspiration? Check out my Must-Make-List page.

For dairy, egg, nut and gluten free flour substitutions, click here

This post is linked to the following events:

Melt In Your Mouth Monday hosted by Jane at Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms

Make Your Own! Mondays hosted by Lea at Nourishing Treasures

Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays hosted by Amy at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Hearth and Soul Hop hosted by April at21st Century Housewife

Fat Tuesday hosted by Jill at Real Food Forager

Traditional Tuesdays hosted by Melanie at Pickle Me Too

Gluten Free Wednesdays hosted by Linda at Gluten-Free Homemaker

Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly at Kelly the Kitchen Kop