How To Handle Food Replacements
Emma in a lavender tank top and lavender gingham pants with white sandals sitting on her kitchen counter holding open a "gluten free" recipe book. Her kitchen cabinets are a pastel green color and her TPN backpack is on the counter beside her.
*I am not sponsored by any of the brands of the products mentioned in this article.
As a person who prior to chronic illness, never had any dietary restrictions, handling food replacements can be a daunting ordeal.
I wanted to list below some of the best food replacements I found for my particular dietary issues (when I used to be able to eat orally).
I also will be including a section at the bottom for foods you can eat if you are having swallowing issues since I also went through a phase like this prior to me being unable to eat.
I was told I was gluten intolerant back in the Summer of 2020 and was also diagnosed with GERD (acid reflux disease) which resulted in my body being extremely hypersensitive to anything I ate that happened to include an ingredient that could fit into either of those issues.
I had multiple mini flares when trialing out foods because I’d often find things that were just gluten free or just without GERD ingredients but often not both.
If you’d like to read more about my food trials, you can read about it in my blog post titled, “The College Food Trials & Tribulations”.
GLUTEN FREE SUBSTITUTES
- Lance Crackers
If you were a fan of Ritz crackers, I bring you the gluten free alternative. Personally, my favorite cracker used to be Triscuits but considering the whole thing was just wheat, there’s no gluten free alternative to that.
The crackers are a bit smaller in size than your typical Ritz cracker and are crunchier in texture but otherwise a pretty close replacement.
Can be found at most grocery stores and if not are on Amazon.
- Katz Desserts
This brand is absolutely amazing for all things desserts and breakfast. I personally was only able to try one of their products since the GERD stuff was getting in the way of me being able to try any other flavors.
I personally have tried their Gluten free powdered donuts which are absolutely amazing-as long as you don’t overheat them in the microwave. I have overheated them a couple times (since they are kept frozen) and the powdered sugar becomes caramelized, and it ends up tasting burnt.
They are quite small and the box doesn’t come with many so I’d recommend getting multiple boxes to last you through a week (could also be because I would eat 3-4 just for breakfast alone ;-) ).
Can be found on the Katz website or on Amazon.
- Udi’s White Sandwich Bread
I have no idea what’s up with gluten free foods being so small, but this sandwich bread is also noticeable not sandwich sized. However, it is the closest thing to sandwich bread that I’ve found in texture and taste and are pretty good.
They also have different types of bread that they sell like whole grain, hamburger buns, and hot dog buns.
Can be found on the Udi’s website, at most grocery stores or on Amazon.
- Annie’s Microwavable GF Mac & Cheese
If you are a college student looking for a microwavable mac & cheese, look no further. These Annie’s mac & cheese cups are a dead ringer for any kind of mac and cheese in a box and bring your childhood Kraft nostalgia to life.
This was my go-to meal for about a year and gave me minimal problems. Tastes great and textures are unrecognizable from regular mac & cheese.
Can be found at Target, most grocery stores, or Amazon in bulk.
- GF Baking Goods
I only got to bake a little bit since I spent most of my first year being gluten free in a dorm with no kitchen. When I did bake, I found that the brand Bob’s Red Mill has the best overall gluten free baking products.
I recommend for a lot of baked goods to add in Xanthan gum because it acts like the elasticity that wheat naturally has in it and helps with the textures of foods you’re baking.
Can be found at most grocery stores, Target, or Amazon.
- Krusteaz Gluten Free Pancake Mix
Along the same lines with baking goods- this pancake mix is really delicious and has the same taste and texture as regular pancake mix boxes.
I used to make these in bulk and then have them multiple times throughout the day.
These actually taste better than Eggo waffles because they have a slight hint of fruit in the aftertaste since it’s made with some different fruit extracts. Its texture can be a bit crumbly but the flavor and closeness to regular waffles makes up for its crumbliness.
Can be found at most grocery stores and on Amazon.
- Gluten Free Oreos*
I put an asterisk to these Oreos because you have to be able to consume cocoa powder to be able to eat these. Since my GERD is really sensitive, I can’t have any form of chocolate including cocoa powder, so I unfortunately reacted to these cookies.
EVEN though I did react to them, I had to include them on the list for others because the taste is a dead ringer for a regular Oreo. They also now sell double stuffed gluten free Oreos.
Can be found at most grocery stores, Target, and on Amazon.
CHOCOLATE SUBSTITUTE
If you are either allergic to chocolate, intolerant to it, or have really high sensitivities to it, I have found a substitute that is the closest to chocolate without being chocolate.
It’s a superfood called Carob and it’s a type of bean that comes from a Carob tree and comes in forms like Carob powder (equivalent to cocoa powder) and Carob chips (equivalent to chocolate chips).
Carob doesn’t have caffeine in it either so if you are sensitive to the caffeine in chocolate definitely see if carob is a better fit.
It tastes a bit sweeter than chocolate and has a bit of a nutty aftertaste. I recommend trying it and baking with it since it’s nearly impossible visually to tell the difference.
I’ve included a photo below of some gluten free Carob chip cookies I made in 2021.
The best brand of carob chips that I’ve found are from Missy J’s (sold at Whole Foods however I can’t find it on their website anymore so I’ve linked the main brand’s site).
“EASY-TO-SWALLOW” FOODS
- Protein Soups
I am more of a soup person rather than a drink or smoothie person, so I’d much rather eat a protein soup than drink a protein drink. I found this delicious mushroom bone broth from Kettle & Fire that in small amounts my GERD seemed to be okay with.
I found it at Star Market but it can also likely be found on Amazon.
- Applesauce
This became a staple for me once I was completely on a liquid diet. I particularly liked the brand Go-Go Squeeze and the flavor apple apple since the other flavors reacted with my GERD.
I liked the brand because the sizing of the packs was small so if I ate one in a day, I felt like I actually made progress and I liked that I could reseal the cap.
Additionally with the opening being like a straw, it helped with my swallowing issues to not accidentally eat too much and choke.
Can be found at most grocery stores and on Amazon in bulk.
- Baby Food
Ah yes, the baby food. Baby food is actually really helpful and usually recommended by a doctor to try if you have swallowing issues (as mine did). I kept looking specifically for more “liquids” that were savory flavored since I missed the taste of vegetables and meat.
I had tried these few brands and flavors of baby food and reacted to all of them (so couldn’t eat anymore) but I liked the taste the most from the broccoli one. The carrot was too sweet and the thanksgiving one (which I had so much hope for) was WAYY too peppery which surprised me that it’s for babies.
- “Soup” / Ramen
I had tried over the course of the year being diagnosed with these new food restrictions, many different types of store-bought soups and reacted to almost every single brand out there. I was finally able to find ONE brand that my body didn’t react to which was from Lotus Foods, and it was their original Miso Soup (because my body just wouldn’t agree to chicken noodle).
I initially was able to eat the noodles but once my swallowing issues started, I just drank the broth. I recommend this brand and flavor since it tastes really good, and the soup is gluten free in general. The ramen can be cooked on the stove top or microwavable which is great for flares.
Can be found at Star Market and Amazon.
- Dairy Free Ice Cream
I found this dairy free vanilla ice cream (since the GERD I can’t have any other flavor than vanilla) from So-Delicious and it’s their Vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream. It’s really good and has mostly a coconut flavor. Their brand has a lot of other flavors and I recommend trying them out if you’re able.
Over time I no longer was able to tolerate this ice cream, but it used to work!
Can be found at some grocery stores and on Amazon.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Finding replacements to foods you can no longer eat anymore can be frustrating and it can be hard to let go of the food options there once was.
Doing some research to find out what brands people enjoy eating from and trial and error is how I ended up finding these favorites.
If you are looking into eating out but are worried about not finding anything to eat, I recommend trying to order from the restaurant online a couple times because usually with inline orders you’ll be able to see more of how you can customize the meal to cater to your dietary restrictions. After doing this, then you can feel more comfortable going in person since you know what menu items you can adjust.
Hopefully these were helpful and as always if you have any questions, feel free to contact me below using the messaging form!