Whether it's packed lunches, grab-and-run snacks, or quick meals out, folks following a grain-free diet often find themselves caught in a sea of grainy limitations. So, I've compiled a list of favorite, easy grain free meals on the go and grouped them by occasion…
Easy Grain Free Packed Lunches
When you know you will be eating lunch out of the house, the easiest way to avoid grains is to just BYO. Packed lunches are much easier with a bit of planning. It's a good idea to stock up with the right gear too – a soup thermos, metal or glass containers for storing your food, and an insulated lunch bag. Here are some ideas for packing an easy grain free meal.
- Soup, stew, or leftover casseroles (Heat at home and put in your soup thermos.)
- Mini-fritattas and a piece of fruit
- Leftover roast chicken with cheese, avocado, and sauerkraut
- Baby spinach with leftover sliced steak, avocado, tomato, and horseradish dressing
- Green salad with leftover shredded chicken, goat cheese, and dried cherries
- Cob Salad (Lettuce, eggs, bacon, turkey, blue cheese dressing – pictured in jars below.)
- Meatballs with a side of homemade ketchup and slices of cheese and/or veggies
- Quiche with cauliflower crust and a side of grapes
- Yogurt with berries and sliced almonds (Not eating dairy? Try making your own coconut milk yogurt!)
- Hummus and cucumber rolled in slices of turkey
- Any of the snacks in the next section, combined to make a meal (ex. hardboiled eggs, bacon, and a grain free muffin)
Easy Grain Free Snacks
I live in a driving city, and as such it is handy to have snacks that I can grab when running out the door on my way to X, Y, or Z. Make a big batch of most of these snacks on the weekend, and have them ready to go in individual containers in the fridge.
- Hardboiled eggs
- Pumpkin bread with almond flour (chocolate chips optional)
- Raw, grass fed cheese with crisp apple slices
- Bacon (cook ahead of time – I promise, it's good cold too!)
- A spoonful of cashew butter with a square of dark chocolate
- Seaweed snacks topped with avocado and/or cream cheese
- Blend and go smoothies
- Jerky (beef, salmon, bison, turkey, etc…)
- Grain free cookies or muffins made with nut or coconut flours
- Homemade larabars or a bag of dried fruit and nuts
- Guacamole with carrots, cucumbers or peppers
Easy Grain Free Lunch at Restaurants
When it comes to restaurants, I am a picky customer. I don't want meat/poultry/eggs that isn't pasture-raised. I don't want milk unless from grass fed cows. I don't eat fake stuff. And now, add to the list, I don't eat grains?!?
Great, I've become that person. Luckily with a bit of creative thinking, there are still grain free options when you're caught in the outside world without your own arsenal of food.
- Soup (Many restaurants have soup made from scratch, and many are grain free, though less are dairy free.)
- Chipotle restaurant salads (At this fast food chain, pork is properly raised and most of their dairy comes from grass fed cows!)
- Sashimi and a seaweed salad (Here in LA, sushi's on nearly every corner.)
- Grilled fish with a side of steamed veggies.
- Salads (Ask for olive oil and lemon to dress it if you don't trust the dressing to be free of soy oil and other junk.)
- Sandwich fillings (Ask for extra lettuce leaves to use as a wrap if you don't want to eat with a fork.)
- Guacamole (No veggies to dip? Who says you can't eat guac off a spoon?)
- Thai food has lots of fresh fish, veggies, and coconut milk – My favorite – Salmon and veggies with green curry
- Oysters, mussels, clams, ceviche. (If you love seafood, this is a grain free option that's super nutrient dense too!)
What have we missed?
What are you favorite, easy grain free meals on the go?
Photo credit: An Eye Full Studio
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Just one thing about Chipotle… they cook everything in soybean oil. I have a soy allergy, and their food always left me feeling not so great. One day I asked what oil they used and that’s how I found out. Everything except the guacamole contains soybean oil. They have that information in their restaurants.
Thank you for this important info! My son can’t eat Soy.
Same here! I would always feel ridiculously bloated when I left Chipotle. I just thought it was the beans. But after finding out that NY Burger Co. was spraying their patties with soybean oil, I thought: who else could be doing this? I just simply asked a Chipotle cashier one day and was so surprised when I found out it’s on everything. I think they have a little card with allergy facts. I feel like that place is such a scam. They present themselves as a healthy place to eat. Meanwhile, everything is sprayed with soybean oil. :'(
Thanks for you comment Teresa. The soy is a big bummer, and I tend to steer clear of it too. But that said, Chipotle does much more than most fast food restaurants toward providing meat that has been sustainably raised. In a world sprinkled with massive fast food chains, at least this is a start.
I don’t know if this helps, but Chipotle is in the process of switching out their soybean oil for sunflower oil. Hopefully, they will rid of all the soy soon.
I too avoid Soy. Chipotle committed to non-GMO by 2014 and I recently read they have accomplished it. They have eliminated the soybean oil for sunflower oil and rice bran oil for some side dishes. I think you can safely eat there now.
There is still soy in the flour tortillas, but the oil has now been switched to non-GMO sunflower oil.
Thank you for this list! They are such simple and easy ideas. It’s so easy to get caught in a rut with the regular foods we eat and fresh ideas are fabulous.
You’re welcome Megan! Let me know if you have any suggestions not listed here… I’m always looking for new ideas too. 🙂
Thanks for the lists! We’re not grain-free however, I’m always looking for grain-free ideas to reduce our consumption of wheat.
Sharkeys Woodfired Mexican food is a NON GMO alternative to chipotle.
Thanks, Carma! Good to know. Now if only they would source grass fed beef and pasture raised chicken!
Chipotle is mostly GMO free and planning to be completely GMO free by the end of this year.
Where do you buy your grass fed beef and pasture raised chickens? I can’t get them locally so far.
I live in Los Angeles, CA and I get both my chickens and beef from Dey Dey’s: bestbeefever.com. Where do you live?
So what made you decide to go grain free? It this trial or permanent?
Hi Carrie – Thanks for your question. I went grain free as an experiment, but I learned that I’m actually okay with grains, though some people feel great without them.
Thank you so much for this post!!! This is/has been one of the most challenging aspects, for me at least, when I started my new lifestyle (focusing on real, healthy food). This post was very helpful!! 🙂
Thank you!!
– Nancy
p.s. I am a HUGE fan of your website – such helpful and important information provided! Thank you!! 🙂
Thanks Nancy! xo
So ❤ yr site and these ideas are great to add to our lunching out list. We also have kefir & banana smoothies in a jar or mixed salad with everything diced finely drowned in olive oil and lemon juice. We love cucumber sticks and roule cheese too. Always finish off with a fruit or 4-5 dates.