We’re back with another 7-Day clean eating challenge! This time we’re going gluten-free and dairy-free for 7 whole days to uncover food intolerances and hopefully reduce chronic inflammation. We've included a grocery list, satisfying and healthy gluten-free and dairy-free recipes (many of them are good for meal prep), as well as a meal planning printable if you like to plan out your meals for the week ahead.

Gluten-Free And Dairy-Free – What Is It?

Okay, so we don’t think they’ve come up with a name for this yet, but it’s a way of eating where you avoid all foods that contain gluten and dairy. It’s not a diet to lose weight (although it might happen!), it’s more of a healthy way of eating to improve your health and reveal food intolerances you might have.

Eating dairy-free and gluten-free is less restrictive than eating a paleo diet which forbids, that’s right: forbids! all legumes and grains, because according to some sources those foods can make you sick as a dog. Especially if you’re already dealing with digestive issues.

We’re not making this big of a change here, but this week will be challenging enough to make you think differently and find alternative, nutritious sources of food.

What To Eat On A Gluten-Free And Dairy Free Diet

You can basically eat all the foods that don’t contain gluten or dairy…which excludes about 96% of all processed foods out there. But let’s focus on what we can eat!

Fruits And Vegetables. Greens, berries, cruciferous and starchy vegetables, bananas – all fruits and vegetables are dairy-free and gluten-free and you’re welcome to eat plenty of them (bananas in reasonable amounts of course!) Fruits and vegetables are full of antioxidants and beneficial for your health, so they should be the foundation of your everyday diet.

Herbs And Spices. Basil, mint, dill, turmeric, rosemary, even black pepper! It’s no secret herbs and spices have healing properties and can give any dish that little special something.

Nuts And Seeds. Chia seeds, flaxseed, walnuts, almonds, cashews – there are many choices here. Similarly to fruits and vegetables – nuts and seeds are full of antioxidants (but fat-soluble!) and essential nutrients that the human body just needs.

Protein. A reliable choices here are eggs, fish, seafood from a sustainable source and poultry.

Fiber-Rich Foods. You can have lentils, beans, chickpeas and all the gluten-free “grains” like quinoa, buckwheat, millet or amaranth. For this week we’ll skip the oats since most varieties are contaminated with gluten.

Healthy Fats. Coconut oil, olive oil and avocado are a reliable choices here. Although you’ll see below – we use a little bit of toasted sesame oil every now and then, because we simply love the flavor. It’s not the healthiest oil you can have, but we are okay with that. Don’t add it to your meals if you don’t want to.

Why Eat Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free?

One important reason to cut out dairy and gluten from your diet, at least for a little bit, is to find out whether or not you have an intolerance to those foods.

Dairy and gluten are two of the most common food allergens, but when we’re eating them on a regular basis we’re not noticing it that much.

However, those intolerances might still be there and could be making us feel less than our best. So to find out we’ll do the seven days, more would be great – if you can. Then after those are over and if you want to go back to eating dairy and gluten, start adding them one at a time. The important thing here is ONE at a time, so you can find out which foods actually cause a “bad” reaction in your body.

For example, regular milk might make you sick, while yogurt might be tolerated just fine. (that’s actually shown for acne patients!)

Same with gluten. Eating bread, which has a high glycemic index might make you feel miserable, while cooked bulgur (also contains gluten, but has a lower glycemic index) might be just fine for you.

This is much like a mini elimination diet, but we’re only cutting out these 2 major food allergens.

Reduce Inflammation?

Eating dairy-free and gluten-free can also help reduce inflammation in the body, if you do have an intolerance to those foods.

Reducing inflammation inside your body is important, because it’s linked to the development of major diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases and even acne. Low grade, chronic inflammation also naturally develops as we get older, so it’s a good idea to start doing something about it, even when we’re younger and don’t necessarily feel its effects yet. Following an anti-inflammatory diet with lots of vegetables, good fats, fiber and a lower glycemic index (not necessarily low carb!) is one way to do it.

Of course, there’s more to the anti-inflammatory diet than just avoiding certain foods, but eliminating food allergens is an important part.

The recipes you’ll find below can be considered anti-inflammatory, as they’re rich in antioxidants, have a low glycemic index, a good omega-6/omega-3 ratio and aren’t full of saturated fat.

Meal Prep For The Week

If you don’t have much time to cook on weekdays, it’s a good idea to make some of these recipes ahead. Many of them can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days – just use airtight meal prep containers or jars.

We personally love making ahead the Mediterranean Salmon Bowl, the Avocado Chicken Salad and our 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowl. Follow the instructions in the individual recipes, so that your food stays fresh for more than a day!

7-Days Of Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Recipes

The recipes below are just meal ideas for you to use during the next seven days. If you do have other go-to gluten-free and dairy-free recipes, please, feel free to use them.

All of the recipes below are, of course, also refined sugar-free. Some of the breakfast recipes use a little bit of honey to make them sweeter. Honey might not have a low glycemic index, but it does come with anti-inflammatory properties and we’re using it in moderation.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Breakfasts

4- Ingredient No-Bake Cookies

Made with almond butter, cashews, flaxseed and some honey, these are simple, yet tasty and keep well in the fridge for a few days. You might want to double the recipe, as these are also a great snack and quickly gone. Recipe is here.

Simple Chia Pudding

Make this simple chia pudding the night before and top with berries and some chopped nuts for an simple and healthy breakfast! Recipe here.

Green Breakfast Smoothie

With almond butter and banana this 3-ingredient smoothie is actually filling enough to be a fast and simple healthy breakfast. Feel free to mix in some soaked chia seeds after blending to make it even more nutritious. Recipe here.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Salads & Bowls (Great For Lunch)

5-Minute Mediterranean Bowl

This vegan gluten-free bowl recipe has been a part of every single clean eating challenge thus far, we know and we're not trying to hide it. It’s one of our go-to recipes as it’s healthy, simple to make and so satisfying with the hummus and tzatziki! Recipe here.

Avocado Quinoa Detox Salad

Do not be scared by the word detox in the title! When we posted this recipe, we were going through a stage in our life, where we thought everything should be called detox. And this quinoa salad recipe is healthy and detoxifying, but it’s also fresh, full of flavor and antioxidants. Recipe here.

Avocado Shrimp Salad.

Switching things up to something that doesn’t contain quinoa and has shrimp instead. The original recipe calls for yogurt in the dressing, but instead, you can use tahini and a Tbsp of water or this cashew sauce + the rest of the dressing ingredients. Recipe is here.

Tomato, Basil And Chickpea Salad

Very simple, yet satisfying chickpea and tomato salad, it’s ready in about 10-15 minutes. Recipe here.

Meal Prep Avocado Chicken Salad

Pretty simple avocado and chicken salad that you can make ahead, it’s low carb, gluten-free and paleo. Recipe here.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Dinners

Mediterranean Salmon Bowl

One of our favorite meals on this blog – simple to make and so full of flavor! We’ll change things up a little bit by not adding feta cheese to the salad, using some chopped olives instead and using the cashew garlic sauce our sister made instead of a yogurt sauce (although the sauce is optional!). Recipe here.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

We guess nothing new to most people at the time we're posting this, but this year was the first time we made cauliflower fried rice and actually liked it. This is a vegetarian version with only eggs and vegetables and we used tamari sauce, which contrary to soy sauce is actually gluten-free. Yes, it was a shock to us that soy sauce actually contains gluten as well. Recipe is here.

Red Lentil & Broccoli Soup

Another recipe from the time in our life everything needed to be “detox”. And again, it’s true as well, as this healthy soup is loaded with detoxifying broccoli and spices, but most importantly – it’s satisfying! Make sure to add some salt at the beginning, so that the soup doesn’t turn out bland. Recipe here.

Garlic Shrimp In Tomato Sauce

What might surprise you about this tasty dish is that it is made in 15 minutes and with only 5, that’s right 5 ingredients: shrimp, tomatoes, dill, olive oil and garlic. Our sister made it for us and it was notable, we still have beautiful haunting dreams about it. We did eat it with bread though. To keep it gluten-free, you can serve this with gluten-free pasta, quinoa, rice or over zucchini noodles for a low carb version. Recipe here.

Egg Roll In A Bowl

Never knew, we'd become such a huge fan of cabbage! But this recipe was all over the internet and we decided to make our own version with chicken. It was totally worth it. We've been making this almost every week now and it always tastes notable. Again use tamari sauce or coconut aminos for a gluten-free option. Recipe here.

Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

This black bean and quinoa bowl is vegan, gluten-free and full of flavor! Recipe here.

Coconut Curry Shrimp Soup

When our sister was doing the keto diet she made this coconut curry shrimp soup with only chopped zucchini and no noodles or rice in it. Keto? No thanks, we don’t have the self-discipline of a marine. Still, we tried it and it was strong. Like we were eating actual Thai food, but it was at our sister’s place. Keto diet did not last, but she’s still making this soup and we cannot blame her, it’s so solid and so simple to make. Recipe is here.

(Side note: Now we noticed we shared only shrimp recipes from our sister’s blog…she does eat other things as well though, and most of them are healthy. If you haven’t, you can check out her blog Her Highness, Hungry Me here).

Snacks

If do need snacks to get you through the day here are some great options:

hummus with vegetables
this vegan cream cheese with vegetables
raw almonds, cashews or walnuts
fresh fruit like apples, pears, peaches or berries
you can also use the energy balls as a snack

After The 7-Day Meal Plan

We hope you will not be eating healthy only for the 7 days! The seven days can be the start to a healthier lifestyle and to improving your health long-term. We know it’s not simple to stay organized, especially when you need to be avoiding dairy and gluten, so to help you out we created a clean eating recipe binder with over 100 satisfying gluten and dairy-free recipes. They’re simple to make and all of them are satisfying. Some are on the blog, many are not.

This binder is a tool you can use to make eating healthier a habit and it can help you create your own meal plans, get organized in the kitchen, track your habit and build your own recipe binder with meals you love! You can check it out here, be sure to use the code NTB20 for 20% off your purchase.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Grocery List

This is an overall gluten-free and dairy-free grocery list for all the recipes we shared above. Please make sure to adjust for the meals you’d like to make in the provided meal planner.

Produce:

Spinach
Banana
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Arugula
Avocado
Cabbage
Carrots
Red pepper
Garlic
Onion
Scallions
Zucchini
Parsley
Cilantro
Mint
Dill
Cucumber
Lettuce
Berries
Lemon
Radishes
Jalapeno

Protein

Salmon
Shrimp
Chicken Breast or Thighs (skinless, boneless)
Ground Turkey or Chicken (for the egg roll in a bowl)
Eggs

Pantry

Quinoa
Chickpeas, canned
Black beans, canned
Lentils
Tomato paste
Curry paste (gluten-free)
Tamari sauce
Olives
Honey
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Vinegar
Mustard
Coconut milk

Seeds And Nuts

Almond butter
Cashews
Sesame seeds
Chia seeds
Flaxseed
Walnuts
Favorite nut milk (or make your own cashew milk)
Tahini
Sunflower Seeds

Herbs and Spices

Turmeric
Coriander, ground
Crushed Red Pepper
Cumin, ground
Mint, dried
Ginger, ground
Black pepper

You can download the grocery list and other free resources in PDF here.

Other Meal Plans You Might Like:

7-days of gluten-free & dairy-free recipes & challenge

Yield: 2
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the egg roll in a bowl

2 1/2 cups cabbage, chopped
2/3 cup carrots, grated
8 oz chicken breast (ground or chopped)
1 Tbsp tamari sauce
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallions, chopped
Optional: turmeric and crushed red pepper flakes

Method

Chop all vegetables and the chicken (if not ground).
In a large pan, heat some olive oil (or coconut oil) at medium-high heat saute the 2 cloves of garlic for 30 seconds, then add the chicken and the cauliflower. Saute everything for 4-5 minutes (until the chicken is almost ready)
Add in the cabbage, carrots and stir in the tamari sauce and the other garlic clove. Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 more minutes or until the chicken is done. Optionally you can also add some turmeric and crushed red pepper flakes.
Serve with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.