Gluten Free Help!

[Deleted member 1860]

So long story short, after a month long detox and subsequent reintroduction, with ensuing negative effects, I've determined that I'm gluten sensitive and am trying to remove gluten from my diet and eventually the products I use. Whew!

So I know there is a TON of stuff on the net about living gluten free, but to be honest I'm VERY overwhelmed!

This is just the latest in my long list of dietary restrictions. The last one was an allergy to a common food additive which made eating out very difficult. With this addition, I'm afraid to even look at a menu. :(

I know it's not the end of the world, and in the grand scheme of things it's not like I can't work through it. But at the same time, I love to eat! All those yummy things I can't have anymore, well, just makes me a bit sad.

So if anyone can point me in the right direction, perhaps to helpful websites, or just with words of advice, that would be great.

Thanks.

 

[new gamma rays]

I am sure there are hundreds of websites out there on gluten free living and such, but I can tell you that I have gluten intolerance and I somehow managed without looking at one of them over five years. Not saying you shouldn't be looking, but its not absolutely necessary either. Especially if you don't plan to bake your own food. Anyways here's my two bits: Beans and rice are your friends, you can make a lot of meals out of them. Salads, vegetables all gluten free. There are other grains that you can make that are gluten free - Quinoa and Millet and some others.

I don't eat out a lot so I can't help you on that matter. All I can say is mexican food is probably your best bet for gluten free meals - as long as its made with corn tortillas. There are so many products out there made with corn. When shopping just look at the bottom of the usually long list of ingredients - they should be required to say whether they contain wheat products or other food allergens in bold black letters at the bottom. A lot of things you wouldn't think have anything to do with wheat in them have it added in some form or another, like Campbells soup. But there are also a lot of soups out there that don't have gluten, so there's a place to look too. I never got adventurous as far as making my own gluten free food, but as long as you have a whole foods or health food store around you - or even if its just a health foods section in your regular grocery store - there are gluten free options. There are plenty of gluten free cookies, cereals etc. And just use your common sense, not everything has to say gluten free on it, just make an assessment in your head - was this made with flour or wheat, and if not its probably gluten free.

 

[Hashi]

I'm not surprised you feel overwhelmed. I know a lot about avoiding gluten (and many other things... sigh) but I don't really know where to start answering your post because it's too big a topic. Maybe if you could identify some particular questions and start there?

For example, what sort of food would you miss most when eating out? What about at home? Favourite snacks? Can you cook?

The most immediate thing that comes to my mind about eating out is that what worked for me was to build a relationship with a couple of restaurants who were willing to make adjustments. I found there were places which were happy to discuss with me how they could alter the way they cooked things. It was easiest to establish that with some regular places so I didn't have to start explaining from scratch every time. I've even taken in my own bottle of tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) to a Thai restaurant for them to keep there and use when cooking for me.

The places that don't mind this tend to be the nicer places to eat anyway, because they're the ones that are friendly and have a genuine love of cooking. It worked for the restaurant because me and my normal-eating friends became regular customers.

 

[ninja]

Welcome to the club! :) I have been diagnosed with "probable celiac" (long story, hah!) and been gluten free for 19 months.

Here are a few links that I found to be extraordinarily helpful along the way:

Safe ingredients: http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

Unsafe ingredients: http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html

Cross contamination: http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/PreventingCrossContamination/a/gluten-cross-contamination.htm ;
http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/cookingglutenfree/a/crosscontaminat.htm

Celiac.com: http://www.celiac.com ; http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

Enjoy Life, Udi's and Glutino are just a few brands that make all kinds of gluten free substitutes (and they are good too!). I tend to stay away from Schaar (sp?) because I find their products taste too much like cardboard to me. The best advice I got was to stay away from gluten free substitutes for a month so that your taste buds have a chance to "forget" what the gluten-filled goodies taste like.

For the first couple of months it might be easiest just to stick to whole foods (assuming your diet allows): nuts, meats, fruits, veggies, dairy is variable, etc.

As for eating out, I rarely do it (usually bring my own food). I am very sensitive to cross contamination and have gotten sick too many times. That said, I have had luck with a couple restaurants. Just depends.. talk to the chefs if you can. Also, if you have iphone (maybe android? not sure), there is an app called "Find Me Gluten Free" that helps with identifying good gluten free restaurants. The ones who have been GiG trained are much better about preparing truly gluten free meals.

Hope this helps a little bit. :) If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

(I am in no way affiliated or paid to advertise the organizations and websites listed above. I have merely found them to be priceless resources in navigating the gluten-free diet.)

 

[DMerish]

I'm in the club too! Stepped out of the club door on Sunday, and not good.

I like the Gluten Goddess blog spot.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

Going out it is probably easier than you think, Italian have a risotto, Indian/Chinese -stick with rice too or avoid the carbs all together and just go veg and meat/fish or even just veg if you're a vegetarian. If you're thinking junk food, McDonalds ask them to hold the bun on your burger, they do this for those on the Atkins quite a lot from what I've heard and even PizzaHut makes a gluten free pizza base. At home there are wheat and gluten free substitutes. Instead of worrying about what you can't have, try thinking of all the things you can and you'll be surprised that really the glutinous things are actually fairly limited, but I must admit that mostly I cook from scratch which adds to the ease of it all.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Thanks for all the advice!

It's funny that Mexican food was mentioned, as that's the one food that is out completely due to the use of pepper in just about everything. (I'm allergic to pepper, and while you think it wouldn't be that bad, paprika and turmeric are common food colorants and additives that aren't always listed on a label.)

I can cook, and have been cooking my own food for the last month or so while I detoxed. I'm sort of over wanting bread and cookies and such at the moment, but it would be nice to make some baked gluten free item for the holidays so I don't have to feel completely deprived while everyone else can eat whatever.

I loved going out to restaurants in the past. Uno's has an extensive gluten free menu so that'll probably be my go-to restaurant in the future. I saw some good reviews for their gluten free pizza.

And thank you, ninja for all those links!

I feel a bit less overwhelmed! I am ok with sticking to meats and veggies and cheeses for now, before adding in any of the gluten free substitute type items (bread, etc). The holidays will be a bit of a challenge, but at least I have a few months to plan!

 

[The Albatross]

I have Celiac's too but have been non-compliant lately. On the recipe thread I put down a recipe for "flour" that is gluten free.

 

[ninja]

My pleasure, Solara. :)

I'm not sure what allergies you have, but if you're craving something sweet I have a really good (flourless) peanut butter cookie recipe. I make them for my non-gluten free friends and they can't tell a difference. :) One cup peanut butter, one cup sugar and one egg. Cook for 12-15 minutes on 375 deg Fahrenheit. So good!

Additionally, we just discovered the best gluten free pizza recipe (I think!). It is made with a spinach crust. We use one container of fresh spinach (those organic boxes, I'm blanking on the brand), chopped finely, and then put the spinach in a frying pan with butter. After it wilts, you can take it out and add about 1/2 cup gluten free flour (we use King Arthur brand); it should create a dough. Spread it out on a pan and let it bake in the oven for about 15 minutes on 425. Then we take it out and add mozzarella and asiago cheese, basil and fresh tomatoes. Let that cook for about 12 minutes. Yummm..... :)

Eating out is tricky if you react to cross contamination, if you don't have to be quite as careful, that's great! It is a steeeeeeep learning curve. :confused:

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'll have to test out the cross contamination possibility, but I'm really hoping its not an issue for me.

I tried a low carb version of those cookies made with Splenda and they were pretty good. I don't use artificial sweeteners anymore so I'll try your recipe.