Author Topic: Anyone Here Gluten Free?  (Read 17697 times)

kkbmustang

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Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« on: June 06, 2013, 08:19:25 PM »
We think the Hubs may have celiac disease (are having him tested). In the meantime, I was wondering if anyone here is eating gluten free? Any suggestions for cooking websites or recipes of GF cereal/granola? Any tips for keeping the grocery budget from spinning wildly out of control?

bogart

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2013, 08:43:26 PM »
I went GF for about a year, no celiac dx but wanted to do so (note that this is harder than you'd think, as lots of stuff that doesn't seem to have anything to do with wheat/barley does have G in it, e.g. soy sauce.  Read labels).  Personally my approach was just to eat things that are naturally GF, i.e., fruit, yogurt, nuts.  I'd sub in spaghetti squash (the plant) for pasta in recipes, and skip other pasta stuff, and so forth.  Pairing this approach (adding foods that are inherently GF) to your diets/menus, together with some selectively chosen GF "products" (cereals, breads, and so forth) may be a reasonable way to strike a balance, especially long term (note that I eventually stopped being GF, doing something for a year is easier than forever and feels less like foregoing stuff and more like postponing).  It is true that the "special" products are more expensive than their gluteny counterparts.

grantmeaname

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2013, 08:48:17 PM »
SWMBO was diagnosed in December, so we're new to this. She's feeling somewhat better six months out now. Cake, brownies, and cookies are easy to make, and so are roux-based sauces and breaded foods. Bread is really really hard - we still haven't figured it out and we bake a LOT. We buy GF noodles and bread, but that's all (oh, and I guess we get corn tortillas instead of flour for her). There are no gluten free beers worth a damn - we've looked hard - so if he drinks hopefully he likes wine or liquor.

Overall, the celiac disease is a nice encouragement to eat in instead of cooking out, and a nice encouragement to cook from scratch/whole ingredients rather than boxes and mixes. Your budget will be fine if you insource more.

KMMK

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2013, 08:54:27 PM »
I'm sensitive to gluten so avoid it entirely. My sister has actual Celiac disease. My whole family is also vegetarian so that adds another level of complication.
With actual celiac you have to be so careful, with all types of ingredients - only certain brands of spices and baking ingredients, for example. For myself, as long as the product is naturally gluten free it does not bother me - so I can buy beans and nuts etc from bulk bins and be okay. I'm not big into baking or recipes. And gluten-free substitutes, especially for bread and cereal tend to be expensive.
What I find works the best is just to cook with simple naturally gluten free ingredients. So lots of big pots of stir fry with rice or quinoa and some type of bean for me, meat for my husband. Brown rice pasta with some kind of combination of veggies. Mexican type foods with corn chips or corn tortillas. Indian food. I do the same thing about being vegetarian - I don't go for the fake meat products (and now I can't as most have gluten.)
For breakfast, there are quinoa flakes which are good, gluten free oats or oatmeal, buckwheat cereal, or commercial gluten free cereal if I'm lazy. Bob's Red Mill makes lots of gluten free products.
I was gluten free for over a year before I even bought gluten free bread. Substitutes just aren't always necessary and are often not the best for health or calories.

The products I seem to have the most trouble with are things that sound like they are probably gluten-free but have lots of weird ingredients - I avoid salad dressings and just use oil and vinegar or nothing. Soy sauce that wasn't gluten free was a big trigger for me as well. If I buy processed things I stick to things that are easily identifiable ingredients - I've been ok with salsa and pasta sauces for example, if the label only indicates tomatoes and vegetables.

Also for cost savings, at least here in Canada you can claim additional food costs if you have diagnosed Celiac disease, on your taxes as a health expense.

And of course he can't go gluten free until after the testing.

But sorry, no specific wide sites but there are a few Celiac associations and restaurant lists with a Google search.

MountainFlower

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2013, 09:20:25 PM »
I would move toward a paleo diet like MMM eats.  Mark Sisson's website is awesome with lots of free resources. 

kevin78

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2013, 02:31:05 AM »
I'd second the paleo diet suggestion.... paleo *can* be very cult-y, and the low-carb camp kind of blurred the lines between paleo and low-carb so there are alot of different philosophies out there, but it works very well. 

I've been eating a paleo type diet for 3-4 years and have never felt better physically and mentally.  I'm not celiac but I'm pretty gluten sensitive.  The key to eating a gluten free diet IMO is to eat healthy fats, limit unsaturated oils, and round out the diet with lots of fruits and veggies.  The healthy fats provide energy in place of refined carbs, limiting unsaturated oils like canola and soy keeps inflammation down, and the fruits and veggies provide carbs and lots of fiber and nutrients in the diet.

I have lots I could say about food suggestions but I have to go to work so I'll have to come back to it later.

Frugalady10

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2013, 06:39:42 AM »
My husband has celiac disease.
Grantmeaname- my husband does have a few Gf beers he likes ( trust me he's tried a lot) off the top of my head the best one is Greens but it is expensive ( $70 for a case). There is another one he likes that is cheaper but I can't think of the name but if you are interested I'll get back to you. Most wine and liquor is gf.
The best pasta we've found is tinkyada brown rice pasta- we get it off amazon. We eat a lot of brown rice and quinoa. We have the hardest time finding decent bread.
Plus you have to watch with yogurt- sometimes the fruit flavors are thickened with gluten. You also have to watch things like shampoo and chapstick because they can have gluten too. It's crazy.

grantmeaname

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2013, 06:58:20 AM »
That's phenomenal. My girlfriend doesn't drink much, but it would be nice to get a case of something to keep in the house. She's really put off by off flavors (she won't do pea flour pastas, for example), so we've really had trouble. I'd love that list!

oldtoyota

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2013, 06:59:42 AM »
I get brown rice pasta from Trader Joe's. For the most part, I try not to replicate a non-GF diet with expensive GF products.

For instance, you could buy Lara Bars for a dollar a pop or make them at home for less. They are extremely easy to make.

You can do a lot with meat and veggies and seasonings. The combinations are endless. In the winter, I make a lot of soup (again lots of meat and veggies). For dumplings, I use a GF flour mix from Trader Joe's.

We use rice noodles to make pad thai. Beware, though, that Mom and Pop Asian markets tend not to be as good about labeling GF products as health food or big box stores, so there could theoretically be cross contamination.

I found an excellent GF challah bread recipe that I use when I want bread. GF bread is really expensive. Udi's is about $5 a loaf. Yikes.


Daley

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2013, 07:53:37 AM »
I've known about having celiac for about a year and a half, now. It's rough, especially since I'm so sensitive, as I have reactions to foods that are produced in facilities with gluten but produce products tested to only contain 20ppm or less (like Blue Diamond Nut Thins) now. It wasn't even until recently that I was able to even find a brand of plain almonds that I could reliably and safely eat again. That brand? Fisher. I have to buy them from the baking aisle of *shudder* Walmart at $7/lb.

Oldtoyota's right, though. It's cheaper trying not to replicate the great standard American diet. I miss things like having bread regularly, but it's for the best. However, brown rice flour with psyllium husks added are good in a pinch for substituting wheat flour. It's easiest for us to just grind small batches of certified GF rice with an old coffee grinder when we need some. The fresh grinding of the flour really improves the taste. As for baking in general, if you can stomach the price, Bob's Red Mill has a lot of good GF baking mixes. They're a nice go-to for the occasional treat.

As for alcohol? What very little I indulge in anymore, I've found Maker's Mark bourbon and Mogen David kosher wine to both be relatively safe (and hilariously, a bit of watering down makes both much better)... though I feel a bit mixed about getting my wine from the same outfit that makes MadDog 20/20.

I found an excellent GF challah bread recipe that I use when I want bread.

I know several people at my local Messianic Jewish congregation that might like to know that recipe, myself included. :)

Kaytee

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2013, 08:47:12 AM »
GF going on 5 ish years, now? I third (fourth?) the suggestion to gravitate to foods that are naturally GF rather than replacing non-GF foods with GF versions. The GF versions are often highly processed and almost always more expensive. However, for a limited time during the transition phase, you'll probably crave the feeling of bread in your mouth. It will be more expensive initially, as you try GF products and decide which ones you like and which you don't. Costs may decrease over time as you figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

http://www.pennilessparenting.com/search/label/gluten%20free

I buy some of our staples at vitacost, amazon, or iherb, such as GF oats.

If symptoms don't clear up after 6 months or so, take a loook at this list http://blog.primohealthcoach.com/blog/bid/79586/18-Gluten-Cross-Reactive-Foods, as sometimes additional diet elimination is needed.

If CD has been present but undiagnosed for a long period of time, the body may need remineralization because of poor absorbation through damaged or depleted villi in the small intesting. Bone broths, fish stock, and seaweed soup is good for this.

ESunday

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2013, 09:29:20 AM »
hey, I saw grant was posting in the thread and thought I'd chip in. As he said, I have been GF since December and while I have adjusted to it a lot better than I anticipated I still have tons of questions.
my husband does have a few Gf beers he likes ( trust me he's tried a lot) off the top of my head the best one is Greens but it is expensive ( $70 for a case). There is another one he likes that is cheaper but I can't think of the name but if you are interested I'll get back to you.
I would love the name of the cheaper beer! I am getting along pretty well with hard cider but it just isn't the same as a nice cold beer.

Plus you have to watch with yogurt- sometimes the fruit flavors are thickened with gluten. You also have to watch things like shampoo and chapstick because they can have gluten too. It's crazy.
What kind of things should I be looking out for when I am reading ingredient lists, I know the basics (no wheat, barley or rye) but not any of the tips or tricks when it comes to more complicated ingredients.

For instance, you could buy Lara Bars for a dollar a pop or make them at home for less. They are extremely easy to make.
I love those things but you are right, they are crazy expensive! How do you make them at home?

Thanks!

chatsc

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2013, 09:52:11 AM »
i am glad to see this post.  sometimes when you tell people you are gluten free (not celiac, just dont tolerate wheat very well) they give you that speech about jumping on the latest bandwagon.  if it makes you feel better, i dont see why others mind.

i gave up gluten about 9ish months ago.  i just really stopped eating the way i used to.  one loaf of Udi's gf bread usually lasts me about a month.  i get the TruRoots pasta from costco or i roast butternut sq or speg sq while the rest of the fam has reg pasta.  I bought some Teff flour tortillas and they are pretty vile.  I have been using the tortillas as my version of pita chips, when i make regular pita chips for the rest of the fam.  i make my own granola  (i am not celiac, so oats with may contain gluten is ok with me) and i eat granola and yogurt non stop during the day.  I used to eat muffins and toast non stop, so it is a good alternative.  I try to match the family dinners, but aside from pasta and making pizza, our dinners tended to be mostly gf anyway (meat/beans, rice/quinoa and veg/salad).

we are a nut free house too, because of allergies, so i find the mixes are a bit tricky sometimes.  and pricey because we cant buy anything bulk containers (because of cross contamination), so i have not even attempted baking (aside from the odd box mix). actually, i have made quite a few batches of coconut flour brownies and they were well recieved.  but no bread, muffins or cookies.

Dynasty

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2013, 12:00:12 PM »
There are no gluten free beers worth a damn - we've looked hard - so if he drinks hopefully he likes wine or liquor.


Redbrige is okay...

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/34257

And someone mentioned Greens above. That beer is actually really good. But expensive.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 12:03:15 PM by Dynasty »

swick

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2013, 12:46:03 PM »
Adapted from the recipe here:http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/04/light-and-fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html

Meta Coconut Pancakes

Ingredients

    1/2 cup coconut flour (it was way too runny after a test so I used 3 x 1/8th cup more coconut flour) Apparently there is some variation between different brands of coconut flour.
    3 tbsp granulated erythritol (I used coconut sap)
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp salt
    6 large eggs, lightly beaten
    1/4 cup butter, melted (I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 coconut oil)
    1 cup almond milk (I used coconut milk)
    1/2 tsp vanilla extract
    Additional butter or oil for the pan

We toasted some ribbon cut unsweetened coconut for a topping and served with Coconut Syrup MIL brought us back from Hawaii.

Instructions

    Preheat oven to 200F.
    In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, erythritol, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, almond milk and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the coconut flour mixture and stir well to combine.

    Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brush with vegetable oil or melted butter. Scoop two heaping tablespoons of batter onto skillet and spread into a 3 to 4 inch circle. Repeat until you can't fit any more pancakes into the skillet (you should be able to get 3 or 4 in).

    Cook until bottom is golden brown and top is set around the edges. Flip carefully and continue to cook until second side is golden brown. Remove from pan and keep warm on plate or baking sheet in oven, while repeating with remaining batter.

Conclusion: Pretty Darn Tasty or as DH said: "You have found a recipe that is completely Ian Proof" My dad isn't a fan of coconut. They didn't rise up like traditional pancakes, I'm guessing because there was no gluten developed to capture the air bubbles...but the recipe is  a keeper. DH said he probably wouldn't want them all that often because they are super rich, but a great idea if you want to do something a little different. Also awesome spread with jam as a snack later.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 12:49:20 PM by swick »

Frugalady10

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #15 on: June 07, 2013, 01:14:00 PM »
The 3 beers my husband likes Greens, Brunhaut, and Omission. Brunhaut runs more like $40/ case.

melidesau

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #16 on: June 07, 2013, 01:34:58 PM »
To counter the coconut pancakes above (just in case anyone feels like pancakes that are a little more carb-heavy), the best gluten-free pancake recipe I've found also happens to be one of the simplest.

Four ingredients:
1 plantain
2 eggs
1 tsp coconut oil
a pinch of baking soda.

You can add some kind of sweetener if you like, but I don't find it's really necessary. Cook in a pan over medium heat with coconut oil or butter; wait to flip until the top is mostly set, otherwise you might end up with batter all over the floor.

These pancakes rise nicely - they actually cook similarly to regular pancakes, with lots of air bubbles, though they're a little denser.

Kaytee

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2013, 02:05:49 PM »
There are some delicious gf beers, but it depends on what you like in beer flavoring. Redbridge tastes like bud(butt?), but is amongst the cheaper of the gf beers. Around these parts, gf is generally $9-$10 for a 4-pack, but your mileage will likely vary with your location.

The Alchemist's Celia Saison has a belgian flavor (IMO).

Bards Tale Beer is a nice swillable beer.

Green's is super carbonated and tastes more like an IPA.

New Planet has several flavors out now, some fruity flavored, but again tends to be more IPA ish or begian ish.

Harvester has 4 kinds that I have seen so far, but only in 22 oz for $6.99 - they have 2 IPA's, a red ale, and a dark ale. They use roasted chestnuts to achieve the darker flavor, and it's a sorely missed taste in this household.

There are a couple more gf brewers that I have seen, but can't think of the names at the moment.

MountainFlower

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #18 on: June 07, 2013, 02:43:29 PM »
We are not GF in our house, but I think that just about most people can benefit from being aware of the affect of wheat and gluten on them. 

Anyway, we make these pancakes and they are yummy and high protein.  They really stick with you:

16 egg whites (1 small carton of egg whites is the same)
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups oats (use gluten free oats)
4 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp sugar.  I have used sugar, splenda, and stevia.  All work. 

Put the egg whites in first and Blend in a blender.  I suggest cooking them in butter to add some fat. 

I tried this recipe with whole eggs, but they aren't nearly as good.  Too heavy I think. 


Bakari

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #19 on: June 07, 2013, 03:55:26 PM »
hey, I saw grant was posting in the thread and thought I'd chip in

hey!  are you SWMBO??
Welcome to the forum!!

MustacheCowboy

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #20 on: June 07, 2013, 04:23:09 PM »
I have Crohn's disease so I tried the GF diet for a year (some say people with CD, benefit from a GF diet). I felt better being GF but found that I was always trying to sub some expensive GF product for the missing carbs, and the GF product never tasted that great. It took a little while but I stopped subbing products and moved to a paleo diet. For me it was about letting go of the stuff that made me feel terrible and focusing on the tasty foods that helped me feel great.

kkbmustang

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #21 on: June 07, 2013, 04:59:39 PM »
Thank you so much everyone! The Hubs doesn't drink so no biggie on the beer, but I'm glad to see others benefitting from thus thread.

He gets tested Monday so we'll switch to GF then. Everything we've read points to celiac or, at the very least, a gluten intolerance. He has been feeling bad for years with all kinds of different symptoms.  When he talked to someone with celiac and read a list of symptoms and read more about it, he felt like he had found his people.

I will be doing a lot of homemade stuff and shifting to more meat and produce. Still, even some cottage cheese has xanthan gum, which I think has gluten. I'd have to double check that. And a can of chicken stock had caramel color which is bad too. I usually make my own stock but have that in case I'm in a pinch. Not anymore. :)

I'd love the challah recipe too. That is a family fave.

Mr. Minsc

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #22 on: June 07, 2013, 06:03:08 PM »
This gluten business is really a lot to take in.  I never really looked in to why gluten (and grains in general) can be harmful for your health.  I'm one of those who seemingly tolerates the stuff so I never really thought twice.  All good though, I've been wanting to expand my diet anyway.  Going gluten free would be an interesting experiment as I've been eating the stuff for so long any side effects would simply be considered "normal".

Edit:  I know someone who has to either avoid gluten products or risk death.  Next time I see him I'll ask more about his diet.

I'd second the paleo diet suggestion.... paleo *can* be very cult-y, and the low-carb camp kind of blurred the lines between paleo and low-carb so there are alot of different philosophies out there, but it works very well.

Paleo VS Vegan
Round One.
FIGHT!

Right now I plan to take the more open approach and not follow strictly one diet.  From what I've gathered there can be positives and negatives to any type of food.  It's looking like the best bet is to stay away from whats convenient and processed.  Instead focus on a larger variety of foods.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 06:12:43 PM by Mr. Minsc »

Frugalady10

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #23 on: June 07, 2013, 07:14:07 PM »
xanthan gum is gluten free- it is added to a lot of baked goods to avoid the "brick" like texture. it is some weird processed corn product.

Modified food starch is something to look out for- sometimes that has gluten. Check out "gluten free for dummies" out of the library it has all the names for "hidden" gluten. Husband has been GF for about 5 yrs now, I've gotten used to what brands are okay and what are not. More and more stuff specifically says gluten free on the label.

I don't have celiac but I do have ulcerative colitis and ibs and the paleo diet didn't work for me- I could never leave the toilet. I need low fat/low residue. But everyone's different I guess.

grantmeaname

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #24 on: June 07, 2013, 08:10:53 PM »
xanthan gum is gluten free- it is added to a lot of baked goods to avoid the "brick" like texture. it is some weird processed corn product.
It's actually like twice as weird as that - it was cultivated from a bacterium living on cabbage leaves.

ESunday

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #25 on: June 07, 2013, 08:27:17 PM »
When it comes to baking I have tried a couple different GF flours and flour blends. The best one for me is:

3 cups white rice flour
1 cup potato starch (not flour)
1 cup tapioca starch or flour
½ cup sweet rice flour (or substitute a little more tapioca flour)

*keep in airtight container and shake to mix each time use
*keep in pantry or refrigerator
*add xanthan gum to recipes that use more than ½ cup of flour blend
  (1/4 tsp. or less per cup of flour used, too much makes product chewy)

With this blend I can usually bake any normal recipe but I tend to use just a little less flour than called for. 

hey!  are you SWMBO??
Welcome to the forum!!
Yes I am, Thanks!

BZB

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #26 on: June 07, 2013, 08:58:00 PM »
Yup - my son has celiac - diagnosed with antibody tests and biopsy last year. He was a different kid (more energy, color back in his cheeks) within 2 days of going GF. We thought we were making up the dramatic change because it's what we hoped to see, but the doctor confirmed that such a quick improvement is common, especially in kids.
We're still figuring out the baking. Amazon has some good deals on flours, oats, and pasta if you catch them at the right time. The blog Gluten Freely Frugal keeps  an updated list of best GF product prices on Amazon. 
If your husband gets a celiac diagnosis, be sure to read up on cleaning your kitchen to get rid of gluten contamination. We got rid of our old toaster and only eat GF bread because one crumb from regular bread could easily contaminate our son's food and make him sick. Also got new cutting boards because ours were old and scratched, hard to clean the residue out.

Lans Holman

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #27 on: June 07, 2013, 10:08:03 PM »
I don't eat paleo or GF but my cousin has a blog with her paleo recipes and they look awesome to me:

http://paleorrificblog.wordpress.com/

Frugalady10

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #28 on: June 08, 2013, 08:00:40 AM »
Grantmeaname- wacky. it seems like a waste of time to come up with all this stuff to replace with real food. My husband says most gf baked goods taste like garbage anyway. I made pudding last night ( from scratch it is actually quite easy and naturally gluten free). Did you see the gf beer list i wrote?

grantmeaname

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #29 on: June 08, 2013, 08:22:55 AM »
My husband says most gf baked goods taste like garbage anyway.
Yeah, but we have a real, deep love of baked goods in this house, so even if we reduce our consumption we're left with a whole lot of consumption.

Quote
Did you see the gf beer list i wrote?
Yeah, that looks terrific. I think we've only seen one or two of those, so the boss and I will have to investigate it further.

ESunday

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #30 on: June 08, 2013, 09:04:42 AM »
My husband says most gf baked goods taste like garbage anyway.
Yeah, but we have a real, deep love of baked goods in this house, so even if we reduce our consumption we're left with a whole lot of consumption.
I have an undying love for anything and everything chocolaty!!!!!!!!! Also, while the texture is a little different from the normal version with the flour blend I use, it is close enough that I don't find it off putting. But I will say that I haven't found anything really good when buying GF baked goods so I gave up and I just make everything from scratch now.

The beer list looks great! I will have to do some experimenting. Thanks!

Frugalady10

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #31 on: June 08, 2013, 12:42:52 PM »

Zoe

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #32 on: June 08, 2013, 06:14:43 PM »
My household is moving more toward a primal diet (b/c I'm the cook and decided to go off grains/wheat). It's really just eating more whole foods, fats, protein. I get a lot of recipes from Mark's Daily Apple. Don't buy the GF stuff. It's nasty and expensive. If I do any baking (which is rare), it's like, a pizza crust made from coconut flour, tapioca flour, eggs, garlic powder, salt, water, and coconut oil. Best crust ever!

ep114

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #33 on: June 09, 2013, 04:58:48 AM »
Good luck to you and your husband! Hope he's feeling better soon. Re: the testing. that topic is a bit controversial, and I'm not going to go into it here since it seems like 15% of the internet is devoted to GF issues. But many people belieive there are a lot of false negatives. No matter what the results from the test are, someone can also do an experiment by not eating anything with gluten for a few weeks. If the symptoms go away, viola!

limeandpepper

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #34 on: June 09, 2013, 05:31:24 AM »
Good luck to you and your husband! Hope he's feeling better soon. Re: the testing. that topic is a bit controversial, and I'm not going to go into it here since it seems like 15% of the internet is devoted to GF issues. But many people belieive there are a lot of false negatives. No matter what the results from the test are, someone can also do an experiment by not eating anything with gluten for a few weeks. If the symptoms go away, viola!

As far as I know, one can be wheat-intolerant or gluten-intolerant without being a celiac. So just because someone tested negative for celiac, but feel better when they cut out gluten, doesn't necessarily mean it was a false negative.

Back on to the topic of a gluten-free diet... I don't follow one, but I develop recipes for fun (and also, occasionally, as a side gig), and make gluten-free dishes quite often. I would suggest moving towards rice and quinoa as staples. You can usually buy gluten-free soy sauce from organic or health food stores. If you want to deep-fry food, you can make a batter with rice flour or corn starch (or a combination of both) in lieu of regular wheat flour. Also consider chickpea flour which is often used in Indian cooking. Additionally, I have made gluten-free pancakes, muffins, cookies and cakes, with success, mostly using nut flours or buckwheat flour. Plus, look up Brazilian cheese bread. :)

Kaytee

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2013, 08:20:31 AM »
Quote
As far as I know, one can be wheat-intolerant or gluten-intolerant without being a celiac. So just because someone tested negative for celiac, but feel better when they cut out gluten, doesn't necessarily mean it was a false negative.

Absolutely! One can be sensitive to a food, but not allergic. Celiac is an autoimmune disease, like diabetes 1. I have found muscle testing to be quite effective for discovering food sensitivies that would ordinarily be a false negative on an allergy test. It's less cumbersome than elimination diets for each individual potential inflammatory food.

Shandi76

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Re: Anyone Here Gluten Free?
« Reply #36 on: June 11, 2013, 10:26:30 AM »
My Mother was diagnosed with coeliac disease soon after I was born, but had probably been ill with it for at least a decade before hand (she missed a lot of school as a teenager due to stomach upsets, and got taken to hospital with suspected appendicitis once, but they never investigated what else it might be when her appendix turned out to be okay...). As a result she is really sensitive to gluten and can't even eat oats due to the chance there will be a tiny amount of gluten due to the processing.

Gluten free bread has improved a lot in taste at least over the past 30+ years, but I still wouldn't recommend the highly processed and expensive gluten-free alternatives to the standard American diet.

I would recommend following a paleo or primal diet. Mark's Daily Apple has some good advice and recipes, as does Rob Wolff's page.

I'm not coeliac but I've found cutting bread and processed breakfast cereals out of my diet has a beneficial effect. I follow more of a primal diet (I'm northern European and have no issues with dairy) and aim to eat as cleanly as possible. I'm not specifically low carb: I still eat rice, potatoes, oats, yams etc. Minimizing highly processed foodstuffs and eating high quality food is more important than massively restricting intake of a macro-nutrient.