Gluten Free

toscarthearmada

Hello everyone!

It has been exactly 5 weeks since I started my Gluten Free diet. Five weeks ago I was feeling so bad that I almost spent some time in the hospital. The doctor advised me to try a Gluten Free diet just to see what happened and sure enough, I feel amazing!

Unfortunately I am also low carb due to my PCOS and Insulin Resistance, so finding foods and recipes are becoming a challenge for me. I'm really staring to get tired of tostadas, salads and gluten free breads.

So what do your gluten free meals look like? If it's not low carb that is fine, I can always figure a way. I'm in desperate need of some delicious inspiration.

Also, I'd really appreciate any Gluten Free friends so I can stalk your diary.

Runfaster14

Hi! I have been gluten free for almost a year now and it is getting easier and easier. Stalk my diary all you want I am also dairy free.
I very rarely eat gluten free bread, gluten free baked goods, etc. If I want a sandwich i wrap it in lettuce. I do like cake and cupcakes and cookies and will bake them from time to time.
Lots of brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes. And I am a huge creature of habit. As you will see on my diary.
Rice chex and soy milk for breakfast. Weekends are gluten free pancakes (can't help it i LOVE pancakes)
Salad for lunch or Chipotle
I eat hot dogs, just no bun.
I have a good recipe for a smoked sausage bake with asparagus and onions that I will have to find for you also.

Runfaster14

Oh, CONGRATS on the weight loss!!!

nmiller0813

try this place, they send lots and lots of recipes and offer advice on gluten free eating.

glutenfreecooking@aboutguide.com



Hope this helps. I am not gluten free, but I do a LOT less gluten in my life, due to some health issues. I should be gluten free, but it is hard to go that route completely especially since I have so many other food restrictrions.

Hope this helps! And, congratulations on the weight loss!!!

AnnaAnafi

I have been gluten free for almost 3 years (by choice - I don't have celiac disease).
Breakfast: gluten free oats with peanut butter and banana -or- Egg whites with Spinach -or- a plain greek yogurt smoothie with berries and kale
Lunch: I'll admit, I eat frozen lunches at work, but only the organic ones with clear, simple ingredients (Helen's kitchen and Amy's organic, primarily). I get the ones with tofu and quinoa. Quinoa has a much lower glycemic index than rice AND has more protein!
Dinner: Frequently, fish or shrimp (Some lean protein - tofu, beans...) with veggies. Unless my son requests it, I don't make a grain. Veggies/salad have more fiber than rice (in general) but when I do have a grain it is quinoa most of the time.
I like to grill or bake veggies with olive oil and seasonings. A good, satisfying dish is eggplant or zucchini sliced lengthwise, brushed with some olive oil and seasoned. Sometimes I add goat cheese too and I put that under the broler. You can top that with tomato sauce and it's like a lasagna or eggplant parm without the pasta or breading.

I don't know how you feel about beans, but there's a company called "Better Bean Company" that makes wonderful refried beans, chili and red beans. They are a meal by themselves and they are low fat and gluten-free (not to mention full of fiber and protein). Usually I have them over greens or with quinoa.

A_Healthier_Me2013

do you guys know if they sell gluten free oats at regular grocery stores or is it just at places like trader joe's??

WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr

do you guys know if they sell gluten free oats at regular grocery stores or is it just at places like trader joe's??

If your store has a gluten free section, you should be able to find it there or ask them to order it. I get Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free oatmeal from my local store

CorlissaEats

I sent you a FR. I'm GF and my diary should be open to friends.
Sometimes my meals are a list of ingredients and other times they are standard approx of meals so if you are curious about what I am actually eating- just ask. I use calories as a guideline not my gold standard. With gluten free health and nutrition matters more to me than hitting below my daily number.

shannashannabobana

Check out some of the paleo sites. They have a ton of gluten free recipes! I like stupideasypaleo.

rfihn

this thread has a lot of good ideas in it, I also posted my favorite: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1082092-gluten-free-and-vegan-recipes

askeates

I have been gluten free for the last 3 weeks, and like you, have felt better and better each day.

I have been experimenting with many new things and recipes myself, and am finding the key is to find gluten free spices/sauces. I love all things teryaki or soy sauce, but was distraught because both have gluten. I found GF over the weekend, and am excited to try these. feel free to add me and you can stalk my diary any time.

beascmd

Meijer's, krogers and most of the fruit markets in MI carry bob's red mill

rfihn

I have been gluten free for the last 3 weeks, and like you, have felt better and better each day.

I have been experimenting with many new things and recipes myself, and am finding the key is to find gluten free spices/sauces. I love all things teryaki or soy sauce, but was distraught because both have gluten. I found GF over the weekend, and am excited to try these. feel free to add me and you can stalk my diary any time.

Gluten free soy sauce is expensive and sometimes difficult to find but La Choy is actually gluten free and is pretty cheap. Its not the same as kikkoman but my gluten free friends who feel deprived without their soy sauce find it is not bad.

tcunbeliever

Oats are a gluten-free food. Most factories that process oats also process foods that contain gluten (wheat, rye, etc). This can cause cross-contamination with gluten. Oats labeled glute-free were processed in such a way as to guarantee no cross-contamination (usually no gluten processing at the same site). The amount of gluten exposure with cross-contamination is miniscule, and usually only a worry for the extremely gluten sensitive.

kimjoan

I have been GF for a little over a year and the change in my energy and the way I feel as been amazing! I basically cook/eat the way I did before but use GF replacements. For example - I have a great lowcal enchilada recipe and now I use corn instead of flour tortillas. I have always done a ton of lettuce wraps, which is a good thing because most GF bread is just not good. I still eat spaghetting and pasta salad but use GF pasta. Many meals that include a lean protein, starch like brown rice or baked potato and veggie - just like before.

I think that too many times we hear that we have to go gluten free and it means that we have to change everything about the way we but that just isn't so. There are many good sites out there and some have already been shared. FYI - I have a bakery business and the best all around blend I have found is Bob's GF All Purpose Flour. I use it straight across and add a teaspoon of xantham gum (for baking only on the later) for each cup of flour.

ethompso0105

Welcome to the GF lifestyle! I went GF 2 years ago this November. I will say that this summer I completely fell off the bandwagon and I'm paying for it. My promise to myself is to really work to be mainly (if not completely) GF starting again after Labor day. You've very welcome to friend me and check out my journal at that point.

I'm also an avid pinterest user--user name ethompso0105--and I do have gluten free board. I find that pinterest is a great area to find other recipes and ideas.

ktully93

A few websites I always go to for recipes are: comfybelly.com, gracious pantry.com, runningtothekitchen.com, and skinnytaste.com.
You can find a ton of gluten free, and if not just experiment and alter with almond or coconut flours. I always keep Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free baking flour on hand. It works well in most baked goods as long as you add Xanthum Gum, a little goes a long way.

beascmd

It's been 16 years for me! I tend to go in waves of eating the same thing. Breakfast may b eggs, almonds, cereal, or fruit. I tend to make extra for dinner and use for lunches. Dinner is portioned but always gf and I eat typical American meals. There are substitutions for everything. If u follow Pinterest there are many ideas there. Honestly, the only thing I miss are decent crackers when I am sick.

toscarthearmada

Check out some of the paleo sites. They have a ton of gluten free recipes! I like stupideasypaleo.

That was the first thing I've done....

But as far as day to day eating with simple ingredients, I'm struggling. Most recipes include many ingredients and are hard to make for someone working 12 hr days, 6 days a week or are high in carbs.

jackielou867

My family think I am making it up how bad I feel when I eat gluten products. Not allergic, just the clogged bloated lethargic feeling you get. I only realised when I gave up such foods for my weight loss programme. Now when I eat these foods they affect me within minutes. I never realised before as my diet was full of these foods and I have not been without the bloated feeling for many years. I never knew what it was like to not feel that way. Now I feel so much better, but I can't convince the family, it's as if I am some kind of hypochondriac.
Could some of you please post your experiences with giving up the gluten. it might help me convince them that this is a real issue for me.
Also any experiences with dairy as I have a feeling I might be reacting slightly to cheese yogurt and larger volumes of milk. Thanks :-)

WillowWindow

Adding other things you have to restrict is challenging for people on a gluten-free diet but the good news is that there's a learning curve and once you identify some foods that you like and can eat, then it'll be much easier. I can't have dairy and I also eat vegetarian, so it's essential that I cook if I want tasty and filing foods. You can, of course, make everything at home but that looks like a challenge with your schedule. You might try cooking on the weekend or whenever you get a day off and freezing meal-size portions. I don't eat low-carb but if I did, I would try for a fish, chicken or lean meat portion with a veggie and salad or baked potato, if that's allowed (for a main meal) and a salad with protein and a yummy dressing, boiled eggs and julienned vegs with hummus,or open-faced sandwich on some kind of gluten-free bread ( which is usually better toasted) for lunches. There's a lot of dfference in the Gluten-free breads available and you need to try dfferent ones to see what you like. I like Udi's Ancient Grains bread and Glutino Flax bread ( but toasted only). You can also get GF mixs for cakes and muffins but that might not fit your diet requirements. Be aware that you can cook with garbanzo bean flour and other bean flours as well as almond flour for part of the flours in your recipe and that would raise the protein/ carbs ratio in your baking.

Websites that have a lot of really tasty and well-tested reipes are glutenfreegirl.com and glutenfreegoddess.com. As well those two have introduction sections to living gluten free that you might be interested in.

Glad you are experiencing greater health and good luck going forward.

MermaidTX

Hello everyone!

It has been exactly 5 weeks since I started my Gluten Free diet. Five weeks ago I was feeling so bad that I almost spent some time in the hospital. The doctor advised me to try a Gluten Free diet just to see what happened and sure enough, I feel amazing!

Unfortunately I am also low carb due to my PCOS and Insulin Resistance, so finding foods and recipes are becoming a challenge for me. I'm really staring to get tired of tostadas, salads and gluten free breads.

So what do your gluten free meals look like? If it's not low carb that is fine, I can always figure a way. I'm in desperate need of some delicious inspiration.

Also, I'd really appreciate any Gluten Free friends so I can stalk your diary.

Here's my favorite GF/low carb pancakes to make:
http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/07/fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes/

And here's one of my favorite LC/GF sites for inspiration. Her Chocolate Brownie GF Mug Cake is so yummy & quick/easy!
http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/

Altho I don't *have* to be GF, since I started a ketogenic diet, grains are pretty much out the window. My diary is open. You may see a tortilla here & there tho

6mimi

Bumping for later. Thanks for sharing tips and websites!:flowerforyou:

ksizzle911

I'm adding a link for you to one of my favorite websites. It's called skinnytaste.com. The URL attached is that for all the gluten-free recipes she has on the site. I've made tons of recipes from the site in general and never found one I haven't liked. I hope this helps you find some new and interesting things to try. I've been toying with the idea of going gluten free for awhile now to see if it makes me feel better too. Glad to know someone who's had success in doing so! :happy:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/search/label/Gluten Free

ksizzle911

One thing I'd like to add is that I guarantee that you will find PLENTY of low carb, gluten free on skinnytaste.com. Truly a fantastic site. May take awhile to go through it all, but totally worth it!!

sexysisam

I've been GF for a while. I don't even allow it in our house because my son is so sensitive. I agree with another poster that said just to swap out gluten-y ingredients for GF versions. I really like Ancient Grains quinoa/corn pasta, corn tortillas, and Wendy Warks gluten free flour mix (I make my own mix, but it's also sold by Authentic Foods as "Multi blend mix"). My favorite bread is by Karen Robertson and she has an AMAZING GF cookbook that comes on DVD-rom to print off at home. Also King Arthur Flour has some great GF recipes that I use for my cakes, brownies, cookies, etc.

I did a blog post on it a year or two ago because my sisters would always tell their friends to call me.

http://naturallyfrugalmomma.blogspot.com/2011/02/going-gluten-free-what-worked-for-us.html

My diary should be open and I pretty much make EVERYTHING from scratch (way cheaper). So if you see something that intrigues you just ask and I can get you a recipe. I've been terrible about logging lately because my hubby has been in Europe for work and I have 4 littles. So I've been in survival mode; but he's back so I will start logging religiously again!

Mokey41

My hubby is allergic to wheat and my granddaughter is celiac. The easiest way we've found is to just avoid things with wheat or gluten and forget the expensive gluten free replacements. They're expensive and usually have way more calories and sugar than the regular products, not to mention a lot of them taste like crap.

We cook most food from scratch so I control what is in it and we don't need to worry if it's been contaminated. The only thing we buy is rice pasta because by granddaughter loves her noodles and cheese!

HeartRN77

I do have celiac disease so feel free to friend me I can't eat any gluten or I get very sick I ended up with blood tranfussions because I became so anemic due to stomach damage. So for me it's more than a diet my best advice is eat whole foods,look up paleo that has worked for me,

alliemacd37

I have also just started a gluten-free diet on recommendation from my GP. I am not celiac, but I see many posters referring to the bloated, lethargic feeling they get when they eat gluten, and after 2 weeks, I understand that already! I have an autoimmune disease that affects my joints as well, and they feel better than they have in 5 years! I was happy to find this thread, as it has so many good ideas and websites! I tried this site in January, but i had surgery in February, and I am just now back to normal, so I am ready to try again! I must say, the idea of gluten free sounded so difficult I was scared. I couldn't imangine what I would possibly eat, I was a bit of a breadaholic. Once I started though, I really enjoyed it. My doc told me to try for 4 weeks, but I can tell after 2 this will be a permanent change in my household! Anyone who wants to can add me as a friend as well

Lestaticon

I also don't have a medical issue with gluten, but I've been reducing or eliminating it from my diet the last few weeks. Only tip I can provide is to stick to whole foods and don't spend too much time preparing food. You can save time by just sticking to basics. Good thing about eating basic whole foods is that gluten elimination for me didn't affect my diet all that much. I just switched out the bread, but I don't eat much bread anyway other than the bad tendency to have some toast in the evening with peanut butter and fruit.

My breakfast is typically an egg white omelet with a mix of onions and peppers (which were frozen and pre-cut, no added sodium). Add a handful of spinach and a bit of shredded cheese for the fat, if you wish. Alternative breakfast is 1/2 cup of steel cut oats, 1oz of soy nuts, .5 oz of raw pecans, and 1 banana cut into it. Both breakfasts take about 15 minutes to make, 5 of which is actually handling the food. I make it as I'm getting ready for work in the morning. Breakfast like that, and you won't have to worry about gluten in general.

For lunch and supper, I buy all my meats and veggies on Monday after work. I may typically buy a package of extra lean ground turkey and a package of 3 or 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Go ahead and cook all of that at the beginning of the week. Grill the chicken breasts. Make some patties out of the turkey (or something else easy and quick) and grill them too.
Go to the frozen veggie section of your grocery store and buy a few bags of various veggies. Get the bags that contain no added ingredients, like salt, spices, or sauces. Also consider, again for ease of use, the bags that you can put in the microwave to steam directly.
Then for lunch and supper, just mix and match a meat with a bag of veggies. I also keep some of those individual steam bags on hand so if I haven't had time to cook the meat, I can put a chicken breast, raw, in a steam bag and cook it easily. Then steam cook the bag of veggies. Easy, quick, healthy, and gluten doesn't really enter the picture.

Mix in various fruits and veggies as snacks (Greek non-fat plain yogurt, berries, apples, celery, cucumbers), perhaps some hummus.

Wolfhuntress2002

H All, I am recently starting this Gluten Free thing and a little overwhelmed with it all. However, the few things I have found to eat thus far have seemed to make me feel better and my GI issues are no more, or at least improving. Dr. placed me on the diet in hopes to avoid surgery. Right now I have had more progress with this than any meds they have placed me on over the last two years. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated