Gluten Free Girls (and Guys!)

leavinglasvegas

Welcome Families_R_Forever and 4myheartnsoul!

Does anybody have any good bbq/picnic recipes to share? I'm planning to grill tomorrow. Meat burgers for the fam, Veggie burgers for my daughter and I. I always make a gf/df pasta salad with sweet peas and veganaise. Thats getting old real fast this summer, lol. If I take it to a bbq, it often ends up being the only thing I can eat. But tomorrow, I am in charge! Woowoo!

If you have any suggestions, that would be great. If they aren't vegan, I can probably improvise. So, don't hold back

I need to keep myself on track and at the same time, satisfy the regular eaters. Besides burgers and salad and grilled veggies, I'm drawing a blank. That would probably be enough, I just want to spice it up a bit and get outside of my box. And have dessert too of course!:drinker:

4myheartnsoul

Hi...
I just started a gluten free diet due to probable wheat allergy and possible celiac disease. I was tested for celiac 2 years ago, but the biopsy at that point was negative, however my current doctor doesn't think biospies are totally accurate sometimes. Most recently, my stomach had blown up like a balloon and I looked pregnant. I have been simply miserable and living on Gas-Ex. In just 2 days of eating without wheat in my diet, I already feel a lot better. The increase in fruits and vegetables that I've made, have also helped my IBS problems.
I'm looking for as many pointers to living gluten free as possible...and hoping to take off some weight in the meantime!

You sound like me. It took 3 years for me to finally get a positive Celiac disease diagnosis. I kept being told I had IBS but once I went GF all my IBS symptoms disappeared.

A big key is to read labels on EVERYTHING. Even things that may look safe could have gluten, wheat, barley, malt, rye, or oats all things you need to stay away from. You can look for gluten free oats, some people have been able to tolerate them. If you could eat oats before and be fine then you should be ok. Some companies will bold the word wheat or gluten, some won't that is why you need to read. Also sometimes the item looks fine (no wheat or gluten) but farther down the ingredient list will be malt which is usually not bolded.

If you have a Whole Foods near you that would be a great place to go or any type of health food store. Check Kroger or a similar grocery store. My Kroger has some nice GF selections.

GF food is more calorie dense than non GF packaged items so be careful. GF food is also pretty expensive so it can add up. However, lean meats like chicken, turkey, fruits and veggies, are always GF.

4myheartnsoul

Black bean salad made gf, grilled chicken with some gf seasoning and lime juice is what I plan for the 4th. I am a fruit and fruit dip fan also

TropicalKitty

Welcome Families_R_Forever and 4myheartnsoul!

Does anybody have any good bbq/picnic recipes to share? I'm planning to grill tomorrow. Meat burgers for the fam, Veggie burgers for my daughter and I. I always make a gf/df pasta salad with sweet peas and veganaise. Thats getting old real fast this summer, lol. If I take it to a bbq, it often ends up being the only thing I can eat. But tomorrow, I am in charge! Woowoo!

If you have any suggestions, that would be great. If they aren't vegan, I can probably improvise. So, don't hold back

I need to keep myself on track and at the same time, satisfy the regular eaters. Besides burgers and salad and grilled veggies, I'm drawing a blank. That would probably be enough, I just want to spice it up a bit and get outside of my box. And have dessert too of course!:drinker:

Here are a few simple things I've thought of:

Cucumber salad: sliced cucumbers, onion, pepper, red wine vinegar, and a lil sugar/splenda/stevia to taste (if you need it). let it sit for about 30mins prior to serving to let the vinegar meld into the stuff.

Potatoes on the grill: slice potatoes, onion, pepper, canola oil, toss and put in a foil pouch n cook with the burgers n such (but theyll take longer of course, prolly about 30mins or so depending on how thick you slice em)

Corn in husk on grill. Yumms!

Oil & Vinegar coleslaw - you'd have to google a recipe for that, but I'd think something like slaw mix, vinegar, celery seed, a lil sugar.

That's all I got for the moment. Good luck! Btw, what do you put in your pasta salad - noodles, 'aise, and peas only? I've been wanting a good one.

TropicalKitty

GF food is more calorie dense than non GF packaged items so be careful. GF food is also pretty expensive so it can add up. However, lean meats like chicken, turkey, fruits and veggies, are always GF.

Super pricey! At kroger they had some brownie mix, $6. Crazy! Same for flour mixes too.

I finally found that elusive semi-decent frozen pizza I've been longing for (Gluten Free & Fabulous). $7.50. Where the comparable product from DiGiorno is, what, like $5. However, on the nutrition point, the gf pizza was 474 cals and the DiGiorno is 590, with less fiber! So, not all the gf stuff is necessarily worse than the "normal." You definitely do have to watch out what you get and you pocket book!

iRun4wine

Holly, I LIVE on chic pea salad with balsamic vinegar and feta cheese in the summer time Also, love tomato salads with mozzarella cheese.

leavinglasvegas

I ended up grilling some Sunshine burgers.... They are GF and vegan and very tasty.... We used Schar buns for them. I made a dill potato salad with veganaise, dill, celery, garlic, and rosemary infused sea salt flakes. Also corn on the cob, a big salad, and steamed greens. (I'm loving the greens lately. Even eating them for breakfast.) Oh, and Redbridge. :drinker: Whats a bbq without beer? An I found out they sell it at Kroger! Score one for Holly!

I cooked for my daughter, nephew, and grandmother. They all ate and loved it! Score two for Holly.:bigsmile:

Tropicalkitty-- I use gf spiral past, veganaise, sweet peas, celery, garlic, and sea salt for pasta salad. Its pretty good because I have come to love cold peas with pasta. They have to be the frozen ones. I just run them under water to thaw them and toss them in. I invented it last summer before my gf, vegan days during a margarita fest in the back yard. :blushing: Thankfully, it still tasted good when we were sober LOL. And it has stuck as a bbq staple, even adapted to my new lifestyle.

Hope you all had a nice time today celebrating freedom! Lets not forget all those who have given their lives to get us here. (Not being political, just sentimental)

TropicalKitty

Thanks Holly! I love(d) the pasta salad they have at Ruby Tuesday's salad bar - peas in it too! I'm glad your cook out went well.

I did a chunk of shopping this weekend and found a slew of gf goodies to try: ice cream sandwiches, waffles, bread, and chicken nuggets. I usually wouldn't have even considered buying most of them, but since I don't have the luxury of just running to any ol' place to grab these things if I get a random desire, I figured should know what I'm getting into. Or at least it's fun to find and try new things.

Tonight I'm trying to make my first gf german meal...rouladen. If you haven't had 'em there are some variations, but I'm doing it with pork sausage rolled in thin sliced steak wrapped in bacon (and an appt with a cardiologist perhaps!) - some people do it with pickles and onion n stuff. Anyway, you cook the rolls in beer for a couple hours then thicken with flour....hopefully Redbridge and corn starch will work or at least not ruin the flavor I'm used to. I'll let you guys know if RB works for cooking too!

Man this is one hell of a learning experience. But it does seem like there are more people who are aware of it - the waitress at this deli/diner I went to knew what I was talking about and wanted to make sure what I was trying to order would be safe for me.

4myheartnsoul

Had my celiac blood test this morning. I had to go back on gluten for about 5 days until I had the test so not to get a false neg...can't wait to go gf again!!! I had been gf for about 4 days and was feeling great until I learned I had quit too soon. Glad to be back!! I also had my sleep study, that was scary to hear the tech talk about how I slept.
I am in sticker shock on my first gf shopping trip today. A loaf of gf bread..$6 and a box of gf pasta...$5. I plan on internet shopping also. Now I have to find the ingreds for AuntBiz's bread. GF cake and brownie mix wasn't too bad, but I can't eat that stuff, it is a binge trigger for me, go figure the danger zone is cheapest. Guess I am taking a few min to go back and read old posts to get shopping and food ideas.
Is it logical to mainly live off fruit, veggie, protein and dairy and have 1 or 2 servings of gf stuff, maybe some crackers or something. What about fiber?

TropicalKitty

Had my celiac blood test this morning. I had to go back on gluten for about 5 days until I had the test so not to get a false neg...can't wait to go gf again!!! I had been gf for about 4 days and was feeling great until I learned I had quit too soon. Glad to be back!! I also had my sleep study, that was scary to hear the tech talk about how I slept.
I am in sticker shock on my first gf shopping trip today. A loaf of gf bread..$6 and a box of gf pasta...$5. I plan on internet shopping also. Now I have to find the ingreds for AuntBiz's bread. GF cake and brownie mix wasn't too bad, but I can't eat that stuff, it is a binge trigger for me, go figure the danger zone is cheapest. Guess I am taking a few min to go back and read old posts to get shopping and food ideas.
Is it logical to mainly live off fruit, veggie, protein and dairy and have 1 or 2 servings of gf stuff, maybe some crackers or something. What about fiber?

I hate the pricing of things too! I spent like $80 at the grocery store on gf stuff this weekend. We can sit in the boat together!

I get the Quinoa pasta and it is $2.59 for 8oz where I live (and I love it!). Comes in a green/turqoise box.

If you are eating whole fresh veggies and fruits you should be fine with fiber. Or you can add stuff like flax to yogurt or get a psyllium supplement if you are really worried.

leavinglasvegas

Had my celiac blood test this morning. I had to go back on gluten for about 5 days until I had the test so not to get a false neg...can't wait to go gf again!!! I had been gf for about 4 days and was feeling great until I learned I had quit too soon. Glad to be back!! I also had my sleep study, that was scary to hear the tech talk about how I slept.
I am in sticker shock on my first gf shopping trip today. A loaf of gf bread..$6 and a box of gf pasta...$5. I plan on internet shopping also. Now I have to find the ingreds for AuntBiz's bread. GF cake and brownie mix wasn't too bad, but I can't eat that stuff, it is a binge trigger for me, go figure the danger zone is cheapest. Guess I am taking a few min to go back and read old posts to get shopping and food ideas.
Is it logical to mainly live off fruit, veggie, protein and dairy and have 1 or 2 servings of gf stuff, maybe some crackers or something. What about fiber?

Fiber is easy. If you are sticking to the whole foods, you will get it naturally. I've noticed that most of the processed gf stuff doen't really have alot of fiber anyway. But if you do a load of veggies at every meal you should be good. Plus the naturally gf grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, teff, corn- those are all good sources of fiber and even protien and calcium.

As for shopping, its hard at first. I have learned that it is actually cheaper to buy things at Whole Foods or Better Health and Trader Joes. Unless Kroger or Meijer are running a sale. So I tend to check the chain stores first.If they aren't on sale I get what I need at a health food store. I've notived a huge difference in price! I bought Sunbutter at Whole foods, regular price 5.99. But then I went t o Kroger and cheched the price. It was 7.99 regular price there! You'll get the hang of it once you learn what you like and don't like. Then it'll just become second nature.

TropicalKitty

So I made the rouladen last night and I'm happy. The Redbridge didn't make it taste funny (eventhough the sorghum seems to make the beer a little sweeter than like Budweiser) and cornstarch really wasn't a bad thickener for the beer gravy. Quinoa pasta totally did the trick for egg noodles. Success! And no upset tummy.

Ok. I can do this and not feel like I've lost the foods I loved. Mini successes like this are totally going to help this transition.

Oh! I tried one of the ice cream sandwiches I found (Jill's? Jillian's? Organic gf...eek I'll have to look again at the brand, but not dairy free. Came in a white canister). At first I thought they sucked. The "cookie" was crumbly and it was like you could feel the grains of sugar in it. But as it warmed up the cookie thing got softer and taste totally improved. I'll give em another whirl if I feel like an ice cream sandwich again.

ccaruso219

Hey Everyone,

There is this place near me that sells gluten free foods. It's mainly Italian foods like Ravioli, stuffed shells. They also carry alot of premaded meals as well as breads, bread crumbs and different flours. They even have my personal favorite gluten free cannoli....They will ship anywhere so you don't have to live in the NYC area. Their menu online is limited, but trust me they have alot of stuff. I just bought hot dog rolls from them and hero breads for sandwiches.
Here is the link for it.....

http://store.pastosa.com/category/gluten.html

faithNlove212

Hey everyone!! I am so glad I'm not alone here! I recently found out I have celiac disease last week. It runs on my dads side of the family. So far 5 family members have tested positive for it. I bought this book called "The G Free Diet-a gluten free survival guide" by Elisabeth Hasslebeck (cohost on the view) it has taught me soooo much & I thank the lord my aunt introduced me too it. My grocery store has an entire aisle just of gluten free food. I love the New bread just entroduced called Udis bread!!! Last night I made my own gluten free pizza it was really yummy! Since I'm new to this it has been a bit overwhelming because I cannot eat alot of my favorite foods but I would rather feel better! Plus with no wheat it helps you loose weight!!!:happy: my symptoms were the same as everyone elses the worst was the cramping! Pregnancy cramps are the worst but I swear these cramps I was having were not far behind pregnancy cramps. Just 2 weeks so far of cutting gluten out I feel great & lost 2lbs in 3 days!

4myheartnsoul

Welcome FaithNlove212!!! I have not been diagnosed long either and finding this message board has been a life savor!! It is nice to have people who understand!! When I tell people I am gluten free they look at my with pity, I am really excited to be gf and have health problems (and weight) seem to just disappear. It helped me to sit and read all the posts to all the good tips from the past. Best wishes and god bless!!

4myheartnsoul

According to the Betty Crocker site, they are coming out with a gf bisquick mix this summer!!! WOW that will open a whole new door of recipes for gf...can't wait!

leavinglasvegas

Silly question:

First of all, I got the book Living Gluten Free for Dummies from the library. Good read.

The author talks bout some unexpected places that have gluten, like play-doh. She says the following:

"Play-doh has gluten in it, and although kids aren't supposed to be eating it, show me one kid who can resist. I know I couldn't!"

Is it me, or is that weird? I never saw a kid eat play-doh. I, myself, never even thought about it. It seems gross. First of all, its not food. Second of all, how dirty would that be? All the hands that have poked and smooshed it. It smells funny and looks un-food-like. But thats just me, I guess. ???

Am I the abnormal one for not eating play-doh?

iRun4wine

No, Holly. You're not abnormal. But, let me just say, I teach middle school, and you'd be shocked what even THEY will put in their mouth (and it's not like they're little kids!)... :noway:

Mariettarose

Thanks to MFP we found out the pain I had was from gluten...who knew eating healthy could actually make you feel better by getting rid of the food that was hurting you??? Now I'm trying to learn to eat gluten free and really missing my baking. I haven't had the money to get the ingredients to start baking gluten free. I hope to have the ingredients stocked by the holidays since I've always been the one to make really great snickerdoodles and would love to have some this year. It's nice to know there is someplace to come when I need to talk to someone who understands instead of the guys in my house. They try, but then they bring doughnuts and fresh baked bread into the house and wonder why I pout in my room. Glad you guys are all here, but not glad you had to go through the pain to get here...

TropicalKitty

Silly question:

First of all, I got the book Living Gluten Free for Dummies from the library. Good read.

The author talks bout some unexpected places that have gluten, like play-doh. She says the following:

"Play-doh has gluten in it, and although kids aren't supposed to be eating it, show me one kid who can resist. I know I couldn't!"

Is it me, or is that weird? I never saw a kid eat play-doh. I, myself, never even thought about it. It seems gross. First of all, its not food. Second of all, how dirty would that be? All the hands that have poked and smooshed it. It smells funny and looks un-food-like. But thats just me, I guess. ???

Am I the abnormal one for not eating play-doh?

I vaguely recall my mom making homemade playdoh...I definitely remember a LOT of salt being in it...hmmm it's like flour salt *quick google*....oil water cream of tartar...food coloring/kool aid.

But here is a website with some alternative recipes if you are concerned about children eating the stuff, surely one of them is gf!
http://www.playdoughrecipe.com/

(The traditional recipe at that link is just corn starch, water, and cream of tartar)

cutmd

So recently I have been cheating right and left, and my stomach and the scale hate me for it. Part of it was the fact that I haven't been eating rice in the last week, and I think my body was depending on it for calories and carbs. Plus, my bread cravings were driving me crazy!

So today I went to Sprouts and got some gluten free bread for the first time. I bought two, an Ener-G tapioca loaf, which is great heated up but a little grainy on it's own. The best one is called Udi's, and boy is it good! Tastes just like regular bread! I made a sandwich with hot roasted turkey, it was heavenly! I also got some Plan D Flourless Berry Blueberry Muffins that were rich and tasty, but only 110 calories (kept double-checking the package to make sure it was gluten free). I also bought some gluten free frozen pizza and some brown rice pasta for later in the week. I feel like I just had a huge gluten binge, and I'm tying not to feel guilty about it.

TropicalKitty, the idea of eating playdoh never crossed my mind either, though I did eat a few mudpies and leaves as a child :noway:

TropicalKitty

bump.
and...

I found some pasta made with chick pea flour at the farmer's market today! I'm excited to try it.

Also, someone there said they knew someone takes benadryl so she can eat wheat...didn't think that worked...any of you try that?

Happy Saturday!

nicolee516

I have never heard of that about benedryl, but there is a supplement called glutenease that works great. I just tried another GF beer called Bard's, and it is soooooooooo much better than the other 2 , New Grist and Red Bridge.

runnerdad

I think the benedryl may help if you are only a little gluten sensitive. If you are gluten intolerant or have Celiac's, it won't help you. (Actually, I am only gluten sensitive, and it doesn't work for me, so beware).

iRun4wine

I think the benedryl may help if you are only a little gluten sensitive. If you are gluten intolerant or have Celiac's, it won't help you. (Actually, I am only gluten sensitive, and it doesn't work for me, so beware).

Agreed.

cutmd

I have never heard of that about benedryl, but there is a supplement called glutenease that works great. I just tried another GF beer called Bard's, and it is soooooooooo much better than the other 2 , New Grist and Red Bridge.

Early on I was taking zyrtec or claritin, they seemed to help with the recovery from gluten but it thought I made it up. Why didn't anyone tell me about gluten ease? I'm definitely getting it for eating out and those occasional cheats (which I will try to avoid :embarassed: )

Is anyone else eating Udi's bread?

nicolee516

I have never heard of that about benedryl, but there is a supplement called glutenease that works great. I just tried another GF beer called Bard's, and it is soooooooooo much better than the other 2 , New Grist and Red Bridge.

Early on I was taking zyrtec or claritin, they seemed to help with the recovery from gluten but it thought I made it up. Why didn't anyone tell me about gluten ease? I'm definitely getting it for eating out and those occasional cheats (which I will try to avoid :embarassed: )

Is anyone else eating Udi's bread?

I have not tried it yet but I have heard that it is awesome!!!

Sara628

Hi, I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself. I am a personal/private chef and I am gluten intolerant. I have been playing with recipes and trying numerous gluten-free products. Please feel free to email me if you are looking for good recipes or substitutes that are healthy.

TropicalKitty

I think the benedryl may help if you are only a little gluten sensitive. If you are gluten intolerant or have Celiac's, it won't help you. (Actually, I am only gluten sensitive, and it doesn't work for me, so beware).

That's what I figured...plus what's the point if you are going to pass out from it anyway?

Now I'm curious about the glutenease...

And my reason comes from this mini story: went to a comedy club last week where everything was fried. Except for: nachos or a grilled chicken sandwich (burger, sandwiches, etc sans bun, but really like I'm going to say "Hi I'd like a pile of turkey please!")...even the veggies were fried - hello fried zucchini! At least with something like the glutenease I'd have a little buffer for some options to eat when I'm stuck, but hey, less food meant I had more room for booze! :drinker:

amjenti

I was reading through these posts and it dawned on me hours later, like a thought I heard the "ding" from my realization. lol
I have made note to my mom many months ago that I love Vietnamese/Asian foods and how my stomach doesn't hurt and how smooth and bloat free I fee.

My husband was on a business trip and during that week I was cooking Japanese, Vietnamese foods for breakfast to dinner for myself and my teenage daughter. And my tummy was a very happy camper (and so was I) that I continued it for 3 additional weeks. "ding" "ding" "ding"..... I was eating rice, soy, veggies, rice noodles, seafood etc.. I didn't eat breads (whole wheat like I make at home) nor was I eating much of anything that had wheat gluten in it.

So thank you everyone for posting your experiences. This has helped me in a big way.:flowerforyou:
Now that the connection made it's "ding" in my brain :blushing: I will continue this test to make a self confirmation.

I just wanted to share my story.

AM