Anyone here have celiac? Help!!!!!!!

tbresina

My poor husband was just diagnosed with Celiac and I am in real need of advice on what to feed us. It took 2 garbage bags to fill all the food I had in my house that had wheat in it! I decided to go gluten free too even though I don't have celiac just because its easier just keeping gluten free type foods in the house (yes, my hubby may wanna cheat otherwise) and making 2 different meals does not appeal to me
Anyway, the problems we are facing goes like this-we live in a small town, there is about 20 items that are gluten free in my local store and they are not good. We are having the most problem with bread and substitutes for buns etc. I thought I could just try to make my own but when I found a recipe it had like 20 ingredients, some of which I have never heard of, can't pronounce and can't fine (xantham gum)! I am also finding that the few things I have found is 3x the price! Any and all help would be appreciated. I live about 2 hrs away from a big city but I would consider driving there every other month if I had some direction on brands that are edible-
Thanks in advance
Tami

xxxibajazhanee

I have celiac and I am gluten/lactose free. I can't eat either , b/c I get sick for days. Betty Crocker now has gluten free cookie /cake mixes. I use almond flour to make ALL my bread. Xanthum gum , you can use but I really don't and all my meals turn out fine for me . I get EVERYTHING from the organic aisle , If your grocery store doesn't have one it would be best to travel to Whole Foods, especially if you can't get staple items such as flour , drinks , tofu(if you like that). Just make sure you have gluten free staple items and you can find great gluten free recipes. Glutenfreemommy.com is great !.I hope that helped !

lesliev523

I have celiac disease as well. I have actually found that the bread substitutes are not all that great... so I just go breadless. There is a good pizza crust you can get from Udi's.

You can buy a lot of gluten free stuff off of Amazon much cheaper than in your grocery store.

I love corn tortillas as a bread substitute... I make quesadillas, chicken ceasar wraps, etc.

You can't go wrong with proteins and salads and fruit though... that is 90% of my diet.

There is also a gluten free group here.... good luck!!

casmithis

Im not celiac but a lot of my family members are so I've cut back on a lot of stuff. I do feel a lot better since doing this. Not sure where you are but in Canada we have Bulk Barn that has an awesome selection of gluten free products. I now only eat rice pasta. I just avoid breads and et way more fruits and veggies. Its so unfortunate it s so expensive to buy the gluten free products. Good luck.

Cindy

Mokey41

The easiest is to not even try to substitute. Gluten free stuff is expensive, full of sugar and most of it tastes like crap. It means learning to eat different things. There are some good pastas made from brown rice and corn pasta is actually pretty good. I find the rice pastas taste ok hot and fresh but get a vinegar taste in leftovers. It's also got a different texture than wheat pasta and you have to be careful cooking it because one minute it's a rock and the next a pile of mush.

Most canned soups have gluten as a thickener, a lot of processed meats use gluten as a thickener, ice cream the same. We try to eat whole foods, I do a lot of cooking from scratch and don't buy many of the gluten free products. In the long run, we eat healthier now because we avoid a lot of processed foods.

GQ802

This video is helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUFQ6GuKleU

I found that lots of grains that should be gluten-free are contaminated. So I buy almond flour in bulk from Honeyville and make bread with that. I like Pocono buckwheat (not actually related to wheat), because it is not contaminated and they make a great cream of buckwheat cereal.

Coconut flour bread is good too, as long as eggs are not a problem for him. Coconut and Almond bread are easy, because they don't need a million ingredients. I get my coconut flour from Tropical Traditions online. Join the email list and get notified every time they offer a free shipping day!

Start reading Paleo blogs, because that diet is gluten free and you can find all sorts of interesting recipes. It might be easier to try new foods with my Celiac son, as he's never been accustomed to gluten based foods. He likes it when I make "meat pizza" I make it in a cast iron skillet. Press ground beef into the pan as a crust, add your favorite gluten free pizza sauce and cheese and toppings and throw it in the oven for half an hour at 350 degrees.

We eat a lot of meat and vegetables.

We also have a large manual tortilla press and make our own corn tortillas with Maseca (available at most grocery stores). They taste a million times better than the store bought ones and they are not loaded with preservative.

Good luck!

Greta

thisismeraw

Have you searched online for sites to order things from?

I'm not sure where you are located. Where I am we have a few little health food stores which stock a lot of gluten free things (they are a bit more expensive than the regular versions but not too bad). There is also a little section in my grocery store.

If you are in the US, amazon . com has a ton of gluten free foods. Great if you want a pasta alternative... they sell bread mixes, gluten free bisquick... gluten free pizza doughs etc. I am in Canada and we have a site well . ca which has a decent chunk of stuff too.

Pinterest, youtube, etc has a ton of gluten free recipes.

I believe things like sprouted bread would be gluten free.

Check out sites online for things... if you can't find any maybe make a trip once a month or so to a health food store or a store that carries gluten free items and buy a lot of stuff to last. Quinoa is a decent brand for gluten free/wheat free pastas. There are also various brands that are brown rice pasta which from what I've heard are pretty good.

cidalia73

I don't have celiac, but I avoid wheat as much as possible due to IBS. As for mixes, I try to stick with ready-made ones (there are different varieties depending on what you're baking). You can find these at most health food stores and better supermarkets. Those mixes come in handy when you have a hankering for pizza, etc.

Also, the Internet is great for ideas about gluten-free foods and recipes. Remember, don't fill your diet with gluten-free starchy, low-nutrient "crap" food to replace all your wheat products. There are lots of naturally gluten-free foods: rice, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fish, meats, fruit, etc. (I do, however, recommend cream of white or brown rice for those who like cream of wheat...it's a yummy replacement).

If your husband is celiac, I would recommend tossing out your toaster, if you haven't already, and buying a new one. Maybe some new frying pans too, if yours are scratched up. They'll have traces of wheat that could make him sick.

Also, read every label. There is wheat in a lot of stuff nowadays, even candy and most soy sauces.

Seriously though, the Internet has a plethora of information. Look for a list you can print off of the different ingredient names for wheat, so you'll be informed when you shop. The more "clean" the food is (unprocessed), the better your shopping experience.

AnninStPaul

My dad has Celiac -- the mixes from King Arthur Flour work quite well, though once you've sliced the bread the loaf goes dry pretty quickly. They often have free shipping options.

deathbypretzel

I've got a bag of Rudi's plain flour tortillas in the fridge right now, and they're just sort of okay... Honestly I think you're better off eliminating bread completely and instead having things like rice and quinoa as your grains. It sucks for a little while, but you get used to it. The gluten free bread out there is not very good, and from my experience the ones that are okay are just full of crap. If you cut out bread completely for a month or so, maybe this bread will be tolerable lol. I just have rice instead.

lporter229

My best advice is to find a gluten free flour mix that you like and make your own sruff as much as possible. I love the flour mix in this cookbook. You can use it as a substitute in almost anything.

http://www.amazon.com/Artisanal-Gluten-Free-Cooking-Kelli-Bronski/dp/1615190031/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1364830457&sr=8-5&keywords=gluten+free+cookbook+artisan

It is a bit expensive up front, but once you have all of the ingredients, you really just have to keep buying the rice flour. The others last a while if you keep them in air tight pantry containers. I ordered everything on line and saved A LOT of money over health store prices. Check out vitacost.com.

singer201

Check out paleo/primal for a realistic and healthy gluten/wheat-free food plan. <marksdailyapple.com> is a good place to start. You WILL have to cook from scratch, using fresh meats, veggies, and healthy fats. It's easiest if you just eliminate breads and baked goods. I'm not celiac or particularly intolerant, but I have greatly benefited from eating nearly wheat-free--substantial weight loss, no more GERD, reduced joint pain.

Mezzie1024

First off, you're awesome for going gluten-free with your husband. My husband did the same for me, and it means a lot.

The transition is a little tough, but it will become second nature. GF substitutes are expensive and used to be pretty nasty, but the options are becoming wider and better-tasting; your best bet, though, is to create new eating habits that aren't grain-based or that are based on naturally gluten-free grains. For example, corn tortillas are already safe, so have some tacos or breakfast burritos. Cream of Buckwheat has always been gluten-free and makes a good hot breakfast cereal for people who liked Cream of Death, er, Wheat. Stir fries are safe so long as you use gluten-free soy sauce (plenty of those available). I generally have yogurt and fruit for breakfast, which is safe.

If you want to add some bread, your safest bets are Schar (you can mail-order these -- they have amazing bread and pasta), Udi's, and Rudi's products. If you like mixes. Pamela's pancake mix is great. Do not, under any circumstances, eat Glutino tapioca bread. It's disgusting.

There are plenty of gluten-free treats available, too (again, mail-order is your friend), but a gluten-free cookie is just as bad for you as a gluteny one -- you don't want to make that the backbone of your diet.

Consider joining the Celiac Disease Foundation. They have a wealth of information and put on a great annual conference (I've gone with my family twice). They also lobby for clear gluten-free labeling laws, which is particularly important for us.

If you have a favorite restaurant, talk to the managers and chefs about your new needs. They'll probably take good care of you. There are a handful of restaurants around here that take good care of my family and me. Plus, gluten-free menus are becoming more common in chains (Outback, Chilis, Macaroni Grill...).

There is a Celiac/Gluten-free group here on MFP that you can join, and, if you are so inclined, you can add me and look at my food diary. I can't promise you I'm the healthiest eater (I'm usually not too bad), but I can promise my food log is 100% gluten-free, so it may give you some ideas.

Now is probably the best time to find out you have Celiac. When my grandma was diagnosed a decade or so ago, the only good snack out there was glutino pretzel rings (which are pretty dang good); now there are tons of options and the internet is overflowing with information. It isn't a hard diet for a Celiac to stick to since we feel SO much better and glutenings tend to be more severe the longer we're on the diet, but even my husband doesn't find it difficult (though he will eat gluten at a restaurant or friend's house, granted, which is FINE. I love that he doesn't bring it in the house).

hollyk57

Awesome for you for going GF - best of luck with that!

Honestly though... I read you threw out two trash bags worth of food and was just like

SairahRose

Awesome for you for going GF - best of luck with that!

Honestly though... I read you threw out two trash bags worth of food and was just like

I just want to give you hugs for the episode clip x Dr Who ftw.

That being said - I'm just going to echo the paleo type diet. If you're on a budget, buying in bulk is so much better, especially for other types of flours.Or buy the ready made GF stuff when they're on offer and freeze it.
My sister bought me 8 packets of gluten free muffins that were 20p each - I froze them all and they lasted me ages.

I'm finding now that I'm eating less carby things, and more meats to fill me up, because of the cost, and also because they just don't taste as nice.

And yeah, throw out the toaster. It's easy to clean pots and pans, but the toaster is just going to be nasty.

VickiMitkins

The easiest is to not even try to substitute. Gluten free stuff is expensive, full of sugar and most of it tastes like crap. It means learning to eat different things. There are some good pastas made from brown rice and corn pasta is actually pretty good. I find the rice pastas taste ok hot and fresh but get a vinegar taste in leftovers. It's also got a different texture than wheat pasta and you have to be careful cooking it because one minute it's a rock and the next a pile of mush.

Most canned soups have gluten as a thickener, a lot of processed meats use gluten as a thickener, ice cream the same. We try to eat whole foods, I do a lot of cooking from scratch and don't buy many of the gluten free products. In the long run, we eat healthier now because we avoid a lot of processed foods.

I am gluten sensitive and when GF about 4 years ago. At first we tried to subsitute. Like this poster said, its' expensive and tastes lousy. We decided instead to go whole food for the most part. In the long run it's easier and healthier. If you must have rolls, see if you can find Chebe mix in your local grocery or on Amazon. Makes great roll or bun, freezes well, is not terribly expensive, and unless I tell guests they have no idea it is GF. We also use staples like rice flour, rice noodles, etc and get them at the asian market. Udi's and Rudi's both make a satisfactory sandwich bread, but are expensive and are frozen. I keep some in the house, but it's for that rare occasion when I just have to have pb&j or grilled cheese. Pizza has been the hardest thing for use. I love a nice, tender, slightly sweet hand tossed crust. There is just no way to mimic that without gluten. Udi's pizza dough is not bad although we are getting pretty good at making our own. I also use a lot of corn tortillas on a regular basis. My favorite for bread is corn bread. Adluh corn meal has a great recipe on the bag, no flour needed.

tbresina

I have celiac and I am gluten/lactose free. I can't eat either , b/c I get sick for days. Betty Crocker now has gluten free cookie /cake mixes. I use almond flour to make ALL my bread. Xanthum gum , you can use but I really don't and all my meals turn out fine for me . I get EVERYTHING from the organic aisle , If your grocery store doesn't have one it would be best to travel to Whole Foods, especially if you can't get staple items such as flour , drinks , tofu(if you like that). Just make sure you have gluten free staple items and you can find great gluten free recipes. Glutenfreemommy.com is great !.I hope that helped !

Yes you did-so I have the gluten free all purpose flour, it says to use xantham gum, are you saying you don't really have to?

tbresina

I have celiac disease as well. I have actually found that the bread substitutes are not all that great... so I just go breadless. There is a good pizza crust you can get from Udi's.

You can buy a lot of gluten free stuff off of Amazon much cheaper than in your grocery store.

I love corn tortillas as a bread substitute... I make quesadillas, chicken ceasar wraps, etc.

You can't go wrong with proteins and salads and fruit though... that is 90% of my diet.

There is also a gluten free group here.... good luck!!

Thanks-I can easily go without bread, my hubby on the other hand is having a hard time and he is the one with celiac

tbresina

I've got a bag of Rudi's plain flour tortillas in the fridge right now, and they're just sort of okay... Honestly I think you're better off eliminating bread completely and instead having things like rice and quinoa as your grains. It sucks for a little while, but you get used to it. The gluten free bread out there is not very good, and from my experience the ones that are okay are just full of crap. If you cut out bread completely for a month or so, maybe this bread will be tolerable lol. I just have rice instead.

I have no problem tossin the bread however my hubby, who is the one with celiac, is not dealing well with it. He is so used to having cold meat sandwiches for work every day. I tried using a gluten free tortilla as a wrap and that was hilarious, it did not roll and the hotdog buns were so dry and crusty he couldn't get it down. I feel so bad for him

tbresina

The easiest is to not even try to substitute. Gluten free stuff is expensive, full of sugar and most of it tastes like crap. It means learning to eat different things. There are some good pastas made from brown rice and corn pasta is actually pretty good. I find the rice pastas taste ok hot and fresh but get a vinegar taste in leftovers. It's also got a different texture than wheat pasta and you have to be careful cooking it because one minute it's a rock and the next a pile of mush.

Most canned soups have gluten as a thickener, a lot of processed meats use gluten as a thickener, ice cream the same. We try to eat whole foods, I do a lot of cooking from scratch and don't buy many of the gluten free products. In the long run, we eat healthier now because we avoid a lot of processed foods.

I am gluten sensitive and when GF about 4 years ago. At first we tried to subsitute. Like this poster said, its' expensive and tastes lousy. We decided instead to go whole food for the most part. In the long run it's easier and healthier. If you must have rolls, see if you can find Chebe mix in your local grocery or on Amazon. Makes great roll or bun, freezes well, is not terribly expensive, and unless I tell guests they have no idea it is GF. We also use staples like rice flour, rice noodles, etc and get them at the asian market. Udi's and Rudi's both make a satisfactory sandwich bread, but are expensive and are frozen. I keep some in the house, but it's for that rare occasion when I just have to have pb&j or grilled cheese. Pizza has been the hardest thing for use. I love a nice, tender, slightly sweet hand tossed crust. There is just no way to mimic that without gluten. Udi's pizza dough is not bad although we are getting pretty good at making our own. I also use a lot of corn tortillas on a regular basis. My favorite for bread is corn bread. Adluh corn meal has a great recipe on the bag, no flour needed.

Thank you I will be looking for these brand names!

tbresina

Awesome for you for going GF - best of luck with that!

Honestly though... I read you threw out two trash bags worth of food and was just like

My 2 adult boys actually took the food, they were in heaven!

tbresina

First off, you're awesome for going gluten-free with your husband. My husband did the same for me, and it means a lot.

The transition is a little tough, but it will become second nature. GF substitutes are expensive and used to be pretty nasty, but the options are becoming wider and better-tasting; your best bet, though, is to create new eating habits that aren't grain-based or that are based on naturally gluten-free grains. For example, corn tortillas are already safe, so have some tacos or breakfast burritos. Cream of Buckwheat has always been gluten-free and makes a good hot breakfast cereal for people who liked Cream of Death, er, Wheat. Stir fries are safe so long as you use gluten-free soy sauce (plenty of those available). I generally have yogurt and fruit for breakfast, which is safe.

If you want to add some bread, your safest bets are Schar (you can mail-order these -- they have amazing bread and pasta), Udi's, and Rudi's products. If you like mixes. Pamela's pancake mix is great. Do not, under any circumstances, eat Glutino tapioca bread. It's disgusting.

There are plenty of gluten-free treats available, too (again, mail-order is your friend), but a gluten-free cookie is just as bad for you as a gluteny one -- you don't want to make that the backbone of your diet.

Consider joining the Celiac Disease Foundation. They have a wealth of information and put on a great annual conference (I've gone with my family twice). They also lobby for clear gluten-free labeling laws, which is particularly important for us.

If you have a favorite restaurant, talk to the managers and chefs about your new needs. They'll probably take good care of you. There are a handful of restaurants around here that take good care of my family and me. Plus, gluten-free menus are becoming more common in chains (Outback, Chilis, Macaroni Grill...).

There is a Celiac/Gluten-free group here on MFP that you can join, and, if you are so inclined, you can add me and look at my food diary. I can't promise you I'm the healthiest eater (I'm usually not too bad), but I can promise my food log is 100% gluten-free, so it may give you some ideas.

Now is probably the best time to find out you have Celiac. When my grandma was diagnosed a decade or so ago, the only good snack out there was glutino pretzel rings (which are pretty dang good); now there are tons of options and the internet is overflowing with information. It isn't a hard diet for a Celiac to stick to since we feel SO much better and glutenings tend to be more severe the longer we're on the diet, but even my husband doesn't find it difficult (though he will eat gluten at a restaurant or friend's house, granted, which is FINE. I love that he doesn't bring it in the house).

Thank you, I am slowly learning what is good and was is bad. My hubby is extremely thin (5ft9 and 140#) so I try to keep lots of sweets in the house for him, he was 160# before he lost weight from the celiac. The brownie mix isn't too bad and he loves the glutino sandwhich cookies. We have an appointment with a dietician in 2 weeks and hopefully she can give me some more advice. I think the bread issue and gravy issue is most concerning for him right now. I also don't know the other words to look for other than wheat when looking at labels. Everyone has been so helpful-thanks

amandammmq

That must be so frustrating for your husband! I have mostly cut out wheat because I notice I have major energy crashes in the afternoon if I eat wheat. However, nothing TERRIBLE will happen to me if I do eat it (other than feeling like I can't stay awake). So, it has been my CHOICE to not have bread and other wheat-y things in the house. It is difficult, because I do love sandwiches, but not impossible. Hopefully, with some experimentation, you can either find substitutes that he finds palatable, or he can slowly learn to retrain his palate to enjoy other meals.

I have gone the non substitution route, like a lot of other people have posted. Lots of fruits, vegetables, meats, paired with quinoa, rice, etc. I make smoothies for breakfasts, or make big omelets on the weekends.

Hopefully, you can find some helpful substitution ideas from the other posters, and maybe introduce some new meals that your husband will like. I wish you the best of luck!

arewethereyet

I kinda walked around looking for something to eat the first week or so. I was so used to eating my bread with bread and a side of pasta, that I had no idea what to eat!

Now, 3 weeks later, I am glad I didn't try to subsitute it. It is more of a habit than anything else (I am amazed to admit!)

I had my first burger on a lettuce wrap the other day and actually loved it! My feet no longer hurt, and I am sleeping better.

Sorry your family has to go through this, but happy for your hubs that he has such a supportive wife! You will be blessed for your sacrafice!(sp):drinker:

arewethereyet

I made my gravy with the pan drippings and corn starch. Was the same.

arewethereyet

Awesome for you for going GF - best of luck with that!

Honestly though... I read you threw out two trash bags worth of food and was just like

My 2 adult boys actually took the food, they were in heaven!

This made me giggle.

About 2 months ago my entire pantry was unders siege by weevils, so all my wheat based items went in the dumpster. Two full bags of food (which really did make me cry because I am on a tight budget!) I am wondering now if someone above was trying to tell me something

aNewYear123

My Dad has celiac. The rice pasta is good the first round, but it doesn't seem to reheat well. Mom got a rice cooker, so a lot of meat and rice dishes for lunch and dinner. Progresso has a lot of gluten free soups, but you have to read the ingredient list (we don't even bother with Campbell anymore). Bob's Red Mill has a lot of gluten free flours, but they also have good bread mixes. The bread tends to be pretty dry, but you also need to be sure to freeze what you aren't using because it goes bad very fast.

dollylohaze

Me also lactose intolerant. I have used it as an excuse to eat clean and keep as far away from substitutes as possible, because they are often carb heavy and filled with sugar. Nuts, fruit, veg, fish, meat, homemade sauces.. and sometimes a little soya chocolate

tbresina

I made my gravy with the pan drippings and corn starch. Was the same.

Good to know, I am definately going to try this!

Kristakaylin

I was "doomed" from the day I was born. My grand parents are the 7th known couple in the entire world to both be diagnosed with celiac's. All their children have it and I now at the tender age of 28 have it along with lactose intolerance, no gall bladder, and a herniated disc. I've seem to put on 20lbs since I went gluten free vs. lose weight. I have to get this figured out so I can lose the weight and be healthy. I'm struggling because I live in the middle of no where North Dakota where my local super market is doing there best at getting GF items but they are hard to come by unless you're there when they put them on the shelf.

agadoogirl

[/quote]
Thank you, I am slowly learning what is good and was is bad. My hubby is extremely thin (5ft9 and 140#) so I try to keep lots of sweets in the house for him, he was 160# before he lost weight from the celiac. The brownie mix isn't too bad and he loves the glutino sandwhich cookies. We have an appointment with a dietician in 2 weeks and hopefully she can give me some more advice. I think the bread issue and gravy issue is most concerning for him right now. I also don't know the other words to look for other than wheat when looking at labels. Everyone has been so helpful-thanks
[/quote]

Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats (although some people dispute oats). That means its in malt, which is made from barley. I live in australia and the government has amazing laws that mean it has to tell you on a label if a product contains gluten, if you don't have that then you need to be really aware of the numbers on food labels, for example 1422 is a thickener that can be made of wheat and 150 is a caramel colouring that is also wheat based.

You can email companies for a list of gluten free products, they're usually pretty good about sending you stuff back. You also need to be aware of gluten in non-food sources like pain killers, stamps, the sticky bit of envelopes that you lick, lip balm, sun cream (if you have it on your hands and eat something then lick your fingers).

Definitely get a new toaster, new wooden spoons and any chopping boards & plastic stuff that's all scratched up needs to be replaced too.

Sometimes you can just substitute gluten free flour in a normal recipe, an extra egg can help stick it all together a bit. It's just trial and error and there'll probably be some disasters along the way, but you adapt when you realise how awesome you feel again. Good luck!