Celiac Disease

" Since I have been on the gluten free diet, I haven’t eaten any meat what-so-ever. " <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~WAIT. WHY?

Why no meat? Unless its processed, any meat it okay, just make sure its fresh, all natural, with no fillers, added broth, etc. You have a very wide variety on a gluten free diet, just steer clear of wheat, barley, & rye, just read the labels, if any of these items are listed, dont buy it. Only buy oats that are gluten free too, Bobs Red Mill has some. Ancient Harvest has some awesome tasting gluten free pasta, and for grains, choose quinoa, & brown rice. All veggies are good to go too. A lot of fast food joints are off limits too, since they put a coating on their french fries and share the deep fryer with breaded products. There are a TON of gluten free cooking websites online that you should look for. My nephew has a very severe case of celiac, so we have learned a lot about how to feed him.

I have celiac too and if you stay with fresh fruits, veggies, dairy, and non breaded meat then you are safe. Read your labels not just the ones that say gluten free but the ingredients list its daunting at first but you will start to learn brands and foods that are gluten free. Stay away from modified food starch unless its specified made from corn. For starches potato and corn products are ok so you can use those as substitutes. Stay away from processed foods they almost always have wheat in them. Do some research online if you type in celiac disease there are hundreds of sites with information. It will be slow and daunting at first but give it time you will adjust. Good Luck in a few weeks you will be feeling like a new you!!

Here is another blog, with lots of GF recipes. Good luck.

http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.com/

Welcome to the Celiac community! It's really hard at first. I remember just eating ice cream and corn tortillas. But the end result made me a better cook and baker! When I first was diagnosed, I had just started out at college, so being in the dining hall was really overwhelming. I was used to eating sandwiches and pasta. I started eating grilled chicken breast with brown rice and grilled zucchini. Or baked sweet potatoes with chili. Or a burger wrapped in lettuce, or an omelette.

As most people said, most meat is totally fine. Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? They have a lot of things that are naturally gluten-free and labeled well. It's cheaper and less overwhelming than Whole Foods for gluten-free stuff. I go there and buy frozen raw chicken, fresh veggies, quinoa, soups, rice, gluten free granola, meringue cookies, even gluten free pasta for when I'm treating myself. Regular grocery stores now have lots of gluten free products, but it's sometimes overwhelming to find them. A lot of places put the gluten-free stuff in the "natural" section, which is fine, but there are a lot of regular products out there that are GF anyways! I recommend starting with the naturally gluten free things – corn tortillas, brown rice, quinoa, vegetables, meats (most cold cuts by the Columbus brand (TJs), Applegate Farms and Boars Head (Whole Foods) are labeled GF), fruit, beans, nuts. I substituted my love for Ramen for Thai rice noodle soups!

You'll realize that a lot of delicious things are naturally GF! Then, you can work your way into the gluten-free substitute stuff, like breads, pastas, wraps, etc. A lot of gluten free snacks like that are not very nutritious though (sometimes even less nutritious than regular breads ) so I always try to just keep it natural. The one thing that's super unfortunate is that most soy sauce (which is in so many yummy dressings and sauces) is not gluten free.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions! There are a lot of crappy GF products out there, but lots of good info out there to help you decide.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Gluten Free for Dummies. A very good book that I think you will find very helpful. Cross contamination is always a risk. We have dark counters at home and for a while my number one "glutening" was picking up stuff off the counters at home. Not so much an issue with not having your kids any more.

As for label reading: Wheat has about 200 names but when the label does not call out wheat as an allergen that, for the most part, eliminates wheat in that food. Barely and rye tend to be fairly straight forward and you can usually spot them easily in ingredients

And be prepared to *maybe* gain weight. My doctor advised with I was diagnosed that most of his patients put on a few pounds since they were no longer flushing the food through the system. I did not have that problem but did find I needed to keep an eye on what I was eating a bit more

I was just recently diagnosed with celiac disease. (Three days ago). I don’t know if anyone has any insight on this. I am meeting with a dietitian in November. Until then I need some help! I am to uncertain and unknowing to buy foods that don’t come with the label Gluten-Free all ready on it. Since I have been on the gluten free diet, I haven’t eaten any meat what-so-ever. I just don’t feel confident in purchasing items that don’t all ready say gluten-free. I don’t know if anyone has any tips for shopping.

I don’t feel like I am eating healthy at all right now. I have just been eating chex cereal and frozen yogurt. I had an egg today with a froze gluten free waffle.

I have never been concern with grass fed meats so I do not think that is a true concern. You do need to watch any product that you might ingest. Wheat based shampoo can be an issue if you end up getting some in your mouth. The reality is that an occasional glutening stinks, but it will not hurt you in the long run. Many companies are careful what they say for legal reasons. You'll see "manufactured in a facility that also has wheat" as a common disclaimer. As long as it is a reputable company I've not had any issue

Logic says you shouldn't worry about gluten with meat, but gluten is insidious. You might want to check with the butcher at your market about the meat, especially chicken. Many brands actually inject chicken meat with a solution that contains gluten, and it's not labeled as such.

Wow, that is some interesting information. I have never heard of this, but will certainly check it out. Sometimes it is scary what we don't know about the food we eat.