Celiac Disease/gluten intolerance help

If you do in fact have a gluten intolerance, picking croutons out of your salad will likely still get you sick. Do some reading about cross-contamination and protect yourself. Sharing utensils, cutting boards, all of it - be careful. Places that make sandwiches in front of you, like Subway, are dangerous because of cross-contamination from the bread into the sandwich fillings.

As for GF life being expensive - it's only expensive if you try to replace everything. GF cereals, breads, (etc) are pricey, so pick and choose. For example, I do like to buy GF bread sometimes (Udi's is great) but I also make my own, which helps save money. Also, GF baked goods tend to be higher in calories, fats, salts, sugars (etc) because the manufacturers need to make the flavour appealing. Choose carefully. You don't have to have a GF version of everything. I find it's better to buy GF cooking ingredients (such as worchestershire sauce) which I can use to make my own food from scratch, which is cheaper and healthier, and GF.

Feel free to PM with any questions.

Get a big bag of dried beans, lentils, and brown rice. Each of them will make a ton of meals.

Gluten is EVERYWHERE. You'll find malt extract in chocolate, wheat starch in soup, fillers in meat products...the list goes on and on. I would recommend the celiac forum (www.celiac.com/gluten-free) as there are a lot of great resources there.

My daughter is gluten, dairy and soy intolerant. Issues with soy knock out about 3/4 of the gluten-free processed foods for us.

In order to not spend a fortune, I have to cook.

I make dried beans, frozen veggies, fresh veggies, eggs, grits, lots of grilled chicken and salads with oil and vinegar dressing.

She eats a good bit of fruit, which gets expensive quickly.

She LOVES pasta, and so we tried a whole lot of them, and the good news is that the cheapest one we found, is also her favorite! Pasta Joy makes brown rice pasta in several different shapes, and they sell it at many Walmart stores (but not all of them).

Because of her dairy/soy issues, and her love for processed mac and cheese (sigh... I really tried to avoid this particular love), we looked for some easy things she could make for herself that would keep her from feeling deprived. We discovered Road's End Organics and I can't recommend them enough! (But not because I think they are good for anyone!) http://www.amazon.com/Roads-End-Organics-Cheddar-1-1-Ounce/dp/B0017SWAAW/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1365562788&sr=1-2&keywords=Road's+End+Organics+Gluten+Free

It is very expensive to buy their boxed processed foods, but you can buy the powdered "cheese" and use it in all kinds of things. Sometimes I can find it on amazon in a case of 36 for about $.60 cents per envelope... that's cheaper than Kraft mac and cheese, even after I add some pasta!

The way she doctors it to make it taste more like conventional cheese is she adds a couple of tablespoons of goat cheese, which for some reason doesn't seem to upset her stomach. I have found goat cheese at Aldi, for less than 1/2 what it costs everywhere else.

We haven't really found any bread we like much. She eats Udi Cinnamon Raisin bread sometimes, but it is expensive. I just need to learn how to make gluten free bread from scratch. I used to make all of our bread, but I'm really intimidated by gluten free stuff.

Another thing she likes to eat is lunch meat wrapped in lettuce. Once again, I'm not a fan of lunch meat, but it is something she can fix herself. I try to keep lots of fruits and veggies and salad stuff in the fridge and discourage the processed stuff... but it sure is cheaper when she eats the processed foods!

I think we actually have a harder time avoiding the soy than the gluten, though.

Many restaurants have gluten-free menus, so you can check those out before you go out to eat. That also might give you some ideas for things you can fix at home!

I have hardly any money and am gluten intolerant (possibly CD or just severe wheat allergy, that has yet to be determined).

I would not rely too heavily on GF versions of gluten foods. Things like GF cookies, pasta, baked goods, and bread are all expensive, sometimes don't taste that great, and are very processed.

I like to enjoy some GF versions of things, but 80-90% of the time I just try to eat whole foods as much as possible. Fish, nuts, vegetables, fruit, etc.

I can't afford to buy a lot of fancy stuff, but if you go for less processed it oftentimes is cheaper.

i have to agree with the above comments you just have to put effort into cooking wholesome foods. the easiest way to figure out if you are infact gluten intolerant without paying out the *kitten* for testing is to do a juice cleanse or a juice fast and then add foods back into your diet one at a time to see what triggers your symptoms.

Hey There

As others have advised, stay clear of all the "gluten free" products that you can buy in the supermarket.

Focus on real, whole foods. I would cut out all wheat, grains, and dairy and see if you feel better.

I would suggest doing some research on the Paleo lifestyle and start eating Paleo. It will help you lose a lot weight. Paleo means anything that the caveman use to it - all natural.

Sweet potato, lean meats, loads of veggies and a bit of fruit and nuts.

See you go with that. But def DON'T buy those gluten free products or anything in a box.

I have a gluten intolerance and I'm lactose intolerant. Eating out is pretty much impossible since gluten is in EVERYTHING!! Soya sauce, teriyaki sauce, the fake crab in the California sushi rolls etc. luckily my husband is a chef and can help but honestly it sucks I would rather not eat gluten than have the horrible pain and side effects, so I try to plan, plan, plan. And I bring my favorite non-gluten snacks with me when we are out.

Don't fall for the 'gluten- free' products, they are expensive and are usually made out of high glycemic foods like rice and corn, which is bad for your blood sugar and healthy eating. I eat lots of veggies, fruit, and proteins. I try to eat as clean as possible, and you can do this on a tight budget. Most packaged food has gluten in it, try to stay away from it. Good luck!

I understand, it's hard to figure it out at first. I have trouble eating pastas, pizza and tortillas, noodles, I eat them, and I soon get cramps, I get swollen...not like the I just ate 10 cookies chubbiness but I literally swell, my stomach, neck, arms, hands... I pass gas like a 300 lb man ( sorry I know it sounds graphic) I have had to cut out a lot of bread like items, and started cooking out of the eat clean cook book by Tosca Reno.
I eat rice noodles ( do you guys have a Winco?) or a whole foods market? Or a Henrys?
My lunches are usually omelettes with spinach an mushroom, my dinners are usually a stir fry ( chicken, broccoli, shredded carrot, shredded zucchini, olive and onion) I also love quinoa.
I juice every morning but if you don't have a juicer, Greek yogurt with almonds berries and honey are yummy. The more you make your meals, the more creative you can become.