Anyone with Celiac?

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KittiesSong
KittiesSong Posts: 33
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Or need to be Gluten free for some other reason? How do you maintain a healthy diet on the cheap? I love GF stuff sometimes but the processed stuff can cost a lot. Also fast and portable meals for work or school would be awesome too. Plus it's always nice to see others who understand the no gluten problem!

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  • tenilleless
    tenilleless Posts: 88 Member
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    My best friend has Celiac. I'd really recommend looking up cauliflower recipes. Many brands of rice vermicelli are gluten free (its a type of very thin noodle), most rice is gluten free and both mix well in stir fries to pack for school. Rice cakes are great as "bread" for sandwiches and you can buy giant lettuce leaves for wraps. Quinoa is very good for mixing with veggies and black beans either as a stand alone salad or as stuffing for a bell pepper. I'll give you a few recipes that I've tried making and I've made all of these and reheated them in the microwave for school lunches with no problems. I'm sure you already know when you're shopping to double check the condiments and meats to make sure they're gluten free too :(


    http://3ddinners.blogspot.ca/2013/08/cauliflower-pepperoni-casserole.html < This is one of my favorite lunches. Try and get a huge cauliflower for this, since it really bulks it up in a nice low cal way.

    http://onesmallvegan.com/2012/10/02/baked-vegetable-spring-rolls/ <- Very very low cal. For a giant egg roll its about 66 calories and you can easily add in meat/beans/tofu to make it more filling


    http://www.theironyou.com/2013/07/cauliflower-crust-calzone.html <-- More cauliflower but very good. I'm not in love with them but my friend is

    http://www.skinnymom.com/2013/08/05/quinoa-mexi-lime-salad/ <-- An example of how to make a quinoa salad. I hated the sauce though.

    http://healthishappiness.com/2013/10/03/gluten-free-zucchini-bread/ <--- Zucchini bread. I never made this but she loves it.

    Hope I helped :3
  • schmenge55
    schmenge55 Posts: 745 Member
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    I have Celiac. Lots of foods. You might join the Celiac group here. Lots of us :)
  • KittiesSong
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    Ooo those look yummy :) I LOVE quinoa it's a great grain to have on hand and high in protein too! But I never thought about using race cakes as bread! I bet those are cheaper and lower cal than my frozen GF bread... hmmm :)
  • xrunningxcirclesx
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    I don't have Celiac, but I'm gluten intolerant. I get so sick from it. I don't eat the GF bread or pasta, because I don't like it. I just cut out bread. I eat a lot of rice based products, like the Popped Chips by quaker. I would suggest sticking to whole foods, nothing processed, so you don't have to go out of your way to find GF products. It's a lot easier to do than you might think.
    Oh! And hummus! I eat that a lot. It's so good and yummy paired with your favorite veggies.
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
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    Or need to be Gluten free for some other reason? How do you maintain a healthy diet on the cheap? I love GF stuff sometimes but the processed stuff can cost a lot. Also fast and portable meals for work or school would be awesome too. Plus it's always nice to see others who understand the no gluten problem!

    My daughter and I are gluten and dairy free. We do not experience digestive issues but tested positive for wheat and dairy intolerances.

    It takes some creativity but is not impossible. We don't but a lot of GF foods, instead we tend towards foods that have always been GF...keep in mind neither of us has a bad reaction if we have a cross contamination issue like someone with a significant celiac disorder might. We eat corn tortilla's in place of bread, they are only 50-70 calories a piece depending on brand. We do use quinoa, rice, corn chips etc. We do have a pizza joint in the area that does a decent GF crust and we order pizza with tons of toppings and no cheese. WE have found a few GF choices in quinoa noodles that are good and I replaced breadcrumbs with crushed rice chex in meatloaf (genius I know..I am proud of this one).

    As far as portable, I take a corn tortilla with peanut butter and blueberries and carrots and hummus for lunch...DD takes a salad with corn chips and whatever meat we have in the fridge..so leftover meatloaf, leftover gyro meat, leftover mexican chicken etc. We did find a great little bean burrito by Amy's that is GF DF. They are awesome and tasty in a pinch.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    I am the only celiac in my home (praise God) and don't spend a fortune on my own food. I buy a loaf of bread every 4-6 weeks and keep it in the fridge for when I want it. (Good for Life - brown rice) My local grocery has a decently priced selection of GF pasta and Enjoy Life cereal bars. (my breakfast is what I spend my GF $ on, I need it fast and easy because I have four kids.) I order GF flour from Amazon in bulk for baking once every 3 months. If you don't like baking, I'm sure it's harder. I like baking and so does my oldest. Between us, we make it work.

    I don't eat a lot of bread, but I eat a lot of corn tortillas, potatoes and rice. I eat a lot more veggies now than when I was a bread eater. I feel so much better that I don't even miss the bread most of the time. Very occasionally, the smell of something will make me wish I could eat it, but most of the time, I really don't miss it Lots of veggies is the key. Someone earlier said rice cakes too - I eat those as well - but not as often as I used to right after my diagnosis.

    It's on the cheap for sure. My last three weeks feeding a family of 6, I have spent an average of $140/week and that includes cleaning supplies, pet foods, and hygiene products.
  • narmowen
    narmowen Posts: 18 Member
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    Yep. The only thing I buy special for celiac is King Arthur Flour GF muffin mix. Other than that, except for checking labels/researching new foods before I buy, we tend towards naturally GF food. I don't eat out a lot, and prefer to cook my own food, so that makes it a lot easier.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    Hi another coeliac here. Have been for over 20 years now. My diary is open and I tend to cook lots from scratch. It can be hard starting out but you soon get used to eating gluten free.

    There are lots of books on g/f cooking especially cakes so just type gluten free into amazon.
  • KittiesSong
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    I'm so used to eating rice all the time... :/ I've been celiac for 10 years so you would think I'd have it down but I don't... for one thing I'm just getting out truly on my own and now I'm trying to live on a budget that doesn't have much wiggle room... oh and the whole eating healthier and losing weight too LOL I just want to have some variety and be able to make easy but filling lunches for when I start work. I'm really worried about that bit. I used to make those easy meals from Compleats but I can only have two of the varieties and that gets really boring. Plus the portions are so small I end up really hungry. Does anyone know how to save money on fresh veggies and fruit. I'm super super sensitive and those are about the only things I can eat (outside of things that are listed GF) and plus they DO fill me up.
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
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    I'm not sure if I'm celiac or just gluten intolerant, but I quit eating gluten containing products a couple of years ago and most of my GI symptoms went away and an itchy skin rash completely resolved (I'm guessing the GI comes back from time to time if I accidentally "acquire" a bit of gluten in something). I mostly substitute rice cakes and GF corn tortillas for bread. I eat mostly rice, potatoes and quinoa (quinoa being the "budget breaker") for starch. I also, occasionally have GF oatmeal (another budget breaker, compared to regular oatmeal). I eat many kinds of proteins - eggs, cheese, greek yogurt, nut butter, meat, fish, beans, etc. We use a lot of olive oil for fat. Most recipes written to use flour can be made GF by using some sort of GF flour, cornstarch, tapioca, etc, though sometimes it takes some experimentation to find the best choice for a particular dish. I rarely miss bread and mostly eat "regular" foods. The GF "substitutes" are, in my opinion, mostly unsatisfactory - except where they have always been GF and are intended to be that way - Thai rice noodles, corn tortillas, Indian chickpea pancakes, etc.
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
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    For lunches, I mostly pack a tub full of chopped lettuce and some cherry tomatoes. I add a pouch of "canned" tuna or salmon and some salsa and it's a pretty healthy lunch. I find none of the above really need refrigeration at normal room temperatures. (you would need a small container for the salsa or other dressing, as the bottle should be kept cool once opened). You can also get single serve containers of hummus at Costco and Walmart and Target offer single serve "tubes" of guacamole (for something different, Alternatively, you can plan dinner so you have a lunch-sized portion left over (to add to salad in place of fish or to "stand" on its own).
  • KittiesSong
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    If you had a rash you probably have Celiac as that is one of the many symptoms that can pop up! I like the idea of a nice big salad for lunch :) I also have mild lactose intolerance so I have to be careful what I get as far as dairy goes... Also I LOVE thai rice noodles! My favorite dishes are usually mexican or thai :D
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
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    I'm trying a gluten free diet right now. I've had some digestive problems for years which are exacerbated when eating bread and pasta etc and recently it's become really painful. I've been GF for a week and I'm feeling a benefit already. I'm struggling to find things to eat because I'm new at this so I'm subbing for ideas :0)
  • KittiesSong
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    I'm trying a gluten free diet right now. I've had some digestive problems for years which are exacerbated when eating bread and pasta etc and recently it's become really painful. I've been GF for a week and I'm feeling a benefit already. I'm struggling to find things to eat because I'm new at this so I'm subbing for ideas :0)

    I can help you some, I'm still experimenting with new ideas but I've been diagnosed for 10 years... wow has it really been that long??? So I guess I have some idea of what I'm doing LOL
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
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    If you had a rash you probably have Celiac as that is one of the many symptoms that can pop up! I like the idea of a nice big salad for lunch :) I also have mild lactose intolerance so I have to be careful what I get as far as dairy goes... Also I LOVE thai rice noodles! My favorite dishes are usually mexican or thai :D

    I've come to the same conclusion, but I'm not going to go back on gluten so I can know for sure.

    Leftovers from a stir fry using thai noodles can be thrown in a container and carried for lunch - can be eaten cold or heated up if you can find a microwave. The more vegetables you add, the healthier it gets (and you can use whatever fresh or frozen vegetables have the best prices). Pretty much the same for rice dishes.

    I've taken to using salsa as salad dressing because it's naturally low in calories and fat and big on flavor. You need to watch a little for sodium (compare brands/varieties), or make your own when tomatoes are in season. Some of the bottled marinades also work well as dressings (curry, thai, szechuan, etc)
  • cassieubanks
    cassieubanks Posts: 18 Member
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    My daughter and I are gluten and dairy free. We also must exclude tree nuts (we can eat peanuts), coconut, soy, and she has to stay away from fruits and all non green veggies. We hope the fruits and veggies can be reintroduced after a while, but are not sure. She was recently diagnosed with Eosinopril Esophagitis, and is in the healing process before we can try to reintroduce fruits and veggies. She can eat green veggies now, but cannot eat gluten or dairy as it aggrevates her condition and causes difficulty swallowing even a grain of rice. She has anaphalactic reactions to tree nuts and coconut.
    We use goat cheese and rice milk. Eggs are ok cooked in dishes, but not alone. Corn is also a no-no. It is hard sometimes to find things we CAN have, but we just get very creative, and that in itself is fun!
    I wasn't aware there was a celiacs board on here. I may search that out. Good luck to you!
  • narmowen
    narmowen Posts: 18 Member
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    If you had a rash you probably have Celiac as that is one of the many symptoms that can pop up! I like the idea of a nice big salad for lunch :) I also have mild lactose intolerance so I have to be careful what I get as far as dairy goes... Also I LOVE thai rice noodles! My favorite dishes are usually mexican or thai :D

    Forget the thai part! Just rice pasta is so much tastier than wheat! They just seem to soak up the flavor more than anything with wheat.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I have severe autoimmune gluten intolerance - I couldn't get a gastro to take me seriously enough to scope me to get a Celiac Dx, but it wouldn't have changed my reaction to gluten regardless if I saw what my insides looked like.

    I was GF for awhile, then went on a binge fest for a few months, and now I'm behaving again. On day 12 of the Whole 30 and I spend less money now than I did before. I'm not wasting food because I'm making everything at home and using meats and veggies mixed different ways to keep my food somewhat interesting and I don't eat out hardly at all so far. No morning stops on my way to work for my frappucino and donuts or greasy breaded breakfast sandwich. I'm not using any "replacement" products right now, and I might not even bother when I do reintroduce foods in January (I'm doing this for 90 days for the autoimmune protocol). I might toy around with baking some thing with alternative flours but won't go back to processed stuff because they are so expensive.

    ETA - I'm gluten/dairy/grain/nightshade free right now ...about to add mostly fruit free since I have been having reactions to fruits (except for bananas and avocado, for now those are safe for me to eat)
  • tonyajohn
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    Gluten free for 3 years now. I do by some GF certified foods, mostly from walmart since they're usually 3-4 dollars cheaper there. But outside of bread, pasta, and pretzels, I usually just eat things that are originally gluten free to begin with. I hear you on the rice though. That's a staple for me, unfortunately. Add me if you like. My food diary is open to friends.
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