Have to give up bread, HELP!

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ellagetsfitnow
ellagetsfitnow Posts: 13
in Food and Nutrition
Long story short i have PCOS (which apparently comes with gluten intolerance) I also can't afford to have the insulin spike that bread causes. AND finally i need to give it up for weight loss.

So i am a vegetarian who loves her sandwiches, and now i have to give up bread! If you have any advice or any good vegetarian recipes (no pasta, bread, bread things (flour) i would be highly grateful.

I'm worried that without bread I'll be really hungry as i find it extremely satisfying.

Would love some bread free friends whose recipes i can steal.
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Replies

  • R_Calvillo
    R_Calvillo Posts: 177 Member
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    Can you have gulten free breads or are those out of the question too?
  • hosegirl
    hosegirl Posts: 157
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    You state that it is flour you have to give up. I am assuming it is wheat flour (gluten) there are flours that are not wheat. My granddaughter cannot have gluten. We use the bread maker and make bread out of rice flour. It is not bad. There are tons of recipes online. How about having sandwiches in a wrap made from corn tortilla
  • jenn26point2
    jenn26point2 Posts: 429 Member
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    I'd share bread-free recipes, but I'm not vegetarian, so you would probably not be interested in them. I bet pinterest or Chowstalker would be great sources of recipes for you. Or google "Gluten-free vegetarian" or something similar.

    I have heard the same about gluten and PCOS. I hope the change in eating helps to alleviate your symptoms.
  • ellagetsfitnow
    ellagetsfitnow Posts: 13
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    Nope. Though I could probably cheat using those occasionally
  • janetteluparia
    janetteluparia Posts: 318 Member
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    There are great bread recipes using almond flour and flax seed. You can find lots of alternatives but dont underestimate a lettuce wrap.
  • Ms_Taylor1
    Ms_Taylor1 Posts: 2 Member
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    Target sales a low carb wrap by "Flat Out" I'm not sure if it is gluten free or not but you may try it. I too have PCOS and am needing to make some changes in my diet.
  • shrinkingshreya
    shrinkingshreya Posts: 118 Member
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    Use crispy romaine lettuce wherever you are using bread.
  • ellagetsfitnow
    ellagetsfitnow Posts: 13
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    You state that it is flour you have to give up. I am assuming it is wheat flour (gluten) there are flours that are not wheat. My granddaughter cannot have gluten. We use the bread maker and make bread out of rice flour. It is not bad. There are tons of recipes online. How about having sandwiches in a wrap made from corn tortilla

    It's more for weight loss, and rice flour still spikes insulin. (a big no no) i have got to be careful because PCOS can lead to diabetes.

    I can eat a bit of brown rice though. White rice flour would not be okay, i think it would be worse than just eating whit rice- and i cant do that anyway.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    image.png

    Just trying out BBCode, mate... But still, nope.
  • ellagetsfitnow
    ellagetsfitnow Posts: 13
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    Almond flour and flax seed bread could be an okay alternative, i'd have to find out.

    Lettuce wrap? just like a normal wrap but using a lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla or something?
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
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    I used to live on bread, almost literally. at least 50% of my diet involved bread. You'll just have to get creative. You can eat stuff like hummus with celery and carrots instead, you can use corn tortilla if you must have a holdable meal, but for me- I just eat a LOT of stir fry, roasted veggies, and raw veggies. The first week of giving up wheat was hard for me. I actually got space-brained and felt weird. After that it wasn't so bad. Now my diet consists of protein smoothies and/or omelets with veggies for breakfast, and for me, meat or fish with veggies for lunch and dinner. Nuts and fruits for snacks. Protein shake supplements to round it out.

    Thankfully I don't have a resistance to wheat, but I don't have the drive for wheat that I used to- I may eat a piece of bread or toast twice a month now and am happy without it.
  • David_AUS
    David_AUS Posts: 298 Member
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    I had to GTS - this site looks interesting for sandwich substitution - may inspire something http://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/15-mouthwatering-no-bread-sandwiches # 15 Red Pepper, with Avocado, Turkey and Seaweed Strips looks great - Might do that myself. I thought your concern was feeling full? Get your protein per meal and / or as much vegies as you like until you are full. The craving for bread do subside - I don't each much bread more from choice than anything and do not really have cravings anymore I only at it when I fell like I want to now more for some variety than anything else.
  • rachrach7595
    rachrach7595 Posts: 151 Member
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    Stuff your sandwich filling into an iceburg lettuce cup.
    I do that for hamburgers as well to cut back on the carbs :D
    Great also for things like larb etc
  • dinmaris7
    dinmaris7 Posts: 5 Member
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    Almond flour is delish and is available online. We get it from vitacost. My wife had to ditch normal breads when she had gest. diabetes and now it's all we eat!!!
  • kittylovesmangoes
    kittylovesmangoes Posts: 3
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    Fear not! I too am a former bread-loving carboholic vegetarian, and it's really not so hard to give up bread. I went ketogenic a month ago and haven't looked back. The first few days after you give it up, you'll probably have super intense cravings. Be strong! If you give in, you'll be back at square one. If you can make it past the cravings, you'll find after a while you don't crave bread anymore. I don't even make low-carb bread substitutes--I just don't feel like eating them. I'd rather eat a piece of cheese or wrap my veggie burgers in lettuce.
    Of course you don't have to go full ketogenic to reap the benefits of going breadless, but it does make weight loss super easy because you're eating filling fats instead of hunger-spiking carbs. In my early days of keto, when I thought I'd want bread substitutes, I collected a few recipes, but I haven't tried any of them:

    http://www.ruled.me/low-carb-almond-flour-flaxseed-pancakes/
    http://www.kj103fm.com/onair/frito-42456/keto-low-carb-cornbread-11254485/
    http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.cfm/2010/9/29/coconut-flour-tortillas

    I got all these from Pinterest, which is a great resource for recipes. Search "gluten free vegetarian" and you should get tons of results.
    If you'd like to know more about vegetarian ketogenic eating, http://www.reddit.com/r/vegetarianketo is the best place to start. Sorry I'm so biased towards it, I'm just enthused because it's like the easiest diet ever and it works. I've also heard ladies say it really helped their PCOS. :P Best of luck to you!
  • learnerdriver
    learnerdriver Posts: 298 Member
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    The traditional Asian diet is rice and vegetable based.
  • gbutterfly
    gbutterfly Posts: 23 Member
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    A few ideas:
    - slice zuchinni thin with a grater, steam or saute and use as noodles
    - steam cauliflower then mash, use as potatotes
    - many sandwiches are also great as a lettuce wrap (think thai food and mexican food especiialy, use peanut sauce, salsa, or avacado instead of sandwich spread)
    -spaghetti squash
    - use thinly sliced zuchini, yellow squash, or eggplant as lasagna noodles
    - eat veggies (carrots, brocolli, cauli) and fruits (apples) with hummus or peanut butter
    - if you aren't vegan then eggs are filling and can be cooked with many add ins
    - if it's just gluten and not all grains/ simple carbs you could use sweet potatoes, in addition to rice noodles
    -bake things inside a large portabella mushroom
    one of the big things w/ conditions like PCOS that are impacted by insulin is to control spikes of insulin - so always pairing a carb wtih a protien can be helpful. There is a book called "teh insulin resistance diet" that talks about how to do this and the impact of insulin on our reproductive system.
    Also some of the paleo websites have good suggestoins for bread substitutes - just substitute all the meat the recommend for other protien sources

    good luck!
  • DesireeLovesOrganic
    DesireeLovesOrganic Posts: 456 Member
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    I have PCOS too and years ago I was overweight and was told "low carb" was the way to go but always gained the weight back. I personally do best on a vegan diet with no fake soy crap or processed foods and high fiber, lots of fruit, veg, lentils, beans, nuts, avocados, coconut oil, etc. I have no symptoms of PCOS at all since staying at a normal weight for the past 7.5 years (lost over 100 pounds 7.5 years ago.) I don't eat tons of bread, but I do still whole wheat sprouted high fiber bread occasionally (like when I hike, I bring pb and all fruit sandwich on sprouted whole wheat bread for ease factor.)

    Lentil tacos are so good, on organic corn tortilla with lentils and mango salsa with sriracha. YUM.
  • endlesoul
    endlesoul Posts: 98 Member
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    Check out the "La Tortilla Factory " wraps example of the gluten free.

    Made with ancient whole grains Ivory Teff and Millet, our Gluten Free Ivory Teff Wraps contain absolutely no trans fats, are a good source of dietary fiber and have 15g of whole grains. Try these in place of traditional tortillas or as delectable substitute for pizza crust, sandwich bread, chips or hamburger buns. Heat and enjoy for optimal flavor and texture.

    If it doesn't matter it being gluten free they have some other awesome wraps. I use the Low Carb, High Fiber Tortillas and they are very good.

    http://www.latortillafactory.com/products/
  • lisawinning4losing
    lisawinning4losing Posts: 726 Member
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    Raw vegan recipes are always free of any kind bread.

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