Can't eat seeds and nuts either so a lot of the flours are out for me. The one lesson that was most important was, when you do buy the GF junk food stay away from just rice flour (and Kinkkinik generally - worst excuse for a donut e-ver) Glutino, Aleia, Schar, Udi's are the best. And for my fellow Jews - Udi's bagels are good rolls. Glutino bagels don't insult the lox.

Thanks a lot for this post! Lots of helpful info and sites. I'm looking up recipes on the celiac site right now! Made me want apple pie lol.

Well this is all new to me and I have severe IBS also ,I am sure as time goes on it will get easier,but right now I seem to always have that small amount of food with gluten in it,,,,,I will learn!

Advice I didn't get that I wish I had:
If your server doesn't immediately know what gluten or celiac is- then your food is not going to come gluten free. They will likely not understand the importance of cross contamination and will use dirty hands to prepare and serve your plate. The staff's general awareness/education on your plite corresponds to the likelihood of getting sick. Not always true but I dont really eat anymore at places anymore that havent trained their servers about food allergies.

Worth repeating. When I find a restaurant that is run by someone who has celiac disease, I go there again and again. The internet is a great tool for researching ahead of time when you travel. I've found gluten free food in some of the most out-of-the-way places.

The worst part of going gluten free, for me, was figuring out which medications contain gluten.

What was the tasty gluten free pizza that you found? I haven't found one I love yet. Are there any deep dish gluten free pizzas? That's what I really miss.

Yes... find GF flour that you like and make the dough yourself... and put your cheese and veggies and meat (or whatever) on it from there.... actually READING directions was key... cook the crust FIRST... then recook with ingredients on top. Best pizza ever. I am so glad I can have pizza every now and again and it doesn't make me SICK or BLOATED...... *win*

I went gluten free for 8 weeks sick of being fobbed off by many doctor's, and I was totally amazed by the outcome how fit and healthy and good I looked and felt in a very long time :-). So yesterday I returned back to the doctors and with a bit of pushing and being firm I glad to be finally sent for blood tests but the down side is that I have to eat all the food again for two weeks which was masking me bad :-( , but hopefully at the end of it I will get the answers I need and start a fresh and get back on track to that new happy me again.... Would love to find friends or any advice as I'm new to all this would be greatly appreciated , ie foods GF recipes and general wellbeing .

What was the tasty gluten free pizza that you found? I haven't found one I love yet. Are there any deep dish gluten free pizzas? That's what I really miss.

I make my own Pizza. Believe it or not Pilsbury make a decent GF dough that I use. Than you can mix and match your own toppings. Believe it or not I switched my kids over on the pizza to eating mine and they like it better.

I realize you posted this almost a year ago but THANK YOU!! My son LOVEs making cakes from the Cake Doctor books. I will definitely be buying the GF book.

..really like Coconut Aminos to use anywhere soy / wheat is called for,even on salads.Read somehere that Tamari,& or Brags..makes Naturaly fermented MSG...BEING highly Sensitive.. the Coconut Aminos have No reactions here.Hope this may help someone.

I have the DH form of celiacs which causes a blistery intense itchy rash I have been gluten free for almost a year. At first it's hard but then when you start to feel better it gets easier but we all still have our days we miss certain foods. I struggle with getting enough vitimans and really wish I had a love for veggies. Prepackaged GF foods make me gain weight super fast. Anyone have any suggestions to enjoying veggies.

We love our veggies in stir frys and stews/soups. We also like them hidden in things. For example, I have a spaghetti sauce recipe from my mom that uses squash as the main base. It is great because you don't taste the squash and it can be canned, so we get to use peak-season veggies but still enjoy a great sauce.

We really like Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pizza dough mix. I wet my hands with water to spread the dough out, and it makes huge pizzas. The rise time may vary depending on your humidity though - on dry days, I leave it to rise up to 20 minutes longer.

We also tend to use the word "allergy" at restaurants when going for the first time. In our experience, most people tend to treat it like a peanut allergy when we use the term "gluten allergy" - it helps avoid the cross-contamination issue.

Shar is our favorite brand! We found GF sandwich bread from them that lasts all week. It's expensive, but worth it so this full-time woman doesn't have to give up a saturday making bread that will last 3 days before it's inedible. The hubby also loves Omission and Redbridge as GF beers. Omission has the gluten removed after brewing normally, and Redbridge is made with sorghum instead of wheat, rye, or barley.

I applaud you for wanting to be involved in your son's eating habits but honestly if you don't need to be GF then there really is no medical reason to do it. Eating less processed food is always a good thing and replacing one for another kind is merely defeating the purpose. I've found that eating healthier means more fresh foods so you don't have to worry about labels. Besides the food replacement is just so expensive anyways. Have you considered getting a really nice blender and making fresh soups, smoothies and casseroles?
You're already taking the steps to eating healthier by reading the labels. Besides we all need to be more aware of what we're eating these days. Just sayin'!

This is so helpful, thank you all. I love Udi's bread, pizzas and pizza crusts. Otherwise I tend to just eat non-gluten foods for the most part. Glutton has some decent stuff, too. I was off gluten for a few years following an elimination diet that showed it was obviously an issue for me. But then I had to reintroduce it to have a celiac test recently (negative) and felt awful! I'd rather feel great than eat gluten! It was a great reminder.

These are the things I wish I'd have known when I was first diagnosed, it would have made the transition so much easier.

1. No liquid smoke unless labelled gluten free

2. No items labelled 'modified' unless it specifies what was modified and it isn't wheat

3. Aim to cook from scratch to start with and only look for one or two packaged foods each time you shop or it'll take hours to get round the supermarket

4. Expect to find other things you are intolerant to (1 have 9 intolerances)

5. Avoid MSG (it has the highest chance of also making you react) so no Chinese takeaway unless they don't use MSG in the restaurant

6. If the waiter/waitress doesn't know what you are talking about don't eat there

7. Contact restaurants/hotels before going to give them a chance to have the correct ingredients in to provide you with suitable food

8. Always check the labels of your packaged food as they can change the recipe or environment the goods are made in so they are no longer safe to eat (Cadburys)

9. Even if it would be classed as naturally gluten free still check the label for gluten if it is packaged ie frozen veg (yes seriously some has wheat in the ingredients!)

10. Carry emergency food with you when travelling so you can eat safely if stuck i.e 9 Bars, rice crackers, GF dehydrated foods, etc. (I still carry a 9Bar everywhere with me and dehydrated foods when going abroad after 6 years 'just in case')

11. Expect to hate your situation/feel sorry for yourself at different times even if you feel absolutely great. It's like a grieving process losing all the 'easy to eat' foods that everyone else can eat

12. Skip the added calories and have lettuce in place of bread (although GF bread has started to improve it will never be bread as the taste is completely different)

13. You can lose friends over it as they see it as 'too much hassle' to accommodate your change in diet. They weren't real friends anyway

14. Get your family checked (blood relations) but only if they want to, don't push it

15. You're not alone