Gluten free tips
lorrpb
Posts: 11,463 Member
I am thinking about trying gluten free or reduced gluten to see if it helps with some specific issues. (PLEASE DO NOT say, "There is nothing wrong with gluten and eating gluten free will not make you lose weight." I understand this!)
What is the most practical way to begin making changes, as in which foods to eliminate first and what to replace them with, particularly bread products?
Depending on your goals, can reducing gluten help the situation or do you usually need to go all or nothing? For example, eliminating the major sources of gluten but not worry about every little place it could creep in.
What are good sources of gluten-free carbs (in addition to fruit)?
Thanks!
What is the most practical way to begin making changes, as in which foods to eliminate first and what to replace them with, particularly bread products?
Depending on your goals, can reducing gluten help the situation or do you usually need to go all or nothing? For example, eliminating the major sources of gluten but not worry about every little place it could creep in.
What are good sources of gluten-free carbs (in addition to fruit)?
Thanks!
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Replies
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I personally found it easiest to go cold turkey, (WHOOPS, hit enter, this is an edit) , anyway, and I researched alternatives for a few weeks first to make it an easier transition. Coconut flour and almond flour are my grain alternatives but if you're not trying to cut grains altogether you could try rice flour etc.
From everything I've read it's an 'all or nothing' kind of thing.
We do the zucchini noodles (just by a spiralizer) for our pasta, and I know it sounds gross, but if you're really missing crunch you can try crushed pork rinds.
There are plenty of carbs in veggies - anything starchy.0 -
So how did you do that? What foods did you eliminate and what did you replace them with?0
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Cealic here ! Carbs are no bother ... Obviously rice , quinoa , if you are avoiding just wheat bulgar and cous cous.
Pancakes are still as easy 1 cup rice flour 1 egg 1 cup milk ... Add more flour to make thicker
Oats I don't do as I still react but they will work if you aren't allergic
bread I am sorry it sucks balls I don't eat it ... Again if not allergic try rye bread.
Potatoes , sweet potatoes , bean pasta etc
I obviously had to cut every gluten thing out which was hard but really everything is kinda okay meat fruit veg most grains dairy ... Just eat clean
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I'm a celiac too. If you have symptoms that you think my be caused by gluten, I think you should consider getting tested for celiac disease before going gluten-free or gluten light. In order for CD tests to be accurate, you must be consuming the equivalent of 1-2 slices of bread per day in the 8-12 weeks prior to testing. If gluten is the problem, then you are setting yourself up for 2-3 months of feeling poorly in order to get a diagnosis.
If gluten is the problem, you may feel better if you cut most gluten out, but if you are a celiac or have non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), you'll need to cut out ALL gluten to less than 20 ppm. I crumb is too much. It's a hassle, but needed.
To eat GF avoid most pre packaged meals, flours, crackers, and baked goods (bread, muffins, cookies). Wheat Barely and rye are the main offenders but other flours like spelt, bulgar, couscous, durum, einkorn, graham, kamut, and most oats will cause a problem. Most soy sauces, worchestershire sauce, malt vinegar, some BBQ sauces, some spice mixes, gravies, sauce mixes, some chips and candies can all have gluten. Oh... and beer.
On the bright side, all veggies, fruit, meat (unless wheat was added), eggs, and nuts (unless processed in a facility with gluten) are GF. There are GF alternatives like GF noodles and breads that can also be used.0 -
If you decide to go gluten free I think it is best to go 100% gluten free. I found that if I am 100% GF the cravings eventually go away but as soon as I have a little bit of something gluten the cravings come back. So I think it is best to avoid it all and then you forget you ever even liked it. You should avoid it in everything, because once you start giving yourself allowances the diet eventually falls apart (at least for me).
If you are questioning your gluten sensitivity you should get tested but if you do not have celiac then you don't have to be cautious with cross contamination (if your food was prepared in a facility/kitchen where gluten food was prepared).
I don't have celiac but I am 100% sure I have some kind of sensitivity to it. I fall off the wagon here and there but that usually happens only because I randomly have something gluten that I wasn't craving and then the cravings begin. I used to allow myself to have something gluten for special occasions but I recently realized I should just avoid it at all times because it makes it harder to remain GF.
In my opinion I don't think it is good to replace all your gluten food with GF packaged food because first of all they usually don't taste that great and you will end up craving the real thing. And second of all most of it is processed anyway and causes me digestive issues similar to gluten.
The only replacements I do eat is GF oatmeal and sometimes I have GF macaroni made from rice. There are so many choices for naturally GF food that I don't feel like I need replacements. As for carbs I like to have yams, potatoes, buckwheat, rice. I like having avocados with my meal not sure if that is a good source of carb but it is very filling.
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110challenge wrote: »I personally found it easiest to go cold turkey, (WHOOPS, hit enter, this is an edit) , anyway, and I researched alternatives for a few weeks first to make it an easier transition. Coconut flour and almond flour are my grain alternatives but if you're not trying to cut grains altogether you could try rice flour etc.
From everything I've read it's an 'all or nothing' kind of thing.
We do the zucchini noodles (just by a spiralizer) for our pasta, and I know it sounds gross, but if you're really missing crunch you can try crushed pork rinds.
There are plenty of carbs in veggies - anything starchy.
I will warn you. Coconut flour is a big IBS trigger for me. So if it's for IBS type symptoms, be careful.0 -
And like the other poster said going 100% gluten free includes making sure little random things like candies, sauces, chips, etc are gf.0
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Get tested before you stop eating it.I am thinking about trying gluten free or reduced gluten to see if it helps with some specific issues. (PLEASE DO NOT say, "There is nothing wrong with gluten and eating gluten free will not make you lose weight." I understand this!)
What is the most practical way to begin making changes, as in which foods to eliminate first and what to replace them with, particularly bread products?
Depending on your goals, can reducing gluten help the situation or do you usually need to go all or nothing? For example, eliminating the major sources of gluten but not worry about every little place it could creep in.
What are good sources of gluten-free carbs (in addition to fruit)?
Thanks!
Hubby and I went as close to 100% as we could including using GF soy sauce . . . although we did not throwaway and buy new teflon or cutting boards as some do.
We buy Udis GF Frozen bread and usually have a loaf in the freezer.
Hubby buys rice in bulk from an Asian market.0 -
When I went gluten free I just built my recipes around things that naturally had no gluten. Breakfasts were eggs and veggies in any capacity, lunches and dinners are soups, stews, chili, curry, stir fry, vegetable noodles, etc. It was almost zero transition except for swapping soy sauce for tamari0
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You can eat gluten free and have a diet that looks fairly similar to the one you eat now. Gluten free products are everywhere nowadays, and they're tasting better too. Swap regular bread for gluten free bread (Canyon Bakehouse and Sami's Bakery are favorites of mine). Gluten free pasta instead of regular pasta (Jovial tastes best). Don't eat anything containing wheat, barley, or rye. Some people can tolerate spelt, kamut, and einkorn if they have a mild intolerance, but most people have to avoid those too. Look for baked goods that are made with coconut, rice, and nut flours. Starches such as potato and tapioca are also common in gluten free foods.
Alternatively, you could replace the gluten-containing grains in your diet with fruits, vegetables, and gluten-free grains such as quinoa. That would be the healthier choice. That said, most people cant give up their old favorite foods, so finding gluten free substitutes is a good option for most people.0 -
I thinking about it and going over my diet, The main things I would have to change are sandwich thins & English muffins--which I have nearly every day-- and the occasional pasta.0
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PS and pizza.
but I think papa murphys has a gf pizza and we ususlly go there. 0 -
1. I have 3 people in my house who have been tested and need to be gluten-free. I consequently eat a lot of gluten-free cooking and enjoy it, but my wife spends a lot of time preparing it.
2. There is no sense to the concept of less than 100%, if you are gluten-intolerant a small trace gives a problem
3. Its a lot of time and work and $costs to deal with alternatives
4. Many gluten-free products are much higher in calories than gluten products- its not a magic weight loss system
5. Many gluten free products are a marketing scam, e.g. gluten-free banana
6. You need to spend a lot of time educating yourself and cross-checking all claims
7. Some oats may be gluten free - but are a risk
8. I eat a very low level of wheat and that helps me, but I have a sensitivity to wheat - not the same thing as gluten-free. I have too be careful not to cross-contaminate the other food.
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I am thinking about trying gluten free or reduced gluten to see if it helps with some specific issues. (PLEASE DO NOT say, "There is nothing wrong with gluten and eating gluten free will not make you lose weight." I understand this!)
What is the most practical way to begin making changes, as in which foods to eliminate first and what to replace them with, particularly bread products?
Depending on your goals, can reducing gluten help the situation or do you usually need to go all or nothing? For example, eliminating the major sources of gluten but not worry about every little place it could creep in.
What are good sources of gluten-free carbs (in addition to fruit)?
Thanks!
First off there is nothing wrong with ditching gluten (it's not essential for a healthy diet), so certainly worth a study of one.
My only tip would be don't fall into the trap of buying and eating the gluten free alternative foods. There are millions of normal food combinations out there that don't have gluten in and aren't a gimmicky replacement food.
The problem with a lot of these products are they are packed full of sugar, but more worrying is, unlike grains which by law have to be fortified with vitamins and minerals, substitute flours (like coconut and almond) don't.
Good luck cutting them out.
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