Celiac Disease

lot of my cousins have it. Try trader Joe's TONS of food there that are gluten free. Also Ive had their gluten free food and it tastes like "normal" food. Also Corn Chex is gluten free I know

I am Gluten intolerant, I was never tested for Celiac but that is the assumption. Eating GF is not that bad once you get used to it, Udi's makes a great white bread and Schar products are amazing! Oats are usually not GF unless they specify on the package. Quinoa is a great substitute grain and there are tons of things you can do with it. There is a free Quinoa cookbook if you have iBooks.

Hey girl! I just got diagnosed this year too The problem with most oats is that they are usually grown with wheat so contamination is an issue there. For oats I stick to Bob's Redmill. Glutino is a pretty good brand and I am in love with Kinnikinnick's cinnamon sugar donuts. Bob's Red Mill is an excellent choice as far as safety of the brand but I have my preferences with some of his products. For example, I love the chocolate cake, but not a huge fan of the chocolate chip cookies. Pamela's cookies are by far my favorite though. Amy's has some awesome frozen dishes that surprised me with how good they are. Cinnamon, rice, corn and chocolate Chex are gluten free. I bought Kix because it was made from corn but found out the hard way that unless a product is very clearly marked gluten-free that it's better to call the company and ask before taking the first bite. Seriously, if you ever wonder about a product either look it up online or call the company. Even if you don't feel sick damage could be occuring to your intestines. My number on recommendation for you is to get the book by Elisabeth Hasselbeck called "the G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide." That book saved my life! It teaches you how to eat out, what foods to avoid, what ingredients to look out for, how to make your kitchen safe and surprisingly you have to be careful of beauty products! Anyways, I know how difficult it is at first to adapt, especially when everyone else around you doesn't have that issue and it's not their stomach in jeopardy! I would be happy to help, offer advice or answer anymore questions for you

I also have celiac's disease.. there is a ton of foods that are naturally gluten free- thinks meat. eggs, veggies, fruit , nuts, some dairy. if you are going to have oats they need to certified GF. check out www.celiac.com, www.glutenfreegoddess.com and adventures of a glutne free mom.they have great ideas and recipes, lots of good info you need to know including a list of hidden glutens you need to steer clear of. it is overwhelming at first but you get used to it. there is a group here for gluten free girls and (guys).. many of us have celiac's . there is a lot of supportive people on that thread.

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis; it must seem daunting to consider that a lot of your favorite foods (or at least your old standbys) may make you ill. I would recommend cooking for yourself as much as possible, and using whole foods (not the brand; I mean cooking from scratch). That way you know for sure what went into your meals, and you don't have to worry whether there was any "contamination" at the factory that packaged your food.

Personally, I would start by making bone broth/meat stock regularly if you don't already. You can buy a whole chicken to roast each week, which will feed you for several days itself. Then use the carcass and some vegetable trimmings to make a gallon or so of stock, which can be the base of nearly every meal you make. Besides tasting great, long-simmered broth is easy to digest, makes the protein you eat more available to your body, and contains trace minerals that are easily absorbed. I know several people who eat grain-free for varying reasons, and they rely heavily on broth. You don't need to buy any special-diet ingredients to make it, and it'll cost you pennies. If you haven't made it before, message me and I'll be happy to walk you through it! I can think of a million ways to use it, too (okay, maybe that's a bit of hyperbole), so don't worry that you won't be able to use it all!

If you do ever need some grain-free recipes, I would suggest the blog Nourished Kitchen: http://nourishedkitchen.com/recipes/?search_term=gluten-free&ui=147 The author is knowledgeable, and her database of recipes is large.

I have Celiac Disease also,it was an adjustment at first...to learn how to eat.

At first,I was depressed when I had to give up a lot of my favourite foods...but I'm over that.

I don't eat bread,it's just too pricey for only me to be eating it.

I eat lots of quinoa,I eat it for breakfast,lunch and supper.

There are a few recipes in the Recipe Section here on MFP.

Send me a FR,if you'd like!

Hello, everyone -

I, too, was diagnosed with celiac disease in October and have been gluten free since 10/19. I live in Michigan and am hoping to meet some other gluten free or celiac friends for ideas. Please feel free to add me. I could use the support and guidance. I am a registered nurse so I've done my homework on the disease and the diet... I'm just looking for recipes ideas and again - support :-) I also started a group on facebook where we share latest research, recipes, articles, taste tests, etc. Feel free to add yourself. It is not a spam site or a way to get your money - just a site for people that want to connect.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tinyman#!/groups/glutenfreeliving/

Have a great night!
Jill

I sent you a friend request as well. There are TONS of GF blogs and stuff, cookbooks, etc, and healthfood stores will carry specialty products, plus as another poster said, almost all grocery stores (here in Canada anyway) carry GF products. It is way easier now than it was even a couple of years ago. Keep in mind that you don't HAVE to eat special products-by eating whole foods (fruits, veggies, meat, rice, etc) you are eating naturally GF. I lost about 80lbs when I was first diagnosed (stopped eating gf and gained it all back and became very unhealthy again-now back to eating gf and I don't know really WHY I ever started eating wheat again).

Here are a few blogs that I use regularly:
http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/category/recipes/
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/03/cooking-gluten-free-on-budget-brown.html
http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/2009/03/lessons-and-tips-for-gluten-free-bread.html
http://www.elanaspantry.com/

There are some great cookbooks and a lot of them are aimed at people who are new to being gluten free and offer tons of tips. For baking mixes, Pamelas and Celimix are my two faves. Kinnickinnick and Udi's are awesome ready made brands, Glutino as well.

You'll have to become an avid ingredient reader, and you'll be eating mostly whole foods now and there's nothing wrong with that! Also, be aware that up to 50% of celiacs also cannot tolerate dairy. Not sure what your symptoms are (if any), I had pretty much all GI and skin and immune symptoms. I feel like a million bucks being GF!

When I was first diagnosed I used to go to the grocery store and cry-I'm not gonna lie, it can be tough at times. But now that I am past the learning curve it is pretty easy. The biggest thing is that you have to be quite organized with food since you can't really just grab something easily when you are out.

Google, google, google-there are tons of sites out there. The Canadian Celiac Society puts out a pocket book for like $10 with a list of safe ingredients. Learn the hidden sources of gluten (anything malted, anything with dextrin, etc etc etc). Most soya sauces have gluten (VH and Tamari do not!)

It can be very overwhelming at first, but it really does get easier and the change it will make in how you feel will probably be amazing for you!

Oh and there are tons of GF pastas out there that are tasty. There is one in the States (a friend sent it to me, I have yet to find it here) that is with quinoa (quinoa is an amazing food!) Ancient Harvest, it's awesome. If you go for corn pasta, I'd get one that is corn and rice or corn and quinoa (best) because straight corn pasta can be very fussy and it's super easy to overcook and turn to much. Tinkayda pasta joy makes awesome GF noodles and they are pretty hard to make mushy. Annie's makes yummy GF macaroni and cheese if that is something you like. TONS of pizza places make GF pizza now too!

Another Celiac here too. I was diagnosed 2.5yrs ago... I am finding that it's pretty easy to follow the diet, however it is the hidden gluten that gets me every now and then. Such as Malt-Dextrin which is made from Corn in N.America, but made from Wheat in Europe. Another thing I learnt is that there are 7 different types of Oat grains. Who knew. With a varying level of gluten in them from being safe to more likely to get a reaction from it. Other possible hidden sources are Carmel coloring, as well as natural or artifical flavoring. I find I'm always looking up brands online to confirm the ingredients.
Wish you all luck.

It's not just food you have to be concerned with.

Make sure your hair care products, shampoo, conditioner, body wash/soap, toothpaste, cosmetics are all GF. You also have to make sure any OTC products you use like cough drops or cold meds are GF as well.