Gluten-Free-How do ya'll do it?

I thought I might be alergic to it so at the suggestion of a forumer have been eating less and less of it. I picked up some gluten free chocolate chip cookies at the store awhile ago and opened the bag a few minutes ago and my god they are the worst things ever.
I used to work with children who have autism and I made gluten-free brownies for them once and they turned out horrible, but I thought that was just because I am a sucky cook.
Are all gluten free foods this bad?
Also, how do you know if you have a gluten allergy? I just am so think in the chest and stomache and really lean everywhere else so I know there's something in my diet that's wrong. I don't eat processed foods so I was thinking it must be gluten and wheat.

 

Gluten+wheat=processed foods... unless your eating sprouted wheatberries(which have gluten) or making rejuvelac or growing wheatgrass.....

If you ever have ear problems, that is a sure-fire sign you have allergies. The second best way to tell is to give the food up for a month or so and let it get out of your system, and then eat it again and see how you feel. This can be a very interesting experiment if you can commit to a month without that food.
You could go get allergy tests but that can be expensive.

I am gluten-free just because I am really health-conscious..but I don't eat replacement gluten foods. I use quinoa(which has no gluten) like once a month maybe but other than that I don't eat much grain. Millet+buckwheat are gluten-free grains as well...millet being a little more appetizing probably, it's kinda like rice...so is quinoa.

I have had gluten-free cake mix and I remember it being pretty good. The brand was called Danielle's I think..

 

You could just be sensitive to gluten or have celiac disease,in which case gluten actually damages your intestines.lYou'd experience weight loss,bloating,gas,weakness,and changes in your bowel habits.Keep a food diary so you can pinpoint which foods cause which symptoms.This will help your doctor determine your problem.

 

no, not all gluten-free foods are bad. Some are quite tasty. Whenever eliminating something from your diet, it is best to not introduce substitutes for a while. They are not going to be the same, and you will be more likely to like them if you don't think of them as substitutions for wheat-containing foods, but as alternative foods that you can eat. Start slow. Cutting gluten too fast most often results in withdrawal symptoms that are as bad or worse than the symptoms that eating gluten causes you to have!! Start by cutting out white refined flour, bread, pasta. Aim towards eating meat and veggies, fruit, nuts, one ingredient foods rather than things with a list of ingredients. Then later, slowly cut back on anything with gravy or juice or marinade. Start reading ingredients. Start paying attention to how your body feels after eating certain things. If you feel worse after eating oatmeal, for example, don't eat it again. Don't underestimate the problems with cross-contamination of non-glutinous foods with wheat and other gluten-containing ingredients, but that can wait until later, after you know if gluten is an actual problem for you or not.


forget the doctor! The tests for gluten allergy are not very accurate, and don't take into account it could be a sensitivity or intolerance instead of an actual allergic reaction going on. The tests for celiac are very unreliable as well. If you feel better after not eating gluten for a couple months, that's all the answer you need. If you feel really really bad when you do occassionally slip on the diet, don't beat yourself up, just use that as motivation to keep with it. Nobody in their right mind would eliminate gluten if it weren't causing them serious problems, it's just too hard. But as horrible as gluten makes me feel, not to mention my precious children, being gluten free is very much worth it!

http://gfcfdiet.com/Beginningthediet.htm
http://users.bigpond.net.au/allergydietitian/fi/foodintolerance.html
http://www.wheat-free.org/

 

I think I can shed some light on the issue. I was diagnosed celiac at a very young age, and grew up eating a gluten free-diet, so there are a few things I've learned, and learned to do for myself.

First and foremost your'e going to want to learn to bake, there are some excellent gluten free cookbooks out there but ultimately you'll want to experiment because gluten free baking is anything but straightforward and requires an inquisitive mind. I can sypathise with your cookie experience, I've been wholy disapointed with certain gluten free products (cookies in particular) but there is also some really good stuff out there too. Though it should be noted I've yet to buy a gluten free product that was superior in terms of taste and tecture to what I bake for myself.

When shopping be sure to read ingredients, and don't just look for the obvious culprits like wheat, barley, malt, rye, spelt and oats(there's a myth that the latter two are gluten free, but they most certainly arn't). There are more subtle ingredients, usually with generic terms like 'spices', 'flavouring' and unspecified hydrolised plant protiens which are chalk full of gluten. Your best bet is to keep a food journal, and keep track of what you ate, and how it made you feel, after even a few weeks you'll likely root out any iritants from your diet.

The most key piece of advice however, and this is true for everyperson and every diet:

Cook with fresh ingredients. As a gluten free shopper I find about 90% of what I put in my cart at the grocery store is from the fresh produce, dairy and meat departments. The remaining 10% is the odd box or can of this or that from the aisles, so what little processed food is in my diet is easy to monitor.

Hope that helps, if you have any questions feel free to ask

peace

 

I totally agree with your entire post, but especially this bit!! I don't like the packaged gluten-free baked goods, they all contain rice, which is problematic for my oldest daughter, and constipating even for people who are not intolerant of it. Not to mention, nutritionally void. Cooking without gluten is a process of trial and error, write down everything you put in every recipe (this is especially hard for me, as I don't measure ingredients normally). One ingredient foods is the way to go. I hardly buy anything premade or prepackaged anymore. Even some meat in the meat dept contains gluten in the form of MODIFIED FOOD STARCH - pay close attention! It's everywhere, in everything! Enviro-Kids makes some gluten-free breakfast cereals that my children love. The MALT COLOR or FLAVOR in regular breakfast cereal is made from wheat and should be avoided, so even Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes are bad. Read every label, even if it's something you ate without a problem before. They often change ingredients without notice. Sometimes, you'll find the exact same food in two different packages with different ingredients. Hormel Chili with Beans comes to mind, in the lunch size bowls, it contains modified food starch which is not okay, in the larger bowls it contains modified corn starch which is okay and does not cause my family a gluten-related reaction. I have no idea why.

You also want to keep your kitchen a gluten-free zone. Wash all your utensils and pots and pans, clean out your cupboards and shelves and especially the drawer under the oven. Throw away or donate your old toaster and any wooden cutting boards, rolling pins, anything else that would be impossible to completely remove any traces of wheat from the surface.

 

My friend is a coeliac although she's naughty and always ends up torturing herself. We have been on a trial-and-error mission for years.
We've discovered:
Gluten-free pasta is pretty good, infact nicer than normal pasta...chunkier, but don't overcook it!
As for gluten-free beer...that's pretty good too.
Then we have gluten-free flour... very effective, cake for everyone
We did try gluten-free xmas puddings and pies last month, my friend was very happy.
Gluten-free biscuits tend to be nastiness...get some flour and make yer own!

Generally though... my friend tends to just crave other forms of carbohydrates. She's a sucker for potatoes and rice.

 

I have been having intestinal problems for years and I do know they can test for celiac deisease which is pretty much an allergy to glutein in a blood test.

That was one of the things that came back normal for me, thanks gawd! Now to work on the others...hmmmm

 

the current tests for celiac are not very accurate. about 20% of people with celiac still test negative... which test did you do? the stool sample? Instestinal biopsy? blood test is even more inaccurate than those, and they aren't 100%

edit after reading your other thread - have you been tested for crohn's? It never hurts to find a second (or third or fourth) opinion.

 

I'm gluten free now yay I just cut out all processed and refined food. The first couple of days I had mad cravings, but now I feel completley fantastic. I have almost 0 anxiety, my sex drive is back...in full-force hah, I feel like going out with my girlfriends and on dates again and actually look foward to talking to people instead of getting my mom to cover and say I am not home. I just feel fantastic. I feel beautiful on the outside because my clothes are not tight. Most importantly, I also feel beautiful on the inside because my mood is leveled and I am no longer apathetic towards life and people. I completley think this change is 100 percent due to my change in diet as I was exercising before.
Also, because I am only eating raw I don't have to buy gluten free specialty foods..it's so easy!
i am going to a raw resturaunt this weekend. I am soooooo excited