I'm in the process of some major dietary changes, thinking very seriously of going vegan, and I'm beginning to cut all dairy out right now... It's come up many times lately that gluten is a bigtime allergen, and I'm wondering how best I can tell whether it's part of my problem? I know the simplest way to tell something like that is by simple elimination.... soooo I was hoping that some of you lovelies out there could help me to that end. Are there any pre-packaged breads, crackers, etc. that are gluten-free? What about pasta? I'm also a stickler for whole grains, I try to eat nothing but whole grains (when I eat grain, that is) because I have insulin resistence. My oven doesn't work very well for baking, so doing this stuff from scratch isn't much of an option. Any help or links will be appreciated! Thanks!
gluten is in more things than just wheat... I'd start real slow. Often people have a withdrawal reaction from cutting gluten out of their diets too fast. We had withdraws, and we cut it out really gradually over the course of several months. That makes it appear that gluten is not the culprit, since you have problems when you aren't eating it. I'd suggest cutting out any white/refined wheat flour first. Switch to whole grains, drop pasta and bread completely (at least for a little while). If you start feeling better after a couple weeks (and who wouldn't?) you can work on cutting back on more wheat-containing products, s-l-o-w-l-y. gluten is found in anything that contains wheat, oats (this is controversial, but oats, even the fancy gluten-free kind give us problems), barley, rye, modified food starch, malt of any sort, spelt (a different kind of wheat), just about anything that is pre-packaged ready to serve or eat. There's also the risk of cross-contamination of gluten-free foods with gluten-containing foods on preparation surfaces, utensils, hands, pots and pans... going gluten-free is not something anyone in their right mind would ever do without a really good reason. It sucks most of the time, honestly. I have hundreds of websites saved in my favorites. here's a really helpful one or two http://www.gfcfdiet.com/ http://www.wheat-free.org/ http://users.bigpond.net.au/allergydietitian/fi/foodintolerance.html http://www.glutenfreemall.com/ (and their sister site, www.celiac.com )
Hey there, I actually am a gluten free vegan.. I will tell you its tough at first but once you get used to it and find alternatives its really not so bad. Most health food stores have a decent variety of gluten/wheat free options.. The best crackers I have found are called "Marys Gone" herb crackers.. they also have some other flavors. The brown rice snaps are ok too but i prefer the marys gone ones. Also you can find brown rice pastas as well as brown rice pizza crusts! I have to have some comfort health food store junk food from time to time or id go nuts on this diet.. So yeah my latest kick is buying the brown rice pizza crusts and then making my own pizzas with that w rice cheese (i cant have soy) another snack i love is some roasted pepper hummus with snow peas for dipping. yummy. Whats your reasoning or hopes from this diet? Im just curious if they are similar to mine.. if they are personal and you dont want to share no worries. I dont get on this forum often but if you ever want to email/reply my email is nomadlove@gmail.com support and idea exchanges are always good to have w diets like these as well! Much peace, J
i forgot to add.. they do make bread that are gluten/wheat free but i have yet to find one thats worth eating.. However i did manage to find some some gluten/wheat free english muffins that werent bad at all
rice noodles instead of pasta can be a good alternative.... my mom doesn't react well to gluten so she very rarely eats bread or pasta (she does indulge from time to tiem but it's pretty rare). Plus they tend to cook faster than pasta
we don't do rice either, it's too constipating and my oldest child is sensitive to it. Rice is pretty much void of nutrition anyway. My youngest is sensitive to potatoes, so there goes your two most likely wheat substitutes. There are some decent bread mixes available, most are not so great. The trick is to not substitute it for wheat bread. Just like with soy cheese, if you go without a few months before introducing the new kind, it won't be so gross. We very rarely enjoy the gluten-free pantry's favorite bread mix in the turquoise and white striped box. We get most of our pre-packaged foods from the gluten free mall website I linked earlier. Even with shipping, it's less expensive than our one overpriced health food store here. Chebe bread (manioc/tapioca flour) makes good pizza crusts and breadsticks, pie crust, biscuits, that sort of thing. It takes quite a bit of trial and error to find a recipe that works. I generally use arrowroot flour, quinoa flour, sorghum flour, and soya powder in my cooking.
Thanks for your replies, guys! I'm still planning on cutting gluten, but for the moment I've decided to take it one change at a time. I know that I want to cut dairy from my diet permanently, so I'm trying to be careful and slow with it, so as not to frustrate myself. After I'm over this hump (not that I'm having a real *problem* with it, but it's a different sort of diet to get used to) I'll worry about experimenting with gluten and wheat-free alternatives. So far I'm pretty impressed with how much difference it's made to cut 95% of my dairy intake (I've still consumed a couple of products with whey in them). But I don't want to shock my system too much, or my wallet either for that matter. Thanks again for the help!
you can finda ton of gluten-free stuff thats labeled as such in any HFS. gluten=glue and i think we all actually have allergies to it, but were just so desensitized that we dont realize it. quinoa+millet=good gluten free grains. i think certain sprouted breads are gluten-free.
healthy earth and good life make wheat and gluten free breads..in fact they use no flour!and also look into gluten free macaroni and CHREESE. its pretty good. seasoned to taste like cheese with nutritional yeast flakes....its pretty tasty and really helathy
