A new diagnosis for me

[Wiped Out]

I found out today I do have Celiac's. Last Tuesday I had an endoscopy and it came back positive. I found out today at my Rheumatologist appointment. The doctor thought I already knew but I hadn't gotten a letter yet-still I would have asked him if knew the results anyways. It may be the cause of all the joint pain I've been having for the past several months. Because it might be causing the joint pain the doctor doesn't want to start me on any arthritis medications which makes sense. He wants to see me in 6 weeks after I've been gluten free to see if the pain is lessening.

So.... I'm not looking forward to being gluten free. It means giving up some of my absolute favorites. on the other hand, I know it's not the end of the world and I'll adjust. Just by coincidence my planned dinner tonight was gluten free.

If anyone knows of any girlfriend free foods that they just love, please share!

 

[tiredmommy]

My understanding is that switching to a girlfriend diet can be a challenge but you will adjust. Hopefully the dietary changes will quickly improve your symptoms. Could you maybe have an appointment with a dietician to help you sort through the changes you need to make?

 

[exhausted]

My sister has Celiac-she loves all of the Bob's Redmill stuff. She buys on line at his site as it cheaper (so she says) and she lives in a rural area where it is hard to get. I have found items at Big Lots for her, very cheap, on an ongoing basis the last year-so if you have one you may want to check. She has also gotten recipes on-line. She is a baker and uses xanthum gum a lot in combo with gluten free flours.

 

[HaoZi]

Our small town Wal-Mart has some of the Bob's Redmill stuff in their small girlfriend section, you might be able to find some there. I'm not a girlfriend person but I like quinoa (which my Wal-Mart now stopped carrying, of course, and I have to pay more at Kroger if I want it). If you have a rice cooker you can use it to make quinoa, too.

Rice pasta isn't bad (expensive and a taste adjustment, but not bad). The key to making it is to strain it and run cold water through while it's in the strainer and only cook what you'll use right then. If you put it back in the water or don't stop the cooking with cold water you'll have mush.

 

[MyFriendKita]

Tinkyada makes girlfriend pasta that my son can't tell from wheat pasta. There are also a lot of mainstream girlfriend foods, such as girlfriend Bisquick and Honey Nut, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Corn, and Rice Chex. Our Kroger store carries Udi's; they make some really good bread, buns, muffins, and cookies.

 

[KTMom91]

Hubby and I were at The Old Spaghetti Factory on Friday, and were surprised to find they have a separate gluten-free menu.

 

[Signorina]

I understand Elisabeth Hasselback wrote a really informative book on living with Celiac. Even her detractors found the book to be a good source of info.

 

[InsaneCdn]

This is second-hand - friends of ours that we don't see often deal with this... but one of their suggestions is: use spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti. It actually goes well with spaghetti sauce...

The Zone recipe books suggest using a veggie peeler to make long strips of young zuchini, and steaming that to use in place of pasta.

If you can find a "real" oriental grocer (most cities have them, even ones down to 50,000 people)... you can get really high quality rice, in bulk (e.g. 45lbs!), for way less than the grocery store. See if you can get Thai Jasmine top-grade... it's one of the best in the world (comes under different brand names, but it's a specific content... really easy eating, not like "store" rice).

 

[DammitJanet]

I was going to suggest a really good grocery store because even now most low end grocery stores and walmarts dont have much gluten free other than what the major food producers are marking as gluten free right now. I am noticing how many things are being labeled that way oddly. That girlfriend Bisquick makes some good pancakes.

 

[Mom2oddson]

You can check out the book Gut and Phychology Syndrome by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride. It's a way to heal the gut and is gluten free. Also most Primal and Paleo eating websites have a lot of Gluten free recipes since both eating plans have no grains allowed.

I've been gluten free (and sugar free) for a while now. The first couple of weeks are hard but then it gets a lot better. And Spaghetti squash instead of noodles is wonderful. There are also recipes where they use strings of zuchinni instead of noodles.

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

easy child/difficult child 3 has Celiac's. A few of her favorite things are corn pasta and crispy chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's crispy chocolate chip cookies are the best ever! I can't think of the name of it, Schar's (?) makes a pizza crust that easy child/difficult child 3 really likes. They come in packs of two, in a yellow box. We had lots of trouble finding breads that she liked. Many of the frozen ones don't heat up well, crumble and are very expensive. We buy bread by the case from Ener G. A case is made up of six loaves and is much less expensive then buying it retail. The market near our apartment just started selling another brand of gluten free tortillas - Will have to check on the name because the whole grain ones (have gluten) are very good. easy child/difficult child 3 snacks on chips, salsa a lot. Most brands are gluten free. If you don't want to bake from scratch, Betty Crocker gluten free cakes and frostings are good. Chocolate chip cookie dough Larabars are another one of easy child/difficult child 3's favorites. easy child/difficult child 3 was very happy when she found out that she can still eat DQ vanilla/choc swirl in a cup... Sorry, I'm rattling off a list of "junk" foods, lol... easy child/difficult child 3 isn't the healthiest of eaters...

Good breads, rolls are hard to find. One of my friends bought a bread maker and baked her own for awhile. She said they tasted much better then any of the gluten free varieties in the stores. If you're interested, I can ask her for some recipes. Also, there was an excellent gluten free bakery a few towns over from where we used to live. There's probably a good bakery in your area where you can buy bread, rolls. I've noticed over the past couple of years that more and more manufacturers are labeling their products making it easier to find gluten free foods. It's about time!!

I know that some restaurants now have gluten free menus. For Mexican, Don Pablo's has a good gluten free menu. One of my friends told me that Friday's has a gluten free menu too. easy child/difficult child 3 hasn't tried it yet. There were a few local restaurants where we used to live that had them too. I bet there are some in your area. I think someone already mentioned the Spaghetti Factory. We haven't tried this one yet but I'm sure if there's one near here, we could bribe easy child/difficult child 3 to go with us -She loves Italian food! I think, but I'm not sure that the Macaroni Grill has a gluten free menu.

You might already know this but thought I would mention it here. If you've been using nonstick cookware, from now on you have to use it only for making foods with gluten. You need a separate set of nonstick cookware because cross contamination can occur no matter how well the cookware is washed. You need to have a separate toaster too. If you use tupperware or similar type plastic containers, you need a separate set for gluten free foods. Also, if you use butter, spreads, jellies, cross contamination can occur.

I'll add more things as I think of them. SFR

 

[Mom2oddson]

Watch out for hidden gluten. Modified food starch is not your friend.... and it's in a lot of processed foods.

 

[gcvmom]

Hope the dietary changes bring better well-being for you -- that's the big positive you can look forward to! It's better to be facing this diagnosis now than even 10 years ago because there are many, many more food options in grocery stores AND restaurants. I'm sorry you have it, but glad you can do something about it!

 

[Josie]

Nowadays, they have to label wheat so it isn't supposed to be hidden in ingredients like modified food starch. I avoid natural and artificial flavoring, malt (which usually contains barley), barley, oats, and rye. I don't eat a lot of processed foods because of this and have found that I don't even like the taste of it any more.

I tend to eat naturally gluten free foods like meat, veggies, fruit, rice, potatoes, and not the bread and pasta substitutes. I don't eat milk either, but if you can, that opens up a lot more possibilities.

The worst part is it is difficult being out and about and finding something simple and quick to eat. Plan ahead so you aren't hungry. I think a lot of fast food places do have girlfriend friendly options but I never eat there any more. You could look online and find out what is ok at each place if you want that.

Find a good girlfriend flour mix and you can substitute it for flour in anything except bread recipes. Cookies and cakes will turn out fine with girlfriend flour and some xanthan gum. I like the King Arthur flour mix, muffin mix, and pancake mix. Those should be easy enough to find.

I remember being hungry the first few weeks while I figured out what I was going to eat. I did notice benefits from the first day, so I was committed.

Possibly an outrageous suggestion, but I would consider cooking girlfriend for the whole family, both to save time, and to see what happens with everyone's moods. You just never know how it could be affecting them, too. I know they are not genetically related, but I think gluten intolerance is pretty common.

Good luck with this. I think it could be the start of positive changes for you. I went from being worried, irritable, and stressed out all the time, to being relaxed and optimistic! No bread or cake is worth giving that feeling up.

 

[hearts and roses]

Once you do your research and try some products, you will be amazed at how little your diet needs to change. There are not only some great packaged girlfriend products out there these days, but you still get to eat most of the basics such as fresh fruits, veggies, cheese, meats, etc. Read your labels carefully for hidden ingredients.

My two sisters and a niece have Celiac and we've had a lot of practice altering favorite recipes and finding new ones for them to enjoy. We've even tweaked holiday menus to make our desserts so delectable no one else can tell they're girlfriend!

The upside, of course, is that you will be healthier and get to try new things!

 

[Wiped Out]

Thank you All!! I will definitely be printing this!

 

[DammitJanet]

They just did an episode on Cupcake Wars on Gluten Free cupcakes. I bet you can see it online. Now if they can make all those cupcakes taste so yummy and be gluten free...watch out!

 

[susiestar]

Spaghetti squash is AWESOME!! As I abhor any food that tastes like 'health food', this says a LOT. there are a LOT of gluten free options out there. Be careful to still read labels. i don't know if there is a set definition of gluten free or not. A cousin of mine found that some of the lower cost gluten free foods caused problems for her. When seh read the labels she was suprised because they did have gluten in them, just not labeled in ways that made the gluten obvious.

For ideas on some things that might be gluten free, check out the Zone cookbooks. they are not "gluten free" but they do have recipes for gluten free alternatives like spag squash and peeling zucchini in long thin strips. You should be able to find the Zone books VERY easily.