Gluten-Free Help?

[TheCG]

I think we've pretty well established that I either have gluten intolerance or celiac disease (I was already suspecting I had it when I was told that it runs in our family when Mom asked me why I was reading about it) and that I probably have dermatitis herpetiformis (the skin part).

 

I haven't been going gluten-free for very long, but I'm already not as tired and the scaly stuff on my arms that dermatologists and doctors have told me I just have to live with is clearing up.

 

Since I can't have wheat, barley, rye, or most oats (cross-contamination), this is obviously cramping my cooking style. About the only things I know how to cook without wheat are Mexican food and just plain ol' cooked meat and/or veggies.

 

Anybody here have any winning ideas on meals I can eat, preferably that freeze and microwave well? I have a zillion things on baking, but still working on FOOD as my boyfriend insists cookies do not count as breakfast.

 

Thanks for any help.

[Becca_Anne]

There are a bunch of great resources out there- lots of foods marked gluten free at the grocery compared to a few yrs ago. I have several friends whos kids are on gluten free diets. There are other flours you can use. A good cookbook is

 

http://www.amazon.com/Special-Diets-Kids-L...9/ref=sid_dp_dp

 

My friend makes many of these recepies and I have eaten them and they are tasty.

 

Another decent resource:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Gluten-Free-D...pd_sim_b_img_40

 

For breakfasts

http://www.csaceliacs.org/recipes2.php?catid=3

 

General info:

http://www.glutenfreeinfo.com/Diet/glutenfreeinfo.htm

 

 

 

Also look into low carb menus- You can add potato, or rice to add a non gluten carb. Meals like Meat, vegis or salad, with a non gluten grain side or potato are good. I am sure there are a lot of soups that you could make and freeze, and asian food is likely to be a good bet since you can use other flours for the little flour they add. Be sure to check condiments for gluten since a lot of them will have that in there.

 

I feel for you, since we have a lot of food allergy issues I am often stuck not knowing how to make meals to meet all our needs and make several out of desperation. It is so complicated sometimes just to eat!

[TheCG]

I have 2 books and the CSA list of foods. I'm going to stay with some friends in Philly for 10 days after school's out - they're GF (and partly CF)and they bake. Need to email her for the banana bread recipe. Yum.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to even start getting everything GF.

[CrabGrassAcres]

My daughter has celiac and is corn intolerant as well. I don't even try to do bread for her. I'm working on things like cookies though they dont turn out too well most of the time. LOL It really isn't too bad, but I do have to cook everything from scratch. I've also been raising our meat because some meat from the grocery has gluten injected into it. The label says "broth" or "natural flavorings" but it makes my daughter sick. She gets lots of rice dishes and potato dishes. Nearly any pasta dish can be made with rice instead. Instant potatoes are great. For dinner today I cooked some frozen squash with dried onions and diced in some boneless skinless chicken breast. When the chicken and veggies were done I added some milk (made from dry milk powder) and instant potatoes and butter, salt and pepper. It was very tasty. We like chicken browned in butter and diced then put over a bed of rice and covered in spaghetti sauce. You can do the diced chicken over rice and use a lot of different sauces for a nice variety. I like sesame and ginger with pineapple. Or make a mushroom gravy and serve veggies on the side. Lots of different stir fry dishes you can make too. Once you realize that you can use something besides wheat for your food it really isn't that hard.

[Deb2of9]

I hadn't thought about that with the meat. I wonder if that is why her two kids with celiac are still having problems even when they stick to the diet. She has been blaming the school for not giving her kids the right stuff. Maybe it is in things that she has missed.

[Jeepers]

I have a cousin with Celiac disease. He must have it pretty bad because he has to really watch cross contamination. He has to watch at the deli counter because the paper they wrap the meats and cheeses in contain gluten. He had to stop taking his vitamins too because they contained trace amounts of glutens.

 

He has his own cooking pans and his own toaster. His wife keeps everything seperate. She won't even use his butter in case she introduces toast crumbs into it.

 

[JCK88]

Wow..and I thought I had it bad with corn, wheat, milk, and chicken allergies! I can at least have oats and barley!

 

Have you found Tinkyada pastas? The are by far the best gluten/wheat/corn free pastas out there. I stock them. I'm lucky because my local grocery store sells them. They are made of brown rice and water, period. Check out Allergygrocer.com

http://www.missroben.com/

 

And here is a site for some delicious mixes..including cinnamon buns! http://www.chebe.com/

 

If you have on hand alternative flours such as the Bette Hagman mix or rice or potato or tapioca flour, you can use these in sauces and such as you cook, making substitutions as you go in favorite recipes.

 

I have found that Goya brand boullion packets do not contain wheat or corn. If your grocery store sells these, check the labels.

 

I would urge anyone with celiac to also get food allergy testing. On top of the disease, you may also be allergic to some things, which is why although you are sticking to a diet, you still can have problems!

 

For breads, look at http://www.ener-g.com/

An added bonus is that their breads and cookies have a one-year shelf life! (Bread for the bomb shelter is what my hubby calls it, LOL) But it's good and will satisfy that breakfast craving for french toast and also can be used for croutons and stuffings.)

 

If you haven't seen them, get Bette Hagman's Gluten-free Gourmet cookbooks. There's a great pizza dough recipe in there and zillions of ideas for all sorts of meals.

 

If you are looking for a recipe for something in particular, pm me. I've been doing a wheat-free/corn free diet for 9 years and probably can help you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CrabGrassAcres]

I had to pull my daughter from school because they wouldn't keep her on the diet. She isn't able to understand that she cannot eat some foods and just accepts what she is given.

 

If you think the school may be giving wrong foods, tell them to ONLY feed what you send. You will have to have the cooperation of the children tho and that can be hard.

 

I had to quite using commercially canned beans and other things because they were slipping gluten into them. "Modified food starch" can be gluten or corn.

[TheCG]

CGA - luckily, I don't have to worry about trying to get a kid to stop eating stuff! It's me! I have to remember and resist!

 

Some friends of mine did have issues with this - apparently the school kept confusing her child with another and giving him the wrong food! She pulled him out before she got to the point of stapling his picture onto his lunch bag.

 

JCK - They've done standard food allergy testing on me and I didn't react. They did standard allergy testing on me and I reacted mildly to one or two things. They did much more sensitive standard tests and, well, I'm not allergic to dogs, oak trees, and one kind of mold. Everything else I reacted to, which kinda makes me wonder how the needles are sterilized. I haven't had the more sensitive food testing done, but Mom's not allergic to meat or onions.

 

I have one of Bette Hagman's books. I think I need to pick up the first basic one.

 

I live in Austin, so I have access to HEB's Central Market and Whole Foods, both of whom seem to have a large number of GF items. Whole Foods is actually doing a GF tour of the store tomorrow, so I'm planning on going to that.

[Vic303]

Bob's Red Mill has a lot of Gluten free info.

www.bobsredmill.com

[Leah]

http://www.cs.unc.edu/~kupstas/FAQ_recipes.html

Wheat/Gluten Free

Bread, Muffins, and Pancakes

 

* Baking Powder Biscuits #2

* Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Bread

* Blueberry Muffins

* Milk-free and Egg-free Bread

* Breakfast Oatmeal Bars — not gluten free, but is wheat free

* Chick Pea Flour Pancakes ("Crepes")

* Cornbread

* Pumpkin Bread

* Rice Flour Pancakes 1

* Rice Flour Pancakes 2

* Rice/Potato Donuts

* Terrific Belgian Waffles

 

Cakes, Cookies, and Other Desserts

 

* Chestnut Torte

* Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies — not gluten free, but is wheat free

* Chocolate Chip Cookies

* Chocolate Torte — Suggestions from other sources

* Glazed Fruit Pie

* Hazelnut Cookies

* Golden Cake

* Hot Fudge Cake

* Melt-in-your-Mouth Shortbread

* Orange Honey Quick Bread

* Passover Brownies

* Peanut Butter Cookies 1 — not gluten free, but is wheat free

* Peanut Butter Cookies 2

* Pie Crusts — wheat free

* Pumpkin Cookies 1

* Pumpkin Cookies 2

* Rice or Potato Flour Sponge Cake

* Toll House Cookies

 

[KimMC]

I discovered one of my littles was allergic to gluten a little over year ago. It was a BIG challenge at first she was only about 13 months and would break out in rashes when ever she ate it. I had to go through everything in the house and check it for gluten.

We eat a lot of rice dishes and stir frys but we always have. You have to watch the soy sauce though some has wheat and some doesn't. Most powdered soup mixes are out and even the canned tomato soup I used to buy had wheat flour in it.

I use gluten free pasta for her but the normal stuff for the rest of us. I just can't afford it for all of us a tiny package here is 2.50 and it's enough for 4 meals for my 2 year old.

You can make a nice white sauce subbing rice flour (sorghum might work to) and it's good over noodles or with cheese added for mac and cheese.

Are you looking for any specific recipes?

 

Here are a few links to some recipes on my blog.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Buttermilk Biscuits

Banana Cake

Gluten Free Stuffing

[SDBookMom]

Two of my dds have celiacs. We focus on what they can have. I do read labels, but have to do that anyway. I have a ds with a chemical sensitivity (gets migranes with msg & dyes & sulphates) and another dd with a peanut allergy. We basically don't buy it, no matter how cheap, unless I can recognize the ingredients as food. Here is a list of what they can eat.

 

Any fruit, vegetable or meat product, provided the meat isn't injected (both msg & gluten). We grow our own or hunt mostly. Dairy products are good, as long as it is pure dairy & not chemicals (Daisy Sour Cream vs. store brand and butter vs. maragine).

 

They can have corn products. This includes corn tortillas and corn chips, carn bread and corn stuffing.

 

They can have Irish oatmeal & Non-gluten oats. This means meatloaf, nobake cookies and oatmeal for breakfast & granola.

 

The can have rice. Rice flour is great for thickening soups and sauces.

 

We use Bob's red mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I can make almost any recipe with it (except bread) by adding 1/2 - 1 tsp. xantham gum.

 

The can have EnviroKids cereals. The other brands don't taste as good.

 

They can have soda, just no "brown" soda pop. The caramel coloring.

 

They can have most sweet & sour sauces, most catalina and french dressings, some ranch now is gluten free.

 

Jello is a great snack. As are fruit cups, applesauce and homemade yogurt. Most ice cream is okay.

 

Potatoes are great! Most instants are even ok, just check the label for additives. There is one brand that has two serving pouches and is only potatoes and salt. It is wonderful.

 

Dumplings made with gluten free all purpose flour make soup a delight and the GF flour works well as noodles too.

 

For sandwiches, they do rollups with corn tortillas. The white corn ones work the best.

 

By focusing on what they can have and not on what they can't we make a game out of it.

 

Joyfully,

Cheryl

[SDBookMom]

P.S. Watch the dehydrated cans of prep foods. Even the vegetables and fruit contain gluten.

[JCK88]

Cheryl--what you said about focusing on what we *can* have is extremely important!! So I'm repeating it here. There are thousands of things we can have...and only a handful we are allergic or intolerant of. It's just up to us to find the thousands of things we can eat--and it IS an adventure. I know I've learned to make things I never would have imagined in the bad old days. (although I admit to feeling horribly deprived at first, now it's rather a badge of honor to know how to make pizza dough without wheat flour and such!!)

 

Hidden wheat and gluten and corn are in many unexpected places. Even check your toothpaste!