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Turtle
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 10:25am | IP Logged
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Hi,
I'm relatively new to the boards and could use some advice. Yesterday I got one of those ordinary phone calls that becomes not so ordinary. I tested positive for celiac. I had the good fortune to have an appt already scheduled with a homeopathic practitioner and got a list of ingredients to avoid. My question is how am I going to cook for my family and be able to eat with them. Am I destined to make double meals? The kicker is that for the first time I made a rotating seasonal menu to try and make life a little simpler. . . more than half are pasta salads! It also seems like all my "comfort foods" are on the list. Any advice on how to make things work from a practical standpoint (and on a budget) would be appreciated.
Thanks
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 11:18am | IP Logged
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This is quite an adjustment! Health foods stores carry gluten free pastas, as well as substitutes for wheat flour. From what I've seen in GF cookbooks,several flours are often combined in particular proportions in recipes.
Can you take the ingredients of the pasta salad (dressing, veggies, meat/fish) and serve them over salad greens for yourself? Lots of fruits and veggies, yogurt - it's probably a very healthy diet for anyone, including those who don't have celiac.
From what I understand, this can be hereditary, and it presents itself in a wide (and *weird*) variety of ways. Maybe you aren't the only one in your family who should be avoiding gluten? I have a friend whose son was diagnosed with celiac, then when she began to reflect on lots of different instances in her own and her other children's lives, she decided to have them all tested. It turned out that she and a couple of her other dc were also affected. Just a thought...
I'm sure there are support groups and message boards where others have menu suggestions. You might also find cookbooks in your public library.
Praying that you are led to some helpful resources.
Peace,
Nancy
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Sarah M
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 11:30am | IP Logged
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Our family is gluten-free. I don't have time this morning to write much (we're off to an appt in 15 min) but I'll be back. For now, can I give you a link to where I write about our GF lifestyle on my blog? It feels a little silly to link my own blog, but I have written a bit about our favorite Gluten-Free resources there, and it might give you a start...
Here's the link!
(P.S. I'm so excited for you! I know that sounds ridiculous, but seriously-- you are going to feel so much better!  )
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Sarah M
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 2:46pm | IP Logged
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I'm back! This might be information overload, but I'm not sure how much info you need, so I'm just going to go for it. Sorry if it's overhwelming!
First and foremost, if at all possible, get your hands on this grocery shopping guide. It will save you a million headaches.
We have discovered the Ancient Harvest Quinoa noodles, and pretty much that's the brand we stick to when it comes to pasta. You can probably still make most/all of those pasta salads you've planned- just make a portion for yourself, using gluten-free noodles. The quinoa noodles cook up well and don't get mushy when put in casseroles, etc, like rice noodles do (or at least that's been my experience). We are NOT fans of rice noodles at all, and we never buy them anymore.
We are all gluten-free, so I don't have to try to make separate meals, but I don't think it would be impossible. It'll come down to your being stocked with a supply of GF substitutes (for bread and pasta, mostly). And then you'll need to get gluten-free broths and soups if you use those for cooking. Pacific Foods broths (and their tomato soup) are GF.
When baking, you definitely want to use a BLEND of flours- not just one kind (like just rice or just potato, etc). A fabulous flour combo (that can replace all-purpose flour) is 2 parts Garbanzo Bean flour, 2 parts brown rice flour, and 1 part tapioca flour. Mix it all together and use it as your GF all-purpose blend. Everything you bake needs to inlcude Xanthan Gum- that's what keeps the baked good from falling apart. You can usually find it in the natural foods section. I have to admit we use Gluten Free Mama's flour blend here, but I admit-- it's spendy. My favorite cookbook for baking is Gluten-Free Mama's.
For us, dinners seem to be easiest. Just pair meat of some kind with either potatoes or rice, add a vegetable, and you're golden. McCormick Taco Seasoning is GF. I buy the big container at Costco and we go through a lot of it, it seems.
Breakfasts: we like Kix cereal (now gluten-free), Rice Chex (it now comes in many flavors, but my grocery store only carries two kinds), and any of the GF cereals in the natural foods section--but those are considerably more expensive.
Lunches: are hard, in my opinion. We use Ener-G's Light Tapioca bread, but I must warn you-- it took us a long time to *like* this bread. The BEST bread is Gluten-Free Pantry's Sandwich bread, but it's spendy and you have to mix it up yourself (and here's the part where I admit that I'm much too lazy for this!). We use that for special occasions. It does make some pretty awesome french toast. For lunches we do a lot of cheese & fruit, nachos (tortilla chips are GF), lunch meats, salads, etc
I eat a lot of eggs. Scrambled, over medium, hard-boiled, etc. It's a simple GF protein and when I'm in a crunch that's what I turn to.
Snacks: think fruit, yogurt, dried fruits, nuts, cottage cheese, most kinds of chips (but not all), and we enjoy GF pretzels (but again, expensive).
Our favorite brand for most things is GLUTINO, hands-down.
A good blog to follow is Gluten Free Homemaker-- I really like it, anyway. She does blog carnivals and therefore gets *lots* of good recipes going there. Another, if you like slow-cooking, is Crockpot 365-- everything she posts is gluten-free. Gluten Free Girl is a fabulous book written by a celiac.
I hate to sound discouraging (because we are all benefitting enormously from eating this way, and it's not nearly as hard as it seems to be at first), but our grocery bill did indeed jump up quite a bit. I admit that's mostly because I still like to buy things like crackers, pretzels, bread, etc in GF form-- and those run a high price. But if the rest of your family is eating normally and you are the only one GF, your costs may not jump up as much as ours did.
Right now it seems like a completely overhwhelming lifestyle change, but in no time you'll feel very comfortable with it. We've been doing it for 2 years now, and it feels like second nature.
I'm praying for you!
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mathmama
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 7:18pm | IP Logged
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Not sure if others mentioned this, but your pasta salads aren't a loss, you can use rice pasta instead. We like the Tinkyada brand, but be sure to rinse it well after cooking.
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Beth, wife to Tom and mommy to 4 beautiful girls:
Therese 11/04
Anna Mary 6/07
Veronica 10/09
Theodora 11/12
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Turtle
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 7:41pm | IP Logged
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Nancy and Beth,
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I'm all ears as this is all so new to me.
Sarah,
I wish I could transport myself across the country to give you a hug!! Thanks for all the links and advice.
Now this is looking practical and realistic to me.
Thank you!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 8:00pm | IP Logged
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I noticed Sarah mentioned needing gluten free broths for cooking.. broths are very easy to make.. and you can make a large batch and put them in the freezer or can them if you have a pressure canner.
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G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Maureen
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| Posted: June 17 2010 at 9:09pm | IP Logged
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Just a cautionary note: Did the positive result come from a blood test or a pathology test? I was told I had celiac disease by my internist after a blood test, but after undergoing a colonoscopy, it proved negative. The pathology was double-checked and reviewed by a specialist in celiac disease.
Life can be a bit more challenging if you do have celiac disease, but fortunately more products and helpful information are available.
God Bless,
Maureen
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Turtle
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| Posted: June 18 2010 at 3:49pm | IP Logged
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Jodie,
Thanks for the tip on the broth. We've recently acquired an upright freezer which I think will come in handy.
Maureen,
Thanks for that bit of info. I've only had the bloodwork done,which came back positive. Due to current circumstances I would like to put off further testing for a while, and just assume that I truly do have celiac. (My homeopath agreed with this course of action.) Now I just have to find a good GI in my area.
Thanks,
Melissa
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Theresa H
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| Posted: June 18 2010 at 7:16pm | IP Logged
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I would like to recommend the websites below that feature Sheila Case, registered dietitian, who has celiac disease. I have heard her speak and she has great information.
http://www.glutenfreesnacksforme.com/
http://www.glutenfreeeasy.com/chef/index_chase.asp
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Theresa from OK
Married to Bill(92), 4 children: ds(94), ds(97), ds(00) & dd(06).
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: celiac advice needed
