28 replies to this topic

[darlindeb25]

welcome maggie---where are you from---i take it rice bothers you, that could limit the cereal you can have--there are corn cereals----if you can eat rice, post fruitty and cocoa pebbles are gluten-free---health valley has rice or corn crunch ums, they are similiar to chex's--there's gorilla munch---cranberry sunshine--i eat quaker cracker jack corncakes (only the original, not butter toffee, it contains barley) with peanut butter and quaker caramel corn cakes are good too--my dad is into scrambled eggs for breakfast, he doesnt like any of the cereals---- you have found the best forum for questions--we are a good bunch of people in here and i think many of us have become friends through here-- deb

[cdobbs]

hello everyone,
well i also understand the whole family thing. my grandmother made thanksgiving this year and it was 99% gluten-free. my mother and i provided the turkey,bread and cornmeal for the stuffing. my grandmother worked her behind of so that my parents and my family could eat gluten-free. it was the aunts that cause a fuss. my aunt called and was griping about how the dressing was going to taste gross bc it was gluten-free. my grandmother explained that it is the exact same as non gluten-free except we had to provide the gluten-free cornmeal. she couldnt grasp that. she was so mad that she brought her own dressing. that caused an even bigger fuss bc she had to do that. my mother also baked all the pies and to my aunts surprise they were pretty darn good. but all the other non celiac members were upset bc she made it all gluten-free for the 5 of us. when there was 10 of them. but my grandmother stuck to her guns. she even let eneryone know that if the spoons out of each bowl left that bowl sh ewas going to let them have it. i think she has been more supportive of the whole thing bc of how sick my dad has been. she has watched him go in and out of the hospital. shes already lost one child and now has my father with celiac disease and one of my aunts with some deteriorating disease. it turned out to be wonderful. every year our family fights over the chocolate covered cherries my grandmother makes and in the end i nicely stole my aunts 4 cherries she had hidden in the kitchen. revenge is tastefully sweet in this case. i hope you get better and that your family will one day come to understand that gluten is gluten no matter how you look at it.
christi

[Pegster]

My Thanksgiving started out with rolling eyes and "You're not doing that diet thing TODAY are you?" Followed by a spoon covered with flour being shoved into a casserole that I would have been able to eat! Also my hostess had promised a turkey breast on the routisserie with no stuffing in addition to the stuffed bird but CHANGED HER MIND! (Didn't think anyone would eat it). Boy was I cranky!!!

[Maggie1956]

Sorry Deb for not posting earlier. I got lost!
I'm in Australia. Yes I do have a problem with oats, rice, maybe corn, I know peanut butter is out

I tried a rice ceriel, which ended up tasting like a really badly made rice pudding.
That was before I realised that rice makes me really sick as well.

It seems that we don't have the great variety of cerials that you have..I may have to immigrate!

I've been having scrambled eggs...boring! I see a dietician in two weeks, so maybe she will help me get started on something which fills me up, but doesn't make me sick.

Now, I'm trying to think of something nourishing for lunch. I tried gluten-free bread. I didn't like it at all. I'm not a bread eater anyway, so I probably won't miss it too much.

It will be great to feel better. I'm looking forward to that!

Maggie

[tom]

With Christmas coming up, there's going to be get-togethers with family and friends. Some of them are great, and understand about coeliac disease and gluten intolerance. While others we will be having a meal with are totally ignorant, but sweet people. I'm hoping there will be food there which is ok for me.

Maggie,
Many times i just eat before i go. I've found it far easier to not expect any suitable food at all, and i have a MUCH better time than reading all the ingred labels and having to decide whether to bother correcting person X's "so it's an allergy?" question and wondering whether any backseat chefs thought 'it needed a little more ______' and used a non-gluten-free version of an ingred while a gluten-free brand sat nearby. And on and on.
I'm better off just leaving the issue at home and enjoying myself.
This'll be my first xmas gluten-free, and now i realize i don't really know what i'll do. I'd like to bring something to eat at the table during THE dinner. Hmmm 23 days to figure it out !

[wclemens]

Hi,
Somebody asked me what I had for Thanksgiving at my daughter's house: TURKEY! It was great--so moist and flavorful. And I sat quietly enjoying it as the others ate. I eat mine with lots of Kraft Mayonnaise on it. No one gave me a moment's trouble. Of course I've had years to help them get used to the idea that most foods are poison for me, so that helps (I'm intolerant of all grains, milk & dairy, egg whites, and yeast). I've managed to lose about 20 pounds and keep it off, so that helps too, while everyone else is always struggling with their weight.
Here's the part I really like--I went shopping and bought oranges for Ambrosia Salad (it also has cocoanut & walnuts), canned pumpkin to mix with egg yolks and brown sugar to bake, raspberry sorbet and vanilla soy ice cream to cover with pecans, my own turkey, and a few other things that sounded good, then I prepared them before I went to our family dinner, so when I came home I celebrated my own little Thanksgiving, all by myself, after having a beautiful day with my family.
The topic of food never came up in a negative manner, and this is a true triumph, because last Christmas I even bought each family member a Celiac home test kit from Enterlab, at $118 each. When they mostly didn't get used I learned there has to be a better way than talking, so I have resolved to just be the most positive, healthy-looking individual I can be, taking care of myself in such a way that I really will be healthy, and that's the hard part. I'll take my own bag of food anywhere. It doesn't matter to me anymore what anyone thinks. I'm not breaking my diet for any reason. And this week, when exhaustion set in, I isolated to my home and took good care of myself. Now I'm feeling better, so I can help take care of others too. Welda

[gypsyfey]

Believe it or not Maggie, many cold cereals are gluten free. Of course you have to go over the label pretty well.
I was pretty lucky for thanksgiving, my inlaws are also gluten-free and we went to their place. My own family on the other hand thinks i'm exaggerating, or overreacting or whatever....my mom has made a point to look for gluten free recipes for me for my holiday baking. But the rest of the family just doesn't get it. I think they look at it as a 'diet', something that you can cheat on when its inconveinient. But really, I'm the only one who has to understand, its my body my choice and my pain.
If you end up going somewhere for Christmas that doesn't have safe food, you might try bringing your own. You can always say that you didn't want anyone to have to go to any trouble because of your ILLNESS. Let them know that Thanksgiving made you sick for days. They will get it or not, but you won't be at their mercy.

[pixiegirl]

Wow, I'm glad I started this thread, its really made me feel better to know that its just not my darn family. I'm actually considering next year to fly into my brother's house the day after thanksgiving... everyone stays for a few days after and that way I can eat good food and still see everyone.

Since Thanksgiving I've spoken to my mom and sister in law about the holiday... my sister in law says don't be mad at everyone, life is too short, and I agree, I'm not mad I was just disappointed. My mom..... sigh.... well she listened to what I had to say and agreed with me and said she is still learning about Celiac and will be more intuned to my diet issues without nasty comments, which of course was good. But then she said maybe you shouldn't be so sensitive.... well I was sick for 5 days, it tends to make you a bit sensitive! Oh well. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks again, Susan

[Maggie1956]

Thanks Tom and Gypsyfey for your ideas of eating before going out to a friends place Christmas night, and also for the suggestion of taking my own food with me.
They are great ideas that I will most likely take up.

I went with my husband tonight to his work Christmas party. I was glad when the waiters brought out trays of food, as it meant it was a 'help yourself' thing, rather that having to eat what they gave you.

Well, I tried to be sensible. I had salad (it's summer here in the land Down Under) , one baked potato (not a good choice I don't think) a couple of oysters, and roast lamb with mint jelly.

I have 'that feeling' in my tummy now, and know there was something (s) that must have had gluten. I feel as big as a house, and really windy.

I reckon it sounds like a REALLY good idea to eat before leaving home in this situation, and I will strongly concider taking some 'good' food with me on Christmas Day.

Maggie

[ssantori]

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[ssantori]

OH---holidays. They are so difficult, and families are usually much harder to deal with than restaurants. Always bring food, aim for the simplest food there, and , of course, eat first. That said, I have to recommend staying home for the holidays if at all possible. My daughter has not eaten wheat for 8 years, and each year my food gets a little more palatable
THis year I was so proud to serve the whole Thanksgiving meal gluten-free and dairy free, from turkey and stuffing to pie. (Yes, it was delicious to all of us, non celiac disease , non allergic and all). We had such a wonderful familymeal. No, this would not happen at any relatives house. It just wouldn't.

Invite people over. A lot.

Sending lots of empathy your way.

P.S. Wish I could invite you over.

[Maggie1956]

Hey, I found a really yummy gluten-free breakfast cereal out here in OZ. (Australia)
I got it from a health food store.

I've also been having tinned fruit, mostly pears as they are easier for me to digest first thing in the morning.

So, life is not so bad when I don't have to cook breakfast every morning. I'm not a morning person at all.

Last night, my hubby and I went to our friends place for our regular Friday night get-together. we watch videos and nibble....welll, I used to until I found every time I'd come home in great pain and sick all night.
Last week I gave them a copy of the what celiac disease is, and what the consequences are if a celiac person ingests gluten.

They served us up a lovely baked pork dinner, which was fine with me. It was followed by icecream, which I thought probably had gluten in it. I only had a small amount.
My tummy was fine with it, but I really felt like I'd had a few too many beers. It was hard to concentrate and speak properly, and even to walk straight was a challenge.

Is this a common sign of being glutened, and would I still be causing trouble to my villi if I have the occassional 'normal' icecream??

[darlindeb25]

yes, any gluten causes damage--we must remain gluten free--there are ice creams that do not contain gluten--you can have ice cream, just read the labels--it's so important that we all understand that we must not have any gluten--none, notta, nil sorry, i am only telling you this for your health--deb

[tarnalberry]

There are lots of gluten-free normal ice creams. Stick to those so you don't do your intestines any more damage! :-) (It takes a while to find what you can and can't have, but until then, I encourage you to play it conservatively to help your body heal and reduce the risk of problems that untreated celiac can cause.)