Monklady123

Omg, I've been ignoring this thread for days because I thought it said what's the meal we cook when we WANT to be extravagant!      I hate to cook, so that's why I've been avoiding it.  Then I opened the thread finally just now and when I saw omelets, or pull-something-out-of-the-freezer meals I thought wait a minute....

lol.. anyway, mine would be bacon and eggs, or sharp cheddar on a corn tortilla toasted in the toaster oven, or tuna, or... sometimes just chips and hummus.  

I was just reading through this old thread and I thought I'd resurrect it because it might be helpful for some of our new members. I was thinking about this thread becasue I still struggle sometimes with the fact that I am self-diagnosed.  I think that some people don't take my diagnosis or my food intolerances seriously and I wanted to read this thread for some validation.  (No, I am really NOT making this up!)

You could always just make it up and say the doctor diagnosed you. They'd never know and you'd have the doctor's "authority" behind your diet.  

Most Dunkin Donuts don't bake their own doughnuts. I'm not sure any of them actually do. They get deliveries every day.

Yeah, true.  I guess it's just the picture I have in my mind of my local Dunkin Donuts -- all the donuts sitting in the cases right near the coffee pot, with the employees always reaching in to take out some donuts, waving them around near the coffee...    Makes me get a headache and cramps just thinking about it. lol..

But at my Starbucks the case with the baked goods is way over on the other side of the register, far away from the coffee-making area, and it's usually two different people -- the cashier gets the baked thing while the coffee gal is preparing the drink.

Where did you find this wonder bread ?!?! ..I have been searching for a bread that wont chip your teeth or take a gallon of water to get down lol

Rachel, I had to order it on Amazon since there was no where near me that sold it. And, by ordering it like that I had to order a case -- eight packs of mix, I think. I hated to order that many without ever tasting it ahead of time, but based on all the rave reviews I decided I'd try it.  SO glad I did.

This was my first holiday season since going gluten free, so I was just wondering who else was the same and how it went for you.  And, even if it wasn't your first how did it go?

I'm lucky because I'm the cook for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we don't have family here at all. So for Thanksgiving it was just the four of us, and for Christmas it was just us plus my sister.  I did cook regular stuffing for the others, and then a kind-of corn bread casserole thing that was gluten-free. And everyone ate that and said how yummy it was. lol...

Then after Christmas we went to my parents' but they're older now and don't cook much so I always try to do most of the cooking when we're there. My dad does have one recipe that he likes to make, a microwave turkey taco thing. It uses corn tortillas but I had to check to be sure the taco seasoning was Gluten-free. It was.

For me the hardest part was the desserts. It was hard to watch everyone eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Yah, I could have made a Gluten-free one, but I didn't. Maybe next year. I did discover that Pamela's peanut butter cookies, which are not great by themselves, are very tasty with some Cool Whip on them  

So all in all it wasn't too bad. Still learning how to deal with always always always having to be vigilant. And accepting that this will be a rest-of-my-life deal.  But... I do feel SO much better! lol..

Move over Udi's, I've just made my first batch of Chebe. I made the regular rolls, the little round ones.  omg... {faint} -- they're crusty and chewy and soft in the middle, just what I've missed in bread.  I had to keep myself from eating them all at once because I want to save some for lunch. I'm going to put some butter and cheese on them, one of my favorite things. Yeah, not overly healthy. But I don't care! lol..

And, I'm thinking that this will make a good communion bread. I tried dunking it in my coffee and it did NOT fall apart!

It's the little things that make it easier to cope with all that celiac entails. I've been feeling sorry for myself lately and this has cheered me up.  (this, plus all the yummy grits recipes you all provided! )  

I have been having trouble the last couple of days. Feeling lousy, depressed, D. I couldn't figure out what had been causing it because I hadn't changed anything I was eating (or so I thought). Then I remembered that I had started eating the candy that my aunt sent me for Christmas (I checked and it did not have any gluten ingredients.) Ugh. I don't know if it is something else in the candy, or if it has CC, but I'm pretty sure that is what is causing me problems. Well I guess I will have to give it away to friends. Too bad.

Funny you posted this just now because I've been thinking the same thing! My family always visits my parents after Christmas and my dad always has several boxes of different kinds of candy. I check the ingredients and didn't see anything suspect, but it has to be the reason I've been feeling bad. I know it can't be anything else because I've eaten only at home with things I've cooked myself.

Well...I guess the silver lining is that I can't eat all that candy! lol..

(shhh....don't tell anyone I have two Snickers bars stashed in my dresser)

Whoppers are made by Burger King, but that ingredients list is for McDonald's. McD's Big Mac sauce does contain gluten, but I don't know about the Whopper sauce. I found nutritional info for the Whopper which says it contains wheat but that could be just for the bun. The ingredients don't actually show a whopper "sauce", just mayo.

I have nothing to add to all the excellent advice already given above, but just wanted to say hang in there. It's not easy, but it does get easier.  Just read, read, read those labels! (says I who got glutened by some barley malt just the other day because I didn't read properly... )

Also, keep coming back here to this board because everyone here can empathize with what you're going through, and they are a wealth of good advice and information.

Chinese food is one of my favorites, can anyone tell me if any Chinese food is gluten-free?
Guess I glutened myself without knowing it with their fried rice!

PF Chang's has a whole gluten-free menu! They're great.

If you know the Lost Dog Cafe you know that it's FILLED with gluten. The main thing on their menu is the sandwich, in a gazillion varieties. Then they have pizza, in another gazillion varieties. Then they have salads, a lot of which have grilled chicken with "special seasoning."  

So, I called ahead and asked for the manager. The first thing I asked was "if I said the words gluten-free to you would you know what I'm talking about?"  His reply:  "Yes, of course!"  aha...good start.  lol. Turns out that they do have gluten-free pizza crust, but I think $14 is a lot for a personal-size pizza.  He said I could not eat the "special seasoning" so that meant no chicken, fish, or fries. sigh..

Anyway, I went there (this was a church meeting so I had no choice about where to go since this is right around the corner from the church, most of the people attending -- 8 of us -- live nearby, and we like to patronize the local businesses near the church) -- so I had the plain Greek salad. But, it came with "feta vinaigrette" dressing.  I asked the waiter if he could please find out the exact ingredients in it because I was "allergic to wheat" (easier than "celiac" or "gluten intolerant" ).  So what did he do? He came back to the table with the entire industrial-size bottle of dressing! rofl... He said "there were a lot of ingredients in there so I thought you'd better look for yourself, since I'm not 100% sure where gluten can hide."  

Now remember, I had said "allergic to wheat" -- I hadn't mentioned gluten.  So I said "oh, so you knew what I meant when I said "allergic to wheat?"  He said "yes of course... although I suppose someone could be actually allergic to wheat. But usually when people ask that they mean gluten."  

Now how's that for a knowledgeable waiter?!  woot!  And he was really young too.  I left him a nice tip, and got his name and called the manager this morning.

Oh and fyi, the feta vinaigrette did NOT have gluten in it, and I had a nice salad and feel just fine this morning.  

Yep, just go gluten-free and if you feel better then that's your "diagnosis".  I've opted not to have the endoscopy because I don't want to go through several months of eating gluten every day. For me it's simple -- if I eat gluten I feel awful, if I don't then I feel good.

So, this is my first holiday season since being gluten-free. I just went to a neighborhood brunch, which we do every year. It's one of these very casual things so I wasn't concerned about eating or not. It's only three blocks from my house and I wasn't planning to stay long because I need to cook my turkey, etc.  So I had some fruit, and was eying the egg/casserole things. I asked the host about her egg dish -- I said "is there any wheat in this?"  She replied "no, no wheat, just eggs, cheese, and bread."  um...      

Hi Bobbie J (is it Jo??),

Why not just get the antibody tests done? Then if those are elevated, get the endoscopy? If it's a matter of insurance/cost, I understand. Personally, I felt much better knowing I had it without a doubt after my endoscopy.

Plumbago

As someone else said, there are good reasons not to do the endoscopy.  For me it's the misery I'd have to go through while eating gluten for several MONTHS before the test.  And I don't need the endoscopy to tell me "without a doubt" that I have it, I already know without a doubt that I do. For me it's pretty simple:  eat gluten = feel miserable; don't eat gluten = have my life back.  

Definitely a "Celiac rite of passage."  {gag}

I haven't thought about stuffing yet this year. Since I hate to cook I may just make good old Stove Top for the family and skip the stuffing for me. Or make cornbread, which I love.  We will see...

Ener-G = GAG!