Help Finding Two Gluten-Free Items? Please?

[caitlynmariah]

Hello there!

 

     I found out late last year after years of relentless health issues that I do in fact have dietary issues with gluten. I was diagnosed with a Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance & have been following a strict gluten-free lifestyle since per my doctor's requests.

 

     This has been a great learning experience with me as I love to cook/bake & while at times these lifestyle changes are incredibly daunting I am learning to cope pretty well. However, two food items have literally plagued me since my diagnosis, especially one thing - bagels. UGH. They are just NOT N.O.T. the same, I don't care what anyone has to say on this front! They just aren't & I am absolutely heartbroken. I've tried Katz (texture was closest IMO to real bagels, but let's get real can you say petite?) & Udi's (which are nasty). Sorry, Udi's. I just can't find another bagel that I love and am devastated to think I'll never eat a real bagel again.. It's making me want to impulsively drive & secretly consume one, but that would only be hurting myself, which is obviously irrational and not worth it. Does anyone have any suggestions on what bagels they enjoy that are gluten safe? Or even a recipe I could try? I'm at my wits end with this dilemma. Remember, this is coming from a girl who would rather eat a bagel with cream cheese than birthday cake & ice cream - yeah, my bagel run loves that deep. I used to get the Multi-Grain Bagel from Dunkin at least twice a week and miss them terribly. The texture is what is really killing me... Udi's tastes like those Thomas bagels that come pre-packaged in the bread department at a grocery store.. Soft & mushy..WTF is that? Ugh. I'm obviously extremely distraught & am dying for some suggestions/help? What have other fellow gluten-free individuals done on the bagel side of things?

 

     Another question of mine is where might I be able to safely find a gluten-free milkshake? I'm really nervous about going to a fast-food chain to get one, but if there are any places that others have avoided cross-contamination or a reaction from, I'm willing to try.

 

 

     Lastly is the debate on oatmeal. Since going gluten-free I've been eating the Chex brand gluten-free oats to avoid cross-contamination however, they're really costly at over $5 a box/bag. My question is, if you don't have Celiac how necessary is it to avoid oats at all costs? I used to eat Quaker and don't know if they were the true root of my issues as I was having health problems all around, so I can't truly pinpoint any one food. I would be willing to go back to trying Quaker if anyone can tell me they have a non-celiac gluten intolerance and experience no issues with it? Keep in mind though, I do eat oatmeal pretty regularly - nearly every day.

 

Thanks in advance.

[mamaw]

Hi

Some  people  have a  hard time  digesting oats gluten-free  or not. I'm celiac  & I can only eat  1/2 cup of oats  maybe  twice a  month....I never  thought  I'd  ever  miss  oats! You can also try  gluten-free oats  from a certified  gluten-free  company instead  of a mainstream  company...it is  hard to tell  if  a  person is going to  have  issues  for  foods. It  is a trial & error  process.

 

Now  for  bagels, I don't  have a  love  for bagels as  you do  but  I have  test  marketed  many....Joan's gluten-free  great  bakes  has a good  bagel...  plus  wonderful  English muffins  for breakfast sandwiches.... Sweet  notes  claims to have the best gluten-free  bagels  but  I  still prefer Joan's. I haven't  found  another  bagel  I like better  than Joan's...

 

We  make  our  own  milkshakes, very simple.... Dairy Queen  makes  gluten-free milkshakes  but  some of them  use  the same  blender  to make  cookie  blizzards  so  check it out  before  hand...you can request  they clean  the  beater  bar...

Steak & Shake  also  does  gluten-free  milkshakes... I  guess  any place  could  do a  gluten-free  milkshake  , I think it depends  on the  machine  if  it is used for  other   items  that  contain  coolies  & such....

I'm a  gluten-free  foodie  &  I never  cared for  much  that  Katz   bakery  has.... celiac  specialties  has the  best  gluten-free  donuts .....

thanks  for  reading  my opinion.....

[cap6]

Oats...As said some celiacs can't handle oats, especially in the beginning when your gut is still healing.  If you do eat them make sure that they are certified gluten free, which means that they have been grown, transported and processed separate from other grains.  Bob's Red Mill is one brand to try.  While they have regular gluten products all of their gluten free food products are processed in a separate facility.  Have a small amount and if it doesn't set well try them again in a month or so.  Our body changes as we heal.  As for cost....well,   you are sort of stuck there as any of the gluten free ones are a little pricey.   

 

Bagels.....I used to live on those things too (maybe not as passionately as you!) but find that I no longer miss them at all.  That said, you may just have to keep trying different brands until you find one that suits.  Try a natural food store as sometimes they have different brnds.  I found Franz bread that is wonderful (my partner loves loves it) and noticed they also have bagels.