Gluten Free baked goods making me sick

[Rebekah3]

Howdy all,

I've been gluten free since my biopsy about 2 weeks ago. The headache is subsiding to almost gone! So progress! However, whenever I eat gluten free baked goods (like my husbands birthday cake or my beloved gratify pretzels) I get horribly sick. Intense stomach pains and diarrhea. the pain from the pretzels last night is still with me this morning. The only new-to-me ingredients in these foods are the gums (cellulose gum, xanthan gum, guar gum, etc.) Can these ingredients cause this type of response? I'm literally goign to cry my eyes out if I can't have pretzels anymore D:

[cyclinglady]

Sorry you are sick!  Your gut is damaged and processing many foods is going to be hard for a while.  I bet one of those gums is bothering you.  It may be all or one.  I found in the beginning that xanthan gum set me off.  It never bothered my hubby who had been gluten free for 12 years.  It was just a "me" thing (intolerance).  I switched to products with guar gum (Pamela's gluten-free flour blend) and was fine when I baked gluten-free cupcakes or cookies.   Those gums act like gluten as a binder and are needed to get a good gluten-free finished product.

Best to avoid most gluten-free processed foods for at least a month.  Like regular processed foods, they contain lots of weird chemicals and preservatives.  Best to consume whole foods that are well cooked and easy to digest.  What to do in a pinch?  Grab some fruit at the grocery store.  Plain chips (potato and oil).  Prepare food and freeze or keep in the frig (hard-boiled eggs).  I had a hard time eating peanuts but could eat Peanutbutter.  When I was glutened badly in July, I went back to eating stewed meats and veggies.  Anything I ate was so hard to digest!  But that resolved when I started to heal!  

The good news is that you should be able to eat those pretzels in a few months!  

[bartfull]

Everybody (including myself) is told to eat plain whole foods at first, and everybody (including myself) goes right out and buys gluten-free substitutes right away anyway.

I think it's because we feel so deprived at first and want our daily bread (or daily pretzels). Or it could be the ravenous hunger brought on by gluten withdrawal - we think if we could only have bread we won't feel like we're starving.

CyclingLady is right (as usual). You need to stick to whole foods that are easy to digest for a while. The pretzels and bread and birthday cake will be fine after your gut has had a chance to heal.

[Rebekah3]

This makes complete sense. However, my doctor didn't say anything besides "no more gluten" I have 2 really small kids (2yrs and 9 months) so I am having a hard time making time to cook every meal

 

What do I eat?! I get the whole 'unprocessed and whole' bit, but what about dairy? What about bacon? things like that. And for how long? I'm a mess, I know.

[cyclinglady]

You can check out our "What is for dinner?" thread which contains lots of ideas.  Think simple though!  I have pork with green chiles in the crockpot.  I will shred it and serve it as tacos.  The leftovers get put into the freezer in little freezer bags.   We have tacos about once a week.  My family can prepare them when I go to orchestra practice.  I cook or grill chicken in large batches.  I serve it for dinner, with salad, veggie, potatoes or rice, etc.   The leftovers go into chicken rice soup, cold chicken salad, chicken enchiladas.  I cook ground beef in large batches and freeze, so spaghetti or chili is fast to make (taking that to the high school football game tomorrow night.)   I guess what I am trying to say is think big meals that you can make for leftovers.  My crockpot is my best friend.  It is sitting in the patio right  now (prevents heating up my house because it is still warm here!).  Then the next appliance I adore is my freezer in the garage.  It is filled with fish and meat I bought on sale, my gluten-free flour, frozen veggies,  and there is a container of pumpkin raisin cupcakes!  Perfect for my hubby to sneak each night.  Perfect for me to grab and take to a party.  Hummmm...I think I will make some chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes this afternoon.  ?

I get pretty tired in the evening because I am old,  so I prep my food early in the day.  Do this when the munchkins are napping or watching Winnie thePhooh for the 90th time!  Or cook on Saturday morning for then week when hubby or Grandma can watch the kids.  I confess I paid my 6th grade neighbor $3 or 4 dollars an hour to play with my two year old.  I would pay bills and cook.  She always was amazed when I came in to announce snacks time.  I always left the monitor on!  ? best $8 spent! 

Dairy is fine, but for some us,  we became lactose intolerant due to damaged villi.  All that came back after a year or so for me.    I eat plenty of bacon!  You just have to keep a  food and symptom journal and note as to what is bothering you.   We are all different.

Now it is time for lunch.  Tossed greens with leftover chicken and a fruit bowl for my hubby.  

Do  you have a Costco nearby?  Their rotisserie chicken is my new "fast" food.  

Hang in there!  

[icelandgirl]

Hi...it's hard at first for sure.  The one thing I wish I'd listened to was to eat only whole foods for the first 6 months.  I didn't do the at first.  I felt awful and was convinced that I was reacting to everything.  After a bit of that I went to all whole foods for quite a while and started feeling better.  Your system needs time to heal.

I also use my crock pot a lot.  I have 3 kids, my youngest is 4, and it seems like we're always running around.  Putting something into the crock pot early in the day makes dinner time so easy and ensures that we all have something nutritious to eat.  

I had to avoid dairy completely for a while but now I can have it in small amounts.  I love having cream in my coffee again!

It will get better...hang in there!

[bartfull]

I second the crock pot idea.

[MsMarginalized]

Is there any way to get a LIKE button for posts? (or is there one & I'm too thick to see it??) ;)

[cyclinglady]

1 hour ago, MsMarginalized said:

Is there any way to get a LIKE button for posts? (or is there one & I'm too thick to see it??) ;)

Then little green arrow located at the bottom right of the text box.  I "liked" you!  ?. It adds a little heart symbol.  

[Rebekah3]

When oh when will we poor celiacs catch a break! Since posting I've eliminated all the processed stuff, and so far so good. I loooove to eat, so it's killing me. Of course I'm also trying to drop some more of this hideous baby weight....but it appears to not want to leave. Even without the processed foods :(