Week 1 of being diagnosed

[sarahbee1989]

Just looking for some good tips etc from more experienced people. I’m the only one that has celiac in my group of friends and family. It’s just been 1 week and everything is  super overwhelming still like going to the grocery store and reading all the ingredients. I was in the store for over an hour the other day. And I feel like I can never go out to eat again. I guess just wondering what the biggest things I should know are. I just feel really  clueless  ?

[squirmingitch]

Start with reading our Newbie 101

 

[ravenwoodglass]

You want to be eating mostly unprocessed foods right now so shop the outside of the market. Meats, fish, produce and fruit etc. Do minimal stuff like gluten-free breads and sweets etc.

You want to avoid oats until you are well healed. Some celiacs don't tolerate even the certified gluten-free kinds. Also limit dairy a bit. You may not be digesting lactose well so if you need more dairy than just a shot in your coffee go with hard cheeses like cheddar, romano, butter and yogurt.

If you live near a Wegmans they mark all their gluten-free item eith a circle G. If not many big companies are now marking some of their items gluten-free. My biggest addiction is Hersey's dark chocolate baking chips. Gluten free is right on the package but in quite small letters.

Do be sure to read the Newbie 101 thread at the top of the Coping section it will have a lot of good info for you.

[sarahbee1989]

Thanks so much for the tips! 

[tessa25]

Here's my suggested foods spiel:

If you're currently on a meat, potato, and veggies diet then relax because this is gonna be easy. If not you might want to switch to a meat, veggies, and potatoes diet at least for a while.

So here's what I found out regarding food:

Note: insert the words "gluten free" in every item mentioned as some of the companies also sell non gluten free stuff. It's tedious to write that phrase all the time.

Get a chest freezer to store all of your frozen gluten-free foods. Makes things easier.

Bread:
  - Canyon bakehouse without question is the most realistic tasting bread. They have white, fake rye, multigrain and bagels (the bagels are fantastic).
  - Schar baguettes are decent.
  - Katz makes an English muffin that, after toasted, reminds me of a real one provided
                 it has stuff on it like butter. I think that's the brand.
  - Etalia has a good boule if you prefer artisan bread. (Colorado)

Pizza crust:
    - Schar makes a good thick and chewy crust.
    - Udis makes a good thin and crispy crust.
    - Etalia makes a great New York crust. (Colorado)

Pasta:
    - Barilla makes the best pasta. Tastes like normal pasta. Spaghetti cooks the best.
    
Flour:
    - Pamelas all-purpose flour is great for making gravy and batter for fried foods.

Cereal:
    - Envirokidz Gorilla Munch cereal is a yummy equivalent to corn Pops.

Cookies:
    - Goodie Girl mint slims - fantastic girl scout mint cookie equivalent
    - Kinnikinnik makes a decent Oreo equivalent.
    - Kinnikinnik makes a good nilla wafer
    - Mi Del makes a great ginger snap.

Cake:
    - Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix tastes the same, but you have to get the cooking time exactly right. It is a very small window of time. Too long and it's too dry.

Frozen meals:
    - Udi's Chicken Florentine is addictive and Broccoli Kale lasagna is a good white lasagna.

Restaurants (not from personal experience, just from research)
    - Chinese – PF Changs. Employees are supposedly trained in gluten free.
    - Burgers – In N Out. The only thing here that is not gluten free are the buns so it is very easy for them to do gluten free. They are also trained in it. They are only out west. Road Trip!
    - Outback steakhouse. Employees are supposedly trained in gluten free. How good they are depends on where you live.

 

If you are willing to cook from scratch it's fairly easy to make a good gluten free equivalent to your favorite foods.