Wheat, Its Not For Dinner.

[Guest john at NAU]

Truly, there are very few people who can fully understand how much it sucks to not be able to eat wedding cake one day.

I've been (mostly) gluten-free for about a month now, and Im going nuts. I am an avid cook, and its a serious downer to make something I cannot eat. Most of all, the heritage foods I grew up on are the hardest to give up. I also am a avid cyclist, and I ride 100-150 miles per week for transportation and recreation. Losing wheat based carbs is taking its toll on my desire to actually get out there and ride. Lethargic and bored with my food selections, im in a rut because of this damn gluten-free diet. I nolonger stop and eat bagels after a long ride, checking ingredient lists makes me feel like im 60 (no offense to those of you...).

Im 22 now, and looking for options. I have caught wind of accupuncture treatments for the non-celiac for wheat intolerance, but my overwhelming ignorance on the matter is most likely mistaken.

Im sure everyone reading this has had a similar experience with beginning cooking again. I tried to make pizza, and I used rice flour. nope... Didn't work too well. It tasted like bad cornbread.... At least I can eat that!

I went to an allergist for the first time on Dec. 14th. He seemed to be a nice guy, professional, and comfortable to talk to. That was a good start. He quizzed me about my inability to eat wheat and now dairy, which I understand is a side effect of not maintaing a good gluten-free diet.

He ordered blood work, to confirm his suspicion of my wheat intolerance, and said nothing else.

I asked, is there a celiac disease possibility here? He didn't think so, but inconclusivly- he offered to see a GI dr. to get a biopsy.

Thanks for nothing.

I left feeling the same as I went in. I dont need a blood test or some doctor to tell me what I already know. I felt like it was a business looking for an easy way to drag you in a few times and offer nothing useful.

What was I looking for, exactly?

I dont know for sure, but I imagined that a MD would have some more insight on the matter than myself. I was mistaken.

Wow, that was like a blog enterance. Oh well.

Ciao,

John

[kabowman]

Good luck...it takes time. I ran into the same thing with my allergist, GI, and PCP. Glad you figured this out, no, there is nothing you can do. See ya' was what I got all around.

We are beginning to experiment again - re-inventing old food into food I can eat, only without all the bad stuff that makes me sick. You can get into a rut and eat the same food before you remember you don't have to have just plain meat, add some spice. Anyway, it takes time and patience. We both cooked before but now we cook everything and will begin canning with my new Christmas gift.

[tarnalberry]

Truly, there are very few people who can fully understand how much it sucks to not be able to eat wedding cake one day.

Good news! You can have cake at a wedding one day. You just have to get a gluten free cake. A number of people on here have done that for their wedding.

I've been (mostly) gluten-free for about a month now, and Im going nuts. I am an avid cook, and its a serious downer to make something I cannot eat. Most of all, the heritage foods I grew up on are the hardest to give up.

There's still plenty of stuff you can cook without gluten. Even a lot of baked goods can be made gluten free by using the right combination of gluten free flours. Check out the recipes section, and let us know what type of recipes you're trying to convert. We've got a bunch of cooks here who I'm sure can help you out. (Myself included. ;-) I love cooking, and still do plenty of it, including dinner parties, where everything is gluten free and dairy free, though I'm the only Gluten-free Casein-free one. And yes, everyone loves the food. ;-) )

I also am a avid cyclist, and I ride 100-150 miles per week for transportation and recreation. Losing wheat based carbs is taking its toll on my desire to actually get out there and ride. Lethargic and bored with my food selections, im in a rut because of this damn gluten-free diet. I nolonger stop and eat bagels after a long ride, checking ingredient lists makes me feel like im 60 (no offense to those of you...).

There are a lot of other carbs out there to eat. Besides potatoes (baked, mashed, roasted, salads, fried) and corn (tortillas, polenta, whole, creamed, in soup) and rice (rice cakes, rice bread, risotto, in soup, as a side, pudding) and beans (refried, baked, with rice, in burritos, as soup), there's millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and teff, not to mention all the vegetables and fruits that are good carb sources. If you want preprocessed stuff so you don't have to make your own, you can buy premade tortillas, breads, waffles, and so on. But you can also make a big batch of pancakes on the weekend and freeze extras for the week. (Same with muffins, bread, etc.)

It's true, you've got to pack some food with you; we do lose convenience. But it shouldn't stop you from getting enough carbs. Or from having plenty of variety. Almost everything in the produce section, butcher section, and dairy case is naturally gluten free and you can make SO MANY things out of those ingredients.

Im 22 now, and looking for options. I have caught wind of accupuncture treatments for the non-celiac for wheat intolerance, but my overwhelming ignorance on the matter is most likely mistaken.

Nothing cures celiac disease, and nothing cures genetically induced gluten intolerance. It's not worth the risk of having damage, even if you don't experience symptoms.

Im sure everyone reading this has had a similar experience with beginning cooking again. I tried to make pizza, and I used rice flour. nope... Didn't work too well. It tasted like bad cornbread.... At least I can eat that!

More so than most other things, you've got to investigate recipes that others have tried and used. You can't blindly sub a gluten-free flour for wheat in any recipe. Some recipes need xantham gum to help bind the flours when gluten usually does it. Some need flours higher in protein. Some need additional fat. Many need additional raising agents. Single flours almost never work well enough, and texture varies by type of mill you get. Mixes are often a good place to start, until you get the appropriate proportions of ingredients determined on your own. And some things are easier than others - muffins I've had next to no trouble with but cookies have been harder. Again, look around here for recipes and suggestions. You'll find a lot of good information.

I went to an allergist for the first time on Dec. 14th. He seemed to be a nice guy, professional, and comfortable to talk to. That was a good start. He quizzed me about my inability to eat wheat and now dairy, which I understand is a side effect of not maintaing a good gluten-free diet.

I find dairy-free harder than gluten free. I miss cheese and yogurt, and while you can get soy yogurt (though I don't want to load up on soy), almost no cheeses are truely dairy free. (At least I can still make a fabulous gluten free, soy free, dairy free, low fat (for my FIL) pumpkin pie! ;-) )

He ordered blood work, to confirm his suspicion of my wheat intolerance, and said nothing else.

I asked, is there a celiac disease possibility here? He didn't think so, but inconclusivly- he offered to see a GI dr. to get a biopsy.

...

At this point, blood tests and a biopsy are likely to give you a false negative anyway, because you've been gluten free. You have to be eating gluten in order for your blood to show antibodies to gluten.

Wow, that was like a blog enterance. Oh well.

lol! we get long entries here. :-) no worries. but don't give up. the adjustment to finding food that you like and want to eat and is in your budget is tough, but when you get there, you'll find that it's not as bad. I cook, a lot, from scratch, and it still took a few months for me to adjust (on the order of four to six) and there are still some things I haven't attempted. But there are a lot of helpful people on here who can sympathize with you, recommend tasty foods, and give fabulous advice.

[Nadtorious]

Welcome John

I'm an avid cyclist too, and I do 10-15 races per year, plus lots of road trips to Moab and such. It is definetly a pain to get used to at first, but can be done. I love to cook too, and make everything from scratch (no gluten free substitutes for me).

I eat a lot of buckwheat, rice, quinoa, and amaranth, especially during the race season. I cook in advance and freeze meals so when I get home from a long day at the resorts I can just pop something in the microwave. I just bought a juicer that also doubles as a grain mill and nut butter maker. I have a soymilk maker that can also make rice milk (I can't do dairy either). I roast my own coffee beans. Everything is from scratch, and let me tell you, I've never felt better. Your riding will only get better the longer you are on this diet. Yes, it's shocking and depressing at first, but any major life-changing event usually is. You should have no problem getting enough carbs, and your body will utilize them better because you are not intolerant to them. Good luck. Feel free to e-mail me if you need to.

Peace-

Nadia

[jknnej]

NAU? Is that Northern Arizona University? I live in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix. I know a LOT of great gluten-free places in Arizona if you need them...just write back!