I Am Bored!

[bearodilla]

I am on month five or six of gluten-free and I am bored and confused. I live in a tiny town and the nearest support group is 100 miles away. If i eat another lunch of hummus and rice crackers or dinner of chicken and potatoes I may go insane. I have some cookbooks but it is like reading another language to me. The list of hidden glutens that i found is so long that i feel like giving up and living on gluten-free corn flakes for the rest of my life. Is there a simple way to learn this stuff? I am a mother of a three year old and work full time and go to college half time i don't have the brain space to relearn how to eat.

I want icecream again, i would settle for a candy bar. HELP

[jerseyangel]

I am on month five or six of gluten-free and I am bored and confused. I live in a tiny town and the nearest support group is 100 miles away. If i eat another lunch of hummus and rice crackers or dinner of chicken and potatoes I may go insane. I have some cookbooks but it is like reading another language to me. The list of hidden glutens that i found is so long that i feel like giving up and living on gluten-free corn flakes for the rest of my life. Is there a simple way to learn this stuff? I am a mother of a three year old and work full time and go to college half time i don't have the brain space to relearn how to eat.

I want icecream again, i would settle for a candy bar. HELP

Hi and welcome to the board! It gets easier, really . In addition to all of the naturally gluten-free foods like fresh meats, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and most dairy--there are plenty of "treats" you can have. Providing you have no other food intolerances, a lot of ice creams are gluten-free (except, of course the obvious flavors like cookie dough, etc.) Candies like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (regular size), Snickers, Dove Bars. Hershey and Nestle will clearly list any gluten ingredients, so all you have to do is read. The same with Kraft and Con Agra Foods. Have you checked out some of the gluten-free mixes and foods? I don't know if you have a store like Whole Foods nearby, or a local health food store--if you want, we can list some on-line sources. You might also check here on the "Recipe and Cooking Tips" forum--there are lots of great ideas there.

[DingoGirl]

Welcome...and know that the best thing that's happened is you've found this board. I find I don't even need a physical support group when I get so much support and information here. Search these threads and you will find all kinds of things you can eat from your local grocery store - concentrate on sticking to foods that are natrually gluten-free - - lean meats and fish, chicken, veggies, fruits, and dairy if you can tolerate it. Do you have Costco? They have a good gluten-free already roasted chicken, which I turn into chicken salad with mayo, celery, grapes and seasoning (Herbamar from Whole Foods) with Annie's Tuscan Italian dressing - should be at your health food store. CANDY BAR - go get a snickers or hershey's! And there are lots of gluten-free ice creams, fear not! You are not relegated to a life of corn flakes.

Do you have a Trader Joe's nearby? That helps enormously. There are online places to order too. But, there are so many recipes of easy and good stuff on this site - please do a search. spend a little bit of time here, arm yourself with information and good ideas, and you WILL be okay. I promise you. It is so lonely and bewildering at first, and it gets SO much easier and better. You will make it! You have to grieve the loss of normal, easy, don't-even-think-about-it foods, and then figure out what to do. There are gluten-free cooksbooks in the library also, check that out. You can order gluten-free cookbooks on half.com.

I hope that helps. Come to this board any time, we are all here and feel your pain!!

Hugs -

[Mongoose]

I am on month five or six of gluten-free and I am bored and confused. I live in a tiny town and the nearest support group is 100 miles away. If i eat another lunch of hummus and rice crackers or dinner of chicken and potatoes I may go insane.

It's really tough to be so busy and live in a tiny town!

If you can't get ready-made polenta locally, it's easy to make from cornmeal. If you can't get gluten free pasta, then try your pasta sauces over polenta instead. BTW, if you can find corn tortillas in your local grocery those might be gluten-free as well, so you can make tacos. If you use a taco seasoning mix just check the ingredients to make sure it's gluten-free.

Can you get squash or sweet potatoes? We've learned to use those in our diet to give us variety. They can be baked, boiled or microwaved just as regular potatoes can, and we mostly serve them just with margarine.

Hang in there! And best of luck with school!