Newbie And Need Some Food Suggestions

[CanadianGal]

Hi. I am new to this site and new to a glutine free diet. I've found some foods that I can eat but it's still a learning process and I'd like to expand my food selection on a glutine free diet. I am wondering if anyone eats Quaker rice cakes (made with whole grain brown rice) and whether or not this would be glutine free? Mixed nuts? Also how about condiments..anything I should avoid? Mayo? Also any other food suggestions would be great. I haven't had much luck finding alot of labeled "glutine free" products at my grocery store so I'm trying to learn what ingredients to keep an eye out for when buying products that aren't labeled "glutine-free". Thanks!

[rinne]

Hi Canadian Gal, I'm from Winnipeg, what part of the country are you from?

Welcome to the forum, it is a great place with wonderful people who are very supportive. I am new to all of this too and the gluten free learning curve is a steep one. I have been very ill and find that I do best on simple foods which makes it easier - minimal labels to read. There is a store in Winnipeg which is all gluten free products and I did go once and bought some treats but found they caused me pain and I realized I was having problems with other foods.

If you would be willing to share how you were diagnosed I would be interested in hearing.

[eKatherine]

  CanadianGal said:

Hi. I am new to this site and new to a glutine free diet. I've found some foods that I can eat but it's still a learning process and I'd like to expand my food selection on a glutine free diet. I am wondering if anyone eats Quaker rice cakes (made with whole grain brown rice) and whether or not this would be glutine free? Mixed nuts? Also how about condiments..anything I should avoid? Mayo? Also any other food suggestions would be great. I haven't had much luck finding alot of labeled "glutine free" products at my grocery store so I'm trying to learn what ingredients to keep an eye out for when buying products that aren't labeled "glutine-free". Thanks!

I don't have a huge amount of suggestions for you, aside from recommending that you prepare as much food from scratch as possible like I do. Quaker rice cakes are definitely out. They say on the label that they are made in a facility where wheat is used, etc, and if you call them they will tell you they are not safe.

[lpellegr]

The simplest thing is to eat stuff that isn't bread-like anyway - stick to meat, eggs, vegetables, rice, potatoes, fruit, cheese. Instead of searching out expensive and elusive gluten-free substitutes for cereal and bagels switch to cottage cheese and fruit or ham and cheese omelets for breakfast. Roll up your sandwich fillings (lunchmeat and cheese, look up gluten-free brands like Kraft and Oscar Mayer) and eat them without bread, or put tuna salad or peanut butter on celery or in a bowl. Have a bowl of Bush beans for lunch with some fruit. Have a baked potato with broccoli and cheese for dinner. Have a hamburger with no bun. Eat like you're on South Beach or Atkins while you're starting to find out what's safe and where all the bread substitutes are in your area. You might actually eat healthier if you leave out all the bread-type things anyway. This forum is a great place to get information - you can look up almost anything and if you ask a question about a food, someone almost always has an answer. In time this will get easier - still frustrating and annoying, but easier. Don't expect things in your grocery store to be labeled gluten-free. Don't expect your doctor or nutritionist to give you correct info. Go to the bookstore or library and find cookbooks like the Gluten-Free Gourmet series and authors like Connie Sarros, Jax Peters Lowell, and Shelley Case - that's where you'll find the best information on what to avoid and what to look for on labels. And from what I've seen on this forum, don't eat the Quaker rice cakes - they will have cross-contamination. Use Mission corn tortillas for sandwiches or spreads. Nuts are good, just check the labels for things to avoid (like soy sauce - almost all soy sauces used to season foods have wheat in them). In the US, you can safely use Hellman's mayo, Heinz ketchup, Gulden's brown mustard. Search this forum - lots of suggestions. And there are lists here on Celiac.com of things to avoid - start with that. Good luck. We're here to help you.

[wolfie]

You have gotten some great advice here already! One thing I can add is that is you do want some safe rice cakes, try Lundberg, they are even labeled "Gluten-free". I haven't had any issues with them at all. Also, you could use romaine or green lettuce leaves to roll up sandwich fillings like tuna, chicken or egg salad. I just had a tuna lettuce wrap today with a slice of turkey bacon.

Good luck! There is tons to learn here.

[CanadianGal]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice and suggestions. I just joined this site but I love it already. Everyone here is so friendly and helpful

[Canadian Karen]

Canadiangal,

If you PM nini, she has a newbie package that is essential and immensely helpful!

Also, although I believe that nini has it included in her newbie package, in case you don't get her for awhile, I will give you the link for the delphi list.

The delphi list is a list of gluten free items that are mainstream and safe for us (you will be amazed at the choices we still have) The best thing about this list is that it comes in convenient categories that make it very easy to find what you are looking for very quickly (which is great when you are in the middle of the supermarket aisle with four children and two carts!!!!! LOL! You can't exactly read labels in comfort that way!)

Go to: Open Original Shared Link

On the left hand side click on "Health and Wellness" then click on "Celiac Disease Support Group"

You will need to register but it is free and it is SOOOO worth it!

Once you are in the celiac forum, scroll down to where it says "Gluten Free Products List" and click on that.

The list will come up all categorized. There is American and Canadian both mixed in there, so make sure you read carefully.......

Also, you will learn to absolutely LOVE Kraft! I trust them immensely. They will ALWAYS list any gluten ingredients on their items......

Although the delphi food list is the best that I know of, when it comes to support and friendship, nothing beats this board! The people here are amazing!

Hope this helps!

Karen