Need Help With Diet!

[2tired]

I was diagnosed with Celiac last Nov. Since then as of today I have lost 50 lbs. I am only 5'1" and am beginning to look anorexic. People are telling me that I am to skinny. I have always been a picky eater and having to cut out all gluten and wheat has really made it rough on me. I am trying to eat all that I can, but my stomach has grown up. Also, I live on disability and cannot afford to buy gluten free foods from health food stores, and there is only 1 health food store where I live and it does not have alot to offer. I eat alot of salads, rice and tomatoes, hamburger patties, steaks, some vegetables. I would appreciates any suggestions that anyone has.

Thanks,

[AndreaB]

Can you tolerate potatoes? How about nuts or nut butters (almond, cashew, sesame, walnuts, pecans, peanut) Sesame butter (Joyva brand) is very good as a salad dressing too. I'd be glad to give you the recipe. Nuts would add some fat that you need and potatoes have been known to help. Also avocados. Can't think of anything else right now.

[daffadilly]

can you eat dairy? rice is a good stay with you food, baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar & butter on them, hershey chocolate bar? ,

scrambled eggs with rice & cheese

I do not buy gluten-free foods except for Lundberg rice chips, I just eat regular food.

when I could eat cheese, I would bake it with cooked rice like a macaroni & cheese - it was really good & fattening.

Pinto beans & rice are cheap & good & filling, make a pan of corn bread to go with it - just use corn flour to replace the wheat flour in a regular recipe, no other substitutions necessary. Corn flour is inexpensive & you can keep in the freezer for ever. OR you can take some corn meal & put in food processor or blender & grind it up some more to a finer texture & just use that. It is really hard to ruin corn bread.

White corn tortillas are cheap (at least in Texas) and filling.

do like they do to fatten up the summo wrestlers, eat a meal & take a nap!!!! & be sure to have ice cream or something before going to bed!!! & exercise a little bit to work up an appetite

[Rachel--24]

I know how you feel. I got down to only 94 lbs. and looked way too skinny. Its been over a year for me and just in the past few months I've gained quite a bit. I lost 25 lbs. to begin with and I've gained almost 20 lbs. back now.

Can you bake your own goodies? There are alot of gluten-free recipes out there. You can make pancakes, cookies, lots of yummy fattening treats if you can tolerate them. Do you eat yams, nut butters, avocados??? Those can also help you gain a little. Also all the stuff previously mentioned. Ice cream is the best if you can tolerate dairy. Lots of rice, corn tortillas...those will definately help.

Good luck.

[taz sharratt]

I was diagnosed with Celiac last Nov. Since then as of today I have lost 50 lbs. I am only 5'1" and am beginning to look anorexic. People are telling me that I am to skinny. I have always been a picky eater and having to cut out all gluten and wheat has really made it rough on me. I am trying to eat all that I can, but my stomach has grown up. Also, I live on disability and cannot afford to buy gluten free foods from health food stores, and there is only 1 health food store where I live and it does not have alot to offer. I eat alot of salads, rice and tomatoes, hamburger patties, steaks, some vegetables. I would appreciates any suggestions that anyone has.

Thanks,

some high fat food, chocolate and crisps. high protien food will also help as it did with me. lots of ommletts.

[Guest Ang]

2tired,

Here's my newest trick. I put a few pepperoni slices and some grated cheese on a small corn tortilla, then quickly broil it. I roll it like a wrap, and it's the closest thing I've found to pizza. I guess I'm bland, I don't really need all the sauce and fixings...this just tastes good and fills me up. I usually eat 3 of these with a salad on the side, if it's dinner. It's cheap and easy, and even my 6 year old daughter loves them.

Angie

[Guest nini]

if you are on disability, do you qualify for food stamps? You very well might, and if you do a lot of the health food stores accept food stamps so that you can get some of the gluten-free staples like bread, crackers and cereal.

Otherwise, stick with foods that are naturally gluten-free. I do a lot with corn tortillas, corn chips, rice, and potatoes... Plain meats, tuna fish, peanut butter, corn, fruit (make smoothies in between meals to add some calories to your diet)

[ravenwoodglass]

If you can tolerate dairy or another form of milk (almond or rice or soy) something that helped my family put weight back on was Carnation Instant Breakfast powder. I even mixed it in my coffee at first instead of creamer. A milkshake every night helped me maintain a steady weight. Just make sure it is not the ready to drink, that is not safe, and make sure you don't get chocolate malt but all other powdered flavors are safe.

[2tired]

Thanks everyone for your replies. They have been helpful. I can tolerate dairy. I have a milkshake everyday and that helps some, but it gets old. I eat canned potatoes that are diced which are o.k. I eat rice and tomatoes some. I am going to have to try the rice with the cheddar cheese. I really miss my mac and cheese. The thing I miss the most is my bread and crackers. I cannot afford to pay 6.00 for a loaf of bread, and I have not found any crack that resemble what I remember as being a real cracker. I do get some food stamps, but not enough to afford gluten food. It is embarrasing to say, but I do not know how to cook, I am very limited as to what I can cook. That was something that I was never interested in learning how to do. With a microwave, as long as there was Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice I was o.k. or so I thought. Well, I am having to rethink. I will take your suggestions and see what I can come up with.

[daffadilly]

2tired, this is the way i cook my rice. Put a cup of rice in a round casserole dish, one of those bowls that has a glass lid, rinse the rice a couple of times, drain off the water, then put two cups of water in with the rice, some salt & put a papertowel over the top & then the glass lid, put in the microwave & cook for 10 minutes, I turn my bowl & then cook for another 10 minutes. You might have to adjust the time depending on your microwave, but mine turns out perfect everytime. (the papertowel, I use bounty, keeps the water from bubbling all out of the casserole)

cooked rice will keep in a baggie in the refrigerator or you can freeze it in portion sizes.

In Louisiana, they just leave it sit at room temperature, they do not even put it in the refrigerator!!!!

To make stir fried rice you always want to use left over rice from the refrig or freezer. I do not know why this works better but it does.

check the recipe section for cooking stuff, one thing about the gluten-free recipes everyone usually gives detailed specific instructions that are easy to follow.

sometimes people that do not already have a skill learn to be better than the ones that take it for granted.

I just took a wonderful cooking class that was all gluten free, by accident, the class was on wild salmon, wow they even used it in rice paper wraps!!!

[daffadilly]

Just thought I would mention that velveeta cheese is gluten-free & goes good with the rice & cheese. Just take some cooked rice & chop up some cheese mix together, heat in microwave a couple minutes & stir up & maybe heat a little more. You can add veggies to this for dinner & any left over meat.

sometimes if I am adding left over meat, like chicken, I do not like the taste after it has been reheated in the microwave, so I just lay it on top of the hot food on my plate & that is enough to warm it up.

You can also take some cooked rice, add a can of tuna, stir up, top with some cheese, any kind, & cook in the microwave - this makes a filling fast meal. If you want to get fancy you can saute onions, celery, & bell pepper to add to it. either way it is good

[tarnalberry]

I had a friend mention that she was tired of not knowing how to cook and was thinking about finding community center classes that taught cooking. I told her "don't bother giving them your money, I can teach you the basics!". So I'm teaching her how to cook some of the basics. Consider asking a friend, or looking into a community center, for classes on how to cook. The easy stuff is easy, can save you money, and doesn't have to take more than half an hour - even if it's from scratch. It may require that you get a little creative with your thinking, but that can be learned with practice.

[Gillian]

Thanks everyone for your replies. They have been helpful. I can tolerate dairy. I have a milkshake everyday and that helps some, but it gets old. I eat canned potatoes that are diced which are o.k. I eat rice and tomatoes some. I am going to have to try the rice with the cheddar cheese. I really miss my mac and cheese. The thing I miss the most is my bread and crackers. I cannot afford to pay 6.00 for a loaf of bread, and I have not found any crack that resemble what I remember as being a real cracker. I do get some food stamps, but not enough to afford gluten food. It is embarrasing to say, but I do not know how to cook, I am very limited as to what I can cook. That was something that I was never interested in learning how to do. With a microwave, as long as there was Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice I was o.k. or so I thought. Well, I am having to rethink. I will take your suggestions and see what I can come up with.

I used to buy the gluten-free breads etc but have pretty much given up. Now I substitute rice, bananas, potatoes, etc. Is there a chinese food store near you? They have a lot of rice products that are pretty cheap - reice crackers, rices sheets, etc. I also find rice pasta at my local grocery store. Much cheaper than the health food stores, and better, too