New To Celiac

[newg]

Hello! I just found out yesterday that I have Celiac Disease. I was wondering if I could get some help. What can I eat and not eat? I am trying to find a list of good foods and bad foods or some type of shopping list. I went to the store and it takes forever to read all those labels...and only be able to purchase less than half of the items that I look at! Also, andy tips for eating out? What are the good places to eat that have gluten/wheat free items? Thanks for the ideas?

[Ursa Major]

Hi, and welcome to this board. I'll make this short, as it's late and I have a migraine. Others will post more tomorrow (or today, I should say). One of our members, Nini, has put together what she calls a 'newbie survival kit', which is invaluable for people new to celiac disease. Here is the link to her website (scroll down to the bottom to find the links): Open Original Shared Link

It isn't easy, but not as hard as many people think. You can still eat lots of different foods.

[Nooner]

Welcome, newg!

You'll find lots of help here. Print out the lists of safe and forbidden foods on the parent site, Open Original Shared Link. Scroll about halfway down the page, under Celiac.com Site Index. It all seems overwhelming at first, but it gets easier.

[Susanna]

Hey, Newg--Welcome to our world. OK, so this is a new thing for you--Know that it will seem overwhelming at first. You will feel isolated. You will grieve your old favorite foods. This is all normal. The good news is: it gets better! The bad news is: it takes time (probably months, while you figure out what you can eat and you adjust to the diet and your gut heals). Don't expect to feel immediately better right after you start the gluten-free diet--most of us take months to feel better. Know that you will have to teach your people around you what it means (the general public has no clue about this disorder). For me, the first 4 mos. were the worst, while I figured out what I could eat, then after about 6 mos. of gluten free, it got a LOT easier.

Here are some ideas for meals:

1. Breakfast: Eggs, rice hot cereal, peanut butter on toast (lots of the loaves of gluten-free bread, which you can find at the health food store, are not delicious, but most of them are OK toasted), Fruity Pebbles, handful of raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds and a glass of OJ. Most of the gluten-free bread mixes that you find are pretty good, and easy to make in a bread machine.

2. Lunch: Rice cakes with peanut butter and jam (or almond butter, cashew butter) or cold cuts. Lettuce wrap with cheese and veggies, bowl of cottage cheese with cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, many Progresso soups are gluten-free, fruit, nuts, leftovers from some yummy gluten-free thing you made last night. Dinty Moore beef stew and chicken and rice are gluten-free and don't need to be refridgerated--great for keeping in your desk at work.

3. Dinner: rice with can of Progresson cream of mushroom soup, with your favorite beans (I like cannelini) stirred in., black bean tacos with corn tortillas, cheese, salsa and sour cream. At our house, we love omelets for dinner (chili omelet is my fave--find a can of gluten-free chili at the health food store), split pea soup and gluten-free bread from a mix made in the bread machine. Spaghetti sauce, with tofu whisked in, served over gluten-free pasta is great. Amy's Rice Crust cheese pizza--I found it at Fry's (Kroger's), and at the health food store. Amy's brand has lots of gluten-free frozen dinners--black bean enchiladas, and rice and black eye pea bowl, etc.

4. Snacks: Zone Bars (many, but not all, varieties are gluten-free--I like the Fudge Graham, Chocolate Almond Raisin, and Chocolate Coconut crunch), Bliss Bars, Lara Bars, nuts, fruit, dried fruit, candy (many are gluten-free--here are some of my faves--Snicker Bar, Baby Ruth, Butter Finger, Reeses, Hershey milk or dark choc bar, Hot Tamales, etc), Frito corn chips, Cheetos, popcorn, tortilla chips and salsa.

5. Restaurants: several chain restaurants have gluten-free menus, but you have to ask for them: Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Changs. When out to Mexican, I order chicken tacos, or bean tostada. At a diner, I can always get an omlette. I avoid Chinese and Italian--just too hard to avoid the gluten in those. If I can't take the muffin that comes with the breakfast, I ask for fresh fruit for a substitution, and have never had the staff object.

Hang in there, nurture your body, calmly but clearly and persistently educate the people around you about this--Know that even the ones who love you the most will not figure out your diet on their own--it is YOUR job to teach them, not their job to figure it out. If they care about you, they will come around. If they don't come around, hmmm, maybe it's time to move on from friends like that.

Check the cooking/baking/recipes thread for other great ideas on what to eat. One thing that REALLY helped me initially with my feelings of deprivation and isolation was stashing delicious snacks (OK, Baby Ruth Bars) in my desk at work, in my purse, in my glove compartment, and at home. Then when people around me were enjoying a treat I couldn't have, I'd just access my stash and have a happy snack.

I swear, this gets easier--Good Luck!