Newbie Questions

[dzsmimma]

Good Morning,

As a newbie to a gluten-free diet, I'm hoping some of you can answer some of my questions.

1) I went to Whole Foods over the weekend and did some shopping. This morning I opened the Arrowhead Mills gluten-free Baking Mix and saw tiny little brown specs in it. Now if this had been my old traditional baking flour, I'd pitch it, but where it is made from alternative flours, could this be normal? I called Arrowhead Mills, but the very kind agent couldn't answer that question. I guess there was no one there who had actually used the product...go figure! She is sending me a coupon to get another box. So, for any of you who have used this product, are little brown specs just part of the grains used?

2) If you were going to buy one cookbook, which would it be. I've always done a lot of my own cooking, and really don't see where I have to change a lot. I use fresh ingredients most of the time. But, I do have a sweet tooth, as does my husband, and I will bake some goodies now and then. And of course, there are the sauces...anyone have a good recipe for a gluten-free Bernaisse sauce?

3) What online sources do you find to be the most economical? The specialty markets are all more than an hour from here, and until the seizures stop (how I learned about celiac), I can't drive.

4) Are any of you members of a food co-op? Do you find this membership to be helpful in finding your gluten-free products?

Any other info you have would be wonderful. My blood panel should be back today. Regardless of the outcome, I'll stick with the diet. Celiac is prevelant in my family (several cousins and probably my father). I was failure to thrive as a baby, and both my daughters have been diagnosed with IBS and one with psuedo-obstruction. And two years ago, I was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and started having unexplained seizures at the same time.

While visiting a fifth neurologist, he asked about wheat allergies and digestive disorders. I told him I knew we had digestive disorders, but didn't know about wheat allergies. When I learned it was Celiac I was bowled over. I always thought Celiac was a milk allergy...now it is all making sense.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing your responses.

Ann

PS...I started gluten-free eating on Saturday, and have lost 3 lbs. This is a good thing, as I've always battled my weight. When my stomach was upset, I'd eat crackers or toast. What a cycle!

[wolfie]

1) I went to Whole Foods over the weekend and did some shopping. This morning I opened the Arrowhead Mills gluten-free Baking Mix and saw tiny little brown specs in it. Now if this had been my old traditional baking flour, I'd pitch it, but where it is made from alternative flours, could this be normal? I called Arrowhead Mills, but the very kind agent couldn't answer that question. I guess there was no one there who had actually used the product...go figure! She is sending me a coupon to get another box. So, for any of you who have used this product, are little brown specs just part of the grains used?

What are the ingredients in this baking mix? I have one made by Pamela's that has almond meal in it and has brown specks in it. It sounds like it could be like that.

2) If you were going to buy one cookbook, which would it be. I've always done a lot of my own cooking, and really don't see where I have to change a lot. I use fresh ingredients most of the time. But, I do have a sweet tooth, as does my husband, and I will bake some goodies now and then. And of course, there are the sauces...anyone have a good recipe for a gluten-free Bernaisse sauce?

I love my 2 cookbooks by The Gluten-Free Gourmet. Bette Hagman is the author and she has written quite a few. Another great one that I like is Annalise Roberts...great recipes!

3) What online sources do you find to be the most economical? The specialty markets are all more than an hour from here, and until the seizures stop (how I learned about celiac), I can't drive.

amazon .com has a lot of choices for gluten-free stuff. The only downfall is that you usually have to order in bulk (6 at a time). They do offer some free shipping though, too.

4) Are any of you members of a food co-op? Do you find this membership to be helpful in finding your gluten-free products? n/a

I hope that this helps and that you get to feeling better soon!!!

[Ursa Major]

There are different possibilities for the brown specks. As Wolfie said, if there is almond flour in the mix, that could be it. If there is buckwheat in it, there definitely would be brown specks.

Since the gluten-free flour mixes aren't made from wheat, they will look different, and I imagine that brown specks are quite normal. If you list the ingredients we could probably tell you what they are.

There are many online sources of gluten-free foods, including the mother site to this board (you see all the categories listed on the left hand side, as well as the link to the store itself, which is the Celiac.com Store). You may have to do a Google search to find all the sources, and to compare prices. And take the price of shipping into account, as different companies charge different amounts for shipping.

Your weight loss is probably mostly water at this point, as you were likely bloated from the gluten. But it is definitely a good thing, and shows the diet is working. Just don't expect to keep losing at this rate. Once fat comes off (and it will, unless you eat too many gluten-free 'goodies') it wouldn't be healthy to be more than around one pound a week.

[dzsmimma]

Thank you Wolfie and Ursula,

That is interesting about the water weight and gluten.

The ingredients on the package are as follows:

Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour

Organic Potato Starch

Tapioca Starch

Baking Powder (Monocalcium Phospate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch)

Fava Bean Flour

Sea Salt

My guess is the specks are from the Brown Rice Flour and I shouldn't worry about it.

BTW: I bought a loaf of the gluten-free Prairie Bread while at Whole Foods. Is is delicous!!

Ann

[Ursa Major]

You're right, the brown specks are probably from the brown rice flour, they could also be from the bean flour. You just need to get used to your flour looking (and tasting) different from what you're used to. I'm glad you found some bread you like, many here take much longer than you to find something that doesn't taste like cardboard.