Vegetarian With Celiac Disease

[Kellygirl]

Hi all,

Apparently this is what is wrong with me, for years I have be sick and diagnosed with everything from IBS to Fybromyaligia. FINAL they have done a test that confirms this disease.

NOW WHAT,

Seriously I am a really healthy person, don't drink, smoke or do drugs, don't eat fast food or junk food. Now and again I will have a piece of chocolate. This should be an easy thing for me to tackle BECAUSE I am so regimented, but the truth is I am getting so frustrated. What in gods name does anyone eat. I have been gluten free for a week and I am STARVING. I don't eat meat and I have a lactose intolerance. I love to cook but I am stuck with veggie stir fry or bean soup and a baked potato and the wonderful but not so filling SALAD that I eat everyday for lunch.

Yes I am a little dramatic but really did anyone go to the shops to see how much gluten free food cost. I am shocked, a bag of waffle mix that was $10 and it isn't even FAT FREE.

Now my question is this;

Does anyone have any low fat, meat free, lactose free, gluten free recipies they can share with me. Call me silly for being worried about the fat in the food I eat, but really what is the sense in taking care of this disease if I die of a heart attack because the food I am eating is high in fat.

I appreciate any information and thank you all in advance. Sorry if I come off as a cranky gal, right now I am because my life in so out of order.

[hathor]

Recipes, recipes, do I have recipes. First of all, check

Open Original Shared Link

Plenty of fat free vegan recipes you can find on the regular site, in most of Dr. McDougall's books, in Dr. Esselstyn's latest book, and so on are gluten-free, too, or they can be converted to be that way. Use a gluten-free pasta, for instance, or sub a different grain. On Dr. McDougall's web site, www.drmcdougall.com, you can have free access to past newsletters also that have plenty of recipes. People also post ideas on his message board. There is a subforum for those of us who are gluten-free.

There are lots of vegan recipe sites out there, too. One of my favorites, because everything I've tried has worked out, is www.vegsource.com/marla It isn't all gluten-free, but is largely convertable, I think. It is low fat.

An online cookbook that is vegan and largely gluten-free is Open Original Shared Link

I also have a couple paper cookbooks with possibilities:

Food Allergy Survival Guide (all the recipes are vegan)

The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen

Really, you can convert many higher fat vegan recipes to low fat too. You can saute in water, wine, veggie broth, etc. instead of oil. You use applesauce or some other sub for fat in baking. The Yahoo group Open Original Shared Link has lots of recipes. You just may need to cut the fat.

Once you start expanding your horizon, you will find that there are more possibilities out there than you can even try. Heck, I have to avoid egg, soy, & yeast also but I have no problems coming up with variety ... at least at home. There are all sorts of different kinds of gluten-free pastas -- brown rice, white rice, buckwheat (make sure it is 100% buckwheat), corn, quinoa, potato. Plenty of dishes based on potatoes, sweet potatoes, or winter squashes. A number of gluten-free grains -- rices, wild rice, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, etc. There's corn -- which gives you polenta. Lots of legumes -- soy, peanuts -- well, I have problems with these two but you don't indicate you do -- beans, peas, split peas, lentils. If you can have soy, there is tofu (some is lower fat) and tempeh, too.

I hope this will get you started. Even though I have lots of recipes, this doesn't mean I don't make stuff up. I have a baked risotto recipe (I posted on the McDougall recipe subforum) that I can add any veggies & seasonings to I want. I will make some pasta & put any number of veggies and/or beans on top. I cut up Yukon Gold potatoes or ready-made polenta (the tubed kind) and put pasta sauce on top. I make rice or quinoa and mix in assorted things. Really, if you spice things up differently, it can be like a different dish.

[RiceGuy]

I would agree with what hathor stated. Brown rice, millet, and kasha (roasted buckwheat) are just a few of the things I rely on. Also lentils, tofu, and other beans make a great base for tasty meals. I generally combine various grains and such together.

I make all my food from scratch, and I don't buy pre-made mixes either. Once you take a look at bunch of gluten-free recipes, you'll have a better idea what types of flours you'll want to obtain.

[cyberprof]

Hi Kelly, no need to apologize for being "cranky".

I'm not veggie but try the blog of the gluten-free goddess. Karina is veggie but her recipies are to die for AND she is too cool for words. Very helpful to the new celiac in terms of cooking. Open Original Shared Link

Good luck!

~Laura

Hi all,

Apparently this is what is wrong with me, for years I have be sick and diagnosed with everything from IBS to Fybromyaligia. FINAL they have done a test that confirms this disease.

NOW WHAT,

Seriously I am a really healthy person, don't drink, smoke or do drugs, don't eat fast food or junk food. Now and again I will have a piece of chocolate. This should be an easy thing for me to tackle BECAUSE I am so regimented, but the truth is I am getting so frustrated. What in gods name does anyone eat. I have been gluten free for a week and I am STARVING. I don't eat meat and I have a lactose intolerance. I love to cook but I am stuck with veggie stir fry or bean soup and a baked potato and the wonderful but not so filling SALAD that I eat everyday for lunch.

Yes I am a little dramatic but really did anyone go to the shops to see how much gluten free food cost. I am shocked, a bag of waffle mix that was $10 and it isn't even FAT FREE.

Now my question is this;

Does anyone have any low fat, meat free, lactose free, gluten free recipies they can share with me. Call me silly for being worried about the fat in the food I eat, but really what is the sense in taking care of this disease if I die of a heart attack because the food I am eating is high in fat.

I appreciate any information and thank you all in advance. Sorry if I come off as a cranky gal, right now I am because my life in so out of order.

[Teacher1958]

Hi,

Small world. I am in the process of being diagnosed (there's really no doubt), and I am a vegetarian (lacto-ovo), too. I've been gluten free for almost a month now. I'm 49 and can look clear back to age 7 when I was hospitalized and diagnosed as having a "nervous stomach." Since then, I have been diagnosed with IBS, an ulcer (I don't know how the diagnosis was made, as no ulcer was ever actually found), fibromyalgia (October 2006), ADD, multiple allergies, high cholesterol, and depression. In addition, I went into labor with my son at 32 weeks gestation, stayed in the hospital a month on some wicked medications, and gave birth at 36 weeks (my son is 18 years old and doing fine). There was no explanation for the early labor, but from what I've read, it was likely the gluten. All of my life, I have been a very low energy person and had trouble getting motivated to do ordinary household tasks and keep organized at work. Somehow I've managed to be a pretty good teacher, though, and a good mom. I think that's where I've focused the little energy I had.

Since signing off of gluten, my ADD is pretty much gone, and for the first time in my life, I am finding out all sorts of things about the way a normal brain works. It is fascinating, and I am keeping a journal so I don't forget. The spacyness for which I have been known all of my life is gone, I am happier, and I feel so alert. For the first time in my life I can sit down and eat a meal and not have rumblings, gas, or worse. I went off of my cholesterol drug at the same time I gave up wheat (the doctor thought I might be reacting to the Vitorin when my "IBS" symptoms got worse). I asked to have a blood test before going back on the cholesterol medication, and since giving up wheat, I no longer have high cholesterol!!! My doctor is totally perplexed, but I had a hunch, and I was correct.

Now to your question. I have read that part of the severe hunger is the reaction of the body to finally being able to absorb nutrients. Your body is getting what it wants and craves more of the same. The hunger will supposedly lessen eventually. The gluten free foods are expensive. I'm in a suburban/urban area in Ohio, and so far, the most reasonably priced gluten free foods are at Trader Joe's, which is just up the street from me. They actually put out a list of all of their gluten free foods and are very knowledgeable about the diet. I have gone to a food coop that is very expensive. There are a couple of health food stores that are pretty reasonable, but I am not on a limited income, so I don't know if I am a good judge of it.

When I start summer vacation in a few weeks, I am going to start experimenting with gluten free recipes. In the meantime, I am eating gluten free bagels (very good), hummus and gluten free corn chips (only one store brand of hummus is "safe," meaning that it wasn't prepared on machinery that processed wheat), yogurt with gluten free granola (hard to find), cheese sticks, lots of fruits and vegetables, almonds, and walnuts. In addition, my husband has prepared a few common entrees- lasagna, gluten free corn tortillas, and stir fried veggies with tofu. Eating in restaurants is really rough, and we normally eat out a lot. Fruit salads are a pretty safe bet as long as someone doesn't contaminate the salad by adding a muffin on the side. I'd say Chinese restaurants have the most potential, as they don't use too much wheat, but for the time being, restaurants make me really nervous.

Ironically, while we were on vacation recently in the San Francisco Bay area, we ate at a gluten free vegan restaurant called I am Grateful, which used a lot of ingredients with which I am just beginning to become familiar and will try this summer. They have a cookbook called I Am Grateful, which is available on amazon .com. At the time, I couldn't figure out why this place didn't serve wheat. Within two weeks, I was on a gluten free diet. Isn't life strange?

I recommend the book Living Gluten Free For Dummies. Even though it doesn't have a lot of recipes for vegetarians, it is a real good guide to locating ingredients that are safe. It also warns against using too many gluten free products that are not very nutritious. The author highly recommends making foods from scratch and freezing them. I also purchased The Gluten-Free Bible: The Thoroughly Indispensable Guide to Negotiating Life without Wheat. I haven't looked at that one yet, so I don't know if it's good or not.

Well, I'm getting long winded here, so I will close. Have a nice weekend.

[Pacer]

Hi - I am saving this thread. I am also a veg . Not a celiac, but just as bad, I run a veg household with a husband (dx 1999) and 2 young children who have been veg up til now. I have gone gluten-free in solidarity with my kids, and we are all struggling.

I am SO distraught about the whole thing. in fact there is some hope of trying to be able to get my younger guy (6) to eat fish. It kills me, but he needs food. For someone who eats meat, celiac is really no big deal. For a vegetarian, it's a horribly cruel irony. (sorry - drama here too)

So, can you take a lactaid pill and east some cheese? Even if that's a band-aid solution for a little while? The only resource that hasn't been mentioned is the vegiac.com website, but I tried signing on to post on their boards and my password never really worked.

Good luck everyone -- and congrats to those of you who had your recent DX and are starting to live life finally. HEIDI

[mandasmom]

Hi - I am saving this thread. I am also a veg . Not a celiac, but just as bad, I run a veg household with a husband (dx 1999) and 2 young children who have been veg up til now. I have gone gluten-free in solidarity with my kids, and we are all struggling.

I am SO distraught about the whole thing. in fact there is some hope of trying to be able to get my younger guy (6) to eat fish. It kills me, but he needs food. For someone who eats meat, celiac is really no big deal. For a vegetarian, it's a horribly cruel irony. (sorry - drama here too)

So, can you take a lactaid pill and east some cheese? Even if that's a band-aid solution for a little while? The only resource that hasn't been mentioned is the vegiac.com website, but I tried signing on to post on their boards and my password never really worked.

Good luck everyone -- and congrats to those of you who had your recent DX and are starting to live life finally. HEIDI

Be super careful of chinese restaurants--soy souce is make of wheat (whod think of that) --there are many gluten-free brands but those are not generally used in the restuarant business...Vegiacs do rally well on beans..lots f fiber and protien..Stay well

[zkat]

I am not a vegatarian, but I have a great, simple recipe. Spagetti squash with marinara sauce.

It is so easy and I like it much better than the rice pastas. Just slice the squash in half and bake in the oven at 400 until the outer skin is soft. Usually about 30 min. or so. When it is done, scoop the insides out-it makes long strands like spagetti. Cover with your favorite marinara sauce. It will usually make a couple of meals and it is one of my favorites.

[super-sally888]

Hi,

I am not vegetarian, but would like to say somethiung about the low fat.... maybe you need to consider adding more fat to your diet (healthy fats)..... fat is not bad (except for the transfat, processed types)... in and of itself, is critical for healthy immune system and hormone production, and for satiety. Healthy fats are found in nuts, olives, avocados, coconut oil, etc.

Try to check out the Weston A Price website. It has completely change how I look at fat.

Sally