Normal Food Suggestions

[cookie22]

I have found in restaurants with waiters/waitresses that don't give a crap about their job and think we are all head cases I just say "I have a SEVERE allergy to Gluten and it's not just an allergy it's also a disease" then they sometimes take pity on you. i hate to pull that route but I found it sometimes works. Also I have learned if you don't have a good feeling on the "i don't think they get my allergy" WALK OUT AND DON'T EAT THERE!

If they have no idea what gluten is or what celiac is, I lie, keep things vauge, and give them the impression that i will go into anaphylactic shock or something very big and exciting will happen if they screw things up, and send things back if it even looks funny. 9 times out of 10 i don't have a problem. I always speak to the manager, not the server. The more upscale the place the more willing they are to please. And, you have to say restricted MEDICAL diet, not just restricted diet, because they think we're all on atkins lol. Really, giving them the impression that you'll cause a big scene and scare the other customers usually works great for me. but, I completely agree with you, if you dont' think someplace is safe, leave!

[melrobsings]

Wow, i HAVE to try that! thanks so much for the idea, sadly i never thought to take it that far! muah!

[Guest micah]

I just found this website with some "normal" gluten free food choices. Thought it might help. It's at Open Original Shared Link

The following ConAgra Foods products do not include gluten from

wheat, barley, rye or oats as ingredients, either listed

specifically on the label nor in spices or flavorings.

In addition, these products have tested negative for

gluten at less than 5 parts per million (ppm) using

standard industry testing methodology (R-Biopharm AG Rida

Quick Gliadin R7003 immunochromatographic test). ConAgra

Foods lists major

allergens,including wheat, prominently on all product labels.

As product formulations do occasionally change, always

check product labels.

Hunt's Tomatoes Ketchup 27000 38249

Hunt's Tomatoes Sauce 27000 39014

Hunt's Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce 27000 44110

Hunt's Tomato Paste 27000 38815

Hunt's Original Style Traditional Spaghetti Sauce 27000 42238

Hunt's Original BBQ Sauce, 18oz 27000 38508

Hunt's Snack Pack Chocolate Pudding, 4/3.5 oz 27000 41110

Van Camp's Pork & Beans 52000 01122

Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix 15700 07279

Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter 45300 00040

Gulden's Mustard Spicy Brown Mustard Squeeze 64144 32160

Healthy Choice Country Vegetable Soup 50100 40262

La Choy Soy Sauce, 15 oz 44300 12511

La Choy Soy Sauce, 10 oz 44300 12513

Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes, 10 oz 64144 28243

SNACK

Orville Redenbacher's Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn 27000

48606

Orville Redenbacher's Pour Over Cinnabon Microwave Popcorn 2ct

27000 48171

Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Korn 3/3.5 oz 27000 48393

Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop! Kettle Korn 3/3 oz 27000 48223

Orville Redenbacher's Butter 3/3.5 oz 27000 48856

ACT II Butter Lover's Microwave Popcorn, 3/3.5 oz 76150 47310

ACT II Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn, 3/3.5 oz 76150 22402

FROZEN

Healthy Choice Cajun Style Chicken and Shrimp 72655 40731

Healthy Choice Grilled Turkey Breast 50100 40803

Healthy Choice Country Glazed Chicken 50100 40654

Healthy Choice Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream 72655 40859

Healthy Choice Premium Fudge Bars 94643 41727

Healthy Choice Vanilla No Sugar Added Ice Cream, 1.75qts 72655

40853

Healthy Choice Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk, 1.75qts 72655 40845

Healthy Choice Mint Chocolate Chip, 1.75qts 72655 40849

Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken Breast and Rice 21131 50608

Banquet Sliced Beef Meal 31000 10910

Banquet Creamy Broccoli Chicken & Cheese, Family Size 31000 11347

REFRIGERATED

Reddi Wip Original Whipped Light Cream, 14 oz 70272 48104

Reddi Wip Original Whipped Light Cream, 7 oz 70272 48101

Fleischmann's Original Margarine Stick 298310

Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine Sticks, 16 oz 298370

Parkay Butter Squeeze, 12 oz 29000 65150

Blue Bonnet Regular Margarine Quarters 298220

Egg Beaters Cheese & Chive 70272 00273

Egg Beaters Southwestern 70272 00270

Egg Beaters Refrigerated Egg Product with Spout, 16 oz 70272 00216

Egg Beaters Refrigerated Egg Product in Cups 29000 00215

Butterball White Turkey Smoked Family Size 45300 24120

[24years free]

I have searched his website and many others for a list of "normal" gluten free food. What ice cream can I eat, cereal, hamburger helper, popcorn, potatoe chips, etc? I keep buying these gluten substitutes that are really expensive such as last night we had a gluten free beef stroganoff mix that I could only get a few bites down. It was disgusting! I don't want to have to cook all of my food or feel like I have to eat special food all of the time. I just want a few "normal" suggestions.

If this has already been a topic, you could just send me to a link and that would be just as helpful.

Also, totally unrelated...

I am a newly diagnosed celiac. Does anyone else have a sensitivity about it being a "disease"? When I have to tell people why I am not eating the same foods as them, I just say that I have a gluten allergy and that seems to go over well. When I say that I have celiac disease it requires a great deal of explanation and just makes me feel like I am diseased. I avoid the word at all costs. Anyone else?

Its been 24 years now and when I started, there were only rice crackers, so we have come a long way! Some of my favorites are Progresso Soups, Ol El Paso soups, Gluten Free Pantry "helpers", and Stagg chili. I like Breyers slow churned ice cream (read the label) and Kettle chips (again read label), read the label everytime you buy a product, even if you bought it last week. Don't worry, some food you find disgusting now will taste good a few years down the road! And EVERYONE go to Living Without.com and order their Gluten Free Dining Cards. I have had the chef come out and discuss my needs with me. There are lots of mainstream foods now that we can eat modified food starch (US ONLY) Don't be afraid, and if you have any questions, call the toll free number on the product and ASK. By the way if you are having trouble finding Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup, you can order it from the company, I get 12 cans at a time.

[JNBunnie1]

I just found this website with some "normal" gluten free food choices. Thought it might help. It's at Open Original Shared Link

The following ConAgra Foods products do not include gluten from

wheat, barley, rye or oats as ingredients, either listed

specifically on the label nor in spices or flavorings.

In addition, these products have tested negative for

gluten at less than 5 parts per million (ppm) using

standard industry testing methodology (R-Biopharm AG Rida

Quick Gliadin R7003 immunochromatographic test). ConAgra

Foods lists major

allergens,including wheat, prominently on all product labels.

As product formulations do occasionally change, always

check product labels.

Hunt's Tomatoes Ketchup 27000 38249

Hunt's Tomatoes Sauce 27000 39014

Hunt's Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce 27000 44110

Hunt's Tomato Paste 27000 38815

Hunt's Original Style Traditional Spaghetti Sauce 27000 42238

On the Hunt's website it says that they use distilled vinegar for the ketchup, so they won't claim it gluten-free. Should I still avoid it, how long ago was this test done?

[mamaw]

Someone mentioned a few threads back about Sam's rotiss. chicken still containing wheat. I checked & it does not caontain wheat or gluten any longer. I used to only buy at Costco's. I think Sam's figured they had better step-up to conform or compete with Costco's....

Our label now reads no gluten from our local Sam's

mamaw

[Suffering in Ohio]

Thank you everyone for your responses to this post and others. I have found them so helpful. I am starting to find my staple items and branch off of those. I have a life like most others, work, exercise, family and maintaining a home so my time is limited. That was the part that threw me off. I am making the time because I realize how important it is. I was cheating on some occasions but it seems like the more gluten-free I am, the more I can tell when I've been glutened. It is quickly becoming not worth it. Now the next problems seem to be that our grocery bill went from $80/week to $120/week. That was unexpected and I feel guilty burdening my family that way. I also am having trouble with knowing all ingredients that contain gluten. I have been sitting down each day and reading through this website. Has anyone ever created a document that consolidates all of the suggestions here? We really should create a wiki that people could add to when it comes to great suggestions, ingredients to avoid vs. safe, etc.

I am slowly getting my health and eating habits onto the right path. I realize the importance.

[7-cody]

Thank you everyone for your responses to this post and others. I have found them so helpful. I am starting to find my staple items and branch off of those. I have a life like most others, work, exercise, family and maintaining a home so my time is limited. That was the part that threw me off. I am making the time because I realize how important it is. I was cheating on some occasions but it seems like the more gluten-free I am, the more I can tell when I've been glutened. It is quickly becoming not worth it. Now the next problems seem to be that our grocery bill went from $80/week to $120/week. That was unexpected and I feel guilty burdening my family that way. I also am having trouble with knowing all ingredients that contain gluten. I have been sitting down each day and reading through this website. Has anyone ever created a document that consolidates all of the suggestions here? We really should create a wiki that people could add to when it comes to great suggestions, ingredients to avoid vs. safe, etc.

I am slowly getting my health and eating habits onto the right path. I realize the importance.

You can try this page from Celiac.com:

https://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=12

[emcmaster]

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this (I haven't read the entire thread), but when I want to find out if a food is gluten-free, say Heinz ketchup, for example, I type "Heinz ketchup gluten free" (without the quotation marks) into google. Usually it pulls up something from the manufacturer or a post on here. It's a really easy way to find the consensus on the gluten-free status of a mainstream product.

[amberleigh]

JNBunnie1 - I thought distilled vinegar was okay??? Just malt vinegar was bad?

Anyway, I've been gluten-free for a week now and here are some of the things we've been eating...

Lots of chicken! I made it with extra virgin olive oil and some Pampered Chef seasoning...and then with LaChoy soy sauce. I added some frozen stir fry veggies, water chestnuts, and white rice in with the soy sauce/chicken...mmm good! We also had rotisserie from the grocery store (I'm sure it had *some* gluten in it, but I was okay).

Lots of veggies...corn, soybeans (not a huge fan), potatoes, green beans, peas, etc. We're canned veggie eaters around here, so they're pretty easy. And lots of fruits. Thank goodness it's summer! My kids are enjoying all the fruit too...blueberries, raspberries, watermelon, grapes, peaches, etc.

I found some Smart Ones frozen dinners that appear to be gluten-free. I had one yesterday and didn't get sick. Lemon herb chicken piccata, honey-dijon chicken, and one other one that I can't remember.

For snacks, I've been eating Rice Cakes and Lara Bars. My fave is the cashew cookie! Mmmm!

We also did tacos and layer dip one night (beans, guac, sour cream, salsa, cheese, and olives - all gluten-free!). And I love Trader Joe's restaurant style corn chips, but Tostitos work too.

My husband is excited b/c baked beans are okay...LOL! He loves them...I tolerate them.

I'm planning to make some spaghetti and meatballs sometime soon (got some gluten-free noodles and will use gluten-free breadcrumbs for the meatballs).

I've tried the gluten-free mac and cheese (I think it was Annie's) and some gluten-free bread...tolerated the mac and cheese and HATED the bread. I think I'll stick to corn tortillas for now. My dietician suggested rice cakes, but I don't think I'd like crunchy "bread".

Oh and cereal! Our pantry literally has like 10 boxes of cereal in it! I've bought 2 kinds of gluten-free specialty cereals (corn flakes and Enviro Kidz) and was excited to learn that Cocoa Pebbles and Trix are gluten-free! WOO HOO! I ate 3 bowls of Trix last night to celebrate

For alcohol, I got some little bitty cans of pineapple juice and have been mixing some Malibu Rum in them (that was one of my fave drinks before too). I miss wine coolers, but oh well. And I was never a beer drinker anyway.

I can't think of anything else right now. I agree that the labels are overwhelming. But cooking dinner one night usually yields dinner for my husband and I and a couple lunches for me during the week...so it's not like I have to cook for EVERY meal.

Good luck!

[amberleigh]

Oh yeah, and I wanted to add that there is a document somewhere that says you can claim the expenses above what you would normally pay for non-gluten-free items as a tax deduction. I don't really understand a lot of financial stuff (I leave that to my CPA husband), but when I told him about it, he said it would be worth it to keep track of it. I think you can also claim mileage to go to specialty stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

[amberleigh]

Me again. I just checked Michelina's website (those are the frozen dinners I used to buy the most...and they are pretty cheap) and here are the "wheat-free" ones (I suppose you should still check the labels for hidden BRO though:

Cheddar Broccoli Potatoes

Grilled Chicken BBQ

Creamy Parmesan Chicken

Grilled Chicken

Most of these you pop in the microwave for 3-5 minutes and voila!