How Do You Deal With Gluten Cravings?

[mythreesuns]

Hello, all. I haven't posted in a while, but I came back for some help. I REAAAALLLLLYYYYYYY want a pizza! I don't mean a styrofoam tasting gluten-free crusted, rice cheese (or no cheese!) pizza imitation--I want the real deal! I want subs, I want rolls when we're eating out, I want for ONCE to order food at a restaurant without having to speak to the manager or the chef!

How do you deal with this? I have seriously considered going on a gluten bender just to get it out of my system......even though it would mean WEEKS of getting it out of my system. LOL

I've been gluten-free, CF, soy-free, and egg-free for over a year (yes, I do cheat a little on milk.....so hard to avoid it and the consequences *seem* minimal) and in the beginning it seemed much easier. I was so focused on getting better, I felt like I was on a mission. But now it just sucks.

Who's up for Pizza Hut?

[bakingbarb]

May I suggest some laughter. Not being flip but it is the only thing that helps me. I was complaining about something and the response just made me lol and I got over being upset real fast.

I know it is very hard. My daughter eats very little in the variety dept and is being tested for the gluten soon so last night I bought her the kind of pizza she likes. That was so very hard for me because I have not been doing this for long enough anyways. I WANTED that pizza. SIGH

I walked away and all I could do was remind myself that the brick in my stomach is gone. But I am having a hard time dealing with the whole thing so honestly I think humor takes my mind off of it and time I am hoping heals all.

I hope someone has a great answer for you.

[ravenwoodglass]

Boy can I identify. When I had to eliminate soy I thought I would go nuts. Fortunately I soon discovered that my favorite 'tastes and texture like the real thing' bread and pizza shells are free of soy and dairy also. If you haven't found Kinnickinick yet please try to find them. You can at least have a pizza shell that is flaky and soft and chewy and their Italian bread is really good. I think all we can do is to try to find things that we can have that will make us feel good. Not always an easy task.

[Mo92109]

Hmmmm pizza....

Have you tried Chebe brands? SO EASY and pretty good. I made pizza pockets for a football game and NO ONE knew they were gluten-free. I have not tried actual sandwich bread, but the pizza crust, calzones and breadsticks are really good. I also think I might be yeast intolerant that they don't have that either (at least some of them don't)

I go out a lot and I feel your pain. My husband got this amazing looking white spinach/gorganzola lasagna the other night. I got risotto with eggplant, ho hum.

What I miss most is being able to have something "on the go" - Like road trips or stopping for breakfast in the morning.

So sad.

[hez]

Are you really missing the actual food or the convience that you once had? If you are missing the food start looking for substitutes or remind yourself that gluten is poision. If it is the missing of the ease of ones life I would agree. This is not easy and in some ways does not get easier. Get pissed, vent on the board, realize we all feel like this at some point.

Hez

[Mango04]

I would recommend not cheating on the milk, just for a couple months. I only say that because once you completely free your body of the offending proteins, the cravings will likely go away.

Or, well...I won't give any specific advice regarding this next idea...but...a lot of people say once they give in and eat some gluten, it doesn't taste as good as they'd remembered, and they no longer want it. I wouldn't want you to be sick for weeks though.

[mythreesuns]

Thanks, all!

I've tried Kinnickinick (or however you spell it.....) foods, but I haven't liked the texture and the only pizza I saw had cheese on it. But all I tried were the sandwich breads. I'll look again for the crusts.

Where can you find Chebe pizza? I don't think I've heard of it before. I usually shop at Wegmans, Whole Foods, or a little specialty shop I found (microwave meals that don't need refridgeration and are gluten/milk/soy/egg free and kosher!!!!!) Does the Chebe crust come without cheese?

I miss the actual food, not so much the convenience. I have a pretty good repetoire of food that I have handy around the house these days, and some really good brownies (By George Foods) which keep me going when the going gets tough. But when DH brings home a steaming hot pizza from the pizza shop down the street, with a flaky, chewy crust......oh, the LOVE I feel for that pizza! LOL Or, fresh, hot chewy soft pretzels during a football game from the pretzel place down the other street. MMMMMMmmmmmm!!!!! I tried to make soft pretzels from a mix but all I could taste was the vinegar they wanted me to add. Maybe I'll try again without the vinegar.

Thanks for your help, guys! I knew I could come back here after all this time and still find people who could relate to what I'm going through! And I do think I'll stay away from the milk completely....I'm so bloated I think people are waiting for me to announce i'm preggo. PERISH THE THOUGHT!!!!!!

[ravenwoodglass]

  mythreesuns said:

Thanks, all!

I've tried Kinnickinick (or however you spell it.....) foods, but I haven't liked the texture and the only pizza I saw had cheese on it. But all I tried were the sandwich breads. I'll look again for the crusts.

Where can you find Chebe pizza? I don't think I've heard of it before. I usually shop at Wegmans, Whole Foods, or a little specialty shop I found (microwave meals that don't need refridgeration and are gluten/milk/soy/egg free and kosher!!!!!) Does the Chebe crust come without cheese?

I miss the actual food, not so much the convenience. I have a pretty good repetoire of food that I have handy around the house these days, and some really good brownies (By George Foods) which keep me going when the going gets tough. But when DH brings home a steaming hot pizza from the pizza shop down the street, with a flaky, chewy crust......oh, the LOVE I feel for that pizza! LOL Or, fresh, hot chewy soft pretzels during a football game from the pretzel place down the other street. MMMMMMmmmmmm!!!!! I tried to make soft pretzels from a mix but all I could taste was the vinegar they wanted me to add. Maybe I'll try again without the vinegar.

Thanks for your help, guys! I knew I could come back here after all this time and still find people who could relate to what I'm going through! And I do think I'll stay away from the milk completely....I'm so bloated I think people are waiting for me to announce i'm preggo. PERISH THE THOUGHT!!!!!!

I don't know if your Wegmans has them but mine carrys the Chebe Mixes. The plain and the garlic ones are the ones I have tried. They are a really simple mix and I like the garlic stick one for coating chicken and fish before frying. I dont think they make a ready made crust though. My son likes the Ener-g ones that are ready made but I haven't tried them. Wegmans may get those in the frozen section I know they carry the bread.

[JNBunnie1]

  ravenwoodglass said:

I don't know if your Wegmans has them but mine carrys the Chebe Mixes. The plain and the garlic ones are the ones I have tried. They are a really simple mix and I like the garlic stick one for coating chicken and fish before frying. I dont think they make a ready made crust though. My son likes the Ener-g ones that are ready made but I haven't tried them. Wegmans may get those in the frozen section I know they carry the bread.

The website sells frozen dough, but I doubt that many stores carry it. It's a lot easier to find the dry mixes. I used the 'original' flavor to make calzones, they're fabulous!

[ravenwoodglass]

  JNBunnie1 said:

The website sells frozen dough, but I doubt that many stores carry it. It's a lot easier to find the dry mixes. I used the 'original' flavor to make calzones, they're fabulous!

I quite agree. I sometimes add a bit of yeast to the dough when doing those or pizza crusts.

Now if I could only find a replacement for phyllo. (sigh) I sure do miss my baklava and spanikopita, even if I can't spell them.

[JNBunnie1]

  ravenwoodglass said:

I quite agree. I sometimes add a bit of yeast to the dough when doing those or pizza crusts.

Now if I could only find a replacement for phyllo. (sigh) I sure do miss my baklava and spanikopita, even if I can't spell them.

You know what I really want? A croissant. Shauna at glutenfreegirl went to Italy for her honeymoon and they had a GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CROISSANT. I told my boyfriend we're going to Italy! Or making an online friend who will ship me some. That's probably more cost effective I suppose.... sigh.....

[Fiddle-Faddle]

  mythreesuns said:

But when DH brings home a steaming hot pizza from the pizza shop down the street, with a flaky, chewy crust.....

Please tell your DH to come on this thread so we can all YELL AT HIM FOR BEING SO INCONSIDERATE, MEAN, AND NASTY AS TO BRING A PIZZA INTO YOUR HOUSE.

THat's so unbelievably cruel--like eating in front of a starving person, or drinking in front of an alcoholic and saying, "Mmmm, doesn't this look good? Don't you wish you could have some?"

He can eat pizza somewhere else, he doesn't have to bring it in your house and torture you like this.

honestly, I think he needs a good, swift, kick in the, um, I mean, I think he needs counseling.

[mythreesuns]

  Fiddle-Faddle said:

Please tell your DH to come on this thread so we can all YELL AT HIM FOR BEING SO INCONSIDERATE, MEAN, AND NASTY AS TO BRING A PIZZA INTO YOUR HOUSE.

THat's so unbelievably cruel--like eating in front of a starving person, or drinking in front of an alcoholic and saying, "Mmmm, doesn't this look good? Don't you wish you could have some?"

He can eat pizza somewhere else, he doesn't have to bring it in your house and torture you like this.

honestly, I think he needs a good, swift, kick in the, um, I mean, I think he needs counseling.

ROFLMAO!!!!!!

I can't blame him--he didn't feel like making dinner, and neither did I so I told him just to get a pizza for him and the boys (who LOVE pizza).

[mythreesuns]

  ravenwoodglass said:

I don't know if your Wegmans has them but mine carrys the Chebe Mixes.

Oh, it's a MIX!!!! No wonder I never saw them....I usually skip the mixes because I'm too lazy.

I'll look for them next time I go. If I get a good fluffy crust out of them, it's worth the time to mix it!

[ravenwoodglass]

  mythreesuns said:

Oh, it's a MIX!!!! No wonder I never saw them....I usually skip the mixes because I'm too lazy.

I'll look for them next time I go. If I get a good fluffy crust out of them, it's worth the time to mix it!

Toni, You may also want to look for Gluten Free Pantry French Bread Mix if Fluffy is what your looking for. I don't remember if they have soy or not but I don't think so. That is also a mix but you can make a nice deep dish pizza crust that is soft and 'fluffy' as it contains yeast. I have even gluten eaters that have tried The GFP mix and not known it was gluten-free. While I like the Chebe mix for flat bread and for making thin crusts it doesn't rise a lot.

[Yellow Rose]

My way of dealing with cravings is to think of it as poision because that is really what it is to us. You wouldn't eat something with poision on it no matter how good it looked or smelled.

My husband's and my birthdays are 2 weeks apart in August and my daughter made her father a beautiful chocolate cake with chocolate icing dripped on the top and down the sides and strawberries covered with chocolate on top. It was a work of art. I had read somewhere on the forum about 3 weeks prior to the birthday party a discription like this and started to look at gluten products in this way and it really worked for me. I asked my DD to make the cake for the party as I wasn't going to make one and she asked her father what he wanted. I LOVE chocolate cake but after looking at gluten products as poision I wasn't even tempted.

Don't get me wrong I do miss fried chicken, bread, and wish I could eat out and didn't have to cook everything myself but after the last glutening I don't ever want to go through the pain again. It is just not worth it. I am eleminating lots of food from my diet like rice, corn, night shades, milk, and possibly soy. I have noticed that the cravings have diminished quite a bit since eleminating processed foods. I mostly eat meat and chicken grilled with lots of veggies and fruit. If I want something sweet now I am craving fruit not junk.

The holidays are upon us and we are having Thanksgiving at my son's home. It's his first time to host and I told him I would be bringing my own food so they didn't have to worry about cc and making me sick. I have gotten in the habit of telling, not asking if it is ok, but telling people I will bring my own food. I explain how hard it would be for them to try to not cc me and that is too much trouble for anyone to go through. I make it sound like I am doing them a really big favor by bring my own food even though I am really just protecting myself. It has worked great so far. No one has gotten insulted and we have been invited back.

I don't expect anyone around me to deny themselves something that they can eat when I cannot. This is my health problem not theirs and I really don't think it as inconsiderate of anyone to eat what they can have in front of me. Our culture is emeshed in eating and people really don't think about that one person they know who can't eat gluten. When I was diognosed in April I was shocked to realize how much my own life revolved around food. Now it is not and I have lost 30 pounds and am getting my health back.

Yellow Rose

[loco-ladi]

  Quote

fried chicken

I tried the Kinnikinnick "crispy chicken coating" mix and its pretty good and that was when I first started the diet, being that I have 5 houseguests due to arive very soon (2 today and 3 more I pick up on monday) I thought this would be a nice meal so I got a case of it from amazon .com

I am reading the ingredients and it does have soy and eggs so not everyone will be able to use it but like I said it wasnt to bad when I started so maybe now it will be even better.

As for the original posting, I deal with my craving by using all that energy to find a GOOD suitable replacement, yes it may take a couple failures before I find the right one but to me its worth it.

[JNBunnie1]

  loco_ladi said:

I tried the Kinnikinnick "crispy chicken coating" mix and its pretty good and that was when I first started the diet, being that I have 5 houseguests due to arive very soon (2 today and 3 more I pick up on monday) I thought this would be a nice meal so I got a case of it from amazon .com

I am reading the ingredients and it does have soy and eggs so not everyone will be able to use it but like I said it wasnt to bad when I started so maybe now it will be even better.

As for the original posting, I deal with my craving by using all that energy to find a GOOD suitable replacement, yes it may take a couple failures before I find the right one but to me its worth it.

Actually, I make oven fried chicken and to me it was fabulous. Everyone's taste is different, but if you go to Allrecipes and check the oven baked fried chicken recipes, just replace the flour with sorghum or rice and 1/3 some kind of starch, and you're fine! It tends to leave a little dry flour on the top, even though it's crispy all over, so I just pick the piece up and smack it with a utensil and most of the flour comes off, oh darn..... I think it's just two cups of flour, a crapload of paprika and italian seasoning, and salt and pepper and a tsp of baking (soda?) is what I do. And the chicken behaves better if you wet it in egg first instead of milk, but you could even just use water if you have allergies.