Angry. Very Angry.

[Hummingbird4]

I go through phases where I feel like "hey, this is OK, I'm dealing with it just fine," and then other times that I get so angry and feel like I'm so deprived. A freak! It's unfair! The other day I went grocery shopping and tried to find ONE Lean Cuisine meal that did not contain wheat. I couldn't find a single one, and went home feeling really depressed. Not that I even like Lean Cuisine meals, but they were on sale and I guess it was just the idea of feeling like everything normal is off-limits for me.

Mourn your loss. That's fair and understandable. And then when you're done expressing your anger and sadness, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and plan some menus. This new lifestyle certainly takes planning. Figure out what you can cook that will make you happy, adjust your old favorite recipes - most of them really can be made gluten free. The only real stickler is eating out and social situations. I'm still struggling with that one, big time.

[luvs2eat]

Bread... or the lack of bread... was what made me most angry. I've not had any luck w/ the many scratch recipes I tried, and pretty much use Pamela's bread mix exclusively. It's easy and has few needed added ingredients. Manna from Anna also makes a good bread. Both these hold up to sandwiches really well.

I order Pamela's bread mix from (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned). I live so far out in the country... neither of the 2 healthfood stores carrys it. It comes in a box of 6 mixs and if you order only $25 worth of food (I also order my Tinkyada brown rice pasta from them)... shipping is FREE.

Yesterday I made a bag of Pamela's bread mix in her "bagel" form. They are delicious!!

As others have said... give yourself time to grieve. Even more than 7 years after going gluten-free... there are still times I'm frustrated by eating in restaurants and being unable to make a gluten-free version of something I'm wanting/craving. It gets better... seriously.

Edited to add... When I hit "post" the company name was removed as they spammed the forum? Sorry about that forum... spamming is NOT cool.

[ang1e0251]

I was so grateful to be diagnosed and to heal and feel normal again, I didn't have much of that kind of anger. I figured it was a small price to pay. I was having issues with restaurants not getting it

and especially family but then a couple of people in my small town came down with incurable cancer and suffered terribly. I decided I should adjust my own attitude and not expect someone else to totally get it when they'd never suffered as I did. I was after all still learning new things about this disease and that after a year! How could they possibly understand?

For me, looking at these poor cancer sufferers, I knew that if I could never have a piece of bread again in my life, well, so what? I have eaten enough bread up until now to feed a small country. I've already eaten enough for a lifetime. I have a disease and I don't have to take debiltating drugs all my life for it. I don't have to endure chemotherapy and my family will enjoy my company and I theirs for a lifetime. Eating a certain way is a small price to pay.

I do sometimes feel fearful and discouraged but that's less and less as I find out how to manage new situations on my own terms. I have empowered myself and don't depend on anyone else for my food or attitude.

I think in time you'll find peace with yourself. I'm glad you found this website. We can all benefit by discussing issues like this one with caring and understanding peers.

[tyme2shine]

If you are vegetarian you might also consider Indian dishes. Like Mexican food many of the recipes are naturally gluten-free as well as based on beans, lentils and dairy (assuming of course you aren't sensitive to those as well)

I find shopping in ethnic stores much cheaper and I'm able to find more products to buy. obviously you have to read the labels but I haven't had any problems yet with products (crosses fingers).

Lentil Daal and Chickpea curries are easy to make, just don't buy any of the English inspired versions of sauces. Get the actual indian spice packages which are just spices with directions on how to prepare. plus most can be done in a crockpot as well, if you don't like cooking all the time this can help out enormously.

You can also add pappadums, these are breads that are made with either bean, black garm or lentil flour and served with the curries. They're either dried or frozen and can be heated very quickly in a frying pan with a small amount of oil.

one of my favourite dishes is paleek paneer which is a spinach and cottage cheese dish flavored with garam masala...you can make this as spicy as you want or don't want (paneer is like compressed cottage cheese....Canadians can find it in the freezer section of Superstore/Loblaws, otherwise South Asian grocery stores will carry this)

totally agree about the ethnic stores. much more selection without paying those high prices. i try to have as much of a diverse meal as possible!

[EmmyLouWho?]

I was so grateful to be diagnosed and to heal and feel normal again, I didn't have much of that kind of anger. I figured it was a small price to pay. I was having issues with restaurants not getting it

and especially family but then a couple of people in my small town came down with incurable cancer and suffered terribly. I decided I should adjust my own attitude and not expect someone else to totally get it when they'd never suffered as I did. I was after all still learning new things about this disease and that after a year! How could they possibly understand?

For me, looking at these poor cancer sufferers, I knew that if I could never have a piece of bread again in my life, well, so what? I have eaten enough bread up until now to feed a small country. I've already eaten enough for a lifetime. I have a disease and I don't have to take debiltating drugs all my life for it. I don't have to endure chemotherapy and my family will enjoy my company and I theirs for a lifetime. Eating a certain way is a small price to pay.

I do sometimes feel fearful and discouraged but that's less and less as I find out how to manage new situations on my own terms. I have empowered myself and don't depend on anyone else for my food or attitude.

I think in time you'll find peace with yourself. I'm glad you found this website. We can all benefit by discussing issues like this one with caring and understanding peers.

I was thinking this exact same thing actually! I was literally JUST diagnosed last week but already went through my first feelings of "loss" so to speak. But honestly, I look at my dad who has Celiac as well as has Leukemia and the things he has to go through for his gluten-free diet is the LEAST of his worries. Now, of course, everything is relative and it really is no fun not being able to grab for my regular snacks and I think we have a right to mourn that loss a little. But I also try to put it in perspective. My son was just diagnosed as well in mid-Dec. and however I face this disease will be the way he learns to face it. Overall we're healthy people if we make the right decisions about what we put in our bodies. I consider it a blessing that we're dealing with a diet change and not with a much more complicated disease.

FYI...if you're ever craving chocolate or a cookie....Whole Foods has an AMAZING chocolate cookie that's gluten free. To die for!

[Takala]

The thing that I hate about gluten free bread (tried three or four recipes so far), besides the fact that it is crumbly and useless for sandwiches, unbaked in the center and burnt on the outside, and annoying to make, is that it always relies on eggs for a binder ingredient. I **HATE** eggs so much. gluten-free bread always has that faint raw-egg/wet-dog/smashed-worms-the-sidewalk scent and taste.

I haven't yet found a bread I like, but I gotta admit I NEVER would have described the taste quite like that! Just curious - how do you know what that tastes like? Inquiring minds want to know!

______________

I like eggs so I feel guilty but I've been giggling for the past 5 minutes after sniffing the dog and trying to figure out if she smells like the piece of homemade toast I just ate.

For every failed gluten free bread baker (also known as a homemade dog treat manufacturer....) there is a recipe or technique that is not yet discovered.... chia seeds disolved in hot water, or flax meal, or gelatin, plus using some tapioca flour, can be substituted for egg protein for a binding agent, and some baking soda and a liquid acidifier such as apple cider vinegar or lemon juice added for the leavening, to replace the egg....

Try some alternative recipes instead of "loaf" breads

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[Darn210]

Bread... or the lack of bread... was what made me most angry. I've not had any luck w/ the many scratch recipes I tried, and pretty much use Pamela's bread mix exclusively. It's easy and has few needed added ingredients. Manna from Anna also makes a good bread. Both these hold up to sandwiches really well.

I order Pamela's bread mix from (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned). I live so far out in the country... neither of the 2 healthfood stores carrys it. It comes in a box of 6 mixs and if you order only $25 worth of food (I also order my Tinkyada brown rice pasta from them)... shipping is FREE.

Yesterday I made a bag of Pamela's bread mix in her "bagel" form. They are delicious!!

As others have said... give yourself time to grieve. Even more than 7 years after going gluten-free... there are still times I'm frustrated by eating in restaurants and being unable to make a gluten-free version of something I'm wanting/craving. It gets better... seriously.

Edited to add... When I hit "post" the company name was removed as they spammed the forum? Sorry about that forum... spamming is NOT cool.

luvs2eat (and anyone else interested),

You can get your Pamela's bread mix even cheaper. I'm assuming that you get it from Amazon. If you sign up for their "Subscribe & Save" program, you get an extra 15% off plus free shipping even if your order is less than $25. With Subscribe & Save, you are setting up a standing order to ship every 1 or 2 or 3 or 6 months . . . whichever you select. You can cancel at any time (even after your first order). You can change your shipping interval at anytime. If you find you are running out early, you can request an early shipment. If you find that you don't need you next shipment, you can cancel that particular one. They send a reminder email before they ship (& bill your credit card) so if you need to make an adjustmant you can. I get my Pamela's bread mix, Pamela's pancake mix, and some Cliff kid's stuff this way.

[Darn210]

. . . but I've been giggling for the past 5 minutes after sniffing the dog and trying to figure out if she smells like the piece of homemade toast I just ate.

[Poppy Cat]

______________

I like eggs so I feel guilty but I've been giggling for the past 5 minutes after sniffing the dog and trying to figure out if she smells like the piece of homemade toast I just ate.

LMAO that's awesome : ) Eggs do remind me of doggy smell... dunno why!

I love chia seeds! I was thinking a lot about gelatin, too, if some small percentage in a recipe would improve elasticity of dough/batter.... and other sticky substances that might make a better sub for gluten. I want to study chemistry. omg.

Pamela's mix, eh? It seems to have a lot of fans, I'll look for it.

How big of a problem is cross-contamination? Nearly every gluten-free product I can find has "manufactured in a facility that also processes la la la la wheat la la".... i don't know how much it matters. Do you just eat something and wait and see how it affects you?

It seems to me that trying to keep the wheat flour/dust out of everything in the factory is like trying to keep an electrical charge off of an atom, but then, I suppose under strict laboratory conditions, it can be done.

[JNBunnie1]

How big of a problem is cross-contamination? Nearly every gluten-free product I can find has "manufactured in a facility that also processes la la la la wheat la la".... i don't know how much it matters. Do you just eat something and wait and see how it affects you?

It seems to me that trying to keep the wheat flour/dust out of everything in the factory is like trying to keep an electrical charge off of an atom, but then, I suppose under strict laboratory conditions, it can be done.

Here's how I do it: If something says 'manufactured on same EQUIPMENT', I don't eat it. If it says 'manufactured in same FACILITY', I haven't had a problem with it. The way I see it, flour can only fly so far, and it's not like the other facilities are usually bakeries, it's usually something like chips made on a dedicated line in a factory that makes chips in another section that has gluten in the flavorings. Not always the case, but rarely do you find nuts processed in a plant that bakes cakes. That doesn't mean be less diligent! It's always best to find out, and most companies that print something like that will be happy to tell you what else is in the plant when you call.

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Yep, what JNBunnie says. If made on same equipment, I won't buy it. If made in same facility, I'm OK with it.

[colorado]

About midway through 2008, which was about 8 months into my gluten-free diet I had a freaking meltdown at the grocery store. My fiance had to contain me. I was at my wits end, all teh gluten-free bread was sold out at whole foods, all the frozen dinners that are gluten-free that I will eat were sold out. I am in competition with a few other people in my are who regularly clear out the freezers at the stores.

I went to 4 freaking grocery stores near me looking for something, anything, they were all sold out of the stuff I usually buy and will eat. I Was furious and started freaking out and getting irate.

Just the culmination of many months of being unhappy with the new way of life and the fact that we don't have the time to bake our own breads and prepare lavish meals so making dow ith known gluten-free items is the best option for us.

I did calm down and proceeded to go home and be in a bad mood all night and lose sleep over it stupidly.

I handle it much better now, and there are more and more options appearing all the time near where I live so it is really helping out.

From everything I read on here and people I have talked to in person I think we all go through it. That point where we just have had enough and feel like there are no other food options.

Good luck with everything.