I Was Just Diagnosed

[Jamie]

Hello, I'm Jamie... I was just diagnosed this past Tuesday. I LOVE bread.. I LOVE food.. I am also a hyopglycemic and I crave this stuff especially. I also work out heavily on a daily basis and my go to foods have always been bread. This has been very hard for me. And it has only been a few days. I am going shopping today. If anyone has any suggestions at all.. that would be great... a good tasting bread to buy...every day product names that are already gluten free... recipes.. good cook books.. good web sites.. good gluten free brand names... things to watch out for... I would appreciate any advice right now. My best friend has it.. so she is helping me. And my other best friend's family owns a gluten free restaurant... Cafe Baldo (If you're from NY you may have heard of it).. so I am getting a lot of support already.. which I am thankful for.

[MELINE]

sorry I can't help you since I don't live in US. But I would like to welcome you....!

I am sure you will get much help from the others of the forum.

Meline

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Here are some things my family (Celiacs too) and my boyfriend and I like to get:

Kinnikinnick brand

San-J soy sauce

Amy's rice bowls and Bistro burger

Van's brand waffles

Thai Kitchen brand

Schar brand

Orgran brand

Ener-G brand is getting better

Rice Chex (one version is gluten-free and labeled so)

You are lucky to live near NYC, so many good gluten-free restaurants! Enjoy!

[Jeremiah]

Hello, I'm Jamie... I was just diagnosed this past Tuesday. I LOVE bread.. I LOVE food.. I am also a hyopglycemic and I crave this stuff especially. I also work out heavily on a daily basis and my go to foods have always been bread. This has been very hard for me. And it has only been a few days. I am going shopping today. If anyone has any suggestions at all.. that would be great... a good tasting bread to buy...every day product names that are already gluten free... recipes.. good cook books.. good web sites.. good gluten free brand names... things to watch out for... I would appreciate any advice right now. My best friend has it.. so she is helping me. And my other best friend's family owns a gluten free restaurant... Cafe Baldo (If you're from NY you may have heard of it).. so I am getting a lot of support already.. which I am thankful for.

Chipotle Burrito Bowls, Wendy's and McDonalds Gluten Free List on their website, Hy-Vee and Price Chopper (have a printable list and it's HUGE on their websites of all their gluten free foods) these should get you started, and cover way more than the basics.

[candrews]

I was diagnosed 2 years ago and understand how hard it can be, especially at the beginning. There's a really great new book out: "The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten Free" by Jules Shepard, that has tons of great tips, recipes, and all of the practical need to know tips that doctors don't know. My friend just got diagnosed and said this book really helped her start off--I still learned new things from it even after 2 years eating gluten-free. Also, this author has a really great flour mix that can be used to make all of your old favorite foods (and they actually DO still taste good!) My family orders it online at www.nearlynormalkitchen.com--my favorite thing to do with it is make tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. This flour you just use in any of your favorite recipes and they turn out so much better than other gluten free flours.

Other products that my family (5 out of 6 gluten-free eaters) relies on are:

Ener-G Pretzels

EnviroKids Crispy Rice Bars

Rice Cakes and Peanut butter

LaraBars

Good luck--it's intimidating and frustrating at first, but feeling better is totally worth it!

[hannahp57]

i love glutino, schar, kinnickinikk, gluten free pantry, and pamela's

there are also lots of cook and baking books if you would like to make your own. Roben Ryberg is one of the best i have seen so far. Her first book has one of the best biscuit recipes i have ever had (including regular).

bread was my favorite food before. if you can find schar's white rolls (sold in a 4pack) they are almost like real bread. my husband ddn't even notice they were different until he saw me take a bite of it. haha. so i highly highly recommend them. i think they would be worth the shipping if they arent sold near you.

[hannahp57]

my favorite food was bread to. if you can find schar's white dinner rolls, they are amazing! almost the real thing in taste. my husband couldnt taste the difference at all.

also pamela's glutino kinnickick gluten free pantry cherrydale farms have good mixes.

all the stuff is sort of expensive so that takes some getting used to.

i found an Ian's pizza kit (no gluten, dairy, or soy) and it was very good. i made one mistake and didnt put any seasonings in the crust, when i mixed it so it was a little bland, but the texture and flavor were good and even tasted good the next day. highly recommend that:)

nana's has good cookies.

bakery on main is the best granola ever. my sister and her friends tried to eat all of mine!

[brigala]

Glutino pretzels are very good. All the other gluten-free pretzels I've had come with a funny taste.

Try Annie's Rice Macaroni & Cheese, or the Trader Joe's version. They're very good.

Keep an eye out for specially marked "Gluten Free" boxes of Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Strawberry Chex, Honey Nut Chex, and Chocolate Chex. General Mills is in the process of switching these over to Gluten-Free formulas, but only the gluten-free Rice Chex are available everywhere so far.

The bread cravings should subside over time. Many people with Celiac experience these cravings, and sometimes no gluten-free bread will satisfy it. For some people with Celiac, it seems that gluten creates an opioid-like chemical in the brain, and going off it will be like withdrawal from drugs. My sister experienced this badly. I didn't have too much trouble with it. In the meantime, grab a few mixes and make your own bread. Don't be afraid of it -- it's much easier than making gluten bread. Other than letting your bread rise, it's more like making cake than bread. I like Bob's Red Mill, Pamela's, and Gluten Free Pantry. So far, I haven't found an off-the-shelf bread worth eating, let alone worth paying an arm and a leg for.

Welcome aboard! It's overwhelming at first, but it does get easier as time goes by.

-Elizabeth