I'm Living Inside A Box

[jasonD2]

I miss who I used to be. There was a time when I could wake up and just be myself and live life to the fullest, but now its all gone. I hate what i've become...ever single action I take, every single decision I make somehow revolves around food. I have such severe sensitivities to everything that its impossible for me to live a normal life. Friends, relationships, romance, work, family, travel....all the things that are supposed to bring joy just cause stress & aggravation. I have to be so anal and analytical about what I eat, where I eat, what supplements to take before and after I eat..its total insanity! I have occasional moments of happiness, but if i accidentally eat the wrong thing & get ill then it just reminds me how happiness does not exist in my world and how im just meant to suffer and be uncomfortable all the time. I feel so defective and alone in the world...no one truly understands what im going thru cause they're all healthy & can eat anything. WHY ME????????

[ang1e0251]

Wow, I'm so sorry you are feeling this way. It is a hard thing to get your mind around. It does get easier with time. Really. It's OK to mourn a part of your life that has changed completely but at some point you need to stop yourself and make up your mind to live life to the fullest in the best way you can and never, ever let a bread crumb define who you are. What you do in life is defined by your heart and not your stomach. Let go of it and look at how many ways you are like others instead of different. Thank God you don't have to have a colostomy, an artificial leg or an oxygen tank strapped to you.

We know what it's about and understand the way it messes with your mind. Thanks for coming here to talk about it. You can always count on the forum to listen.

[mamaw]

It's sounds like you are still in the greiving stages of your illness. Perfectly natural....... Could you be getting to caught up in this: Overwhelmed perhaps? Please take this in steps or phases & you will find it does & will get easier by places steps or phases to learn. I have never met anyone that has done this all correctly in a month or two. Gluten Free is a process of trial & error & learning at a pace that is comfortable to that person. Rome was not built in a day! You didn't get to this point overnight & you will not get better overnight. Your body is trying to adjust & heal.......be patient.

Why Me , you ask? Jason this disease to soooo much better than other illness, we are truly blessed as we can correct our illness if we choose, other diseases some do not get that chance.

Its okay to mourn the loss of old lifestyles but to heal one needs to not pity ones self but move on to a better healthyier lifestyle. You will get there but I think you are dwelling on what life used to be instead of a bright healthy future. What we all were taught( eatings habits) in our life is now gone ,void so we must re-learn how to live within our limits of food. This disease has never truly stopped any of us from being or going where we wanted to go or to be. It makes us stronger.......Mistakes, poor judgement, loss are all things that make us grow into better humans. If everything were perfect the way we wished for without wanting to change or wanting nothing more ---- what a boring existence that would be...

Take a deep breath & tell your self you are going to be okay & you are a fighter & can do this.... don't ever let an illness win..........

blessings

mamaw

[Mother of Jibril]

Hi Jason,

For a couple of months I was off gluten, corn, all dairy products, nuts, celery, all members of the celery family (carrots, parsnips, dill, fennel, etc...), legumes, and all foods processed with aspergillus (chocolate, fruit juice, black tea, citric acid, etc...). There was not a whole lot to eat I don't know if this will help you, but here are the two things that helped me the most:

1) I created a cabinet and a shelf in the refrigerator full of foods I could eat. That way I didn't have to think about it so much and I didn't have to get depressed looking at all the foods the rest of my family was eating. From that selection, I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted... and I kept my stash of goodies well-supplied at all times (I know you're travelling a lot, so you might create a suitcase of goodies instead).

2) I bought good-quality (organic) meat, fruits, and veggies... things that tasted good... and when I sat down to eat I would really try to savor the food and be thankful. Eating can be a spiritual experience if you approach it this way. McDonalds doesn't give me a sense of the miracle of life that goes into every piece of food I eat... seasonal fruits and vegetables do. Go buy some organic strawberries (if you like that kind of thing) and I guarantee they will blow you away... it's strawberry season right now. Nothing wrong with eating a whole quart of strawberries for lunch

These days I'm still off gluten, corn, and dairy, but I can eat everything else... it feels fantastic!!! Nuts and celery are a huge pain in the butt to eliminate

[Jackie927]

I miss who I used to be. There was a time when I could wake up and just be myself and live life to the fullest, but now its all gone. I hate what i've become...ever single action I take, every single decision I make somehow revolves around food. I have such severe sensitivities to everything that its impossible for me to live a normal life. Friends, relationships, romance, work, family, travel....all the things that are supposed to bring joy just cause stress & aggravation. I have to be so anal and analytical about what I eat, where I eat, what supplements to take before and after I eat..its total insanity! I have occasional moments of happiness, but if i accidentally eat the wrong thing & get ill then it just reminds me how happiness does not exist in my world and how im just meant to suffer and be uncomfortable all the time. I feel so defective and alone in the world...no one truly understands what im going thru cause they're all healthy & can eat anything. WHY ME????????

Hi Jason,

I'm new here but wanted you to know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. I'm having a rough time myself but it doesn't sound like as rough as you. Please hang in there with hopes that you will adjust in time and feel much better. I've totally sucluded myself also due to feeling bad but have hope that if I eat the way I'm supposed to............hopefully I will feel better and hopefully you will feel better very soon.

Sincerely,

Jackie

p.s. MAMAW...........such insight. I love reading all of everyone's insight and knowledge. It helps so much those of us who are just starting out.

[mamaw]

jackie

Thank You. I try to help all I can. When I got dx'd years ago I have no one & wasted ton of money on things I couldn't get the dog to eat. I've been there , alone, angry,scared & just plain feeling rotten.& forgotten by family & friends....

If you have any questions please just ask I'll be glad to help....my focus now is not about the disease but life with the disease, the cream of the crop in gluten-free foods. I test a lot of gluten-free from bakers/vendors & I try to promote the best so others do not waste their buck as I once did.... I'm thankful I have an understanding soul mate!

blessings

mamaw

[FMcGee]

Jason - I'm brand new to this, too, and some days I feel okay with it all and other days I wake up wanting to rage against the dying of the life I had before diagnosis. Some days I feel physically fantastic, and other days - like today - I can barely bring myself to walk on the treadmill. Weird as it sounds, I'm trying to be more zen about the shifts between peace and rage, and feeling good and feeling bad, telling myself it isn't a smooth trajectory. If you know me, that would make you laugh. No one would ever describe me as "zen." I have never been one to rise above my own struggles and let them play out - I've always wanted to get in the ring and fight against whatever is going on. I'm trying not to do that now, and to instead read something like "The Gluten-Free Bible" and munch on some grapes while my psyche battles out my desire to rip that delicious-looking Zingerman's sandwich out of my partner's hands and devour it with a side of muffins.

This is all just to say that I can understand what you mean 100%, although I don't know you. So, I could tell you that this is all about empowerment and taking care of yourself and all of that - which it absolutely is - but other people do that brilliantly, so I'll leave them to it, and instead tell you that I agree. This really bites. The first time I went to a restaurant after my diagnosis (waaaaay too soon, but it's not like I could reschedule other peoples' vacation time) and the bread basket was delivered, I excused myself to the restroom and some poor old lady thought my life was over. I couldn't disagree; it sure felt that way to me. The key for me so far has been to come to this forum and to other websites and just read, read, read. I've spent zillions of dollars buying books and cookbooks and reading them voraciously. I'm a grad student, so you'd think I'd a) never spend a dime I didn't need to, as is my usual habit and avoid reading when not forced to at gun point, but I can't stop reading about celiac disease. I wouldn't go so far as to say the more I learn, the better I feel, because most of the time, the more I learn, the more I realize what I can't have, or what I have to be careful about, or how my dogs' food is a potential contaminant. Inside all that, though, is a kernel of hope. I have never been Mary Sunshine, not for one minute of my life, but I am so hopeful that I will feel better and maybe, just maybe, the optimist in me that I've been keeping in shackles in the deep recesses of my psyche will at least get to stretch her legs now and then.

Keep in touch here - I've found this forum to be a really helpful group, even if there are a lot of disagreements about various things. That keeps it interesting! Also, I'd really recommend reading. I would especially recommend "The Gluten-Free Bible," by Jax Peters Lowell. It deals with a lot of this psychological stuff, and it's funny.

[YoloGx]

I understand what you are going through. This stage of mourning will, as others say, pass. It requires new habits and strategies that one wishes one didn't have to make. However it is way better than being ill and weak all the time etc. etc.

What still gets me is dealing with other people about this; them thinking I am neurotic when I am just taking care of my health. This gets tricky when dealing with family members most especially when they are in denial of how far one needs to go to avoid cross contamination. At this point I just don't eat with them anymore since my family has been very cruel and I no longer trust them. If I might have to eat with them for some odd reason like recently taking care of my brother at the hospital, I bring my own food and just don't talk about it.

I did have to do so for my brother with Down's who also has this condition however. He is way better now as a result of my efforts although his diet is not yet completely without CC. Nevertheless he has lost considerable weight, his skin looks better and he is brighter mentally and he no longer gets D as he used to constantly. He just got surgery for a hip replacement; his heart was finally better enough for him to tolerate it. So I don't feel all bad about insisting on changes in his diet despite the negative attitude about my family thinking I am too neurotic and pushy. Ideally he should avoid all CC as well, but I no longer live in his household and can't change everything. So I just have to let go on that one--although I did refine what food he was getting at the hospital. But overall one can only take care of oneself and can't push an agenda on others even if it might be better for them. Oh well!!

As far as lovers and friends are concerned; this condition helps separate the good from the bad. You know the ones that care about you and the ones that just don't get it pretty quick with this condition... In a lot of ways that helps save precious time.

The good parts of having celiac however also exist. By eating the way we do many of us are bound to live longer than a good percentage of our compatriots. We are also less likely to contract many of the degenerative diseases and either avoid or lessen other auto immune conditions. For me personally my hair has gotten thicker and wavier and no longer falls out. My memory and cognitive thinking is improving. Anxiety has gone away as has fibromyalgia like symptoms etc. etc. I no longer get the flue--which used to be a common occurance for me and lasted far longer than it did for other people.

True I also have had to go off all grains recently to get rid of lingering eczema etc. and avoid potatoes, tomatoes and nuts and most milk products. I also still need to take more absorpable calcium and other minerals and special co-enzyme B vitamins etc. But even there on the positive I am likely to always have a flexible body and look years younger than my age. I now have a new lease on life and look forward to my "golden years" (age 60 and onward) as an active person planning a new career rather than dread this time like so many do.

[mushroom]

Jason, I am reminded of a quote from my husband when I was complaining about something. He said "Life is hard, and then you die." Well, it's mostly true. We are all given our little burdens to carry through life and hopefully we try to carry them with the best grace we can. Unfortunately, we often don't see the burdens others are carrying, but most everybody has something. For some they come at birth and those people don't know any other life. For some they come later. For some they are mild, for others they are fatal. At least ours has a cure and makes us healthier not sicker. Our problem is that it is so obvious and impacts on all social interactions that revolve around food, so that we are constantly reminded of it at every turn, whether shopping for food and preparing it for ourselves, our friends and family, or eating at restaurants, social functions, other friends' houses. But think what your life would be like if you had Tourette's syndrome or cerebral palsy or any of a myriad other physical problems that are so obvious and make you stand out from the crowd. And yet these people manage to make happy lives for themselves, and so can you. You are thinking your box is very small and feeling confined by it. Reimagine your box; imagine it as large as the ocean and you will find you can expand your world and fit more in it if you try hard. And you do have to try hard, as I know you are doing, because we are the only ones who can make it happen. No one is going to do it for us.

I think what we have to do is develop a thick hide and not care what others say or think, develop a plan and pattern that works for us, and adhere to it no matter what. Yes, it may be a pain in the a$$ even for us, but if we commit to it and make it a habit it just becomes the way life is and we don't even remember back to when times were supposedly better and we were slowly killing ourselves. We can't let people pressure us to do things we know we should not, and we must be immune to any barbs or comments, because they don't know what we know.

Be strong and brave and march forward in control of your life. I know you can do it

[mattathayde]

jackie

Thank You. I try to help all I can. When I got dx'd years ago I have no one & wasted ton of money on things I couldn't get the dog to eat. I've been there , alone, angry,scared & just plain feeling rotten.& forgotten by family & friends....

If you have any questions please just ask I'll be glad to help....my focus now is not about the disease but life with the disease, the cream of the crop in gluten-free foods. I test a lot of gluten-free from bakers/vendors & I try to promote the best so others do not waste their buck as I once did.... I'm thankful I have an understanding soul mate!

blessings

mamaw

funny anecdote, when my mom tried to make sugar cookies with bobs redmill flour our labrador who will eat almost anything spit the dough out, that was a really bad omen for me and tasting them explained why my dog spit it out.

but to jason, i understand how you are frustrated, i am not as bad as a lot of people here with sensitivities but i spent all of highschool and most of middle school dealing with DH and just feeling terrible all the time. i still get sick from time to time (at school it is much much more common for me to be at least a little off between eating worse and being stressed). i went out to outback with my parents last night, followed their gluten free menu, told the waiter i was gluten-free and he said that he would pass it along to the kitchen... still got sick (i had been fine for almost 2 weeks which is a great for how i have been).

you sound like your in the anger stage of the stages of grief [url="Open Original Shared Link

[mysecretcurse]

I so understand how you feel. Reading your rant was like reading my own thoughts.

I feel like I'm a prisoner in life. So many things.. the jobs I can work, the places I can go, what I can do, it's all effected by celiac and I also think about food a lot.

But at the same time, I can tell you to have faith. There were things I thought I wouldn't be able to do.

Such as going traveling. It was a SCARY leap of faith to get on a plane headed for Bangkok with nothing but a little backpack filled with gluten free energy bars, knowing that my only GUARANTEED source of gluten free food would probably run out in a few days. But you know what? I prayed for weeks before I left that I would find a way to get proper food, and I did. I ate a lot of plain meat and fish and rice, and I did okay. Great even. I bummed around Asia for two months on my own with no help from anyone and I never went hungry once!

I was so scared before that I thought about just cancelling the trip and I'm so glad I didn't. I think it's important to keep the faith, even if you don't believe in a God you can just have faith in yourself and your ability to learn and understand that as you slowly change your life, this WILL get easier for you.

I agree with others who have said we are lucky in a way. A lot of illnesses have no resolution and there is nothing the person can do. At least we have something we can focus on and monitor, and gain a sense of control over our lives. Hang in there!

[Gemini]

I bought good-quality (organic) meat, fruits, and veggies... things that tasted good... and when I sat down to eat I would really try to savor the food and be thankful. Eating can be a spiritual experience if you approach it this way. McDonalds doesn't give me a sense of the miracle of life that goes into every piece of food I eat... seasonal fruits and vegetables do. Go buy some organic strawberries (if you like that kind of thing) and I guarantee they will blow you away... it's strawberry season right now. Nothing wrong with eating a whole quart of strawberries for lunch

While being respectful of what Jason is going through and realizing it is different for many people, this has got to be one of the most insightful and grounded posts I have read in a long while! There is a huge disconnect with food in our country that most people suffer from and it takes an illness like Celiac to bring it to the surface. Most people never think about what goes in their mouths (the old life Jason refers to) and with multiple food intolerances, that world no longer exists. However, I firmly believe that the new way of doing things is much better and Jason will get there at some point, like most people do. Once you focus on what you can eat, the panic and emotion tends to settle down and things become easier to deal with.

The notion of sitting down and savoring the food you have prepared, the food that you can eat, can bring an enormous amount of peace and comfort and acceptance. It forces you to take in food the way it is supposed to be eaten and in the way it will be digested and used by your body in a healthy way. Europeans have this attitude about food and the difference shows....they are healthier than we are, generally speaking. It's when countries develop the American way of eating that they become sick. I also think it's easier for women to deal with this because much of the time, it is the women who do the food prep in a household and they may feel they have more control.

I am sorry, Jason, that we cannot make you feel better about this right now but it will come to you. You are in control of what you do!

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Jason, I understand how you feel. I was really pissed off and then really sad. Sometimes it still gets to me. It's not just about the food, it's about relationships you have with people. It was a big adjustment not to be able to eat at any restaurant you wanted to, especially spur of the moment. Even if you eat really healthy, you still have to worry about cross contamination, spices, marinades. I know it shouldn't be about the food, it should be about the relationship with your friends, but to me they went hand in hand. That was part of the fun, tasting each other's meals, talking about it, etc.

At first, I would go and not eat. Not a lot of fun. Then I brought a yogurt - still not a lot of fun. Now I can actually eat at a few restaurants I feel comfortable with. Still working on it not being about the food.

Still, it's very hard. I have another friend that has celiac as well. She told me that she actually went to a grief therapist and that it helped her. She said, it may sound weird, but it helped. Some of us are grieving and not just the food, but our lifestyle which has changed. Everyone is different in how we handle things. Just thought I would throw out another option. Please hang in there. We are in this for the long haul and thankfully, people are becoming more aware of what gluten is. I was ignorant when it came to gluten before being diagnosed.

[mattathayde]

Jason, I understand how you feel. I was really pissed off and then really sad. Sometimes it still gets to me. It's not just about the food, it's about relationships you have with people. It was a big adjustment not to be able to eat at any restaurant you wanted to, especially spur of the moment. Even if you eat really healthy, you still have to worry about cross contamination, spices, marinades. I know it shouldn't be about the food, it should be about the relationship with your friends, but to me they went hand in hand. That was part of the fun, tasting each other's meals, talking about it, etc.

At first, I would go and not eat. Not a lot of fun. Then I brought a yogurt - still not a lot of fun. Now I can actually eat at a few restaurants I feel comfortable with. Still working on it not being about the food.

Still, it's very hard. I have another friend that has celiac as well. She told me that she actually went to a grief therapist and that it helped her. She said, it may sound weird, but it helped. Some of us are grieving and not just the food, but our lifestyle which has changed. Everyone is different in how we handle things. Just thought I would throw out another option. Please hang in there. We are in this for the long haul and thankfully, people are becoming more aware of what gluten is. I was ignorant when it came to gluten before being diagnosed.

that is a really good point, i never really thought about the food being part of friendships, i guess my friends and i always had other things we did to hang out (given my paintball team used to go out to eat all the time after we played but its not a big deal since we dont play much any more). for my friends and me we usually get together and just talk or watch a movie and smoke hookah (the middle eastern style water pipe that flavored tobacco is smoked from) which is a very social thing (it has been used as a social thing along with coffee or tea for 100s of years in the middle east) so that kind of pushes the food centered gatherings away.

as to intimate relationships, maybe sine i have a food issue i am more sensitive to it but i would expect some one that cares would help to accommodate you, if it worked to not have a food centered date or to eat at home or what ever

-matt

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Matt, I guess I should have articulated this better. My friends do accommodate me. There are about 5 restaurants that we pick from that I am comfortable with. In the beginning I did not feel comfortable eating anywhere. My friends and I usually do lunch which is the most convenient time for all of us to be together. We are all married, some with kids, etc and lunch seems to work the best for all of us.

I think we also need to remember that being gluten free is a learning curve, not only for us, but for our friends as well. We did not know truly what it entailed except giving up bread and such. We had no idea it was so involved. I am very fortunate to have my good friends and a very understanding husband. My husband is extremely careful at home. The house is mostly gluten free with just a couple of exceptions.

[mattathayde]

Matt, I guess I should have articulated this better. My friends do accommodate me. There are about 5 restaurants that we pick from that I am comfortable with. In the beginning I did not feel comfortable eating anywhere. My friends and I usually do lunch which is the most convenient time for all of us to be together. We are all married, some with kids, etc and lunch seems to work the best for all of us.

I think we also need to remember that being gluten free is a learning curve, not only for us, but for our friends as well. We did not know truly what it entailed except giving up bread and such. We had no idea it was so involved. I am very fortunate to have my good friends and a very understanding husband. My husband is extremely careful at home. The house is mostly gluten free with just a couple of exceptions.

i was more so generally responding in regard of your thoughts than directly to them. i have found a lot of my friends are pretty good about helping me too (it helps a god chunk of the friends i hang out with at school are nursing students so for half of them i just had to say i have celiac and they knew what i was talking about.

-matt

[Coach Carisa]

I miss who I used to be. There was a time when I could wake up and just be myself and live life to the fullest, but now its all gone. I hate what i've become...ever single action I take, every single decision I make somehow revolves around food. I have such severe sensitivities to everything that its impossible for me to live a normal life. Friends, relationships, romance, work, family, travel....all the things that are supposed to bring joy just cause stress & aggravation. I have to be so anal and analytical about what I eat, where I eat, what supplements to take before and after I eat..its total insanity! I have occasional moments of happiness, but if i accidentally eat the wrong thing & get ill then it just reminds me how happiness does not exist in my world and how im just meant to suffer and be uncomfortable all the time. I feel so defective and alone in the world...no one truly understands what im going thru cause they're all healthy & can eat anything. WHY ME????????

OOOHHHH I know how you feel! I cried and mourned and craved for some time before the "Addiction" lost it's grip on me. And yes, that which we are allergic to/sensitive to we are almost always addicted to!! It is a physiological response that does go away after a time, and you will feel so much better when it does.

For a time I was so resentful towards my body for being so "sensitive" and demanding.... why couldn't I just be normal like everyone else? What I found was that you should never compare yourself to other people ... they are often more screwed up than you know!!

While my newfound food sensitivites were certainly a pain in the butt to manage, the other "normal" people I was comparing myself to had other major issues... pain, cancers, heart issues, fatigue, substance abuse, you name it. We all have a "weak link" when it comes to the health of our physical bodies, and we can choose to ignore it and let it get weaker, or buck up and do what we have to do to strengthen it.

I learned it is best to eat at home or bring food with me that I made at home from fresh, whole organic ingredients. This is what we are supposed to be doing anyway, right? Eating at restaurants is getting easier and if you use gluten-free fermented foods that contain grain-loving bacteria, it will help increase your tolerance for the little incidental amounts of gluten you may inadvertently get from cross contamination. You can also take glutenase or papain, 2 enzymes that break down gluten and will help avoid strong reactions if you accidentally eat a small amount of gluten.

Eventually, I became really, really grateful for my food issues. Realizing I had food sensitivities was an enormous blessing in disguise. It has forced me to eliminate all processed foods from my diet.... for good. Being a Holistic Health Coach, I didn't eat many processed things to begin with, but now I am so diligent about my diet that I am overjoyed with how healthfully I am eating. I'm sure my body is happy as well!

I have no more migraines, no more digestive issues like bloating and constipation, no more crazy mood swings (haven't cried over breaking the yolk on an over-easy egg in some time now), no more food cravings (wow) and much healthier skin. These are just the things I can see! I'm sure on the inside there is less inflammation, a healthier mucosal barrier in the gut and better health across the board from better nutrient absorption.

Yes, gluten free bread sucks and you really can feel alientated in a world that is chocked full of processed things you are allergic to. However, in this world chocked full of horribly bad, processed, unhealthy food, is it really so bad to have a body that won't allow you to eat crap without consequences? It's kind of nice being the canary in the cole mine at times... trust me.

Coach Carisa

p.s.- EFT helps tremendously with the emotional side of this issue. It's free, too. That's always good.

[sixtytwo]

It's all about time and research............I LOVE the bread that I eat as bread is one of my favorite things. ALL gluten-free bread does not suck. I use Bob's Red Mill bread mix, make two at a time, use four small loaf pans per bread mix, and the smell when they come out of the oven is exquisite. I cut them in eight pieces each and they serve as my only bread from whcih I make garlic bread, toast, little pizzas (just some spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese and any toppings and there you are), french toast. I bring one little loaf at a time out of the freezer, totally in control of the bread thing. There are some gluten-free dinners in the freezer section that do not contain wheat.......if they do it is clearly displayed on the carton. Two of the Weight Watcher ones are gluten-free now and several more are coming out that way soon. Some of the other ones, like Healthy Choice and Lean Quisine can be checked for wheat, those are nice alternatives for you. I keep several in the freezer at all times. Glutino pretzles are so good, I buy a huge bag and have them around for snacking all of the time. Best Wishes to you, and believe me it REALLY is going to get better. Barbara

[mattathayde]

It's all about time and research............I LOVE the bread that I eat as bread is one of my favorite things. ALL gluten-free bread does not suck. I use Bob's Red Mill bread mix, make two at a time, use four small loaf pans per bread mix, and the smell when they come out of the oven is exquisite. I cut them in eight pieces each and they serve as my only bread from whcih I make garlic bread, toast, little pizzas (just some spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese and any toppings and there you are), french toast. I bring one little loaf at a time out of the freezer, totally in control of the bread thing. There are some gluten-free dinners in the freezer section that do not contain wheat.......if they do it is clearly displayed on the carton. Two of the Weight Watcher ones are gluten-free now and several more are coming out that way soon. Some of the other ones, like Healthy Choice and Lean Quisine can be checked for wheat, those are nice alternatives for you. I keep several in the freezer at all times. Glutino pretzles are so good, I buy a huge bag and have them around for snacking all of the time. Best Wishes to you, and believe me it REALLY is going to get better. Barbara

wow, i honestly dont know how you can eat anything from bob's, everything ive tried from them has been pretty bad if not out right horrid. we used bob's all purpose flour for cookies and my dog literally spit out the dough (and she eats any thing). ive found beths all purpose flour is much much better to use

for bread ive found the tapioca loaf from enr-g is pertty good, by it self it tastes really yeasty but as a sandwich or as garlic bread its good, it crumbles a bit but its the best general purpose all around bread ive found, there are some better mixes/ recipes for sure but those take time and dont keep very well, these breads can be kept unopened for one year w/o freezing

-matt

[sixtytwo]

Bob's Red Mill Bread made the right way is heavenly and much better than that Energy crap that tastes like celing tiles. To each their own, I guess. I use Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour in cookies/baking, making a few adjustments and no can tell that my cookies are gluten-free. It is on my shelf and I use it for white sauce, gravies, everything. Now Bob's hot cereal, that is another thing, man that stuff is like eating glue. Major yuk. Pamela's mixes are so good, their chocolate cake if so nice and moist and their brownies are great. When I make a chocolate cake from Pamela's with my homemade cream cheese frosting, people are going back for seconds. There are so many things out there today for celiacs or gluten-free people that it should not be a bite for anyone to eat this way. I look at it this way...........no cancer, no diabetes, no heart disease, I CAN LIVE WITH THIS, compared to the people that have those things. I am much healthier too, hardly ever get a cold or the flu, used to get them all the time.

Barbara

[mattathayde]

Bob's Red Mill Bread made the right way is heavenly and much better than that Energy crap that tastes like celing tiles. To each their own, I guess. I use Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour in cookies/baking, making a few adjustments and no can tell that my cookies are gluten-free. It is on my shelf and I use it for white sauce, gravies, everything. Now Bob's hot cereal, that is another thing, man that stuff is like eating glue. Major yuk. Pamela's mixes are so good, their chocolate cake if so nice and moist and their brownies are great. When I make a chocolate cake from Pamela's with my homemade cream cheese frosting, people are going back for seconds. There are so many things out there today for celiacs or gluten-free people that it should not be a bite for anyone to eat this way. I look at it this way...........no cancer, no diabetes, no heart disease, I CAN LIVE WITH THIS, compared to the people that have those things. I am much healthier too, hardly ever get a cold or the flu, used to get them all the time.

Barbara

i really want to know your recipes with the bobs because everything we have tried with it has a horrid after taste (we think it was from the fava or garbanzo bean flour part). maybe we didnt adjust correctly for it or something

-matt

[FMcGee]

Aw, MAN! I just bought some of Bob's Red Mill hot cereal. My local mainstream grocery store just started carrying a bunch of BRM stuff (as well as Pamela's, Gluten-Free Pantry, and other brands - it set my heart aflutter, I tell you) and I got some of that, and some of the multi-grain (or whole-grain or whatever it's called) bread mix. I second the request for your advice on how to make the bread! I haven't tried yet, but would prefer not to have wasted the bucks if I can avoid it.

[Lexi]

Amen! I feel the SAME way, and couldn't have said it better.

[sixtytwo]

I make the bread according to package directions, however, it calls for so many egg whites which are very expensive, I just do all eggs. I don't know why you could screw it up, I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer that I make it on. It has to beat for three minutes total. I can do that (with a Kitchen Aid or something like it) and oil my pans or do whatever while it is beating. I do use real butter too. I have used the flour in chocolate chip cookies, you need to back off a little on the flour as the gluten-free Bob's Red Mill is stiffer than regular flour. Also you need to add a teaspoon of xanthun gum for every cup of flour, it helps it rise. I use it in muffins too. I find the moister a recipe is the better it adapts to using the flour replacement. Something that is kind of stiff (like those pecan cookies at Christmas) don't do so well. Go on a site like www.allrecipes.com or www.recipeczar.com and they have gluten-free recipes. If you make cookies or cakes without flour, such as flourless chocolate cake or meringues, then you avoid the flour altogether. I made the flourless chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache for my birthday one year and people said it was the best chocolate cake they had ever had. You also put frozen raspberries in your blender with some sugar and hit the button for a very short time and you have a wonderful topping over the ganache. It is very sinful, but one a year, what the heck.

Barbara

[tarnalberry]

not everyone likes the taste of bean flour - some people find it far too strong.

there are a lot of different tastes in the gluten-free world. you can't try one type of bread, say "eww, all gluten-free bread sucks". there's a HUGE variety, and you have to experiment to find out what YOUR tastebuds like.