Wheat/gluten/diary

[cm285]

diagnoxed 6 mos ago with celiac sprue-made some changes to my diet, mainly with bread and experimenting with baking. recent blood work shows no difference from initial blood work and i am bummed...i am totally overwhelmed...i bought a book to take to the grocery store to help me pick out gluten free foods...but somewhere i am missing a lot because my symptoms seem better for a day then i try something new and go backwards. i crave milk=i grew up on it. so far i have tried rice milk and almond milk. i am also trying soy as of today but tried it with hot cocoa and think the cocoa ruined it. its just not the same. my popcorn contains milk....what the heck is up with that? i dont really enjoy cooking so i am trying to figure out how to cook in batches so i dont have to cook fresh every day...i need as much advice as possible...dont think i can afford a nutritionist at the moment and am limited by product availability because i live in alaska. so...how do i start? i am tired, frustrated, crabby because i dont feel well and get embarrassed by gas issues...does any one get vitamin shots? does anyone else freak out about the blood work results? sorry to complain a lot but i dont know where to start-i am reading everything i can and finding conflicting information online....need some support

[RideAllWays]

Sorry to hear you're struggling We've all been there.

Try and eat whole foods for a while to let your system settle down a bit. I do well on meats, fruits, veggies and not much else. I have a potato almost every day, and rice cakes with peanut butter are my savior. I cannot have soy, corn, or lactose, so I know how limiting extra allergies can be. If lactose bothers you but casein does not, you could try Lactaid or another lactose-free milk. Lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, is added to the milk to do what your body cannot. It works for me Good luck!

[mygfworld]

I understand your frustration! I can handle the gluten side, but the casein/dairy shocks me. I find dairy in the weirdest places. If you are having that many problems with the diet, stick to unprocessed foods for a while until you feel better.

The easiest way to manage the diet for me is to look up or call the manaufacturer on EVERY product you eat or drink thats in the pantry. Then write a big gluten-free/CF on the package. Toss or give away everything that is unsafe.

You can buy a safe food list from several sites. See GIG, Clan Thompson, and I forgot the other places. The food list will make grocery shopping easier. Start with a small list of safe foods you eat and then slowly add a few more items AFTER you have checked that they are gluten-free/CF. Medicines and vitiamins have made me really sick in the past. So be careful.

I use a hot air popper for popcorn. Works really well. Earth Balance butter is gluten-free/CF.

For meals, find a few meals that you like to make and that last. Cook a whole chicken. Make a big batch of rice. Then just reheat with different sauces.

Make pizza (Bob's Red Mill Pizza dough mix is the best and not hard to make.) Skip the fake cheese. Just top pizza with veggies and meats you like.

I dont like to freeze pasta. It just doesnt taste good to me later, but other people like it. So making a big tray of pasta bake might be a good option.

Sometimes the library has good options for gluten-free recipe books.

The baking can be a bit weird. Bob's red mill, Gluten free Pantry, and Pamela's have good gluten-free mixes. gluten-free pantry has the best coffee cake mix and it is really simple. Always comes out great. Throw some fruit in too.

Good luck. It gets easier with time.

[jststric]

I feel your frustration! Not only is glutens in the weirdest things, but I think milk is in even more weird places! You simply need to read the labels of absolutely EVERYTHING. It takes awhile to catch onto and you will "grieve", if you will, the loss of being able to enjoy some foods you used to love. But after awhile, the symptoms you suffer simply makes them less desirable. Smart Balance LIGHT is also dairy-free. But make sure it is the the LIGHT version, as all the others have casein. I have found a Willow Run soy butter that is EXCELLENT but its only found here/there and usually in stores like Whole Foods and such. I have found that Act II Old-Fashioned microwave popcorn is good and if not that, I use the old-fashioned bags of kernals and a saucepan! I have also found that eating tortilla chips from a company that doesn't do 101 other flavors is by far safer. I eat Santitas brand. Read the lables of hot dogs (yes!) and pasta sauce (yes!) because they often have milk in them also.

[Lawspike]

I am right there with you... I am on the beginning of week two elimination. My results are no gluten, casein, soy, eggs or honey. I ask - what the heck am I to eat. I am OVER fruit and OVER salad... and this is far more frustrating and overwhelming than I ever could have dreamed up.

I keep one goal in sight.... soon, and not to far in the distant future, I will hopefully feel healthy again. As for now. .. I am pretty sure I could go live on a desert island.. eat the bushes and the berries... and live happily ever after! ;-)

[Takala]

You should post what you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner so we can trouble shoot it.

IF you are that sensitive, you don't want soy milk because a lot of gluten intolerant/celiacs don't do well on it because it depresses thyroid function. Also, avoid Soy Dream and Rice Dream- they are labeled gluten free but many people have reported here that they react to these products, because of the way they are processed with barley.

Canned coconut milk can be a good dairy substitute, and it has a lot of fat, so it helps quell hunger.

If you are having cravings, be sure you are taking a gluten free B complex , a multivitamin, a calcium/magnesium/ vitamin D supplement- to counteract your cravings and to help make up for malabsorption issues.

If you find a food that you KNOW is safe, you can mail order it in bulk if it is not available where you live. For instance, rice cakes (lundberg) Don't eat Quaker, they are not safe. Tinkyada rice pasta would be another one. Some flavors of Larabars, which are just fruit and nuts but a very handy snack. Rice Chex and Corn Chex cereal, in the boxes marked "Gluten Free."

Boxed chicken broth and tomato soup by Imagine or Pacific, in boxes marked "gluten free" are another huge timesaver. What is easier than pouring soup into a bowl to microwave ? Add some rice and frozen veggies and some rinsed, canned beans and it's an instant meal.

Be sure your lipstick is gluten free. Also any medications, over the counter or prescription, need to be gluten free.

Re bread: I would figure out what sort of gluten free flours you do well with (I shudder to think what the Bob's Red Mill stuff costs up there) and then learn to bake a pan bread up quickly. This is going to be so much cheaper and better for you.

I do quick breads in a small cast iron skillet on the stovetop and then finish them under the broiler, from cracking the egg into the bowl as the nuts grind in the blender, until it's done on top, I can get four servings of tasty nutmeal sorghum bread done in about 10 to 15 minutes. I don't even measure accurately, I can eyeball everything at this point (note to beginners- this is a goal, not an instruction, YOU need to use a measuring spoon and cup until you get the hang of it).