Looking For A Flour Substitution

[jrh1017]

hi! I was just diagnosed a few weeks ago & I am totally overwhelmed. I decided to make my own granola bars for those get up & go mornings. I bought the gluten free oats, but the recipe calls for 1c.whole wheat white flour & I don't know what to use instead. I have some all purpose flour mix, but I am not sure that's the same thing.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[mushroom]

hi! I was just diagnosed a few weeks ago & I am totally overwhelmed. I decided to make my own granola bars for those get up & go mornings. I bought the gluten free oats, but the recipe calls for 1c.whole wheat white flour & I don't know what to use instead. I have some all purpose flour mix, but I am not sure that's the same thing.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have always found the term "whole wheat white flour" confusing, because in my mind it cannot be both. I have seen whole wheat loaves of bread that are white, and am still confused as to what it means exactly. You could try the all purpose mix, which presumably has some selection of rice, tapioca, potato starch, and maybe something else, or you could trying adding a little sorghum to it to give it a little more "body" and nutrition. I imagine in a granola bar you will probably have some honey or other "glue" to hold it together so it should not be too critical.

[mamaw]

Hello& Welcome

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but you may not want to add gluten-free oats to your diet at this time. Your intestional tract is already under stress. Most will tell you (doctors) to stay away from gluten-free oats for at least ayear to give your body a chance to heal. Some people react to oats even after that time span. I'm an old time celiac & even today I only eat gluten-free oats 1/2 cup at a time....

Also it is natural to be overwhelmed, & go through a grieving process so don't beat yourself up over your feelings. The thing you want to do is grieve and find your way past those feelings & move on. In a different way you are suffering a loss of a love---- FOOD.

I will not tell you evrything gluten-free will taste like your favorite gluten foods. What I can say for positive is that gluten-free food has come a long way & in time you will find wonderful healthy gluten-free choices.. Many of them will be even better tasting than the wheat ones...

I'm not sure where you are located but try to find a support group near you & hook onto a person who is very knowledgeable & up to date on celiac. Some people get in a rut & do not continue to grow with all the new info & gluten-free foods. If you can not find a group close by then many here will help you either way.

Spend alot of time here reading the past e-mails. There has been a wealth of info on here.

Remember to rid your kitchen of scratched pots&pans, cutting boards, toaster, plastics (scratched), strainer (plastic) anything that can hold crumbs. there are many other things I did not mention.

Here's a list of some of the finer , better gluten-free products so you do not waste your buck on things no one can swallow!

Conte's for pierogi, ravioli, gnocchi, plus more

joans gluten-free great bakes for pan sytle pizza, eng muffins, bagels & more

BiAglut pastas

celiac specialites for donuts & more. The Grainless Baker has good rye bread & so much more, gra

[iamgf]

Welcome to the gluten-free community!

I remember how overwhelmed I was at first as well. I promise, you will be a pro in no time if you take the time to educate yourself (Read Open Original Shared Link and/or The Living Gluten-Free Answer Book. They are great books, even for people who have been gluten-free for a long time.

I agree with the other poster, don't use gluten-free oat products for the first year to 18-months. After you intestines heal, you can try gluten-free oats in small amounts and see how it goes. I eat gluten-free oats almost every day, but I have been gluten-free for 5 1/5 years, and they didn't even have gluten-free oats until a few years ago.

You might also find it difficult to eat raw apples and other fibrous foods. There is a great book titled, Breaking The Vicious Cycle that can help get you through the healing process.

In the meantime, try Open Original Shared Link gluten-free "granola". It is more like a cereal to me, but it is really yummy.

Happy gluten-free Eating!

[jrh1017]

To hear no oats is disappointing in the least. I certainly don't want to take the chance of getting sick in the morning & spending the entire day like that! I am often on the go in the morning & don't always have time for a bowl of cereal or to make eggs.

I am finding myself more & more cranky when I try to replace my previous favorite foods with the gluten free versions. So, I try & eat more along the lines of naturally gluten free things & I deal better. My insurance won't cover a visit to a dietician, so I am reading all I can on my own, but it still gets to be too much.

Thanks for the replies, I have a feeling I will be here alot more in the coming months.

[mamaw]

rjh1017

Honestly many insurance 's will not pay for a dietician. And if they are no tliving the gluten-free lifestyle they are not much help. Once a person gets dx'd they need help finding foods that are good, mainstream gluten-free products, recipes, & dealing with cross-contact issues and I've never seen any dietician help with those issues. unless they are celiac themselves. SO you are not out much in my book..

I'm a gluten-free mentor , if you would like help just send me a personal e-mail &I'll be glad to help you along... Ialso test market for gluten-free foods.

mamaw

[imsohungry]

rjh1017

Honestly many insurance 's will not pay for a dietician. And if they are no tliving the gluten-free lifestyle they are not much help. Once a person gets dx'd they need help finding foods that are good, mainstream gluten-free products, recipes, & dealing with cross-contact issues and I've never seen any dietician help with those issues. unless they are celiac themselves. SO you are not out much in my book..

I'm a gluten-free mentor , if you would like help just send me a personal e-mail &I'll be glad to help you along... Ialso test market for gluten-free foods.

mamaw

I agree with mamaw,

Years ago, when I was first diagnosed. I went to a nutritionist (well respected in our community). She told me the basics "don't eat gluten." NO help at all. To be honest, most people do not learn much from their visits unless the nutritionist is dx. with Celiac too and has had to do his/her own research.

You will find your best tools to be other people with Celiac who are well-read, and well written, up-to-date books and webpages.

If I can give you one tip it is this, write down what you learn. Buy a three-ring binder, separate it into sections with dividers, and fill it up. I am just getting back on the gluten-free diet, and I just found my old notebook. It is wonderful! Mine is divided into the following sections: gluten-free/safe ingredients, questionable ingredients, ingredients that contains gluten, cooking and baking tips, favorite recipes, favorite gluten-free companies (and items), mainstream companies that always list gluten, and gluten-free medications.

I know this sounds like a lot, but it really did help me with shopping and cooking until I got the hang of what I was doing. I hope it helps you a little.

Take care.

-Julie

[Lollie]

Just for my take on this... I think you should try the gluten free oats and see how you feel. Maybe try them on a weekend when you don't have to be any where. I have been gluten-free for at least 5 years, and I have always been able to eat them. Everybody is different. That's why it is important to try things and see how you react to them. As for the flour, I use an all purpose gluten-free flour for most things. I have special mixes that I have developed after all these years of trial and error, but at the beginning keep it simple. I agree that it is hard when you want to eat like you always have and have to find substitutes, but it gets better. I have a good recipe for granola. If you would like it I'll post it! Good luck, and hang in there, it really does get easier!

Lollie

[mushroom]

I have a good recipe for granola. If you would like it I'll post it!

I would love that, Lollie. Thanks.

[momxyz]

There are some really good - and experienced - cooks on this board; some folks even make their own flour blends.

Although I really enjoy cooking, I don't have a lot of time for experimentation. However, over the holidays I used Namaste's flour blend to make my Christmas cookies, with happy results. Although I will make some adjustments in the recipe next year, my first try with a direct 1:1 substitution for "regular" flour was a success.

I also made homemade ravioli's with this same flour blend. I found I had to add an extra egg to get the dough to the right consistency, but the end results were a hit with the family.

[Lollie]

Hi! I posted the granola bars under a new topic! Let me know what you think!

[Tummy Frustration]

rjh1017

I'm a gluten-free mentor , if you would like help just send me a personal e-mail &I'll be glad to help you along... Ialso test market for gluten-free foods.

mamaw

Hi,

I was just skimming through posts and came across yours. I have not yet been diagnosed with Celiac or Gluten intolerance, but fit into the category of having at least intolerance. A few people responded to a post that I had summarized my ordeal with alleged IBS and suggested I try a gluten-free diet. I feel a bit overwhelmed and noticed that you wrote you're a "gluten-free mentor." If you could provide any help, that'd be awesome :-)

-StepH

[mamaw]

Hi StepH

welcome. I sent you a pm to contact me ....

mamaw

[Black Sheep]

Just for my take on this... I think you should try the gluten free oats and see how you feel. Maybe try them on a weekend when you don't have to be any where. I have been gluten-free for at least 5 years, and I have always been able to eat them. Everybody is different. That's why it is important to try things and see how you react to them.

That's been my experience so far, as well. My doc never said not to eat oats, just to make sure they were cert. g.f., and they don't bother me at all. I don't know, maybe it's because I ate oatmeal, and cooked a lot with oats before? And also, I'd been experimenting with different g.f. flours for a long time before, just to see what they were like--including oat flour.