New At Gluten Free

[rsupergirl]

I am new to this whole thing. I found out about 3 weeks ago i have Celiac Disease. Trying to find as much information as possible. i was doing ok until last night, whatever i ate did me in. Does anyone know if The black beans in a can at super walmart have something in them. that is the only thing i could think of. i had chicken, black beans, corn tortilla's, red enchelauda sauce, daisy sour cream. i had sun tea with Splenda, and earlier had a little package of M'M's.

[kareng]

The black beans should be plain but I have seen enchilada sauce with wheat added for thickness. Might check that.

[Wheatfreedude]

Does anyone know if The black beans in a can at super walmart have something in them.

and earlier had a little package of M'M's.

Unfortunately, you need to heighten your precautions with ANY canned or jarred product. With that said, you'll need to read the label closely.

Take it from this food guy, many manufacturers use flour to give those beans that "gravy" flavor. In defense of the food industry, MOST use corn starch to do this. To prove it, you'll need to ready and/every label.

Secondly, you're going to have to stay away from branded candy bars and sweets (M&M, Mars, Snickers, Milk Way, 3 Musketeers, Etc.).

But don't lose hope! Opt for a simple dark chocolate bar with minimal ingredients. Not only are they lower in fat, but the dark chocolate actually has higher anti-oxidants.

~Wheatfreedude~

[Takala]

It could be anything in that list.

You didn't list brands or ingredients. The fastest way to check is to google the words "gluten free name of the product" such as

gluten free Holy Mole enchilada sauce

and see what listings come up.

I haven't seen many safe enchilada sauces. Was it labeled "gluten free ?" Sauces are very easy to make out of generic ingredients, enchilada sauce is nothing more than mild chile powder and some oil and water.

In general, the more processed foods you can avoid, the better.

When using canned beans, look for cans that just have beans, water, salt, maybe some calcium chloride. Read every label. I've seen generic store brand beans, that were okay, and name brand beans that had mystery ingredients.

Corn tortillas are another thing that are iffy, as some brands are okay and others have actual ingredients added that are definitely NOT okay. Mission brand used to be labeled "gluten free" but they took the label off because they were not being made in wheat free facility any more- in general, the Mission products tend to be okay, but I would not swear to it and it's safer to keep asking the manufacturer, because once they take off that label, you are literally on your own. As for corn meal, to use for baking, would I use just any old brand NO WAY, it will be cross contaminated unless labeled "gluten free. "

For example, back before I knew about this, I noticed that I could not eat most things at Taco Bell- but the tostada never bothered me. They use a different corn shell for the tostada, the other shells and chips have oats or something weird in them, but the tostada shells didn't. Most places like restaurants you don't want to go near the "house" corn chip things because they will be contaminated by the cooking process.

I haven't had any problems with the m and m candies and others have not had problems with the snickers bars. (knock on wood). Unfortunately Hershey moved its chocolate manufacturing out of the country and at the same time decided they didn't have to bother telling us what was really in Hershey's flavorings any more, so, sadly, Hershey's is no longer considered a go to item for the gluten free.

With each item, you still have to judge by your own reaction. I was just looking at a gluten free shopping site which lists a daily item as gluten free. But many of these are not specifically MADE to be gluten free, they just turn out that way. I know that I've used one thing listed there that has been labeled "gluten free" that I suspect has a higher than average chance of cross contamination. This was confirmed by other people posting about it on the internet who said they had trouble with this brand. I switched brands to another one, while it is not labeled "gluten free" it's just got 2 ingredients and it says on the label "processed in a facility that may have nuts" and I am okay with it. Go figure.

[tarnalberry]

Definitely have to read the label on anything you buy. The enchilada sauce is your likely culprit, but I saw that Mission is making "handmade corn tortillas" (or some other fancy sounding tortilla that's called a corn tortilla, but has wheat in the ingredients).

[sunnybabi1986]

Secondly, you're going to have to stay away from branded candy bars and sweets (M&M, Mars, Snickers, Milk Way, 3 Musketeers, Etc.).

Most people on these forums eat Snickers and M&M's with no problems. Do a search on here and you'll find that the consensus is that they are safe to eat They sure make for a great snack!

[heatherjane]

Does anyone know if The black beans in a can at super walmart have something in them.

If it's Walmart's Great Value brand, they have started labeling a LOT of their normally gluten free items with "may contain wheat". My hunch is that they're doing it more for legal reasons, but I stay away from their store brand items now.

[Wenmin]

Check the splenda. This has bothered me in the past.

Wenmin

[missceliac2010]

I found out I had Celiac, got glutened once, and began to be a label reading paranoid maniac! LOL!

I read all labels now. So carefully. You will learn what is safe and what is not....what to look for in the ingredients....what stuff is simply labeled so we know we can eat it.

Good luck. And until you (and I) are experts, I think google is our best friend!

I am new to this whole thing. I found out about 3 weeks ago i have Celiac Disease. Trying to find as much information as possible. i was doing ok until last night, whatever i ate did me in. Does anyone know if The black beans in a can at super walmart have something in them. that is the only thing i could think of. i had chicken, black beans, corn tortilla's, red enchelauda sauce, daisy sour cream. i had sun tea with Splenda, and earlier had a little package of M'M's.

[LDJofDenver]

Agree with the above advice, read labels, call 800 #s, get on websites. You'll be amazed (shocked!) at how many food items contain gluten.

And you are newly diagnosed...have you gotten rid of your old toaster, cutting board, etc.?

And "wheat free" doesn't mean "gluten free" (it could still have barley, barley malt, rye, etc.). And that gluten is often a hidden ingredient (flavorings, colorings, etc.) and often shows up in products you

[Wheatfreedude]

I stay away from their store brand items now.

Take it from me (as I have an enormous amount of experience in this department). If Wal-Mart labels their Great Value or Sam's Choice as gluten free, it is ABSOLUTELY Gluten Free. When you are a manufacturer and you pack under the Wal-Mart labels, legal liability falls just as much on the retailer as it does on the manufacturer.

And not to bore you any further, but they have an online system call ASPECT where you have to submit individual ingredients, allergen information, and other pertinent nutritionals. It literally takes days to fill it out online.

And not to get on the soap box any further, but the store brands are just as good if not better than many of the national brands. Don't believe me? Pick up a copy of consumer reports and see how many of them beat the leading brands in a blind taste test.

Give those store brands the benefit of the doubt, and pocket that extra money that you would spend on the over price national brands!

~Wheatfreedude~

[heatherjane]

Take it from me (as I have an enormous amount of experience in this department). If Wal-Mart labels their Great Value or Sam's Choice as gluten free, it is ABSOLUTELY Gluten Free. When you are a manufacturer and you pack under the Wal-Mart labels, legal liability falls just as much on the retailer as it does on the manufacturer.

And not to bore you any further, but they have an online system call ASPECT where you have to submit individual ingredients, allergen information, and other pertinent nutritionals. It literally takes days to fill it out online.

And not to get on the soap box any further, but the store brands are just as good if not better than many of the national brands. Don't believe me? Pick up a copy of consumer reports and see how many of them beat the leading brands in a blind taste test.

Give those store brands the benefit of the doubt, and pocket that extra money that you would spend on the over price national brands!

~Wheatfreedude~

I agree with you that some store brands are just as good, as I buy them myself. I'm just saying that I'm seeing "may contains wheat" on a lot more of Great Value items that were previously labeled gluten free. I also agree that this would indicate their strict labeling practices, but the "wheat" tag is showing up on some weird stuff now (like their beans, chocolate syrup, and salsa). I just stopped bothering with Great Value altogether.

[Wheatfreedude]

I agree with you that some store brands are just as good, as I buy them myself. I'm just saying that I'm seeing "may contains wheat" on a lot more of Great Value items that were previously labeled gluten free. I also agree that this would indicate their strict labeling practices, but the "wheat" tag is showing up on some weird stuff now (like their beans, chocolate syrup, and salsa). I just stopped bothering with Great Value altogether.

You can thank the lawyers for the inclusion of "May contain wheat". C.Y.A.

~Wheatfreedude~

[Skylark]

What brand of corn tortillas? Mission are made on dedicated lines, but not all brands are. If your corn tortillas were made on equipment that also makes flour ones, that could be a source of CC.

[katrina26901]

Th first ingredient listed on my package of Splenda is maltodextrin...which is definately gluten. We were using it prior to finding out I had Celiac because we are both diabetics. Guess I will be trying to find some other sweetener for my morning coffee. Any suggestions?

[Amy Gallagher]

Maltodextrin is ok...According to glutenfreeliving.com,

"Maltodextrin is gluten free. It can be made from a variety of starches, including corn, potato, rice or wheat. However the source does not matter because maltodextrin is such a highly processed ingredient that the protein is removed, rendering it gluten free. If wheat is used to make maltodextrin, "wheat" will be appear on the label. Even in this case, the maltodextrin would be gluten free." You can assume if it doesn't say "maltodextrin from wheat" that it isn't derived from wheat because they have to label it as such.

[Juliebove]

Th first ingredient listed on my package of Splenda is maltodextrin...which is definately gluten. We were using it prior to finding out I had Celiac because we are both diabetics. Guess I will be trying to find some other sweetener for my morning coffee. Any suggestions?

Maltodextrin is made of corn. No gluten in it.