How Are The Grain-Free Folks Doing?

[precious831]

Hey just thought I'd check with all the grain-free people! I know there's a few of us here, please let me know if you have any new food/stuff finds! I'm doing alright although I did land in the hospital for pneumonia last Friday(New Yrs Eve!). I'm doing much better now recuperating at home. The grain-free thing is going well, so far so good as far as tummy issues. I've even been able to tolerate small amounts of stuff with lactose now and the other day I ate 1/2 cup of rice and I was fine! Anyway I'll keep my paleo/primal diet.

I've been baking a lot with coconut flour right now. A few months ago I got to soaking almonds, drying them out and grinding them into flour to save money.

What's everyone eating now?

Thanks.

[jenngolightly]

I started the SCD diet on May 20th. I've been rolling along just fine until right before Thanksgiving when my oven died. I've been starving since then! Yesterday I broke down and added in white rice just so I'd feel full. I've lost 10 lbs since Thanksgiving! I'm down to 115 lbs at 5'5". I'm hungry and need to gain weight so although I wanted to stay off grains until May, I had to eat something that would fill my tummy. That was yesterday and I'm not feeling too great. Intestinal issues, but nothing like when I eat gluten.

I don't think the rice is bad for me - it's pretty bland and the white rice has no hull to digest, it's just that my system needs to adjust. I'm afraid of eating any other grain, though. Everything else seems more complex.

[precious831]

I started the SCD diet on May 20th. I've been rolling along just fine until right before Thanksgiving when my oven died. I've been starving since then! Yesterday I broke down and added in white rice just so I'd feel full. I've lost 10 lbs since Thanksgiving! I'm down to 115 lbs at 5'5". I'm hungry and need to gain weight so although I wanted to stay off grains until May, I had to eat something that would fill my tummy. That was yesterday and I'm not feeling too great. Intestinal issues, but nothing like when I eat gluten.

I don't think the rice is bad for me - it's pretty bland and the white rice has no hull to digest, it's just that my system needs to adjust. I'm afraid of eating any other grain, though. Everything else seems more complex.

I originally started with SCD too but now I can't really say I'm SCD because I've been eating organic sweet potatoes and other tubers. I'm more paleo I guess. What kind of flour were you using? I saw on your avi you're allergic to nuts/treenuts.

I'm slim too but I'm ok with my weight I'm shorter than you and weigh 107. Well probably lost weight now due to the pneumonia.

I hope you can get a new oven soon. The cooking/baking takes so much planning and time. I tend to make a lot of stuff and I swear they are gone so fast. My husband who has no GI issues is also doing the paleo diet because he said it makes him feel better and he's lost a lot of weight and feeling better. Lucky for him, he can still eat anything though. My daughter is 3 and is also paleo, she is also celiac and can't tolerate grains as well.

The rice I tried was instant. I figured that would be the easiest to digest. I'm tempted to have some more tomorrow but I'm sure my husband would get so mad! lol. The other grains leave me feeling much much worse. I may eat rice once in a blue moon but that's it, I'm still not willing to let it back in my diet completely. When I was on grains, the other problem was my BP was high and my blood sugar as well. None of that now since going grain-free.

Keep me posted and hope you get a new oven ASAP!

[T.H.]

What's everyone eating now?

Thanks.

I tend to eat a lot of meat with veggies cooked with them, or soup. Lettuce wraps, kale chips, trying to eat taro root, potatoes, or sweet potatoes if I can find safe ones - lots of carbs in all three.

I can eat the quinoa, too, since it's not a grain, so that's nice sometimes. I just cook it with my meat for flavor, usually. Hoping to start on beans soon. :-)

[missy'smom]

I found a great looking almond meal bread recipe but with sending off for a new bag of almond meal and replacing the cow's milk dairy with goat's milk because of an allergy it would end up costing way too much to get started with the first loaf. Plus I think almonds are bothering me again. I'm also avoiding coconut for a while. Looks like I will be making flax muffins again and trying a new recipe for flax bread(low-carb).

My baking treat for the holidays was a goat cheese cheesecake sweetened with stevia and erythritol. With many things off the menue for a long time besides just grains, I've been enjoying a few things that are back again or new. Loving my plain goat's milk yogurt with stevia sweetened cranberry sauce. First time in 2 years I've had cranberry sauce of any kind.

One of my new year's resolutions is to try new recipes and try some new veggies. I tend to get stuck in a rut with the same veg prepared the same way.

My new seasoning find is coconut aminos, which tastes like a treriyaki sauce. It's my soy-free sauce replacement.

[precious831]

I tend to eat a lot of meat with veggies cooked with them, or soup. Lettuce wraps, kale chips, trying to eat taro root, potatoes, or sweet potatoes if I can find safe ones - lots of carbs in all three.

I can eat the quinoa, too, since it's not a grain, so that's nice sometimes. I just cook it with my meat for flavor, usually. Hoping to start on beans soon. :-)

I was eating quinoa for a while and now I think that's bothering me so I'm laying off that. I have been also using that coconut aminos, good stuff but pricey. Do you have an Asian store closeby? They have all sorts of tubers, they'll have malanga, taro, camote, lotus, etc. To get rid of some of the starch you have to soak them, that's how my mother showed me how to do it. She's Filipino and they eat all these tubers in the Philippines. I eat lots of veggies too and legumes seem to be ok as long as they're soaked overnight and rinsed well but still I don't eat a whole lot of that. Still can't have dairy, except in minute amounts that I accidentally ingested (in bacon) and I was ok with it, unlike before.

I really like cauliflower and make it into "fake rice" by steaming it and processing it but I think that's bothering me now, sigh. So frustrating.

[missy'smom]

precious,

There may be hope down the line with the dairy. I have a casein allergy, confirmed with testing but after completely avoiding it for a year, I was able to re-introduce and tolerate goat's milk products. I started with the lowest lactose forms-yogurt and cheese. Still haven't tried the milk itself.

I love the crunch of lotus and do have it sometimes. I have to stick with low-carb veggies and have a few veggie allergies so that adds to the challenge. I want to try jicama sometime and celery root is on my "to try" list.

[precious831]

precious,

There may be hope down the line with the dairy. I have a casein allergy, confirmed with testing but after completely avoiding it for a year, I was able to re-introduce and tolerate goat's milk products. I started with the lowest lactose forms-yogurt and cheese. Still haven't tried the milk itself.

I love the crunch of lotus and do have it sometimes. I have to stick with low-carb veggies and have a few veggie allergies so that adds to the challenge. I want to try jicama sometime and celery root is on my "to try" list.

I sure hope so! I've been avoiding dairy for years, last yr I tried goat cheese and had intestinal bleeding.

I like jicama, we eat it like a snack/desert, just peel, wash and slice or you can add it like a side dish. It's not gonna help us gain weight though, just some type of a filler. I wonder if it might work for hash browns, shred it and fry with some egg.

[jenngolightly]

I originally started with SCD too but now I can't really say I'm SCD because I've been eating organic sweet potatoes and other tubers. I'm more paleo I guess. What kind of flour were you using? I saw on your avi you're allergic to nuts/treenuts.

Keep me posted and hope you get a new oven ASAP!

It was a slap in the face when I found out about the nut allergy this summer. I kept trying to sub my old grain flour with different nut flours and was having all kinds of respiratory and eczema problems. I didn't know they were related, of course. I never ate nuts on a regular basis before the diet. I didn't like nuts. Then I went to the dr and dermatologist and finally figured out that I have a nut allergy. As soon as I cut nuts from my diet, my severely itchy, eczema and chronic respiratory issues completely cleared up! I'm healthy now, but without nut flour - and, of course, grains - I haven't found a way to make baked goods which would help me feel full and keep my weight up.

So unless someone else knows how to make a flour without grains or nuts (and I tried pumpkin seeds which also caused my eczema to flare), then I'm out-of-luck on baked goods until I start adding grains into my diet. Not sure when/how to do that, but I imagine I'm not going to be able to wait the full year that the SCD diet recommends.

Opinions? Suggestions?

[precious831]

It was a slap in the face when I found out about the nut allergy this summer. I kept trying to sub my old grain flour with different nut flours and was having all kinds of respiratory and eczema problems. I didn't know they were related, of course. I never ate nuts on a regular basis before the diet. I didn't like nuts. Then I went to the dr and dermatologist and finally figured out that I have a nut allergy. As soon as I cut nuts from my diet, my severely itchy, eczema and chronic respiratory issues completely cleared up! I'm healthy now, but without nut flour - and, of course, grains - I haven't found a way to make baked goods which would help me feel full and keep my weight up.

So unless someone else knows how to make a flour without grains or nuts (and I tried pumpkin seeds which also caused my eczema to flare), then I'm out-of-luck on baked goods until I start adding grains into my diet. Not sure when/how to do that, but I imagine I'm not going to be able to wait the full year that the SCD diet recommends.

Opinions? Suggestions?

These are my suggestions: coconut flour, quinoa, buckwheat, chia flour(very expensive but worth it). Buckwheat and quinoa are not grains, you could try. I'm having trouble I think with quinoa now so I'm avoiding it.

So sorry to hear about the nut allergy. I go nuts on nutsonline buying nuts there and flour. I love baked goods, I make everything now but I'm grateful we still have food we can eat, thank God. Keep me posted. Also what I do is rotate the foods so we don't eat the same thing everyday, it's supposed to help with food allergies. And I'm sure my bottom line is severe candida infestation, since that's what showed up in my test last yr, it's probably still going on but not as bad. Seems like the last 2-3 yrs have been a steady decline as far as gut problems and I can't wait to be 100% better.

[missy'smom]

I haven't found a way to make baked goods which would help me feel full and keep my weight up.

Opinions? Suggestions?

Would flax meal work with your allergy? There are recipes for pizza crust, bread and muffins out there filed under low-carb.

[missy'smom]

I sure hope so! I've been avoiding dairy for years, last yr I tried goat cheese and had intestinal bleeding.

Yikes!

I like jicama, we eat it like a snack/desert, just peel, wash and slice or you can add it like a side dish. It's not gonna help us gain weight though,(LOL, I sure could use some more weight, but upping protein has worked well for me) just some type of a filler. I wonder if it might work for hash browns, shred it and fry with some egg.I think I saw a recipe for that recently!

[dreacakes]

I've just gone on a no-grain diet. (I call it my "Cavewoman diet")

It's been going really well. I've had more good days this last week than I have in a long time!

I also cut out sugar and caffeine, so that has had an impact as well.

I am eating a bit of quinoa too, but I'm trying to to over-do it. Recently I got a dehydrator and I'm going to experiment with making raw nut pizza crusts and coconut wrappers (for samosas and spring rolls).

[precious831]

I've just gone on a no-grain diet. (I call it my "Cavewoman diet")

It's been going really well. I've had more good days this last week than I have in a long time!

I also cut out sugar and caffeine, so that has had an impact as well.

I am eating a bit of quinoa too, but I'm trying to to over-do it. Recently I got a dehydrator and I'm going to experiment with making raw nut pizza crusts and coconut wrappers (for samosas and spring rolls).

Oh definitely, cavewoman sounds great! LOL. I've been calling myself as following paleo/caveman diet haha.

Would you mind sharing your coconut wrapper recipes and the raw nut pizza crust? I miss samosas and pizza! I got a large dehydrator for Christmas and I'm so stoked. I just used it for the 1st time yesterday, I dehydrated almonds that I soaked.

I really miss spring rolls too!

I'm on a no-sugar or almost no sugar as well. I bake with honey most of the time or agave nectar. I still drink coffee, about 1 cup a day.

[precious831]

Shamelessly bumping this thread .

[WheatChef]

I'm still doing the ketogenic paleo diet of no grains/legumes and almost no fruits/nuts (and heavy amounts of yummy saturated fats). It seems like each week I just keep getting better as my health improves and my mental state gets cheerier. I'd say my cognition improved about the same measure going keto-paleo from gluten-free as it did going from heavy amounts of gluten to gluten-free. My skin has also improved a similarly comparable measure as well as my energy levels. It's going so well that I've taken to calling the gluten-free diet just "paleo-lite", considering how much of an extra improvement it is to just go all the way and remove all of those grains and other starchy toxins from the diet.

[cahill]

I am still using bits of white rice/rice flour in my cooking but other than that I am grain free and doing soooo much better.

I am able to consume legumes and am getting most of my carbs from them.

I am not planning on adding back grains anytime soon IF at all

[precious831]

I am still using bits of white rice/rice flour in my cooking but other than that I am grain free and doing soooo much better.

I am able to consume legumes and am getting most of my carbs from them.

I am not planning on adding back grains anytime soon IF at all

You'll probably feel a whole lot better if you give up the rice completely, trust me it makes a huge difference, well at least for those of us who were pretty much hopeless I guess. Just give it a try, you may never go back to rice ever.

I'm not a legume fan so I don't eat it much, if I do, they are soaked for 12 hrs and then rinsed very well.

[precious831]

I'm still doing the ketogenic paleo diet of no grains/legumes and almost no fruits/nuts (and heavy amounts of yummy saturated fats). It seems like each week I just keep getting better as my health improves and my mental state gets cheerier. I'd say my cognition improved about the same measure going keto-paleo from gluten-free as it did going from heavy amounts of gluten to gluten-free. My skin has also improved a similarly comparable measure as well as my energy levels. It's going so well that I've taken to calling the gluten-free diet just "paleo-lite", considering how much of an extra improvement it is to just go all the way and remove all of those grains and other starchy toxins from the diet.

So glad to hear you're doing good! What fats are you using? I use coconut oil and avocado oil.

My skin has improved a lot too, especially on my face. I attribute it to the nuts I eat. I also used to have rashes that had blisters on them and were extremely itchy, those have been gone.

Can we all share recipes please? I have a food blog but not sure I'm allowed to post it here so I'm not going to. Anyone can email me if interested I guess, if that's ok. I'll share.

[missy'smom]

I tried these Open Original Shared Link before the holidays and liked them. I used Truvia and golden flax meal, less pecans and only a quarter of an apple, finely diced as I can't handle much fruit. I am hoping to try a new flax sandwich style bread recipe today.

Here's a tried and true that the whole family likes Open Original Shared Link

I LOVE these and so does my son Open Original Shared Link I still have a few spices off limits right now so have to wait a bit 'till I can hopefully get them back.

[precious831]

I tried these Open Original Shared Link before the holidays and liked them. I used Truvia and golden flax meal, less pecans and only a quarter of an apple, finely diced as I can't handle much fruit. I am hoping to try a new flax sandwich style bread recipe today.

Here's a tried and true that the whole family likes Open Original Shared Link

I LOVE these and so does my son Open Original Shared Link I still have a few spices off limits right now so have to wait a bit 'till I can hopefully get them back.

I was wondering how you're doing! How are you?

Thanks for these links, I actually follow Marks Apple, I love his website . All the recipes are pretty easy and the comments are hilarious.

Do you have any other flax recipes? How was the texture of that one you posted? Thanks.

[WestCoastGirl]

Would eating flax constitute eating grains? I hope that isn't a stupid question. I do eat flax but other than that, no grains at all, ever, or I suffer the consequences.

BUT eating my flax-included non-grain diet, I'm doin' great!

[missy'smom]

I was wondering how you're doing! How are you?

Thanks for these links, I actually follow Marks Apple, I love his website . All the recipes are pretty easy and the comments are hilarious.

Do you have any other flax recipes? How was the texture of that one you posted? Thanks.

It's sweet of you to ask. I'm doing well. Some meals are good and some are fuel for the car But my health benefits from this diet so much that I stick with it.

I don't have any intentions or desire to go out and replace all the carby stuff with alternative baked goods but these low-carb baked things help keep variety in my diet and that hopefully helps me ward off becoming allergic to other things as I am one to become allergic to frequently eaten foods.

I have a bunch of recipes bookmarked that I haven't tried-all low carb, using almond meal or flax.

Here's a new recipe that I tried just today. Open Original Shared Link I made half the recipe using 2 eggs and put it in an 8X8 casserole dish. I was very low on canola oil so I used half oil and half melted soy-free Earthbalance. I liked it. I just ate a slice as an addition to my meat and veg. meal-turkey burger patty, steamed califlower, broccoli and brussel sprouts and red cabbage sauteed with red onion.

I'm not sure how to describe the texture of the muffins. I'm not a fan of eggs and some low-carb stuff can get too eggy tasting for me. Sometimes I'll omit one agg and add flax replacer. I can't stand bits of egg, so I beat my eggs well and then pour them through a mesh strainer, any stringy bits and usually that white membrane get left behind. I'm always a little hesitant with these recipes and the ingredients are expensive so I often try a half batch the first time.

Westcoast,

I am grain-free to manage diabetes, so I don't know some of the technicalities behind paleo or some other similar low-carb or grain-free diets. I do know that flax has ALOT of fiber and has very minimal impact on blood sugar. I manage without any medications or insulin so I have to be very careful. I believe that flax is a seed and doesn't count as a grain.

[precious831]

Would eating flax constitute eating grains? I hope that isn't a stupid question. I do eat flax but other than that, no grains at all, ever, or I suffer the consequences.

BUT eating my flax-included non-grain diet, I'm doin' great!

Hi, flax is a seed so you're ok, unless of course if you're reacting to it. You could also try chia seed. Those are yummy in baked goods, pricey but worth it.

[Rachel W]

Oh definitely, cavewoman sounds great! LOL. I've been calling myself as following paleo/caveman diet haha.

Would you mind sharing your coconut wrapper recipes and the raw nut pizza crust? I miss samosas and pizza! I got a large dehydrator for Christmas and I'm so stoked. I just used it for the 1st time yesterday, I dehydrated almonds that I soaked.

I really miss spring rolls too!

I'm on a no-sugar or almost no sugar as well. I bake with honey most of the time or agave nectar. I still drink coffee, about 1 cup a day.

How do you dehydrate your almonds? I got a dehydrator for Christmas too I made pineapple and apple ! yummmyy.. do u have to soak then in salted water?