I Need Help Understanding

[Hopeful1950]

Bread: I like Udi's best, but have to eat it sparingly because the gums in it bother me a little. There is a website out there "The Gluten Free Goddess". She has lots of good bread recipes with lots of instructions on how to make it correctly.

Cooking: I got a cookbook "1000 Gluten-Free Recipes" by Carol Fenster and it is pretty good. She has a flour blend to be used in everything and I like it a lot. Her basic muffin recipe is wonderful and I have tweaked it by reducing the amount of flours and adding almond meal (for more protein). I also add hemp seeds and things like that to muffins. She recommends Expandex (a type of starch) but I haven't ever used it and the recipes still turn out really well. I have used her flour blend to make pancakes and all kinds of things.

Breakfast: I eat a lot of Cream of Rice with chopped almonds and dried fruit in it. Bob's Red Mill also makes a hot cereal that is really good. I have to use it sparingly because I think I'm sensitive to corn a little. I make a big batch of it and put it in single serving storage containers and heat up in the microwave. For protein I often cook a huge steak the night before and save some for breakfast. Van's frozen gluten-free waffles are pretty good, but something in them bothers me. I used to use them like bread and make P G & J or a hamburger with them, but maybe CC? I was still in the learning stage then, so I might have been making some other mistake. I'm going to take a stab at them again because they were really good and EASY. Can't wait until I am healed enough to eat whole eggs again. The iodine in the yolk still gets me itchy.

Kind Bars: Yummy! Also some chips (sweet potato and multi-grain) made by "Food Should Taste Good". You can buy both at some grocery stores, but here where I live, they also have them at Starbucks so I can actually have a little snack when I meet friends there. The chips do have some sea salt in them, so I eat them sparingly.

Have you noticed that most gluten-free prepared foods have sea salt in them? They think it is more healthy, but it has iodine in it, so be careful of that. The breads, cookies and the like are also very high in carbs. I gain weight easily so have to watch how much of them I eat.

[squirmingitch]

Hi Hopeful! Thanks for the info. I realize I have a LONG way to go on learning the flours & which does what & tastes like what in what. I think I'm going to miss baking powder biscuits the most. I always made my own & have always loved biscuits. I got all excited one day when I found a gluten-free baking powder biscuit recipe online which claimed to be great & the reviews were too. So I bought & ordered online the flours I needed. Waited for the flour to come. Drooling when it did. Salivating while I followed the recipe. Well, it contained millet flour & when those things baked the whole house smelled like bird seed. And I could even handle that but then I tasted the biscuit & YEP! birdseed! Too bad too as the texture was pretty good but I thought, "These people have been so long without tasting real biscuits that they forgot what the real thing tastes like". The problem with these experiments is that the ingredients cost so much & then you have to dump whatever you made.

So today I had no toast containing soy & had no bloat or any sign of & didn't even burp despite eating a good bit of raw bell pepper which I love but have shunned for years as I thought it was one of the culprits. I realize now there will be a lot of revelations coming down the pike.

I tried the Van's waffles & they were okay but they get too crunchy. Just MHO.

Yes, the other day I was looking at rice milk, almond milk, etc... & every single one I picked up contained sea salt. And sooooo many things with sea salt. It's too bad because it makes it out of the question for us most of the time simply by that one thing. I mean, I'd rather spend my iodine on having a whole egg than spending it having something with sea salt. And that is the case with lots of products. Sea salt is the "in" thing so they're using it in everything now. Marketing, marketing.

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about the carbs. Just the opposite in fact. I am 97 lbs. 5'1" so could use a few lbs. which I hope will eventually come now that I know what's going on. I lost 6 lbs. about 6 years ago & no matter what I did could NOT gain it back. Have been struggling to hold 97 without backsliding.

[Roda]

You can make your own almond milk. You can get raw almonds and blanch them, put them in the blender with some filtered water and blend for a good while, strain (I use jelly straining bags), then add a touch of honey, maple syrup, vanilla, etc if desired. I usually use 3/4 cup almonds to 2 cups water. I like to make smaller batches since I am the only one who uses it. I will make more if I'm going to use it in baking. I will add a touch of honey or maple syrup if I'm going to use it on cereal etc. In baking I use it plain. Now I'm wanting some. It's been a long while.

[squirmingitch]

Thanks Roda! Now I can have almond milk. That will help with keeping the iodine at lower levels. YAY!

[Hopeful1950]

I have made almond milk and it is better than the stuff you buy.

Almond meal is great in baking because you can reduce your flours by 1/4 and substitute the almond meal in almost any recipe.

Aren't almonds also high in calcium?

[Roda]

Thanks Roda! Now I can have almond milk. That will help with keeping the iodine at lower levels. YAY!

I forgot to add that after I blanch them I slip the skins off. I also don't let all the ground up almonds that are left over after straining go to waste. I use it in baking.

[squirmingitch]

Good to know. Thanks.

[rosetapper23]

I thought that all of the Van's gluten-free waffles contained soy flour--am I wrong? I got really sick from eating them the first time and then read the ingredient list. I was sickened by the fact that a gluten-free waffle would contain soy flour--it just didn't make sense.

For breakfast, I either make a smoothie that contains all of my supplements...or I make fried eggs (not just the egg whites--what's all that about??!) and bacon. All celiacs (and, actually, all humans) need to eat more healthy saturated fats to help in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins. If anyone is interested in reading the bio-chemistry behind this, an incredible read is, "Primal Body, Primal Mind."

[mushroom]

I thought that all of the Van's gluten-free waffles contained soy flour--am I wrong? I got really sick from eating them the first time and then read the ingredient list. I was sickened by the fact that a gluten-free waffle would contain soy flour--it just didn't make sense.

Yes, I think they do have soy, which is the reason I never look at them any more. Either that and/or potato.

[squirmingitch]

rosetapper ~~~ the only eating egg whites is about limiting the iodine intake as the yolks are what contains the iodine. As I am newly gluten free, but still itching like a million chiggers had a feast on me, I am going iodine free to try & get this stuff to lay down a little faster. Otherwise I would be gobbling up the eggs --- WHOLE!

As to the soy issue I can pretty much call it a given that soy is not good for me. 2nd day without soy again & no bloat, burp or gas. And throughout this I have been eating beans -- you know which kinds --- & no problems. It's amazing!!!! The only problem comes when I have soy.

[rosetapper23]

Oh, thanks for explaining about the egg yolks. I hadn't realized that they contained much iodine. They've never bothered me....

Go glad to hear that you feel better without the soy, though--that stuff really isn't good for anyone.

[squirmingitch]

My hubby said he didn't think I should be drinking soy milk when I began drinking it to help with the menopause. So now he's all "I told you that stuff wasn't good for you!" Course that's all based on his knowledge of NOTHING --- simply his fear of EVERYTHING.

(It's easy to be brilliant by accident)

Sorry. Had to vent for a minute there. Been a rough day.