VioletBlue

Congrats on keeping the first shopping trip under three hours

It does get easier. It takes time but you figure it out; you get to the point where you know what is probably safe and what absolutely isn't and that cuts down on a lot of time and label reading. I would also suggest carrying a magnifying glass for those really small labels with the ingredients in white print against a red background

Mostly these days I shop in the cheese, coldcuts, dairy, meat and veggie/fruit sections. I pretty much avoid the aisles all together. I occasionally make a forage in there for olive oil or rice noodles or something, but most of what I eat are whole foods now with next to nothing that is processed, packaged, frozen or canned. I also just kind of automatically shy away now from ingredient lists that are a mile long and list things normal sane people wouldn't eat. If I can't promounce it I've decided I don't want to be eating it.

Thanks, everyone, for the excellent advice. Yes, I had seen the "safe" and "unsafe" lists on Celiac.com-- many thanks-- next time, I'll print them out and tote them with me to the grocery store.

I am in south-central PA and am located about 40 miles between two different Wegmans-- Trader Joe's is not too terribly far away either (about 45 miles) and I believe there is a Whole Foods at about that distance as well.

I will stick to basics and as a I get better at remembering and learning about more complex ingredients, I will venture into braver territory!

I appreciate the time that everyone took to answer my questions.

THANKS FOR HELPING THE NEW GUY!!

Your sister may well have had active Celiacs for some time. Symptoms do change over time and with the amount of damage. The more damaged the small intestine becomes the more obvious it is that there is something wrong. Most people don't think twice when the doctor says "You're a little anemic" or when they have an episode or two of diarrhea or bloating or something, particularly women. We're so accustom to being told that our cycles effect how we feel from one day to the next that we write a lot off that way. But at some point the damage leads to consistent problems and that is when most people begin to seek a diagnosis. That doesn't mean they've SUDDENLY developed Celiacs, but rather it's gotten to the point where the damage is affecting their everyday life.

I was 44 when I was finally diagnosed. I would guess I had active Celiacs for at least ten years before it became obvious something was very wrong. I started have heart arrhythmia, extremely low iron count, terrible depressions and rage and diarrhea and bloating daily. It was the hemoglobin count that finally spurred a need to figure out what was wrong. Had I gone on much longer without diagnosis I have no doubt the arrhythmia would have gotten me. Gods, can't even use the D or K word. Can't even think about it.

You don't mention what prompted the diagnosis? Was she having problems? Were they progressive or cumulative?

Thank you for such a prompt response, but how does a body just all of a sudden become sick like this?? Right before she was diagnosed, like last year, she was fine / what could have triggered the reaction ?? She has had many a trying and difficult thing in her life / drug addiction, prison. lots of ugly stuff / Yes she has been clean for almost 10 yrs / but her and family are happy and there can't possibly anything close to that going on now

I do the Cheba Foccaccia bread now. That's the only bread I bother with. Glutenfreemall sells the Cheba. I bake it per directions and ten minutes before it's done I drown it in mashed broiled garlic and butter and it makes a very passable garlic bread. I don't bother with loaves of anything anymore. There will never be a gluten-free bread that tastes like wheat bread so I don't bother. The nice thing about Foccaccia is that I never ate it prior to being diagnosed, so I have no preconcieved notions about how it should taste or what it's texture should be.

I have to travel at the end of the month. I've been trying to settle my father's estate for two years now and hopefully this will be the last action I have to take to do it. I have no choice, I have to go. It's about a three hour drive. I'll be staying with friends for five days. They are of course gluten eaters, but they want to be as accommodating as they can; they're bending over backward in fact to be helpful. I haven't been away from home since before I was diagnosed in December 06. I'm literally in a panic about it.

I can take a cooler with me, and other foods and pots and what not. There's a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods within walking distance of their home. I know intellectually that this is doable, but I can't seem to wrap my brain around it without freaking out. This is pretty far outside my comfort zone right now.

They are dear friends and I also don't want to offend them. They're even putting up with my dog, the 82 pound Shepherd who thinks she's a Pomeranian. I worry about having to say things like "I'm sorry, but I can't scramble eggs in your non-stick frying pan because it's probably contaminated.

I could just use suggestions. Well, tranquilizers would be good too, but I don't think I'm getting those here. I'm hoping that enough common sense people will post with ideas and suggestions from their experiences so that I can alleviate some of the panic. Also suggestions on what to be careful about would be useful too. I so hope TJ's or Whole Foods stocks organic wine. I have a hunch I'm going to need it.

I am gluten intolerant, but also nightshade intolerant, allergic sweet potatoes and yams, to sunflowers and cucumbers and sulfites and sodium nitrites. Obvious snack things tend not to be an option because of the nightshades and sunflower thing, and even gluten-free baked goods are tough because I react to sulfites in cornstarch and most common types of baking powder as well as potato flour and starch.

So any suggestions are welcome.

"My mother always told me, it's okay to play with a man's mind

as long as you put it back where you got it when you're done with it."

Yeah, well, here's the fun question. Pot can get cut with all sorts of things. Do you truly know what's in yours? It's not like it comes with an FDA approved ingredient list

Well, i found out that i have been gluten free. Except as you said the rolling paper contains gluten - Although i didnt really smoke using papers for a couple months, then i went to the bong for the last few months i smoked. I didnt really start smoking suddenly, i just started to smoke a lot more . You said you taught about drugs and have stated that the drug couldn't be the source. When i started to use the bong i still wouldn't have this head problem when i wasnt under the influence. When i started noticing the problem, and quit i havent been able to stop. So could the gluten still be the source? Or can the drug influence my body in another way to make me do it? And i dont do any other drugs. I have been gluten free for a long time, until started using the spliffs- didnt know they had gluten in them. - is there enough gluten in them to affect me this way? I am going to get sublingual b12 supplements, as soon as i can.

Thanks for your help. You have been answering many of my problems, and its quite embarrassing to go places and have everyone watch you like a vulture.

I apologize in advance, but I'm in a pissy mood today.

You have three children. Do you want to live to see them grow up get married and have children of their own? Do you realize that the odds of you being diagnosed with cancer are hugely increased if you continue to eat gluten? Do you realize that there's a good chance your children have inhereted your genes and could be diagnosed as Celiac one day too? What kind of example will you have set for them on down the road if they see that you can't stick to a gluten-free diet? Is a slice of birthday cake really worth a cancer diagnosis and early death?

You now have the tools to change your life. You know what you have to do and by going gluten-free you could be extending your life by decades. Yeah it's hard, I know that, everyone here knows that, but the trade off is that you'll get to watch your kids grow up. And the back pain will probably lessen considerablly if you go gluten-free. It did with me, it has for many people here.

Do not think about forever. I've found that what works for addicts works for me as well. Think about today, this meal this moment, NOT about forever. Forever looks like a death sentance, today does not. One day at a time, one meal at a time, one grocery shopping trip at a time.

And if you can't handle the eating disorders and this diet maybe you need to sit down with someone who can help you work through it all. Yes, you've got a lot on your plate. So ask for help. And we all are here. This site is a wonderful resource; the people here are wonderful. I'm sure somewhere here is someone who knows how to successfully eat at the Cheesecake Factory. Ask and I'm sure someone will answer.

You have this amazing opportunity to change your future. You can take it and avoid a whole lot of grief and pain or you can refuse to change, shrug it off and pay the price later. But the price is liable to be pretty high.

Hey! I am a newbie to this group. I am sad! I just recently found out that I have celiac disease, and I am also lactose intolerant. To make things worse, I also have chronic back pain. My husband and my kids already have to help me so much because of my back, but now they also have to deal with all of my food issues. I feel like I am driving my husband crazy because it is all I can think about. Last night we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and I went into panic mode because I didn't know what to order. Then we went to a Birthday party, and I again went into panic mode because I didn't want to have to tell everyone why I couldn't eat the cake or the food. It seems like it is just easier to deal with the symptoms. I can't imagine trying to eat like this for the rest of my life. There are some things like Birthday cake that I refuse to give up. It's extremely hard when you have 3 kids, and they eat non-stop. I am only 36 years old, and this seems like a death sentence. I also have issues with eating disorders, and that just makes the food issues even worse. How can one person have so many things going on at the same time???

Most likely those people without symptoms manage to do it because they want to live to see their children grow up, grow old with their spouses or simple live to see sixty without facing a debilitating cancer diagnosis. That would be my guess.

Well thank you for your replies. I kinda figured I just got lucky, but it sure made me doubt the necessity of the diet. My stomach did start to hurt, but barely.

Yes.... pizza I LOVE pizza! And it was good. But I won't do it again. Although it will be harder for me now since the thing that made sticking to the diet easy was the fear of getting sick. I know this sounds dumb but I think I would cheat more if the only thing that would happen was silent damage without feeling sick. I don't know how those people without symptoms but with a celiac diagnosis do it. I have no willpower!

I so miss corned beef. But I'd have to brine it myself because I haven't found one that doesn't use nitrites. And I can't have potatos anyway, so that leaves me with boiled cabbage I think I'm just oging to try to sleep through St. Patricks day this year. Shhhh, nobody wake me . . .

You're not crazy. As other's have pointed out mineral and vitamin deficiencies can impact how well your brain and your thyroid work. Your brain and thyroid play a big part in regulating heartbeat and NERVE function. The sharp pains could simply be nerve damage. I was getting brutal stabbing pains in my arms and legs for awhile there; like someone was jabbing a white hot needle into my body. And deficiencies can all produce irregular heart beats, at least in my experience. Once I got my iron and vitamin levels back up the irregular heartbeat went away. It only comes back if I'm having an allergic reaction to something. Pineapple is one of the foods that seems to impact me the most with irregular heartbeats and elevated heart rate. Have you tried doing some kind of elimination diet to see if there's something you're routinely eating that is bothering you?

I have also had itching issues, extreme to the point of crying. It was just all over itching and I have dermographia as well so on my skin you see every single scratch. Claritan does help, but it takes almost an hour for it to kick in for me. Capsicum cream can only work if you have a couple key trigger points that set of the itching; places where you itch the most. If you can quiet the trigger points you can sometimes ramp down the overall itching. At least that is what I found. But be careful with the capsicum as it's pure hot pepper. It's wonderful at deadening nerves in the skin. It's over the counter, but talk to the pharmacist about it and follow the directions carefully, applying with non porous gloves if you can.

I also found that I have a couple food allergies who's immediate reaction is intense itching. I was eating a lot of potato chips just because I could. Pretty much every type of chip on the market contains some level of sunflower oil. It turned out I was not only allergic to potatoes but intensely allergic to sunflowers. The worst of my itching went away when I banished sunflower oil and cucumbers from my diet. So the itching could be aggravated by some kind of allergy to something you inadvertently eat every day, something as simple as safflower oil or potatoes or olive oil.

I think you're best bet is to try and elimination diet, take it back to basics and see if that helps.

You're not crazy. Many of us have been where you are. The doctors don't have the answers. Many many of us have had to figure this all out on our own.

I think almost everyone here can agree that none of us want to, or intend to tick off our family or friends. We do the best we can to be as accommodating as we can so that we can join in at social functions without fear. Celiacs can be extremely isolating for us. We don't take our own food or question someone's preparation of food because we want to be different special or difficult, we do it because we want to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy our time with you. We've chosen to make our health a priority and risk having the ones we love not understand our intentions. We hate having to make that choice but we do it in the interests of self preservation.

Staying gluten free is your sisters best bet for avoiding cancer. Those of us who are Celiac run a significantly increased risk of cancer, particularly of the digestive tract. That risk is significantly lower if we go off gluten and stay off it.

I use Slippery Elm because of it's anti-inflamatory properties. I also take Elderberry daily. Elderberry is considered by some to be a type of natural anti-biotic and it naturally contains a good dose of A B and C vitamins. Most common medicinal herbs in the daisy family cause a reaction for me, but the Slippery Elm and the Elderberry have yet to be an issue.

Oh gosh, the focaccia chebe mix makes a great great pizza dough and it's potato and corn free. Not all the chebe mixes are, but that one is. Love it!

Some Chebe mixes are dairy free and they use tapioca starch and no potato stuff (I think, you would have to check).

I don't know that I can help. I've been winging it so to speak. I'm gluten-free and I cannot have potatos and I avoid baked products with corn in them because I react to corn starch because of the sulfites used. That leaves out most of the available pre-mixed baking mixes. If you're determined to bake there are other flours out there. I've currently got rice, sorghum, almond, tapioca and garfava flour in my pantry. Tapioca makes a good sub for corn starch and you can mix your own baking powder so that it does not include corn starch. Baking requires some effort now that is true. And you will have to look long and hard to find pre-baked goods that are safe. You might try your local organic store and see what options they have. More and more organic stores are stocking products designed to be safe for a variety of allergies.

I do eat a lot of rice and a lot of salads and fresh vegetables and simple prepared meats. I tend to use a lot of garlic and herbs and olive oil in my cooking. I pretty much avoid the whole idea of bread and have never been a big pasta fan. Though if you are into pasta there are lots of rice pastas out there these days. Last nights dinner was baked chicken and fresh green beans with mushrooms and leaks. Tonight pork ribs and a green salad are on the menu with maybe some fresh blueberries for desert. Most of my meals are pretty basic, meat and vegetable, or meat and green salad, or meat and rice.

It helps to take some time and seriously cruise the produce department considering every single thing in it. Likewise with your local organic store or oriental market. I've become a big fan of winter squashs lately. Have you tried everything in the produce department at least once? You kind of have to expand and keep expanding your choices, including trying things you can't even pronounce. Do the same in the international aisle of the supermarket. That is where I find the Thai Kitchen rice noodles. Thai Kitchen also has pre-packaged rice noodle meals, but you need to check those for other allergens, though they're usually gluten-free.

I've been told that sunchokes if you can find them in the store have a texture and taste similar to potatoes. Our Vons carries them. I can't have them because they're the root of a type of sunflower and of course I'm allergic to sunflowers. If I could eat tomatos, which of course I can't, I'd be all over their produce department because they carry a variety of differnt tomatos.

It does require creativity. I wish there were an easier way, but there just isn't. Sticking to whole foods is the safest easiest way to go.

Hi. I don

The safest way for me to go is to choose brands that state on the bottle whether their products as gluten free or not. I know NOW and NatureMade both will clearly say on the bottle if the product is gluten free. I believe there are a couple other brands that do, like GNC, but I tend to stick with NOW and NatureMade.

thanks I will call Monday.

I hope I didn't make a huge mistake in not thinking of this....

If you're relatively new to gluten free you may still be healing from the malabsorption. In the case of vitamins, some of the minerals in particular can hit you hard because they're not being absorbed but passing straight through. I used to have a particularly bad reaction to iron or anything with iron in it until I began to heal. I would be nausous within minutes of taking vitamins and some supplements. It's hard to know what the problem with the butter was. I've never reacted to butter so I don't know. Could it have been some other food you ate? As you go on with the gluten-free diet you may find there are other foods that cause reactions similar to gluten. It's not uncommon for Celiacs to have other food intolerances and allergies, and they are not all immediately apparent. It can take months to become aware of them and weed them out of your diet.

Violet

FYI - didn't see this topic when I did a search - hopefully isn't a repeat.

Had a reaction Saturday to a "safe" cooked-at-home from raw ingredients meal. We'd run out of regular butter so on the rice I used some DH had from baking last month - was unsalted.

when I did my paranoid "I will now read all labels even though I know I've read them before" routine, the unsalted butter listed "natural flavors" which some sources will say are gluten-free as a category but others point out wheat can be used in processing without requirement to list as an ingredient. All I know is that I had a (mild, but noticable) reaction.

So at the regular grocery store all 3 unsalted butters had "natural flavors", at WholeFoods only 1 of the 5 unsalted butters had "natural flavors". Salted butters both stores were all simply cream & salt as ingredients. Silly me I didn't think butter of any kind was something I had to check

Caveat-I still haven't found a vitamin (whether gluten-free or not) that I don't react to, so there's an outside chance the 'natural flavor' reaction wasn't gluten. However I don't have any other sensitivities that I can tell, and am fine with dairy in general and regular butter in particular.

Have you tried looking them up on Amazon?

Often if you can find them there, you can find a link on the listing to the manufacturer which would give your local store some idea how to order them. Also, you almost always have to buy things like that in bulk on Amazon which does sometimes cut the per bag cost, though delivery can cut into the savings. Still, if you're desperate, and believe me I know the feeling, it can be an option.

Personally I'd kill for a potato free, sunflower oil free ANYTHING.

Hmm, best of luck with that. Foodies can be some of the nastiest people when it comes to being tolerant of allergies and food intolerances. I learned that on the Jamie Oliver forum. One poor woman mentioned cheese allergies and they got nasty with her. I came to her defense in what I thought was a non aggressive manner and got shouted down as well. My favorite comment was the ding-a-ling who said "Just take an allergy pill". But then these are people who are insisting that school lunch programs use "free range" chickens exclusively. Yeah, that would fly in the US.

My point is, they tend to get really defensive. I think they somehow see those of us with allergies and intolerances as somehow limiting their future options or something.

Violet

One of the things the small intestine processes is fats. Greasy food is fatty food. If you're recently diagnosed fat absorption may be a problem for you for awhile as your ability to handle it has been compromised by Celiacs. I had similar issues when I was first diagnosed. I was also reliant on over the counter anti acids to sleep at night after a meal with any level of fat in it, however small. Within a couple months of going gluten-free I was off the anti acids and handling fatty foods better. I no longer have the digestion of a 20 year old, and never will again, but things have improved for me dramatically in the last fourteen or fifteen months to the point where I can enjoy spare ribs again

I searched to see if the topic was already discussed, but I found nothing.

I am wondering if anyone else gets an upset stomach (like the kind before you went gluten-free) after eating greasy foods. Usually after I eat the pizzas I so enjoy (Kinnikinnick crusts with mozzarella cheese on top), my stomach gets upset, with the usual cramping and uneventful bathroom visits.

If it's the same stuff that someone gave me as a Christmas present, it has potato in it. So I have an unopened box of it sitting in the kitchen staring at me. I can't eat potato. Be happy to send it to you. I'm trying to figure out a delicate way to tell people to stop trying to send me gluten free stuff. I've got too many other food issues for that to work.

HEY I WANTED TO rave about a product. I wanted to make choclate chip cookies for my baby for valentines day)

I tried 365 whole foods baking mix... and it says to use as you would "REGULAR FLOUR"...... I was scared due to knowing you have to use guar gum or xanthum gum ... USUALLY YOU Have to add this your self.

They allready had the guar gum inside the flour mix.... ( after reading the box 100 times.. I have spent so much money on products like pamelas that do not work.. Bobs red mill tastes gross to me so this was an endevor.. I am tired of being burned lol by products that dont turn out.. and the stuff we have to buy isnt cheap...

So it can be used like regular flour. The choclate chip cookies I MADE looked like NORMAL FLUFFY cookies. No spreading like pamelas . And I used the regular recipie like I was making normal cookies .. baking soda, brown sugar , white sugar.. eggs butter.. vanillia .. and the 365 flour mix... so everyone try this, instead of the pamelas ... I think that you will be happy with the outcome... You treat it like normal flour. ( of course your ingredients are gluten-free) but its like normal I am so happy ... Now if I can get the baby to eat the chocolate chips .. and not spit them out.... lol But this is a great find for everyone... I literally did what the box said and got great results..... COOKIE MAKERS THIS WORKS. thanks chris

Sorry, I don't have a recipe. I grew up watching people make them so I wing it. I use sprouted organic corn tortillas these days, fill them with which ever meat and I usually throw in some chopped black olives just because I like them but you can also throw in green chilies or roasted chillies. I've even seen them with refried beans rolled in. I put a layer of sauce down on the bottom of the pan, then roll them up and jam them in tight so they don't unroll. Then I cover them with homemade sauce and cheese. I can't stomach the canned sauce for some reason, so I usually combine a small can of tomato paste, a can of chopped tomatoes some basil oregano salt and garlic.

I'm eating some of the pork ones from the last batch now and it seems I threw in some green olives last time, LOL. Actually kinda nice taste.

There are thousands of recipes out there, each one a little different.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I was kind of drawing a blank the other night when I tried to come up with a grocery list...

Violetblue: Do you have a recipe for the enchiladas? I've never made my own, but it sounds like a great idea.

Now I just need to get up the energy (and time!) to cook all of this stuff and freeze it all up!

How about making a big pan full of enchiladas? You can then separate them into meal size portions and freeze. I did that awhile back by crock potting a pork roast so that it cooked all day while I was at work. Then I took it out and shredded it and made enchiladas that night and froze all but that dinner's portion in reusable plastic containers.

Twice baked potato's used to be another favorite back when I could still eat potatoes. I'd bake up seven or eight large potatoes at a time, then scoop them out and mix them with either chicken or tuna and other fixings and bake them again with cheese on top. Then I wrapped each potato half in foil and froze it.

I use buckwheat sparingly in breads and wraps because it does have a stronger flavor. It can give you a whole grain type of taste, but too much can be overpowering and you run the risk of a slightly bitter after taste. I do love buckwheat noodles however. I'm still learning how to make pasta, but buckwheat so far is my favorite.

Violet

Yes, it's been my understanding that a thorough mixing is a must. The first loaf of gluten-free bread I made, I made from a recipe and I did not use a mixer. No one told me. I'd been making wheat bread for years and had no idea. gluten-free bread has a different texture when you're mixing it. When I didn't use a mixer I got almost a monkey puzzle type texture to the dough which trasnalted when it baked. The second loaf I made was from a mix and it clearly stated in the directions USE A MIXER. I used a mixer and got a decent consistency to the bread, though it still tasted like crap, LOL.

By the way someone on another board asked about a yeast and gluten free bread. Is there a recipe out there I wonder? Something other than a flat bread?

As Lee pointed out, it is the gluten that gives wheat breads their structure. Mixing/kneading develops the gluten, making it stronger and stretchier. That's why quick breads should be mixed minimally - if you overhandle it, the gluten develops too much and you get a tough product.

Gluten-free grains are not, in themselves, somehow delicate, but they do produce a very delicate dough because they lack the strength of structure that the gluten provides. Xanthan gum is a helpful substitute, but it definitely does not behave just like gluten does, nor is it nearly as sturdy. A thorough initial mixing of a gluten-free dough will not harm it, because the air pockets have not begun to form yet. Once it starts rising, however, it needs to handled very carefully to prevent collapse. And everything I've read would seem to indicate that once it collapses it is not, like wheat bread, going to resurrect itself. It seems clear that once it's over, it's over. I'll be delighted if I get proven wrong on that, by the way. Long, slow rises give such character to the flavor of regular breads.

The idea of using less yeast is an intriguing one; I'll be playing around with that, too, and looking forward to hearing everyone else's results.

Unfortunately I do not think many companies understand the law the way you and I do. I've run into products that list soy sauce as an ingredient in a product without then listing the ingredients of the soy sauce. And the products did not have an allergen warning on them for soy or wheat. And yes the soy sauce in question was made with wheat.

Once again, for those in the U.S., wheat MUST be listed. No question. My experience was that even before the allergen law, wheat was ALWAYS listed in soy sauce if it was there.

richard

I have to use my own flour mix with her recipes when I use them. I can't tolerate potato or GMO corn or cornstarch. If I remember right she has a corn free mix and a potato free mix but not one that is free of both. In addition if you use cornstarch it may or may not contain sulfities which is an issue for some people as well.

Violet

Hi. I'm gluten and lactose intolerant, and I'm a huge fan of Bette Hagmann's Gluten Free Gourmet bakes bread (and makes desert) - that is, if I could eat it.

Every recipe I've tried from both books still give me the same gluten intolerant symptoms - definitely not as much as regular bread, but still enough for me to stay away.

Does anyone else have this problem? Has anyone experimented for long enough to know what the cause is? I've tried eliminating ingredients one at a time for awhile, but it seems like nothing is really working.

I really want it to work!!