VioletBlue

What is it that makes the pizza spicy if it's not a nightshade?

That's one of the things I miss, hot spicy foods. Heat is usually generated by a pepper.

And sundried tomatos are nightshades.

  hawaiimama said:

What about a pesto sauce. that is pretty easy.

I do a spicy thai chili chicken pizza with a thai sauce instead of tomato, goat cheese, broccoli and proschuto (sp). I generally put sundried tomato on it too. Its YUMMY.

Chebe bread mixes and Pamela's Organic Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I buy Chebe mixes in bulk now. Oh, and homemade ice cream. I made a killer blueberry cheese cake ice cream last week. I also tried Xylitol last week; MAJOR splurg at that price. I'm still undecided on that one though.

NOTHING EVER makes me want to eat gluten. I don't care how depressed or frustrated I am, gluten is never an option. Is anyone here really going to do that?

People who struggle will complain from time to time. Sorry, that's the nature of the beast. Struggle is not easy, particularly this struggle. I don't know of anyone who in struggling with something this tough who doesn't complain. It's human nature. To do otherwise is what I would find odd. But again, what you see as complaining other people probably see as sharing their experiences and how they are feeling. It's a difference in viewpoint and opinion.

  lsmall05 said:

There are indeed less severe cases of celiac, consult your doctor.

I am in no way encouraging people to eat gluten, as I stated EAT GLUTEN FREE. There does have to be a realization though that you are going to screw up without even knowing it. I can eat something and not feel a thing, but I know what is being done, so I won't be doing it again.

You have all assumed that I feel no depression, not helplessness at times. Is it possible for a Celiac patient to not get frustrated at times?

Lastly, I guess I missed the point of the forum. I see now it is more about complaining with other people with Celiac than to be a support forum for those that are struggling. Being negative just makes you want to eat a glutenous cookie.

After I was diagnosed I threw out the wooden spoons, the frying pans with non stick coatings, anything plastic I'd used for prep or storage and any baking pans I had that were metal or had a non stick coating. I had just bought a nice set of heavy metal pots, but thankfully they had no coating on them and can be scoured clean. Ironically I'd considered splurging on ones with a non stick coating and I'm so glad I was too cheap to do it. The non stick coatings invariablly scratch and can harbor gluten, or so I've been told. I did all this as a precaution so I can't tell you what would have happened had I not. I live alone, so the entire house is gluten free. I don't have to worry about other people's needs. But at this point I don't think I could handle living with gluten in the house, no matter where it's kept. I'd be afraid of accidents and what not.

  wsieving said:

Ok, at the risk of sounding stupid, I am wondering as a newbie to this, what would be the things you would recommend replacing in the kitchen (pots, pans, utensils, etc.) when switching to gluten free?

I have also read that you shouldn't even store gluten-free food in the same cabinet with non gluten-free food. Is it really necessary to use separate cabinets? It isn't a problem for us to do that, I was just wondering if it is necessary.

Ahhhh, thank you Darlindeb.

See, there's the thing. Many of us, particularly women, come here to SHARE what we feel. That's what women do. And by sharing how they feel and sharing their experiences it helps them to cope. What some may see as whining or a competition to be the sickest, others understand as commiseration and companionship. Just being understood means SO MUCH to most women. Men tend to approach problems from the point of view of how do I fix this. They don't as a rule share. They don't get comfort from sharing their feelings; they just want to fix it. There are exceptions, but that's the biggest difference between men and women.

I'd also suggest, for anyone who hasn't read it, to track down the threads on Leaky Gut. They're illuminating and might explain people like me and our battle with intolerances and allergies. But again, that's about sharing so you understand, not about fixing, because no one really has a handle on fixing Leaky Gut or Celiacs just yet.

Violet

  darlindeb25 said:

Exactly Violet...exactly how I feel.

Yes, exactly. And there's the part that makes it hard. Maybe, maybe, if it had all come at me at once. If the Celiacs and the nightshades and the corn and every other allergy or intolerance had come at once and I could have gotten it all over and done with in one fell swoop, maybe I could have just moved on from there. BUT IT DON'T WORK THAT WAY. That's the hard part. First I went gluten-free. Then after several months the nightshade problem reared it's ugly head. Then more time and the corn thing which I'm still trying to figure out the parameters of. Then one by one other things that I loved became indigestible to me; things like avocados and cucumbers and pineapple and artichokes and the list goes on. One by one this stuff hits and each time it does I have to readjust me life again; redefine my diet, take one more thing away from myself.

That sucks. That is a nonstop adventure in grief. And I have to worry about what might be next. Am I done? Is there more? What's next that I get to wrestle with? How many more choices will I loose?

So yeah, sorry, I'm gonna whine every time I lose another option. If that's not happening to you, terrific. I'm happy for you. No, truly I am. No one should have to deal with this.

As for the "inconvenience" of living like this, I love to cook. I was into whole foods before I was diagnosed. But I also had all the colors of the rainbow to play with when it came to cooking back then. It's not inconvenient to have to avoid all those foods, it's HARD. It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I have fewer options to work with. I object to being told my problem is that I'm lazy or that I like convenient foods. That is condescending and I don't appreciate it.

  darlindeb25 said:

Ok, that very well could be the truth for you. For me, going gluten free stopped the constant diarrhea, the panic attacks calmed considerably, and I lost 60#. I am one of the people, who when malabsorption hits, I gain weight. I felt much better, had my life back again. Then 3 yrs into being gluten free, the soy intolerance reared it's ugly head, 6 months later my corn intolerance hit. Then in probably another 6 months, my nightshade intolerance hit........these all require individual attention. These intolerance's are not because of celiac disease, they are in addition too celiac disease.

I can't handle sweet potatoes and yams either.

And you thought I was kidding about the half the prdouce department thing.

  ShayFL said:

Violet....I make delicious fries out of sweet potatoes....yummy!! Cut like fries, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper....drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 until starting to turn brown.

Yeah, there are worse things. But there are days when it doesn't seem that way. It sucks to walk into the produce department and know nearly half of what's there I can't eat because of allergies and intolerances. Allergies that are probably a result of leaky gut which is a result of Celiacs. I'd love to be able to eat a salad again with peppers and tomatoes in it, or make eggplant Parmesan. I had a terrible craving for french fries last night. I would have given anything to have had them with the cheeseburger and nice toasted tapioca bun. I'd love to be able to handle bird food and special diet dog food without worrying. I'd love to be able to eat worry free in a restaurant; any restaurant. The list goes on.

I'm thrilled that Celiacs has treated you so kindly. But please understand it has not been that kind to all of us. Walking into the produce department is, many times, a sober reminder of that for me. After 44 years of eating anything, it is still hard over a year and a half later to see what I can't have. Likewise, there are people here who may cringe walking by the dairy aisle or everytime they see the egg display.

Damn, I still want a french fry . . . covered in ketchup

Oh hey, have you played with the rice sticks? Those are the Maifun noodles? I love watching those things pop in oil, LOL. I actually used some of the fried Maifun as coating for catfish the other day. Lovely crunch. I'd make them every day if they didn't go all over the place and get so messy.

  sickchick said:

I saw whole tapioca there, I saw tapioca flour, I saw potato flour there, I get my canned baby corn for 1/4 the cost for larger sized cans (.98c as opposed to $2.49 @ regular store) rice sticks noodles. they had dried black beans, sesame oil, (can't have soy sauce myself, but they had that there too) sesame seeds, bamboo shoots, waterchestnuts, lychees, fresh fish

Nah, I think wallpaper paste has gluten in it

I have the opposite problem. I can have the cheese, but not the tomato sauce. So I tend to do a lot of cheese, and or a later of cream cheese which melts all nice and gooey.

I also love to drown the plain focaccia half way through the baking with butter and roasted garlic. Then I eat it like that, as garlic bread. As it finishes baking it gets kind of crusty. Mmmmmmm . . .

  sickchick said:

Honestly, I just want something to glue my pizza toppings to the crust! LOL!

maybe wallpaper paste?

Screw the pizza Gods. CHEAT.

Gluten free mall carries the Chebe focaccia mix. Potato and corn free, and you can use water instead of milk. Makes a pretty decent pizza dough. Good taste, nice herb mix, a little chewy since it's mostly Tapioca, but good taste and texture overall. I also used their basic mix the other day to make some excellent cinnamon rolls. I've given up any illusion of scratch baking and accepted defeat. I buy Chebe in bulk now. Hail the Chebe God.

  sickchick said:

THAT the exact recipe I made! But can't have potato so I used brown rice flour... nor milk so I used water. I thought maybe it needed time to rise or something? I took the dough ball, and placed it in between sprayed sheets of parchment papaer (sprayed with pam) and then, I placed the rolled out dough on a cookie sheet with some cornmeal, prebaked 10 min @ 425, added my pesto and some mushrooms and organic italian sausage I made myself, then baked again @ 350 for 15 more minutes.

It LOOKED beautiful, but it was AWFUL!!! HAHAHHAHA

I think I have not paid enough dues to the Pizza Gods yet so maybe when I am feeling like embarassing myself again I will dare to try!

Maybe I should cover and place in bowl to rise first? Then punch down and knead and roll out to pizza shape?

lovelove

Oh gosh. I'm so sorry you had to put up with that! That was just so rude. What are these people thinking? Even if there was a some reason for her to ask, her questions were intrusive and rude.

Next time someone tries to give you the third degree, just say "It's really none of your business" with a big smile on your face, because it really is none of their business why you are there and shopping in their store and putting money in their pockets! Please don't let her attitude turn you off on trying other stores. Apparently not all organic stores are created equal.

Is there another organic store in town somewhere? The ladies at the one and only organic store in my town have always been so helpful.

  glutenfreegirl said:

OK so after I read all your great ideas from earlier post I headed off to health food store with my head high and a deep breath and put a smile back on my face with this beautiful day and thought OK I can do this,,,

So in I walked and hunted dow n my items and then...I asked the sales ladie about the new gluten-free oats and well here we go!!!

She first asked me if I am Celiac and I said yes then she askes me well did you actually get tested?? like what does that matter I thought to myself... so ok I say yes and then she say and your telling me it came back positive?? Uhhh yeh!!! then she looks at my kiddies and says them too?? yes!!! I am now getting a little irrated at this point then she kind of frounds and said to me so you are telling me that you are all celiac?? with a really rude tone and I said yes... still a little confused at this point I was like why? and she just shooker head ..no and siad Oh I am just surprised is all... really really rude... like no I am just making it up to complicated my life for no reason!!! are people kidding me...is this what I have to deal with in the future ....

oh my goodness I would never pry into some ones business like that was I being too sensitive or was she really rude??

SO I left with my goodies bought a trashy magazine ...made up with my DH made some tastey choc chip muffins took another deep breath.he he had a muffin, read my trash and watched Y&R and now I feel great yet once again!!!! boy we sure are stonger than we think

If you're new to the gluten-free diet, fat may be an issue for you for awhile. I had that problem. Fat is one of the things that the small intestine has trouble digesting as a result of gluten damage. It take a while to heal the damage and begin to digest things like fats lactose vitamins and minerals again. Black pepper for me was originally an issue as well. Most people salt and pepper everything without even thinking. I can handle black pepper now, but for a while there is caused some minior upset.

And no, gluten can't get into milk if the cow digests wheat rye or barley. It's not possible anymore than the meat from said cow chicken or pig being contaiminated by gluten in the foods they ate. Gluten CAN BE ADDED TO MILK and milk products in the processing, but that's rare, and I've only heard of one instance of a company in Hawaii I believe doing that.

  jewlesD said:

hello all,

I was hoping maybe someone can help me figure out whats going on, or has the same issue. I am having an awful time with meats...I am soooo careful about being gluten free and for the most part I am able to avoid being sick. I have replaced all my pots, tupperwear, etc..and I am very careful about cc. My days always start out great, and I mostly stick with veggies, fruits, light things for breakfast and lunch and snacks, with occasional sandwiches or cereal ( I am no longer lactose intolerant) When it comes to making dinner I try and include a meat, veggie and starch. My husband is not big on using spices to flavor meats, and if we do marinate anythings it always with gluten free marinade. I starting writing down everything I eat and when specifically I get sick and its always with meat...chicken breasts, pork chops, ground beef, steak, anything!!! almost 30 min. after dinner I am running to the bathroom and for the rest of the night I feel sick and even into the next morning sometimes. I have tried only eating meat just to see if its anything else and its most definitely the meat. Does anyone else have this issue or know a way to help with it? you all have been so helpful in the past and if anyone would know whats going I am sure it would be someone on this forum. thanks guy!

Julie

If it weren't for tapioca I'd be having a really hard time. It's one of the most commonly used gluten-free flours that I can handle.

  glutenfreegirl said:

Hi there

I see that a lot of you here avoid tapioca flour being new to all of t his I was wondering if there is some connection wiht it or is it just a personal choice??

Should I be avoiding too?

Tapioca, teff, sorghum, white rice and sweet rice flour.

I can't eat potatos or corn and quinoa makes me slightly queasy for some reason. I've used Millet in the past, but I prefer Teff. Garfava is nice but it imparts a definite taste, so I only use it when I want that bean flavor in something. Same with buckwheat; I like it, but it has a definite taste to it that I have to want in whatever I'm making.

Wow. Uh, hmmm, okay.

An irregular heartbeat can be caused by a lot of things; vitamin and mineral deficiencies, thyroid problems, anxiety, intolerances or allergies, side effects of specific medications, actual heart diseases or disorders, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances. The list goes on. There is no one answer that works for everyone.

You can go back to the doctor and insist on further tests or you can change doctors. Would you or could you travel to a neighboring city to see another doctor? What will your health plan allow? Please remember that the Doctors work for you. You are paying their salary. Being pushy with a doctor is not a sin, and sometimes it's the only way to get through to them.

A lot of us here have experienced irregular heartbeats. Mine was brought on by sever anemia. I also sometimes react to certain foods that way. If you're not already, perhaps you could try keeping a food and symptom diary to see if your symptoms get better or worse after eating certain foods. A diary allows you to look back and start to make connections if it is indeed something you are eating.

  veggienft said:

You need doctors when you are sick, bleeding, or have cancer, or a broken bone. A large portion of doctors don't consider it their responsibility to cure you from constantly feeling bad. Your doctor obviously falls into this category. The second doctor you tried to see also falls into this category, or falls under the control of your first doctor.

Many uncaring doctors rely on medical tests, tests which habitually produce false negatives, to wash their hands of further treatment of such patients.

Your doctor is an (deleted). But you're the one relying on an (deleted). So who's the (deleted)?

Stop eating 1) Sugar, and 2) glutenous grain. If that removes your "feeling bad" symptoms, then what's the question?

If you continue having brachychardia, then try eliminating mint and nightshades. If that removes your symptoms, then what's the question?

Feel free during any of this to find a physician who doesn't view patient care the way your current physician does.

..

Back when I used to make my own hamburger and hotdog buns with a wheat bread recipe it was easy to just shape them and flatten them on a cookie sheet. But gluten-free bread dough doesn't always hold it's shape. I've been using the Chebe white bread mix lately and it does hold it's shape quite well. Made lovely rolls on a baking sheet the other day. The texture is a little chewy but it rises nicely and the taste is excellent. It's the only bread I make anymore. Gluten Free Mall carries them.

  GlutenGalAZ said:

I was at Sam's club over the weekend and they had deli meat by Oscar Mayer -- to make sub sandwiches is how they advertise it. It reminds me of Subway b/c of the meat being on the paper and you flip it onto your bread

I am wanting to make a sub sandwich type bread now but it seems like all of the bread recipies I have want you to use bread pans.

I have a recipe for dinner rolls and you put the dough rolled up in ball in a cupcake pan do you think I can make them bigger and just set them on a cookie sheet? The recipe I have is from The Gluten Free Kitchen cookbook by Roben Ryberg.

Any ideas or recipes of your own?

Thank you!

Personally I think with all this verbage there must be at least a dozen dead horses strewn about the place by now.

  happygirl said:

dead horse

Quite a few brands of potato chips and corn chips are gluten free as well. Popcorn is another thing that is often gluten free depending on the brand. Popsicle brand popsicles and some other brands of frozen whole juice bars are gluten-free as well. I always carry a couple Environkids chcolate flavored bars with me where ever I go incase I get in a jam. They're not bad.

  Jestgar said:

I've heard that the dark chocolate M&M's are fabulous

Excellent article!

In addition there is some research that seems to say that organic produce contains a higher level of nutrients than non organic. Open Original Shared Link

That tends to make sense to me when you consider that organic produce is usually grown with more sustainable practices. Plants or trees tend to be placed further apart to take capture more soil light and water per plant, and they tend to be farmed with a view toward preserving the land they're grown on. For organic farmers there is no quick fix for the soil, no chemical fertilizer they can spray or spread so they're more careful when it comes to preserving their land for the next crop. You also have the knowledge of knowing you're contributing to the continuation of those earth wise processes by buying organic.

Could your doctor have been referring to Leaky Gut as it's commonly called around here, as the "other thing"? Leaky Gut, which I believe has a lovely technical name that I can't remember, creates allergic or histamine reactions to various substances in people with auto-immune disorders. Anti-histamines are of course useful in counteracting allergic responses.

Many people operate under the misconception that an allergic reactions always manifests itself in sneezing, itching or the like. Allergies can cause other types of reactions as well, from neurological ones to upset stomaches, diarrhea and asthma or bronchitis attacks. So it's very possible that an anti histamine does indeed make you feel better because it's masking some other allergic reaction.

And FYI, with leaky gut you can become allergic to any substance that enters your digestive track, even, yes folks, an anti-histamine. I'm living proof of that Zyrtec makes me sick as a dog, benedryl only mildly effects my allergic reactions and Claritin usually takes care of any allergic reaction. I've been through a couple other anti-histamines who's names I can't remember. So I'm careful to only take Claritin when I need it rather than risk daily exposure and up the chances of a reaction to the one anti histamine that currently works for me. This means I avoid like the plague anything I'm allergic to rather than just hope the pill fixes the problem for me. And that is part of the danger is relying on a pill, at least from my unique point of view.

  YoAdrianne66 said:

I found out some more info on Benadryl and just wanted to post it for everyone who is interested. One web page you can go to is Open Original Shared Link that might be able to help you with the various questions you have or another one I found is Open Original Shared Link. I just saw my GI doctor yesterday and he told me that I might have something else also with the Celiac Disease that just happens to react to treatment from Benadryl - so it makes sense why in my case it has been helping me. But only when I have received it in my IV when hospitalized because it's 100% gluten free in shot form only. So now I will be giving myself shots of Benadryl at home when needed because my GI doctor said it would greatly benefit me. He said it's common for some people who were diagnosed with Celiac Disease to also be diagnosed with this other thing too (sorry I can't remember what the name of it is but will post it later). I copied and pasted some of the information from the second web page below.

Oh HEY. Pamela's makes an ORGANIC, gluten free peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie that is amazing. I swear it's one of the best cookies I have every had, gluten free or otherwise.

Try and find a store that carries them though, because they crumble very easily so having them shipped can be a problem.

  MSAU22 said:

Hi

try Pamela's cookies in the box.The chocolate ones are amazing, even my gluten eating mom said they are the best cookies she ever had.

In addition to the corn in cornstarch, cornstarch is usually, unless it says otherwise, chemically processed with sulfites. People like me with sulfite allergies need to avoid cornstarch.

  janetw said:

I've seen quite a few brands of powdered sugar that say gluten-free on the bag. The one thing about powdered sugar is that it is cut with cornstarch and a lot of people with corn issues can't handle it. Nielsen-Massey and McCormick pure vanilla is gluten-free. I contacted McCormick about their imitation butter flavor and it is also gluten-free and I think they told me all of their imitation flavorings were but you might want to call or email to verify.

I order from Barry farms all the time, usually through Amazon. I've never had a problem with them. Their customer service is great and their mailing and packaging is excellent. I can't say the same about some other Amazon stores I've ordered gluten-free flour from.

You also have to realize how small 1 lb of flour is. A pound is roughly four and a half cups I believe. I think the smallest bag of wheat flour you see in the supermarket is a 5 lb bag. But then most gluten-free flours come in smaller bags.

  Katester said:

I was looking on Amazon and saw many Barry Farm products for ridiculously cheap. I'm definitely interested. I was wondering if anyone has bought their products before. I just want to make sure the stuff isn't infested with bugs or anything. A one pound bag of flour for $1.99? Crazy. Is this a normal price? I've seen millet flour, sorghum flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch-even xanthan gum for all around that price. What do you think?

I tend to agree. Once I had to start reading labels and saw what was in most packaged foods and the huge impact of what I'd been eating most of my life hit me, I pretty much just stopped buying anything in a package.

It does get easier. For me now I buy a few special gluten free things that fit into my life; things like breakfast bars, rice noddles, flours and some Pamela products. I leave the rest behind in favor of whole foods or homemade versions of things like crackers or sauces. Unfortunately there are no asian markets within an hour of me and I react to potato flour and cornstarch and to a lesser degree corn. So I buy what flour I use off of Amazon. The last order was for white teff. It was ultimately cheaper that way even with shipping, then buying a single bag from the local organic store when they have it in stock. You can also sometimes find deals on gluten-free flour on ebay; things like Montina and teff mostly.

  Nancym said:

Fortunately the gluten free fruits, veggies and meat are the same price as the regular ones.

I've come to believe that it is really a blessing and that being forced away from food produced in factories is a step in the right direction.