burkev

Greetings from Dairyland:

Looking for suggestions on gluten-free dining in Chapel Hill, NC. I'll be there at month's end , hoping to enjoy some local non-chain dining for a change.

thanks,

kevin

howdy:

In recent weeks I've been seeing a lot more gluten-free items in the grocery stores. I have the chance to see this in a four county area that has several different chains and independent groceries .

it's a real encouraging developement in availability and pricing of gluten-free items, hopefully making it far more affordable in this extremely tight economy. Even better is some of the mainstream foods going gluten-free.

I'm hoping that this is a reality in all states for all celiacs . There have been times when I have noticed some speciality stores selling gluten-free items at seemingly higher prices than what a regular grocery sells it for. I was wondering what others are seeing regarding this.

shalom, kb

you'll find that Greens is is a great taste..but 4 to 5 $$ per bottle. Check out the website for these two breweries sprecherbrewing.com lakefrontbrewery.com

both good tasting ...sprecher makes two gluten-free brews that I prefer over new grist. I also recall some gluten-free brews from some craft breweries....google it and see what's up!

take care, kevin

FYI:

I live in oconomowoc, work in madison and find that there is a bounty of options for gluten-free food in grocery stores and gluten-free restaurants.

Stores:

Whole foods has the largest selection...don't shop the gluten-free aisle only...lot's of choices in snacks , pastas, box brownie and corn bread mixes, frozen section plus their own bakehouse gluten-free items.

The best Whole Foods is east side milwaukee ...north ave. and prospect ave.....has largest store and largest selection / variety.

Woodmans....madison locations have just taken on a larger frozen bakery section...life beyond wheat from antigo, decent sized dry goods ie: all the Chebe mixes...some bulk gluten-free flours but should be available in Kenosha and Milwaukee.

Chebe is a great substitute for a an italian roll ...of course nothing beats an italian beef from tenutas in Kenosha or a nice baguette from paiellis...but chebe comes close , easy enough to make( I really miss a nice italian sausage from tenutas for the ride home...yum-o)

Natural Outpost foods....tosa and bayview locations...smaller variety but a bit of each , dry , frozen, bulk...excellent yougurt...Nancy's

Pick n' Save....very inconsistent.....I've been in five different PNS this past two weeks...no consistency in availability...even in the same city....one of their largest stores ...No gluten-free section at all ??

odd story here about PNS....I was eating at a Noodles in december and the teen girl taking my order said"oh...you too ...I'm celiac also" I asked her where she thought the best stores were for gluten-free was and she said "we go to whole foods a lot...even though my dad works for PNS ...he's a buyer for them " ???? odd..the largest grocer in metro milwaukee....smallest gluten-free section

can't remember the name of this one....There is a newer store at the strip center right behind the Gasthaus at Silvernail and Hwy. T in waukesha....just off the I-94 and hwy "t" exit...nice selection Grandma Ferdon's dry and frozen goods even has gluten-free chow mein noodles, good prices,on snack bars, pastas, spices and mixes.

Silly Yak bakery in madison is just about finished with their dedicated gluten-free bakery addition...so it won't be limited to just two gluten-free bake days per week....excellent product

My favorite bakery is Molly's gluten-free bakery in Pewaukee...closer to hartland actually.....located just a minute off Hwy. 16 and Jungbluth road in the basement ofa large former dairy barn....sharing space with a winery....pre- order is a good idea....pita style breads , excellent hamburger buns, TWINKIES, cupcakes, fruit bars , brownies, cookies and made to order birthday cakes...excellent pie crust or pizza crusts for the single person on the go......true to the bakeries of old though....sell outs are usually the case in the world of fresh baked goods

I'll post about restaurants later....gotta sleep nowwwwwwwwww. shalom , kevin

Good evening!!

is there such a thing as gluten-free malt powder ??

I know the unsafe ingredients list shows a rice malt (without koji or barley) , is it the same as the malt powder I'm used to ....as in Horlick's or Carnation , used in making malted milkshakes??

thanks, kevin

soooo...after trying it again I'm finding out that a gas oven turns out a better product than an electric one . I made a batch of the "chebe cinnamon roll mix but turned them into fruit turnovers ...used kumquat jam, orange / pinneapple preserve, and a canned apple cranberry filling. EXCELLENT results

Looked and tasted great......and "ate" very well. Next time I'm making an egg wash or icing for them too give it a better eye" appeal

thanks for your help!

kevin

thanks for the help!! I'll double check everything and see how it turns out. It seems that all the best results come from recipes that involve multiple raw ingredients instead of a pre mix.

thanks, kevin

Howdy:

I made a batch of Chebe dinner rolls with cheese and it turned out fair. Taste was good, followed directions to the "T", but the rolls never got any bigger than the size they were when I put them in the oven ...average was large Walnut size....inside was good texture..it "ate" well, but the exterior was rock hard.

This was my first time making rolls and my expectation was that the roll exterior would be smooth and shiny......didn't happen. Perhaps my expectations are too high , I can't fault the manufacturer, the taste was good .

I'm also desiring a nice italian beef sandwhich...any suggestion for one that is as close to a regular italian roll / sub roll??

thanks! kevin

remember the song..."what a friend we have in Jesus"...well... my friend, your friend , our friend ....JESUS... has daily given me the perfect perspective on how to live with this disease.....it has given me perfect confidence and peace to know it's something I can easily live with.

shalom, kb

hilarious.....I'm sending it to all who know about me...we've joked a lot about ...especially the bread !!

kb

We sometimes make the search for answers in our life very complex....dramatic....deep ......sensitive when the answer is usually very simple, direct and right under our nose. I would encourage you apply the old joke..."doctor , it hurts when I do this"....to which the doc replies" then don't do that"

I'm sure there are those who will take me to task for by passing the medical community....one of my children reminds me each time I talk to her!!

Life(on earth) is too short to make it difficult...it's hard enough when one is healthy . Approval or confirmation from doctors seems futile because of the large inconsistency in opinions. Yet I can see where you might also view a medical confirmation as another tool in your toolbox of taking care of yourself....but my suggestion is to believe in yourself first ...trust your instincts....in any event YOU are the one who validates a doc' diagnosis.....heck even if you broke an arm only you can tell them what pain number you have ...nobody can look and say"probably 5 on a 10 scale".

For me the decision to go gluten-free without a diagnosis by a doc was based on this......the end result is the same with or without a doc....gluten-free is the cure and that is the bottom line....... right under my nose. As for the general practicioner vs. a GI specialist.....I'm a believer in specialists. When my daughter got sick with leukemia.....self diagnoses worked in a sense....she knew something besides mono was going on and sought out a specialist...it got us 3 years more of life with her. Listen to what your body is telling you..............be a good listener.

At first I saw no reason for me to do any diagnostics at all......refer to the first paragraph......now I'm considering doing gene testing.....for the benefit of my three children. In closing I hope you come to a place of peace, acceptance and contentment,

Take care, God Bless!!

kevin

Hi, I'm new to this forum and new to avoiding gluten. I'm getting kind of frustrated with a few things and wondered if anyone had any suggestions.

First of all, I have a family history of Celiac. 2 immediate family members were diagnosed formally with Celiac years ago. I had a blood test but it came back negative so I was told I didn't have it. That was about 10 years ago and no one told me to eat lots of gluten before hand so I have no idea if I was eating it much at the time. But I think it definitely runs in the family.

Recently I was diagnosed by a naturopath with wheat allergy and started eating gluten free. Except I didn't get it all out until about a month ago. Since then I've had a couple of accidental ingestions of it and the symptoms have been terrible. Horrible pulling intestinal cramps 6 hours afterwards, D, and seizures waking me up out of a sound sleep 12-15 hours after eating gluten. I've had these seizures for years and it's not epilepsy. I never knew what they were and now it seems it's always been gluten. I was always told it was psychogenic and was never taken seriously about it. I don't know how I could fake it in my sleep! But I think I've really confirmed it's gluten allergy.

So I'm trying really hard to be gluten free and avoid all of the other foods I'm allergic to. I can't even eat rice. There's not a whole lot left for me to eat and I'm still having stomach aches from milk now. I feel like I just want to stop eating completely. But of course I can't.

I would love to go to the Dr. and ask for some sort of definitive testing like biopsy or genetic test, but my naturopath doesn't seem to think its necessary since we already know I can't eat it. But I want legitimacy...something on paper. I want to be taken seriously. I also don't know what to call this. I don't feel like I can call it Celiac until I have a positive biopsy, but gluten sensitivity sounds so vague and I always have to explain it to people. But I have a long history of asking for help from doctors for legitimate problems and getting ridiculed and humiliated, and I don't even have the copay right now, so I get nervous even thinking about going. Every time I've brought up food allergies with my PCP, he ignores me or tells me that an allergy doctor is the last place I should go.

I tried to sign up for a clinical study on genetics so I could find out my HLA typing for free, but they already had all the people they needed for it.

What do I do? Just eat gluten free and move on with life? Pursue a diagnosis? I don't even know what that will get me besides peace of mind. And what it it's negative? I still can't eat gluten, but then I wouldn't even have the hope of being legit in the eyes of the medical community and then I'd get even less help. And I need that, personally, but do I need that to be successful in getting help for this? I'm so frustrated and I'm just not sure what to do. I'm going crazy trying to figure out what has gluten and what doesn't. I have to sit and google every ingredient or brand & product every time I sit down to eat. It's driving me mad. But even the tiniest bit makes me sick. Maybe I should make an appointment directly with a specialist and forget the family doctor. Has anyone tried that?

from a male perspective.........and father of three girls.

RUN....RUN....RUN LIKE THE WIND .

NO NEED TO DISCUSS, THINK, DELIBERATE, RE-EVALUATE, FEAR, OR PRAY

YOUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.....THIS GUYS HAS SHOWN HIS COLORS, PROVEN HIS SHALLOWNESS....THAT IS WHY IT'S CALLING DATING.....NOT MARRIAGE. GET OUT NOW ......AS IN ......RIGHT NOW.

LET'S PRETEND YOU'RE IN HIS SHOES.....PRETTY SLICK DEAL .....HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO !!

AND IF YOU WERE MY DAUGHTER I WOULD ALSO TELL YOU DO NOT GET ALL BLEEDING HEART ON ME BY SUGGESTING THAT MAYBE HIS MOTHER HAS SOME "SPECIAL ISSUES" IE: DRUGS , ALCOHOL ETC. AND THAT MAYBE THAT'S WHY HE WANTS TO SEE HER ALONE BECAUSE HE'D BE TOO EMBARESSED.....NOT!!!!!

IF THAT WERE THE CASE YOU ARE SURELY SMART ENOUGH TO SMELL THAT OUT WITHIN MONTHS OF MEETING HIM ...NOT YEARS. CHILDREN OF AODA PARENTS ARE EASY TO SPOT....I KNOW FIRSTHAND.... I AM ONE.

DON'T FOOL YOURSELF INTO TRYING TO STOP THE PAIN OF A BREAKUP....YOU ARE A WINNER ALREADY IN FACING CELIAC DISEASE....DON'T BUY INTO THE DEVILS OLD LIE THAT YOU "NEED" A BOY FRIEND. YOU ONLY NEED STABILITY TO FACE LIFE EVERYDAY...GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A GREAT PERSONALITY AND THE BACKBONE TO SPEAK UP ABOUT AN INJUSTICE....DON'T SETTLE FOR LESS THAN THE BEST.

IN TODAY'S WORLD THERE SO MANY MORE OPPORTUNITES TO MEET PEOPLE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX ....AND EVEN MORE SO TO BE ABLE SCREEN FOR WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. IN CLOSING I WANT TO PASS ALONG A BIT OF WISDOM MY FAVORITE PREACHER TAUGHT ME.......

"DATING IS CONCEALING....MARRIAGE IS REVEALING " CONSIDER IT A BLESSING IN DISGUISE THAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO SEE THE

"PREVIEW" OF AN UPCOMING MOVIE....AND YOU CAN STILL BE THE STAR...JUST WITHOUT HIM

ALL THE BEST, GOD BLESS YOU & YOURS

KB

I've had pleasant results from two beers brewed in Milwaukee...

Lakefront Brewing.......New Grist ....good

Sprecher Brewing.....Shakparo.....great

Caveat: no gluten free beer will ever come close to tasting like a hearty ale or stout or lager ...american or european.... but they do a great job

of trying to make a gluten free beer taste good

Howdy:

seems like a dumb question.....but because another post talked about washing fruit....I have to ask.

Can eating unwashed fruit {pears , apples. ) cause GI issues similar to gluten reactions??

thanks as always for your help!

God Bless, kb

Thanks for posting this! We love their sausages!!

jones dairy farm is a regular stop for me.....a few times a year...excellent products...one of the Jones family is celiac...employess are educated to a decent degree and all info on product composition is at their fingertips.......just finishing up a small cherrywood smoked ham.... excellent taste......their retail store varies in what it carries in "seconds" but it's all quality taste. enjoy!!

kb

I'm in Madison, WI. Anyone have a good celiac specialist they know of here who can do endoscopy?

My co-worker used a doc in the Dean healthcare system.....liked her results.

I have dean insurance and celiac is topic I found on their website...but only one doctor...I find that unbelievable. Give them a call or an e-mail

GOD BLESS...KB

Thank you all !!

The responses helped me greatly and as always it has given me more power. That is the real unspoken blessing here...this site proves that addage that knowledge is power....nobody gets thru this life without harm in some form....fortunately for us we have each other to help in the healing process

Thanks again., I deeply appreciate your help

kevin

Greetings from "cheesehead land":

First...thanks to all for sharing your most intimate details...it has been very comforting to find this wealth of trustworthy knowledge.

My life has changed for the good in most every aspect since going gluten free and with growth always comes questions. I was wondering about the veteran celiacs ....what they have observed / experienced in changes to sensitivity and / or changes in reaction since their initial diagnoses.

When I went gluten-free back in August my symptoms largely disappeared ...to wit; fatigue, flatulence , DH or floaters, stomach indigestion (always cured with antacids), and the one I rarely had..bloating with resultant chest pressure.

I've noted all the symptoms in the posts on all the topics are similar .......yet varies widely in severity.... thinking that it is in direct relation to us differing in our makeup . IE: someone recently made toast with breakfast.....stacking their toast on top of my Tapioca loaf toast...for me , no reaction, for others a crumb sends their body into a tailspin. I'm sure since I went gluten-free I've accidentally gotten cross contaminated foods....I even ate a patty melt made on grilled dark rye bread( intentionally)....no noticeable reaction .

Sometimes I'm tired on my way home from work....but not like before...now I'm tired because it was WORK...it takes a bit of common sense, prayer, healthy self talk, to avoid what i believe is a pitfall I think exsists....thinking there is a gluten crumb behind everything (forgive my liberty of using the old Joe McCarthy communist behind every bush...remember he was from wisconsin too !! ;-))))) )

so another question for the vets is : do the symptoms increase in severity as one ages being gluten-free or do they lessen ?? Can one expect new symptoms to appear after being gluten-free for years if you were accidentally glutened ?? Is there any RELIABLE documented medical research on celiac monitoring thru an extended period of years ??

To date I firmly believe you all do more justice than the medical community!!!!!!!!!

Thanks in advance for your answers!

kevin

I was at TJ's today and felt like trying some. It's not on their gluten-free (or "No Gluten Ingredients") list, but they say that list is a sampling - not comprehensive. The only ingredients are ginger and sugar. They're made in Thailand, apparently.

Anyone eaten them before?

I've been using them for the last year....in small doses because its real tangy...but no problems

kb

On 8-9-8 I attended a reunion in which a relative mentioned he had given up beer due to a challenge he and 3 of his co-workers took, it wasn't beer that was the challenge but all wheat products..... these middle aged guys all had the same symptoms.......1 month into the challenge all 4 had the 90% of their symptoms disappear. I just logged that into my memory like so many other things.

Two weeks later after a VERY LARGE italian dinner with tons of italian bread and oil and vinegar and pasta and yada, yada, yada I woke up once again to take antacids...and I was dragging the entire day after. That "wheat " file popped into my mind and I began a ton of research.

I have always believed God gave me my body as one of the few things that I actually own and influence for better or worse...thus I when I think I have a medical issue I listen to my body.....run it past a MD I trust...a problem I see is the MED community and their belief that they know what is good for us and we are simply the table upon which they work. My daughter was told she had MONO and she insisted ,"no there is something bigger", but was given anti-biotics and sent home ...two weeks later she was diagnosed with leukemia and has since gone home to the Lord. PLEEAASSee....don't construe that as a rap against the med industry....it was told so I could demonstrate my belief that we(the caretakers of our bodies) are ultimately responsible for listening to out bodies and seek it's best treatment. Yes, I believe lots of diagnoses treatment / require the medical community to be involved too....but as in anything ....listen.

So.....after reading a ton and realizing that the treatment is the same whether I am "prononuced" by a MD or not , I opted for a gluten free diet . If I was wrong it can't hurt..........

To date the results are fantastic , even without doing my own baking!! Lunch is a problem because of poor past habits, but it's being accomplished.

I miss all my treats, especially a cold beer and a cheeseburger when dining out....but I needed to lose pounds anyway....it's not falling off so my protein is good and of course there still ice cream in the freezer. No doubts here......I hate having to bring my cheaters in to read labels when shopping....but when I listen to my body now ...there's silence....no more flatulence......no gurgling stomach.......only 8 oz of coffee now instead of 24 oz. etc. As I listen I'm fine tuning spices, onions , peppers in my food . I see a healthier future for me overall because what I digest will have a better uptake in my body as my intestine heals and with better sleep it decreases all those high stroke and cardiac percentages that men over 50 have.

all that said my real reason for posting was to say "thank you and may God bless you " to all who shared their life so I could make a better informed decision for me. I am grateful for you sharing your pain and helping me to live a better life.

Sincerely, kevin