BlessedMommy

Does anybody have any good solid research that shows whether there's a connection between celiac and vitiligo or not? And is it considered a symptom of celiac? Or not really?

WOW without Wheat, Okemos, MI.

Hahahahaha. I normally don't read this thread because I don't believe there is such a thing as a restaurant that can serve both gluten and gluten-free foods. But then I started thinking that it might be worthwhile to track down any restaurants that are 100% gluten free, and then plan a vacation around them. Could you imagine - eating out for lunch and dinner every day!?!?

Totally! That would be a lot of fun to not have to worry at all!

OP, is your family vegetarian? I remember in my pre-gluten-free days, making gluten (seitan) "steaks." Vital gluten flour is a common vegetarian staple so that's the first thing that I thought of when you said that your dad brought home a bag of wheat gluten.

Can I suggest a rice cooker? That has been such a helpful tool for me! They not only make rice, but also other grains like millet, quinoa, and gluten-free oatmeal, and they are portable, easy to use, and fast.

One favorite of mine is Spanish rice with pinto beans. It cooks up so fast and is yummy!

I'm sorry that you're going through this and I hope that you find a solution that works and that keeps you sane and healthy. 

How is the KitchenAid model different from the others?  

I need to start saving up for a KitchenAid. I'll bet that it would help with gluten free baking a lot! My hubby has been pretty good about getting me tons of kitchen stuff, he considers kitchen tools to be important. 

Yep, in fact my farm that I get it from warned people that there would probably be a bit of dirt and a stray bug here and there.

I would suggest seeing if you could arrange a biopsy. Also, you said that he tested negative on the Ttg. Did he have the other tests as well? Sometimes one test will show celiac and the others won't.

Is there any current research on stroke risk, particularly for those who have a history of stroke or TIA? I'd like to read up more on it and I didn't find as much info as I wanted. 

Also would love to hear from celiacs/NCGI who have a history of neurological symptoms, stroke, or TIA on how you're doing.

Did you rule out celiac totally before going gluten free? 

I'm not a DX'ed celiac, but I don't consider myself NCGS either, because I had such severe problems that I had to halt the gluten trial and thus couldn't even do the bloodwork. Since I haven't ruled celiac out, I simply live like a celiac until proven otherwise.

If science comes up with a better testing method that doesn't involve risking hospitalization and disability (my problems with gluten are partly neurological), then maybe I'll get to test for celiac eventually. If I do and for some reason find out that I don't really have celiac, then I'll still be okay healthwise since I was careful with my diet. But since the reverse obviously doesn't apply, I prefer to just assume that I have to be careful. 

I also don't think that you have to feel like an intruder on the celiac forums, I basically consider them to be a place for anyone who's had serious medical problems from gluten consumption.

I'm going to be running a 5 mile run on 4th of July. I'm beginning to think about good safe snacks to pack for after the race. They have great fresh fruit options at the race, but I'd like to have something more than just fruit.

Anybody have any good tried and true running snack suggestions?

Yep, I made a gluten-free lasagna for my SIL's informal wedding reception last fall too! My lasagna was also vegan, so it covered those guests that were vegan as well, in one fell swoop. We had several people that shared our lasagna.

I also made a gluten-free/vegan cake for the dessert table as well. She was appreciative to me for donating food and I got safe food, so it was a win/win situation for everyone.

Ooh, how do you like the Kitchenaid? I don't have a stand mixer right now, but I'm thinking about it.

It sounds like you already have your answer--gluten quite obviously causes you misery. If you are fully convinced in your mind that you have a serious issue and decide to never, ever cheat, that's half the battle won right there.

 I really don't have that many people in my life who care that much whether I have celiac or not. People generally know that I was in the ER from gluten issues and that I'm quite strict in my diet. My inlaws are so supportive of my diet, that with their own money, they bought a separate brand new grill for use only on gluten free food.

Really as adults, there's not many times when a diagnosis is indispensable.

The one time where being in the hospital was an issue (when I was in there with my son after his broken leg) nobody made us present proof of celiac to order off the gluten-free menu.    I don't commit crimes, so I'm not planning on testing out whether prison offers gluten-free food or not.  

I plan on taking my girls to a weekend mother daughter retreat this year and we're just going to bring our own food. No way would I trust the cafeteria there to make anything gluten-free.

I'll be the first person to say that if you can get a DX, then do it, but you can function without one. Clean out your house from all cross contamination, let your family members know that you are strictly gluten-free, and make BYOF (bring your own food) your motto. Treat things just like a celiac and if a restaurant doesn't have a good gluten-free option, don't eat there. Save your business for the places that you know can do gluten-free food right.

You can do it!

Good luck!

One of our dear friends is getting married this upcoming Sunday. They are in college still and don't have a lot of money, so the reception is very informal and definitely not catered. (I think that some folks are cooking for them and donating the food to help them keep the cost down)

I called the bride's mom (one of my closest friends) and asked about bringing my own gluten free lasagna (they are having a lasagna reception) and mentioned that I'd be happy to share it with any other guests who were gluten free. My friend was thrilled and thanked me for it! She said that there was another gluten free guest coming and that they would let him know that there would be something for him. 

So, in informal weddings, something like this can work!

Wow, glad that you got a definitive answer!

I avoid Splenda.

Oh and the salad spinner is great for washing other fruits and veggies too. I used it for washing my blueberries and blackberries this morning. 

Thank you!

Really??!! So that's how they prevent CC, is by making all the Guido's pizza on the WOW side? That is awesome!!

Thank you for the input, everybody. I had to chuckle, when reading through some of the posts.

So anyway, I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and got a salad spinner for $10 and a lettuce knife for $4. I got my farm share box and I spent probably 1/2 hour or more, washing all the stuff, cutting off any inedible parts, chopping stuff, and packing the lettuce in a bag with a paper towel.

The spinner makes washing that volume of produce so easy! Plus, the bowl of the salad spinner doubles as a salad bowl. 

With the amount of leafy greens that we eat, the salad spinner is hardly an extraneous kitchen tool, looks like it'll be getting a ton of use in our kitchen. It was so easy to put together a salad when I was able to pull the washed and cut greens and veggies out of the fridge! 

What I want to know is - if everyone keeps displacing their Brain Frogs - where are the poor homeless creatures going?  cause I don't want them coming to live in my head again!

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

Also -coconut mojito?  Yum!

ROFL!! 

Shelf stable jars of hummus are a good option. Canned beans, canned vegan/gluten-free chili, dried fruits, nuts, etc. are all good choices as well. 

Maybe the best option would be to do a 2 week gluten challenge and then go to an endoscopy? I'm sorry that you're in this situation. I wish that doctors could understand the problems with prescribing a gluten free diet without proper testing. 

Nice!

I'm thinking about making some homemade ravioli today. It's really hard to get any kind of store bought ravioli since I'm dairy free as well as gluten-free, so it'll be nice to make some again.