LauraTX

I had a reaction. I wouldn't risk it. The side effects are too risky.

BZBee, while it is fine that you share the experience you had, it is off topic. The original poster has already decided to take this medicine and is looking for a gluten-free version.  It is a common issue when a Celiac needs to start a new medication.  

Amanda, Zoloft/sertraline is a very commonly prescribed medication with a lot of generic manufacturers, and you should be able to find a brand that has no gluten in it.  Hopefully someone will follow up on here and let you know what they take, but if they don't, ask your pharmacy what manufacturers they are able to order in your strength, and then take that information and look up each one.  If the one they regularly stock is not gluten-free, they will be able to order another brand in to fill yours with, it just may take a little pestering on your side.  

I would look at other generic brands before taking the brand name, because insurance companies probably won't pay for that without a lot of fuss, and sometimes not at all.  Generic sertraline tends to be a less expensive thing compared to other RX drugs, and is usually seen on the special pricing lists that chains have.

I really like the Diamond Nut Thins- Pecan crackers.  Really good with peanut butter.

Have you ever made risotto?  It is actually quite simple, but they make gluten-free box mixes that are really good, I use lundberg brand.  Says gluten free prominently on the box.  

A nice holiday side dish is au gratin potatoes, just use a regular recipe, and use corn starch in the sauce instead of flour.  I can vouch that this works well.  If you are in a gluten-eating kitchen, I would buy a new container of corn starch (its cheap) since all that powdery stuff floofs all over and you don't want to feed your friend gluten by accident if they are sensitive.  Here is a good recipe:  Open Original Shared Link    (I have made that with parmesean cheese, too.  And bacon/cheddar)

Mashed potatoes are naturally gluten-free as well.  Just boil peeled potatoes that are cut up, until soft.  Mash with butter, milk/cream, and salt and pepper.  You can make them garlic mashed potatoes by boiling whole garlic cloves with it and mashing them with the potatoes.  

Something I like to serve with fancy roasts is haricots verts- or fresh french green beans.  You can steam/boil them for a few minutes, then sautee them with garlic and butter in a pan.  Be careful to not burn the garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. 

If you want to make gluten-free stuffing, you can use your regular recipe and use gluten-free bread.  I would cut up the bread into cubes and toast it in the oven before adding it into the mix because gluten-free bread can get mooshy.  If your grocer carries Udis brand that works well.  It is kept in the freezer and has a yellow/blue label.  But any gluten-free bread you find should work fine.  Also in the stuffing recipe, it may call for broth, and not all broths are gluten free.  Look for stock in the square containers, a lot of those gourmet brands will say "gluten free" on the box.  Here is the stuffing recipe I made for Thanksgiving, it is in a slow cooker but it would work just as well  in the oven:

Open Original Shared Link

And for dessert, I know the perfect chocolate-lovers recipe.  Flourless chocolate cake.  Make it with the ganace on top like it has here:   Open Original Shared Link  and serve with sliced strawberries.  If your friend is a sensitive celiac they may not be comfortable eating something made in the same pan as gluten baked goods, you may want to ask them first.   I have my mother in law make everything in disposable foil pans when I come over, it solves part of that problem.

Another less-involved dessert idea would be a sundae bar, really good if there are a lot of people.  Get ice cream, bananas, chocolate syrup, various fruit, and let everyone go to town making what they want.  

I would like a banana split now after talking about that!  Hope all my ideas helped ya

Do you have any friends/colleagues who speak the same language?  That is a stretch, of course.  When you aren't able to communicate, I wouldn't risk it. However, Asian cuisine restaurants typically go through a ton of rice and they cook it in a big rice cooker that is dedicated to rice, so I would feel safe ordering a bowl of rice to nibble on.  You can bring some of your own gluten-free soy sauce.  And you may be able to get a pretty decent salad if they have a lot of fresh vegetables.

Also, if you can give us an idea of what kind of dishes you want to prepare, we can point you in the direction of some of our favorites

I, too, hate having to stare at gluten-filled goods of delicuousness, especially when they are sat in front of you or gifted to you by a person unfamiliar.  My husband gets my castoffs, and the way I see it is with my lack of self control, that is like 3000 calories and one butt size larger I won't have to deal with!

It always is such a relief once you get over some initial hurdles and experiences.  I am glad my favorite gluten-free bakery is about 30 minutes away or I would be there everyday getting fat!  

If you still think you don't do well with certain wines, as long as you are not going to super fancy restaurants, you could always order one of a few brands that you know are okay.

I have mild Raynauds with my lupus.  It seems to be one of the things that improve when I just eat more healthy in general, but I did not notice a difference after going gluten-free.  

EVERY LABEL, EVERY TIME. Forever.

I agree with this.  You have to find a balance between totally anal retentive (like me, haha) and letting your guard down too much.  I will swoop through the store in a hurry sometimes and buy trusted brands but I always double check labels as I am putting up my groceries.  Just in case I didn't catch something.  You will get used to where on the labels the gluten free is, like on classico sauces it seems to be on the bottom left, etc. and it makes it faster for you.

When I have gas I take chewable simethicone tablets to get through it.  I don't get it very often but that can really hurt up in your gut when it gets out of control.  If your GERD is a constant problem, you may talk to your doctor and consider taking an over the counter remedy like Zantac, and if that doesn't help enough, omeprazole or another prescription antacid, but I would stick with something OTC at first.

Maybe she'll move on to something else. 

I think that is what people who are like that tend to do.  They will see something on the news and focus on it, haha.

I like the enchilada idea for a personal microwave meal.  Just get a few of those really good plastic containers at the store, like gladware but I use my store brand.  I make my own frozen dinners for two, usually pasta, lasagna, or enchiladas.  I will do the enchiladas/lasagna in a foil pan so I can cook them in the oven, and the pasta in a microwaveable container.  My sister is a diet freak and every weekend she will grill up a bunch of chicken breasts and put them in freezer containers with slightly under cooked broccoli, so she just heats them up for lunch.  When I go back to working I will probably do the same thing to make it easier on myself.

You also may be able to find stock that meets your needs, rather than boullion.

I recently vacationed in that area and ate at a restaurant called "Stacked."  It is basically like a build your own burger, pizza, or pasta place.  Totally customize everything.  They have a gluten-free cookie ice cream sandwich... divine.  I love love loved that place, I was so happy with it.   They have waitstaff but you put in your order on an ipad and put whatever toppings you want on your stuff.

We also ate at Slaters 50/50 and I had a burger, they do Udis buns there, and although the fries aren't gluten-free, they have really good side salads.  Kind of impressed me for a bacon burger place.  And the 50% bacon burger was darn good.

Tortilla Jo's in downtown disney in Anaheim was really really good.  Most of their stuff is gluten-free and their menu is clearly marked what is and isn't.

The BEST place I ate at and was super impressed by was True Food Kitchen- we ate at the one in Newport beach but there is more than one location in the LA area.  Menu is clearly marked and we are friends with a chef at that location and they have really good practices, and take it seriously.  Also really good, fresh food.

There are also the usual chain restaurants as listed above.  You can add outback steakhouse to that. We also ate at a pizza place in Huntington beach that offered a gluten-free crust but just the vibe I got is they did not do it "right."

------I do have to throw in that I am a silent celiac(I dont get symptoms when glutened) so if I was CC'd, I won't know.  All I can go with is my gut feeling of the place.------

The way I view eating at restaurants is like this... I am going to go to the place where it is easier to eat gluten-free first.  The fewer special instructions I give, the less likely it will be screwed up.  I save places where I can eat, but with a lot of attention and modification, for the last resort when I am away from home and about to starve.  I would rather eat random safe snacks from a gas station than try to order an entree from mcdonalds, because they have people like that.  Fast food people are sometimes great, but there are the incompetent ones like that who give them all a bad name.

If you are going to be in a situation at home where you need a fast meal, you could do a frozen dinner instead.  I always keep a few gluten-free frozen dinners on hand in my freezer for if I am sick or something is going on and I cant cook.  Even the pricey ones cost less than a meal at a fast food place usually.  It is nice to be able to throw gluten-free chicken nuggets in the microwave when you are crunched for time instead of going and risking getting sick from crappy fast food.  Especially if that is the only Mcdonalds in town I would contact corporate and/or the franchise owner about that. 

Some people are like that, they hear about something and beyond all palpable logic, think they have it. Back centuries ago, whole towns would get sick and they would all just have a case of mass hysteria.  

Look at it this way:  At least she is in the position to (hopefully) be taking your need to be gluten-free seriously.  Most people get the opposite from their family.

I just want to interject here and say, I love all of you guys  

Moose, I think you are okay with the oily stuff... as long as it is short-lasting I wouldn't look too much into it.

I tried samples of these at the GFAF expo and was really impressed.  Unfortunately I have yet to see them at a store near me.

I actually have never made my own gluten-free bread.  It is just me so it is more worth it to buy the frozen loaves.  I know pamelas website has a lof ot recipes with their products so I would check there and see what they have.  I also have only made one cake in the year since my celiac diagnosis, I used a mix. LOL.

Just noticed it says " wooden spoon". I have never used one for this but it does need a sturdy spoon.

I have some plastic spoons that I got from I think Walmart, but have seen similar ones around, that are the same shape/size as wooden spoons.  These I bought when I tossed my old wooden spoons after diagnosis, and I am pretty sure they were 97 cents, haha.   But they are strong and work just like wooden spoons for those impossibly thick doughs.

Yep just sub in the flour blend for all the flours/starches in the recipe.  Sometimes texture can be weird, but with things like cookies and brownies it is easier to get the texture right than with like bread and cake.  If your flour blend has a gum in it (xantham gum/guar gum) omit that, too.  If it does not have that in it, it still needs to be added.  I have taken regular wheat flour recipes and subbed in flour blends and all my cookies have turned out great. 

Good luck and enjoy your cookies!

Thank you for sharing your story with us, and welcome to the forum!  There is a plethora of information here and many people with similar stories and issues.  I hope we are able to help you, and that you are able to find out more answers with the new year.  

Because it is new and it probably really hasn't had time to sink in with everyone you know, I would definitely throw the word out there to not buy you any food gifts.   I had thanksgiving at my house and while I would have liked for people to bring snacks and stuff for before/after dinner, I had to just throw out a blanket "Do not bring any food to Laura's house" because not everyone can be educated, it is going to take a long time for them to understand what you can/can't have.  So definitely open a conversation with the people who usually give food gifts, if you think they can get you gluten-free stuff, give them that info.   If you don't think they can handle it, just tell them, "I have some newly discovered food allergies, so please don't get me any gifts with food products as I would hate for them to go to waste and for you to waste your money".  Unless you are very close to the person and you think they can handle it, I wouldn't say "please only get me gluten free food products" because that may be perceived by them as though you are asking them to get you gluten-free food, or are being picky.

I have a lot of skin allergies and sensitivities to body care products, and people who know me well still get me cheap bath sets and stuff, and I can never use them.  If you get a gift that you can't use, if it is in front of a lot of people, graciously accept it and then tell the person later... "Thank you so much for thinking of me and getting me -xxx-, but I have some newly discovered food allergies, like I cant eat gluten, x, y, z, but if it is okay with you I have -elderly neighbor, friend, etc- who would probably enjoy this so it won't go to waste!"  And throw in "I bet it is so yummy, too, I wish I could eat it!"  so that way they should understand and not get that for you next year.  

If it is an acquaintance or a business gift type thing, sometimes it is easier to let all that be unsaid and just give away the goodies.  Find someone with kids or a large family to give it to and they will probably be happy to take it off your hands.  All of my close female friends and relatives know that I will occasionally give them bath and body products I bought, tried, and reacted to.  So 99% full bottles of lotion and stuff.  I don't force it on them but I will pull them out at gatherings, like "okay I spent 100 dollars on all this and it made me itch, dig in!"

By the way, I think you are making the right choice by not allowing gluten in your house.  Sometimes, especially with kids, it is just way too hard to police it.  A 14 year old relative visited us and I let him have bread and gluteny snacks, but I helicoptered over him every time I went in the kitchen and I will never do that again.  Haha.

I miss my old easy life

Me too sometimes.  The longer you do it, the easier and more natural it gets, though.  And the "you just ate gluten and you are breathing on me" anxiety gets itself to a happy medium.