bluejeangirl

I was reading blogs the other day from people who are gluten free or celiacs. I usually gain insights or get good recipes from them.

I read about a bad reaction someone got from eating strawberries. She had a horrible reaction and found out the strawberries were grown on straw beds. Lightbulb moment, I've been getting pain eating strawberries too but just figured it was because fruits will do that being high in acid and seeds. My son or husband picks them and they told me they were also on straw.

I read the deffinition of straw and its an agricultural by product, the dry stalk of a cereal plant, after the nutrient grain or seed has been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yied of a cereal crop such as barley, oats, rice, rye, or wheat.

And I doubt that it was rice since they don't grow rice here in the mid west.

I guess the soil under strawberries is covered with straw to protect the ripe berries from dirt. It keeps them clean and keeps them from rotting. Straw is used in cucumber houses (?) and for mushroom growing.

So there you go there's more then one reason you can get diarrhea from strawberries.

Gail

Tiffany your swiss chard looks gorgeous! We eat it all the time. My brother has a farm about 20 min. away so I just helped him put in the garden about a month ago. He does all the hard work I just showed up during the planting. And of course when the veggies start coming in.

I spent half my years growing up on this farm and we always had a hugh garden. I don't think there's a vegetable I haven't tried. The worse part was picking cucumbers as a little kid for a canning factory that made pickles out of them. It was our way of earning money to buy our school clothes for the school year.

I'm glad your having fun with it. It does have a certain satisfaction eating something that you grew.

Gail

Strawberry time is here and I was wondering if you could share your favorite gluten free strawberry dessert recipe.

Thanks,

Gail

Have you ever calculated how much fiber your getting? I was surprised to find out I wasn't getting that much when I thought I was. Your right about eating to much grains,..they can slow down transit time. It must be frustrating to not have formed stools. I'm not sure how to improve that. Maybe in time that will improve as the mucosal lining improves.

gail

I was reading the list for candy bars and Mars Almond bars were listed. I used to eat these years ago and loved them but I can't find them in the stores anymore. Are these still around? I'm so frustrated. I'm glad they're gluten free.

Thanks for this booklet. Its great.

Gail

Happy Birthday Cathy,

You bet me to 50 by a couple of weeks!

Let me see....

I love the wisdom that comes with age.

I'm not obsessed with fashion anymore so won't wear spiked heals. itchy lacey underwear, or the "gotta have it" latest fashion craze.

I'm more loving and accepting of people. I used to hate it when people had different opinions then mine and now I love it. I love that we all can be different and get along.

I don't spend hours getting ready in the morning. And I don't have to look good going to the store.

I'm not as fearful as I used to be.

I have more time to relax and enjoy life and what it has to offer.

I practice living in the moment so I've learned to be aware of what's going on all around me and to just lighten the load of worry I used to carry.

I do more reading then watching T.V.

I enjoy other types of music like jazz and instrumentals.

I finally know what to eat!!!! So I'm not so sick anymore. I'm still learning on that one. Kept a food diary for a year and a half now.

Hope you have a wonderful day and wonderful year of entering the 50!!!! I used to think that was soooo old.

Gail

unfortunately, its got some bad information.

not every celiac needs to avoid casein. it is *not* so structurally similar that all celiacs react to it (in fact, most research does *not* support cross-reactivity theory on these two proteins.)

Thanks Tiffany for clearing this up. It didn't sound right to me and I'm sure we would of heard more about it by now if that were true.

Gail

gf4life My favorite Tostitos chip had been the Bite Sized Gold, and I was so mad when I saw that they recently have made the flour tortilla chips and they are EXACTLY the same size and shape as the bite size gold chips!

So have you seen the flour chips? Are they a brown color or noticeably different then the corn chips?

I hope they're made in a separate factory but I doubt it. I usually buy the garden of eatin chips anyway. Hopefully they stay with just corn.

Gail

At first I'd just eat simply, single ingredients. When you get hungry for bread it'll have to be made with baking soda or powder. I get a great millet/flax bread from Sami's bakery in Florida that you could get shipped but not sure how costs are for that. I get it at my local health food store. I'll post the link. Otherwise read ingredients lists which will be overwhelming at first but it gets better after awhile. I think I tried every grain out there that was gluten free at first to see if I like them, since everyone has a different opinion what is good.

It looks like you can have almonds and there are alot of recipes that are made with almond flour. I've made cookies and pancakes with almond flour that were great. You have problems with peanuts so I'm wondering if you'll react to other legumes too? That would include bean flours.

Hang in there like I said the beginning is tough but it gets easier when you find what agree with you.

Gail

["www.samisbakery.com"]

I'm praying for a fast recovery. You'll do well!

Gail

I don't know if this link was inserted right but if it works I thought it would be nice to keep handy when you have a question about certain ingredients. I thought it was interesting what it said about Casein.

Gail

Open Original Shared Link

I tried these and thought they were terrible. I guess the egg and butter, dairy, and refined sugar is what makes a cookie good. Really what do they use in place of these ingredients. My advice is to learn to make your own. Its really not hard to make cookies.

Nana's a no go.

Gail

Hello Donna,

Check my response to 'Mayflowers'. I too am quite short (4'9") and presently weigh 168 lbs. Your tale of weight gain and difficulty with losing echoes my experience perfectly! I have cravings for grain and starches and sugars, which keep me constipated and lethargic, but using the alkaline approach/hypotheses, helps keep my bowel moving in some sort of way. My gastroenterologist tells me that my smoothe muscle nervous system is quite damaged, and that is why I experience a host of other symptoms, including acid reflux, sinus migraine issues, advanced osteoarthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, incontinence, and general bowel malfunction. Yes, dealing with starch cravings and 'cheating' because of it, makes life quite difficult. I "know" what I must do, but keeping to it is soooooo very hard. As well as trying to go alkaline, I am now a "sprouter" as well, and I find that quite satisfying. Still, it all makes life quite difficult. None-the-less, I focus on joy every day - it is how I cope.

Best Wishes, Serena

Hi Serena,

Thats alot of symptoms to deal with! I have a few of them myself. The ones that bother me the most are the acid reflux and what seems like a long time to digest my food, which causes some of the bloating and burping. I was wondering what an alkaline diet looks like. What do you eat in a day. Does it matter if its cooked or raw? Thanks

Gail

Happy Birthday Ursula Have a fun filled day.

Gail

I tried watching the show So you think you can dance and turned it off after 5 min. I'm not a big t.v. person although I like watching it, there are few shows that hold my interest. I like House though, but don't always get the chance to watch it.

I like the sit coms because they're only a half hour and I'm always looking for a laugh.

Mandy my sister just got her braces off and she's 45. Its never to late. She's eating all the foods she missed eating for two years. She likes gummy worms and ate them for a week .. yuck.

Gail

I've experimented alot with my diet since I've been gluten free (about 1 1/2 years.) I've known for years now that I can't handle alot of carbs so I also tried the Paleo diet and love being on it but my energy levels went down to low and had a hard time sleeping after awhile. I realized its probably cause I don't have fat reserves since I'm pretty lean. I couldn't eat alot of fruit because I seem to react to salilcylic acids in much of the fruits, so it wasn't the diet for me. I really liked the whole philosophy behind it though, alot of good books on it and great web sites.

I then just went low carb and read the book Life Without Bread by Christian B. Allan, and Wolfgang Lutz. Also a great book and allows you to have about 75 carbs aday in the form of any carb you choose. I've been on this for about 2 mo. now and its working out great. I find it to be not so restricting since I can have a grain if I want to.

I digest rice easier then beans. It didn't matter how long I soaked those little buggers I still had problems with gas. I also found out more food intolerances and finally I'm getting most of my food issues worked out. It takes some time but when you do go through the trouble of writing down everything you eat in a food diary and do alot of research you'll get to the place where your not making the same mistakes over and over again.

I also want to compliment you for working so hard on behalf of your husbands health. {{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}} for your support. Its so great to see that in a couple.

Gail

A little history-11 years of IBS, fibromyalgia, tooth enamel problems. Went gluten-free in Jan. and bam, I feel a million times better.

Last week I started having dizzy episodes, nausea, tired, blood sugar issues so I went to the doctor and it turns out I have hypothyroidism. OK, I buy that-the two seem to be closely connected, but my fasting blood glucose was 114. While not alarming, it is still high (I had not eaten in over 12 hours at that point) so I have to follow up with a fasting glucose test.

So I know it is common to have Celiac and diabetes and it is common to have Celiac and thyroid problems, but how common is it to have all three?

Kat.

You could get a glucose monitor and check yourself with how you do with your levels throughout the day. I just did this myself and I'm one week into it. There were a couple of threads on blood sugars about three weeks ago and since my dad and brother are diabetic I thought its time I know how I handle glucose.

I notice my morning readings are also higher then what I expected. It will get lower then that about 4 hrs after a meal during the day. Its all real interesting, I'm doing alot of reading on it now but don't feel I know things well enough to explain anything right now. My morning readings average around 102. There are reasons why you could have high morning readings and be fine.

Don't be intimidated about doing this. I'm having some fun with it. It was probably scary the first day only getting used to sticking yourself on your finger but it doesn't hurt that much at all.

Isn't their a saying monsters only live in closets? I no longer fear diabetes, I think because I'll be the first to know and will know more about it. I would incourage others to do it also.

Gail

Gail

What a great show last night. So many singers I haven't seen in a long time. They all sound great and everyone looked like they were having fun. Its great that AI is a show enjoyed by people of all ages. There aren't many shows you can watch with your kids and you both enjoy it. I wish it wouldn't end but it did along with everything else. :angry:

I'm glad Jordin won Yeah Jordin. Well nice to have met all those who contributed to this thread, its been fun. Have a nice long weekend and blueeyedmanda remember the baby can't stay. hehe Give her a kiss for me.

Gail

I so disagree with Randy and Simon that AI is a singing competition and therefore the best vocals win. I wish they would define that better. If that were true then yes Jordin would win she was great last night. I'm so happy Simon complimented her.....finally. He was alittle hard on her. But if we expanded the definition of AI to performance and entertainment and also things like how confident you are and how you move, how you act with the audience,(maybe you can think of more) then your not so hung up on whether you missed a note or not.

Well they were both good last night. I agree Jordin best vocals and Blake best performance.

Gail

You're right. I'm totally p%$#@#-footing. It was all I could do when I gave her that hidden 1/4 tsp not to get sick myself. It just felt SOOOO wrong.

I made up a big batch of pancakes this time with 1/2 tsp each in them. I'm going to be a total weenie for another week and give her two of those a day. If she doesn't react to that, I'll break out the gluteny bread and do it the real way.

Now that I know she won't be curled up in a ball crying or having nightmares off of a tiny amount, I feel way more comfortable with doing the challenge. It took me a long time to even do it just because I couldn't stand the thought of her feeling like that again.

I'm so much better at standing up for myself than I ever used to be. Life has kicked my butt a fair bit, but it also made me very strong. I just hate having to deal with it on my own. I can deal with it, but it just wears me out sometimes.

Nancy

Nancy

Your a great mom and such a loving attitude toward your daughter. It really shows in your posts. This should be between you and your daughter and you shouldn't even have to worry about what your inlaws think. Try and stand up against their harsh judgements. The bottom line is your concerned with your daughters health and want her to feel good, where's the harm in that. Your doing it right.....keep telling yourself that. You can love your inlaws because they are your husbands parents and your kids grandparents but don't make this relationship something that you have to earn. You'll forever be second guessing yourself.

I'm so much like you with the reading and researching. Did you catch Oprah yesterday? Dr. Oz was on and he did such a great job answering people's questions and people were saying how much he has helped them soooo much with heath issues and Oprah asked him how he knew so much. He said its just his passion, he just gets a kick out of researching information on health issues and what works and what doesn't. I think its great. I wish more doctors were like him

I hope you find out the truth with your little girl. I'll be praying.

Gail

I really think Jordin has a strong chance to win this thing. I'm a huge Blake fan, but i really think Jordin may have it wrapped up if she has a decent night tonight. Either way they will both be superstars, so it really doesn't matter. They both have incredible star quality. I think this is the first year in which both of the contestants in the finale have such amazing star quality. I'm even more amazed that Jordin is so young and has it. It's funny too because this year started off so rough with so many contestants that really should have never been there.

They not only sound amazingly good but they both have great personalities. Jordin's very sweet and loving and Blake seems to have strong character and very grounded. I liked how his dad is so proud of him it made him cry and Blake wanted to comfort him.

Really I don't care who wins like you said they're both winners already. Both will get record deals and both will have strong sales

Gail

Hi, Have any of the Wisconsites tried the Gluten-Free Trading Company? It is in Bay View on Chase and I think Oklahoma?? I just started a gluten-free diet and there were alot of products there that I haven't seen at Good Harvest. It was also helpful to see what natural products are gluten-free since I am so new to this. Open Original Shared Link

Terri

My first online purchase for gluten free foods came from them. I ordered about 10 foods that I couldn't find anywhere in my store. It came real quick which I was pleased with. This was about a year and a half ago and since then the stores in my area have expanded with gluten free foods. In fact now I think each store is competing with each other for the best selection So I've have never ordered again. I want to someday get there and shop though maybe go see a brewer game or do the zoo and make a day of it. Have you found a good restaurant in Milwaukee that you recommend?

Gail

I can understand their concern about IP theft. (intellectual property)

But they've not tried to work with the customer to find a middle ground.

(My understanding is that, to a restaurant, asking for the ingredients *is* tantamount to asking for a recipe, which is their intellectual property. They have a right to not share it - as much as we have a right to never do business with them. )

I agree with tarnalberry on this one. I don't think they're playing hard ball here and all they want to know is are "you" really legit and then they'll release information and then you can decide what ingredients they use are good or bad for you your doctor won't have the time to do this.

Gail

The best thing to do is not buy gluten-free substitutes of your old gluten foods and start using different things. And don't feel that you have to buy the product that has "gluten free" on the package. There are plenty of mainstream brands that are gluten-free. It will take some time to change your tastebuds, though. I make peanut butter and jelly wraps on corn tortillas. For lunch I have baked potato or rice with cheese and salsa and salad or Thai Kitchen ramen noodles. I use rice as a base for everything. I use tostitos corn chips in place of crackers a lot. I eat a lot of eggs. I now do 99.9% of my shopping at the normal grocery store and rarely buy specialty gluten free products. When I want sweets I make my own. Try The Gluten Free Gourmet cookbook - I haven't found a bad recipe in there! Flour can be expensive so I buy the Asian-style flour. The other day I got 4lbs of rice flour for $2 and 14oz of tapioca flour for $.50 which is much, much cheaper than Bob's Red Mill or other brands. Try Cub Foods - they have an amazing Asian food section.

ETA: Nevermind, I don't think you have Cub Foods in Wisconsin. I thought I was posting in the Minnesota thread for that bit of advice

Yes there we do have Cub foods. At least in Green Bay. That's the one store I haven't check for gluten free foods. Has anyone check it out?

Gail

Geoff...lol I hope you write for a living because if your not your wasting your talent. I felt the same about Redbridge, it something that comes very close to what I remember about beer. It still lacks something though but maybe thats good because I couldn't have one of these everyday. Before G.F. I couldn't wait to get home from work and pop open a cold one.

Gail