Lynxear

As a borderline narcoleptic I take a sleeping pill when it is necessary to get a long sleep (ie. more than 4 hours continuous sleep)

I have never needed an alarm clock. I normally wake up briefly every hour and actually play a game with myself as to what the time is.

I take a little blue pill, Zopiclone, 7.5 mg. Actually I find I don't need a whole pill so it is about 3.7mg

I am told this is a pill is designed for narcolepsy. It has little or no drug after effect. It is fast working. HOWEVER, you have to be ready for sleep OR it doesn't work. You will fall asleep easily unless you are active (doing computer games before you go asleep doesn't work...)

I don't take it all the time thought since I don't want to depend on it.

You have my sympathies

I had a bad experience with an eye doctor as well....rather it was an assistant who did a test on me.

The stupid assistant thought she had missed my right (the good one) eye with the drops to dilate my eye....so she dosed me again, causing my eye to burn and feel uncomfortable...It was so bad that I went back the next day and had the eye doctor look at the eye....he muttered to himself (almost with relif) that no permanent damage had been done. He gave me artificial tears.

It was 3 weeks until I felt the last discomfort. I was very p!$$ed off. I can tell you!

I doubt though that there is gluten in the drops...antibiotics yes....chloride type chemicals probably.

Take care of those eyes....you only get one set of them

My Mother is trying to make her own gluten-free flour for a dessert at a party tomorrow. Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between tap. starch and tap. flour? She apparently got the wrong thing but before buying something else, wants to make sure they are not the same thing. I'm in the middle of doing taxes so I can't search for this answer right now. If someone knows about a thread on this, that would be great too. Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

I like these kinds of questions. I used to be a library rat in my University days....I suppose there is such a thing as an internet rat too.

I'll start with a few definitions:

flour n.

1. A fine, powdery foodstuff obtained by grinding and sifting the meal of a grain, especially wheat, used

chiefly in baking.

2. Any of various similar finely ground or powdered foodstuffs, as of cassava, fish, or bananas.

3. A soft, fine powder.

starch n.

1. A naturally abundant nutrient carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, found chiefly in the seeds, fruits, tubers,

roots, and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice, and varying widely in

appearance according to source but commonly prepared as a white amorphous tasteless powder.

2. Any of various substances, such as natural starch, used to stiffen cloth, as in laundering.

3. Foods having a high content of starch, as rice, breads, and potatoes.

As you can see....Starch is a chemical property of a food

Flour is a process...a grinding of a material into a fine partical

So I think that the terms Tapioca Starch and Tapioca flour are marketing spin on the same things.

Marketing people always try to make their product sound different....bastards!!!!

There is another way Tapioca can be presented and that is "pearl tapioca". Nothing different chemically that I can see but in this case the tapioca is pelletized instead of floured.

I think I rember that honey in herbal tea helps, but do not remember which herb?

Try this GREAT tea....I use it all the time to cure a sore throat

ingredients

fresh ginger root (about a one inch piece, peeled)

honey (to taste)

lemon juice (5 drops per cup)

method

Take the the peeled ginger root and slice it thinly into a half dozen pieces or so.

Add this root to about one litre of boiling water in a small sauce pan. (I usually run my water through a Brita filter first...tastes better). Boil for 20 MINUTES.

pour the result (less ginger pieces) into your mug(s). Add a generous portion of honey (one full tsp does it for me) and 5 drops of lemon juice.

This makes a VERY satisfying drink that cures sore throats for me and my son who loves it too. You can even reheat the juice if you don't finish all of it, in a microwave, add the honey/lemon juice and have another cup later.

Brew this Ginger tea and it will help you a lot. Ginger has a lot of anti-inflamatory properties.

Tony--Thank you so much! I did not know it was the same as tapioca. Tapioca makes me very sick--I was thinking about trying arrowroot--you saved me from finding out the "hard way"!!

Like many things....it is hard to determine whether the "Arrowroot" powder in the store is real "arrowroot" powder or Tapioca starch. I don't have a problem with either one so to me it does not matter. But I am coming to realize that there are so many things to be careful of with members of this group that what is good for me is not necessarily good for someone else

I have done some research on the 'net and there are many articals on Arrowroot and Tapioca. In scientific terms they seem to be different, though related....whether that happens when they hit the commercial store floor is another store and certainly a question to ask your retailer as to the composition of the source if tapioca is a problem in your diet.

I offer this sampling for your perusal:

Open Original Shared Link

Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), a fine powder from the dried rootstalks of a tropical tuber dissolved in a little water. Apparently native to St. Vincent's Island in the West Indies, arrowroot stems are complex carbohydrates with a molecular structure that enables the thickening to occur at a lower cooking temperature than most starches (like cornstarch, below). That means you're less likely to burn it--and, because it has less protein (which clouds liquids) than other starches, it can be used in powder form or dissolved in bath water to soothe irritated skin.

Cornstarch (Zea mays), a dense flour made from a corn kernel's endosperm, also dissolved first in water. Why doesn't it cause lumps? Because it doesn't contain any gluten.

Tapioca (Manihot esculenta or dulcis)--the starch of the tropical cassava root--that can be diluted in water then stirred in just before serving. The fresh roots are grated, then left to ferment. They are then pressed and the residue is baked into a flat cake. This cake is powdered in pure starch. Tapioca is achieved when this starch is moistened then quickly heated--it just balls right up. Quick-cooking tapioca will thicken soups nicely but leave tiny pieces of tapioca suspended in the liquid. If you don't like it, try to find tapioca flour instead...or process the quick-cooking tapioca in a blender until it's powdered.

Open Original Shared Link

Arrowroot and tapioca starch are very similar in source, manufacture and paste characteristics. As a result they are often confused. In fact, some commercial "arrowroot starch" marketed is actually tapioca starch. The extraction and refining is similar to cassava (tapioca). The peel contains a bitter constituent.

Open Original Shared Link

arrowroot, any plant of the genus Maranta, usually large perennial herbs, of the family Marantaceae, found chiefly in warm, swampy forest habitats of the Americas and sometimes cultivated for their ornamental leaves. The term arrowroot is also used for the easily digestible starch obtained from the rhizomes of M. arundinacea, the true, or West Indian, arrowroot, which is naturalized in Florida.

Other plants produce similar starches, e.g., East Indian arrowroot (from Curcuma angustifolia of the Zingiberaceae, or ginger family), Queensland arrowroot (from a canna of the family Cannaceae), Brazilian arrowroot, or tapioca, of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family), and Florida arrowroot, or sago. True arrowroot is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Zingiberales, family Marantaceae.

As can be seen in the last quote a confusion may be because tapioca is also called Brazilian arrowroot...even though they seems like Tapioca and true Arrowroot come from different "families"

I suppose that due to this confusion....as always...one must ask questions if tapioca starch is a problem in your diet...also since they are similar being a tuber you may have have problems with one if you have problems with another....then again the potato is a tuber too.....

Hi Lynxear!

I just wanted to know if you knew about the Bulk Barn. If you go in there, they have a gluten free section with all different gluten free flours. It is alot cheaper buying it that way and since the one I go to, the bins are nowhere near any gluten flours, I have not had any cross-contamination issues.......

Hi Karen - I don't live in Toronto anymore. I used to 18 years ago (Bathurst/St. Clair area) but since then I have lived in Calgary.

I must confess that I am not Celiac. I don't react to traces of Gluten as many do on this site. My problem is at the "macro" level. Wheat and products based on wheat cause bloating when I eat them.

I also am convinced that there is some kind of relationship between my blood fats and wheat. It sounds silly but the ancedotal evidence leads me to this conclusion. Your blood fats are supposed to vary slowly with changes in medicine or diet. But my body chemistry is such that in the past, simply stop eating wheat for a month lowered my blood fats....my GP did not believe the result. I went to a naturopath at the time (GP's and Naturopaths don't get along) and my GP accused me of being hopped up on some herb of some time....not true...I had been on a cleansing diet which involved no wheat.

Later when I lived in Thailand for 6 months and had little or no wheat my blood fats went from 10x high risk to high normal. Soooooo I fell off the wagon and let wheat become a major part of my diet agian. I gained 30 lbs and my diabetes and blood fats went out of control. So a little over 2 weeks ago I became serious about keeping wheat out of my diet. In 3 weeks time I will test my blood fats again and see if there is a change.

I am rambling......sorry

This site has been an eye-opener to me. I always thought there was a root cause to my several health problems. I think wheat is it....but not at the point where I get violently ill at traces of it. I suppose there are various degrees of intolerance and I am at the higher end.

So please forgive me if I neglect the strictest sense of gluten intolerance.

That aside....I think Arrowroot powder is SUPERIOR to cornstarch and flour as a coating or thickener. It has a light taste as a coating and a wonderful response and a gravy maker.

A long time ago when I first suspected I had a problem with wheat a naturopath suggested I use Arrowroot powder as a thickener for gravies and soups.

IT WORKS GREAT! As a thickener you use less than you normally would if you used flour and about the same as if you use cornstarch.

I love liver when it is stir fried. I coated the 1" pieces in arrowroot powder before stir frying them and they have a very "light" taste compared to using cornstarch. (I like liver that is soft but cooked....I had liver at a restaurant where you could sole your shoes with the cooked product....yuck!!)

Arrowroot powder is available at your favourite healthfood store and is very cheap too....try it I think you will like it.

Good luck

I cannot understand why they would not do the hemoglobin A1c test in routine blood work. That makes no sense to me. You see your red blood cells store sugar and they are regularly replaced (I think at a rate of 1/2 every month) So they hemoglobin sugar is a true reflection of your diabetes status.

I can "fake" a good sugar reading in the short term just by eating properly and reduce my sugar intake...no junk food, etc. But I cannot fake the hemoglobin A1c reading unless I am a good boy for 90 days.

Also...a measure of your pancreas's ability to produce insulin to deal with sugar is to take a glucometer reading 2 hours after eating a meal. You should have a reading of less than 10 mmol/liter at this time. If it is signifacantly above this reading for a longer period of time then you probably have diabetes....but this would be confirmed by the hemoglobin A1c test.

Good luck with your tests

Lynxear--I know the feeling of feeling like a drunk that has been sober then has a drink. It takes a few crumbs for me to be so deadly ill and have dh and other nasty things when I get glutened. I have found it gets worse with each glutening.

Well, I do feel much better being off wheat as much as possible. Thankfully I don't suffer as much as most of the people on this site including yourself....but I have found my basic health improve a great deal without wheat bread and junk food associated with wheat.

I use wheat-free gluten free flax bread from Gultimo which I do like actually. But I have found that I must be carefull with this too since I could gain weight easily eating too much of this product {sigh}

I have a lot to learn but I have found that I am eating healthier with a lot more veggies than I have in the past...a good thing.

Are you sure that you are not diabetic???

What is your hemoglobin A1c reading? This is the telling measurement for blood sugar. Your normal monitoring with a glucometer varies all over the map depending on your last meal. A fasting blood sugar is not a true reflection of your diabetes status. hemoglobin A1c is the diffinative test.

This measures your average sugar for the past 3 months.

I have type II diabetes and take glucophage and recently added glucazide to the drug mix....this has worked very well for me NOW. 2 weeks ago I was out of control.

Two things that diabetics have to be worried about (main ones anyway) are your eyes and your feet. They want you to have your eyes tested and examined yearly. I have had the same perscription for glasses since I was 17 years old and this comforts me. I had a bad experience on the last comprehensive exam as the stupid tech double dosed my eye with dilator...I went in fine and came out with a sore eye for several months...they want me to go again....hmmmmm...since lowering my sugar my eyes feel 100% better and my vision is sharper...I think I will wait thankyou.

Your hemoglobin A1c reading should be less than 7 mmol/L if you hav absolutely no diabetes problem. My doctor (before being firmly diagnozed as diabetic used to tell me I was "pre-diabetic that is nonsense...I was diabetic!!! Why do they do that!! Why do they wait until the disease firmly grabs you before they start treating??? Sorry for the rant

Oh yeah! I have "floaters" every now and then. But they are not a problem unless they are persistant and interfere with vision.

no...I never had that happen....nor do I suffer from headaches either.

To get a sleep study done on you in Canada is a multi-step (thankfully covered by medicare) process. First you convince your GP that you have a suspected problem. From there you are referred to a neurologist where he basically confirms the suspicion of narcolepsy...then you are referred for a sleep study. At least that was the process for me.

I was fortunate in that Calgary had such a facility (this was 10 years ago) I think they are more common now.

[i take melatonin and drink cammomile tea to help me stay asleep before I go to bed at night. I was diagnosed with "idiopathic hypersomnia/borderline narcolepsy." I had a full blown sleep study. I fell asleep within 5 minutes, but I did not go immediately into REM as is typical of narcolepsy. My sleep patterns were constantly disrupted throughout the night (insomnia).

My study was similar for the night sleep....I did at that time sleep the whole night but I was told that is was not very deep. It was the fact that I could fall asleep on the hour within 5 minutes of being asked that showed me as borderline narcoleptic.

Do you have the cataplexy as well.....this was the final straw that identified the disease. The two are linked.

[My typical day included about 4-6 mini naps of 10-20 minutes at a time. When I awoke from these mini-naps I was refreshed for about another 2 hours, then the OVERWHELMING fatigue would hit once again. I was pretty good at keeping my eyes open during conversations at work, but knew I was not laying down any memory of what someone was saying to me because I was already partly asleep. Just getting through each day was an excrutiating struggle. I took naps under my desk, in my car, the bathroom, anywhere that I could. I did not expect my sleep disorder to disappear when I went gluten and dairy free. It was a miracle to me that it did go away. I still take melatonin to help me sleep through the night. I've taken it for years without any problems. I only hope that for others, your sleep problems will improve with a gluten free diet. Also, rule out other food sensitivities.

My problems really only occur when I am passive. A boring meeting would kill me for trying to stay awake. If I drove a car...it was not too bad...unless I was in my bad time period. However, if I was a passenger I would fall asleep easily.

The cataplexy is a real problem still today. It sneaks up on me causing me to slur my words...twitches in my face and my arms fall as though they have no muscles...this happens to my legs occassionally too. It happens during times of emotion...rarely when I am angry (thank God!!) but usually when I laugh at or crack a joke. I camoflague it well. I used to deliver 4 seminars/week as a salesman and I had to turn away for a few seconds, pretending to cough if I could until I composed myself.

With friends or relatives...I often saw concern in their eyes when I was unsuccessful at camoflague. I would then explian the problem to them so they would understand. My son understands my situation and covers for me sometimes....he is a great guy.

It is unclear whether going wheat-free two weeks ago is the cause or if the new medication for diabetes that seems to be working is the cause but I am sleeping much better lately. I sleep now 3-4 hours before waking up and falling back to sleep. Before this I would wake up on the hour.

One thing for sure though...I find I have more energy and less tiredness in my eyes as the sugar in them disappears.....and to quote Martha....that is a good thing!

I looked at the test...

1.) I don't watch TV only the Sopranos... and haven't been on a date to the movies in 5 years.

2.) Open Original Shared Link

3.) Nope

4.) Sometime I wonder where I'm going.

5.) Nope

I wonder if I'm just an insominac?

I don't think you are narcoleptic.

I don't have trouble falling asleep. The difficulty is staying asleep. Those that are truly narcoleptic are great power nappers. The desire for sleep is overpowering. My ex-wife called me lazy since I would fall asleep on the couch watching TV all the time. I would play chess with my son and fall asleep in the middle of the game...he would patiently wait 10-15 minutes and I would wake up and we would continue to play.

As I said we can power nap easily and after 15 minutes we feel quite refreshed. Some of my near-miss problems are quite funny in retrospect. Here is an example of a terrifying dream, that I have been talking about:

*******************************************************************************

I was a traveling industrial instrument salesman. I had to drive for 3, 4, 5 hours at a stretch very often. I would wear a dooze alarm ( a device woren behind your ear, that goes into alarm if your head nods rapidly forward.) It doesn't really work if you fall deeply into sleep but it was comforting to wear.

Most narcoleptics have a bad time of day where you can easily fall asleep...mine is between 4:00pm to 6:00pm...I knew this and would make a point of stopping the car and having a meal, lots of coffee and play 3-4 videogames to get wired and continue my journey after 6:30pm

On this particular day I felt myself having long blinks while I was driving. So I pulled into a service station lot in front of the restaurant. I had to be somewhere in 2 hours so I decided to take a nap....have a couple of cups of coffee in the restaurant....then continue on.

I reclined my bucket seat, turned the radio down low, locked the doors and opened the window a crack for air and promptly feel asleep. (we can do that in Canada and not get carjacked...usually )

Well I dreamt I was still driving my car!! I flicked my eyes open and saw that I was out of control....heading right for the restaurant window!! I then (physically) braced myself against the steering wheel, sounded the horn and slammed my feet on the brakes. Everyone was looking at me...of course....I'm going to crash any second now!!!!......then 10 seconds later....I realize....the car isn't moving..........

I was sooooooooo embarrassed....I know exactly what it feels like to be in an out-of-control car before it crashes.

I could not get out of the car and get a coffee. I started the car.....slipped it into gear and left immediately and stopped at another coffeshop 10 miles further.

******************************************

Being called borderline narcoleptic or full blown requires a sleep study. 99% of all doctors in general practise know nothing about this disease. There is no cure that I know of....those that are extreme take stimulants (amphetimines) to get through the day. I could get them but don't want to get addicted to them. I can cope for the most part with no problems....boring meetings were a problem though.

I am not really celiac but have some kind of wheat problem that seems to be 100% better since staying away from wheat products for 2 weeks.

but what I definately am is diabetic (type II)

I suffer from a snack withdrawl since I am addicted to junk food snacks and I have had nothing for the last 2 weeks. I like that crunch that rice cakes give so I bought the flavoured rice cakes.

Now normal rice dishes are not a problem. I usually eat basmati rice and feel comfortable.

Rice cakes though send my blood sugar through the roof. Just 2 rice cakes are a way too much for me. As much as I like the flavours, rice cakes are a no-no for me.

Oh, you are another Calgary resident. Go to Earth's Oven on 33 Ave in Marda loop they have some great different breads there. The Kinnickinnick rice/tapioca cheese bread is good and if you put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes it will make it soft so you can make sandwiches with it. Also the Kinnickinnick raisin bread is not bad and they have great bagels. You can get the bagels at Amaranth foods. I find the breads in Lakeview bakery to be not very good. Also Earth's Oven has pizza crusts and if you go to the Currie Barracks farmers market Terra Cotto has good stuff and they are Celiacs.

It does get easier to do this and I have to agree that most strictly rice bread is like eating dirt.

Well I truly thank everyone for their responses.

I think I have found a bread that I like!!!! It is made by Glutino, Laval Quebec...here is their website

Open Original Shared Link

I don't know if it is distributed in the USA but I found it in Canada Safeway in Glenmore Landing. It is a few cents cheaper than the Kinnickinnick breads that they have there so I decided to give them a try (the Scottsman in me )

I bought the Flax Seed Bread (gluten free). As I told you before, I am (was) a bread junkie (mind you at these prices I will have to curtail that a bit...hahaha). I have not eaten this bread "raw" but the first thing I did when I got home was thaw 2 pieces and pop it into the toaster. It ACTUALLY had a blush of brown on it as though it toasted....the pieces were very sturdy and did not melt or fall apart in the toaster as ordinary white rice bread did (this bread is made from corn starch, tapioca starch, whole flax seeds, safflower oil, flax seed meal, evaporated cane juice, dried egg whites plus other stuff....it may contain traces of soy according to the label)

When I buttered it the slices did not fall apart....then I put my organic peanut butter on and had my first decent toasted peanut butter toast in weeks!!!

The texture and taste are great!!!

I may be preaching to the converted here but I found this to be a great tasting product. I have the hamburger buns as well which I will treat like English muffins. They also have 7" pizza crusts there too at this store.

I found that not all Safeway stores carry gluten free bread or products....Glenmore Landing is a pretty large and well stocked store. I go to Marda Loop every so often I will check out Earth's Oven too....Thanks

What is the product name of the tamarind juice that you use? I know that Thai Kitchen has one, but I would have to order it online.

Actually the few times I use Tamarind juice I make it from compressed blocks of the fruit. You can find this in any asian grocery store and also in most western supermarkets (asian section) section as well (Superstore in Canada has a prettry authentic section for asian ingredients.)

here is the method for producing the juice....you use so little juice this is easier and safer for you

Open Original Shared Link

In finding this proceedure I found another Phad Thai recipe. There is no definative recipe for Thai food...even though it has a name, every Thai cook makes it differently, probably "like mother used to make"

This recipe sounds very close to what I ate while living there.

Open Original Shared Link

First SPELT is wheat, and has gluten. As you found out the hard way.

Alot of ppl here like the Open Original Shared Link breads for premade, and Open Original Shared Link gets the highest marks for mixes from most ppl here. I have not tired either yet becuase of my son's egg allergy.

Thanks for the reference....at first I was wondering how I could order these products but then I saw supporting stores and I found that there were about a dozen of them in Calgary. Most are Safeway stores but there are 2 or 3 others to try if Safeway doesn't stock everything....I will give this a try.

Hi

This is my second week of going wheat free but I am suffering from withdrawl

I confess to loving breads...they have been the waterloo of my diet life. I love eggs on toast for breakfast. I bought a rice bread from the local health food store but it is UNTOASTABLE.

I might as well nuke it in a microwave just to heat it up. In a toaster it often get gooey and falls apart when I try to remove it. I have tried spelt grain bread in the past but it seems to be the same as a wheat bread as to its effect on me so that is out.

Rice bread works, but "raw" it is just inedible and toasted just won't work. My only solution so far is to fry it in a pan with butter...at least it gets some color and I can lift it out with a spatula in one piece....and then place a fried or poached egg on top.

Are all rice breads like this??? Is there an alternative to rice bread that is not spelt??

Thank you so much for the recipe and the site! I love Thai food, and it gave me some wonderful ideas. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at some of those sauces and curries.

I think you will have fun. The curries are sooo easy to make and very spicey so if you like "taste" in your asian food this is not bland.

I love Thai food...the only thing that bugs me in Canada is the price of dishes in Thai restaurants. A $15 meal here would cost me only about $3 there...Very cheap to eat there....so dear here.

here is another GREAT dish....Som Tam (green papaya salad)

Open Original Shared Link

You need a REALY large mortar to make this properly. In food courts in Thai malls there is usually one guy who does nothing but make this salad. His mortar is about 2 feet high and he has all the ingredients around him in separate bowls. He will never clean out the mortar between orders....no need since he makes only one dish. He just shovels the ingredients into the mortar and then pounds the b-jesus out of them and scoops them onto your plate.....It is a delicious...limey salad.

Here is another to-die-for-dish: Phad Thai

Open Original Shared Link

This is a rice noodle stir fry that is relatively easy to do. This recipe seems to be pretty close to what I remember it. I remember my first taste of this dish.....mmmmmmmm....it was soooo good I ate it 10-12 times in a row before I got tired of it. Very filling.... the Tamarind juice might be a problem for you but I don't think it is glutenous...you can leave it out if necessary.

enjoy

If you wish stir-fries that are gluten and soy free then consider Thai cooking.

Only one or two sauces contain any soy sauce and they don't contain gluten unless there is soy sauce.

This is a good website that describes what Thai sauces contain if you make your own:

Open Original Shared Link

You can make the green curry sauce as described in the above link but if you go to a good Asian grocery or Asian supermarket you can find a suitable one on the shelf. I like one called Maejin brand which is a product of Thailand and imported into Canada by Chase Trading Group.

My favourite Thai curry is Green Curry Chicken

There are many recipes for on the internet but it really is not that complicated once you have the green curry sauce...This is my way of cooking this dish

ingredients

500 gms boneless skinless chicken cut up into cubes

3 tbsp Green Curry Sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1 whole lime washed and quartered (leave the peel on)

3 stalks celery roughly chopped

1 - 6" to 8" japanese eggplant (long and thin....you can substitute zuchini if you have to)

1 large red bell pepper deseeded and roughly chopped

3-4 stalks bok choy or nappa choy chopped into large pieces

1½ tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

400 mls unsweetened coconut milk (I use the Aroy-D brand but any brand will do)

3 tbsp Olive oil

cooking

1. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp green curry paste and garlic to a wok on high heat, stirring until the garlic starts to "bubble".

2. Add chicken and stir fry until just cooked...then remove in a side dish (it will cook longer later)

3. Add the rest of the oil and curry paste then add the celery and stir fry for about 30 seconds

4. reduce heat to medium and add the eggplant, bell pepper and bok choy...mix for 30 seconds

5. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar and lime quarters

6. Mix well then add the previously cooked chicken and stir into the mixture

7. cover the wok and cook for about 7-10 minutes (the smell is wonderful as it cooks), stiring occassionally

8. with a large fork recover each lime quarter and squeeze the hot lime juice into the stir-fry (I put a spoon over the lime quarter and press the juice through the tines of the fork) discard the lime peels

9. Stir then ladel over steamed rice and serve

I think you will love this dish and encourage you to think more about Thai dishes.

Jim

then i'm going to geneva. i have no clue about there haha. i'll bring french and german gluten-free cards (i believe german is the dominant language in geneva)

Switzerland is both French and German depending on what region you are in, Zurich is German...Geneva is basically French as far as language goes though I expect both languages are spoken....much like in Canada French is the predominant in eastern Canada whereas English is predominant in the west.

As far as their food goes...I forget...it was a long time since I visited there.

My recommendation is Thailand.

Thailand is cheap once you get there. But stay away from tourist traps.

I taught school there for 6 months. I am not really celiac but believe that wheat is a problem to my health. I AM Diabetic and I have had blood fats at 10x high risk.

I ate 99% Thai food and at the end of 6 months I lost 35 lbs of weight, my blood sugar fell from 8-10 mmol/l to 5-6 mmol/l and my blood fats went from 10x high risk to high normal.

Thai cuisine does not traditionally use wheat. It is generally rice with a tasty condiment. Unless you actively seek western food (why did you go there if you want to eat that crap??) you will rarely find wheat. There are bakeries but they are rare and hard to find.

You eat lots of fish, shrimp. rice, curries, fruit of all types (the sweet pineapple is to die for) some chicken, pork and a little beef. They don't use thickeners in their sauces...rather they use coconut milk. I ate from street vendors all the time as long as the dish was cooked in front of me.

I am not knowledgeable enough on gluten to say all Thai cooking is gluten free.....but all I can say is other than soy sauce I don't know what other sauce contains wheat....red and green curry paste is wheat free by definition.

Thai people are some of the nicest people you can meet...

Lynxear...... well this may not be the best site but i'm sure it will help. My housemate has a friend that is wheat intorerant and we pass on suggestions to each other quite often.

Well if you have suggestions for another site I will listen....but I am finding some good stuff here for me.

I definately am not "full blown" celiac. I don't have to religiously read labels...for example I love Asian food but I don't have to be carefull about the type of soy sauce used. But I do feel a bloat when I eat bread and pasta.

I have very high blood fats and diabetes (type II) and I found that eliminating wheat flour from my diet has helped both in the past....but that was when I lived in Thailand where wheat is not part of a traditional Thai. As soon as I went back on a western diet I have returned to those problems, big time.

I don't know if high blood fats is a celiac problem yet but I was surprised to find narcolepsy was. I am "borderline" narcoleptic as well. I have always felt that there was a root cause for my little health problems and that I was being only treated for symtoms...not cause.

I do struggle with a wheat free diet...I can do it for a while but in a western diet it is difficult for me. I eat out often and eliminating pizza, sandwiches, pasta, wraps makes menu choices rather small. I feel like a drunk who has been sober for a few months ....then tries one drink....then another...soon he is a lush again. Well bread is my alcohol.

Friendly people here ...

Nightmares that seem real for a while when you wakeup may indicate narcolepsy

Only about 10% of the population that have Narcolepsy are ever diagnosed for this disease. My GP had to look up cataplexy (loss of muscle control) in his medical dictionary when I suggested I had it. I diagnozed myself after reading a newspaper article on the subject. I had problems with falling asleep and I had cataplexy...the latter scared the H3LL out of me as I thought it was Parkeison's or something like that.

I posted this in another forum area but I think it should be posted here too. It will help you know if Narcoplexy is a possibilty

I am borderline narcoleptic. I have undergone a sleep study to prove it. During the study I got 10 hours of very light sleep....relatively normal....but following this sleep every hour for 5 following hours you are asked to fall asleep....after 10 hours of sleep I could do this within 5 minutes of being asked....this is not normal.

Hence I am borderline and have to be very careful driving distances...there are various tests to decide if you may be narcoleptic, prior to being subjected to a sleep study...they include:

1. Have you ever fallen asleep at a movie theatre or in front of the TV when you REALLY wanted to watch that show?

2. Do you dream and wake up from a terrifying dream...but not realize that you are awake and live the dream for a while?

3. Do you drive your car on a highway but don't know where you are until the next signpost goes by?

4. Do you intend to drive to the mall, but suddenly realize you are driving to work? (automatic behavior)

5. Finally....and this was the confirming condition for me....do you have cataplexy? This is the condition where you lose muscle control when excited....literally "fall down laughing" or paralized speech lasting several seconds. I have this....very embarrassing...for me it happens unexpectedly when I find something funny or crack a joke...rarely but sometimes when I am angry.

So that is how you suspect you have narcolepsy....most GP's have no clue how to diagnose this disease.

Well.....I only think I am mildly celiac but that wheat intolerance is the root cause of other problem...so not sure that I qualify here.

I was born and raised in Winnipeg...lived in Toronto for 8 years and for the past 18 years I now live in Calgary....I like it here very much.