Gluten-free diet

[spotty_dog]

Avoiding HFCS is half the battle. Good luck!

[planet]

Re: Gluten-free diet

Oh Annie, so I have some treats for you! We have a bakery here that makes gluten free goods. Maybe not the most helpful in the grand scheme, but if you go this way and have some sweet tooth cravings, let me know. Other than being a bit more dense than normal muffins, theirs taste pretty much like regular excellent muffins.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Gluten-free diet

Annie, you can probably find a gluten free grocery store near you too. MIL was on a GF diet for quite a while because of medical reasons and found a lot of things that she could eat. We have one here and if we have one I'm sure there is one in Albany.

Re: Gluten-free diet

My mom is on a gluten-free diet for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. She feels great. Once we get used to it when she is here, it isn't too bad. There is a baking mix called Pamela's that is really good. A lot of them have a funny metallic taste, IMO, but this one does not.

No HFCS here which, yes, is about half the grocery store and kid foods. That **** is in everything. Once you get used that one too it gets much easier.

Re: Gluten-free diet

I'll work towards avoiding HFCS (that's been freaking me out lately). I don't think I can cut out gluten, but HFCS is a start. I already have a bread I love that doesn't have it.

baby steps ...

[poky]

Re: Gluten-free diet

I'm working up to cutting out HFCS. That's hard to do. I have two friends with celiac who can't eat any gluten at all; I might reduce my intake, but I have no intention of giving up all gluten unless I *have* to.

One bad-for-you thing that was relatively easy to cut out was trans fats. It takes some diligence, though; it's *still* in a lot of stuff (you have to check the ingredients for "partially hydrogenated"; you can't believe the "0g trans fats per serving" crap on the packaging and on the nutrition label), but there are alternatives for almost everything that usually has it. One thing I recently discovered is difficult is, of all things, hot cocoa. There are very few hot cocoa mixes that are "add water" that don't have trans fats. Did find a couple, though.

[poky]

Re: Gluten-free diet

It takes some diligence, though; it's *still* in a lot of stuff (you have to check the ingredients for "partially hydrogenated"; you can't believe the "0g trans fats per serving" crap on the packaging and on the nutrition label)

Just FYI, the discrepancy between the ingredient list and the label has to do with the measureable amount per serving. There is a small amount of trans fat in these products and by the time you get to a serving size, there is "not enough to be appreciable." Same goes for "fat free" products too.

Right, except that from what I understand, NO amount of artificial trans fats is truly acceptable, and the cutoff to where they can say "0 grams per serving" is just under half a gram, which...ends up being quite a bit, especially if the serving size is unrealistically small. :huh:

[spotty_dog]

Re: Gluten-free diet

From what I've observed, wheat flour is usually replaced by rice flour or spelt flour in baked goods. This substitution works best in recipes where the properties of gluten (like its elasticity, which gives bread its "crumb") aren't terribly important. So I have a feeling it's not easy to find a perfect gluten-free bread. But rice-based pasta isn't so bad, especially when it's covered with sauce. And there are lots of options for cookies and muffins that are either flourless or easily substituted.

A friend of mine who's eating gluten-free talks a lot about Gluten-Free Girl. Looks like she has a book too -- both might be good resources.

Re: Gluten-free diet

I've looked at the gluten free girl blog via a baker's blog that I follow. There is some good stuff there.

Lily -- my mom doesn't really eat bread anymore. She likes rice crackers, corn tortillas, the Mary's Gone Crackers (or something like that), and the gluten-free cornbread from Whole Foods. Personally, I don't like that cornbread and would rather have the flour-free version that I make for her when she visits. But if you want something off the shelf, it isn't a bad option. She does really miss pizza and hasn't found a good substition. The Pamela's baking mixes use an almond meal (I think?) and the baked goods have a slightly nutty taste.

I really don't mind it much when she is here. I like rice noodles and Asian dishes and she can have those. And like Allison said, the rice pastas are pretty good, especially when saucy. I don't think that wheat or gluten really bothers me so I'm not looking to remove it from my diet. I don't put in the same category as the HFCS or trans-fats. My mom did lose some weight after she cut out gluten but I like bread too much for that trade-off.

[Sheherezade]

Re: Gluten-free diet

I think that cutting out any major food catagory will lead to some weight loss. I cut out dairy about a year ago when I realized that I was lactose intolerant (instead of having a "nervous stomach" ). Since then, I've steadily lost weight with no effort. It's just an easy way to remove calories because it is hard to make substitutions for such a huge food catagory. You are bound to cut back.

Now you guys have me wanting to kill the gluten in my diet, too. :> Soon, I'll be eating only raw.

[poky]

Re: Gluten-free diet

She does really miss pizza and hasn't found a good substition.

One of my celiac friends tells me she really likes the Amy's frozen GF pizzas; haven't heard of a good GF recipe for pizza dough, though, so if she wants to make her own, that's not much help, but if she just misses pizza, she might give Amy's a try...their website looks like there's cheese and spinach "rice crust" pizzas; presumably you could add what you wanted to the cheese one.

[Flynn]

Re: Gluten-free diet

My mom is a celiac so she HAS to eat gluten free or she has major abdominal issues.

I've tried some of the stuff she has to buy and it's...gross (rice and rice noodles aside). The bread is HEAVY and has little flavor and the cookies are not great. I have had a few great gluten free cookies but nothing at Whole foods or a retailer who sells gluten free products.

Being gluten free is a pain. There are only certain brands my mom can eat from soy sauce to chicken broth, to spaghetti sauce. NOTHING is easy.

Eating healthy is great.
Cutting out bad carbs is fantastic for your waist line.

Eating gluten free bread, cookies and ONLY rice pasta? Ewww.
Just my 25 cents.


(Truth be told I am NOT a baked goods person so that has never been an eating issue for me. Cookies, cake, or muffins...no thanks. I have an easy time saying no to that kind of food so take that into consideration when you read my thoughts. )

Re: Gluten-free diet

Flynn, I know you said she has tried Whole Foods. The WF bakery has frozen peanut butter cookies that are quite good. I will eat them on purpose. (In case she hasn't tried those).

And these:
http://www.glutenfreedafoods.com/

are even better. Whole Foods in Colorado just recently started carrying them.

I only know this because I have to go shopping after she gets here for all these things!

Re: Gluten-free diet

Soooo....I'm guessing Luanne's biscotti is not on the gluten-free diet? I NEED bread, cookies, cake....so I could never do GF.

DH was on a strict low carb diet for 2 months over the summer and lost 30 pounds during that time. He ate A LOT of food while on the diet and never felt hungry, but since all of his carbs were replaced by veggies/meat, he was only taking in about 1/2 the calories he was before. He only follows the diet about 4 days a week now, but has managed to maintain the loss....although I think it is easier for men to do this than women. :huh: