No more bread for me :( Please tell me how you adapted with a gluten intolerance

[Anonymous]

After dealing with TERRIBLE digestive issues for the last year and a half, I experimented with eliminating various foods/digestibles: alcohol, dairy, carbonated drinks, and gluten. Sadly, it is gluten that appears to have been the root cause of these troubles and I am adapting my diet accordingly.

If you went gluten free (by choice or by force) please tell me what you added to fill in the gaps. I have historically been a *huge* bread, pasta, cereal eater so this is a big change. TIA!

[Anonymous]

There are tons of gluten-free versions of these things. Start doing internet research. I think (but am not positive) that if you order dry goods from Thrive Market you can filter for gluten-free.

[Anonymous]

My teen DD has gluten intolerance (not celiac) so we are pretty much GF at home. Some things that work for us...

Focus mostly on foods that are naturally GF rather than finding substitutes for bread/pasta/etc. That means we eat a lot more rice and our take out options tend to be Asian foods or Mexican rather than pizza.
For breakfasts, oats are your friend. She eats cheerios or oatmeal.
For treats I look for recipes that use meringues or based on almond flours

That said, some GF substitutes she finds acceptable as Udi's bread for when she really wants a grilled cheese sandwich. Annie's GF mac & cheese. We haven't really been happy w/ GF pastas except in lasagna where the different texture isn't so noticeable. She'd mostly rather have an Asian rice noodle dish. I make her pizza with the Bob's Red Mill mix.

The hardest thing is eating on the road while traveling or when she's hanging out with friends. For those times, salads are always a good option or a smoothie shop. And, she's learned her tolerance level. She can eat the occasional slice of real pizza (the thing she misses the most) without ill effect as long as it is really occasional. Overdoing it = a migraine, so she's careful.

I also recommend the America's Test Kitchen How Can It Be Gluten Free cookbook. Their waffle and chocolate chip cookie recipes are family favorites.

[Anonymous]

My DH had some blood sugar issues which caused us to try to reduce white flour consumption. I can highly recommend Ezekiel Bread in the orange wrapper -- that's the original formula and is the best IMO. I don't know how they do it, but there's no flour in the bread and it tastes good. It's usually in the frozen foods section.

We also really like chickpea pasta. Just don't overcook it because it gets rubbery and tasteless.

There's a type of pizza that uses chickpea flour for the crust. If you Google "Socca" or "socca pizza" you can find many good recipes.

[Anonymous]

How does one suddenly become gluten intolerant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH had some blood sugar issues which caused us to try to reduce white flour consumption. I can highly recommend Ezekiel Bread in the orange wrapper -- that's the original formula and is the best IMO. I don't know how they do it, but there's no flour in the bread and it tastes good. It's usually in the frozen foods section.

We also really like chickpea pasta. Just don't overcook it because it gets rubbery and tasteless.

There's a type of pizza that uses chickpea flour for the crust. If you Google "Socca" or "socca pizza" you can find many good recipes.

Ezekiel bread isn’t gluten free

[Anonymous]

It takes a while to adjust to a new diet. Be kind to yourself in the meantime. Wegman’s sushi, Dorito’s, hard cider, Chipotle, many burger places, domino’s pizza.

[Anonymous]

Pretty much any gluten-free bread improves by toasting fairly well. And some really require it as they are dense and can be most. I like simple kneads pumpernickel or quinoa bread. It’s $$ for the amount you get but will scratch the itch for toast or sandwiches:portable quick lunch.

Cultivate your cooking skills. Many gf subs are either not quite there in texture, expensive compared to non gf versions, or difficult to digest.

Be fanatical in reading labels for wheat:gluten ingredients even things you think might be ok- ex twizzlers and some marmalade have wheat syrup or starch; malt, barley, etc.

Get comfortable asking servers how to make your meal gf and if you are going somewhere special/big event e-mail the restaurant a week or two ahead to ask how to handle gf
dining.

It gets easier.

[Anonymous]

Canyon Bakehouse is by far the best bread, IMO! And Tinkyada wins for pasta.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does one suddenly become gluten intolerant?

OP here and I’m not sure. It may have been causing lower-level issues that were less noticeable then became more noticeable. All I know is that I suddenly (over a few months) put on weight quickly without any change to my diet/activity level, and suddenly had extreme gas and indigestion, which had never been issues before. As I said, I experimented by eliminating food/drink groups one at a time, and it was only when I eliminated gluten that these issues disappeared.

[Anonymous]

OP here again - thanks for the suggestions!

[Anonymous]

I’ve never really liked breads and wheat based pastas as much as I’ve liked other things. I’ve always liked rice noodles and cellophane noodles, and oatmeal and brown rice, so I tend to use those starches pretty regularly. I use wraps and rice cakes for sandwiches. Bob’s Red Mill makes gluten free flours that I use for coating fish and chicken, and for making fritters. Tate’s has wonderful cookies — made without wheat, when I want that kind of treat.

As others have said, I think it’s easier and more satisfying to choose something different then to try to create gluten free versions of baked goods. Instead of trying to recreate gluten free versions of macaroni and cheese, I’ll have pad Thai. Instead of a gluten free cake, I’ll have sorbet or chocolate.
I’m not striving to be completely GF though, but I do read label for things like soy sauce or buckwheat soba in an effort to reduce the amount of wheat in my diet.

[Anonymous]

I learned and managed to prepare my own gluten and dairy free bread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does one suddenly become gluten intolerant?

I know someone who become intolerant after surgery. Something about the antibiotics.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes at least with celiac there is a trigger such as a minor illness that sets it off.