Expensive Karma - Dang.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I think the instructions said to start low and work your way up.

[Epiphany]

Didn't read all the responses but Udi's gluten free bread is the ONLY gluten free bread that I've tried that is really awesome. It's in the frozen food area in the health food section of our grocery store.

My chiro is having me do gluten free/dairy free for chronic inflammation. Yea, it's a whole new way of eating/cooking

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I'm not necessarily a fan, and my kids are fine with gluten, but FYI that Elisabeth Hasselback of the View has a gluten-free cookbook out. I think it's called the G Free Diet or something similar.

Also, check the Celiac Disease association (forget the name). IIRC, they have a tab for the newly diagnosed that can help you get going.

If you're eventually going to work down to eliminating eggs and dairy, then maybe hit a bookstore and take a look at some allergy-friendly and vegan cookbooks. I have some because of my sons' anaphylactic allergies. It will give you some ideas about things you can still eat/make and new menu ideas.

As for the bad Karma, it didn't come from me. ;D I know too well that anyone can develop a life-threatening allergy at any time -- even to foods someone's been eating his/her whole life. Even still, I wouldn't wish a food allergy on my worst enemy. They ain't fun, they're damn scary, and they suck. I'm too afraid of bad juju coming back to *me* if I wish food allergies on someone else, LOL.

Hang in there. The learning curve is almost vertical. But, it WILL level off in time.

[Deleted]

Aww - that sucks.

I went gluten free a couple of months ago due to some testing by my doctor. Yes, it's been difficult at times. OTOH the benefits have really outweighed the negatives. That nagging headache I had all the time went away. My bowel irregularities went away. The major symptoms of fibromyalgia went away. The level of inflammation in my body radically decreased (it used to hurt to have people touch me). Once you start making the connection between gluten and feeling crappy the cravings go away.

Recently I ate a fresh fried donut because it used to be my favorite. I gained 5 lbs overnight from bloating and gastrointestinal distress and had a massive headache.

I've switched to lots of veggies, rice and protein. It's better for you anyways. It's a bit weird to have salad for breakfast but whatever. One of my favorite products is C4C. (Cup4Cup, a gluten free flour made by the chefs at French Laundry).

[milee]

Yes, I found the C4C and am convinced at least one of the "C"s stands for the carat weight of the diamonds that must be in it for it to cost $10 a pound.

[Deleted]

I was pretty traumatized to buy three bags and walk away $60 poorer.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I don't know that DH's run across that one yet.

[milee]

www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cup4cup-gluten-free-flour/?pkey=e|c4c|2|best|0|1|24||2&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Top_Wide_Agrarian%20-%20copy-_-

[wvugurl26]

You can definitely make yourself crazy trying to eliminate all that stuff. My food allergies have gotten worse in the last two years. I was desperate to breathe normally again and I vainly thought it'd be a quick fix for shedding a few pounds.

My allergy dr thinks skin tests are more accurate but my skin is too out of control for those. Blood tests came back ones I already knew wheat, corn, tomato and soy and the new additions peanut, egg and milk. I thank god they aren't life threatening.

I'm a special snowflake who's allergic to wheat but not gluten? I work with a lady with celiacs. She has a lot of salads, fruit and yogurt when we travel.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"I'm a special snowflake...":::...

Do you think snowflakes make better patterns than butterflies?

[wvugurl26]

May 31, 2012 15:30:15 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

...:::"I'm a special snowflake...":::...

Do you think snowflakes make better patterns than butterflies?

Of course I do it better!

[milee]

Well it's not worth going crazy over, but it would be nice to get it under control enough so I don't break any more bones.

The whole thing depresses me. I spent today eating cheese and these weird gluten free cookies I found at the store. Very sad. Kinda like Goldie Hawn's character in Death Becomes Her.

[wvugurl26]

Yeah we don't need you breaking bones.

My allergy doctor said I didn't have to avoid all of those things. They asked about reactions to a couple things. I know they want to do skin testing in Sept, maybe they change their mind then. I wonder sometimes if I'd feel better if I skipped that stuff. I made myself nuts though trying.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"They asked about reactions to a couple things. I know they want to do skin testing in Sept, maybe they change their mind then.":::...

I'll perform a skin test. My place, smoothies...

[wvugurl26]

May 31, 2012 16:17:08 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

...:::"They asked about reactions to a couple things. I know they want to do skin testing in Sept, maybe they change their mind then.":::...

I'll perform a skin test. My place, smoothies...

And if you don't clean first, I'll definitely be having a reaction to your cat! I was over that way sort of last week with time to kill.

[8 Bit WWBG]

I could bake you some bread to go with the smoothies too.

If you're good, I'll bake bread from flour that I ground myself using the vita-mix that I also used to make your smoothie.

[wvugurl26]

May 31, 2012 16:31:45 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

I could bake you some bread to go with the smoothies too.

If you're good, I'll bake bread from flour that I ground myself using the vita-mix that I also used to make your smoothie.

You know I'm good

Better make sure you properly operate it.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I spent today eating cheese and these weird gluten free cookies I found at the store.

Just a head's up....gluten free baked goods tend to have a higher caloric content. The muffin my friend gave me was <gulp> nearly 500 calories.....and it was not a large muffin!

[wvugurl26]

I think posting here jinxed me. My lungs are not a fan of today's allergy shots. There's no way I could run today.

[milee]

May 31, 2012 16:52:56 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I spent today eating cheese and these weird gluten free cookies I found at the store.

Just a head's up....gluten free baked goods tend to have a higher caloric content. The muffin my friend gave me was <gulp> nearly 500 calories.....and it was not a large muffin!

Oh, I know. They're all sugar and fat. I'm under no illusions that today was anything other than an attempt to drown my sorrows in the only comfort foods I thought I could eat. I think I'm having ice cream and steak for dinner.

The GF prepared, processed stuff seems very, very high in sugar and very, very low in fiber and vitamins from what I've seen so far. Yuck. As another poster mentioned, probably best to mostly just stick to whole foods. I just need to figure out a few staples to make the transition easier for the boys should they need to do this.

[wvugurl26]

That sounds like an awesome dinner. Might improve my mood!

[Deleted]

I just need to figure out a few staples to make the transition easier for the boys should they need to do this.

We've been doing a lot of stir frying. Instead of flour tortillas I just switched to corn. Breakfast is the hardest.

[973beachbum]

May 31, 2012 11:00:31 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

If they ship it frozen overnight, it won't be stale. Expensive, yes. Also, they may have a bakery closer to where you live and this bakery would likely know who would make a competitive product.

FWIW, a local pizza place makes a gluten free crust that is supposed to be excellent. While we were waiting for our pizza one night, I was reading the list. Where a basic pizza crust only has ~4 ingredients, this crust had about 20! If all gluten free products are this way, it explains the high cost.

Yeah, you can't just replace wheat flour with, say, amaranth flour. You need a mixture of amaranth flour and 2-3 other flours. I don't know/remember why.

the gluten is the "glue" that holds baked products totether. Without it things like bread or crumbs just crumble and look like a pile of crumbs. If you go to a healh food store you can get either Xanthum Gum or Guar Gum to use in baking. I have done some GF baking because a friend of DD's can't have gluten. I have to say that baking GF is a LOT more daunting than baking dairy or nut free. You have to be real careful. I normally just pay the price and buy a mix because of it.

Gluten, a protein found in wheat flour, is what gives structure to baked goods. It gives breads, muffins, and cakes their soft spongy texture. To replace gluten, you'll need to use other thickeners like xanthan gum or guar gum in your baking

For each cup of gluten-free flour mix, add at least 1 teaspoon of gluten substitute.

Xanthum Gum
This comes from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Zanthomonas campestris. You can purchase it in health food stores and some supermarkets.

Guar Gum
This powder comes from the seed of the plant Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. It is an excellent gluten substitute and it is available in health food stores and some supermarkets.

Pre-Gel Starch This gluten substitute helps keep baked goods from being too crumbly. This, too, can be purchased at most health food stores.

allrecipes.com/howto/using-alternative-flours/

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"I think posting here jinxed me. My lungs are not a fan of today's allergy shots. There's no way I could run today.":::...

What about other forms of exercise?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 1, 2012 12:50:22 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

...:::"I think posting here jinxed me. My lungs are not a fan of today's allergy shots. There's no way I could run today.":::...

What about other forms of exercise?

I don't know about you, but when I exercise, whether it's on a bike, elliptical or even lifting weights, I do breathe heavier.

If you're barely getting enough air in your lungs and are sedate, how do you get enough to exercise?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

www.julesglutenfree.com/

I spoke to my friend this morning and this is the flour that she uses. She says that some of her baking is better than the bakery's at this point. Not sure if it's cheaper than C4C though.

Also, the bakery she likes is called Wheatless in Seattle.

www.wheatlessinseattle.net/

[wvugurl26]

Jun 1, 2012 12:50:22 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

...:::"I think posting here jinxed me. My lungs are not a fan of today's allergy shots. There's no way I could run today.":::...

What about other forms of exercise?

I had planned on doing 30 day shred or some wii stuff and weights. Mich is right though if I'm wheezing sitting on my ass, exercise is going to make it worse. I've tried it before and completely wore myself out and spent an awful 30 minutes gasping for air.

Pushing myself like I've had to do to get this far running is one thing. Not being able to breathe normally while sitting is quite another.

Weights wouldn't have worked out either, I had big swollen spots at the injection sites. Today the spot on my left arm has swelled up to be as big as my hand. Literally I can barely cover this big red swollen spot with my hand.

My peak flow post shot dropped by 100. One site I was looking at this morning said wheezing post allergy shots was a sign of anaphlyaxis.

[Opti]

May 31, 2012 17:24:04 GMT -5 milee said:

May 31, 2012 16:52:56 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I spent today eating cheese and these weird gluten free cookies I found at the store.

Just a head's up....gluten free baked goods tend to have a higher caloric content. The muffin my friend gave me was <gulp> nearly 500 calories.....and it was not a large muffin!

Oh, I know. They're all sugar and fat. I'm under no illusions that today was anything other than an attempt to drown my sorrows in the only comfort foods I thought I could eat. I think I'm having ice cream and steak for dinner.

The GF prepared, processed stuff seems very, very high in sugar and very, very low in fiber and vitamins from what I've seen so far. Yuck. As another poster mentioned, probably best to mostly just stick to whole foods. I just need to figure out a few staples to make the transition easier for the boys should they need to do this.

Milee, I think it depends what you get. My friend like Udi's bread as well, but I've never had it. There are pretty good glutenfree cookies. I like Pam's and a couple others. There are lots of pasta options and my friend likes the Tinkajoy brown rice pasta. Doesn't dirty the cooking water as much as the old rice pastas.

Breads, cakes, i.e. things that gluten really does help with are going to be harder and pricier. Luckily the number of choices and the labeling is the best its been in my lifetime. There are some good brownies and donuts too. I avoid dairy and many gluten free products are dairy free as well.

[milee]

OK, so my first loaf of homemade gluten free bread just came out of the oven. Have to say - it's pretty good. While it doesn't taste exactly like normal bread, it's nice and light, with the right amount of moisture and a reasonable flavor. I could eat this and not feel sad. Progress!

Wonder if the kids will like it? I'm thinking I'll try it on them this afternoon. A good coating of peanut butter or nutella should help sell it.

[milee]

If anyone is interested, here's the recipe I used:
Really Good Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
1 Tbsp. bread machine yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 ½ c. water (105 degrees or a little less than hot)
2 ½ cups of homemade gluten free flour mix (recipe for that in the next post)
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1tsp. salt
3 eggs (or 9 Tbsp. water and 3 Tbsp. ground flax seed)
1 ½ Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1. Start by combining the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Add the water while gently stirring the yeast and sugar. Let this mixture sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients – bubbles and foam should form if the yeast is happy.
2. Combine the flour mix, xanthan gum and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir well.
3. In a third bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and vinegar until the eggs are a bit frothy.
4. By this point the yeast mixture should be foamy, so you can pour the two liquid mixtures into the flour mixture. Blend the dough with a mixer for 4 minutes.
Scoop the dough into a greased loaf pan. Allow the dough to rise in a warm area until is is about 1 inch from the top of the pan. Then bake at 375 degrees for 50 – 60 minutes.