Going Gluten-free…
I haven’t talked all that much about some of my health challenges (it comes up from time to time though). TBH, as far they go, I really don’t have all that much to complain about, but its enough to affect my lifestyle. To start with, I have Hashimoto’s thyriodosis and vitiligo, which are both autoimmune issues (vitiligo can have a number of causes, but in conjunction with Hashimoto’s, its usually caused by the over-active immune system). It just so happens that other autoimmune problems show up on both sides of my family tree as well…
The thyroid condition isn’t terribly hard to manage (more difficult when pregnant though)–essentially, I am hypothyroid (meaning my thyroid is under-active) and take medication that replaces the hormones my thyroid would normally make. But if the meds are just a tiny bit off, over time, it all goes awry. I have blood tests done every 6 months to make sure everything is at the right levels, but it only takes a few weeks for the effects an off dosage to accumulate. Because my hypothyroidism is fairly severe, I’m more often under-medicated than over when there is an issue. And under-medicated makes it hard to lose weight and keep weight off, it makes one prone to being tired, prone to being cold, prone to hair loss, it messes up the girl parts cycle, and over time it can cause huge mood swings and even heart damage. Because of this, I have to exercise and watch what I eat, or I gain weight, and gaining weight throws off my meds, which makes me gain more weight, in this out of control feedback loop.
To compete with the autoimmune issues, I have awful allergies (another over-active immune system issue), and after a particularly nasty cold virus I caught last January, I have asthma. This last problem, in conjunction with the allergies and the thyroid problem, had conspired put me in a bit of a downward spiral of feeling like crap. The breathing troubles (of course) made it more difficult to be active… Oh, and I was having chronic tummy troubles. Luckily I have a good doctor (and a good readership), and when we were discussing testing for some other autoimmune issues (celiac disease and rhumatoid arthritis are already a family thing) and possible environmental allergies I mentioned gluten (which a commenter had suggested), and was given the two thumbs up on going gluten free, regardless of the celiac test until my next follow-up.
So, for about a month I went (mostly) gluten free, and when I wasn’t, I felt it, and I paid for it. My doctor is pretty much on-board with adding “gluten intolerance” to my list of issues. Which means its official. No more pasta, no more bread, no more pancakes, no more SOY SAUCE. Unless, of course, its certified gluten free. And let me tell you how freaking expensive that is!
On the plus side, I have way more energy and I just feel better. The asthma stuff sucks, and I can still never own a cat, and I’ll still be taking thyroid meds forever…but I no longer feel like I’m free falling to the bottom of the health barrel. And that means that I can start taking better control over myself and my activities, instead of letting my health crapulance suck all of my energy out, just trying to keep up with my kids and my job.
But this still leaves me with a problem to work on…
Radically changing my diet.
I have never been successful at radical change of anything. I’m more of a slow, methodical, step-at-a-time sort of change person. At least, if I want it to stick.
I need food items that we already eat, as a family, just in gluten-free versions. Preferably recipes that everyone (including two picky kids) will eat, or that can easily be made without tons of expensive substitutes or special grocery store trips (because I can’t afford to shop at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods on a regular basis). I can scratch pancakes off the list, but I still need a brownie recipe that doesn’t take a ton on adjustment to, and something to eat when everyone else is having spaghetti, and…
Lets just say, I’m open to suggestions.
In the mean time though, check out my GF Oatmeal Pancakes! (they were inspired from this recipe)
2/3 cup GF instant oats, 1 egg, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt, some cinnamon and brown sugar
spoon onto a lightly oiled griddle and use the spoon to form the pancake shape (its pretty thick otherwise)
served with a wee bit of syrup and pomegranate
this version tastes like a cross between oatmeal cookies and french toast
this recipe can be made and served sweet, or savory…and even my kids like it
February 8th, 2013 at 7:45 am
I’ve been (mostly) gluten-free for almost a year and it has been a strange experience. At first, I did find myself trying a lot of gluten-free equivalents, but that is not always a good idea.
Gluten-free bread seems almost universally awful, dry and crumbly. The only breads which seem to work are the Italian ones, so maybe the olive-oil helps there. I am tempted to try baking my own, but my experience of cooking bread makes me a little reluctant; it tends to be a lot of effort and I have kind of got used to not eating bread.
On the other hand, the options for cake are amazingly-varied and quite often just plain amazing. Ground almonds, while a little expensive, have turned out to be a staple of good gluten-free cake. I wouldn’t have known that I just baked a gluten-free cake by the texture or taste. Also, since it had no specifically-adapted gluten-free ingredients, it was cheaper than using gluten-free flour.
I do have to wonder if it’s a cultural thing; here in the UK, everything seems to be wheat-based, but my American friends have no trouble coming up with food ideas which are naturally gluten-free. They are US Army though, so they get half their ingredients through the commissary instead of local (English) shops. None of our major supermarkets sell corn tortillas, for instance, despite having a wide variety of wheat-based ones.
In the end though, I rediscovered all the ways you can eat rice. It’s not the most exciting food on Earth, but it helps.
February 8th, 2013 at 11:00 am
I have been GF for about 2.5 years now and am feeling so much better! once done it is not as hard as i thought it would be. I am very strict about it too as those times I have had gluten (by accident) I felt like I was poisoned. so here is the start of my way to much advice
Trader Joes has 4 page list of all their GF foods they are a great place to start especially for kid friendly things.
We eat their GF brown rice pasta about once a week.
We also get Udi’s GF bread there and hot dog buns/ hamburger buns/ bagels.
Savingdinner.com does a menu mailer and it always has GF options.
fav cookie recipe: 1 cup peanut butter (or almond) 1 egg and 1 cup sugar. mix and bake for 10 min.
best GF brownie recipe ever http://www.elanaspantry.com/brownies/
on the money side I think TJ’s helps keep the cost down and I have learned to make substitutions to try to keep cost down. Like a salad instead of sandwhich.
Oh and Tj’s now has GF flour and Erik s Deli has udis bread if your out. But all their soups have flour (boo!)
That is my over share for the moment as I have to get ready for work
Have you read Why do I still have Thyroid symtoms when my test are normal? it is about Hashimoto’s and Gluten http://www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-up-reviews/why-do-i-still-have-thyroid-symptoms-by-datis-kharrazian
ok for reals must get ready for work.
February 8th, 2013 at 12:16 pm
We’ve been mostly gluten-free because my daughter’s eczema seems to be flared by it. I didn’t find keeping gluten-free at home as hard as in social situations, especially with a toddler who didn’t/doesn’t understand that she can’t partake of what her friends do. That’s when boxed substitutes (we like King Arthur’s the best, but they’re expensive) come in handy.
Still, at home I make treats with almond flour or almond meal. I keep some GF pasta on hand for quick meals, and some GF bars on hand for quick snacks for C. Mostly though, I try to *not* include the processed stuff because it is so expensive. I use potatoes, yams, rice, beans and fruit for our carbs. Sometimes quinoa and oats. A normal day for us (I stay at home with C for the moment) is:
B: eggs, avocado or bacon, fruit
S: yogurt or cheese or apple w/ nut butter
L: vegetable, sandwich w/ GF bread, or big salad with lots of good fat and protein
S: same
D: protein + starchy veg + salad or veg, curries (Indian and Thai), soups are also a favorite, rice-based casseroles
I found that, even though we’re not Paleo, those websites and blogs have a lot of good info on them. Also Googling ‘gluten-free low carb’ turns up a lot of blogs, even if you’re not low-carb. Good luck! It can be a transition, but I think we’ve all ended up feeling better by at least clearing a lot of the junk out of our diet.
February 8th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
It sucks, thal. I just went for bloodwork last week for caeliac, which I expect to come back negative, but that doesn’t change the simple fact that since I went to Asia in 2011 and came back, I feel sick if I eat gluten, and not sick if I don’t.
I’ve got some recipes (at home) that I’m happy to share, but I haven’t found a single brownie recipe that works, yet. But I’ve found lots of pancake recipes, and a couple of good muffin recipes, and while I haven’t figured out how to make bread without wheat yet, I’m still trying.
I went to a friend’s house last night for dinner, and I was telling him about how much my stomach has been bothering me lately, and that they tested me for caeliac, and he got upset with me. I’m already vegetarian, and lactose-intolerant. Basically, he was all “what can you eat? SEEDS?” …and just doesn’t understand. And there are likely to be a lot of people like that. Eating out is hard if you don’t want gluten.
But yeah. Hang in there, tiger.
February 9th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
I’ve been GF for … gah, 4 years now. It is tough at first, I won’t lie to you, but you get used to it. The real trick to making it affordable and easier to live with is to cook from scratch. That way you always know what is in your food. Think meals like your grandmother used to make – protein, veggies and a starch.
You can shop at regular grocery stores, you just have to start reading ingredient lists. On everything. All the time. You’d be surprised at the things that are already GF. Like cheetos, if you’re feeling snacky
One thing I will point out to you is to be careful of oats. Even the certified GF oats can cause a reaction in some people (I know they do in me). Also, if you mean to take on baking, make sure you pick up GF baking powder. I’ve also been told that in the states you need to check the ingredient list on your chocolate.
Good luck
February 9th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Although I am not gluten-free, I have friends and relatives who are….I have snagged some really nice recipes from the Gluten free goddess blog http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/…. and I believe there is a brownie recipe there…….
February 9th, 2013 at 4:03 pm
you have a lot of great comments already. olivia has been eating no dairy, gluten, eggs, or peanuts for 4 years. in the first week I felt panicked – i didn’t know what to feed her. but gradually you figure it out–when at home, we hardly have to think about her allergies. so my first advice is don’t panic or despair. Things will only get better from here. And since you don’t like a lot of change, be patient. Let the changes come with time (don’t try to implement all the advice from these comments in one week!) You will develop a new way of eating and cooking over time. We look back at our first wretched pancakes and laugh. Now we feed our GF & egg free pancakes to the neighborhood kids and no one even knows!
So…you can have all that stuff you said you couldn’t have.
Soy sauce. You can get GF soy sauce at whole foods that is organic. It’s expensive. Here are other options: http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreefoodshopping/tp/Gluten-Free-Soy-Sauce.htm
Pasta: rice, corn or quinoa pastas are all good. Our whole family eats it. You just have to adjust to different cooking times. rice pasta is very starchy so cook it in a lot of water then rinse it afterward.
Bread: Udi’s bread is best. Olivia can’t eat it because it has eggs. If it’s too expensive then buy it for a treat and keep it in the freezer. Olivia eats a lot of quesadillas on corn tortillas. I bake most stuff homemade and I admit bread is hard. We do muffins a lot.
Pancakes: 1 C flour mix (homemade!), 1 T sugar, 1/2 salt, 1 egg, 2 tsp baking powder, a little butter or oil, and enough milk to get the consistency you like. Adding pumpkin or applesauce (with cinammon!) help the texture a lot. they’re awesome, BUT see below:
Flour is the KEY. I grind my own (but that’s a big change – save that for further down the road!). I make a flour mix and keep it in the freezer. Then when i bake I don’t have to get all these flours out (annoying!). I use my same mix for most things so I just add up how much flour the recipe calls for and use my mix. I never buy store bought mixes – too much white flour (white rice, tapioca, potato) which isn’t good for anybody. Here’s a high fiber flour mix : 1C brown rice or sorghum flour, 1/2 C teff flour, 1/2 C millet four, 2/3 C tapioca starch, 1/3 C cornstarch or potato starch. I know that sounds crazy, but you can find all these in health food stores. The key is the ratio of 2 parts any mix of flours to 1 part starch (with the starch split 2/3 to 1/3 between tapioca and corn or potato). So substitute other flours for the first three if you can’t find the exact ones. DON’T use all rice flours like so many mixes do. It is flavorless and very sandy – but it’s a good cheap staple if mixed with others.
Once you have the flour down, sub it into your other regular recipes, like brownies, and add 1 tsp of xantham gum (this works as a binder in place of gluten). Xantham gum is around $10 for a bag, but don’t freak out- it will last forever because you only use 1 tsp at a time (or less).
OK – this is too much info! Two last things: check out the magazine Living Without. It comes once a month, has recipes (but not so many to overwhelm) and articles (often about celiac) and other flour mixes in the back. And last, this cook book hits on a lot of familiar comfort food : Deliciously G-Free: Food so Flavorful They’lll never Believe It’s G-Free by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Love this book. You might get it just to ground you with a collection of standard recipes.
I can go on and on because, as you know, I cook a lot. Feel free to use my email if you have questions. (btw, i’m hypothyroid too…)
oh – and NEVER tell your kids you’re giving them GF food! They won’t know if you don’t tell!
February 12th, 2013 at 9:38 am
[...] OFF…Thank you everyone that commented on my Food for Friday post about going gluten free! There is a lot there to digest (pun intended), and I really thank everyone for sharing their [...]
February 13th, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Oh, dear Kitchen Witch, it is soooooo worth going GF!!! I also have Hashimoto’s and have suffered mightily with GI issues these last few years. I was hospitalzied last August for a week with yet to be diagnosed crippling GI distress. After the hospitalization I went GF. The result after only six months: no more daily antihistimines, no more joint soreness, and patches of skin that bled intermittently for years have healed, 30 pounds of weight loss, and a FLAT stomach. The one thing I can tell you is that you can’t “kinda” do this…you have to commit to it to really reap the benefits. I thought I was going to literally die without bread dipped in olive oil…well, I’m still here!!! I agree with another person who posted…make your own food…bake your own bread. I invested in a quality bread machine and I bake my bread every Sunday now. And if you make your own stuff it’s really not as expensive as it seems. And even if it is…you’re worth the investment!!! I wish I had given up the gluten poison long ago. Good luck!!!