Gluten free info please

[restful urchin]

Hi,
I have a malfunctioning pancreas. I've been dealing with that for along time. Medically there is not much that can be done as far as treatment, so I'm left pretty much on my own. Alot of friends have suggested trying gluten free. As celiac disease and pancreatic disease are both digestive problems I figure why not look into it? Something must be setting my digestive system (and pancreas ) off, perhaps it's a gluten problem.
So.. of course I come to the Dis with my questions!!LOL
Can anyone point me to a good website for information and recipes? I really want to give this a good try.

Thanks so much,
Liz
28 days until CSR!!!!

 

[snorris49]

Hi Liz!
I have Crohn's disease and went gluten free because of it (Celiac and Crohn's--the typical version of it--affect the same area of the intestines). I am so glad I did. It has really helped and made a HUGE difference. I have even tried to see what happens when I eat wheat and I feel sick every time afterward. It can be challening, but it gets easier over time. And when you go to WDW you will be so taken care of! It's the best vacation spot for dietary restrictions. I felt so spoiled!

For non-disney related resources, try googling gluten free. You'll get tons of blogs and such. A great baking cookbook is Babycakes (watch out though it has some recipes using spelt, which is a relative of wheat and can cause some irritation. I can only eat it on very rare occassions) Enjoy life (which is an allergy free brand) has come out with a baking book but I haven't read it yet.

Good luck!

 

[restful urchin]

Thanks snorris!!!
I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed over the weekend with all this but I'm discovering that this may not be as difficult as I initially thought. It will take some thought but there is a whole world of food that still remains!!LOL
alot of the recipes aren't different than I already eat. I'm thinking the breads, tortillas.. I guess carbs... are going to be the toughest to figure out for now.
thanks again!
Liz

 

[snorris49]

I hear ya! Carbs were the hardest for me to figure out. But there are some GREAT brands out there.
Glutino makes AWESOME pretzels (taste like the regular thing imo) and if you are feeling like Donuts or Muffins Kinnickick makes awesome donuts and muffins that are really close to the real thing. I tend to eat them when I have a carb craving.

The hardest thing I've found so far is the bread. Sorry, but i think tapioca bread is nasty. Perhaps it is breadlike, but it's not bread. No way, no how!
I'm still trying to come up with a good bread recipe or find a good bread that's pre-made. I've found a lot of good alternatives to everything but that.

Take it one day at a time and you'll be fine!

 

[pudge the fish]

well tapioca bread is ok with lots of butter, or peanut butter & jelly
( not really)

Check this out:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free/gluten-free.htm
I have not tried yet but I will soon lots of recipes..

Also I have found super walmart or super target sells rice pasta MUCH cheaper than a regular supermarket.

Rice chex makes a good crunchy snack - I add stuff to make a trail mix .
Jones dairy farm makes a gluten free sausage


Watch hams and turkeys at holidays. Some have added wheat or gluten for a thickening agent.
Same with tomato soup.

Annies makes good gluten free items as does Bob's red mill mixes check out amazon for deals on gluten free foods.

those are my out side of disney tips
But Disney does a WONDERFUL job with GF foods.

 

[restful urchin]

Thanks you all so much! I really feel less stressed about this and realize that it is quite doable!
Liz

 

[snorris49]

Yeah the Betty Crocker Devil's food cake is really really good. The yellow is OK, though it's better with frosting or tweaked some. I haven't had a chance to try to the cookies or brownies yet!

 

[pudge the fish]

there are TONS of recipes at the betty crocker site too- like pineapple upside down cake and lemon cake and carrot cake....

Now I can eat certain brands of tortilla chips made with white corn- no yellow corn for me it doesn't settle well these days

But I only have an allergy or intolerance depnds on which doctor you ask, so trace amounts may not bother me.

I know I can eat the granola at McDonalds on the parfait and it has never bothered me and it has malt in it.

I use bib lettuce to wrap sandwich stuff in.

 

[EDuke98080]

I have foud that the best GF mixes are "123 Gluten Free". Amazing muffins and corn bread. Also my family likes Schar brand pasta productas best of any we have tried. It is not as hard as you think and gets easier with time!

 

[EDuke98080]

Yeah the Betty Crocker Devil's food cake is really really good. The yellow is OK, though it's better with frosting or tweaked some. I haven't had a chance to try to the cookies or brownies yet!

The brownies are good!

 

[Sagginit]

hi i remember when i found out i had celiac and had to go GF. it was so tough, i was in tears trying to figure out what to eat. its much better these days. im addicted to the betty crocker GF food at the moment, i missed box cakes! rice pasta is a savior, consider naturally GF foods, like the thin rice pasta for stir fry, i used this as angel hair. corn tortillas are great for quesadillas, fajitas, i even make pizza quesadillas when i crave that late night cheesy fix. i love rice, asian and mexican type foods are often naturally GF. vans makes these french toast sticks i love and their waffles are pretty good. amy's has GF frozen meals, and specialty food stores are loaded with GF foods like trader joes, wegmans and whole foods.

there are many restaurants that are GF friendly. pf changs, bonefish grill, outback steakhouse, charlie brown steakhouse, carabbas, starbucks carries a gf cake now, red robin. i also have heard the macaroni grill and a few others have a GF menu but they are not in my area. wendys has an amazing GF selection. also if there is a five guys near you they prepare their food in a GF way, go to the website for info.

i recommend for reading the GF bible, i was given it this last year and there was stuff in there i never thought about like lipgloss and medication make have gluten.

 

[restful urchin]

Again,Thanks so much for the support. You have all been very helpful. Sagginit that's for to hint to look at Aisan //mexican food. I love Mexican food. I grew up in Califonia so excellent Mexican food was easy to find. Edmonton, where I live now OTOH, essencially has no mexican food. Very sad..
I can cook it myself though but I'll be using corn meal etc!
Thanks again!!Liz