Going gluten free?

[aewaustin]

So hoping this goes through, have been wanting to post for weeks but could not get the forum to work. I am proud to say that I am 7 weeks 100% GF, didn't even cheat a little For me it has not been that hard. But before I started I made sure that I had a solution for pasta (rice pasta), doughy things (rice crackers), cookies (Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies) and pizza (Domino's). In Austin the burger joint that I go to has lettuce wraps and I have found more often than not restaurants have a GF menu.

I have not had a miracle though where I am so much more energetic I am sad to say. And the nerve pain, the whole reason I am trying this, has not noticeably decreased. Even so I am pretty convinced that it is the way to go for folks with an auto-immune issue so I am going to stick with it.

A few things to note though. My holistic doc said it takes 6 weeks to get all gluten out of your body so you have to be 100% free for that long before you feel anything. Also at four weeks I had one day when I was so sick, super nauseous (could not even drink water) and just sick. It only lasted a day, and I really think it has to do something with being GF.

Really excited to see what folks come up with as far as recipe's go. Thanks everyone for contributing to the thread!

[BookNut]

Your post came through just fine. Thanks for sharing your experience. It is inspiring to know that you can do this without cheating. So far it has not been as difficult as I expected. I have found a homemade recipe for rice.a.roni which makes me happy. The only thing I've had trouble with is a substitute for stuffing mix and bread crumbs. I just found a bread crumb mix to order online. Still looking for a stuffing mix.

It could be just wishful thinking....but I feel that I am having fewer food cravings since I started.

To be honest, I think the best change I made was to organic. I havebeen organic as much as possible for almost two years now. My husband said last night, "When I eat your dinners, I feel like I am eating at a restaurant." I think the reason is because of organic ingredients...but more than that, the lack of artificial ingredients and colors.

[rebekah]

I'm so glad to hear it's not as difficult as I think it may be. I'm going shopping for gluten-free foods tomorrow to see what I can find... I'm actually really excited to try this and see if it helps. In regards to bread, like Jacquie said, Udi's is really good, but the slices are kinda small, I usually have to make 2 sandwiches. Hopefully I'll have some good recipes soon to share with you all (bread, cookies, etc.), and I look forward to seeing what everyone else finds.

I love your site, Jacquie! Thanks for posting the link to Gluten-free on a Shoestring, it looks like a great site for some recipes!

[annekat]

Just checked out Gluten Free Baking and Recipe Blog | Gluten-Free on a Shoestring as suggested by rebekah. This is all so fascinating! I had no idea you could make such scrumptious looking stuff with gluten free..... cookies, cakes, I imagine pie crusts, too? I have no time right now but there's a whole summer coming.... would love to try gluten free berry pies, using local berries of course. Just need to clear some clutter in my kitchen and get organized... that will take some time! Thanks again, Jacquie, for posting all these links and blogs.... really something to look at this year besides the live bird cams that we all watched last year!

[aewaustin]

One thing I have tried to do is just eliminate bread, so not trying to make gluten free, but instead am trying to eat Paleo. As I write this I am eating *Pancakes* (2 eggs, cinnamon, applesauce, 1 scoop of protein powder mixed with a handheld mixer) and they do the trick surprisingly enough. Using a banana is also really good. It seems that grains can be an issue generally, so the more that you can eliminate them the better. My big thing right now is How to Make Gluten-Free Potato Gnocchi | Serious Eats, have figured out how to make with pumpkin/sweet potato and it is just amazing. I do it with a spinach cream sauce.

[KimH]

Vegan cupcakes take over the World cookbook has GF conversions. I have not yet tried the GF recipes but the vegan ones are yummy. I ate at Claire's Cornucopia in New Haven, CT after a Dr visit today. Yummy
I ate a GF cupcake there. Different texture but so good. Claire has a few cookbooks. My lunch was vegan, GF and dairy free. Great place.

[BookNut]

OAs I write this I am eating *Pancakes* (2 eggs, cinnamon, applesauce, 1 scoop of protein powder mixed with a handheld mixer) and they do the trick surprisingly enough.

I am confused....Do you cook these on a griddle as if they were pancakes? I would like to try them.

My dinner was yummy tonight. Most of it was normally GF anyway, and only one little swap. I don't like potatoes and my hubby loves them - so I wanted to try some "au gratin" hoping I would enjoy them them that way. They turned out great. Here is the recipe:
Potatoes au Gratin Is Comfort Food at Its Finest

The only thing I changed is that I use almond milk instead of cow's milk. it works fine. It came out nice and creamy. The gruyere cheese is EXPENSIVE - but you gotta live big once in awhile I guess. Oh - the recipe says to strain the milk through a fine mesh. Huh? Like ... really? Just skip that silly step.

Then I breaded pork chops with Kinnikinnick Panko Style Breadcrumbs. I added a little seasoning to the breadcrumbs - I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute - but you can use whatever sounds good to you. It all looked a bit "whitish" - so I cooked up some carrots and made my super quick honey and orange juice concentrate sauce. It was really tasty. My hubby is a good sport about the gluten free thing. He has allergies and asthma - so maybe he will feel better eating gluten free too. It SHOULD help our waistlines a bit as long as we don't go berserk with the gluten free cookies etc.

[aewaustin]

Yep, cooked them just like I would pancakes. They get brown fast and are runny and hard to flip (so I cook in a small skillet) but they are yummy I think that I like them with banana better than applesauce, and a friend said they are great with sweet potatoes, but have not tried that yet.

[BookNut]

Thanks for the recipe. I like the sound of the bananas - so I think I will try it out next time I get some bananas.

[rebekah]

I baked my first gf bread this past weekend with my new bread maker using Jules gf flour. I used the Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: King Arthur Flour Jacquie posted a few pages back... it came out a little yellow but that's probably just from the butter. I'll try it with coconut oil next time; it was still good though. I bought Jules bread mix and used it this morning and it's sooo good! I bought a thing of her brownie mix too that I can't wait to try! I highly recommend Jules products if you're thinking of going gf.

Jacquie's carrot recipe she talked about earlier in this tread is SO good! I posted about it a little bit ago but the post disappeared... perhaps it's the little gremlins in my computer that ate them. I just wanted to give it a great review in hopes others on here will try it and enjoy it too.