Going gluten free?

[annekat]

Organic & food sensitive diets for whatever purposes are one thing...and for the betterment of individuals. How is the world fed considering we've been OVER the food limit growths since the early 1900s population-wise? Organics can not feed a world of 8 billion most of whom are a starving people...does one really think someone starving in Darfur really cares if it's organic or not...there is a larger picture...

Good point. But I'd rather see them being helped to grow their own food than be shipped a bunch of genetically engineered stuff. But when it comes down to it, you are right, there is a larger picture.

[annekat]

You could be right, Kirk, but I'm not so sure. Part of my problem with bread is that it is so convenient and if it is there, I will just eat it, with peanut butter on it or whatever, instead of taking the time and trouble to prepare a decent meal. So maybe it is the peanut butter that is the problem. Although I do eat pb on rice cakes when I'm not eating bread. I did feel good for about 24 hrs. after eating the bread! Actually the best I'd felt since going into my latest flare. Then I didn't feel so good the day after that. Had to finish the loaf, you know... I just don't think whatever I'm doing is scientific enough to draw any conclusions, and is complicated by having Wegs, taking the drugs, and being in the process of coming out of a flare. I'm not eating enough good foods to replace the bread with, am still eating dairy, etc. Today I haven't felt much like eating bread, and don't have any, but am wondering what to eat. There isn't much food in the house and right now I can't afford to go out and buy a bunch of stuff. I have basics, potatoes, eggs, cheese, rice, a few veggies, yogurt, peanut butter, rice cakes, a little smoked salmon, some refried beans, and some split peas to make into soup. Pretty standard stuff, some of which I may also be sensitive to. It is not a good time to be on any sort of diet where I have to go out and buy certain things. Anyway, I'm glad you are happy with your diet and I'm not discounting any of the theory behind it. I just can't really go there right now, I have to make do with what I have. Which at the moment doesn't include wheat, and I don't really care! But if I had some bread I might be making a cheese sandwich out of it.

Thinking of Don's post above, "making do with what I have" would sound pretty good to someone in Darfur!

[KimH]

I too have been going gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, night shade veg free, yeast free, corn free etc. There are many books for anti inflammatory diets. They recommend what to eat and not to eat. Some contradict so it is confusing but if the books say it is anti inflammtory I eat it. I guess it can't hurt since it is all fresh vegs and lean proteins with nuts berries and seeds. So far so good but way too early in my diet to tell. I am at the point where I'd rather slice and dice and eat stuff out of the "norm" than take all these poisionous meds and feel like crap. I am very suprised and so is my family at how good the recipes are. Good luck in your quest!

[BookNut]

Good for you!! I think you will enjoy it. I have not been gluten free until very recently - but have gone the organic route for the past two years. Shopping mostly the outside of the store. I have NOT been able to eliminate sugar or dairy completely. However, I have cut way back on the sugar - and use stevia in my coffee because I just can't live without sweetner in my coffee. We have also switched totally to Almond milk and all my recipes have been just fine with the substation. I also use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. I can't guarantee that going organic/whole foods will change anyone's life - but I CAN guarantee that after you have cooked that way for a few months - you will discover how the heavily processed foods you used to eat, now taste terrible - tasteless pretty much other than a faintly "plastic" flavor. Also - it is not really all that hard to cook naturally. Most recipes can be easily doubled and frozen. It is just as easy to get out a package of home frozen dinner as it is to get out a tray of Swanson's plastic poison and pop it in the oven. The hardest thing to get over was the price of eating organic. It is a shame that we have to pay more for food that has not been poisoned with chemicals, or filled with high-fructose corn syrup and a bunch of unpronounceable ingredients! The first step I took was switching to organic, grass-fed, free-range etc for meat and protein. I got over that hump because I looked at it as a donation to animal welfare as well as to our health. But it has been hard for me to pay the premium for produce. I have finally trained myself to NOT look at the price of the other stuff...figuring that cheap poison is still poison. The total at check out is still astonishing. I comfort myself by remembering how much less frequently we go out to dinner now. We try to cut back in other ways. Still - it does seem that our food industry is upside down. And I applaud scattered efforts in poor neighborhoods to bring in good food. There is a wonderful public market in our nearby city that does a great job. But there are very few supermarkets other than in the suburbs.

Anyway - off my soapbox. I just purchased a bread machine and have used it for gluten free bread mixes. Bob's Red Mill Bobs Red Mill Natural Foods and Gluten Free Pantry make good ones. I like Bob's a little better. I will soon be creating a webpage on gluten free resources which I will post here when it is done.

[annekat]

That's inspiring, Booknut! I'm lucky to sell at a Farmer's Market where I can get good deals on organic produce, since I'm a vendor, and also free stuff at end of day. Veggies were sort of ruined for me at a young age, with the yucky frozen peas & carrots type stuff my mother served me in the 50's and 60's, so I do have a mental block that must be overcome. I need to eat more veggies, period. I don't eat a lot of meat but can also buy organic and free range at the Market, which I usually don't, because it's expensive. Sometimes I'll buy some VERY expensive wild salmon from there, either fresh or smoked, and can make it go a long ways in various cooking applications. It is indeed a shame that it is so hard for people to afford basic, natural food that hasn't been messed with.

I have a bread machine and haven't used it. I was wondering about gluten-free recipes or mixes. I'll have to try them. I've used some other Bob's Red Mill products and have liked them.

I look forward to seeing your website, and you will be doing a great service to us all by creating and posting it! Keep up the good work!

[BookNut]

Thanks Anne!!

I have not yet experimented with a home made gluten free bread. I have made two bread mixes so far. One is gluten free pantry bread mix which can be found in many grocery stores. If not ... try Amazon. Gluten-Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix -- 22 oz. Amazon mostly sells 6 boxes to an order - but you can get one box at a time as well. It is VERY GOOD. The one essential though is that your bread machine should have a gluten-free setting. If it doesn't - then you will have to remove the dough before it is "punched down" and bake it in the oven. The trick with guten free is they cannot be punched down or risen more than once. I tried it anyway with an old machine - and the result was only just OK. Fortunately I had made it once before with the mixer and the oven - so I knew what it was supposed to taste like. I just made it today with my NEW bread machine (an Oster) which has a gluten free setting and it is delicious!! Another good bread mix is Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix, 16-Ounce Packages. This is good too - and they have one I have not tried yet called Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Whole Grain Bread Mix, 20-Ounce Units which I want to try if I can find it locally.

About the veggies.... I have a few recipes for veggies that are particularly good. I will try to include them on my web page. But to get started... Keep some frozen orange juice concentrate in your fridge and some honey in your cupboard. Local honey is the best as there is some thinking that eating honey made in your own area will help you become immune to allergies of local flora. Anyway - all you do is cook your carrots till they are what I fondly call "al dente". Then stir together some juice concentrate and honey - a couple of tablespoons of each. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for awhile. Add the cooked carrots till they are all coated. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Yummy! And very easy. I use REAL carrots and slice them up. Those cute little packaged baby carrots are, at best tasteless, and at worst, bitter. Good luck! I will try to remember if I find a completely home-made gluten free bread that I like. It is SO easy in the new bread machines that really - everyone should be making their own. Have you ever read the ingredients on a loaf of store-bought bread? You need a degree in chemistry!!

[annekat]

I bought a nice-looking Oster bread machine cheap at a thrift store but then found the paddle was missing and so ordered one of those online. I just looked at it and there is not a gluten-free setting. I have baked a lot of regular yeast bread from scratch the old-fashioned way, so can probably manage it with the gluten-free, too, and am sure I can find recipes online. That sounds as easy as having to take it out of the bread machine and bake it in the oven, although with a good mix, it might be worth it.

I'm not currently gluten free or on any kind of diet. I'm just trying not to overeat any one thing. And sugar is a big one for me to avoid, it can so easily make me feel worse if I overdo it. So far, don't like alternative sweeteners, though will try stevia again.... but am OK with just being more careful. I do like half and half in my coffee or black tea, a small luxury I allow myself. I have used almond milk and like it, and sometimes mix it with the half and half. I don't drink milk at all anymore but do eat a fair amount of yogurt. I don't really like corn but end up using it, e.g., polenta or blue corn chips, if I'm cutting back on wheat. I eat oatmeal. I eat rice cakes with hummus or peanut butter. Would like to make my own hummus. But I really don't have time. I could go on and on. Right now things are in upheaval because I'm sharing food with a friend who lost her job and has nothing. So I'm cooking convenience things like eggs and mashed potatoes and spaghetti and soups. Have plans to make a big salad, but don't want to buy the ingredients just anywhere.... even non organic lettuce and all veggies are getting very expensive.... know of a "farm stand" which has cheaper stuff, some local and some not, and some may be organic.... Farmers Market opens up in April and they won't have lettuce for awhile, anyway.... They will have good organic asparagus! Looking forward to that, and worth the price. Also will be able to buy good organic stir-fry mixes right off the bat. Local honey there, too, and at the previously mentioned "farm stand". The orange juice idea is a good one, and the carrots at our Market are second to none. Will give a full report once it opens up!

Food, food, food! I'm stressed about it all right now because I need to get things (pottery) made for the Market and really don't have time to deal with cooking or special food situations! Not to mention cleaning up the mess afterwards! But then, as Don said earlier, we are lucky we don't live in Darfur.

[mishb]

I have had a bread maker sitting in the back of the cupboard for many years.

It just got to the stage that we ate way too much bread and rolls.

Beautiful hot bread or rolls everyday for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.......way too much, but.....oooohh so yummy

I think I probably eat bread or rolls (bakery or store bought) only 3 days a week now.
It's not something that I crave for (unlike chocolate)

[rebekah]

Thanks for sharing all of this information on going gluten free! I'm definitely going to give it a try for some time and see if that helps... the only thing I currently buy gluten free is my bread. Most of the time though I make bread fresh using my bread maker - I can easily eat the whole loaf in one sitting it's so good. I might have to invest in a new bread maker with a 'gluten free' setting. I love making bread in the morning and coming home after class to the smell of fresh bread. Bob's Red Mill has so many things I just went crazy adding stuff into the cart online... I'm going to check out my local grocery store to see what they carry before ordering a ton of stuff. That carrot recipe sounds so good, I can't wait to try it! And I agree with you about needing a chemistry degree, I'm about to graduate with one and I don't know what some of the ingredients are... or more often why they are even in there. At least I can hopefully use my degree to adapt my cookie recipes to be gluten free.

By the way, I love your picture BookNut! It makes me miss my study abroad trip to England. I have become obsessed with the English Breakfast tea, and brought several boxes home with me. I even had my mom order me some for my birthday since I was runnning out -I can't go a day without it.

[Dirty Don]

I don't know that there is a 'gluten free' setting on any kind of bread maker. It's in the recipe, not the machine. Although, have a friend who has to be gluten free and he had to buy a new bread maker because the old one had done used non gluten free recipes. Hope that saves you a buck or 2!