Wheat/gluten is one of the top seven food allergies. And reading various papers on the subject, the "allergy" numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. More than just extreme allergic reactions, many people simply get the tired/lack of energy feeling or what too many call IBS or simply "fuzzy brained".

I'm positive I'm not hindered by Celiac Disease (I've been tested) but I've cut back on my wheat/gluten.

You can buy "gluten-free oats". You've already discovered the other flours; yeah, some weird ones out there but give them all a try -- you'll find some you really like. What I've found is that blends of them turn out best. Do your own blending.

LOTS of books on the subject, some really very good.

You won't feel deprived -- you'll find this an exciting challenge and you'll discover a whole bunch of new foods.

Joe

Pay attention to condiments, many of them have gluten or wheat in them. Salad dressing, soy sauce, some ketchups and even mustard may have gluten. Read the labels and then select appropriately. I personally love rice and eat it recklessly. I don't discriminate, white, brown, purple, red and wild rice all make an appearance at my dinner table almost daily. I also like rice puddings and rice based custards. I am not gluten intolerant but I have several friends who have a sensitivity. I also try to avoid gluten in places where it should not be like condiments. I would visit a local cooperative or organic store and you will find a ton of options. A good quality oat is usually not contaminated with wheat but read the labels. I recently started to make spelt bread and spelt pancakes. They are really good. I believe spelt is gluten free. Corn cakes, corn pancakes and tamales are also a tasty option for the gluten intolerant. Look at Asian cookbooks as many of the meals are naturally gluten free!

Good luck!

This is the most comprehensive listing of grains/flours that are wheat/gluten stuff or wheat/gluten free.

Spelt is a wheat and contains gluten.

Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: Wheat/Gluten-free

Wow, gardenguru1950--that's some flour list! I guess I will have to try some until I find one I like. However, I am so picky I fear I may be very hard to please. I think the worst part of eating gluten free may be eating in restaurants. How can I go to Red Lobster and not order Walt's fried shrimp? Of course, it is breaded. About the only meat I really like and can order at a restaurant is prime rib. That's one thing I like that isn't breaded. Maybe Moussaka--oh no! A restaurant would probably make the béchamel with wheat flour! I really think I don't have celiac disease!!!!!

OK, we've BTDT. Jim was in the hospital for 8 days two years ago, main symptoms were massive GI upset IYKWIM and dehydration to the point of kidney failure (he's fine now). His blood tests showed positive for celiac, all three of the tests. SO we started months of dietary restrictions, and it was a massive PITA. We went to a Celiac support group, and started to think that Jim's symptoms were NOT as experienced by others.

After doing some test eating, he decided that he was fine. The next time he saw the specialist, the specialist said the thought that the test results were aberrations, and Jim was NOT a celiac sufferer.

Short end to the story, he had been having a reaction to his BP medicine, Benecar. Now, this drug is known to have sneaky side effects that may not show up until a year after you start to take it. And there are other medications that have sneaky side effects that don't show up early, too.

So we went thru at least 9 months of dietary BS (at least for Jim) all for naught. Hint: don't bother with making your own bread from scratch or a mix, but try the Whole Foods GF bread instead. At $8 a loaf, just eat less and keep in the freezer.

If you have not had a biopsy of the intestinal lining, then challenge your doctor. Had Jim had that, he'd have been spared all the GF BS, because he does not have Celiac. If you have not had off and on symptoms all your life, this is NOT a disease that just pops up out of no where at middle age. Sorry, that's our experience. True CD is a nasty thing, it's not uncommon, and it's hard to live with. My heart goes out to the people who have it. But for you to go on such an extreme diet just because it might be, without a real diagnostic test (NOT the blood tests), is an easy out for the doctor and a miserable time for you.

Read up on Celiac, and look at the other symptoms. Jim didn't have the other symptoms either, and he was proved ok in the long run.

Best of luck.

And contact me at fairegold /at/ gmail /dot/ com if you wnat to compare more notes.

I choose to basically eat gluten free or atleast wheat free..I feel alot better.

Here are some of my favorite blogs/resources.
Gluten Free Girl
Gluten Free Goddess
Simply Gluten Free

You have to learn to not look it as to what you can't have..or how to replace the things you once ate..but what you can eat..

I eat gluten free as well, and have found the blogs above to be really helpful. You can't replace wheat flour with just one of the "alternative" flours, so for the time being, I'd just try using Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix. It makes a pretty good loaf of bread and you won't have to invest in a lot of different flours and xantham gum. Eating out in restaurants is definitely the hardest part--Mexican is good because you can always get something with corn tortillas. A lot of the Asian condiments have gluten, which makes Asian restaurants a little tricky. I do manage to eat out a lot, but one has to be pretty creative with the ordering.

My mother was gluten-intolerant, so I did a lot of baking for her. Loaded her freezer with GF baked goods, pancakes and waffles. This was long before the availability of GF products now on the market. Even our Wal-Mart has a short isle full of GF foods.

My best suggestion is to keep to whole foods because as already mentioned, there are all kinds of "hidden" gluten-containing ingredients in so many commercially prepared foods.

Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour have a large selection of GF mixes and flours. Bob's Red Mill GF Baking Mix can be used anywhere you once used Bisquick. There are also lots of books on the subject, so check your local library for GF Cookbooks with great recipes for baking mixes you can make for yourself. There is an endless supply of GF recipes on-line.

You can make many of your own GF grain flours in small batches a spice/coffee mill from whole grains. Whole grains have a longer shelf-life than the milled flours, which should be kept in the refrigerator or freezer. FRESH flour is always best. I have a grain mill I use only for GF grains when I develop GF recipes.

Use short- or medium-grain rice for baked goods, rather than long-grain rice. Long-grain rice flour is fine for dredging or as a thickener, while short- and medium-grain can be used for all rice flour needs.

Good luck.

-Grainlady

Here's an interesting article from the NY Times about that very subject with some good links. Did you know you can possibly deduct some of the costs of the food you need to eat. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Expense of eating with Celiac Disease

momj47,
Ironically, I read this article the day before I was told I tested positive for celiac disease! I get a daily online version of the Times. Yesterday I drove about and hour away to get to two large Wegman's stores in Syracuse to check out their GF foods. The cost of the food was astronomical. I bought a loaf of gluten free bread (saved the receipt) and told myself to keep an open mind. This morning I had a slice of that bread with peanut butter and jelly--my usual breakfast for the past 60 or so years. Oh my! It was awful! I need to really try to eat GF until my doctor's appointment so I can report to him any improvement, so tomorrow I will try toasting the cardboard bread :-(

Here's your problem----- true celiacs are very sensitive to cross contamination, as well. So be sure to get a brand new toaster only for your GF bread. Yep, toasters can be a major source of CC. How about non-breaded fried foods at a restaurant? No fries for you if the kitchen uses the same frying oil for anyhting with breading. Watch out for soy sauce---that's in a huge amount of things, and a no-no unless you have the wheat-free variety. And sorry to say that the wheat=free soy sauce, while good, is very mild, so you'll use twice as much.

Toss your cutting boards, those can be major sources of CC. Be careful about the sources of all vinegars, which can be made from anything. Malt vinegar, of course, is out. (OTOH, there are some okay GF beers available, but Jim wasn't wild about any of them, and of course, they are pricey.) Some celiacs are sensitive to the mold on bleu cheeses, since many of the cultures are lab-grown on bread.

Sorry, but spelt is not GF.

Do you have a Trader Joe's nearby? They have some nice frozen desserts and some cookies that are really good and GF.

Check the ingredients of the food you feed your dogs, too. Many celiacs are sensitive to merely handling things that contain gluten, including pet foods.

Check out Dr. Aron's website, it's helpful.

And send me your mailing address, and I'll send you several books that I have, some about the disease, and some cookbooks, including baking books and other cookbooks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gut check: a website

Jim decided that he 'didn't mind' the frozen GF waffles. Those are available at WF and TJ's as well as my local Safeway. Maybe that would work for your breakfast better than the toast. Waffles with PB and jelly sound pretty good right now... (I haven't had breakfast yet!)

I think food sensitivities are on a continuum. If your digestive tract isn't healthy, any sensitivity can become a huge issue. I think a lot of GI issues can be solved with eating enough fiber. You need small amounts all throughout the day. If you're not eating stuff with fiber, maybe a supplement. Also I think water, probiotics, and fruits and vegetables are a good thing. I am reading a book called Digestive Wellness, and there is some interesting stuff in there. You might want to check it out!

This is the recipe I use for waffles..I've used melted butter or applesauce for the oil with fine results and regular milk..But they are best with thick buttermilk.
The batter looks like very runny wall paste. (LOL) But they fluff up and are crisp like a belgium.
I under bake them a bit and then toast the quarters and eat them with jam for "toast"..They make great bread crumbs too.
This is one of the only recipes my family will eat, and eat and eat that is GF.

Here is a link that might be useful: GF Waffles

I am mostly wheat/gluten-free. I do lots of baking - lots of experimenting with new recipes. I've had some pretty good luck! I recently started a blog (for fun) with mostly (but not all) gluten-free recipes.

First few weeks going off of wheat were the hardest. Like with any addiction, the cravings are really strong. But it passes, and gets easier.

I make my own gluten-free mix which I keep handy. It's 1 part Sorghum flour, 1 part Rice flour, 2/3 part Potato Starch, and 1/3 part Tapioca Starch (or flour). I also use Xanthan gum most of the time. I also use other flours like Brown rice flour, Almond flour, Oat flour (I don't need it certified since I don't have Celiac), Bean flours (can be strong). It depends on the recipe.

Here's my favorite Waffle recipe. It's a Yeast recipe you make the night before, and cook up in the morning:

2 gluten-free flour
1-1/2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 stick melted butter (1/4 cup)
2 c. warm milk (or ½ buttermilk) -heated to about 110 degrees
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp salt

The night before:
Combine and whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, yeast, sugar and salt.

Combine the melted butter and milk. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients.

Whisk eggs and vanilla together in a separate small bowl.

Add the egg-vanilla mixture to the other mixture, and whisk until well-combined. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge until tomorrow morning.

The next morning:
Prepare waffle iron as usual. Stir the batter to deflate it (it should be puffy and frothy). Add to waffle iron the same way you would other batter, keeping in mind that this batter will rise more than batters that use baking powder instead of yeast.

Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: My blog :-)

Thanks Bonnie, I'm going to try that when I think about it ahead of time. LOL

Correct that Spelt is made from wheat. I meant to refer to Teff. It is used to make Ethiopian bread. It is really tasty. Made pancakes with it and it worked out great too. Bob's red mill carries it!
On a separate note, Sushipup, are you Helen of Fairegold fame? Always wondered what happened to you! Your Ikea kitchen is still one of my favorites!
Homepro01

Waffle recipe above - that should be 2 Cups of Gluten free flour. Sorry about that... LOL

Bonnie

That's me! Thanks for remembering me.... kitchen still works well. How are you doing?

The problem is that substitutes are almost always disappointing. Even if the commercial gluten-free foods were truly convincing it would still be cheaper to learn to eat differently. And were they aren't great substitutes, it's even more important to stop reminding yourself of your loss. Take this as an opportunity to discover new foods and new ways to make them.

It is true that anyone with dietary restrictions is better off making their own. The problem is that few cooks or servers are going to be as careful with your health as you are. Look at the reports of how often people are served high-octane coffee when they order decaf. Multiply that be confusion as to what you need and what's in their foods and you have a recipe for disaster. For example, the "jus" served with prime rib is often made from a mix (especially chain restaurants). But if you aren't spending money in restaurants you can spend more on ingredients.

For foods that have an acceptable ingredient list but are not specifically labeled gluten-free, call the manufacturers' information lines. Gluten-free is now well-known enough that they usually can tell you.

Meanwhile, "bread" foods with ground nuts. It's actually easier than the traditional way -- just dip in oil, then nuts, and it's delicious.

Instead of sandwiches, make roll-ups using lettuce leaves, or nori (the seaweed used for sushi). In fact, visit Asian stores for all sorts of inspiration.

Give yourself time to mourn your old life, but be assured there are still lots of delicious foods for you to enjoy.

I fill up rice wrappers (or tapioca) with sandwich fixings and roll up. Makes it easy when I need a lunch on a work day.
Get(I borrowed a copy from the Library) Shauna Aherns book(Gluten Free Girl)..It's really interesting the approach she took when she got her diagnosis. And it's got some yummy recipes too.

I LOVE Pamela's crisp ginger snaps and crisp dark chocolate cookies! The flavor is right on and they are crispy! Many of the GF cookies are mush. I don't have the exact GF restrictions, but allergies to yeast and all types of wheat except(rye)make me ITCH! Potato is a no-no also, but not quite as much.
The good news is that my dairy allergies seem to have improved.