Gluten Free - Forney,TX

I have a child with Celiac disease.

The best thing I have found is to simply concentrate on whole foods...meat, fruit, veggies, dairy, rice, eggs, etc. They are (for the most part) naturally gluten free and things that an entire family can and will eat.

For replacement products, I prefer rice pasta over corn pasta because it's not as sludgy...you will see what I mean...and I think it tastes better. This is a simple preference, however...some prefer corn.

The best gluten free bread I've ever tried is called "Goodbye Gluten" and is better (IMO) than regular, store bought bread. It's soft and tastes like a fresh loaf of homemade...super delicious...and nothing like any other GF bread on the market. It has a very short shelf life, however, so I generally buy Udi's to stick in the freezer.

I make my own "cream of" soups for a cost of about 10 cents a "can", vs. buying the incredibly expensive GF soup to use for cooking.

I like Kinnikinnick brand of everything...frozen waffles, pizza crusts, etc. If you want those things, that's the brand to go to!

The Synder's GF pretzels taste like real pretzels...the Wyler's/Ener-G taste horrible and are hard.

Cereal...well, Chex is the go to, but if you like kiddie cereals, Fruity Pebbles are also GF. I have tried a lot of specialty GF cereals and don't like any of them, honestly.

I bake most of our cookies because GF cookies are expensive, and really not that great. I have a lot of recipes, but recipes are easy to find online or at the library.

Ive been gluten free for many years now. Somethings that are staples are me are chicken, rice, beef, veggies, fruits, corn based pasta noodles, dairy, peanut butter and popcorn. I also have a bread maker that I use constantly. You can buy brown rice flour for cheap. I make bread a lot and have lots of success with it. Just make sure you buy xanthan gum, because it really helps the gluten free bread. You can find tons of recipes online. I am currently making a gluten free cheesecake for my husbands birthday. One thing I also love is making gluten free pizza and I love eating Chex's line of gluten free cereal. There are lots of options out there.

I am gluten sensitive and should stay away from more than I actually do. I'm getting myself ready for a super cleanse to do in May - now I'm slowly gathering the supplements for it as I'll be on it for at least three months. Hubby is going to do it too. If you're gluten sensitive, you more than likely have an over abundance of fungus, yeast too. Most people do and don't know it. The cleanse and diet come from the book, The Candida Cure, the 90 day program by Ann Boroch. It's a good book and even though the title is what it is she talks about removing all glutens. My sister and her daughter followed it because they're highly gluten sensitive and it made a world of difference, took their symtoms away.

Wheat can be in many products that you wouldn't suspect it is in like even oat meal. Soy is in almost everything which is also to be avoided.

Anyway, Delilah has some great advice for ya.
The reason so many people are sensitive to it (seems like everybody anymore are sensitive) is because GE has changed the kernal of the wheat into something the human body cannot handle. To put it simply. My symtoms have been on going for 30 years or more, but it's not just gluten, it's all the other addivitives and the GE that messes with the body.

BE WELL

This is the "latest thing" but that being said many of us have sensitivity to it - particularly as we get older. I'm 53 and my doc suggests that my belly (which I NEVER used to have as a younger woman) may be a result of gluten sensitivity. So I'm trying to be gluten free for 60 days to see if it makes a difference. I tried the dietary enzymes but I got migraines while taking them (and I haven't had migraines in eons).

Basically you're now going to be eating potatoes, rice & corn as your carbs. Try polenta (if there's a Trader Joes near you they have a frozen polenta dish that's fabulous), quinoa (a grain kind of like brown rice but nutty in flavor and also has protein - it's a little strange looking but it tastes good). There are pastas made of rice & quinoa that are very good - they cook a little differently so follow the directions. I'm now having potatoes every which way - so that's working as well. But it's only been a few days and I've already had a couple of slices a bread each day becuase I really miss cinnamon swirl bread and I haven't yet found gluten free cinnamon bread yet. The italian semolina bread is the thing I'll really come to miss - but it would be nice to have a normal belly again...

I have a sister with Celiac disease and a daughter with a tested wheat sensitivity. I have not been tested, but I believe I, too, am at a minimum sensitive to gluten. In my opinion, as pasta goes, I like the corn, but most specifically marketed "gluten free" products are much more expensive than if you simply buy rice noodles in an asian store. Glutino makes some excellent Oreo type cookies, ritz-like crackers, and English muffins. I'm not a fan of Snyder's pretzels -- but I love another brand that I can't think of the name of -- it's in a red bag and easier to find than Snyders for me... If I can think of it, I'll update.

Just know, when my sister was diagnosed 10 years ago, it was a lot harder to find good replacements than it is now. And a lot of restaurants have GF menus or chefs who know how to substitute. I was at a restaurant recently that had this delicious sounding sandwich, but I couldn't have the bread, so I asked for all the ingredients on rice. They were happy to accommodate, and the resulting dish was, I think, so much better than if it had been on bread!

And make sure you research the names of hidden sources of gluten. A lot of processed foods use gluten in the processing -- for example, Rice Krispies are not gluten free as they are made because they have barley malt in them. Some people are more sensitive than others -- my sister has separate utensils for everything and has to be extremely careful. I'm a lot less careful and seem to do fine.

Good luck.

You might want to follow Mande's blog. She typically share a lot of Gluten Free recipes and tons of information.

http://www.kupwich.com/home/