Feelin Lonely In Glutenland

[mandy-c]

im 15 and ive been trying to find gluten-free foods, and its been kinda hard.

ive spent hours in grocery stores reading labels and making sure there are no cheese or wheat in anything.

what i really miss, though, is bingeing out on stuff like cookie dough or rice crispy treats and even some kinds of chips with friends whenever im with them. now i have to take a bag of honey nut rice chex (which really arent that bad, they just look at me like im a freak or something) and make gluten-free pancakes at their houses.

im really frustrated with this disease, and trying really hard to cope.

sorry if i sound whiny.

anyone find junk food stuff to share with non-gluten-free friends that they might like too?

not against veggies or anything, just wanna figure out some more possibilities with food!

[mamaw]

Hi Mandy

sorry you are having a hard time of it. I'm senior citzen status but I can give you some junk food tips! Two kids are gluten-free in my family.One was only 2 when they started the gluten-free diet.

Glenny's, & envirokids makes rice krispy treats plus a couple more . Lays & doritos clearly mark gluten on their labels(Back Of Pkg). Popping corn is gluten-free. Hormel pepperoni is gluten-free. Oberto has a few flavors beef jerky that is gluten-free & easy to find. Hersey candy is gluten-free except for the ones that have add-ins ie: cookies,wafers. Snickers is gluten-free.cool whip, jello,popscicles, philly swirzls, breyer , edy's ice cream is gluten-free Dairy Queen has a gluten-free menu, wendy's, McDonald's, Red Robin,Uno's, Boston Market are just a few places that have gluten-free menus. Bell & Evans has gluten-free chicken nuggets & other chicken things gluten-free.

This is a very short list. Where do you live? Perhaps someone in your state will be able to guide you to a gluten-free store to shop.Is your parents supportative? There are alot of things that still can be purchased at the reg grocery store.IF you need help with that let me know...plus there are some yummy places to buy mailorder from. For our kids we make gluten-free for them for school & match whatever the lunch is for that day. It does take planning.

Whatever questions you have please just ask, we are here to help you on your journey.

blessings

mamaw

[hannahp57]

one of my favorites is rice krispie treats with cocoa pebbles. i havent found any puffed rice cereal i like but these are sooo good. i dont really even miss the regular ones

and of course there is the puppy chow recipe on the chex website. take that to a sleepover and your girl friends will absolutely love you!! i promise its ultimate junk food.

and another:

Open Original Shared Link

these were amazing!!!

i have eaten most of the cape cod brand chips without issues but as always double check the labels. i have heard of many people eating those and doritos.

another idea is plan ahead with your friends. if they decide to make say smores...you can bring your own Kinnikinnick smoreables (which are delicious by the way) and tell them which brands of chocolate/ marshmallows you can have.

if they decide to do pizza...cut a gluten-free bagel in half and make your own personal size pizza. sauce and maybe soy cheese? (i think you mentioned no cheese...)

the benefit here is you get to eat what they're eating without sharing very expensive food with people who are probably not going to enjoy it anyways. which is okay. our taste buds are accustomed so we can be selfish!

above everything else i have leanrned is if yu act as thoughy you dont think its weird others will start to also.

i know how hard it can be. i was diagnosed when i was sixteen. at lunch i brought an apple and everyone else ate chicken strips and fries.

oh yeah haha i hate veggies for junk food... what i DO like though is peanut butter mixed with maple syrup...and just about anything dipped in that... crackers, apples, probably celery if yu can get past those nasty little stringy things

let us know if there is any one thing in particular that you miss and maybe we can find a sub for it!

[Ahorsesoul]

Here's a recipe to feed your friends if you can eat milk and butter. Just double check all the ingredients to be sure your kitchen has them as gluten free. I've also heard this called Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Chocolate Cobbler

Melt 2 sticks of butter in a 9x13 dish

Mix together in a bowl;

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup gluten free flour

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup of milk plus a smidgen

Pour this over the melted butter; DO NOT STIR, just drizzle the above over the butter.

In another bowl mix;

1 cup sugar

5 tbsp cocoa

Now sprinkle this over the above mixture, again, DO NOT MIX into the ingredients already in the dish, just sprinkle.

Now add 2 cups of boiling water over the top of all of the above, DO NOT MIX, just pour over.

Bake at 350 uncovered for 35-45 minutes.

[mandy-c]

thanks so much you guys! that was really helpful.

i know that im really sensitive to gluten-i found a cereal called puffins and it said it was gluten free but it was processed with wheat. i thought i was gonna be fine with it but a half an hour after eating a small bowl of them i got severely glutened. i gave the rest of the cereal to my sister after that, at least it was healthier choice for her. haha oh well.

but i read the rest of the ingredients and it said it also had oat flour, so im terrified of eating oats now.

i also found out that malt comes from barley which is found in most cereals so i cant eat rice crispies anymore! i was sooo sad to give up rice crispie treats!

hannah thats a very positive way to put it thank you! i have to keep reminding my friends of what i can and cant eat, most people cant wrap their heads around it! one lady offered me a bagel after i explained what i couldnt eat to her. haha but i had to start telling people "its just food" and its no big deal. im eating super healthy lately and im feeling better than i have in a longggg time. im glad to give up some foods if im not gonna be in pain all the time.

lunch was really hard this past year- protein bars & shakes were what i had on a daily basis when everyone else would get a burrito or a bag of cheesey chips. soyjoys were awful after eating them everyday for 3 weeks. haha my mom likes them though. i found some bars i could actually eat, one was called luna and its like a womens health bar which are totally yummy, larabars are natural fruit bar things that are kinda good, and atkins bars are normally gluten free, which i think is kinda weird,but theyre not too shabby. i did find out that some protein bars that are Gluten-Free have cheese in them! it was disturbing. i know the apple-ish soyjoy thing (i think its in a green wrapper?) has no wheat but it has cheese in it!

i live in arizona, and both my parents and their spouses are very supportive, though my new stepbrothers arent. theyre big skateboarders, and when they go skating they eat out wherever and whenever they can. they could care less bout me and my food issues, but my stepmom tries to. my moms bf has a stomach issue so he gets what im going through for the most part. the difference in foods at both houses are so different! my bros normally like poptarts and chocolate milk (always nesquik, which is processed with wheat) and i have corn tortillas and salsa. haha. my moms trying to eat like i do but she cant stick to it completely. we have some soups and rice chex and tons and tons of veggies around the house to munch on.

mamaw, i didnt know that so many different places had Gluten-Free menus! thanks for those, ill have to remember that when my bros go skating and im stuck watchin them! haha. and i LOVE turkey pepperoni. i dont need anything to put them on, i just eat em outta the bag! theyre so much better for you then chips and stuff, and so yummy!

i spent most of yesterday researching gluten free food companies that could ship certain foods out to az. i could only find a few, one of the closest is in colorado. i was especially interested in finding a birthday cake for my 16th birthday later this year, because ive tried making Gluten-Free cakes and they end up a mess when theyre finished baking. they dont set like normal cakes, mine always end up a molten mush pile! haha.

i think that would be so sad to have a Gluten-Free child. having to deny them certain "normal" little kid foods all the time because it would hurt them would be so depressing! i cant even imagine!

i kind of figured that i would end up with celiac disease becuz of my cousin. i saw her during christmas break and i thought that would be the hardest thing to give up becuz wheat is everywhere! my poor cousin is over 20 and has been through more doctors then i have and she just figured out this past year that shes deathly allergic to any kind of wheat, and even being in the same room with flour floating around in the air could land her in the hospital!

i know, happy and uplifting right? NOT!

thanks so much for the ideas! ill definetely be using most of them this summer!

mandy

[hannahp57]

i wanted to put this recipe in here...because the thing i miss mort is (as stupid as it sounds) poptarts. anyways i found a recipe online that looks amazing. and i have been planning on trying them because it sounds pretty basic. but anyways maybe you can try these and if they turn out right, you can impress your family with how much better they are (and soooo much healthier than those nasty highly processed breakfast pastries are-that i loved lol)

Open Original Shared Link

there are things like amazon you can order through. i recently purchased a kinnikinnick bread mix that i absolutely LOVE. the texture is wonderful and while it is a tad sweeter than typical bread it makes great sandchiches. it has easy directions for making one loaf, or a dozen rolls or just one roll! i figured out how to shape foil into hamburger bun shape and use two rolls worth for a sandwich.

the best part is you can make as much or as little as you want and avoid haveing to freese 3/4 of a loaf so it doesnt go bad before you finish it. i would look into it since you seem to be the only one in your household (as am i). then you can just bake up a burger bun or make sandwhich just like the rest of the family. i got sick of using my gluten-free crackers while everyone else had white bread :/

oh and by the way oats arent okay unless it is specified that they are certified to be gluten free. bob's red mill has gluten free oats. i actually just bought some to make granola bars and they are good. oats that are produced commercially are typically grown, processed, and handled with wheat. its like cross contamination times 100! so stay away from oats unless its specifically states that the oats are safe. you may be able to tolerate the good ones. i actually learned it the same way. i bought a box of puffins that said wheat free. not GLUTEN free. so i wondered.. hmm.. what is the difference. that oat flour!

[mamaw]

Hi Mandy

I'm so glad you have a supportative family. That is a BIG plus...they may not get it right all the time but it is great that they are trying....

AMazon has tons of gluten-free products & reasonable to ship.Many have free shipping.

Cakes! Pamela's has two cake mixes that are very good. Betty Crocker has just come out with gluten-free mixes, brownies too. I haven't tried them yet but I have seen mixed reviews about BC.

A really great cookbook is Baking CLassics by Annalise Roberts (AMazon) wonderful recipes for cakes, wedding cake, ice cream sandwiches & much more.

Open Original Shared Link this is a great flour blend & she has soooo many recipes on her site. I make hot pockets, crossiants& more from her flour blend.

I also love Meister flour. both ship. You can also get better batter from Amazon.

If you Pm with your address I will send you a few excellent recipes...twinkies, danish & pop tarts & more. I don't have them on the computer so I will print them out for you...

My grandkids honestly don't even think about being gluten-free anymore .They have never been left out because of being gluten-free. I match everything. Funnel cakes ! Yum...

Here is a short list of what you can look for at your reg grocery store...

All gluten-free!

jello

pudding

cool whip

prego sauces

McCormick spices

contadina tomato products

Jif

herb-ox bouillon

ortega taco shells hard

cheese whiz

ore ida fries ( clearly labeled

delimex taquitos

Inland valley fries( clearly labeled

dinty moore beef stew -not the chicken stew

bush reg baked beans

hormel chili

hormel spam

philly cream cheese

kozy shack pudding

Hellman's mayo

Miracle whip

frenchs mustard

pam cooking spray

ragu pizza sauce or pizza quick

don pepino pizza sauce

Progresso soups:

creamy mushroom

lentil

chicken rice

chik & wild rice

chicken vegetable

clam chowder

chicken broth

Rachel Ray beef or chicken broth

crisco

hersey cocoa

lea & perkins worchestire sauce

Dietz & Watson deli meats

Boar's head deli meats

Bell & Evans la choy or wal mart brand soy sauce

Nature path has rice krispies cereal. I like Kinnickinnick brand of rice krispy cereal.

& their K-too cookies Celiac Specialities has donuts to die for, stuffin mix too & pot pies too..

Joans gluten-free great bakes has bagels, english muffins , pizza shells & scilian pizzas to die for!

conte's has ravioli, pizza , piergo's, & frozen entrees, yummy

seitenbacher has gluten-free egg noodles that do not break apart

bristol buns has wonderful buns for deli sandwiches & burgers. I take with me when I go out for a burger

everybody eats has the best baguettes & ficeille rolls...

these are mostly mailorder but that is how I must shop as we have nothing here......

Whole foods has several breads that make good grilled cheese...

Glutino pretzels are good.

Pamela's pancake mix

In arizona I believe Carol Fenster has a bakery tha tyou should be able to order from....

blessings

mamaw

[tan celiac girl]

hi! gluten-free junk food. it's really not too bad to find good food. at whole foods (i'm in california so it might be called something else in other states) they have a pretty big variety of cookies and pastries. i like the gluten-free chocolate and vanilla wafer cookies and the softbaked snickerdoodles. also, rice krispies are gluten free, so those are ok. most candies are good, unless they have cookies or wafers (like twix), but all the good ones are gluten-free. hope this helps!

i'll also put a post about this on my blog check out my profile

~tan celiac girl~

[mamaw]

Hello

I'm not sure what rice krispies you are referring to but Kellogg's rice krispies are not gluten-free. They contain malt which is not gluten-free.

Nature path & I think envirokids & kinnickinnick have safe rice krispies. Ther could be more brands that are gluten-free....

Not all candy is gluten-free as well. truffles can contain gluten as well as some well known brands have gluten. Hersey has a complete list of their chocolate that is gluten-free. Malt in anything is not gluten-free.

Snickers is gluten-free, yeah......

[spanish-road]

i just go into the kitchen open a cupboard and stare until something pops out or i have the urge to consume what ever is in front of me. When Im out of town chips are my friend, i usual eat a family size bag a day along with what ever i see at the store when Im shopping for food. Also crunch and munch is great that fills me a bit until something else looks good. Man I sound like Im a fat kid, but Im very active and don't sit still long before something sounds fun to do outside.

[G-freegal12]

You are about to be shocked...about every thing made by Tootsie Roll is gluten-free!! Check their website and look at nutrition facts they say (In letters bigger than that sugar ant crawling down your sidewalk) what's gluten free!!!! Awesome, I know.

[Sarenha]

Mandy-

I'm one of those people with the reaction to Gluten in the air, it really does stink.

gluten-free kids seem really sad to me too, but maybe not, I mean, it's not like they start out with pasta or cake or whatever cravings. (I really miss spanikopeda and goldfish crackers, almost wish I didn't know what I was missing) and they hopefully have parents to help them through things.

Betty Crocker makes the BEST gluten-free brownies. You can usually find them in your regular old grocery store. In my opinion, they're better than the original. I DANCED the first time I tried them, I was so excited. The texture is perfect, taste, everything.

[Lynayah]

im 15 and ive been trying to find gluten-free foods, and its been kinda hard.

ive spent hours in grocery stores reading labels and making sure there are no cheese or wheat in anything.

what i really miss, though, is bingeing out on stuff like cookie dough or rice crispy treats and even some kinds of chips with friends whenever im with them. now i have to take a bag of honey nut rice chex (which really arent that bad, they just look at me like im a freak or something) and make gluten-free pancakes at their houses.

im really frustrated with this disease, and trying really hard to cope.

sorry if i sound whiny.

anyone find junk food stuff to share with non-gluten-free friends that they might like too?

not against veggies or anything, just wanna figure out some more possibilities with food!

We ALL feel your pain. You are not alone! We have all been there.

Heck, I'm STILL there!

Do you have a Costco in your area? Costco brand tortilla chips are very good and they're labeled gluten-free, at least they are in my area (Midwest) as of today . . . I was just there this afternoon.

Also, in regular stores:

Act II Popcorn (except extreme butter)

Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn; all varieties EXCEPT the caramel pour-over popcorn.

That said, as far as I know, these are still gluten-free. ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK -- call the company to confirm they are still gluten free, or check the label.

[Lynayah]

The University of Chicago has a gluten-free care package that they send to people recently diagnosed. It is WONDERRFUL! IT IS FREE!

Here is the link:

Open Original Shared Link

Mine came with cookies, pancake mix, sweet and salty items, a shopping reference guide, and so much more.

Hope this helps.

[Lynayah]

For people who ship to your area: Take a look at the food mall here, too.

[Lynayah]

Hi Mandy

I'm so glad you have a supportative family. That is a BIG plus...they may not get it right all the time but it is great that they are trying....

AMazon has tons of gluten-free products & reasonable to ship.Many have free shipping.

Cakes! Pamela's has two cake mixes that are very good. Betty Crocker has just come out with gluten-free mixes, brownies too. I haven't tried them yet but I have seen mixed reviews about BC.

A really great cookbook is Baking CLassics by Annalise Roberts (AMazon) wonderful recipes for cakes, wedding cake, ice cream sandwiches & much more.

Open Original Shared Link this is a great flour blend & she has soooo many recipes on her site. I make hot pockets, crossiants& more from her flour blend.

I also love Meister flour. both ship. You can also get better batter from Amazon.

If you Pm with your address I will send you a few excellent recipes...twinkies, danish & pop tarts & more. I don't have them on the computer so I will print them out for you...

My grandkids honestly don't even think about being gluten-free anymore .They have never been left out because of being gluten-free. I match everything. Funnel cakes ! Yum...

Here is a short list of what you can look for at your reg grocery store...

All gluten-free!

jello

pudding

cool whip

prego sauces

McCormick spices

contadina tomato products

Jif

herb-ox bouillon

ortega taco shells hard

cheese whiz

ore ida fries ( clearly labeled

delimex taquitos

Inland valley fries( clearly labeled

dinty moore beef stew -not the chicken stew

bush reg baked beans

hormel chili

hormel spam

philly cream cheese

kozy shack pudding

Hellman's mayo

Miracle whip

frenchs mustard

pam cooking spray

ragu pizza sauce or pizza quick

don pepino pizza sauce

Progresso soups:

creamy mushroom

lentil

chicken rice

chik & wild rice

chicken vegetable

clam chowder

chicken broth

Rachel Ray beef or chicken broth

crisco

hersey cocoa

lea & perkins worchestire sauce

Dietz & Watson deli meats

Boar's head deli meats

Bell & Evans la choy or wal mart brand soy sauce

Nature path has rice krispies cereal. I like Kinnickinnick brand of rice krispy cereal.

& their K-too cookies Celiac Specialities has donuts to die for, stuffin mix too & pot pies too..

Joans gluten-free great bakes has bagels, english muffins , pizza shells & scilian pizzas to die for!

conte's has ravioli, pizza , piergo's, & frozen entrees, yummy

seitenbacher has gluten-free egg noodles that do not break apart

bristol buns has wonderful buns for deli sandwiches & burgers. I take with me when I go out for a burger

everybody eats has the best baguettes & ficeille rolls...

these are mostly mailorder but that is how I must shop as we have nothing here......

Whole foods has several breads that make good grilled cheese...

Glutino pretzels are good.

Pamela's pancake mix

In arizona I believe Carol Fenster has a bakery tha tyou should be able to order from....

blessings

mamaw

Mamaw, your posts are always sooooo wonderful! You've reminded me of a few brands I've forgotten about. Thank you so much!

[Squidge]

Cheetos are gluten free, but they're a dairy problem. Nachos and salsa. Buy the ones that are labeled 100% corn, though. Quakes, those mini rice cakes Quaker makes are pretty good. They sell gluten free cookies and pretzels. Make Chex Muddy Buddies. Swedish fish. Most potato chips are okay. Just don't buy baked chips and don't get barbecue. Lays salt and vinegar should be okay as far as gluten and dairy are concerned and the low sodium lays are even better than the regular. You can actually taste something besides salt. The real trick to getting your friends to try the gluten free stuff is to not tell them it's gluten free and don't eat any until they've already tried it. Once they say they like it, you start eating and laugh at their faces when you do. Then you tell them it's gluten free. A lot of it is really delicious. The main difference is usually in the texture and there aren't very many people who are THAT texture oriented as far as taste goes.

[Darissa]

My daughter has celiac disease also. We make rice krispie treats for her with EREWHON

[evi]

I feel you! My friends will always be like: lets go out for pizza!! And I have to quietly remind them that if they do that i'm not coming. Then I feel like i've ruined the fun.

One thing to try is amici's or zpizza. They both have gluten free pizza thats really tasty. For sleep over snacks and stuff bring your own box of gluten free mac and cheese (like annie's) and make it along with everyone else. Some naturally gluten free junk food are potato chips (lays etc, but watch out for barbecue!), popcorn, pretty much any fruity candy and most chocolate candy (watch out for kit kats!). I also love pirates booty, from trader joes. And of course ice cream!!

I seriously hate having to bring my own gluten free bread and cookies places because it looks kinda weird. I try to bring party food thats normal but naturally gluten free.

[Squirrelflight]

Wow.. some great suggestions.. really enjoyed reading the responses here! Thanks!

[poiuyanthony]

ironically what i found is that we are allowed spicy flavored doritos but not the regular kind .... hmm weird

also for cereals i prefer koala crisps, and corn flakes the celiac kind

for regular snacks you can find them anywhere !

i found that maxi and metro(not sure if you have those there because im here in canada) have a lot of good stuff as well as walmart, a lot of cookies and i highly reccomend the strawberry wafers

kinikinik also has very good doughnuts

and the english muffins with the little seeds at the bottom are very good with your favorite topping

your not alone out there

were all going through the same thing and this is my first day here and im so glad that this site exists

good luck to you my friend