huevo-no-bueno

A good primer on the use of B vitamins and amino acids to address the nutritional causes of mental illness (which you're more susceptible to when you're malnourished...) is The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. There are more detailed books on orthomolecular medicine out there. You can google it. I'm taking tyrosine, 5HTP, B12 and B6, and it is helping with that drained brain feeling and hopefully will reverse any damage to my brain's own ability to make neurotransmitters. In the past I've had good results from St. John's Wort and SAM-e, but sometimes it is good to switch things up.

What exactly will Sweet Rice Flour substitute for and in what proportions?

I bought some thinking that I'd be able to use it instead of rice flour but I was corrected on that so now I need to know what to use it for.

Thanks!

I've read that you can use 7/8 of a cup of sweet rice flour to replace 1c of tapioca starch. I recently experimented with a lot of flours in a very grand muffin experiment. I found that tapioca starch and sweet rice flour are similar to the extent that they are sticky. Sweet rice flour (used exclusively) tended to make the muffin denser and moister and have that rice smell like the white rice in Thai restaurants. Tapioca starch (used exclusively) was stickier but drier. I preferred the crumb of the sweet rice flour. Your mileage may vary.

Good Morning,

I was wondering if anyone has experienced "withdrawal" from gluten, once they started on the gluten-free diet? I have been gluten-free since mid-June, and am having bouts of light-headedness, brain fogginess, extreme hunger, I’m tired all of the time, and my stomach is still bloated after every time I eat, and I am having problems with gas. Anyone else have similar symptoms? Also, if you’ve been through this, how long does it take to feel normal?

Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

I know this thread is kind of old but I can totally identify with this right now...Ugh

I am following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, well, I am a Metabolic Protein type so its the SCD with more protein basically. When my digestion collapsed back in January eggs were a big no-no, but now after eating the plain food my stomach seems to be healing and I can now tolerate some eggs and products with egg in.

One recipe I love from the SCD without eggs is savory crackers.

These crackers are mighty tasty - especially if you're generous with the seasonings. The originator used Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic and Organic Italian Herbs to create a great flavor, but we don't have that in the UK so I use Herbamare which is a herbal condiment powder.

2 cups fine almond meal

Half teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon- or so- minced roasted garlic, to taste (optional)

2-3 teaspoons- or so- dried Italian Herbs, to taste

Pinch or two of turmeric for colour (optional)

Good pinch of fine sea salt

1 cup very finely grated aged Cheddar or Parmesan - if tolerated

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons spring or filtered water, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until a moist, moderately sticky dough forms. Add more water or oil if you need it. Taste test. Adjust seasonings to your taste buds.

Using wet hands place the mound of dough on the parchment and flatten with the palm of your hand. Use moist fingers to press the dough out evenly. I made mine about 1/8 " thick. If it cracks, simply press back together with moist fingers. Cut into squares before cooking.

Bake in the centre of a hot oven for 15 minutes or until the dough is set, dry and golden.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

The crackers will be extremely tender while they are warm. Be careful.

Store in an airtight container.

This makes about 16 to 18 crackers. I might suggest re-baking the cut crackers for maybe 7 minutes to make a crisper cracker. This double-bake method works well with biscotti. Why not a cracker?

My addendum

(I replaced some of the parmesan with cornmeal in the ones I made the other day

For those of you whose intolerance of eggs developed or was discovered post-gluten-free, do you have the same symptoms as an allergy? Eggs hit me a lot faster than gluten ever did.

I don't think I can really be of any help to you, but I know what your feeling. You described almost exactly how I feel with eggs after about 2 months gluten free. I used to eat tones of eggs, well cooked all the way to raw, and they made me feel good (maybe the protien) but since being off of gluten I noticed feeling really crappy for a couple hours after paoched eggs and spinach for breakfast, so a week later I tried scrambled eggs(fully cooked yolks this time) and the same thing happened! I even showed NO reaction to chicken eggs through an enterolab test. I have not tried duck eggs.

I havn't noticed any reaction to food containing eggs, like baked goods or anything. But I am also still healing and I am on a bit of an intestinal and fatigue roller coaster, so its hard to tell sometimes if I am reacting to something. Sorry I am not of any help. But, trust me I feel your pain.

I am kinda wishing that it might go away after my intestine heals completally. I plan on trying it again in a month maybe. Does anybody have any experience with something like this getting better with time, as your body heals from the gluten damage? kinda like some people have with dairy?

I think I was always allergic to eggs, even as a child, and it only seemed to get worse after going gluten-free (the first time) because I was eating more of them. I have to be 100% off both things to feel better. If I'm not, a whole lot more foods seem to bother my stomach and cause other problems. I think when you're poisoning yourself with gluten, you don't know how lousy you feel until you go off of it. Then it becomes readily apparent which things make you feel good or bad.

For me, now it is at the point where I'm discovering which foods actually make me feel really good, compared to other foods that are safe and OK but just neutral. Plenty of raw leafy greens, fresh fruit, and protein seems to be best, but that isn't deterring me from trying to come up with a few muffins to bake at home that I can tolerate and that satisfy the desire for something carby.

Has anyone purchased this book, and does it have enough gluten free recipes to be worth it? It appears to not rely on "weird" ingredients like egg replacer. Open Original Shared Link

Me too, I have always been sensitive to odors, allergic to smoke. I've been gluten free nearly 8 yrs and it's not getting better. So far, the worst thing for me is Carpet Fresh--it gives me a sinus infection. It changes my breathing almost immediately.

I mentioned in another thread, last week I have a reaction to my hair dye. I have used the same brand for over 4 yrs now, and I don't think they changed anything. The only thing I did differently, I walked on my gazelle while I was waiting for the 25 minutes to be up for the dye to set. I washed out the dye, then in just minutes, I was hit with this severe nausea, I actually thought I was coming down with the flu. Terrible nausea, lasted for about 45 mins, then left, the same way it snuck up on me--had to be the odor. Never happened before.

I hate this allergy.

Deb,

Check out this website for some information on hair dye allergies. Hope this helps Open Original Shared Link

Everyone--I can totally identify with this. I can't tolerate cologne with synthetic fragrance in it, especially "Curve" for men and "Angel" for women. They make my throat close up. I do think it is much worse if I'm already having an allergic reaction to something else. What unnerves me is that people think they smell good. ???

I've considered the chicken allergy, but when I've made chicken at home recently I feel fine.

After that one salad I've had the old D for the past 24 hours, and without getting way into it here, I think it was something on the chicken or hiding in the lettuce. I'm now thinking I was glutened too, but I definitely had the egg reaction. No fun!!

If every restaurant just used fresh ingredients without any pre-mixes and fillers, and could really tell you "what's in the burger," it would be a whole lot easier.

Do any of you who have answered on this thread bake at home or have any favorite "treats" that are safe, gluten free and egg free?

My standard meal for eating out is a "big salad" with plenty of good cheese and some meat. Lately, however, I seem to be having the egg reaction to this, even if I use plain oil & vinegar. I don't know if it is cross-contamination from the surface on which the protein is grilled or tongs from a neighboring Ceasar salad. I don't know. I react sometimes to high levels of sulfites, like many people do, but this is happening at places where you don't expect a lot of that.

I was diagnosed with a delayed food allergy to wheat and gluten. There isn't a lot of doctors who will do it and it took me 2 years to get an accurate diagnosis. Up until they docs were convinced I had carpal tunnel/fibromyalgia/thoracic outlet syndrome or any other nerve problem they could pin on me. My primary care doc is an alternative medicine doctor, with a regular MD. He's also an allergy specialist. He had me to an ELISA blood test for IGG. Good luck! My suggestion would be to look in alternative medicine clinics, maybe you'll find an MD who will test for you all too.

The ELISA and RAST tests done by Labcorp and the ELISA test done by Biotek are apparently mainstream enough for my snooty insurance company to cover them. And no, I didn't have one of those "omigod, you're allergic to everything" results. They were done three years apart, were largely consistent with each other, and definitely consistent with my experience. I had them done at a clinic with both mainstream and naturopathic practitioners. Good luck!

I'm a bit confused. The histamine is supposed to be huge. The control is supposed to be unremarkable. If the histamine wasn't huge, it would be the sign of a flawed test.

I've had intradermal allergy testing done, and my histamine was also "huge" as were those of my children. They inject histamine directly under the skin, it's *supposed* to react.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something... if so, my apologies.

I had this test done, and no matter how small the histamine concentration was, I reacted and felt awful. I felt so bad, I didn't go back for the treatment. They can't treat me for gluten intolerance this way, only the "classic" food allergy I have to eggs, so I just made the decision to just accept the allergy and move on with my life. I hope this post isn't too discouraging for anyone!

I would first like to say thanks to everyone out there who has helped with all my other questions/issues. You guys are great and really know your stuff!

Well, my new issue seems to be with eggs. I have been gluten free, as a biopsy diagnosed Celiac, since Oct '07. Just in the last 2 weeks I am having HORRIBLE stomach pain and bloating from eating eggs. I burp almost constantly as well. This starts within an hour of eating them and lasts about 2 hours then I am fine. This only happens when I eat eggs as a meal, not when I eat things like cookies with egg in them. I have read a few threads talking in general about other food intolerances coming up after going gluten free and I am wondering if that is what this is. A few things to point out- I did not have to eliminate dairy, I do fine with it. The eggs were cooked all the way. Other people in the house ate them and were fine. While trying to figure out it was the eggs, I also noticed the amount of pain and gas were directly related to the amount of eggs I ate. Lastly, the eggs were plain with just salt and pepper.

Of course after going gluten free I was eating more eggs. Is that what caused this? Will the same happen with rice or soy?? I eat much more now then before being diagnosed. Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Cari

Cari,

I just saw this post. Looks like nobody responded yet. I can't eat eggs either, in any amount. It is a frustrating thing to deal with. When I first went gluten-free four years ago, my egg consumption immediately went up and the initial "clouds parting, clear headed" euphoria of going gluten free was replaced with a whole host of new physical complaints--stupefying headaches, dizziness, mild nausea, so-called "adult acne" and hives. I eventually gave up on being gluten-free for a while because I didn't know it was the eggs until I was tested again for everything a couple years later.

Some people who can't eat chicken eggs can eat duck eggs that you can buy from independent local farmers. I tried duck eggs and my reaction was exactly the same after eating two bites of one scrambled egg. I was out of commission for the rest of that day. This may or may not work for you, but it can be risky if you're allergic.

I can also eat dairy, and it is frustrating that many recipes are the "no taste" kind that eliminate everything....

There are a few egg-free recipes over on the baking forum. PM me if you want a few. I don't have many yet but am working on it (in all my spare time, haha). All the ways to replace eggs in baking work OK as far as I can tell, and I happen to prefer flaxseed over tofu. A lot of people have trouble digesting soy.

Hi,

I'm hoping to start an egg allergy thread here. I'm allergic to eggs. The whites. The yolks. Even duck eggs gave me a reaction.

I keep inadvertently bumping into things I react to in restaurants. I try to be cautious but eggs are everywhere. It almost seems more difficult to avoid than gluten. Eggs are in so many gluten-free products.

I regularly get bummed out about this, if I let myself think about it for very long. I don't miss gluten one bit, but I do miss eating things made with eggs, and I hate the feeling of an allergic reaction.

Hope to learn and share info here!

Well, I survived my weekend but I am still having stomach reactions. So definitely got a glutening in there. It was fast after eating the crackers, but in retrospect, I ate them several times (at least three times) during the week before, and it was nearly 24 hours after the first time I ate them I started feeling something. But nothing like how I felt 15 mins or so after eating 6 on Friday. Blech.

Fortunately, has not affected my mood. That is a good thing. I can get really depressed. I will give the other crackers a shot in about a month - I bought a 6-pack at Costco so I have a ton. But if they don't work out, then I'm 100% on Mary's Gone Crackers. Those are delicious! Though it would be nice to have variety.

Nice to see you Jen. I'm doing well otherwise and had been enjoying my 4 months of no food reactions/no migraines. Oh well. Had to happen at some point, I guess!

Stephanie

Every time I eat Sesmark or Crunch Master rice crackers I wind up very sorry I did because I get gluten brain fog and the black cloud of doom. I've "tested" this several times and have no other explanation. It is still kind of hard to believe that such a small amount would do that to me.

I'd love to find a recipe for crispy, crunchy crackers kind of like those gluten-free brown rice snaps or "Mary's Gone Crackers." Buying these things at $4 or $5 per box is getting expensive (not to mention the plastic part of the packaging that cannot be recycled in my area), but flours and whole grains are fairly cheap.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Thanks for the help. I didn't know about using pumpkin--I dislike the taste of bananas so I'll have to give pumpkin a try. I do eat dairy; I eat from all food groups other than gluten and eggs.

I'm wondering how many other people can't have eggs here. I wasn't crazy about the Carol Fenster egg-free recipes with soy. Everything I've made with xanthan gum seems to hold together just fine, it is just as dense as foam rubber. I miss the large air bubbles of true wheat breads. Everything winds up like pound cake. I guess that's life?

It would depend on what you are making.

The eggs not only provide some "rise" but mostly they provide binding as their proteins cook and become rubbery, like gluten would have. So you may end up doing quite a bit of experimenting to see what kind of things you can use for egg replacer (gelatin, xanthan gum, fruit puree, pumpkin puree, flaxseed soaked in boiled water to make a gel, etc. I'm assuming you don't do dairy, I may be wrong, some people do use gluten-free yogurt and that works also.)

If you use baking soda you should also use apple cider vinegar to activate it. Mix all the dry ingredients together and add the vinegar with the wet ingredients to it, and bake soon afterwards.

There is no hard and fast rule about "how much", it depends on the recipe, whether it is a pancake, loaf pan of bread, or a muffin or cake. For a pancake I've used about 1/4 teaspoon soda and a teaspoon vinegar, for a cake it's varied, maybe a teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half to 2 teaspoons of baking soda for about 1 and and 1 and 1/4, to 1.5 cups of gluten-free flour, and any where from one to three teaspoons of the apple cider vinegar.

I don't use baking powder anymore so I have no idea what that stuff does.

I can't have eggs, and turns out I can't have En-r-G egg replacer without getting a headache and a stomachache. I think it is the potato starch and tapioca starch in it.

I know about egg substitutes for binding baked goods, such as milled flax. I'm sensitive to soy and didn't like the texture of tofu when I tried it in baked goods.

How much baking powder and how much baking soda per cup of gluten free flour can I use to get rise without negatively affecting taste?

Thanks!

Dennis Wayne,

I know exactly what you mean. Exactly.....but I can't believe how sometimes it takes hours for me to realize that I've been glutened and it isn't "just me." It isn't me at all. I'm learning that when a packaged rice cracker says, "produced in a facility that also produces wheat.." I can't eat that...

Could be eggs or nuts.

Laurel--your cat is so cute!!

Here's the results of the next round of testing.

I made more muffins with my eggless control recipe. This time, I was curious to see how each flour behaved with tapioca starch, since all mixes seem to benefit from addition of a starch, and how they all behaved with coconut, since coconut is really nutritious and has unique properties. All were in equal parts of each, for simplicity and ease of comparison.

My favorites out of the bunch, in no particular order:

Sorghum & tapioca 1-1

Millet & tapioca 1-1

Quinoa & coconut 1-1

Amaranth & coconut 1-1

Quinoa & coconut seem to be the driest. Amaranth is the moistest. Millet, sorghum, and tapioca were somewhere in between.

I think next time I will try two blends:

Equal parts of Sorghum, Millet, and Tapioca starch

Two parts Amaranth, one part Quinoa and one part Coconut

Rice flour was disappointing, and didn't rise as much as the other flours.

I'm pretty new, too, but so far I like a combo of sorghum and millet, with some starches added, but not nearly as much as most recipes recommend. Here's my weird method:

For about 3/4 of the flour called for I'll use roughly two parts sorghum to one part millet.

For the last fourth I'll use some combination of tapioca, corn, and/or potato starches. Haven't sorted those out very well, yet. I'm getting rave reviews using this combination in my old favorite muffin recipes. In my experience so far, even w/an Authentic Foods flour blend, the rice flour is gummier than I like in muffins and such.

(And if you can do soy, soy yogurt is great in muffins - I use it to sub for buttermilk in one recipe and also in my favorite Cook's Illustrated muffin recipe, which calls for yogurt. Obviously we're also dairy free, at least for now.)

I'll probably play around with some other things eventually, but for now I'm too relieved to have found a system that works consistenly for me.

Hope you get there, soon!

Thanks for everyone's replies. I totally agree with using less starch--tapioca turns into a weird kind of gel if the mix has too much of it.

A question for everyone: how does tapioca starch compare to arrowroot starch?

I'm relatively inexperienced with gluten free baking (and I'm no-eggs), and I'm experimenting with what flours taste good to me and produce a texture I like when baked in a muffin recipe, all other things being equal. Having eliminated a number of flours and pre-packaged blends that I don't like, I'm down to the following:

Brown Rice flour

Quinoa flour

Sorghum flour

Millet flour

Amaranth flour

Coconut flour

Tapioca starch (can't tolerate cornstarch or potato starch)

I'd like to know what your favorites are in this group, and what they're best for (yeast bread, muffin, cake, or cookies?)

Do any of them go especially well together? Do any of them clash?

I'd love to hear your opinions.

I've successfully made coconut bread (a quickbread) that has no eggs, gluten, dairy, corn, etc. It was good, and stayed amazingly moist even after a week. I spread it with a little coconut oil. I was the only one eating it, so it lasted a while! Let me know if anyone wants the recipe.

KJBrown--That would be fantastic. I would love the recipe. Thanks!

Well, I'd tend to agree that diving right in to trying a whole loaf might lead to disappointment. If you have a muffin pan, maybe make just enough dough for that, or even just one muffin-sized 'loaf'. This would also help save money while you get the recipe right.

As for what flours can sub for what;given the ones you have it might not work so well. Sorghum is nearly the same as millet, which might be sub'd with 1 part rice flour + 1/4 part coconut flour. That's just my guess based on the fact that rice flour has more carbs and less fiber than sorghum. I haven't tried amaranth flour yet, but it does look similar to sorghum and millet as far as carbs, fiber, and protein content. I haven't tried quinoa, but it looks like it has very little to no fiber, and about the same protein as sorghum percentage-wise. Not sure what among the ones you have could work in place of that one, sorry.

Hey Rice Guy,

Thanks for that pointer. I didn't know that millet and sorghum were similar. I like millet; it is tasty and cheap. I'll try using it when a recipe calls for sorghum.

Have you used coconut flour much?