sunnybabi1986

I ordered a 2 lb bread machine yesterday, only to realize today that I really should probably get a 1 lb machine. I'm the only one in my house eating gluten free and I don't want the bread to go bad. Last time I made a loaf I froze half of it and kept out the rest. The half I kept out molded within 3 days and the other half I froze tasted weird when I thawed it out. Silly me.

I'm going to call the store tomorrow and cancel my order and buy a 1 lb machine instead, but I'm wondering how to alter the recipe to make it half. Pamela's Bread Mix is my favorite and I'm used to just dumping the bag into the machine and not measuring much. Do I divide all the ingredients in half exactly? Do I use half a packet of yeast or a whole? I'm really new to this bread deal and really need some help!! Thank you!

Janie

Thank you so much. I wasn't sure just HOW bad the 69 and 24 units are (beyond being a positive test result), but I was thinking that ANY level of autoimmune activity was bad enough to be taken seriously.

Does producing antibodies to gluten mean you technically have an allergy to gluten?

I'm not an expert yet on this, but mushroom explained it's an autoimmune response, which in my understanding, is more complex than an allergy. I still have to figure all this out myself, but that's my understanding.

According to Enterolab's site, the number of units of IgA you have really doesn't tell you anything about the severity of what's going on inside your intestines. Some people with lower numbers are sicker than those with higher numbers. Another user on these forums told me that she came back with low units of IgA from Enterolab, but had confirmed intestinal damage with an endoscopy.

Does your daughter have any symptoms? If she does, it would be a good way to explain to relatives that the only way that she will get and stay better is to steer clear of gluten strictly. She doesn't have Celiac, as she doesn't carry the genes, but a gluten sensitivity can make you pretty sick and unhealthy if not treated. Let us know how things go!

Janie

Although there are thousands of stories of people getting the H1N1 and describing it as milder than the seasonal flu, every person handles it differently, and I know of one young person who was in perfect health and just recently died from the H1N1 a couple weeks ago. Granted, most of the cases are milder than the seasonal flu, but I wasn't willing to take that chance.

My family (self, husband, 2 year old son) all got the H1N1 vaccine 3 weeks ago and had zero side effects. I feel much better having had the vaccine because my immune system is currently very weak and even a cold makes me so sick I can't get out of bed for a week. I wasn't going to chance it with the flu.

It basically boils down to a personal choice, but we had the vaccine and had no side effects, so good news here!

Hi!

If your daughter's testing showed 10 units or more of Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA or Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA, then your daughter is having a reaction to gluten and does need to be on a strict gluten free diet. Even occasional or small amounts of gluten will create a reaction in her body. If she came back with 69 and 24 units, she is definitely gluten sensitive. No question about it. She needs to be gluten free. 100% gluten free. If she has an occasional cupcake or piece of pizza, her body will have to begin the healing process all over again.

My scores were exactly 10 units and I decided to go gluten free, even though 10 units is on the low end scale of gluten sensitivity. I have been gluten free for 5 weeks now and have seen dramatic results in my digestion and overall health. I'm not 100% better yet, that can take months to achieve based on how much damage is in the intestines.

By the way, there are several yummy gluten free cake mixes out there, and you can make her some cupcakes out of them when there is a party at school. Betty Crocker has come out with a good gluten free yellow and devil's food cake mix.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Janie

I'm in Springfield, MO also. We have some good resources, but I'd be so much happier if we had a Trader Joe's, Wegmen's, or Whole Foods within an hours of here. We have a couple natural foods stores here that carry gluten free foods, but the prices are unbelievable. Their prices are 3 times higher than the same gluten free items Wal-Mart carries.

Anyone else from Springfield??

Where do you get taco seasoning without wheat? I am assuming you mean a packaged mix. I had to give up using Chili-O and adding my own seasonings. I also use cumin in a number of dishes.

This recipe doesn't use any packaged seasoning, but I use McCormick taco seasoning for tacos and Williams Chili Seasoning for red chili-both are gluten free and clearly list any allergens on the label. Good luck!

Janie

I made this chili last night and had to share it because it was SO good!!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb great northern beans (dry) or canned

4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast ( I used 2 lbs)

1 T Olive Oil

2 Medium onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 4 oz. can chopped mild green chilies

2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

6 cups chicken stock/canned broth

3 cups grated monterey jack cheese

Soak beans overnight in water in fridge

Cook chicken and put in crock pot or large stock pot

Add beans to chicken

In saute pan, heat olive oil

Add onions, chopped garlic, and green chilies. Saute 2 minutes

Add cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Saute 2 more minutes

Add to beans and chicken

Add chicken broth

In crock pot or on stove, cook until beans are soft (for us, 2 hours on the stove was perfect)

Top with cheese and sour cream

We also made Bob's Red Mill cornbread and it went PERFECT with the chili

SO delicious and naturally gluten free!!!

Janie

Jennie-O has a list of gluten free turkey products here:

Open Original Shared Link

Just scroll down, it's close to the bottom of the page.

Good Luck!

Janie

I also wanted to chime in about the vitamin/mineral deficiencies. I'm getting checked this week and I suspect I'm deficient in several, due to my extremely low energy level.

I did read that deficiency in Vitamin D can cause stomach pain and muscle weakness/aches. Iron or B deficiency can cause fatigue. Get those checked out and see if you need to be supplementing. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Janie

Okay, so I talked to my local health department and they said they could do some testing for me without a doctor's orders, since I'm uninsured right now and trying to figure this out on my own.

She asked me which vitamins/minerals I needed testing for. Add or subtract anything you see:

Iron

Vit D

B12

Folate

Vit K (?)

Zinc (?)

Copper (?)

Thyroid (I had these levels checked 6 months ago...all normal. Do I really need to test again?)

Anything else I should ask to be tested for, or do I need to shorten my list?

Thanks for all the help!!

Janie

I noticed something on Enterolabs website that might be helpful...

"If my antigliadin antibody levels are only mildly elevated, does that mean I can eat some gluten?

This question is more "wishful thinking" resulting from the mind trying to turn a positive test into what might want to be called "low positive" or even the equivalent of negative. However from our experience, a positive antigliadin antibody of any degree is like a positive pregnancy test. When a pregnancy test is positive, you are not a little pregnant, you are pregnant. The same is true for gluten sensitivity"

My labs are still out ....I am waiting patiently and not so patiently for my own Enterolab results...I will post them soon...

I did read that on their site...I was just curious as to why a score of 9 tells you there is no sensitivity, but a score of 10 does. I guess I just don't understand how some people score very high and some very low, all with the same problem. I'm positive that gluten is a problem, as I ate some pie the other day and woke up with nausea and sharp stomach/intestinal pain the next morning...definitely a diagnosis for me. I haven't had those symptoms since I went gluten free.

I was wondering when you'd get your results back, I remember they had to send you a second test. I got my results after just 2 weeks, so hopefully you'll get yours soon!

I've been gluten free for 4 weeks now, but I'm wondering if I'm doing enough to avoid cross contamination in my house. My husband and 2 year old son are not gluten free, so there's pasta, wheat bread, and snacks in the house that contain gluten. My husband and I are careful to wash our hands after handling gluten foods, but is that enough?

Do I need to wash my dishes separate from the other dishes?

Do I need separate dishes from my husband and son?

Do I have to have a separate set of cookware for myself?

When I eat at company's house, am I getting glutened by eating from their cookware that has previously cooked gluten?

Can I kiss my son after he's had a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich?

It feels kind of ridiculous to have my own dishes, I think I'll just throw my hands up in the air if I have to go that far.

We're careful as far as having separate peanut butter and butter spread and jelly and toasters, because I know that's obvious cc.

But really? How far do I have to go? I'm tired of isolating myself from everyone and thing. Gr!

Have you ever had your total IGA measured? If you are IGA deficient that would have an impact on the tests. You may want to ask your doctor to test for IGA deficiency.

I don't have insurance right now and I'm currently applying for coverage, so I'm trying to keep things off the books right now. Eventually, after I have coverage for awhile I might ask to be tested for IGA deficiency, but for now I'm staying gluten free. I'll probably also order a soy and egg sensitivity test through enterolab...I don't want to keep eating other things that are possibly making me sick. Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it!

I was a borderline tTG IgA - endoscopy showed major villa damage and three biopsies confirmed celiac.

Have you had iron, ferritin, B12, D, K, copper or zinc run? I was extremely low in all these nutrients which aided in my diagnosis.

4 weeks isn't that long for healing...I had improvement with digestive issues by about 6-8 weeks and I still have many of my symptoms at nearly 8 months gluten-free.

Since you are already 4 weeks in, I'd suggest staying gluten-free to see if things improve with time. If you should find out down the road that you need to be gluten-free, you will have wasted a lot of time that you could have been healing if you go back on gluten now.

I can't help with the lactose ?s -- I am sure others here can.

Thank you for the reply! My results showed no fat malabsorption, so if I had villa damage, wouldn't that affect my fat absorption? I'm sticking to the gluten free diet and I'm looking into getting my vitamin/nutrient levels checked soon.

I got my enterolab results back today:

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: 10 Units

Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA: 10 Units

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: Less than 300 Units

Fecal Anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA: 5 Units

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1: 0201

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2: 0602

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 2,1 (Subtype 2,6)

I guess the reason I'm not happy with the results is that IgA results for gluten were 10 units. I know this is still a positive, but it doesn't feel very definitive to me. I mean, what makes you non-sensitive at 9 units, but sensitive at 10 units?

I've been gluten free for 4 weeks with little or no results and I'm very frustrated. It also appears that when I go back on dairy, my symptoms that led me to believe that I have a gluten sensitivity come back. I didn't show up as having a dairy sensitivity, but I know I've had problems with lactose intolerance. Can severe lactose intolerance cause fatigue and achiness?

I know I came back with a celiac gene and a gluten sensitivity gene, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have either of them. It just makes it more likely that I do. I'm just tired of being sick and I don't want to keep running down this road if there is something else wrong with me and I'm getting so distracted thinking it's gluten.

I guess I was hoping that I'd come back with really high numbers on my IgA's so I would have no doubt in my mind that I need to go off of gluten. A 10 feels so borderline. Ugh. Any advice? Have any of you scored this low?

My local stores and Wal-Mart also put them along with the "regular" cake mixes. They don't put them with the gluten free items...kind of strange, I think. They should put them in both places.

I went on a gluten free diet 4 weeks ago and have been very diligent, making sure that nothing is cross-contaminated. My stomach felt so much better within 2 weeks, but my exhaustion didn't change at all. Now, 4 weeks later, I'm actually getting more exhausted. When I wake up in the morning, I'm so exhausted, I feel like I need to go straight back to bed. Unfortunately, I have a 2 year old son to take care of for 10 hrs/day while my husband is at work, so things aren't going so well. My energy level changes from day to day usually, but for 4 days now, it's been dropping consistently. I feel AWFUL.

I don't have insurance right now and I'm currently applying for it, so I have to be very careful what I do. If the company finds out I'm having any tests run, they will likely deny me. I can go to the health department and pay in cash to stay safe, but I'm not sure what tests I should have run. Obviously, iron levels would be a definite, but what other deficiencies are common with gluten intolerance?

I'm afraid I'm not getting enough carbs, as my primary carbs right now are potatoes and rice, and I only eat them every other day. I'm getting very tired of both of them and I don't want to burn out on them so soon. I started taking a multivitamin a few days ago (gluten free, of course), but I know if I have deficiencies, it may take more than a multivitamin to get me back on track.

I'm currently waiting for my results from Enterolab, so I'll find out next week if I have a sensitivity to dairy.

Any suggestions?

Janie

Thank you so much!

What kind of cooking spray do you guys use?

Before going gluten-free, I used Smart Balance Omega Non-Stick Cooking Spray, but when I was cleaning out my cabinets, I noticed that grain alcohol is listed as one of the ingredients. I did some searches online and on this site, but couldn't find anything definitive as to whether or not grain alcohol is safe for people with gluten intolerance. Do any of you know if it's safe or not? Thanks!

Janie

I take Align everyday and I'm not sure I could go without it. I went off it once and within 2 days I started getting stomach cramps, bloating, and nausea. It's been a life saver for me. Good luck!

Hi!

I don't shop at specialty stores, they're just too expensive for me. I get most of my food from Wal-Mart and a local grocery store, and I don't buy many specialty items there, either. I've been gluten free for almost 4 weeks and it started out with me being panicked all the time because I couldn't find anything to eat and it felt like a death sentence. However, after a few weeks, it's gotten immensely easier. One thing I've learned to do is NOT search for gluten free recipes online for all my recipes. I come up with some good recipes that way, but I find a lot more recipes by searching Open Original Shared Link for general recipes for chicken, pork, beef, rice, and potatoes. None of the recipes call for "gluten free" ingredients, just fresh, healthy produce and food you can buy anywhere. I love McCormick's GrillMates because they clearly list on the back of the package if any wheat ingredients are included. Here are a few recipes I love:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

When I don't have time to make dinner, I eat a lot of:

Dinty Moore Beef Stew

Hormel Chili w/Beans

Green Giant Steamers: Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans and Rosemary Butter Sauce

El Monterey Shredded Beef Corn taquitos

Salad with Kraft ranch dressing

Baked potatoes

Ensure

And I snack on:

Air popped popcorn with parmesan cheese (yum!)

Blue Bunny ice cream bars

Tortilla chips with salsa

Banana w/peanut butter

Yogurt

I hope this helps some! It's not nearly as impossible as it seems, I promise! It will get easier with time, but there is definitely a sharp learning curve. After awhile, you will learn to find yummy meals to make that taste great with fresh ingredients. Good Luck, you can do it!!

Janie

Hi!

I'm no professional, by any means, but I can make a few educated guesses based on what I know so far. If she is having frequent runny poop, I wouldn't add a lot of fat to her diet right now. If she DOES have any damage to her intestines, fat will make her stools runnier because it will pass through her without being absorbed. I would wait until she heals to add fat, but eventually she would probably need a diet with some extra good fats. Good luck, let us know how it goes with the doctor!

Janie

This wasn't on purpose but just sort of happened..... each person in my family who is gluten free has found another person at work or school who is also gluten free. Having these people to talk to and share with has been so important to us. A few days ago I was able to take a cake to work to share with my co-workers just like before all this happened. My co-worker who is also gluten free was trilled, even offered to buy my kids Christmas presents!

Here's the recipe..........

Two Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mixes

One can of Libby's pumpkin pie mix

Three eggs

One cup of coconut milk

walnuts

This was seriously good stuff, two thumbs up, made me feel so good to be able to share food with friends again SAFELY

Hope this helps, RA

Wow, that cake mix sounds delicious! How long do you bake it for and at what temperature? I will definitely be making it!

Thanks!

Janie

I take Align, a probiotic, everyday. I started taking it back in May and tried going off it a few months later. However, as soon as I went off it, I started bloating up again pretty badly and had intense stomach pain. I have IBS, so it's really helped with my IBS symptoms related to other foods I eat. You might want to give it a try. Good luck!

Breyers has actually gotten in trouble lately for not listing wheat as an ingredient, even though they add it along with another ingredient. It's likely you've been glutened by several of the items on your list. I stay away from Breyer's, as they're not trustworthy enough to be up front about their ingredients right now. Blue Bunny will list any allergens on their foods, though, and I eat their ice cream and ice cream bars. Very yummy and gluten free!

Good luck!