BlessedMommy

Good to know, thanks! We purchased the Vitamix 2 1/2 years ago and have never regretted it! 

So I could whip up gluten free bread dough with a hand held mixer?

So, is it worth it? What does it really do to baked goods that I can't do with a spoon and some elbow grease? Does the texture turn out better when beaten with a stand mixer?

If you used to bake without one and now have one, how are your baked goods different now that you're using one?

Thanks in advance for any comments. 

Yes, I'm the one who makes the millet bread.

We have a Vitamix and I grind my flours in the dry grains container. Super fast and easy. I also have a flour sifter, to get any small bits of grit out.

^I was just about to say the same thing!

My pregnancy test with my oldest was a very "weak positive" but I was just as pregnant! 

My Meijer store recently started carrying So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. It's really good! I've recently bought the vanilla and raspberry flavors and hope to try other ones as well.

I love soy, but it's nice to have some variety and not have all dairy substitutes made out of soy. 

It is also certified gluten free.

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If you suspect soy, probably the best way to figure it out is to test out something that is 100% soy (like plain tofu). That way if you have issues, you know it's soy and not some other thing. There are a number of brands of tofu that are certified gluten free or made in dedicated gluten free facilities, including Nasoya, Mori Nu, etc.

I'm feeling much better today. Only slightly "off." 

I'm fine with Amy's since they're tested to the 20 PPM FDA standard. Some folks though who react to levels of 5 PPM or 10 PPM might have trouble with them though.

It's a blessing, when people don't attempt to cook for me, then I don't have to worry about getting glutened by their cooking. It's extremely difficult for someone who doesn't have celiac to cook the celiac way. 

The reality of the celiac life is bring your own food everywhere. That way you're happy and healthy and can focus on the fellowship and friendship without getting sick. 

I worked with a naturopath years ago. She, of all people, should have known that people should get tested for celiac before quitting gluten (she was a medically diagnosed celiac, blood and biopsy), but she advised me and my kids to go gluten free. Going gluten free permanently eliminated my chance for a diagnosis (I had severe complications when attempting to gluten challenge and had to drop the idea for the sake of staying alive and not getting disabled) and I'm not entirely sure that my kids should have ever tried G.F. to begin with. They're about 1 month into a gluten challenge and doing just fine with the gluten. 

I know that the subject of cross reactivity is a controversial one and I'm not wanting to argue with anyone, but to this date, I have never seen any scientific peer reviewed studies validating the idea that celiacs have to cut out all sorts of foods on the basis on them cross reacting or that celiacs can't have gluten free grains. I think that ideas like that only serve to make celiacs more frustrated and upset and make their lives more difficult. 

If you do plan to stay G.F. for life, this is your new reality. You have to make it work for you without constant frustration, deprivation, and isolation. And part of that may include carefully evaluating any advice that you have been given, along with the basis for that advice.

I wish you the best. 

Yes, I love the variety in my FarmBox every week! We have gotten to try a number of unfamiliar items. Ours costs a flat $30 per week for their standard box. Everything is organic and grown on a farm just a couple of hours from us and thus picked at the peak of freshness. Their produce is exceptionally good quality!

Custom boxes are also available, but I would rather just take whatever they give me. More variety and less hassle that way!

I've found that Aldi's is a great place for cheap thick skinned produce. This week they have great deals on honeydew melon, cantaloupe, bananas, and oranges. Aldi's also has organic apples now that are cheaper than anywhere else in town.

Yes, I agree with the above. I'm married to a gluten eater and it's fine.

Many people, even people who need gluten free, do just fine with gluten free grains and a moderate amount of prepackaged food. You may want to seek a 2nd medical opinion on your diet and on any health conditions that you have. There may be a way to manage them without doing a super restrictive diet.

Welcome to the forum!

Oh, you must live in the western U.S. No Winco's out here in the Midwest. How much does it cost for 10 lbs?

I agree, the naturally gluten-free food is a good way to go for a majority of your food. I buy white basmati rice in 20 lb bags, gluten-free oatmeal in 25 lb bags, gluten-free millet in 25 lb bags, etc. We do a farm share box every week for most of our fresh veggies and buy more of whatever fruit is on sale or in season for the week. I also tend to buy at least 6 dozen eggs at a time (I buy Eggland's Best at Sam's Club), so that I always have eggs on hand.

Feeling wonderful right now!

Since our first horrible experience with a scammer, we now implement strict screening measures on any buyers, including confirming their address and investigating basic facts. We also require a valid phone number.

If they don't have one listed, they are required to call us and talk to us on the phone. If their address seems at all strange or unconfirmed, we find out why and determine if it's a real person or not. (i.e. one customer had item shipped to University of Wisconsin because he was a professor there and we verified that by looking at the university website)

If we don't feel comfortable, the Iphone doesn't leave our house until we do. 99 times out of 100, scammers won't want to talk to you on the phone. 99 times out of 100, good people won't be offended that you are trying to protect others against identity theft and protect yourself from losing money.

Today, due to implementing these screening measures we successfully stopped a criminal! Someone purchased an Iphone with a stolen PP account and by catching the inconsistencies quickly, we were able to pick up very fast that it was a scammer and immediately cancelled the transaction and issued the "buyer" a full refund. Looks like we probably saved 2 other innocent victims by being more observant. And not surprisingly, the criminal never called us on the phone. After refunding the money, we relisted the Iphone and we were able to sell it to a real verified buyer.

Iphones are a high risk item and for here on out, using a little precaution could save bucketloads of grief.

We did win the fight with that last scammer, but he fought to the very end, even going so far as to file a chargeback to his credit card after we won the prior case. We called Paypal and they returned our money and banned him from the site.

It's crazy how widespread CC is. I remember once at someone's house watching someone remove the plastic spoons from the box. She did so in a way where she was touching a lot of them--and she had been just working with the food.

Yes, I remember a veggie juice once with that very thing. I guess that's why it's always best to check ingredients and not just assume that something is straight juice. 

Right, that's one good thing about drinks is that they are relatively safe from CC. 

Where do you find pasta in 10 lb boxes?

No, it wasn't a wrapped stick of butter. My kid actually put his hand directly on the unwrapped butter when the butter dish was sitting on the counter.

I don't drink alcohol and rarely drink soft drinks. I'm guessing that plain fruit juice (orange, tomato, etc.) should be okay. Probably for more complicated stuff than that, I should check ingredients.

So, I know that many have said that they will sometimes eat before going to a restaurant or bring their own sandwich and just order a drink or something. How do you determine if the drinks are safe or not? Do you ask for an ingredient list from the restaurant for the drinks? I've heard of people being glutened by just about everything on the sun, so I'm not ruling drinks off the list.

I was going to suggest bringing a homemade pizza as well. 

As far as pasta, the consistently cheapest option that I've found is non-gmo corn pasta for $1.99 per bag. I've seen it in Sam Mills brand and Meijer store brand.

I tried them and I like them really well. They have a very pleasant nutty flavor to them and they're a nice hearty patty without the usual soy.

I think that I'll get them for when I want a treat, since they are a bit pricey. Today I got my kids Subway and when I got home I cooked up a couple of those patties and served them on Udi's buns for myself. Very nice! 

Schar bread has a frozen edition? Interesting, I'll have to look for it. I've found Schar breads for 50 cents each occasionally at the Amish store, but of course that's hit or miss.

My speech has gotten better and my temp dropped, but I still have a headache. Really, really hoping that it goes away ASAP. I really don't need any neurological troubles right now. I'm going to have to modify my kids' gluten challenge.

I just can't take unnecessary risks, with my history!

No more gluten in my house. My kids can eat bags of glutenous chips on the lawn and then wash their hands and faces before coming inside. Or I can take them out for bean burritos at Taco Bell.