luvs2eat

I made this tonight and ... holy cow... is it DELICIOUS!!! Thanks so much for posting it! I'd SOOO been missing Pierogies and this was an awesome "remake."

Edited to add... And those Steelers kicked some butt, didn't they?????

There are too many people involved in eating out who just don't "get" it. I can explain till I'm blue in the face... but someone in the back of the kitchen will invariably put the fried chinese noodles at the bottom of my salad for me to find at the end of the salad (been there) or SOMETHING else that will make me sick.

As others have said in the past... if I'm not going to a smaller "mom and pop" restaurant where I've established a good relationship w/ ALL involved in the prep of my food... I can't trust it! It stinks, but there it is.

Nope... there's no cheating on the gluten-free diet... simple as that.

I used to hope I might be able cheat occasionally, but the longer I've been gluten-free, the more sensitive I've become. I would NEVER, EVER intentionally cheat now... EVER!!!

I ONLY eat Chik-fil-A fries. Unfortunately... the closest one is a 2 hour drive away, so they're a rare and special treat!

If you had the physical symptoms I have when I accidentally have gluten (as I'd NEVER digest it willingly)... we wouldn't be having this conversation! You'd NEVER think about cheating!!

Bread... or the lack of bread... was what made me most angry. I've not had any luck w/ the many scratch recipes I tried, and pretty much use Pamela's bread mix exclusively. It's easy and has few needed added ingredients. Manna from Anna also makes a good bread. Both these hold up to sandwiches really well.

I order Pamela's bread mix from (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned). I live so far out in the country... neither of the 2 healthfood stores carrys it. It comes in a box of 6 mixs and if you order only $25 worth of food (I also order my Tinkyada brown rice pasta from them)... shipping is FREE.

Yesterday I made a bag of Pamela's bread mix in her "bagel" form. They are delicious!!

As others have said... give yourself time to grieve. Even more than 7 years after going gluten-free... there are still times I'm frustrated by eating in restaurants and being unable to make a gluten-free version of something I'm wanting/craving. It gets better... seriously.

Edited to add... When I hit "post" the company name was removed as they spammed the forum? Sorry about that forum... spamming is NOT cool.

I don't know anything about the dietician, but have your Portlanders found the Gluten Free Bakery in the house that looks like a Gingerbread house? I think it's over on the SE side of the city. They have awesome stuff!! I have 2 kids who live in PDX and we ALWAYS stop there when I visit. I can find out the name and a better location if you like!

I need to write myself a letter like yours. I NEVER intentionally eat gluten, but I'm such a carb addict... and didn't get the "unexplained weight loss" symptom of celiac, probably because I was diagnosed in a matter of 2 months. I went about eating all the foods I COULD eat to make up (in my head) for all the foods I could no longer eat, and gained about 40 lbs.

I remember a time when I jogged regularly and felt like crap when I didn't do it. I need to get back to that place... and to the other place where I'm not craving carb-comfort food all the time!

Good luck on your journey! I need luck for mine too!!

I made multiple recipes of Annalise Roberts carrot cake recipe and made a 3-tiered wedding cake w/ cream cheese frosting for my wedding a few years ago. I froze the layers (a 14 inch, a 12 inch and a 10 inch) and made the most beautiful cake!!

I rarely eat out anymore. Went to Applebees a long while back ... told the whole wheat/gluten/cross contamination story... ordered a spinach salad w/ shrimp... please don't put ANY croutons on it... NO roll anywhere... thought I had all my bases covered. When I got to the bottom of the bowl.... there was a layer of fried chinese noodles. I showed them to the waitress and she said, "Oh... THOSE are made w/ wheat???"

No matter how much you explain... some people just do not get it.

I wasn't as physically sensitive when I was first diagnosed... and thought I was eating gluten-free by picking croutons off salads and blowing crumbs away or taking a burger off a roll. The peeps here set me STRAIGHT!!!

The pizza place, Jules, in Doylestown, PA, offers a gluten-free pizza. I talked to them and they told me they send the pizza thru the conveyer oven on its own piece of alum. foil to avoid cross contamination.

I'm SO much more sensitive now that I used to be... and way more knowledgable than I used to be... again... thanks to the peeps HERE.

As you'll see from this awesome site... it seems like no 2 people w/ celiac disease have the same symptoms. But, my goodness... you've been dealing w/ this for a LONG time. I was diagnosed in my late 40s after only several months of intestinal symptoms. As said previously... a gluten free diet is the only treatment. It can be challenging, especially if you don't like to cook, but it's not at all impossible.

Truthfully... it took me a whole year for my intestines/bowels to get back to what I considered normal. I didn't feel sick during that time, but I made lots of mistakes w/ what I thought was a gluten free lifestyle and about finding gluten in random things.

As I said... this is the place to learn lots!! Good luck on your tests!!

Here's a recipe the peeps in the recipe chat room I hang out in swear by!! I'll be taking it to a potluck in a few weeks.

Best Corn Ever

2 pounds frozen corn kernels

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 stick real butter

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Mix all together in crockpot. Cook on high for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

I always make the Analise Robert's (her baking cookbook is the best I've found!) recipe for pie crust using her brown rice flour mix and butter, egg, etc. Works every time!

I was the first to be diagnosed in my family (at age 48). I seriously recommended my sister (who has suffered her whole life w/ allergies and eczema and asthma) and brother to be tested... I really thought my sister would come up positive. Neither she nor my bro did.

One of my 3 daughter had symptoms, was tested, and is now gluten-free. The other 2 won't get tested cause they have no symptoms and don't want to give up wheat, etc.

Do I miss wheat? You betcha... I can make lots of things gluten-free, but there are some that just don't translate.

Would I intentionally eat wheat, etc... cause I craved it so? Not on your life!

I often say, "If I don't cook it, I can't eat it." Given that your mom's glutened you w/ random ingredients she FORGETS to tell you are included... I'd adopt my phrase and stick to it.

Let me tell you what NOT to do!! Last year I went to my small company party (super fun partiers!!) and didn't even THINK to bring my own food or eat beforehand, knowing there would be nothing there I'd be able to eat. A few absolutely DELICIOUS raspberry martinis later, we were all goofing around and dancing and having fun and I fell... my feet just sort of went out from under me. No biggie... I hopped up and continued dancing!

Spent the next morning in the ER having my broken wrist casted w/ my husband snapping photos while the hospital personel cracked up. (I was NOT laughing!!) They're STILL laughing at me in the office!! Too bad I can't attend the party this year... I planned to arrive wearing a bike helmet and knee and elbow pads!!

Ugh!! I know it's not funny when you can't keep weight on, but people ask me all the time what the symptoms of Celiac are and I say, Well... one of the first seems to be unexplained weight loss..." Then I look down at myself and say, "I didn't GET that one."

I was diagnosed very quickly... only 2 months after developing obvious symptoms (unrelenting diarrhea)... and spent the next year filling up on all the foods I COULD have to ease the emotional pain of those I could NO LONGER have... 40 lbs. later, I'll be stuggling w/ my weight forever, I'm sure!!

What are the proportions you use w/ either potato starch or cornstarch? For example... I used to make a roux w/ butter and flour and add drippings and broth to make awesome gravy. I know cornstarch is supposed to be mixed w/ cold liquids... so what measurements do you use w/ either potato or cornstarch?

TIA!

Well... this is BAD news for me cause I always thought they weren't good for us (from a gluten-free standpoint... not a nutritional one) and had to be happy w/ the Chik-Fil-A fries I have a few times a year.

Knowing I can have McD's fries will NOT help my diet!!

My symptoms were all GI and I didn't notice real change for several months. It took a whole year before I considered my bowels (for lack of a better term) were what I considered back to "normal."

Pamela's makes a really good and easy bread mix. So does Manna from Anna. Bob's Red Mill bread mix isn't bad either.

Haven't had a bagel in 7 years... I'd kill for a real one. Pamela's bread mix has a bagel cooking method that wasn't bad.

Even though they are not "no boil" noodles, I don't boil them at all, I just layer them in the lasagna and then cook. comes out fine. I find them hard to handle and very sticky/slimy when I boil them first.

I don't boil them either. I do soak them in hot tap water for about 5 minutes while I'm mixing up the other ingredients. Never had a problem!

I've gained a lot of weight since going gluten-free too. I was diagnosed very quickly... w/in 3 months of developing any symptoms, so I never had the unexplained weight loss ... and eased my psychic pain for all the things I could no longer eat by eating my fill of the things I COULD eat... rice, brown rice pastas, yummy bread mixes, gluten-free baked goodies I learned to make. I've also read that many of the brown rice things we use have a higher glycemic index... which can be a problem if you're diabetic or trying to follow a lower carb diet.

The sad reality is that I'm a fool for carbs and fats. I'm now doing my best to follow a lower carb, low fat diet... lots of lean proteins and lots of fruit and veggies.

Sorry, can't help! I was diagnosed very quickly (w/ in 3 months of symptoms) and spent the next few years eating tons of stuff I COULD eat to make up for what I could no longer eat... gained about 30 lbs. Ugh!!