Poppi

Butterball turkey franks are safe. I eat them all the time and haven't had any problems. The butterball site says they are gluten free.

I was a silent celiac, so while I feel better, it's not a dramatic difference for me. But I still have a huge positive. Before my diagnosis I had severe hyperemesis pregnancies. I had to be hospitalized during them and on home health care while I wasn't hospitalized with an IV line and medication pump, just to keep my from being severely malnourished and dehydrated. After my diagnosis and starting the gluten free diet I got pregnant again. I had a normal pregnancy! I had yucky morning sickness at the beginning, but nothing that required hospitalization and it didn't last the entire pregnancy. It was a huge difference for me.

My hyperemesis during my last pregnancy is the reason my husband got a vasectomy and we never had that 4th baby we wanted so badly. It was so bad and my life was so threatened at one point that we were considering aborting the baby girl we had spent 2 year trying to conceive. It was unimaginable. I am so happy you had a normal happy pregnancy. Good for you!!

If you can't tolerate legumes, soy, dairy and eggs and you are a vegan you must be dangerously low on protein. You need steady protein levels to maintain your blood sugar and keep you full. You are also limited as far as things that keep you feeling full.

Is there any way you would consider introducing dairy or eggs into your diet or are those included in the big 8?

I feel better than I've ever felt in my life! I have energy and enthusiasm. I can see a long, happy, healthy future for the first time ever. Instead of wondering how the heck I am going to live another 50-60 years in this body I am excited about every one of those years.

My whole family's diet is better now because for the first time ever I really am mostly shopping the outside of the store. Fruits, veggies, meat, dairy, eggs and rice make up almost all of our diet now and we all feel great because of it.

It's bittersweet but my days of eating fast food are over. I have been a drive through junkie for many years and now I just can't. Even though some of the restaurants have "safe" items there is no way I trust that kid at the window to protect my health.

We are learning to celebrate with activities rather than food. My husband and are going away without the kids for a few days this summer. We had planned our whole trip around famous bakeries, street food and restaurants. Now I have to choose my meals and places carefully so we are focusing more on things to do together like white water rafting and ziplining.

Perhaps go ahead with lunch but just tell him you have celiac and would like to choose the restaurant. Is there a place you trust?

It really is a big deal.

I have just recovered from a week of severe back and muscle pain that could only have been triggered by cross contamination in the McCain plant that made my hashbrowns. The ingredients on the bag were safe but I got sick anyway.

I have also gotten sick by:

- Eating gluten free bread at a restaurant that also makes regular bread, my guess was aerated flour or sharing pans.

- Buttering my toast from the communal butter dish that looked free of crumbs. I have a tupperware container with my own personal butter now as well as my own peanut butter, jam and mayonnaise that is all labelled gluten free.

- Eating chocolate covered marshmallows labeled "gluten free" ... must have been contamination at the plant.

- Making my gluten free bread in a non-stick pan previously used for wheat bread and cooking in older non stick pots. I have since thrown out all my non stick pots and baking pans and replaced them with stainless steel, glass and/or silicone.

My kids have no idea that they eat gluten free. Even my 15 year old doesn't really know or care that 90% of his diet is gluten free (I have no control over the 10% he eats/buys outside the house).

Dinner for the past week has been:

Chicken nuggets, fries and tabouleh

Fried fish, rice and frozen corn

Pork tenderloin in the crock pot with an Asian peanut butter sauce, rice and cauliflower

Breakfast skillet with eggs, potatoes and sausage

Maple baked salmon, rice and grilled zucchini

Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and peas

Green Thai curry with rice and lots of vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn)

Now these meals may or may not be the type of thing you eat but my point is that they are all either naturally gluten free or can be made so with really minor adjustments. I use gluten free panko crumbs for the chicken and fish, I make my fries from scratch, I make my tabouleh with quinoa instead of bulgar, thicken my gravy with potato flour instead of wheat flour and use wheat free tamari instead of soy sauce... other than that it's just regular food.

I actually feel the opposite as Marilyn R, I don't want an allergen free diet. Just a gluten free one. I like dairy and nuts and eggs and white sugar in my baked goods. I'm tired of cookbooks (and processed foods) that try to cover every possible allergen.

I got a cookbook from the library and the recipes all had agave nectar and celtic sea salt and other obscure and expensive ingredients. That doesn't work for me.

For me even breathing deeply in the bakery or a few tiny crumbs finding their way into my food is cause for a major 5-7 day flare up. I have no idea what damage a crumb does to my intestines but I can tell you that a slice of pizza is in now way worth a week of debilitating pain and fatigue.

For what it's worth the Kinnikinnick pizza crusts are really good. I make myself pizza a couple times a week and these crusts make me happy.

Do you have a self-cleaning oven? The clean cycle should run at a high enough temperature (600+F) for at least 30 minutes, which would destroy any gluten. Put the stone in the oven and then run the clean cycle.

I did that with mine. I even had a small piece cut off it so it would fit in my new oven here Baking stones are precious

Thank you thank you!

I will run it through tomorrow!

I learned very quickly that I don't like anything with bean flour in the ingredients. I can taste the beans very strongly. I like the rice/tapioca/potato type combinations better.

So one of my most treasured possessions is my baking stone. It was a birthday gift from my mother once upon a time and I have literally baked hundreds of loaves of gluten-filled bread on it. Both sides.

I can't think of anyway to salvage it since the whole point of a baking stone is a porous surface that transfers heat and moisture.

Any thoughts? Can I save it or do I need to find it a new home?

I made the Holy Cow Cake the other night. It was really good. I was nervous about the Butterfingers since I hadn't had them before but all went well.

I only used about 1/3 of a cup of caramel sauce because I was afraid of making the cake too sweet. I'm glad I reduced it!

I also doubled the whipped cream topping (and used 1/2 the sugar in that as well) and it was a good thing since it still just barely made a nice layer on the cake.

I kept my big stand mixer mostly because there was no way I could afford to replace it. I went over it with a can of compressed air and scrubbed every accessible surface. So far I think it's okay.

I got rid of all my cutting boards, non stick pots, wooden and plastic utensils and designated the small metal collander (the mesh kind) as gluten only. I have a metal strainer that has larger holes that is the gluten free strainer.

I bought stainless steel pots so I don't have to worry about someone else making mac & cheese or gluten soup and ruining the pot.

I would sadly get rid of the waffle maker. I can't think of any way to make that safe.

I have kept my cookie sheets and muffins pans so far and use parchment paper or liners but I will replace them soon just to be on the safe side.

I threw out my non stick cake and loaf pans as lining them with parchment is a pain in the bum. I'll replace them with glass.

No offense intended, but he did not make you gluten yourself. Even with his nagging, you had the ability to say NO WAY. I have let people talk me into this and regretted it. Ultimately the fault lies with us. If you asked him to drink battery acid, no amount of nagging would have him do it. It should be the same with us and gluten.

Oh I couldn't agree more. That's why I said "I let DH talk me into something dumb" and not "DH forced me to gluten myself".

At the end of it all though it really showed him the reality of the situation and he has been a huge support and help since then. In a twisted way it may have been worth it. He even went through all our toiletries and my cosmetics looking for hidden gluten and has taken on the task of cooking and cleaning up after anything containing gluten that he or the kids eat. It's been great.

It's also just me though so, I understand why other people would need multiple sizes and a higher quality item.

Yeah, I cook 3 meals a day for a family of 7 plus I host all the large family gatherings so once a month or so I am cooking for 15-20 people. Good cookware is important.

So far I'm happy with my new pans. Cooking eggs is going to take some practice but maybe I'll just buy a single non stick pancake pan and hide it for eggs and gluten-free pancakes.

Ugh. Hope it's not too bad for you.

I'm home with a nice 12 piece set of stainless steel pots from Costco. Kirkland Brand but they meet all the requirements I had: thick, multi layer bottoms (in this case steel, aluminum and copper), rivetted handles, at least 10 pieces and under $250 ($189.99).

I also got a cast iron pan.

If this makes a difference then I'll add on a few extra pieces that I don't have like a big wok and a bigger stock/stew pot.

So I'm heading out today to buy new pots. I've been gluten free for almost 6 weeks now and I felt amazing for the first 4 weeks but the last 2 I've been slowly sliding backwards with my symptoms. My husband and I think it might just be my system becoming more sensitive so now I'm reacting to the trace contamination from our 10 year old non-stick pots.

So today I go to spend my Mother's Day money on new pots. (I'm pouting because I wanted an iPad or a new summer wardrobe)

Any thoughts on stainless steel vs. new nonstick? I love cooking on nonstick but I'm thinking that stainless steel has the added benefit of not carrying contamination if someone else in the house uses it to heat up some gluteny soup or pasta. I've never cooked on steel so I'm nervous about that but world class chefs use it so obviously it doesn't suck.

This weekend sucks. I'm having a hard time feeling good about life right now.

Wishing your hubby a speedy recovery and ((HUGS)) too you.

Can you reschedule your spa day for after your hubby recovers??

Yes, we can reschedule but I don't want to. I want to go on Monday. I'll get over it though, I'm just disappointed because it's been almost a year since we got away from the kids for a night. Something bad always happens. We went away for 2 nights last August for my birthday and I came down with Meningitis and spent 2 weeks in the hospital and another month at home learning to walk again and wwaiting for my hearing to return.

Bit extreme just to get out of a spa weekend and chores!

I would send J & M to build the fort but they still have to finish school before they move in with you.

Well our two oldest girls are going home to Vietnam for July and August so we'll have room for two more then. Send them up!

BUT my main concern is why I can't tolerate banana's I ate one and it REALLY didn't agree with me, now given I did top that off with a tiny bit of ketchup on the mccains potato patties.. but it was still obvious the banana was an issue as it was much earlier in the day, point of mentioning the mccains thing was because those were the only two things I had yesterday that I wasn't sure about, and today the big bad D.

I'm sick today and I ate McCain potato patties last night as well!! I've been trying to figure out what got me all day and that is the only likely culprit.

i work in a resataurant where i cook, clean, serve, and prepare food. it is a seafood restauant so we use alot of crumbing and floured fish. can this make me sick if im working with it? or is it just if i ingest it? like can i get my hands dirty and not worry? im a little apprehensive to go back to this job once ive recovered from being in hospital due to my celiac.

Can you wear a mask and wash your hands often?

We have been waiting for this weekend for ages. Our anniversary was last month and we are finally getting to celebrate with a spa day and a fancy meal out on Monday. I talked to the chef at the spa restaurant who seems to understand the gluten issue and promised to provide me a wonderful and safe meal, we have overnight childcare for the kids and I can't wait.

Except my hubby was hurt at work today and now we can't go. We also can't build our chicken coop this weekend or the kids' tree fort and I'm feeling pouty about the whole thing. He's going to be fine thankfully, he had some stitches in his leg and he's on antibiotics because there was exposed bone (ick!) so the massages and mineral soaks we had booked are out.

Plus I got glutened yesterday from some unknown source. Could have been the Butterfinger (supposed to be gluten-free), the Kosy Shack chocolate pudding (supposed to be gluten-free), the Kirkland bacon (looked fine on the ingredients) or the McCain hashbrowns (supposed to be gluten-free)... or some other mysterious source like a kitchen pot or chicken feed.

Blah. I'm feeling cranky and sad.

so i thought the silkie looked cold. she's quite a bit smaller than the others. i picked her up and cupped her in my hands for a while until she was nice and snug. now i've got a tiny chick tucked against my tummy, and when i try to put her back in the cage she backs into my hand as i'm trying to take it out.

Aww, poor baby. We had to let one of our chicks cry it out for the night when they were about 4 days old because she would cry and chirp as loud as she could whenever she couldn't see a human. So they went into the laundry room for the night and everyone got earplugs. It took her a few hours to calm down but it forced her to bond with her flock and she's been a much happier bird since then. She still loves humans though and will ride on my shoulder if I let her... chicken poop is pretty gross though so she doesn't get to ride very often.

Sometimes, we never figure out what caused the problem. Sometimes it isn't even gluten. Sometimes, life is just a mystery.

What's that old joke?

The man says to the doc, "Doc, it hurts when I eat marshmallow candy"

and the doc says, "Well, don't eat marshmallow candy. That's a $20 co-pay."

Yup. I think it's also putting things into perspective. Gluten-free for life doesn't necessarily mean pain-free for life. Other things cause pain and discomfort and not everything has an identifiable cause.