Girl Ninja

Maybe I'm too brave, but I would go for it. Maybe not just yet, but don't say never.

A restaurant near me has "stations" set up in the kitchen. There's a person in one corner who makes all the burritos and enchiladas and they have their own containers of ingredients instead of having to run all over the kitchen with stuff. Then other stations that handle salads, tacos, etc.

It's definitely worth talking to some of the staff. That's a skill we all need to have any way. Early in the day when they have a clean kitchen would probably be better. It could be good for a local restaurant to get to know you personally so that you have a "safe place." Afterall, their gluten list is only 7 things and maybe 4 of them would be possible contaminents. I'd feel better about that than any place that has bread baskets and soup crackers or splashing, dripping pasta water.

I like apple cinnamon (or strawberry when I can find them) rice cakes with cream cheese on them or tortilla chips with hommus, cream cheese mixed with salsa, or homemade spinach dip, or baby food (fruits only, of course) with sot lecithin granules mixed in. The soy bits get squishy like tiny tapioca sort of. My coworkers tease me whenever I eat it, but it's the only one way to have mangoes and papayas for a snack when they're out of season.

Well, since we're asking silly questions, how about those little lube/ lotion/ moisture strips on razor blades??

I'm being serious.

Shortly after I went gluten-free (like the very next week, I think) the store I work in put up a bunch of huge sticker-advertisement things on the floor of every aisle. The one in my aisle said "Without bread, they would just be pulled-pork HANDWICHES. Eat more bread!" Way to taunt the sick girl. I have *no idea* who cut it to pieces and picked at the edges until it was gone.

I don't have any experience with autism, but I am a pro at feeding picky kids. He should be able to have Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Pebbles from Post. I know they're gluten free, but you'll have to check for soy.

If it was the fries it would be hard to pinpoint the problem. Their fryer could have been contaminated with anything.

Good luck to you guys.

My evil craving was macaroni and cheese. I ate it almost every day. The last time I did it made me have a panic attack and a migraine that lasted almost 5 days! I still miss it, though.

Try to poke around on here for other people's postings about time frame. What I've gathered is that you can still have random gluten responses for at least 6 weeks. It doesn't mean you're not healing or doing anything wrong, and it can be confusing at first when you're still new to the diet. I encourage you to hang in there.

I pretty much use Mrs. Dash for everything. I do need to find a good chili seasoning. My very favorite was French's Chili-O plus some packets of Taco Bell fire sauce for spice. TB sauce is gluten-free, but French's is definitely not.

I can just see doing the school mom thing with pink hair!

HAHAHA! My son starts kindergarten in the Fall and I just went through his orientation with him. I'm 26 and I have pink hair at the moment. I've been dying it for 10 years, always with Special Effects. I do it because if I don't I feel invisible. I've gone through periods of letting it grow out or dyed it "normal" for one reason or another. Usually other people's wedding requests and such. I've found it's just a great way to meet people. When I have mouse-brown hair, I look exceptionally average. With the bright colors, I get approached all the time. No one ever has anything negative to say. I get a lot of "life's too short, sieze the day" type encouragement.

My son told his dad, "Girls are weird. Except for Mom. She has cool hair."

I'm curious... Is there an increase in risk after 9 months of age? My son was exclusively breast fed for the first year.

I'm pretty sure the chicken and rice in the US is NOT gluten-free and lists wheat in the ingredients. The chicken and white & wild rice seems safe, but I don't make a habit of eating it for the chance that I'll grab the wrong one.

I usually eat "Mighty Tasty gluten-free Hot Cereal" from Bob's Red Mill. I make a pan on Monday and then keep it in the fridge so I can just nuke some the rest of the week. Eat a cereal with some dried fruit and nuts mixed in and it will last longer than high protein stuff.

Almonds are a good suggestion. I had a Saturday class from 8a until 4p that was like some form of torture, so I kept almonds in my bag and would eat them while the teacher used the overhead projector.

Isn't water pretty much the only thing that's really hypoallergenic?

kb - I knew things weren't right for a while. I tried pinpointing my symptoms and adjusting my diet to address them. I took all sorts of supplements, added more soy, completely removed soy, added and removed dairy, etc. I just got worse and worse. When I went back to eating meat, it was something I tried out of desperation.

It obviously went pretty well, as I haven't gone back. Avoid anything even a little bit fatty at first. Animal fat is WAY gross and I couldn't eat anything that wasn't totally lean for years. After two years back eating meat my mom's corned beef finally got me. I'm Irish, what can I say?

As far as actual physical reactions, there were none to speak of. I didn't have any digestive issues that were new (this was pre dx for me, so I had digestive issues that ended up being from gluten). It didn't make me feel ill in any way. No cramping or fatigue. And I assure you I was super paranoid about feeling bad. The first few times I just sorty of waited to feel bad because I was SURE I would. I started to feel better almost immediately. All I really felt was satisfied in a way that I hadn't in a long time. Like I was actually getting something out of my meal. I would say that I was a lot better after about 3 months, but time is foggy from that period, so I could be off.

Cooking was VERY intimidating for me. That's part of the reason I stuck with lean meats. I can't handle touching raw meat. At least with chicken breasts or steak you can just move them with tongs. No playing with ground meat for me. My favorite cooking discovery? The Foreman grill. I have one that holds 2 chix breasts. It sits on my stove all the time. You just plug it in to heat up for a few minutes, set the meat on it, close the lid, and set your time. Everything takes 5-8 minutes to cook except fish (less time, but I personally think my grill is too hot for fish). Even if I use frozen meat it's usually done in 8 minutes. It's a good starting place for you to determine how done is done/ what done looks and smells like. I don't use a timer anymore unless I've got a lot going on. I can smell it when it's done. After it's cooled you just wipe it down with paper towel. And I can cook everyone's meat together on it since meat is all that ever touches it.

I forced some good friends to supervise my efforts at first and share their "meat wisdom." They were entertained and glad (sometimes, haha) to get a free meal for their help.

I also wasn't very good at assembling a meat + sides meal after being veg. I just didn't make meals like that. I did lots of chix cut up over salads at first. It was wierd having potatoes, veg, and rice not be the stars of the show.

I really couldn't even begin to speculate as to why being veg wasn't good for me. It went swimmingly for my bf who ate all the same things as me and it seemed fine for our son as well. They returned to the land of meat with me, but just because that's what I was cooking. Lazy boys

BTW, If you want to you can pm me or email me. I'd be happy to help if you want a "buddy". I'm prplhair "at" hotmail "dot" com.

kb- If you've gotten to the point that you feel eating meat might be the answer you've probably been feeling lousy for a long time. I held out way longer than was good for my body. I still have serious memory issues. I was tired all the time. I still get that way when I've gone too many days without meat. Returning to an omnivorous diet isn't so bad, and it's DEFINITELY worth trying to see if it makes you feel better. Veg is just one of the things I wasn't meant to be, despite my best efforts. To get yourself started, I recommend turkey and steak as lean and clean as you can find them, and eggs if you don't already.

I consider myself a "recovering vegetarian." I was veg for about 5 years and by the end I had lost so much brain function I couldn't even speak some days. If your symptoms haven't improved, I urge you to try the nutritionist's suggestions. I was bummed about giving up vegetarianism and kind of (ok really) grossed out by meat for a long time. Now I would never go back. I feel so much better this way. The veg diet was definitely NOT for my body.

I agree with Ursula. Sounds like this one just needs some time. Hopefully the blood tests are conclusive and you can move forward from there. If it is Celiac, it will be easier once they've gone gluten-free. I'm sure he will only be willing one time to watch his daughters suffer for a week from that "one little slice of pizza." I can't imagine any parent being able to ignore the pain that this causes a child. I also understand him being in denial for now. Don't worry. This forum can get you through just about anything. (We even have gluten-free cake recipes)

LindaLee - I would imagine that your melon one is the same as the kids one at the bottom of the list, just with the movie promo tie-in.

Here's the Delphi CoverGirl list:

Cover Girl (000.000.0000) (00/00/00)

All foundations, Fresh Complexion pressed powder, Extremely Gentle pressed powder, Continuous Color moisture-enriched blush, all concealers, all eye shadows, all mascaras, Thick-n-Thin eye liner, Soft Radiance eye liner, Extremely Gentle soft liner, Continuous Color lipsticks and lip liners, Marathon lipsticks, all Nail Slicks EXCEPT nail treatments

Sounds like CoverGirl liquids should be ok.

And as far as I can tell, the concern with Neutrogena's gluten-free status is that some of the products do contain oatmeal, but are still listed as gluten-free. If you react to oats, watch for that.

Lisa B - Here's what the Delphi list says for ChapStick. They also list safe choices from Blistex.

ChapStick (Wyeth Consumer Healthcare Products) (888-797-5638) (ve= 01/18/05)

ChapStick All Natural

ChapStick Cold Sore Therapy

ChapStick Flava Craze SPF 15 Tropical Twist

ChapStick Lip Balm Cherry

ChapStick Lip Balm Medicated Stick

ChapStick Lip Balm Medicated Squeeze Tube

ChapStick Lip Balm Mint

ChapStick Lip Balm Regular

ChapStick Lip Balm Strawberry

ChapStick Lip Moisturizer SPF-15, Stick

ChapStick Lip Moisturizer SPF-15, Tube

ChapStick Lip Moisturizer Vanilla Mint SPF-15

ChapStick Lip Moisturizer Vanilla Raspberry SPF-15

ChapStick LipSations Lip Moisturizer, Glitter

ChapStick LipSations Lip Moisturizer Gloss

ChapStick Overnight Lip Treatment (with Hydroxy Acids)

ChapStick Sun Zone Flava CrazeSPF 15 Wild Crazeberry

ChapStick Sun Zone Ultra 30 Berry

ChapStick Ultra SPF 30 Lemon-lime

Children’s ChapStick Flava Craze - (Blue Crazeberry)

Children’s ChapStick Flava Craze -(Fruit Punch)

Children’s ChapStick Flava Craze -(Grape)

Children’s ChapStick Flava Craze SPF15 (Watermelon Splash)

I ate at the Paradise by me yesterday and it was AWESOME!! I had the strip steak salad. Sooo good! The management company that owns them also own Outback Steakhouse, Carrabas Grill, PF Chang's, and Bonefish Grill, so all of those chains have good gluten free menus and trained, helpful staff. The Paradise near me is actually a Bonefish Grill in the back half of the building, so I ran there and grabbed a copy of their gluten-free menu while we waited for our food. They have a creme brulee! I can't wait to go!

I would have included mini bags of Frito Lay snacks (Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos) and marshmallow bars made with Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Pebbles (in a disposable pan) instead of Rice Krispies on the acceptable list. People feel better about accomodating me when I can "name drop" familiar brands.

I agree! I used to mostly get hives and migraines. Since going gluten-free, if I do manage to poison myself, my reactions are WAY more severe. It causes my heart to race and I get the sleepy/ foggy head and prolonged constipation along with headaches and miserable hives.

I LOVE the banana one. I get the chocolate one when my brownie cravings are unbearable. Chocolatey, chewy, does the job.

FYI - I called the company that makes ZonePerfect bars yesterday and they said that they have 7 gluten-free flavors. Chocolate almond raisin, chocolate coconut crunch (I like these), chocolate raspberry, fudge graham, mango orange, peanut toffee, and strawberry yogurt.

According to Frito Lay's website, *most* of their recipes are gluten-free. Stax are the only product that is produced on completely gluten-free lines. The other products do carry a risk of cc. I've not personally had a problem with Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos, or Lays.

I haven't heard of any butter we can't have.

I've read that there are connections betweek Celiac and epilepsy, so I can see it being possible that your symptoms could be related to vitamin deficiencies. Sounds like you've got lots of testing ahead of you. Good luck.

I've not had a problem with Wendy's chili. Frito Lay had a pretty extensive list of safe (gluten-free) products on their website. I read in someone else's posts that sausage can be a culprit because the spices can contain gluten and still be listed as "spices" or "natural flavors." I've also read that the guten reaction can be delayed up to 30 days, so it may still be your body trying to detox and not anything in particular from today.