queenofhearts
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If this is actually a fever blister/cold sore, there are fairly new over-the-counter remedies that can help. I forget the name but ask your pharmacist.
I never knew that cold sores were gluten-related, used to get them all the time triggered by sun exposure until I started using sunscreen lip balm.
Leah
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I tried adding fresh fruits and veggies when I first went gluten-free, and it didn't go over too well with my stomach. I felt full and bloated for hours after eating a peach. I know that I should keep trying things, but every time I do it turns out to be a disaster.
I'm a big believer in nuts if you need to add digestible calories-- but don't get the kind in the snack aisle, get the plain unadulterated kind used for baking. If you have a source for fresh, unpackaged ones, they taste a lot better & are cheaper than the packaged kind. I think almonds & pecans are a bit easier to digest than peanuts, though I eat lots of both.
Don't have a lot all at once-- the idea is to nibble a few every hour or so-- for me this really helps stave off the ups & downs that trigger headaches.
Also fresh-ground peanut butter is good. You can spread it on an apple slice or a rice cake. I also make an Asian-style dip with it that I use for rice crackers & veggies, but that's spicy so it might not sit well with you right now.
Do keep trying on the fruits & veggies, a little at a time-- they are so good for you, & the fruit will help you with calories. Lots of folks find they can tolerate applesauce if fresh fruit is a problem-- have you tried that? Just the plain kind is best. And try eating another real meal instead of just yogurt for dinner, even if you have to repeat the lunch menu. What about some rice? That's perfectly safe & very digestible. If you find it a lot of trouble to prepare, make a bigger batch & refrigerate the leftovers so you can heat them up as you need them.
Hope these ideas help.
Leah
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I do not use salt in cooking, and do not add any at the table. I will try this type of "Salt test" to see if that might be it. I don't think it is a sugar thing as I eat sweet things and that does not change anything. It is beginning to sound, from the replies, that most folks go thru this also. Oh well, somethings just happen. Am feeling much better on this gluten free diet tho. Can't believe all of the aches and pains I used to get that are now gone. (except for this head ache thing) Thanks for your reply.
DrMom
I mentioned this to someone else with a headache, I think-- are you sure you are eating ENOUGH? Just being borderline hungry can give me migraines. When I'm busy & my eating habits are less regular, I'm very prone to this problem. Rather than a sweet though, I find nibbling on nuts helps me most to regulate my blood sugar.
Hope this helps.
Leah
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My favorite bread so far (I've only been doing this for a month so check back with me later for more comprehensive results!)-- Four Flour Bread from Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. Actually I have modified her sesame variation, replaced all the sugar with molasses, added a bit more of the flour mix, & used melted butter with a splash of sesame oil for the oil. Also threw a ton of sesame seed on top (using egg wash to adhere them). It was yummy enough that I had to protect my supply from my gluten-eating family. (I shared one loaf but wanted the second for myself!)
Leah
another idea is just start with naturally gluten-free stuff like cornbread... meantime you can make "sandwiches" using inventive things like a corn tortilla wrap.Someone a while back posted the idea of using gluten free waffles as the "bread" in a sandwich-- that sounded good to me! Haven't tried it yet since I've been baking a fair amount of bread, but I'm sure I will.
Leah
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Please keep me posted on this. I'm trying to find a gum-free cake recipe, and there is no such thing... anywhere. If you manage to come up with something clean, I might be able to modify it. Again, keep me posted.
I know it's really not the same as a cake, but if you want something just for a festive cakelike appearance that you can stick candles in, you could use meringue layers, filled with whatever custard, "cream", fruit puree or pudding you can tolerate. Dacquoise is the classic meringue cake layer, but uses nuts, which as I recall are on your no list. Pavlovas are plain meringues filled with fruit & cream-- if there is a whipped cream substitute you can tolerate, that would work, but so would a custard or a fruit puree.
I'm still on the lookout for a bread recipe for you, by the way. No luck so far but I haven't forgotten you!
Leah
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If you have already had the biopsy, then I say "go for it!". I haven't had the biopsy (because an Lame Advertisement test told me to avoid gluten LONG before I knew what Celiac was and so I had already been gluten-free at that point) and when I try to eat gluten again I am too sick to handle it, so I quit after a few days. I wish I would have known to wait until the biopsy.
About the docs, that is a good question. I have never heard a doc say "Oh no, don't cut out meat!" or "Oh no, don't cut out sugar!" but when it comes to wheat (oat, barley, malt, rye) they act like we are missing a vital part of a healthy diet! I think it is because they were taught that wheat is good for you and healthy, and also that they know that it would be SOOOOOOOO hard for you to give up. Geez, if my doc felt like I did when I had wheat, he would said "Girl! You will feel sooo much better!!!!!!"
I HAVE heard doctors say not to cut out meat... when I went veggie about 35 years ago... but I think they know better now. Maybe in 35 years or so they'll have learned that gluten is not a necessary food either!
Leah
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I'm in a completely opposite place right now... I'm only 1 month into gluten-freedom though, & still symptomatic (sigh) so I'm hoping it gets better.
Anyway, I have always been fairly picky about my food, preferring to make my own or seek out really high-quality stuff. But when I go to the supermarket now & pass the bakery section, things that never tempted me in the least before now seem to be taunting me, "Nyah, nyah, you can't ever have me again!" Similarly, I hardly ever ate fast food, but this summer when we stopped at Bojangles on the way to the beach, I sat there moping as my husband & kids ate their goodies. I guess in the past I might have eaten two or three french fries, but suddenly everything just looked so tempting! Really weird.
Of course I'm also tempted by the things I really would have eaten-- Whole Foods' Harvest Grain bread haunts me! But that I would have expected. The fast food & doughnut cravings baffle me!
I will say though that as much as I crave these things, I don't really have to fight an urge to eat them-- I want so much to get better, it's not like I really want to ingest them. It's more of a feeling of mourning, almost, nostalgia maybe. Feeling left out, deprived, blah blah blah. I'm hoping I'll get over it soon.
My comfort zone is in my kitchen, where I've been baking up a storm, to the point where I'm gaining weight! (I'm not trying to, mind you!) I need to back off on that, actually, now that I've figured out how to make most of my faves gluten-free. (It was all for science, don't you know!) But that makes me feel even more deprived.
Thank goodness peach season is almost here. I can live without almost anything as long as I can binge on Carolina peaches!
Leah
p.s. I do find that baking Gluten-free yeast bread smells very nearly as good as the wheat kind, & my family seems to agree! Fresh homemade bread is yummier than almost any storebought, wheat or no, unless it too is right out of the oven.
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There is alcoholism in my family too, so I have always been somewhat wary about drinking, but I do enjoy the flavor & festivity of alcohol in moderation, so I've never been a teetotaller. But there have been times when I found myself really "needing" a drink-- that is my clear signal to cut it out entirely for a few weeks. I do NOT want to go where I've seen family members go, that's for sure.
Interestingly, it was elevated liver enzymes that FINALLY got me diagnosed with Celiac, after a lifetime of other symptoms (I'm 50). Before the Celiac diagnosis they suspected liver cysts or the like, & I stopped drinking completely for five months, just in case alcohol was at fault. I'm still drinking only 1 glass of wine a week until my 3-month check-up, just to be sure it doesn't throw off the liver functions. It's hard at parties & that sort of thing, but easier than I would have thought, given my previous habits.
I know I have an addictive personality, as I'm easily fixated on habits of all sorts, for instance I just can't start the day without solving the Crypto-Quote! (Not to mention drinking some really good coffee.) So I consciously try to fixate on healthy habits, such as exercise, which, believe me, can be just as addictive. If you are like me, I highly recommend finding something specific that you can turn to when the urge strikes. I think yoga is really good to replace evening drinking especially, since it has something of the same relaxing quality & cues you that the day's work is done & it is time to chill out. But maybe reading or knitting would work better for you. My point is it's better if you're not just sitting there missing what you can't have.
I hope this helps you stick with your decision to cut it out for a while. I think without wine you will feel better not only physically, but mentally. It is not fun to feel "powerless" especially if you've seen others go over the edge... it's kind of scary... & conquering that feeling will make you feel really safe & strong.
If you are wavering, post a message! Somebody will probably be here to help you stay strong.
Best wishes,
Leah
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This thread is just what I needed... I've been feeling discouraged lately. For a while there I was very gung-ho, especially learning to bake gluten-free... but it's been nearly a month now & I'm not really feeling better, which is probably at least partly due to cross-contamination. I've been meticulous with my diet & cooking, cosmetics, vitamins, &c. but I'm in a house with 3 not-very-meticulous gluten-eaters, & have been to others' houses, restaurants (though not often) & though I've been very careful, I suspect a crumb or two has come my way one way or another. Is it really POSSIBLE to stay gluten free without being a hermit & banishing all gluten from the house?
Well, you all have done it... & you are feeling so much better in so many ways... & the list of symptoms you are rid of sound like they came out of my diary... so I know it's worth the effort.
Thanks for the pick-me-up!
Leah
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Are you getting enough to eat? Hunger or low blood sugar often triggers migraines for me, & if you have cut out a lot of starchy foods without replacing the calories, you could be operating at a calorie deficit. That would definitely set off the headaches in my case. If you think this might be the problem, try keeping some nuts handy for "emergency" snacks(if you can eat them), & try not too let too much time pass between meals.
Another thing that can trigger them for me is dehydration-- are you getting enough water? If you are eating proportionally more protein than before (due to fewer carbs) that can cause some dehydration.
Good luck. I've only had a couple of migraines since going gluten free about a month ago, & that's a low number for me, so I'm hoping some of mine were gluten-triggered. I hope you can figure out what's causing yours.
Leah
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It's gluten-free, but I am allergic to corn, dairy and soy. I have now become a label reader again so that I have none of my allergens in my diet. It was a brand new bottle to I don't have any fish sauce and will just leave the Lea & Perrins out.
Oops, that WAS in the topic, wasn't it? Must've been the brain fog!
Unless you really dislike fish sauce, I'd get some-- maybe not in time for tonight, but eventually. It's sort of soyish in effect & if you miss soy sauce it might be good to have on hand. But some do have wheat so be careful!
Good luck with your recipe,
Leah
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Have you tried the Rice Crunchems, alternative for Chex cereal? They typically aren't in the "mainstream" grocery, but usually at a natural food store, wild oats etc. Open Original Shared Link
Haven't tried them, WILL look for them! Thanks!
Leah
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Yea Ive never weighed more than 115 in my life but with this type of diet it is hard to keep the pounds on I guess a more accurate reading would be a bod pod or something, I know 105 is underweight but the last time I went to the doctor they werent too conserned but it worries me alittle, I worry I wont be able to get pregnat on down the road.
I think BMI is way inaccurate.
Just to reassure you, I am 5'8" & when I got preggers I weighed around 105. I had twins & gained nearly half again my weight during pregnancy! I looked like a potato with toothpicks stuck into it! But no serious complications. (I did have ferocious, nonstop nausea for the first few months, but got over it eventually & the babies were healthy & good-sized for twins. And this was when I was clueless & eating gluten, so you'll probably be healthier.)
So long as you have fairly good energy & your period is reasonably regular, you are probably okay. But if you are very fatigued or missing a lot of months, that is a sign that something's amiss, & gaining weight can definitely help.
By the way, my kids are 19 now & I weigh 127... & sometimes I miss my string bean days!
Leah
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I am making the sweet and sour pot roast for dinner. It calls for Worcestershire sauce and I don't know what to substitute for it. Does anyone have any ideas. It calls for 2 to 3 Tbl. and I thought I should not jsut leave it out. Thanks.
I thought Worcestershire (Lea & Perrins) was okay in the U.S.-- or are you in Canada?
If you can't have it, I would try maybe mixing up equal parts fish sauce (or a bit less anchovy paste), vinegar, Tabasco, & molasses, with a pinch of cloves & maybe adding a little extra garlic in the dish. I love W. sauce, so I hope I'm not wrong about its gluten-freedom!
Leah
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I just ordered Annalise Roberts' baking book--don't know what flour mix she uses, but several people on this board have raved about it.
I also just got Roben Ryberg's gluten-free kitchen cookbook--she swears by a cornstarch/potato starch blend, not a speck of rice flour in sight--and The Everything gluten-free Cookbook by Rick Marx and Nancy Maar, which does not have a lot of recipes for baking (one cornbread recipe and what looks like a nice chickpea crepe recipe, but then that's not baked
).Has anyone compared any of these three ? Or do I get to be the first?
I did tinker around with a bunch of pancake recipes, and came up with one I really liked, but it was kind of involved--brown rice flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthum gum, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. They turned out nice and fluffy, so I tried using that combination in a soda bread, and it tasted very much like McDonald's biscuits, but heavier. Much heavier
. Then again, maybe that's good (portion control! )....The other thing I want to try, but haven't yet found an official gluten-free recipe for is Florentine Lace Cookies, which I think don't even contain flour, or maybe only a couple of spoonfuls, so rice flour oughta work, right?
Bette Hagman's GFG Makes Dessert has a recipe for florentines. I'll try & copy it for you later if you don't have that one.
Annalise Roberts' flour blend is based on the superfine-ground brown rice flour by Authentic Foods. It costs an arm & a leg but it does taste good! I've substituted fine white rice flour (from the Asian grocery) when there were other flavors to compensate & it worked well. My grocery's brown rice flour is pretty coarse, so it doesn't always do the job in delicate baked goods.
I will put in a good word for chickpea crepes. I haven't used that particular recipe but I've made them & like them. (I've only used them for savory recipes, though... the ones I've made do have a somewhat assertive flavor.)
Baking gluten free is a real adventure! So far I've had a fair amount of success with cookies, biscuits, coffee cake, waffles, &c... but my biggest challenge has been finding a really good bread. Bette Hagman's 4-Flour (which uses sorghum in the blend) is pretty good but I'm still searching for the bread of my dreams. One problem is, I always used to love whole grains with wheat berries, oats &c... still experimenting on a sub for that!
Leah
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I have done research on this too, since all the non-mainstream "gluten-free" cereals tasted like chalk or had a texture capable of inducing the gag reflex and are impossible to find (except online for a boatload of money for shipping)!
I eat Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Trix. I have discovered that Cpt Crunch is gluten-free unless you are concerned about Oats cross contamination. I do not react to Capt Crunch. General Mills cereals often don't have "malt flavoring" (made from barley) and therefore are OK, if made only from corn or rice. Kellogs uses malt flavoring in everything. I can tolerate a bowl of Frosted Flakes, Corn Flakes, Rice/Corn Crispix, Rice Crispies, but only once in a while.
I am fine with Captain Crunch or Lucky Charms most every day and I alternate them to make sure I won't react (in case one is worse than the other) .
Are there any that aren't sweet? I just don't like sweet cereal, but plain puffed rice doesn't do much for me either. I miss Chex! And Cheerios!
Leah
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Thanks for posting this. I'm worn out from hounding so many companies for info, so it's a treat to have all this without effort!
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I don't have much to add except another thank you for caring so well for your Celiac Sis-in-Law!
And I just have to mention that I am crazy about lavender honey. Yummmmmmm! You sound like a sweet person in every way.
Leah
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Hi Elizabeth,
I'm brand new on this board. My 9 yr old daughter was just diagnosed last week. A friend of mine gave me a bag of white bean flour (she grinds her own beans that she buys in bulk) and some brownies she'd made out of it. She uses it for pancakes, bread and hamburger buns, too. The brownies were really good but when I used the flour for cookies they turned out tasty but completely flat. And I'm not so sure how well my body reacted to the bean flour. I didn't even ask my daughter how she felt. So I'm looking for other ideas, too. So actually I'm not much help unless you want to look into the bean flour recipes.
Mostly I wanted to tell you that I have the same last name. Is that your married name? Maybe we're related!
Carol
I'm glad you & your daughter have found this board-- it's the greatest resource ever. I'm a newbie too, & don't know what I'd do without it.
Baking is my obsession so I've been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. I'm curious-- how does your friend grind the beans?
Did you add any xanthan gum to the cookies? That makes a big difference in the ability of the dough to hold up to rising without collapsing. (True with any gluten-free flour, since it is the gluten that gives wheat dough its elasticity.)
Leah
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I use mostly Nature Made vitamins, always get them on 2-for-1 sale at Kroger. I contacted the company for info & was told all are gluten free EXCEPT the chewables.
Leah
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I have not met anyone in restaurants, but have at my local Whole Foods. This one particular store has a "gluten-free" aisle and everytime I am in it there will be someone else searching through the gluten-free items. Usually we will spark up a conversation about celiac,diagnosis, gluten-free diet, etc. Once I talked to a woman for 45 minutes! I thought it so funny because I normally do not strike up conversations with strangers in a grocery aisle....
I guess it is that "common bond" thing...
I've had the same experience in Whole Foods. It's comforting to meet others with the same issues. I wish our local support group were more active... I'd especially love to descend on a restaurant en masse (with prior warning of course)... I think it would raise awareness, & we could sure use some raised awareness around here! Has anyone tried this?
Leah
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Is there such a thing as a dry milk substitute? Most of the bread recipes in my cookbooks call for dry skim milk powder.
You can actually substitute ground almonds (almond flour) for dry milk in most recipes. Very tasty too. I can eat dairy but I often make this substitution for flavor's sake. It is pricey though.
Leah
Thanks for the reply. The restrictions I've got are substantial. I'm allergic to gum, and every mix I've found contains at least a few of them. It's easier to list the things I know I can have.White or brown rice flour, millet flour, agave nectar, honey, salt, baking soda, vitamin C, olive oil, safflower oil -- that's the bulk of what I can have
Tapioca, arrowroot, bean flours, plant source starches and gelatins, flax, and anything derived from seaweed are all forms of gum. People with this allergy generally can't tolerate amaranth either. Most gluten free products contain those. I'm hoping to build an index of recipe options that don't call for those ingredients. My first task is to make bread or bread rolls. After that, I'm hoping to come up with a gum-free, gluten-free birthday cake.
If you find anything -- products or recipes -- let me know. I'd be interested.
That's a toughie, but I will look around. Can you do potato starch or does that fall in the gum category too?
And are eggs out too?
Leah
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I hear you! Just starting this diet & having a difficult time with it! Wheat is in everything!!! It's hard when you work or are on the go which I am. We used to make Fridays Pizza & Movie night, now I'm lost without Pizza. I could use idea on meals too. At work the ONLY places by me are Quiznos, Subway, Chinese, & sandwich shops. Urg! I don't know what to eat. I lost three pounds in a week just because I don't know what to eat! Can we eat Popcorn? Still unsure of things. Need lunch ideas & pizza ideas PLEASE HELP! APPRECIATE you ideas.
I'm a newbie too, but learning fast!
Popcorn's pretty safe unless flavored with something iffy... I always get the plain kind. It can be a little hard to digest for some folks though.
If you like Mexican food, you can do all sorts of stuff really fast with corn tortillas. You can put one on a plate, sprinkle with shredded cheese, microwave 2 minutes, bend into a taco shape & let cool slightly until crisp, then fill with avocado, shredded lettuce, salsa, &c. Really fast & my kids like it. Also we're big fans of Fantastic Foods Instant Refried Beans for this sort of thing. Mix according to directions (I always add some cumin & chili powder), then add about the same amount of salsa, & melt on some cheese if you like. Great as a bean dip with Tostitos, or as a filling for enchiladas, &c.
I've heard of folks using corn tortillas as a base for "pizza" too-- same sort of idea as the micro taco but with mozzarella, italian style tomato sauce (read the label to make sure it's safe) & toppings to taste. There are also Gluten-free crusts you can buy to top as you like.
The Chinese places can be okay if you avoid dark sauces (they almost always contain soy) & bring your own Gluten-free soy to flavor it up. I highly recommend getting the Triumph cards for eating out anywhere.
Good luck! It's hard getting started but you will start finding things that work for you.
Hang in there!
Leah
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I'm confused about Cover Girl then. Aren't they owned by Proctor and Gamble who sent many of us a form letter stating that they could not tell us what products in any of the cosmetic lines were gluten free? How did you get someone to tell you the Cover Girl Outlast l/s is gluten free?
Kind of a loophole... they will not guarrantee any product with outsourced components, but I pestered them until they finally divulged the info that there were no outsourced components in this product... why they couldn't have told me that in the first place... but never mind. I have a thread on this subject with all the messages (ever increasing in frustration level!) that it took to get them to tell me this simple fact.
In my brief experience as a Celiac, I have found that in order to get information from CYA companies, it is best to pester them mercilessly, ask for executives' addresses, & stress the number of Celiacs they are likely to offend by refusing information. (I always mention that I will post their responses on Celiac.com!)
I've also found that some companies will tell you things over the phone that they won't put in writing. Of course, that means if the info is wrong, you'll have no proof. I'm thinking of getting one of those phones that records calls!
About the lipstick, I should caution that this okay only applies to the Outlast variety. I didn't ask about any of the others since I don't use them.
Leah
Are all burt's bee's shimmer colors Gluten Free?YES! I asked Burt's Bees for info & they sent me this wonderful list!
They are among the good guys!
Leah
Appropriate List For Gluten Restricted Patients
Products NOT containing wheat, Oat, Rye & Barley derived ingredients
Updated: March 24, 2006
BABY BEE
BABY BEE DUSTING POWDER
BABY BEE CR
).
. Then again, maybe that's good (portion control! 
)....
Crumb Topping
in Gluten-Free Recipes & Cooking Tips
Posted
I've made crumb topping from an old gluteny recipe, substituting the original Hagman mixture of 2 c. rice flour, 2/3 c. potato starch, 1/3 c. tapioca starch. It was quite good. You don't really need xanthan gum or anything since it's supposed to be crumbly! In the flour mix I've used both white rice flour, which I buy at the Asian grocery 'cause it's cheap, & fine brown rice flour such as Authentic Foods superfine, which is anything but cheap!
Leah