Gluten Free

Just looked at your list of things you can't eat. Can you eat diced tomatoes? Plain tomato sauce? In the above recipe you could leave out the sauce if you needed. Actually, you could brown the beef, with onions if you wished, add the pasta and add a jarred white sauce (Alfredo would be good) heat it through and then add the cheese to melt. You could even add some sliced olives. Would be equally yummy.

Fidgie, I've not read the entire thread, so I don't know if someone has suggested this already. For pasta, what about using a spaghetti squash as the "noodles"? I've even seen this recipe in mainstream cookbooks.

ETA: I have several friends (one at work) who have Celiac AND lactose intolerance. They've both found my Middle Eastern cook book, as well as 1-2 Russian recipes I have to be a treasure trove of stuff they can eat.

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Originally Posted by Tradd

Fidgie, I've not read the entire thread, so I don't know if someone has suggested this already. For pasta, what about using a spaghetti squash as the "noodles"? I've even seen this recipe in mainstream cookbooks.

ETA: I have several friends (one at work) who have Celiac AND lactose intolerance. They've both found my Middle Eastern cook book, as well as 1-2 Russian recipes I have to be a treasure trove of stuff they can eat.

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Yes, it seems that some ethnic cuisines are good places to start. I hadn't thought about Middle Eastern, but previously mentioned Asian cuisines. Mexican would be good, too, though sometimes heavy. I could modify. I do looooove Mexican food.

My FiL offered to bring lunch tomorrow to the house. He wasn't happy with my lunch that I made today (country style pork ribs in gluten free BBQ sauce and chips) because I found out he is on some cleansing diet. So I had to tell him no, that I am newly eating this way and that I prefer to take on the lunch so I don't eat anything I shouldn't be having. So basically we each had to agree to take care of our own lunches! Ay ay ay.

Today:
Breakfast: yogurt + granola + banana
Lunch: BBQ pork ribs + chips + other crackers + hummus
Dinner: pizza on corn meal crust, prepared lovingly by DH. We also bought ice cream. :)

I have a lot of gluten goodies at the house. It was hard to avoid them, but I didn't want to spend the money on GF treats for everyone. Sometimes everything gets eaten, and quickly! But today no one touched the cookies I'd bought. I sent one pkg home with mom and dad and one pkg home with my sister. She also took our non-GF BBQ sauce from our pantry. So at least the food won't go to waste.

2 days down! :) I will keep learning! :)

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Originally Posted by peggy

Lite soy sauces are usually gluten free. Most canned beef broth has gluten but the boxed kind, like Rachael Ray and the like, are not. (go figure!)
A good comfort food, and you need these to keep you going:
Brown some ground beef, add a can drained diced tomatoes (I like rotel with peppers...adds a little spice) and one small can tomato sauce. cook just a bit, add some cooked pasta, like the brown rice macaroni or the corn ones (can't remember the name) spirals, mix, top with grated cheese and cover just long enough to melt the cheese. Super yummy, and quick! This is the kind of recipe that tells you, yes, you can do this! I made this just last night and had the leftovers for breakfast.

I would suggest you try to cook as you normally do while on this trial. I mean, eat the kinds of things you normally eat so you don't feel deprived and fall back on gluten. Don't try to go gluten free, and change your way of eating all at once. First go gluten free, get comfortable with the way of eating, then adjust to make it healthier or whatever. Don't worry about trying to lose/gain weight, go vegetarian or whatever. Going gluten free is enough of a change and you want to be successful in this one. This change will save your life and make you feel so much better. If you need help in tweaking your usual recipes, just post them here and we'll help.

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Yummy, peggy, that is just what I need for tomorrow for at the house! I didn't know what kind of a casserole-type dish to make that DH would also like.

I agree with the advice about changing too much at once. For example, as I just mentioned above, I find the idea of exploring ethnic cuisines really intriguing, but I will have to learn some cooking techniques, get familiar with new ingredients, etc. to really make good stuff. So that will have to wait. For now, I just have to figure out how to get it out of my diet.

EarthSky, good to know about the Udis. I did read that on several blogs that it is the best. I almost bought some cookies at Whole Foods tonight but the frugalista in me could NOT bring myself to pay $8 a package!! Got ice cream instead. :)

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Originally Posted by fidgiegirl

Yes, it seems that some ethnic cuisines are good places to start. I hadn't thought about Middle Eastern, but previously mentioned Asian cuisines. Mexican would be good, too, though sometimes heavy. I could modify. I do looooove Mexican food.

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I have a recipe for a wonderful whole chicken done on the stovetop - with chickpeas. Can you eat those?

And my Egyptian-style roast chicken - I posted that here last fall. Whole chicken, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt & pepper. That's it - but so yummy!

A lot of the Middle Eastern food is just using standard ingredients in different ways. For example, I have a chicken & tomatoes recipe - that uses cinnamon. Tasty!

It's not new techniques, really, but just using ingredients in different ways. Do you like hummus? Well, that's ME.

Can you have onions and garlic?

Can have it all! :) I will look for your roast chicken recipe. Sounds yummers!

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Originally Posted by fidgiegirl

Can have it all! :) I will look for your roast chicken recipe. Sounds yummers!

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Nice and tangy. Use extra garlic! Yum! I'll post some recipes later.

For lighter Mexican fare, look for Rick Bayless' cookbook at the library, Mexican Everyday. The Mexican-type food we cook at home is not much like most restaurants.. for one thing, you can taste the ingredients and not just salt. From any mildly seasoned cooked chicken, you can make taco/enchilada/burrito filling with leftovers - season with cumin, oregano, and add ground chile powder if desired. Add the veggies that you can eat.

Went shopping again today (3rd trip since Thursday!) to stock up on more GF items. I thought maybe I could go without "substitutes," like GF bread or pastas, and I can, but why? On at least two occasions in the four days since I started this DH and I have puzzled over what we could eat. Simply having the GF pasta or bread on hand would have saved us the dilemma. Until we get our heads around it, I am keeping a safety net. Plus, I don't want to panic that there is "nothing" at home I can eat. So I got more :)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6...3c5d89938b.jpg
TJ's GF shop by fidgiegirl, on Flickr

I think the next step might be to make a list of GF friendly restaurants. The whole restaurant thing with my in-laws is usually a whole involved negotiation, anyway, so I want to be prepared with my suggestions/desires next time it comes up. I know Pizza Luce has specific GF dishes. I know I could get salad, etc., but I have not yet tried that on my tummy again and won't for some weeks, so that's still off the list. I just HATE the whole "interrogate the server" approach. Would much rather identify restaurants that have some items on the menu. Maybe it's too much to ask for. Ideas welcome. Thanks you allllllll!!!!!1