Diets

[stillaboveground]

Hi I had an heart attack in May 2019 and due to conflicting diagnoses I still am having scans and various hospital visits. I was diagnosed with coeliacs disease in 2016 so have been on a gluten free diet ever since (not always very good at this) the trouble is in order to make ready made gluten free food palatable the manufacturers put other ingredients in them, I am not sure how good these are for my heart so I make most of my food from scratch, but it would be convenient if I could have something ready made at times. Are there any other people on a healthy heart diet and also a diet for other problems. I read ingredients on tins and packages but they are not always very clear what they are, I have to take notice of the bold ingredients but other additives can be alien to me.

Great forum this

[lillyofthevalley37]

Lots of ingredients in gluten free bread biscuits etc do contain processed ingredients but you can have wholegrain rice and potatoes, potatoe flour soya flour not sure about tapioca

Wholegrain rice cakes are a good choice?

[stillaboveground in reply to lillyofthevalley37]

Thank you for your reply, I do make most of my own food from scratch, but I sometimes have a ready made gluten free pie or pizza for speed when pushed for time, and I agree they are stuffed with all sorts of carbs. I suppose I could batch cook meals myself and then freeze them.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Sorry I cannot help but I feel for you. As a long term diabetic I have to watch my carb intake carefully. All carbs are converted to sugar but manufacturers love highlighting the sugar rather than the carbohydrate content. Particularly irritating are healthy snacks where they state something like "Only 6 gms sugar" when total carbs are forty or more!

My niece is lactose intolerant and so I sometimes look at the Free From section. Some of the foods are loaded with fats, sugar and salts. Yet, people without health/intolerance issues buy them thinking that they are healthy!

[stillaboveground in reply to MichaelJH]

Thank you for your reply. I take twice as long to shop when I have to read every label, even if I have bought things before, because the makers often change the items for a new super tasty recipe. The ingredients in bold on packets help but it's the other ingredients (that I can't even pronounce) I am not sure about.

[Sunnie2day]

My husband has coeliac disease. Getting it right for coeliac plus other dietary restrictions isn't at all easy! It's taken me several years to learn to adjust recipes for his coeliac and my low-sodium/low-salt (so far my only dietary restriction) but I've found:

Doves Farm gluten free products especially their flours and mixes - they have a pizza mix that is fabulous tasting and while you have to double up to get a decent size pizza it's worth having to use two bags of the mix; also their ginger biscuits are AMAZING and 'heart-healthy' depending on your restrictions. Tip - when making their bread recipes you do end up having to add more of your flours (they sell self-raising and all-purpose plus some sponge flours); the pizza base mix takes three minutes to make - I make two or three pizzas ahead and freeze them for quick eating.

MrsCrimbles - best. macaroons. EVER. The pancake mix is delicious and the stuffing mix is so good I've served it to company who never imagine until told it's gluten free.

[stillaboveground in reply to Sunnie2day]

Hi Sunnie2day thanks for your reply. My Christmas dinner was totally gluten free and all my guests said it was no different to their normal food. My husband is diabetic, the dog is over weight, so diets all round. All the for the new year.

[Sunnie2day in reply to stillaboveground]

The sad thing is there really aren't many 'on-the-go' or 'quick' options for people with coeliac and/or heart conditions with dietary restrictions. Having a heart condition that came with dietary restrictions is what put me on the 'from-scratch' path 20 years ago - and the first time I did a shop armed with my list of forbidden ingredients I ended up leaving the supermarket to sit in my car for a good cry. It got easier of course but that first shop was awful. And over the years I've discovered the only way to get out of the supermarket quickly is to avoid buying anything 'processed' so I don't have to stand there reading the labels for hours.

Hidden ingredients are the worst followed by brands you've come to trust changing their recipes.

Also nightmarish is mislabelled food - my Food Standards Agency (FSA) subscription is very helpful, I get emails alerting me to recalled foods that have been mislabelled GF but actually contain glutens. I'm upgrading to a smart phone so I can access email when we travel - 2019 was not a good year for us as my heart played up from March on but I'm recovering nicely and we'll be doing a lot of travelling in the UK for 2020. Being able to access email while we're on the road will mean I still get the alerts. Keeps us from buying something labelled as 'safe' when it's really not.

Cooking from scratch is the only reliable way to ensure food is gluten-free and 'heart healthy'. I do a lot of 'investment cooking' - I spend two or even three days (depending on freezer space) making up things I can defrost to reheat. When we're travelling we tend to either camp or chose 'self-catering' properties so I can cook knowing what we're eating isn't going to put either of us in A&E. Day trips mean a big picnic bag and cool box.

Also, GF foods don't keep well even if frozen so I label every thing I put in the freezer, and reheat it the same day as defrosting.

Forgot to mention - if you like pastas, Doves Farm pastas are incredible and cook as quickly as 'normal' pastas.

[stillaboveground in reply to Sunnie2day]

Hi Sunnie2day, sorry to take so long in replying, I do cook from scratch most of the time, but on occasions I will buy in ready made gluten free foods. Thank you for your advice on the Food Standards Agency, I will give it a try. Take care.