Going gluten free

[Jj86]

Hi how easy and affordable is it to go gluten free for Hashimotos? Any suggestions please?

Thanks

[Rmichelle]

Hi i have hashis and im cealiac and dont find it very expensive- asda, morrisons do a wide range and its just using your brain really for the things naturally gluten free- meat veg potatoes, fish,eggs etc. I do also buy ready meals and some cakes and biccies. Eating out is a pain as you have to trust people not to cross contaminate with other foods especially when you are celiac as it damages my stomach and makes me ill, also other things like seperate cooking trays and saucepans. But i dont find it expensive you just have to think. Also checking ingredients if they dont state gluten free, i check gluten free packaging aswell as i dont eat anything with soya in it has this can be bad for the thyroid. Im sure other people will be along shortly to give their advice- slowdragon is excellent on gluten free. Good luck.☺

[Jj86 in reply to Rmichelle]

Thanks

[Jj86]

Thanks cakes biscuits and bread are part of my diet, how I cut them out completely I don't know

[Fruitandnutcase]

Hi, I haven’t found it difficult and I haven’t found it particularly expensive either.

I always cook from scratch though so maybe I would say that for me it is more time consuming than expensive.

My diet is similar to that of reallyfedup except I’m totally gluten free. Also I don't eat grain based foods because the spike my blood sugar (long story) so I get my carbs from vegetables.

I eat the odd gluten free chocolate brownie (which spikes my blood sugar but hey, I can’t be perfect all the time!) apart from that I don’t eat cakes and biscuits - they are much more expensive than regular cakes and biscuits - and I’m not all that keen on GF bread anyway, I always thought it tasted ‘sweet’ and I didn’t like the texture of it, I found Schar bread to be about the best but it was expensive and when I discovered how much it spiked my blood sugar I stopped eating it.

So yes, I’d say GF cakes and biscuits are quite expensive. If I bake for anything I always just substitute GF flour so home baking doesn’t cost more.

If you decide to go gluten free join Coeliac UK and get their food bible - it lists the ingredients in pretty much anything you would want to eat and every sort of GF food.

Get into the habit of reading the labels on everything you buy, you will be surprised where gluten pops up. Also there are lots of regular foods on the supermarket shelves that aren’t labelled GF but which don’t contain gluten.

Generally speaking I haven’t found eating out to be a problem either and it isn’t any more expensive. I found having a quick snack to be the most difficult thing, snacks seemed to be gluten heavy. Some places sell GF soup but I tend to stock up on nuts and seeds or I will grab a cooked chicken portion, that’s usually pretty safe.

[Jj86 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Brilliant, thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

I do buy gluten free bread, cakes and biscuits.

Best gluten free bread - M&S brown seedy, (excellent toasted) also their seedy thins are good for sandwiches

Genius bagels are my recent new find. Excellent toasted with cream cheese and smoked salmon

GF Biscuits and cakes do tend to be too sweet. Best I have found - Schar custard creams & Tesco oat & raisin cookies. Sainsbury's almond slices, very sweet but I like them

Nairn do loads of good savoury oat based crackers

Breakfast I make my own museli using certified GF oats (very cheap) add nuts, seeds, dried fruit of your choice.

M&S ready meals are often gluten free

Get use to reading labels

Soya and soya lecithin turn up in loads of things. Fortunately there is some chocolate that is soya free!

Bon Maman and other French producers helpfully use sunflower lecithin instead

Masses of gluten free websites, magazines, cook books

Coeliac UK is good

Eating out is getting much easier.

Eating at friends and family.......can be tricky

[Rmichelle in reply to SlowDragon]

Slow dragon i love chocolate now and then and discovered Montezumas choccy from sainsburys and doesnt have any rubbish in the ingredients, and no soya!! i love dark choc and tried the 70% cocoa with orange oil and geranium flower it is divine. They do milk choc and white. I agree schar custard creams are nice, i will try the genius bagel it sounds lovely.

Ha i know what you mean about family- my mum still insists buying me mcvitaes ginger nut biccies even though i say"i cant have them" she is 78 though!!x

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Rmichelle]

Yes I have tried a few of these.

My favourite so far are Waitrose own special dark chocolates, especially the one with turtle on. There's about 6 different ones, all soya lecithin free

Also Divine chocolate.....lives up to its name

[Rmichelle in reply to SlowDragon]

Ooh i always forget waitrose, im going to look online.x

[elwins]

For eating out look for a gluten free restaurant, I have found one in Newark which sells only gluten free food. The owner eats only gluten free. So that is why she has set it up. They also sell lovely gluten free bread and cakes to take out.

[Rmichelle in reply to elwins]

You are so lucky to have found a soley gluten free restaurant there isnt one in where i live in shropshire, there are only around 2 restaurants in my area where i would eat.😊

[Blue_Bee]

Hi JJ, I’ve been strictly gluten free for 15 years now since being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. Not sure where you’re located but the Coeliac Society in Australia has done a brilliant job in getting labelling legislation in place so that gluten free actually means nil detectable gluten. There’s a useful ingredients app, search for “Coeliac Australia app” and it’ll pop up. And here’s a link to the society coeliac.org.au/ask-a-question/ It is a huge commitment going gluten free — re-organising your kitchen (I have my own gluten free toaster), pantry and fridge; learning about cross-contamination and reading labels; LOTS more home-cooking if you like good food, not ghastly ersatz GF pretend bread and biscuits; planning planning planning; social changes; and yes definitely more expense. And it is 100% worth it, to improve your health if you are a diagnosed Coeliac. If you think you might be Coeliac, get yourself tested.now BEFORE you go gluten free. Otherwise you will never have an accurate diagnosis and sticking to the GF diet can be really tough if you’re not sure you really need to. It’s like being pregnant— you’re gluten free, or you’re not. You can’t be mostly GF and expect good health results. It has to be 100% gf to get the benefits— which are soooo worth the sacrifices and planning. My health, energy levels, fitness improved massively when I stopped gluten. It took me about 6 months to come to terms with no gluten and make the necessary changes, then over time it’s become my normal life. There is no way I want to eat gluten now Eg real shortbread, real pasta, real croissants... it’s all poison to me now. Good health (apart from the Hashimoto’s I’m grappling with now) is my reward. Wishing you good health JJ on your GF journey. PS the best GF cookbook I’ve found is “Good Without Gluten” amazon.com/Good-Without-Glu... Enjoy!