Changing to a gluten free diet

[Maddie7]

Hi I have Hashimotos, how do I change to a gluten free diet please? I am trying to keep costs down as I am on a low income.

Many thanks

[Maddie7]

Thanks well I eat cakes and biscuits and pastries and I'm now aware I have to stop eating these. I eat chicken/turkey/duck, never a big fan of meat but like veg and fruit, salads, milk and cheese. I have oats as well at times.

[Nanaedake]

The cheapest and best way to go gluten free is to buy fresh fruit, veg and meat and don't buy any 'gluten free' packaged products from supermarkets.

Cut out bread, pasta, cakes, noodles and anything made with wheat. Try to buy veg and fruit in season because it's cheapest then. So you need a range of recipies that work for seasonal food. I use a steamer because I can put veg, meat, fish in the steamer and leave it to cook without effort. I also like stir fries because they are quick to cook. I use a slow cooker and pop in a whole chicken before I go to work then it's done when I get home. I can use for stir fry the next day and then make a soup in the slow cooker from the bones. It makes about 4 days of food for 3 of us. I use sweet potato instead of regular potatoes for a little carbohydrate.

Gluten free list and advice from celiac.org

celiac.org/live-gluten-free...

This is another gluten free list to select from although it says to avoid soy but I think that fermented soy is ok, just avoid soy products and soy beans that are not fermented.

drperlmutter.com/eat/list-o...

Some people tolerate occasional gluten free oats which are low cost but you need to check whether the packet says gluten free as some oats are not.

Plain Greek type yogurt is good for deserts with fruit or nuts. I also use it in stir fries with a little Japanese soy sauce for flavour and a dash of vinegar but check the vinegar is gluten free because they are not all. Chinese soy sauce is not gluten free but Japanese soy sauce is - kikkoman and tamari are Japanese brands.

For breakfast I have an egg or a piece of bacon or I make a yogurt pot with fruit, yoghurt, gluten free oats and nuts. Sometimes I have fish and salad or a little meat and cheese. Less popular types of fish are cheaper.

I shop in budget supermarkets and choose fresh, in season produce and cheaper cuts of meat. I use a slow cooker to make meat tender and then you can cook lower cost meats to feed a family. I have to confess that I don't often eat organic food unless it's a good price and I only choose free range meat if a good price but I always choose free range eggs.

[Maddie7 in reply to Nanaedake]

Thanks I did buy a whole chicken on Sunday - I used a quarter in a casserole and another quarter with some potatoes. I've frozen the other half in the freezer. I'm willing to try.

[Nanaedake in reply to Maddie7]

Save the chicken bones and boil up to make a soup (or put into slow cooker). Add milk, a couple of bay leaves, a clove, chop an onion, add a stock cube and boil up. Strain and discard bones and onion etc. Reheat, thicken with some cream or cornstarch and add some of the cooked chicken, season with salt and pepper. It's very nutritious and the best thing to help you recover from winter colds. Add a little rice if you want to make it more filling but you'll need to boil to soften the rice so don't add cream or thicken until the end.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Loads of great advice from Nanaedake, my diet is very similar to hers.

I went totally GF three years ago - you’ve got to be 100% GF or nothing. I’d been cooking for several GF people at functions I catered for and ended up just giving everyone GF food.

Basically it was good old home cooking from scratch and thickened with cornflour.

I joined Coeliac UK and got their food ‘bible’ which lists all GF foods and ingredients, you also have website access and a magazine a few times a year.

You’ve got to read the labels on absolutely everything, you want believe the places that gluten can crop up unexpectedly.

I found grabbing a quick snack the hardest thing when I started as the snacks sold in so many cafes all contained gluten. I used to carry nuts and seeds in a little Tupperware box or I would grab some cooked chicken and nibble that.

I do make cakes - Victoria sponges, chocolate brownie, banana loaf and that sort of thing from time to time. I use Doves Farm flours and their recipes and I’ve given cakes I’ve made to people who haven’t realised that they are GF. I’ve made cheesecakes and I just buy GF biscuits instead of regular ones to make the bases, now GF biscuits are more expensive but I don’t mind if it’s for a special pudding or if I make that chocolate tiffin stuff. I also make meringues for special occasions and they are easy, tasty and gluten free.

You will find loads of recipes online - I’m afraid that even though I’m a keen cook I still try to get recipes with as few ingredients as possible.

There is a Healthunlocked site called Gluten-free Guerillas so it’s worth having a look on there.

[Shufflebunnie]

I'm gluten free, not from following this type of diet, but because I don't eat starchy carbohydrates with the exception of oats which are gluten free. Normally end up with yogurt and fruit, a bircher, quinoa porridge or scrambled eggs with bacon or salmon for breakfast.

Lunch is all about vegetables or salad with a cheese or protein source like chicken or eggs.

Evening is the same as lunch but normally includes a meat or fish source.

Over all I try to have 3 completely veg meals per week, fish 3 times a week and build the rest around it.

You can be gluten free with out buying the 'gluten free' alternatives but it will mean that you cook from fresh much more.

[Angel_of_the_North]

It's quite easy - just don't eat anything made with grains or ready-made in a pack- no bread, no biscuits etc and check the labels on sauces etc. Just eat real food - no more expensive than eating gluten.

[Flecmac]

Are oats REALLY gluten free? My old ones say “also may contain wheat and barley”. I have been buying gluten free porridge which is very expensive and doesn’t last long.

[bell22 in reply to Flecmac]

You have to buy oats labelled gluten free as regular oats are most likely contaminated with gluten at some point in the food supply chain. (The cross-contamination can happen in a number of ways - from the time the oat seeds get placed in the ground for growing, to when the oats are processed and put on sale.) If the packet says ‘may contain’ then the manufacturer has judged that the risk of cross contamination (in this case with what and barley) is significant enough. I would avoid these oats if you are following a GF diet. Note that some coeliacs can’t even have GF oats because they contain avenin, a protein very similar to that of gluten.

I follow a GF diet and agree with all the excellent advice above - eat as naturally as possible and avoid visiting the gluten free isle in supermarkets as much as you can. Buying ‘replacements’ for food you used to eat is when it gets expensive (including buying GF oats!)

[Flecmac in reply to bell22]

That’s what I thought.

[karenmo]

Hi,

GF products are costly so I make some myself. Banana and pumpkin bread-- using bean flour or rice or coconut or almond( pricey) flour. Internet has many recipes. Not like gluten bread but affodable n tastey

[Souxie70]

Hi Maddie7, I have cut our all glutens but I think it's necessary to avoid maize flour as well. It's usually GMO and I definitely isolated its symptoms to brain fog - for me anyway.

So in terms of grains, I just eat white basmati rice as it is medium GI as opposed to plain white rice. I have cut out nightshades also so eat sweet potatoes which are cheap.

However, I find I can tolerate sourdough bread as it is fermented for longer and in this country (UK) is now available in all the supermarkets.

There are lots of gluten free recipes on Pinterest which include almond flour and tapioca flour if you wanted to have cake treats. I use coconut nectar sugar which is more expensive but you don't need a lot, very sweet, and it lasts me for ages as I don't eat many sweet things.

Hope this is helpful.

[Souxie70]

PS Maddie7, i found that oats were a problem for me so avoid these too but some people can tolerate them.

[EbonyEvans in reply to Souxie70]

Hi Souxie70,

I buy my oats that state they are gluten free (meaning made in a factory that does not produce gluten). They’re Quaker Oats not the posh brands, but thought I’d mention it in case you’d had a reaction or are unaware you can buy ‘gluten free’ ones.

[Souxie70]

Thanks EbonyEbony, I tried both but think it's just oats for me unfortunately - I do miss them!

[ayshaasif1995]

Changing to a gluten-free diet can be healthy and satisfying but it takes a little time to become successful after eating gluten-free. In some cases eating too much, gluten-free packaged foods can cause weight gain.