Gluten Free the old style way

kboss2010

Making chapatis from gram/besan flour (chickpea flour) are really quick and easy and an alternative to sandwiches/bread for dunking into soup:

Mix a handful of gram flour with enough water to make into a dough, season with salt and pepper, make into tennis ball-sized balls, flatten with your hands to about half a cm thick and dry fry in a frying pan until they start to brown. Flip over and do the same on the other side (like a pancake). Yummy and *very* filling. You can buy gram flour for around £1.20 per 1.5kg bag at Asda in the "world foods" aisle.

For a sweet treat, use cornmeal to make American-style sweet corn bread:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/

Just use all cornmeal instead of the plain flour and skip the salt to make it taste pretty much like a fairy cake (personally I like the salt included but I'm one of those people who likes salted caramel chocolate and eggs with pancakes and maple syrup). You can buy 1kg of cornmeal for around £1 in Asda.

(FYI, cornmeal is NOT the same as corn*flour*, it's bright yellow and comes in large bags not small boxes. Cornflour is usually used for thickening sauces)

chaliepud

Thanks jakes-mum, I have pm'd you.. Have put Mrs Crimbles stuffing on my next weeks shopping list too..

Thanks for the list happybunny, I'll print it out for reference.. I've not been tested. I've had headaches and migraines for nearly 30 years (I'm almost 43) and I have tried so many different things, medications, natural treatments etc etc.. I happened across Hair Analysis Testing this month and thought it might be worth giving it a go and reviews were pretty good.. Part of the test involves food sensitivities, intolerances and allergies. One of the main ones that came up for me was wheat and when reading up on wheat and gluten I discovered a lot of the symptoms apply to me so I figured it was worth following their guidance regarding diet, vitamins and minerals. It certainly can't hurt.. though I have to admit it is going to be hard not having weetabix for breakfast every day like I have since I was very small!

Theoretica... I have Oatibix here and it states it is not gluten free..

chaliepud

trolleyrun wrote: »

MSG doesn't have anything to do with gluten

http://celiacdietitian.com/blog/monosodium-glutamate-gluten-free

I'm not supposed to have MSG for 6 weeks either! Will be fun when we go to the Chinese restaurant next week!!

chaliepud

happytails wrote: »

Cauliflower rice is lovely I make it with coconut oil and an onion x

Hmm, I'm not sure about that.. I've always considered cauliflower as devils food (along with baked beans and olives), but I am a fussy mare!!:o

kboss2010 wrote: »

Making chapatis from gram/besan flour (chickpea flour) are really quick and easy and an alternative to sandwiches/bread for dunking into soup:

For a sweet treat, use cornmeal to make American-style sweet corn bread:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/

(FYI, cornmeal is NOT the same as corn*flour*, it's bright yellow and comes in large bags not small boxes. Cornflour is usually used for thickening sauces)

Thanks kboss, the chapatis look fab and just my thing, will definitely give that a try! Not sure about the cornbread but I've coped and pasted both so who knows!

cafelady

Hi Hayley

I was just wondering if you had had medical advice to remove gluten from your diet? If you think you may have Coeliac Disease, then it's really important to keep eating gluten until you are diagnosed. Please see Coeliac UK's website for more information on this:
https://www.coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-disease/getting-diagnosed

If you have removed gluten from your diet and then need to be tested for Coeliac Disease, then you have to go back on a gluten challenge for 6 weeks beforehand, which I gather can be a bit of a challenge!

You can get a blood test at your GPs to help with initial diagnosis, then more tests at the hospital to confirm it. It is worth getting the formal diagnosis, as you get support for other possible complications such as bone scans for ostoeperosis, advice from dieticians, and may also be able to get other NHS support.

Apologies if you already know this, but thought it was worth mentioning. Good luck with things!

chaliepud

Thank you for the info.. I know I'm probably going about this all wrong but when I mentioned I was going to have Hair Analysis Testing my Dr rather poo pooed the idea.. I am just fed up of having more and more chemicals shoved at me so thought I would try this.. If it works then I can go back and show the results, eating wheat again for 6 weeks wouldn't be a disaster as I am clearly not severely intolerant as have lasted this long not knowing. The results didn't show gluten but of course I don't yet know how accurate these tests are and I have also started cutting out some other foods too and taking new vitamins and minerals.. I could be gluten intolerant, wheat intolerant or neither!

notanewuser

The trouble is that if you do have a sensitivity, cutting it out completely will "heal" the gut. Then if you have to eat gluten again for medical tests, your body will react more strongly to it. So whatever symptoms you identified with will be even stronger and more unpleasant.

lulu_92

I'm currently awaiting results from my blood tests to see if I have coeliac. Now I know that I will have to continue eating gluten until all tests have been done as it would affect the results and my eventual treatment.

I would like to have a stash of gluten free meal ideas just in case I do have coeliac disease.

OH and I put aside £200 per month for food, but more often than not at least 50-60% of this gets put into a savings account at the end of the month.

I could probably be described as picky, but I will eat pretty much anything aside from the following:

- Mushrooms
- Parsnips
- Sprouts
- Roast Pork (I will eat ham, sausages and bacon, etc but can't stand roast)
- Whole tomatoes (so sauces are an option )
- Bell Peppers
....and I'm not massively keen on mashed potato (except sweet potato mash, that's the best.)

I am going to try my best at not buying the GF versions of foods as I think it will be easier if I cut it out completely.

I tend to eat most of my meals at work and want the meals to help me lose weight. I take food with me to work so ideas for any meals would be great

flossyann

hi lulu :hello:
Sorry to hear about your suspected coeliacs.

i have been eating gluten free for the last 12 months and i have found buying special gluten free food was costing me a fortune, so i try and eat the naturally gluten free food as much as possible.

i used to eat toast for breakfast but now i buy a huge box of cheap rice crispies and have them most days, and i snack on rice crispie bars and cakes.

Also i mostly have potatoes or rice with my meals instead of buying special gluten free pasta/spaghetti/ready meals.

meat, vegetables, fruit, fish, eggs, and milk are all gluten free anyway so there's no change to fresh food, its just the processed food like biscuits, cakes and some crisps that you will need to avoid.

On a positive note I have lost 2 stone since going gluten free and am finally a healthy weight. plus if you are diagnosed you will be able to get gluten free bread and other things on prescription which might help a little as the bread i buy is at least £2-3 for a small loaf. (ald1 do one for £1.70ish but its pretty horrible imo)

Also you should be referred to a dietician who will give you some good food ideas too.

Best of luck

Horace

I admit that I can eat gluten, however, I have friends who are GF. I discovered Doves Farm gluten-free flour and use that for all my baking now (it means that I am not baking two lots of cake just to cater for one person). I use the self raising flour and add a teaspoon of baking powder to it (I tried faffing with xanthan gum but my cakes turned out flat like Frisbees).

I asked my GF friend how she manages and she told me that she just follows recipes and adapts them (where it mentions flour she used gluten-free flour).

You can certainly eat fresh foods - meat, veg (just don't buy meat that is covered with breadcrumbs).