The wheat & gluten, dairy free/organic diets on the cheap thread

rinabean

Soy products are not "very bad for you" unless you're allergic to them (many of people are). Vegetable oils are also not "bad for you" (though most of them are not particularly good for you, either, of course).

I find it's often better to make recipes that are already safe and just work out substitutions/buy the expensive product when you really, really want that item. Recently I've been making farinata/socca, which is made of gram (chickpea) flour and thus gf. It's a flatbread, so of course it's not like a fluffy white loaf, but it's not meant to be, so there's less room for disappointment, if you see what I mean.

VeggieCatLady

Wow it really is reassuring to read that I am not the only one going through this. I have cfs/me and they think fibromyalgia. I also have ibs and am allergic to soya, oats, tomato, garlic, onion powder. I am vegetarian and used to be vegan but the food allergies made a balanced diet impossible and I regularly became ill.

Aside from the financial implications, what I find hard is when I want a quick meal it can be difficult. I can't eat a large proportion of ready made foods or quick to prepare snacks because of my allergies. I would appreciate any suggestions greatly!

adamantine

mozzy10 wrote: »

I'm with HelenYorkshire. Why do you need to substitute? Just don't bother eating grain and dairy products anymore. I get on just fine eating wheat free. Don't feel any need to eat "bread" or "pasta" in any gluten free form. Why would you want to eat something that tastes nothing like the original and is full of garbage like soya flour or artificial thickeners etc?

I used to be lactose intolerant up until I gave up grain products!

Now I don't eat grains, I can drink milk with no tummy troubles later.

Also don't make the assumption that ALL milk products have the same amount of lactose in them. Butter and cream have much less lactose than milk. Same for yogurt. Hard cheeses have hardly any lactose in them. Be careful of eliminating ALL milk products. Do some research!

Soy products are so very bad for you... so are vegetable oils.

Well anyway, as I said, I get on fine without wheat and grains. Bolognaise with veggies on the side is so much better than slimey spaghetti... and less fattening to boot!

the quantity of lactose is the same. its the quantity of the milk and hows its treated thats the factor here. butter and cheese made with 100ml of milk has the same amount of lactose as 100ml of straight, untreated milk but its "cooked" milk thats been through a process which makes the difference.

my sons dietician is helping reintroduce dairy into his diet slowly and there is less chance of a reaction to "cooked" dairy in yogurts, custard and chocolate. butter is only used sparingly (unless you use a whole slab on toast or in mash!) so the chance of a reaction to that is also small.

soy is only "bad" for you if you are an infant girl as it has been shown to cause heavy and painful periods in later life if used as a main source of feeding such as in babies with dairy allergies where mothers are unable to BF.

wish my mum had known that when the doc prescribed soya milk for me at 6 weeks old!!

mozzy10

@adamentine
No they don't have the same amount of lactose. Lactose is a sugar therefore you only need to look at the carbohydrate content of milk products to get an idea of how much lactose is in them.

What are you talking about.... "cooked" milk? Do you mean fermented? as in cheese and yogurt?
The fermentation of milk to make cheese and yogurt uses up a lot of the lactose in milk. The bacteria use up the lactose because it is a sugar and they "eat" it.

Butter is mostly fat and doesn't contain much lactose as lactose is water soluble and there isn't much water in butter is there?

Taken from the NHS website...
Dairy products

Some dairy products may be easier to digest than others. Cheese, for example, usually contains less lactose than milk. In particular, fermented dairy products, such as yoghurts, are often easier to digest.
Fermented dairy products are products that have been broken down by substances, such as yeast, bacteria, or other micro-organisms. This means that the lactose they contain will already be partially broken down, and they may be easier to digest than fresh dairy products.
Possible dairy products you could try include:

• yoghurts, including probiotic yoghurts (that contain live bacteria)
• probiotic milk
• sour cream
• cottage cheese
• hard cheeses, such as Edam and Cheddar

It is important that you do not eliminate dairy products completely from your diet because they provide essential nutrients.

also check out here for more info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance#Avoiding_lactose-containing_products

You don't even NEED to eat diary products, not for health anyway. Why on earth does a human need to have cows milk?
Milk is designed to make a small mammal grow into a bigger one. There is no biological need to drink any kind of milk once weaned from your mother. You can get all the nutrition you need from regular, natural, unprocessed foods.



There is so much info out there on why soy and vegetable (what vegetable is this anyway? they should be called seed oils) are bad for you that I'm not even going to bother posting any info.

adamantine

on one hand you are quoting the NHS saying its important not to cut out dairy completely then on the next you say we dont need to eat dairy?! confused much?

the lactose in the original product before process is exactly the same. its the process that changes the enzymes. cooked/fermented is the same process - using heat to make the final product. they dont contain less lactose just lactose in a slightly different form.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

yup I believe in organic and good diet on the cheap!!!!:beer::beer::money: Look forward to reading this thread.
There is just SO much to read on MSE:eek::eek::eek: but heart is with thread and all good souls of an organic bent in my case.

brenda50

Gluten and dairy free (in the main) and on benefits too. One thing I have found is that I can take is ghee. It is clarified butter and is easy to make, you just boil butter till the solids have turned brown. It really tastes better than margarine and is much better for your health. I am very sensitive to gluten though not celiac. The doctors test was negative. I have ME and fibro symptoms but I found out it has been because of Lyme Disease so I was misdiagnosed. This is common. The difference is that LD is more relapsing than ME. There is often more joint involvement too. As it is too late for antibiotics, I can only hope to slow the progress and I use an certified eletrical medical device sold in Germany to hit back at the bacteria. (Rife therapy) Cures have been known using this method.

I use GF bread but try to keep my consumption down and keep it frozen. The best to aim for imo is raw food - as much as possible, and fermented food. I nearly managed 100% raw but after moving, I have slipped back. I was making a lot of green juices in the past. I use dried elderberries (in my dehydrator) and acai berries in muesli, chai seeds in water are an excellent source of nutrition. Chai seeds are excellent for giving one a full feeling and can be lived on for a few days when travellling or an emergency.

Someone said that T oats are GF but they cannot be unless they are labelled. All oats are GF but get contaminated.

Soy vegetable oils and sugar are all best avoided for health. Soy is bad for thyroid function. Sugar can be substituted by Xylitol or Stevia both of which are beneficial, sweeteners are very bad especially aspartame. Natural food is best and the least tampered with the better.

I take some supplements ie vit C magnesium spray, B vits, calcium, Biotin (for hair loss) and a few herbs like hawthorn berry for the heart. I buy them from iherb who also do a gluten free food section where I recently bought some gluten free liquorice (it is good for the adrenals) and some lollies for treats. Their things are cheap and the postage is cheap too. Contact me for code.

rising_from_the_ashes

mozzy10 wrote: »

Just don't bother eating grain and dairy products anymore.

That's over simplifying things a lot.

You're very lucky in that since giving up wheat you can now have diary.

Trying to live on a balanced, healthy and affordable diet with no / very restricted diary (and yes I do realise that lactose comes in different forms but some people still can't tolerate it even once cooked etc), no wheat, very little veg (I also have Crohn's) is extremely difficult and I'm much luckier than some in that I'm not totally GF and can eat "normal" oats.

Yes, I can have potatoes and rice but would you want to have to alternate them and have them practically every other night?

Re having "hearty" soups without bread, again this depends on what you can put in them - tomatos are a def no, most other veg is out, as are beans and I'm not great with lentils.....

Please don't trivalise how difficult things can be.

HelenYorkshire

On my part, not meaning to trivialise anything

I do however agree that soya, vegetable seed oils are bad for people and can trigger further reactions. But you can get to the point where you're not "allowed" to eat anything and that must be enraging.

On a serious note, please do google "paleo diet". You may not agree with the concept, but in practice a lot of people are avoiding grains and dairy by choice, so there will be recipes.
http://www.chowstalker.com/ might give some ideas. "Whole 30" in this context is a dairy free, grain free, legume free etc "reset".

Yes, it will be relatively "meat heavy", but honestly I eat less quantity when I eat more meat, fish, fat, and vegetables than I do when I eat "fillers".

As an alternative cooking oil, don't be afraid of animal fat, or try coconut oil (sadly pricey and brands vary in taste).

I hope some of my suggestions help

rising_from_the_ashes

Having a bad day - must've eaten something I shouldn't have yesterday!:( (ETA: just had a thought about what I had for lunch ..... mmm that'll have done it)

I could probably manage OK if I was able to bulk meals out with loads of veg but as I can't have that either I really struggle.

I have (after many years) now got to a point where I can have a little wheat or say butter as a "one off" as long as I avoid it for the rest of the week. It doesn't do me a huge amount of good but I just struggle without doing this.

Helen thanks to the link to the website, will be having a trawl around that for some ideas.