Gluten Free Newbie

idristhedragon

Hi
I have Crohns Disease and have just been advised by my Consultant to go Gluten Free.
I just wondered if I could pick the brains of any MSE'rs who have any experience of this/advice they could share! :beer:
Thank you

Edwardia

Hi there, I low carb so I eat a pretty low gluten diet myself. You'll find gluten free products in Sainsbury's, Tesco, ASDA, Waitrose and Morrisons in the Free From section and on Ocado too. Any search engine on the supermarket website will give you the ranges if you input 'gluten'. They are more expensive I'm afraid.

Because I low carb, I've read that in New Zealand a consultant called Dr Richard Gearry is having some good results with patients with Crohn's Disease by getting them on a low carb diet.

Suggest posting on health and you may find some advice on the low carb thread too, but be warned that very many of the people on there don't low carb properly because they are doing it temporarily to lose weight.

rlf1993

The first piece of advice I would give is to remember wheat free doesn't mean gluten free!

The gluten free ranges in the supermarket are much better now than in recent years, though still pricey. Potatoes and rice are gluten free, so you can try to base meals around them, which avoids having to buy the special products.

The only other tip would be to always check labels as products you might think would be safe can contain gluten, often as a thickener. Examples would be ready made pasta sauces, ketchup and even ice cream. So basically, just check the labels!

Hope this helps

redfox

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j.e.j.

From a money-saving point of view, the special gluten-free products like bread or cakes/biscuits, etc are really quite pricey. Did the consultant give you any dietary advice or did they just tell you to go gluten-free?

There are gluten-free flours available if you wanted to cook from scratch (I think Doves Farm do one), but it makes the dough or pastry, etc quite crumbly, so I guess it would take a little while to get used to cooking with it.

floss2

Have a look at Phil Vickery's gluten-free cookery books.

Marks & Spencer have a gluten free wheat free baked goods range, also Warburton's bakers have a similar range.

Speak to your GP and ask whether you can get anything on prescription - maybe a bulk box of a staple or something you can't manage without would be cheaper that way.

Blether

Main bit of advice I would give you would be to try and avoid products that are gluten substitutes as most of them are not very good. My diet consists of soups, salads and freshly cooked meals with lots of veg. It is a bit difficult getting used to but you will be eating a lot more healthily and it is cheaper as you are not buying any ready made.
Get out your recipe books and see what you can make that doesn't have any gluten. There are many meals that will be safe to eat. Avoid restaurants for a while until you know what you are doing.

pink_princess

I eat low carb too, try googling flax seed recipes.

They are a great replacement for flour. Raspberry cookies are yummy

trolleyrun

This website might help you as well:

http://wheat-free.org/all

Please bear in mind that not all wheat free products are gluten free.

It still takes me ages to do my shopping due to reading every label, but I go shopping when I have plenty of time. It can be frustrating to find that food items that technically shouldn't have gluten in them do, such as crisps in a tube (those famous "P" ones). I cook from scratch as I then know what's in my food.

Top tips: If you eat cereal, don't just buy it in the free-from aisle. Head to where the regular cereal is and read the labels. I found that Waitrose's Honey nut cornflakes are gluten free and much cheaper than "free-from" cereals. Use cornflour to thicken sauces or in meatballs/fishcakes.

Eating out can be a minefield, but don't be afraid to ask the waiter/ess if you're not sure. Awareness is increasing all the time