Gluten free?

Tink_04

For medical reasons I have to go gluten and dairy free. I home cook from scratch so it's not a huge change but I'm struggling with stuff like staples I would have in - I have switched my stock cubes to knorr as they are gluten free but I'm struggling with other things and I refuse to buy 'special' gluten free stuff for 3x the price - doe anyone know any tips or places I can look as I just don't have the room in my shopping budget but need to be able to cook still?

Thanks

Linda32

Hi,

What are the things you are struggling with?

Have a look here

A few years ago I avoided milk in all forms because of IBS and found that supermarkets supply a list of items which happen to be milk free rather than sold as milk free and therefore cheaper!

Tink_04

Thanks it was stuff that I'd normally cook with likestore cupboard things - stock cubes - marmite - spices - and other little things that you don't realise you need to check? Maybe I'm just being OTT but I'm confused by ��

juliesname

Hi,

Check the labels on everything in your cupboards.

This link https://www.coeliac.org.uk/about-us/news/yeast-extract-update/ suggests that marmite isn't OK for coeliacs, so if you have been diagnosed with that perhaps marmite won't be on the menu, but different people have different degrees of wheat/gluten sensitivity (ie have a reaction but not clinically coeliac) so you may be ok with traces.

I tend to do a lot of tomato-based sauces and add spices/herbs, rice and pulses themselves are fine but sometimes have suspicious grains in so I check them over before cooking, sweetcorn is ok including as cornflour, maize and popcorn. Meat and 2 veg dinners are fine if you're careful with the gravy.

Most of the time all I buy specifically g-free is pasta twists, flour substitute and bread - for everything else I eat normal food but perhaps cook it a different way - eg cider vinegar rather than malt vinegar.

hth

Julie

firebubble

If you're just doing to it to see if you feel better, rather than for medical reasons, before shelling out for expensive GF equivalents of store cupboard items which only have traces of gluten, do two or three weeks cutting out the big offenders, bread and biscuits etc - if it will make any difference to how you feel, you'll feel it within two or three days, a week at most. Otherwise, going GF is not going to make a difference.

Manufacturers are obliged to list allergens in bold on their ingredient labels even if there is only the tiniest trace. If you're cutting it out for health (rather than medical) reasons, tiny traces won't make a difference, so just gradually use these up and then switch to GF versions.

To keep things cheap, don't try and keep your diet exactly the same but with GF products as you'll spend a fortune - my tip would be to steer your diet towards foods which are naturally GF, so meals based around potatoes, rice and lentils rather than pasta, salads rather than sandwiches, a cooked breakfast or porridge (oats are naturally GF but they often can't label themselves GF unless there is no chance that the oats have been contaminated with wheat, but for health reasons, it won't make a difference) rather than cereal.

Stay away from the 'free from' displays as often they charge a premium for things labelled GF which naturally don't have GF - such as tomato ketchup.

I found after a year or so of strict GF that I could have some gluten occassionally without too many issues, so I'm more relaxed about it now, but still wouldn't eat a gluten meal more frequently than weekly.

Dclutterchique

Tink_04 wrote: »

Thanks it was stuff that I'd normally cook with likestore cupboard things - stock cubes - marmite - spices - and other little things that you don't realise you need to check? Maybe I'm just being OTT but I'm confused by ��

Marmite, Bovril and Vegemite are all off the menu, but the Asda, Meridian, Morrison, Sainsbury and Tesco Yeast Extracts are all GF.

Stock Cubes - Bovril and Oxo are a no, but most (if not all) of Asda, Kallo, Knorr, Sainsbury, Tesco and Winiary stock cubes are GF, just check the ingredients listing to make sure.

Most unblended spices are GF. The blended ones are more likely to contain wheat (ie gluten).

If your reasons are long term or life long then it may be worth looking at becoming a member of Coeliac UK

Interestingly, the reason why a lot of people who are coeliac/gluten intolerant also have problems with diary is because the villi become flattened when 'glutened' and it is the tips of the villi that deal with the lactose in milk. For some people, if the villi haven't been too damaged, and are able to recover on a gluten and dairy free diet, (and a GF diet is kept to) they may be able to reintroduce dairy into their diet.

Floss

Also Asda is the best GF flour, both they and Aldi do GF bread mixes. I find Asda good for stores stuff (Worcestershire sauce for example) and Sainsbobs or Tesco for more "exotic" things. Spelt or pea pasta is now widely available too.

Life should be easy if you cook from scratch as once you have swapped things or know where to shop, you will soon adapt

juliesname

Please note that spelt, while lower in gluten than modern standard flour, isn't gluten-free and therefore isn't suitable for a coeliac, wheat-free or gluten-free diet. It does tend to be marketed as 'healthier' but please avoid it if you cannot have wheat or gluten.

There are pastas made with pea, lentil, rice, quinoa(spelling?), potato and maize, and they are fine if you want to buy an alternative - I'd recommend twists though as some shapes go very mushy when cooked!

hth

Julie.

Maitane

If it's Coeliacs, check if you'll be getting a prescription for certain things. It's a good time to change certain habits though - rather than just relying on bread (I did and still have a soft spot for lush sourdough) and pasta, it's not a bad idea to start looking at naturally gluten free options like vegetables, potatoes, salads, soups and the like.
Also, start checking labels - the value stock cubes I have in my cupboard don't have dairy and gluten in and are cheaper than Kallo.

Tink_04

Thanks everyone - it was discussed with my specialist nurse and she has recommended trying gluten and dairy free to help with my condition. I've said I'll try it for 3 months and keep a diary. I've been doing a week so far and feel a huge difference. I'm finding meals have been ok but stuff to snack on other than fruit or veg is getting a bit boring!

juliesname

Snacks - nuts, seeds, flapjack, some brands of dark chocolate, crisps (not Pringles), popcorn, meringue. Gluten-free and milk-free, not necessarily healthy!

Julie.