Gluten free diet advice?

ElleEm

I have MS and have been encouraged to go on a gluten free diet as it is said to be beneficial for people with MS.
I love bread and pasta, so am anxious about starting on a gluten free diet.
How have those of you who have tried it coped?
Do you use the substitutes or avoid bread and pasta altogether?
How easy is it to follow a gluten free diet in relation to eating out and stuff?

Thanks in advance!

Red Cortina

I have a gluten free diet. I mostly eat meat, fish, eggs, veg and fruit but over Christmas I had some GF pudding and some other GF food as a treat. Generally speaking just from reading the labels of the GF foods, there seem to have a lot of additional extra ingredients that I don't think are a good idea to eat a lot of.
When I am eating out I will always ask the server what can be made for me that is gluten free. Also when my dish is brought out I will re-confirm with the server that that particular dish is GF.
I would recommend that you join the Coeliac Society of Ireland. They have lots of info on eating GF

bobwozhere

If you're in the Dublin area, I was reading page 14 of today's Sunday Business post and they were talking about Ireland's first pizza takeaway that offer gluten free food. Not sure if I can mention the name or not? (it's on Montague Street though)

Red Cortina

bobwozhere wrote: »

If you're in the Dublin area, I was reading page 14 of today's Sunday Business post and they were talking about Ireland's first pizza takeaway that offer gluten free food. Not sure if I can mention the name or not? (it's on Montague Street though)

Is that Credo's? The Coeliac Society of Ireland mention that place

kiddie

Try ur local health food store, u can have quinoa which is a grain to cook like rice, use stock and its yum. U can also have buckwheat, cornflour and millet, that makes a tasty porrridge. rice cakes are a great snack. Knorr do a Savoury Gravy (thats the name) that is GF. U can also get corn and rice and veg pasta in the health store. U can also get a perscription for GF food from ur doctor for ur local chemist. Good Luck with it!

uberwolf

Red Cortina wrote: »

Is that Credo's? The Coeliac Society of Ireland mention that place

it certainly is. I've been trying it lately due to the OH's gluten free status.

They take their pizza very seriously, and have a separate kitchen for gluten free. I can't recommend their regular pizza's highly enough, and they really take gluten free seriously. He was telling me that they are hoping to launch a few breads as well baked in house.

Marks & Spencers are pretty good on the gluten free side of things, and have been adapting some of their standard things to be gluten free. e.g. their sausages are now gluten free as they've changed the breadcrumb they use.

ElleEm

kiddie wrote: »

Try ur local health food store, u can have quinoa which is a grain to cook like rice, use stock and its yum. U can also have buckwheat, cornflour and millet, that makes a tasty porrridge. rice cakes are a great snack. Knorr do a Savoury Gravy (thats the name) that is GF. U can also get corn and rice and veg pasta in the health store. U can also get a perscription for GF food from ur doctor for ur local chemist. Good Luck with it!

So can I not have porridge oats or regular rice?
I thought bread, pasta, cakes and biccies were the things to avoid.
Are there other really obvious things I'm missing?

coffee to go

Elle,

You might want to check out this blog - Lots of helpful advice about what's safe (and tasty) to eat, and a growing collection of recipes:

http://glutenfreephotos.blogspot.com/

Rice is fine for coeliacs, but as for oats, you'll need to source specific gluten-free ones as the normal ones are usually contaminated with wheat and barley due to the growing and milling process. The 'Hale and Hearty' brand do some.

ElleEm

Thanks for that. There's obviously a lot to learn. I'm gonna indulge myself in lovely bread all week, and start afresh on Monday. I want to educate myself as much as possible before the change over, as I want it to be a longlasting change.

Thanks

Red Cortina

coffee to go wrote: »

Elle,

You might want to check out this blog - Lots of helpful advice about what's safe (and tasty) to eat, and a growing collection of recipes:

http://glutenfreephotos.blogspot.com/

Rice is fine for coeliacs, but as for oats, you'll need to source specific gluten-free ones as the normal ones are usually contaminated with wheat and barley due to the growing and milling process. The 'Hale and Hearty' brand do some.

That blog is great! Thanks for sharing the link:)

neuro-praxis

Most of the GF pastas taste grand, and the best bread that really tastes and smells and feels like bread is the brand Genius. Good luck!

Sapsorrow

:eek: Jesus if you've been told to go gluten free for your health don't go overdosing on it for a week! That's not a very healthy start even just psychologically. It's really not that big a deal giving it up with all the gluten-free franken foods available anyway! I gave up all cereals whether they contained gluten or not, now that was difficult.

Susie_Q

I've been on a wheat-free and sugar-free diet for a couple of weeks now and from one bread lover to another I will be honest, the first couple of days are hard. Bread is just so ridiculously convenient, it's hard to replace it initially.

The best advice I can give you is to be super organised. I make a daily (sometimes weekly) plan of what I will eat every day so that I don't find myself stuck for something when I'm starving. For example, for breakfast you could have scrambled eggs and gluten-free sausages (Hodgins ones are nice) or yogurt and fruit. Lunch could be any sort of salad you like or homemade soup. For dinner eat plenty of meat and vegetables.

You can eat very well without gluten, but it takes a bit of getting used to and more planning in advance. You can do it! Good luck.

ElleEm

Sapsorrow wrote: »

:eek: Jesus if you've been told to go gluten free for your health don't go overdosing on it for a week! That's not a very healthy start even just psychologically.

I don't mean that I'm gonna stuff myself silly with bread, I mean I'm gonna enjoy it while I can!
There are reports that say a gluten free diet is good for people with MS, and then there are others that say a balanced diet is best.
I'm actually gonna discuss it with my doc first, as I'm unsure now.
I think it's no harm to cut down anyway, as I like the evil white bread too

jdivision

This may help
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=69855747&postcount=4