Being Gluten Free
What Is Gluten?
Eleven years ago we first found out that we had a wheat sensitivity, and heard the term "gluten free". Gluten is the protein in wheat. Its the gooey part of your bread dough that holds it together and makes it fluffy and light when it is cooked. Some people do not realize that white flour is made from wheat, and still contains the gluten. A wheat sensitivity is most commonly a sensitivity to the protein of the wheat, or the gluten.
Why We Went Wheat Free
Our lives centered on bread at that point in time. I prided myself on my baking ability. I took prizes in baking contests in grade school. I was the high schooler that always had freshly baked cookies in my locker to share with my friends. Potlucks brought people finding me to tell me how wonderful my cookies or breads were, and clamoring to get the recipe. My house was always filled with the smell of something in the oven. My daughter and I loved to make desert and quick breads for dinner that night, or to have ready for breakfast the next day. Our diet fit into the conventional food pyramid quite well, except that we always ate more fruits and vegetables than were required.
And then we learned that gluten was causing the depression and mood swings that my daughter and I both suffered from....
The End.. or A Beginning?
Does it mean the end of sandwiches?
But I love spaghetti!
Is it the end of cheese and crackers?
I believe the first reaction most people have when they realize that they need to remove gluten from their diet is to start listing off all the things that they can no longer have. We get used to our lives being a certain way, become accustomed to certain foods... even look forward to favorite treats. When you realize that those normal things are changing, we all feel a loss. It is almost like losing a close friend.
But you don't have to get stuck in that emotion. Embrace the change! Start looking for all the benefits you will receive! Start looking for all the familiar foods that you CAN still have. This will make your transition easier.
A New Perspective
When you start looking from this new perspective, you start to realize that life goes on, and you can still have most of your favorite food things. It might be a little bit harder to find them without gluten, but they are out there. And if they are not, you can probably find a gluten-free recipe for them!
There is rice bread out there, or you can learn to use alternatives like lettuce leaves as wraps. Spaghetti noodles are common in rice pasta brands, and easy to find online if not in your local store. Crackers are available made with rice flour, and even nut flour. We prefer the nut flour... we love Nut Thins!
I have put together a store of all of the things I have found on Amazon for all those who are new and overwhelmed by looking for gluten free foods. You can find it at Being Gluten Free.
Benefits of Being Gluten-Free
Everyone reacts slightly differently to gluten, just like anything else. Gluten is best known to cause depression. It also causes those spots some of you get on your teeth, and in extreme cases can cause teeth to simply decay and fall apart. Lesser known reactions are to the waistline... Somehow it doesn't put on any weight, but it can make the waistline expand almost instantaneously!
In Our House Being Gluten Free Means:
- No more depression.
- No more tooth pain, or crumbling teeth. It means spots on teeth stop spreading or developing.
- Fitting into the same size jeans I wore 17 years and 3 children ago.
- No more mood swings.
- Being able to play and laugh with my children.
- Clear and creative thinking.
What Do Milk And Wheat Have in Common?
Milk and wheat have nothing in common, right? One is a plant, and one comes from a cow. How could they have anything in common?
Dairy protein is almost identical in chemical structure to wheat gluten (the protein). It often causes similar responses in people with a gluten sensitivity. Dairy protein can often be the missing piece in trying ot eliminate gluten from your diet.
Use a good quality of any dairy products to avoid gluten reactions to it.
Our suggestions? We like to use Challenge butter when it is on sale. Although I avoid shopping at Wal-Mart, some of their house brand products are really pretty good. The Wal-Mart Unsalted Butter, in the blue box, is one of these! The Wal-Mart heavy whipping cream is among the best brands we have found too! If you live in Arizona, look for Shamrock Farms first...they have committed to no growth hormones, and take care of their cows. I talked at length with them to find out, and have visited their farms.
Cheese can often cause gluten like reactions. The chemical coloring seems to cause this, although I don't have facts to back that up. The various starch used to keep the shredded cheese separate also seems to be problematic. Look for a brand of cheese that uses annatto for coloring. For shredded cheese, potato starch seems to be the least problematic.
We have found the Kroger brand of cheese to be quite tasty, and not cause any reactions! Kroger brand can be found at Smith's Food and Drug, Kroger, Fry's and Fred C. Meyers. I am not familiar with any other Kroger store names, but there may be more.
Wal-mart has recently changed their house brand cheese to use annatto and potato starch. Don't take my word for it though, always read the label!
Recipes & More About Food Allergies
- Vita-Mix Solutions for Gluten Free Living
Find out how a Vita-Mix 5200 can help make your transition to a gluten free lifestyle a breeze. Get nutrition information, recipes, and more. Get free shipping through this special link. - Allergic To Everything
It's a running joke in my family that if you list all the allergies in our house, we cover ALL the food groups. When we are asked over to dinner, our hosts often regret their decision when they ask if we have... - Fat. The Myths, The Truth, and Why It Is Good
Over the last decade or longer, there has been so much in the news, and at the doctor's office, about how fat is bad, and low fat diets are good.Did anyone notice how many people started having trouble losing... - Cheap & Easy Parmesan Noodles
When I was little, I used to love my mom's spaghetti. I perfected the recipe to my own tastes when I moved out of the house. In between a gluten sensitivity kicking noodles out of the house, and my cooked... - Honey Fried Onions
Learning to be gluten free has been quite a journey, and one that we still travel on today. I am so glad of all the foods that are now available in a gluten free form. Years ago, there was nothing, and I... - Cheesy Rice Casserole
I have been trying to put together a collection of gluten free recipes that we enjoy in our house. When you are just learning to prepare and eat food without gluten in it, it is easy to be overwhelmed. Many...