celiac, and not happy

goat2

anyone here with this ailment, i would be mighty glad if they could help with simple recipies
i did love my weetabix and cornflakes
also my multigrain brown bread in the mornings
any thing interesting i could have for breakfast,
i have just found out this week that i have the condition, after 4 yrs going to and fro, and suffering tiredness, headaches, aches and pains

looksee

Sorry you have got the coeliac problem goat2, but the main thing to remember is that now you will start feeling better, and that is worth the bit of inconvenience.

I'm no authority on coeliac recipes, but I gave up wheat and dairy years ago - I went back on wheat but gave it up again about 12 months ago, because I feel better without it. I know coeliac is more difficult than just wheat intolerance, but one suggestion I would make is, rather than always trying to find celiac versions of 'ordinary' food, try and find complete alternatives.

What ever you come up with as a 'filler' (ie bread alternative) try and have some with you when you are likely to be eating out. I eat oat cakes (I know they are not suitable for you) and take them with me so that I can order a salad and have something to go with it.

Odlums do a wheat free bread mix - wheat and gluten free - which is not expensive - multigrain bread mix. They say it is suitable for a coeliac diet. I sometimes throw a handful of pumpkin or sunflower seeds and some sultanas into it. I slice it as soon as it has cooled and freeze it so that I can take out a slice or two whenever I want it. (Freeze the slices loose then reassemble and bag so they do not stick together).

http://www.odlums.ie/index.php?page=wheat-free-quick-bread

About the corn flakes, you may find that they are ok for you - rice and corn can be ok, its worth asking about.

the beer revolu

I feel for you.

If you drink beer, then Dunnes do a Gluten free Estrella lager.

Specialist shops will probably do some alternatives to that too.

Also, you probably know this already but you have to watch out for things like soy sauce too.

goat2

great to see odlums do the flour, i am really new to all of this
can i still have my guinness, it is my favourite tipple
i did not realise soya was out of the question,
delighted with any help i get here

got up for breakfast this morning
could not have my usual multigrain toast and weetabix for brekkie
what will fill that gap

the beer revolu

goat2 wrote: »

can i still have my guinness, it is my favourite tipple

alas, no.
All beer will have gluten unless otherwise stated.
I'm afraid it's wine, cider, spirits of gluten free beer (which is usually lager) for you. Sorry.

Miaireland

It might be worth contacting the coeliac society of Ireland. I was told that they have a book that gives you details of all the products on the Irish market that is suitable for Coeliacs. Maybe you could get some ideas from that.

goat2

Miaireland wrote: »

It might be worth contacting the coeliac society of Ireland. I was told that they have a book that gives you details of all the products on the Irish market that is suitable for Coeliacs. Maybe you could get some ideas from that.

i would do that
but there is a better feedback from a person who has this ailment with some years and giving some very helpful everyday hints as to how they get by
nothing beats experience

i have just today used the odlums gluten free flour and put some sunflower seeds along with others and the bread was dam tasty, far tastier than that which i bought yestterday in shop

can one have oat bran for breakfast, or is that also a no no

the beer revolu

goat2 wrote: »

can one have oat bran for breakfast, or is that also a no no

There is stuff about that on the society web site.
I'm not coeliac btw so am not a great source of information - I just pick stuff up from talking to people

WanderingSoul

I'm (most likely) Coeliac (I've had bloods done [positive] but not a scope) and I've been off gluten for over a year at this stage.

The Coeliac Society: The best advice I can give you is to join the Coeliac Society. If you do you'll receive an booklet and a foodlist which lists all products sold in Ireland that have been tested in their labs and are gluten free. The foodlist will be so important, I don't leave the house without it.

Breakfast: Breakfast can be hard. Maybe try having cooked breakfasts, such as eggs, rashers . . . Bear in mind that gluten is put in sausages to bulk them up so you'll have to get gluten free ones. Be careful of oats, pure oats are gluten-free but the majority on the market would be cross-contaminated. If you get the foodlist from TCS it lists all the safe brands. With the oats you can make both a muesli and porridge. Gluten-free cornflakes are also readily available. You can try having fruit or smoothies for your breakfast or you could have yoghurt with sunflower seeds or such. Another alternative would be rice cakes.

Coming back to the oats, most, if not all ready made oat bran will not be safe (flour will have been added).

Cross-contamination: Even if a particular food is naturally gluten free it might not be safe if it came in contact with other foods. For example, Cadbury's Dairy Milk is not safe as the factory it's made in also handles wheat. As a result even though there's no wheat in the recipe there's wheat in the chocolate bar.

At home, to minimize cross-contamination wipe down all your kitchen counter-tops and your table frequently, put any gluten free bread in a separate bread bin to the normal bread, use a separate butter (crumbs) and so on.

Check Everything: It would be a good idea, after doing some research, to sit down and go through all your cupboards and see what you can and can't have. If you're living alone, throw everything unsafe out, if you're not, maybe use some labels (Safe/Not Safe) to make things easier. Also, when shopping (for the first while at least) bring a list with you of all the grains you can and can't eat*. This will make things a bit easier rather than trying to remember all of them from day 1 (you may get confused).

Eating Out: When you're eating out, it would be a good idea to bring a list with you naming all of the grains you can/cannot eat* to show the restaurant if necessary. Let your waiter know you're a coeliac and ask him to notify the kitchen and check what would be suitable/if something would be suitable. Be careful in Asian-style restaurants, normal soy sauce contains wheat though you can get gluten free versions. Be careful in chippers, make sure they don’t deep-fry gluten-free foods in the same oil used to fry breaded items.

Do Your Research: The more you learn, the less mistakes you'll make and the easier it'll be, which leads me nicely onto . . .

It Gets Easier: It is quite a change and it is a learning curve but it does get a lot easier after the first while. Symptoms start to go away, and it gets easier not to cave in and have whatever it is that you really shouldn't have.

Links:Here are some links which could be helpful:
Coeliac Society of Ireland
Coeliac Society of Ireland - Just Been Diagnosed
About.com:Coeliac Disease


That's all I can think of right now, if you (or anyone else) any questions let me know. I've two questions for you actually, if you don't mind, do you travel much (I was just thinking of airline food) and do you regularly take Christian Communion?


* I have a credit card sized one which you can get from the Coeliac Society for €2 (if I remember correctly) which they call their eating out card.

looksee

I was under the impression that oats had gluten in them, just not as much as wheat? Am I wrong about that? Just checked, yes apparently I am to some extent. You need to buy gluten free oats; the reason they can be contaminated is because sometimes oats and wheat can get mixed in the field, gluten free ones are grown further north than wheat can grow.

spaceylou

looksee wrote: »

I was under the impression that oats had gluten in them, just not as much as wheat? Am I wrong about that? Just checked, yes apparently I am to some extent. You need to buy gluten free oats; the reason they can be contaminated is because sometimes oats and wheat can get mixed in the field, gluten free ones are grown further north than wheat can grow.

Wow - now that is something I did not know!! To the OP - I feel for you, I really do, but it will get easier and you'll be a new person when the symptoms start to disappear!! I can eat gluten but I am allergic to tomatos of all things and when I gave them up it was such a difference. I still have to read the ingredients of everything and am sure restaurants think I am super fussy but its worth the effort!

For breakfasts there is a receipe floating around boards for oat pancakes, I am not sure of the link but essentially you wizz up oats (gluten free ones in your case), in the food processor with an egg and some milk and then use the batter like regular pancake batter. You can get adventurous and add things like seeds/cinnamon/berries or anything else you can think of - or you can keep it simple and just have them with honey.