Gluten free food

[gr8kids]

My test came back negative for coeliac disease so doc reckons I have allergy to gluten either way gluten is ruining my life. So I'm back off it now with the blood test over and looking forward to being painfree. Finding it really tough as I'm fairly new to eating gluten free. Need to try make my own cereals and meal without it costing me the earth. After all I need to feed the rest of the family besides feeding myself all gluten free food. Does anyone please know of budget/cheap gluten free products I can get in South West, UK? Or even online in UK? Desperate please....

bump

most shops - supermarkets- now sell gluten free products including mueslis, bread rolls and other stuff- Sainsbury's range is called Freedom ( or Free From??)

You can eat rice krispies, rice cakes, and possibly oats- they don't have gluten but people who are real coeliacs can't tolerate them usually.

I am gluten-free 90% of the time and eat gluten free bread from Waitrose- oat cakes, rice pasta, etc.

I think Doves Farm do mail order for bread mixes for gluten free diets but best check online.

Most health food stroes- even small ones- so gluten free things.

Whilst your blood test was negative you may still have gluten sensitivity (aka Coeliac disease)so you may be right in trying for gluten-free diet.
Coeliac disease is actually sensitivity to one of the main components of gluten, namely gliadin. This is found in the gluten of certain grains, especially wheat, rye and barley. But other grains, such as rice and maize, lack gliadin so you could substitue wheat-based products in your diet with products using rice or maize flour and see how you get on.
Also many gluten-free foods are available on prescription so ask your GP if they might be prepared to rpescribe them for you even without a definite diagnosis of coeliac disease.
Remember also there's no gluten in meat, seafood, dairy produce, fruit or vegetables so you can still enjoy a rich and varied diet. There are excellent gluten-free cookbooks out there (checkout Amazon).
I actually think we should all reduce our intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates (of which wheat-based products are a prime example) as it is more like that they are behind the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes in Western countries rather than fat.

I totally agree Hoomach
I avoid wheat but am not a coeliac and feel so much better since doing it
my mum is a coeliac. I would say get a breadmaker as you can make good gluten free bread
have things like eggs for breakfast
salads and stir frys good (get tamari instead of soy sauce and mix with agave nectar for good sauce)
eat more berries yoghurt seeds nuts cheese etc

Thank you everyone for your advice. Probably feels worse to me right now then it really is. Down day today. I'll be ok after a good nights sleep. By the way my mum doesn't have coeliac disease but she has crohns (stoma), ulcerative colisitis and osteoperosis. Don't know if this would have any link with my problem.

I too have a problem with gluten, but can't get prescriptions due to inconclusive tests. However food on prescription is fairly limited.

Like others have said it is worthwhile finding out what foods you already eat are gluten free ... meat, fish, dairy, fruit, rice, veg etc... and see what meals you can cook without having to replace lots of foods. Things like gluten free gravy etc can help you all eat the same, from supermarket "freefrom" sections. I find gluten free bread horrible, only have it as toast - but crackers are better. Gluten free pasta is good, but more expensive so only I have it, normal for everyone else.

Have you discovered "Genius" bread? You can get it in tesco and it takes (almost) like regular bread.

ooh - Genius bread, sounds good idea. Thanks.

I went Gluten Free and Lactose Free GF/LF about a year ago. Coeliacs often have lactose intolerance so replace milk with soya milk or use Lactofree milk that has had the lactose taken out.

Start the easy way with GF/LF food from Sainsbury and Holland & Barret. Sainbury have a Freefrom range whch is quite good but a bit expensive.

Bread I find Genius bread really dry and very expensive. I now make my own in a breadmaker and have moved on to cakes and biscuits now. You can buy gluten free flour from Holland & Barret. I have a Panasonic breadmaker that has a gluten free programme.

Also do remember that veg, meat, fish, nuts and eggs are all naturally gluten and lactose free. You ca eat rice and potato and maize (corn) without any trouble. I also discovered Quinoa recently as another staple.

Reality is I eat a better range of foods now than I ever did before. The thing I struggle with is pudding but have discovered soya custard, soya cream and also Swedish Glace ice cream at Sainsburys.

In restaurants I generally eat sorbet for pudding which is a bit of a downer but some restaurants do cater for coeliacs or will modify dishes a bit to miss things out.

One last thing is that a lot of foods annoyingly contain gluten like sausages and sauces and soups.

I think a key message for everyone (not just the gluten-sensitive among us) is, as much as possible, to buy fresh ingredients and cook from scratch. Believe me, as a single parent with 3 kids, it doesn't take long to get into it and it doesn't take as much time as you think and kids really appreciate it.

I have crohn's and my mother(as I said) is coeliac
All these auto immune things tend to be inherited I believe so yes there may be some link
I have been tested for coeliac but I think it can have an onset at any time tbh

find a way to get buckwheat pasta! The closest thing to normal pasta, has a good nutty kind of taste - rice pasta goes horrible and sticky.

I have a lot of oat based things - oat cakes, oat milk, etc - has gluten but less than wheat

and you COULD try spelt bread and pasta - spelt is an ancient type of wheat with less gluten. prob not good for actual coeliacs though.

generally gluten free bread is rubbish - tho gluten free crumpets (sainsbury's) taste almost like the real thing, and i recently found gluten free jaffa cakes in the lovely co-op!!!

I find that most of the gluten free breads are okay toasted or at least warmed through. I like Antoinette de Ville or something like that from Waitrose.

I'm not coeliac myself but I've heard that DS products are good.
You can get them in Asda in the UK, and Tesco in Republic of Ireland.
Their web site: www.dietaryspecials.co.uk/

I can confirm Genius bread (most supermarkets) is the best gf bread I have had - yes, expensive but you can freeze it so not to waste it.

I use rice and potatoes quite a lot - when cooking for all of us together. Home made sauces avoid gluten - as you can get gf soy and gf worcester sauce not too expensive from free from parts of supermarkets.

Might be worth seeing if the bigger named gf brands will send you free samples - I got an amazing box of stuff from Glutafin from their website!

I've a friend who is on a gluten free diet and she gets pretty much all her shopping from Goodness Direct. I think u can set it so all u see are the products that are flagged as gluten free, thereby saving a lot of time.