5kidsforME Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I have been reading about the benefits of going gluten free. I have hypothyroid and the more I read about the connection with it, I realize I really need to do it. (At the very least try it.) Dh and I talked about it and we are going to have the whole family do it. Now, I am pregnant right now so I am going to talk to my OB but I am thinking maybe it is not the best time to start. I don't want to shock my body and have that affect (effect??) the baby negatively. So, right now I am doing my homework. I would like any input, sites, links etc. that you all recommend. I wish that I could find somewhere that lists things we CAN eat as opposed to all the things we CAN'T eat, iykwim. BUT I am happy with any info you can give me. Ok, give it to me!! :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) I'd start gently now, it's not going to shock your body if you take it slow. Some people have to go cold turkey, you obviously don't need or want to, so make the most of that and your transition will be easy, mine was. Just drop bread, wheat cereals and pasta from your diet and replace with other items. I know that dropping those things isn't quite that simple, but start with one, then the next, then the next etc. Find a GF breakfast cereal, I can't name brands sorry as they are all different here. For some of your lunches start having meats and salads or soups instead of sandwiches. Find a nice GF pasta and stop buying the gluten stuff. Once you have done that you can drop wraps, tortillas, cookies etc, one item at a time as you find an alternative food which may be a naturally GF alternative rather than a GF copy of a gluten product which IMHO is not the same and sometimes not worth the bother. Just do it bit by bit then it's easier on your body and easier to manage. You can start to search it out in sauces and condiments and look for alternatives that are GF, again, just do it gradually, if you need more soy sauce, buy GF tamari instead. Edited January 25, 2012 by keptwoman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 I'd start gently now, it's not going to shock your body if you take it slow. Some people have to go cold turkey, you obviously don't need or want to, so make the most of that and your transition will be easy, mine was. Just drop bread, wheat cereals and pasta from your diet and replace with other items. I know that dropping those things isn't quite that simple, but start with one, then the next, then the next etc. Find a GF breakfast cereal, I can't name brands sorry as they are all different here. For some of your lunches start having meats and salads or soups instead of sandwiches. Find a nice GF pasta and stop buying the gluten stuff. Once you have done that you can drop wraps, tortillas, cookies etc, one item at a time as you find an alternative food which may be a naturally GF alternative rather than a GF copy of a gluten product which IMHO is not the same and sometimes not worth the bother. Just do it bit by bit then it's easier on your body and easier to manage. You can start to search it out in sauces and condiments and look for alternatives that are GF, again, just do it gradually, if you need more soy sauce, buy GF tamari instead. Great advice!!! Thank you. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 My little guy developed a wheat allergy, and we decided we may as well go gluten free instead of just wheat free. Since it's an allergy, we went cold turkey as of a week and a half ago. Honestly, it hasn't seemed like much of a shock to my body at all. I've done Atkins/very low carb diets in the past, and my body has *hated* them. Even after I got through the supposedly hard first few weeks, I just didn't do well on them. Going GF hasn't given me any of the same problems. I don't really feel any better, but I wasn't feeling bad in the first place. We're just doing it to keep the house wheat free for the little one. As far as things to eat, it does seem overwhelming at first, but I've found it surprisingly workable. We're also egg and peanut free because of his allergies so that adds some complications. We've started out by trying to find foods that are normally GF instead of trying to find replacements for our favorite items with wheat in them. I read somewhere that you should give yourself a couple of months to forget what "real" bread, cookies, etc taste like before you try the GF options. ;) I felt pretty sorry for myself the first couple of days, so I eased the transition by making sure we had yummy GF treats in the house. I made Alton Brown's Indian style rice pudding, which is one of my favorite things, and baked oatmeal (GF oats) with chocolate chips. Chex cereal is gluten free, and that's been nice to have around for a snack. I'm planning on using the Chex to make puppy chow with Nutella instead of PB one of these weeks. Breakfasts were harder for me since we can't do eggs or peanuts, so we've been doing a lot of green smoothies. One thing that was surprising to me was how many salad dressings had gluten in them. It wasn't easy to find one! There are a ton of GF bloggers out there with great recipes to try. I don't have many recommendations yet since we're just starting out, but I've used Crockpot365 for a couple of years, and all of her recipes are GF. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 My little guy developed a wheat allergy, and we decided we may as well go gluten free instead of just wheat free. Since it's an allergy, we went cold turkey as of a week and a half ago. Honestly, it hasn't seemed like much of a shock to my body at all. I've done Atkins/very low carb diets in the past, and my body has *hated* them. Even after I got through the supposedly hard first few weeks, I just didn't do well on them. Going GF hasn't given me any of the same problems. I don't really feel any better, but I wasn't feeling bad in the first place. We're just doing it to keep the house wheat free for the little one. As far as things to eat, it does seem overwhelming at first, but I've found it surprisingly workable. We're also egg and peanut free because of his allergies so that adds some complications. We've started out by trying to find foods that are normally GF instead of trying to find replacements for our favorite items with wheat in them. I read somewhere that you should give yourself a couple of months to forget what "real" bread, cookies, etc taste like before you try the GF options. ;) I felt pretty sorry for myself the first couple of days, so I eased the transition by making sure we had yummy GF treats in the house. I made Alton Brown's Indian style rice pudding, which is one of my favorite things, and baked oatmeal (GF oats) with chocolate chips. Chex cereal is gluten free, and that's been nice to have around for a snack. I'm planning on using the Chex to make puppy chow with Nutella instead of PB one of these weeks. Breakfasts were harder for me since we can't do eggs or peanuts, so we've been doing a lot of green smoothies. One thing that was surprising to me was how many salad dressings had gluten in them. It wasn't easy to find one! There are a ton of GF bloggers out there with great recipes to try. I don't have many recommendations yet since we're just starting out, but I've used Crockpot365 for a couple of years, and all of her recipes are GF. Good luck! Thank you! I am saving the link to my favorites. I am already feeling sorry for myself. :tongue_smilie: If it makes me feel better it will be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We went gluten free the week after New Years. It's not that hard. Foods that are naturally gluten free are better for you anyway, and we still eat bread, pizza, cookies.... actually, we are eating more carbs now than we used to! :tongue_smilie: Potatoes, rice, fresh fruits and veggies are all naturally gluten free. Oatmeal is usually gluten free, but check the package to make sure there isn't cross contamination. If you have a Whole Foods anywhere close, (mine is a 45 minute drive- so I stock up!) they make a great sandwich bread that tastes like homemade. It's in the freezer section! I like this website for substitutions for any food allergies: http://www.livingwithout.com/resources/substitutions.html The only thing I haven't been able to find a good substitute for yet, is crackers. I did find a recipe for them though! Gluten free cereals: Chex (the cinnamon one makes a great snack), Post fruity and cocoa pebbles are gf, Kelloggs makes a gf rice krispies, and check store brand. Central market Honey nut toasted O's are gf.... I know there's more, but that's off the top of my head. Like Keptwoman said, start slow, and replace one thing at a time. Oh! and we discovered that pancakes made w/ gf flour were much more filling than regular, so we ate less. Bonus!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAmom Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 :bigear: Thinking about trying gf for a month (?) since I have bad upper swelling after eating and wondered if maybe it could be gluten related. I guess a list of do eat and don't eat would be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I don't think going GF while pregnant would be a problem. You can still eat other things like potatoes and rice. If you don't have to be super careful then it isn't hard. If you do have to be then that is another story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I was diagnosed with hashimotos thyroid disease 3 months into my current pregnancy. After doing some reading, I decided to give up gluten. I lost about 3 pounds the first week or two, since it meant a drastic reduction in my usual carb consumption, but I've totally adjusted and found lots of alternatives and I don't think it's had a negative impact on my pregnancy. Like someone else mentioned, there are great gf pasta options (check Trader Joe's), and for breakfast I eat a lot more eggs now and gf oatmeal. I also bake gf pumpkin or cranberry muffins to keep in the freezer for an occasional breakfast/coffee treat. Cornmeal pancakes are also tasty and very filling. Lunch was my hardest meal to get used to. I usually try to make sure there are some dinner leftovers for my lunch the next day and I've been on a big avocado kick lately, so much so that a friend bought me a big bag of them for my birthday and told me not to share them with the kids! You can go gf during pregnancy; I felt it was important enough to address my own health since my baby is so dependent upon it. You can always ease into it over a few weeks instead of going cold turkey, although I found the abrupt change really inspired me to find some great options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You can eat rice, potatoes, corn and oatmeal (just make sure the last two are certified gluten free.) I have found that brown rice pasta is a good substitute for regular pasta. Corn tortillas are good to stuff things in. Udi's gluten free bread is expensive, but really isn't bad when you really need bread for something. You can search online and find dozens of gluten-free recipes, but here is one of my favorite sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtrmlnlabs Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We went gluten free the week after New Years. It's not that hard. Foods that are naturally gluten free are better for you anyway, and we still eat bread, pizza, cookies.... actually, we are eating more carbs now than we used to! :tongue_smilie: The only thing I haven't been able to find a good substitute for yet, is crackers. I did find a recipe for them though! I'd love to see that cracker recipe!! I have been getting some at the store that aren't bad. Not much flavor, kinda dry, but with a cheese spread they're working. I just can't find a replacement for bread. I've been trying different recipes but they're all heavier than we'd prefer. DS8 won't eat any of it. Picky DS5 will eat all of it, go figure! And me, well, when we went to wheat bread about 2 years ago I pretty much cut out all bread so it's not bothering me too much. I don't see much of a shock to the system with going gf as to needing to do it slowly. The shock really just comes from seeing what you can't have and figuring out what you will be eating. It really is eating a lot more of the good things you should be eating anyway, fruits and veggies for us esp. I keep a bowl of veggies cut up on the island all day for munching on. For as finicky and eater as I am, and unfortunately DS5 is worse, I'm very surprised at the fact that I'm finding the pasta, crackers and pizza dough no issue at all for me, I actually like them! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret in GA Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I just wanted to add that for some reason I cannot tolerate gf oats and I'm not alone. Many celiacs and other gluten intolerants find their bodies respond negatively to anything with oats. Just wanted to caution you or anyone else out there about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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