gluten intolerance/celiac ??

[HollyDay]

Oldest dd has had quite a few health concerns and we haven't been able to find a root cause.  Last week, her provider said he is convinced it is gluten and ran a blood test for celiac (?).  He said to go completely gluten free starting that very day and "see what happens" while we wait for the test.  Well after about 4 days her eczema is so much improved!!!  He skin texture is better than it has been in a long time.  She slept solidly last night for the first time in a long time.  She said the brain fog is much, much better.  The doctor said that no matter what the test shows (as it is not 100% accurate), given these positive changes, dd should be gluten free from now on. 

So, my first question is about products.  I am mostly gluten free but I do not eat sandwiches, pizza, english muffins,etc.  Dd wants gluten free option.  What products are out there?

Also, dd will be moving into a dorm soon.  Suggestions for how to manage gluten free while on a meal plan and living in a dorm?

 

[G5052]

My youngest and I had to go gluten-free in order to manage our IBS. It has made a significant difference for us. I can tolerate very small amounts of gluten from cross-contamination, but she cannot.

There are indeed products, but they are expensive. We like the breads from Schar, but we mostly eat fruits, vegetables, and safe grains like rice. We don't use baked good on a daily basis.

You are going to have to contact the college to see how they handle it. My oldest's college has a separate gluten-free/allergy line in the main cafeteria, but they don't handle that sort of thing at the satellite ones. One of my younger's friends is going off to a smaller school, and they do something similar with a separate kitchen for the gluten-free dishes.

[HollyDay]

7 minutes ago, G5052 said:

My youngest and I had to go gluten-free in order to manage our IBS. It has made a significant difference for us. I can tolerate very small amounts of gluten from cross-contamination, but she cannot.

There are indeed products, but they are expensive. We like the breads from Schar, but we mostly eat fruits, vegetables, and safe grains like rice. We don't use baked good on a daily basis.

You are going to have to contact the college to see how they handle it. My oldest's college has a separate gluten-free/allergy line in the main cafeteria, but they don't handle that sort of thing at the satellite ones. One of my younger's friends is going off to a smaller school, and they do something similar with a separate kitchen for the gluten-free dishes.

Good suggestion about asking the college.  I don't know how they do their dining/meal plans.  Dd will be in a apartment style dorm with a kitchen so that will help.  But, she still needs a meal plan. 

I too have found I can tolerate some cross contamination.  I can do oats but not sure yet about dd.  Doc wants her completely gluten free including anything that could be cross contamination until he sees her again

[Jean in Newcastle]

There is a huge difference between celiac levels of cross contamination and other levels.  We changed pans, cutting boards and the toaster oven because even a leftover crumb or residue could make dd very sick.  Celiac is an autoimmune problem - not an allergy- and causes the body to attack itself - esp. the intestines.  Your doctor's suggestion for her to go off of gluten before the testing was complete (including an intestinal biopsy if her ttg came back positive) is unusual and counterproductive to getting an accurate test.

Bread products are going to depend on what is available in your area.  Udi's is pretty widely available but isn't my favorite.  Trader Joe's has some good gluten free breads.  I also like a brand called "B Free".  Franz bakery also has some good gf breads. 

The college will have a plan that is safe for celiac students. 

[Kanin]

There are so many more GF products these days than 10 years ago. It's great! Many of them have strange ingredients, though, so I'd stick with the "least weird" versions of everything ? If she can have eggs, she can use a GF mix to make any baked goods, and they turn out really well. College food really depends on the college. I was at a relative's college graduation a few years ago, and their dining hall had a completely GF breakfast station (even with almondmilk), and the GF things were clearly labeled in the main areas. Their GF pans and utensils used for serving were a special color (neat!). They did have the disclaimer that they couldn't be 100% sure of cross contamination. If you DD really needs ZERO cross contamination, she might need to cook main dishes at home, and then have prepackaged things at school (cereal, milk, fruit , salad bar, etc.). 

 

[City Mouse]

My DS doesnt have Celiac(or at least tested negative) but he does experience rapid and unpleasant digestive symptoms when he eats gluten. I am sorry to say that he was 13yr old before we figured out the cause.

His favorite brands of bread products are Be Free and Schar, and Enjoy Life for sweet stuff. If you go to the Enjoy Life web site, they are selling a sample pack right now -10 items for $15- that would give her a chance to sample several things without having to buy full size products. I use a lot of Bob's Red Mill mixes because those are what I can get easily. 

If this near your area https://gfafexpo.com/ I would suggest trying it out. We drove 4hrs to Denver to attend and it was worth every penny and every minute. We came back with all kinds of samples and some really great coupons. The down side for us is that we will have to travel hours to get to cities where we can purchase many of these GF products. My DS had such a good time that we have penciled in the date for next year's expo in Denver. It was a lot of fin to see all the little kids so excited about haveing all the foods to sample- not to mention that there were several booths giving free samples of GF beer

[Mom-ninja.]

Schar breads are good as are 3 Bakers and Canyon. I agree that it was strange for the Dr. to recommend stopping gluten consumption before a biopsy had been done. 

[TrixieB]

Sandwiches:

Trader Joe's GF bread and bagels

Mission GF tortillas

Udi's bread

Franz bread

 

Baking:

Namaste flour blend (Costco, 5lb bag is around $13).  Disclaimer: I have not tried making loaf-type yeast bread with it.  We use it for quick breads, pie crust, cookies, brownies, etc.

Pillsbury Funfetti GF cake mix

 

Pasta:

I like Bionaturae best.  Tinkayada lasagna noodles act just like regular no-bake noodles.  Tinkada shells or Trader Joe's rotini (both are rice noodles) work great in tuna casserole.  Pacific Foods has GF cream of mushroom soup in an aseptic carton.

 

Trader's Joe's GF pancake mix is good and quick to make.

Milton's crackers are good.  A lot of GF crackers are crunchy rice but these are more like regular crackers.  Breton has some regular type crackers too.  Glutino makes table crackers which are similar to saltines.

And... Glutino frosted toaster pastries...

 

[HollyDay]

Jean, interesting what you said about autoimmune. 

[73349]

King Arthur Flour has a lot of decent gf mixes and recipes to get you started.

I like the America's Test Kitchen gf cookbooks. (Brownies? Don't mind if I do! And Brazilian cheesy bread is super easy.)

The Siete brand almond flour tortillas are a good substitute for bread. We like the Late July brand of tortilla chips.

I agree with asking the college. One young woman I know was exempted from having to participate in the school's dining plan even when living in an on-campus apartment because they couldn't be sure about cross-contamination (she needs to be gf and also is allergic to something).

Here's a kitchen conversion checklist if you want to make sure there's no gluten lingering anywhere.

Two free apps you might like: Find Me Gluten Free (safe restaurants near your location) and the Gluten Free Scanner (database of bar codes so you don't have to read every blessed box to make sure something doesn't have barley in it).

[The Governess]

My favorite baking mix is Pamela's.  Makes great pancakes, muffins, scones, cookies, etc.  

You can buy GF oats.  

I don't like many GF bread products. The bagels from TJ's are decent if they are toasted. Milton's makes pretty great GF crackers.  

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

The barilla gluten free pasta is excellent.  My son will eat most any gluten free product, but the Schar ones are particularly good.  I use the Schar baking mix any time I need a flour sub.  I do not recommend falling into the black hole of making your own flour mixes and trying insanely complicated recipes from food bloggers.  Not worth the investment IMO, just use a general purpose baking mix and go with it.  Two good cookbooks are the America's Test Kitchen Can't Believe It's Gluten Free I and II.  I do not make their flour, I just use the Schar mix, but I'm sure any of the mixes mentioned above would also do.  We particularly love the chewy sugar cookies and the lemon tart, both found in book 1.  Both of those will stand up to the taste test for gluten-eating people as well.  

As time goes, we simply have moved away from the need for as much processed food and we rely more heavily on eggs for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, meat-veg-starch type dinner.  In the freezer I do keep GF chicken nuggets and fish sticks for when the leftovers won't stretch.  GF crackers are also a great bread alternative and the texture is MUCH more satisfying than GF bread texture.  Use them to scoop tuna salad or for cheese and lunch meat and similar.  When making substitutes, remember a strong flavor really helps to cover the weird GF flour taste.  Think chocolate cakes/muffins, crustless cheesecakes, lemon flavored things, etc.  I love recipes using almond flour for desserts as well.  

Your DD is old enough to start working on her own research for college (I say this because- if she's not personally invested, she'll lose motivation to keep to the diet).  I really suggest she look into paleo and primal eating styles, as these are much more about what you CAN eat and how it's going to make you feel awesome, rather than about trying to reconfigure a diet through the restriction lens.  You can help her to stock up on GF shelf stable items such as canned soups, crackers, granolas, beef jerky (check labels carefully here), tuna packets, etc.  You'll have to call the school dining hall to see what kinds of things are available for allergies, but I'm guessing they have options considering the prevalence of allergies these days.  My Uni had a salad bar open every single day which is a good base to build from.  

Gluten Free is surprisingly do-able IMO.  Even if she occasionally has to order a bun-less burger and McDonald's or ask for her sandwich without the bread at Panera because she's out with friends and they choose a place without many options.  My son eats bun-less burgers probably 80% of the times we go to a restaurant because no matter the restaurant, there's almost always a burger on the menu somewhere.  Being assertive in a restaurant is by far the hardest aspect for me, but we eat from home the grand majority of the time so it's not a big deal overall.  

I'm so glad she is improving, it must be a relief for her to see symptom improvement.  My mom has had plaguing health issues for her whole life and recently went GF/DF and now feels like a whole new person, so it's never too late!  

 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

1 hour ago, lovelearnandlive said:

My favorite baking mix is Pamela's.  Makes great pancakes, muffins, scones, cookies, etc.  

You can buy GF oats.  

I don't like many GF bread products. The bagels from TJ's are decent if they are toasted. Milton's makes pretty great GF crackers.  

 

I second the Milton's crackers.  Crispy Sea Salt are delicious!!!

[gingersmom]

My daughter just finished her third year of college, gluten free. She had a kitchen for the last two years, but does not cook very much. She mainly makes box gf Mac cheese, gf cookie mix and roasted chickpeas.

Her school serves a limited amount of food she can eat. She eats rice bowls, gf pizza and gf pancakes and lots and lots of sushi (new addition this year)

Shes not a fan of most gf breads so has eaten hamburgers/hotdogs bun less for years. 

Some restaurants she just stopped eating at while others like our local subway just got gluten free rolls that are quite tasty. 

Her friends are good about choosing restaurants she can eat at and she always looks at menu beforehand.

its been surprising how many places continue to introduce gluten free options.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Schar bread

Barilla pasta

Glutino's chocolate chip cookies

GF pretzels I think taste better than regular

Freschetta frozen GF  pizza

My DH is Celiac and one of my twin boys is at least gluten intolerant. You have to be careful with shared peanut butter and jelly jars because of double dipping and cross contamination from the knife.  Toasters, cutting boards, butter etc..

The blood tests are often false negatives so you can't go by them.  DH had a false negative but is extremely sensitive to gluten.