Dh has been off wheat & dairy for a month...

[Aubrey]

& he's lost about 25lb. His skin is about 50% clearer, &...I *think* he's almost sort-of kind-of better focused.

 

I've read that it takes 6mos to get wheat out of your system, so we're still waiting to see what the full effects will be, but so far--wow.

 

A side benefit is that since he's fixing more food for himself, he tends to stay in the kitchen & cook for the rest of us, too. He's pretty great like that.

 

Yesterday I made gfcf chicken pot pie, incl cr of celery soup from scratch. I meant to taste it, but he's been so thrilled to have something starchy, he's eaten for almost every meal since, lol. I'm using a flour mix, but I think I'll try rice flour next.

 

Thanks everybody for all the great support & suggestions!

[Rich with Kids]

That's good to hear. I need to help dh and my oldest ds with this. I know they would benefit from taking several things out of their diet, but I'm lazy. There...I said it. With 7 people to feed in our house, it's quite daunting to think of how to change our food routine. You may have just inspired me, though. Stay tuned. :D

Edited April 4, 2009 by Rich with Kids
miss-typed inspired...couldn't let it go...

[Aubrey]

That's good to hear. I need to help dh and my oldest ds with this. I know they would benefit from taking several things out of their diet, but I'm lazy. There...I said it. With 7 people to feed in our house, it's quite daunting to think of how to change our food routine. You may have just inpsired me, though. Stay tuned. :D

 

If I'd had to do it *for* him, he'd be eating a sandwich today, lol. He's a real flint when it comes to dieting. Although, since he's allergic to wheat & dairy, he's not really treating this like a diet but like a lifestyle. I'm proud of him!

[brehon]

Aubrey, that's wonderful! I don't need to worry about wheat; but, I do have 2 kiddos who are extremely sensitive to dairy. How do you make cream of XXX soup? What do you use as the "cream"?

 

We've recently switched from soy milk/yogurt to rice and almond milks (not mixed together :tongue_smilie:) and coconut yogurt. Do you use your rice milk as a base for the cream?

 

Congrats to you and your dh!! It's lovely having a dh cook supper, isn't it? Mine tends to cook all our meals; I bake the breads, etc.

[Aubrey]

Aubrey, that's wonderful! I don't need to worry about wheat; but, I do have 2 kiddos who are extremely sensitive to dairy. How do you make cream of XXX soup? What do you use as the "cream"?

 

We've recently switched from soy milk/yogurt to rice and almond milks (not mixed together :tongue_smilie:) and coconut yogurt. Do you use your rice milk as a base for the cream?

 

Congrats to you and your dh!! It's lovely having a dh cook supper, isn't it? Mine tends to cook all our meals; I bake the breads, etc.

 

I'm going to try the cre of soup w/ rice milk, but a friend makes hers w/ equal parts fat & flour, plus chicken stock. I used crisco, some red mill flour, chicken stock, & celery. Dh said it tasted fine, but it's obviously very fatty. The recipe needs some tweaking. But it's a start. I figure fatty will kill him more slowly than allergic-ful will, so I've got time to tweak it, lol.

 

For the equivalent of just over 1 can of cr of soup, I used 1/2 a c of the flour + 1/2c of fat. It didn't come out very smooth, & I probably could have thinned that out even more to push it up to a can & a half or so. (I actually measured in an empty can.)

 

You'd probably have better luck if you've got experience w/ gravy. I don't. :lol:

[brehon]

I'm going to try the cre of soup w/ rice milk, but a friend makes hers w/ equal parts fat & flour, plus chicken stock. I used crisco, some red mill flour, chicken stock, & celery. Dh said it tasted fine, but it's obviously very fatty. The recipe needs some tweaking. But it's a start. I figure fatty will kill him more slowly than allergic-ful will, so I've got time to tweak it, lol.

 

For the equivalent of just over 1 can of cr of soup, I used 1/2 a c of the flour + 1/2c of fat. It didn't come out very smooth, & I probably could have thinned that out even more to push it up to a can & a half or so. (I actually measured in an empty can.)

 

You'd probably have better luck if you've got experience w/ gravy. I don't. :lol:

 

Great! Thanks for this. I'll have to try it out soon.

 

And comfort yourself that at least you're using Crisco and not lard!

[TraceyS/FL]

I dont know if you can get powdered stuff to use in this recipe instead of the powdered milk, but i've been happy with having it on hand as a mix instead of using cans of cream of soup. I keep it in a mason jar on the shelf.

 

http://busycooks.about.com/od/homemademixes/r/creamsoupmix.htm

 

Note, i don't have thyme or basil in there because i don't have any! LOL!!

[Wyndie]

Awesome!! We are gf (among other things) and we have seen great results with all the kids (and myself) with it. It's nice when you find something that works isn't it? :D

[Harriet Vane]

Aubrey, that's wonderful! I don't need to worry about wheat; but, I do have 2 kiddos who are extremely sensitive to dairy. How do you make cream of XXX soup? What do you use as the "cream"?

 

We've recently switched from soy milk/yogurt to rice and almond milks (not mixed together :tongue_smilie:) and coconut yogurt. Do you use your rice milk as a base for the cream?

 

Congrats to you and your dh!! It's lovely having a dh cook supper, isn't it? Mine tends to cook all our meals; I bake the breads, etc.

 

My son is lactose intolerant. Usually I just don't do cream-of anything, but I have found a few tricks that work.

 

You can make gravy using EarthBalance margarine (vegan) or any oil plus equal parts flour, plus chicken stock. I prefer using the margarine for gravy because of the taste, but have done fine with other oils as well.

 

You can also make gravy using chicken stock with a hefty dose of cornstarch (mixed first in cold water), then simmer down a long time to thicken.

 

When I make gravy in this manner, I almost always include onion, possibly some garlic or mushroom. I find that mushroom adds a richness to the gravy so that you don't want the cream as much.

 

If I am making a cream soup, I simply ladle out ds' portion first, THEN add the milk and/or cheese for the rest of us.

 

Another option is to add a pureed, cooked potato to the soup. The starch gives it a creamy feel.

 

If you choose to use rice or soy milk, use the non-sweetened kind with no vanilla added, otherwise your soup will taste weird.

 

Hope this helps.

[Harriet Vane]

:hurray:

 

I'm so glad your dh is doing better. Good for you and dh for making this big, big change!!!

 

Stay steady--if you have seen this much benefit already, you can trust that it will get better and better. Embrace this way of eating as a way of life, and enjoy the new man.

[gardening momma]

For a thickener for gravies, sauces (and probably soups, although I haven't tried it for that), you can use arrowroot starch instead of flour. I got mine from Penzeys Spices. I used it a lot when we were doing low carb.

[brehon]

My son is lactose intolerant. Usually I just don't do cream-of anything, but I have found a few tricks that work.

 

You can make gravy using EarthBalance margarine (vegan) or any oil plus equal parts flour, plus chicken stock. I prefer using the margarine for gravy because of the taste, but have done fine with other oils as well.

 

You can also make gravy using chicken stock with a hefty dose of cornstarch (mixed first in cold water), then simmer down a long time to thicken.

 

When I make gravy in this manner, I almost always include onion, possibly some garlic or mushroom. I find that mushroom adds a richness to the gravy so that you don't want the cream as much.

 

If I am making a cream soup, I simply ladle out ds' portion first, THEN add the milk and/or cheese for the rest of us.

 

Another option is to add a pureed, cooked potato to the soup. The starch gives it a creamy feel.

 

If you choose to use rice or soy milk, use the non-sweetened kind with no vanilla added, otherwise your soup will taste weird.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Strider,

 

Thank you very much for this! Of course, when I said cream of XXX, I probably should have written "cream" of XXX. I'll have to experiment with these. Dh and I figured out a way to make passable manicotti without using any dairy and I recently discovered that my kids can eat sheep's cheese. Having a workable "cream" base will really help. Thank you very much!