Gluten free diet - advice?

[ClaireClaire]

Hello,

I was diagnosed coeliac a few months ago and have been on a gluten free diet, but as a busy working mum with 2 kids I am not finding the time to investigate my new eating options properly. I have a basic repertoire but I'm stuck on limited choices, and it's beginning to wear me down a bit.

Has anyone been through anything similar and can offer advice? Does some wonderful person exist who could come in and do me a lovely varied GF meal plan and do the grocery shopping? Someone who can home-cook and deliver me a nice GF meal, takeaway-style?? I know they are basic things and I really should be able to do them myself, but it doesn't seem to be happening. If it had been my child or my husband diagnosed coeliac, I'm sure I would be making the time to do this, but as it's myself, it just seems lower priority and the months are ticking by and I'm still eating Genius bread and boiled eggs for every other meal!!

Grateful for any tips.

Claire

[bumpy]

Hi Claire

These websites may or may not help if life is busy but they offer some receipe ideas if nothing else.

Not strickly for coeliac's but offers a great selection of vegetarian and mostly gluten free ideas - http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/

Slightly at a tangent this one but if you can face doing the juice fast it really does work wonders with helping the body to help itself and if not, again there's plenty of 'regular' food receipe ideas on here - http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/recipes/

If you wanted to know more about the juicing then watch this film - don't worry it's not a preachy guide on how to juice but more of a life story - http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

Good luck.

[emza78]

These guys make delicious gluten free food and will deliver for free

http://www.gloriousfodder.co.uk/home/4569775051

[OhmyED]

Have you joined fitter food group on Facebook? All recipes are gluten free.

[Howl]

Argh! Genius bread! No no no

Try the world food cafe books, lots there are gf

Rice noodles are your friend, and gf spaghetti is so much better than it was. Frittata is a really good thing to have I the fridge. Tbh I find breakfast hardest, I can't have most gf cereal because I'm soy intolerant and you'd be surprised what it turns up in.

Gf take away - pizza eXpress do gf, ganapati is pretty much gf, Thai is good (tends not to use soy sauce)

What's the hardest thing for you? Were you very wheat based?

I've been diagnosed since 2004 - if there was a cure tomorrow I wouldn't change my diet.

[dulwichgal]

You can get a free pack of advice sheets, food etc here http://www.juvela.co.uk/gluten-free-foods/

[edanna]

I'm not coeliac myself, but I think if you can manage it the easiest thing would be to get the whole family eating meals that just happen to be gluten free, at least some of the time - it must be a bit miserable to be having eggs and special bread while other people are eating normally. Rice-based dishes, for example, like kedgeree (having checked all the ingredients of course), risottos, sushi, noodle dishes with rice noodles, baked potatoes, curries (checking the sauce/paste or cooking from scratch and freezing ahead). If you have time to wade through a few cookery books there are bound to be dishes in each that don't contain gluten. And if you need quick stuff at home, it's worth looking at ready meals, especially rice based ones. Even though they may not be advertised as gluten free there are probably quite a few that don't contain gluten and European labelling rules mean that manufacturers have to declare gluten and certain other allergens. Coeliac UK also produce a very long and regularly updated list of gluten free foods. https://www.coeliac.org.uk/home/ Good luck!

[SLad]

also for a treat night Ollys at HH do a gluten free night with some of their yummy fish.

[bluesuperted]

Bumpy we are doing a version of Joe's juice fast and loving it. Would definitely be worth considering as we have replaced the vast majority of our breakfasts and lunches with veggie juices after seeing the film. We have varied, healthy, protein-filled dinner. But the breakfast and lunch thing doesn't feel a chore as we only had something barely decent anyway as always rushing and so feel way more satiated and well fed having juice instead. My husband and I both feel loads better and have noticeably less cravings post kids bedtime for biscuits, snacks and cakes (for me these bad habits have been exacerbated by years of pregnancy and breastfeeding). It's been a revelation! Husband suffered very badly from reflux and it's all but gone. We think there may be gluten issues at least for him but not totally sure.

Anyway highly recommend the film and website! As an aside I've lost nearly a stone (not the reason why I wanted to do it but a nice side effect) and apart from the physical juicing routine it's felt effortless.

[snowboarder]

I'm not coeliac but we have cut down on wheat and white carbs a lot, and get a lot of good recipes from paleo blogs and Facebook pages. Eat Drink Paleo is good, as well as PaleOMG.

[LuLu Too]

ClaireClaire

Presumably upon diagnosis you were referred to a Dietician and provided with specialist follow up? Are you getting your GF staples on prescription?

I was diagnosed in 1995 and found regular sessions with the Dietician invaluable as was The Coeliac Society. The range & availability of GF food and awareness of Coeliac Disease now is so much better than years ago.

As someone else advised, the best advice is to try to make your kitchen essentially gluten free, with the family eating GF meals as much as possible. It's fairly straightforward after a while.

Ask your GP for a referral to Dietetics at KCH.

[ClaireClaire]

Hello, thanks all for the replies. Yes, I have access to a dietitian who has taken me through the 'stuff to avoid' and given me some marketing bumpf ? though I still haven't sent off for my free samples and got myself sorted out with the GF food prescription.

Thanks for the tip on Glorious Fodder - that looks amazing. I think that's top of the list for the kind of help I need?. I know there are lots of blogs out there and GF recipes etc, I just do not have the headspace to research it. I am too busy looking after hubby + kids, and don't have time to look after myself basically!! So just to have access to a takeaway now and again would be a big help.

Know about Olly's in Herne Hill, thanks for that. Haven't tried it yet but do intend to.

Haven't tried any rice noodles yet.

I joined Coeliac UK as soon as I was diagnosed, which was about 4 months ago now - the electronic directory is fantastic.

I think it is the takeaways and convenience food that I'm missing the most? Coffee + croissant in the morning, or being able to walk into a pub/cafe/restaurant if I didn't feel like cooking. Finding something to eat when I'm out and about has been difficult. I've had a couple of salads at Pret, and a soup at Eat, but aside from that I've been relying on Nak'd bars.

I know I just need to put the time into sorting this out but I seem to have some sort of mental block against it. Maybe some sort of denial that I actually have to be GF for the rest of my life!!

Agree with the suggestion that maybe the best thing is to make the family meals generally GF. We have been doing that already to some extent.

Thanks for all the advice - :-)

Claire

[edanna]

Carluccio's do gluten free too.

[New Girl]

I don't have coeliac's but I do have quite severe IBS and have been told to cut out gluten and dairy and have done for about 5 years. It's not easy it first, in fact I lived on salads for the first 3 years. Fantastic for my waistline not so great for my bodies essential needs. There is now a plethora of gluten free choices and everyone seems to want to join the sans gluten bandwagon, coeliacs or not.

A good source of carb like foods are quinoa, amaranth grains, brown rice, rice noodles and gluten free pastas. Quinoa and amaranth (available in supermarkets, whole foods, or amazon) are cooked like rice - boil for 10-15 minutes possibly longer. Feel free to add spices, herbs, lemon juice or leave plain like couscous. Just drain and serve with salads, tagines, grilled fish or meat. Buckwheat is gluten free and you can make porridge out if this and flour is also available. Again look at amazon for this.

My favourite is courgette pasta. Cut thin strips out of your courgette, balance for a 90 seconds or so, or gently fry in a pan and serve with your favourite bolognaise sauce. As for flours you can have rice, buckwheat, quinoa and many more. I tried to make bread with rice flour and it was awful. If I find and perfect a decent recipe I will let you know. I have all kinds of recipes - cauliflower pizza base (yep you better believe it!), quinoa variations, salads, stews and much more. There is a lot of information and websites out there.

I could go on all night but I'll stop here. I hope that helps :)

[Howl]

Please share the cauliflower pizza base....

Pleeeez?

[SR]

I've heard that sodo pizza do their toppings on beans for folk on glutten free diet and that le querce do glutten free pasta if requested. Also honest burgers in brixton village do glutten free buns. We cook rice and fish dishes when glutten free friend comes. Vietnamese food has lots of rice and rice noodles if you are going out for diner. Good luck.

[EmilyE]

OH is coeliac and at home we're not entirely, but pretty much. It really is ok, and is getting easier and easier as more places do more stuff.

He says for being out Leon is all gf, pod is easy, even m and s now do gf sandwiches. Ocado has a gf meal deal at the mo.

We do mostly eat at home- cornflour/ doves farm gf flour mixes for flour replacement, and otherwise just normal!

Good luck.

[elliescott]

Pinterest is great for speciality diet ideas and recipes including gluten free. I am grain, dairy and refined sugar free and have no problem finding alternatives and new ways to plan meals. It definitely takes a bit of getting used to but becomes second nature eventually. Good luck!

[mcgowankim]

Hi there! Just to let anyone on here know who is interested I run Gluten Free Gathering - events that are entirely gluten free. NExt meet up is at Bird in Shoreditch for GF fried chicken! Please share with anyone you know who may be interested? http://www.glutenfreegathering.co.uk/

http://www.edibleexperiences.com/p/214832125/Gluten-Free-Gathering

[sallyfran]

For special diets of many descriptions, Tesco at Surrey Quays has the best selection of gluten free and dairy free of any local supermarket and also a huge selection of ingredients (different grains, oils, flours, herbs, spices etc.) from all over the world, which you might only find otherwise in delis or specialist shops at much higher prices. A bit surprising maybe, but it is quite unlike any other Tesco I know and a bit of a treasure trove (also good if you are looking for obscure ingredients in Yotam Otolenghi recipes!).

[kamath]

This is brilliant ! I have been coeliac for 11 years now and have had many ups and downs. All this information is great - thank you .