No gluten for me!

[MolsonGirl]

Well my doctor has dropped a bomb, apparently I may be intolerant to gluten... for those of you who don't know, gluten is a substance found mainly in wheat, but is used in soooooooooooooo many things... like chocolate...

So it looks like I'm totally turning my diet upside down and buying all sorts of expensive food that doesn't contain gluten...

If anyone has any tips or really good products please lemme know!!

[xanthuos]

My aunt actually has Celiac's disease, so you're not alone. I'll e-mail her for suggestions of places to buy from (although she's in NY, USA and of course, you're in Canada). I'll see about getting brand names that are perhaps also carried in Canada.

[Tadpole]

that sucks, what happens if you go ahead and eat gluton stuff anyway

[TERI]

That sucks MG. are you going to have to cut gluten out completely? i know that it would make eating out in a restaurant very very difficult. hopefully its not a severe allergy.

[Brookers13]

i housesit for a woman who cant eat gluten...she seems to have a ton of gluten free foods..i think it just takes some time getting used to! good luck with it!

[Diorama]

One of my bestfriends is allergic to gluten/wheat. Your lucky though now days it's much easier to buy gluten free foods. Her basic dishes are lots of salads, rice, eggs..You can get gluten free spaghetti etc..Unfotunately she had to give up beer! Just be inventive. Make a really good salad with avocado and sundried tomatoes etc...It takes awhile understanding what you can/cannot eat, but in the end you'll feel so much better and won't have a bloated tummy anymore!

[omisan]

Sorry to hear that Molson...

On the bright side, "Gluten Free" is now a very trendy sticker to tag on to food packaging, and even on restaurant menus. Not because it's a trendy diet, but because food companies are recognizing that people with gluten allergies make up a pretty sizeable part of the market. The gluten free products are now widely available at grocery stores (and even more so at health food stores) but if you can't find them, you can always get them online at places like http://www.glutenfreemall.com/

Something to keep in mind - especially as you said you need to work on strength for your aspiring cop thingamajig... Almost everyone I've known with gluten allergies has been stick thin and weaker than a cancer patient on chemo, largely because they avoided foods with glutens, but never substituted other foods to make up for the nutrition they were missing. So in order to maintain your strength and build once you've switched over to this new eating lifestyle, make sure you're getting a wide range of appropriate foods to get your proper nutrition.

Fortunately for you, low-gluten pasta can be pretty yummy

Oh - really sucky part - beer and whisky are pretty much no-nos You might have to change your name to ChardonnayGirl.

[expatben]

I'll ask my Mom about gluten free as she is as well. I know you can buy lots of things even gluten free bread and it tastes alright. As for beer, well yeah wheat beer is off but hey, do you like ales and stouts? Because I am pretty sure they are wheat free?
XPat

[Joker]

Hey MG, heads up:

Many things you eat in restaurants that are pan seared are typically dusted in flour prior to hitting the pan. Depending on the severity of your allergy, you may need to keep this in mind. Especially if you eat fish like sea bass or tuna.

As for the gluten allergy, rice is typically not excluded, which brings me to my next point: Much as this may pain you, Budweiser is brewed with rice as opposed to wheat. This removes much of the gluten in the beer. May be in fact easier for your system. If I am correct, then you should switch your name to BudGirl :D

If you dont mind me asking, how did you find out?

[kingcrazylegs]

That blows MG - hope you get it figured out