Wheat free

I know that quite a few on here are on wheat free diets.

Are you totally wheat free or can you manage small amounts? Do you miss it? How are you managing?

Any good tips or recipes?

I hate most of the wheat free foods that you buy. They taste so chemical and nasty that I am trying to choose foods that don't normally have wheat anyway. I miss decent bread most of all. Rice and spuds are my staples and porridge for breakfast.

I would like to have a go at making my own burgers and sausages. I have been told that you can use pollenta as a binder.

My attempts at falafel were a disaster. lol

oh, and recipes for wheat free cakes and bics appreciated if you have any to share that you know work.

Are you totally wheat/gluten free? If your'e not you could try spelt flour, this is a form of wheat but its one many wheat intolerant people can manage because its low in gluten. Spelt flour comes in wholemeal and white and can be used like normal flour and its fine in bread machines. Some bread machines have a gluten free program, I know panasonic ones do, gluten free bread need to worked very little or it goes hard. An important ingredient for making gluten free breads and pastries etc is xantham gum, this is a natural plant product that adds elasticity in a similar way that gluten does.

Do you use rice noodles?

Polenta is a good binder, but you will probably need to let a mixture sit for a bit so as it can absorb the liquid. I quite like polenta as a thing in itself. Do you use quinoa? I like it as an alternative to cous cous and things like that.

Tamari is like soya sauce and is gluten free.
Mrs Crimbles brand of cakes and biscuits are the best gluten free ones I've ever had, you'd never know if you wern't told that they're gluten free.
Marigold do a vegatable stock powder thats gluten free, its a really good quality product too.

I have a friend who is wheat free and I've made many cakes for her using a wheat free SR Flour from the supermarket. I usually use vitalite which is dairy free as well ( she has allergies to dairyas well!). I find that using an ordinary sponge recipe works really well and the cakes are nice and light. I've also made carrot cake and other recipes just substituting the flour. Not managed pastry yet .. it's always a bit 'short' and tends to be difficult to roll.

My health food shop does pasta made with other than wheat flour.

I always prefer my sausages full of meat and and buy ones that are 98% pork ... wheat free / dairy free/ gluten free. Can't remember the name off hand but it's 2 people's names and they're made in Harrogate! I'd take a look in the fridge, but I'm not at home right now!

Forgot to say that I used to make these wheat free cakes and take them to a group each week. Everyone loved them and no-one would believe they were wheat and dairy free.

I found a couple of independent wholefood shops in your area, theres one in Letchfield Garden City and another in St Albans, I've no idea how near to you they are, but they might be worth a visit. I know theres loads of good gluten free products out there, but many are only sold in independent wholefood shops. Most independents are happy to order stuff for you, so if you wanted to a bigger order once every couple of months it would be easy to arrange and then it would save if you had to travel, larger orders often get a discount too.

The sausages are Debbie and Andrew, Judance

I used them when I was doing "The Pig To Twig" diet

Just a quickie, I am off to see if the trains are running into London now.

Thanks both of you.

Thanks Judance. That gives me the confidence to try the cakes.

WH, I'm not celiac so gluten is not the problem. It is the sugars that I have trouble with. I can't absorb them. You can not avoid them as they are in everything, so you manage it by reducing the load and avoiding the things that have high levels or eating too much in one go. I am fructose and lactose intolerant, which means that fructans (wheat is very high) and sorbitol, xylitol etc are bad too. Any kind of processed food is out, because of high fructose corn syrup.

Since I cut out wheat 2 weeks ago, I feel like a new person. I permanently felt sick and I have got my brain back too. Fuzzy head and lethargy are classic symptoms apparently.
btw, in case anyone thinks that I have done this on a whim, I had a lot of help from the hospital in finding out what I should avoid, but not much help in what I could eat.

Sorry, don't want to waffle on too much about my digestive problems. I was more interested in finding out how other people manage it.

Yes, quinoa is good.

Some great ideas from both of you. Thank you.

I probably won't get back to this until tonight now.

Im trying for it... but not totally achieved it as yet

Have you looked at the South Beach Diet? Some of their recipes might suit you, from what I remember a lot of thats about excluding sugars from your diet.

How do you know you have a wheat intolrance and not a yeast intolerance?

I had the tests and for me its yeast! along with a well balanced diet, exercise is paramount!

It's a good point, pinks, but the fact that I can eat wheat free bread is a bit if a giveaway.

WTF? Wheat free? I hope it goes down well with your tofu.

Mike is off to google ' Pig to Twig Diet ' :o)

Mike

Pig to Twig?

oh crikey.

Dare I look?

Pig to twig? lol adds to the google load xx

Sadly I have had to start going wheat free in the last week... and milk free, soya free, nut free...

Not coping well! Just discovered that there is not even any chocolate that I can eat!!!

I understand that there is a great range of wheat free products available to celiacs, but not those who are allergic to wheat.

I will watch this thread with interests, could do with some tips!

Meant to say 'available on prescription'.

I choose to be wheat free as for some reason the lbs just fall off when I stop eating the stuff. Occaisionally though I DO get huge cravings for the stuff ... usually on bitterly cold days like today ... so I give in for the day, eat what I fancy ...and get back on the wagon the next morning.

I find giving up sugar far easier than giving up wheat!!

Burgers are easy, not sure about sausages! With burgers, get good quality mince and use an egg to bind. Youu can chop up almost anything, onions etc, chopped very small you can add them to the burgers. Delicious, better then anything you can buy.

Jo

DD, but presumably you only have to stick to it until you know what you can't eat?

I really struggled three years ago when I went through all the excluding. It's really tough, but once you have worked out what you can have, it gets better. I managed to identify most things, but only recently realised that wheat is a problem.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

Thanks for the tips about the cakes, Ju.
Will have a go when I have a bit more time.
Carol x

Try gram flour as a binder Minnie. It's made from chick peas, so entirely wheat free. It's the flour Indians use to make batter for those little bits of veg that are battered and deep fried and whose name completely escapes my ageing memory at the moment. You can probably use it to make crepes as well.

Barley is a really good carb filler to make a change from spuds. Cook in stock and use like rice. You can also get a couscous made from barley.

Wheat free pasta is disgusting no matter what cereal it's made from and really expensive. But Chinese rice noodles aren't too bad.

Thanks, maggi. I made the falafel failure with gram flour, but I wonder if I should have put a tiny bit of xanthan gum in too?

Are you thinking of okra for the Indian veg?

I think that I might be OK with barley. I had some pearl barley in some home made soup the other day. I don't know how I will react to a whole heap of the stuff though.

Actually, I thought that the pasta was OK, as long as it has a tasty sauce on it, but you are right about the ridiculous price.

wh, mentioned the noddles too, so I shall keep an eye out next time I am in the supermarket.

Brain back in gear again. Pakora is what I was thinking of Minnie. Bits of diff veg, dipped in the batter and deep fried. I tried the diff pastas a few years ago when I was on a detox diet. It just wasn't like eating pasta and I couldn't get on with it at all. Found it all left a nasty aftertaste.

I love barley and it's very easy to digest. Used to be given to invalids.

I've never tried making falafel from scratch. I must have a go as I love them. I cheat and buy a packet mix but have no idea if it has wheat in the ingredients.