SparkPoints: (1,146)
Fitness Minutes: (480)
Posts: 68
2/2/08 7:15 P

Oh sweetie, I completely understand. My daughter (4 yrs) and I are both gluten-intolerant, allergic to dairy (casein) and allergic to soy. In addition, I'm following Weight Watchers and my daughter isn't just a picky eater, she doesn't like to eat much of anything!

The best advice I can give is to:

1. Have some simple healthy snacks you don't have to "make" or "cook" in order to satisfy immediate hunger like peanuts, apples w/ peanut butter (Smart Balance is soy, dairy and gluten free), celery, raisins, pickles, sliced turkey and ham (wrapped around a pickle is great!), etc.

2. Be flexible about options for dinner and not so hard on yourself. For instance, last week TWICE I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner and just stopped by the grocery store and bought something on the fly. One day I bought scallops (I had never COOKED scallops ever before) and the second time I just happened to run across a sale on King Crab legs. (I bought 6 lbs and had never cooked crab!) A quick search on the internet revealed how easy scallops were to bake and the pre-cooked King Crab legs went from frozen to wonderful (even without dipping butter) within just a couple minutes in the microwave! Ahhhh. Also, remember you can FREEZE meats... so buy porkchops, chicken, fish, etc. and freeze it. Then, "making" something isn't as hard.

3. Reward yourself and your family with some simple desserts! For example, grate apple, heat in microwave with cinnamon, raisins and Splenda. I also use sugar-free jello with fruit -- or even applesauce as dessert.

4. Make a rule that what's for dinner is for dinner. Your husband needs to be understanding and so do children. I have gotten to the point with my daughter that she goes to bed without supper if she doesn't eat whatever I fix. It's worked! When she's hungry... she eats!

5. Try to cook one "new" meal a week... before you know it, you'll have lots of meals you feel comfortable preparing and shopping for! I love the internet. I just google something I have a taste for along with "gluten free" and I can usually find a recipe I have the ingredients for on hand.

Hope this helps!!

current weight: 179.0

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Posts: 67
2/2/08 6:02 P

I have been gluten free--on and off for 8 years. When I first started, it was tough....I mean really tough. My doctor put me on a four day rotation diet, which really helped. Options for starch are: potato, rice, corn, quinoa, buckwheat and a lot of other grains. It was through eating this way that I began to experiment with different foods. I am not sure where you live, but Amy's make a lot of gluten free prepared meals. Their Indian meals do not contain soy and they are filling. I also make batches of food and vacuum seal them to be quick portions for me. If you plan ahead of time you will be all set. I also make my favorite non-gf recipes and figure out how they can be worked over with substitutions.

It is really important that you are not bored with what you eat. One of my favorite quick meals is turkey chili with a baked sweet potato....delicious. I make stir-frys without soy sauce (soy sauce is not only full of soy...but is full of meat) on top of rice. Stir frys are also great for next day lunch. Make sure you don't feel deprived. I make lasagna with roasted vegetables as substitute for noodles. I make a ton of soups. Roasted turkey/or chicken with quinoa pilaf is so healthy.

Remember its not what you can't eat...its about eating what makes you feel healthy and good.

I hope this helps.

Good luck.

Posts: 21
2/2/08 4:53 P

thank you, what really makes me mad at myself sometimes is I've been celiac for years. And if I take the time to bake and cook I can do alright. But I keep putting everything else first.

Posts: 1,269
2/2/08 3:16 P

Bless your heart. I know just how you feel. I have just started GF this week. I have had to make adjustments everyday. I have been visiting Gluten free sites and ordered a book called Gluten free living for dummies. I have been using celery, apples even cheese as a replacement for bread. Take one day at a time. There is alot info here and support. Just hang in there. I know I feel better already.
Welcome to our team

LouLou

current weight: 235.0

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200

Posts: 21
2/2/08 1:54 P

One thing I would really love for this site to have is the option to select the pre-planned menu with GF as a condition. I don't know what to start with, I feel like I am eating nothing, but I know I am packing myself with corn chips, meat and fats because I don't have anything better GF around or don't have the time to prepare it. I finally found some frozen GF English muffins I like and adding a bread to my available foods I gained 5 lbs in a week!

I always feel like I barely have time to shove in some packaged stuff while cooking for my diabetic husband and dairy-free daughter! (And I need to be soy-free too!)

I really want to prepare healthy meals we can all eat, but my husband is even pickier than the 3 year-old and I don't have the time to research and plan and then shop for and prepare. If only I could find the research done and that great shopping list option!