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My family has been gluten free for over a year now, with additional egg-free restrictions for the initial nine months. There is a dirth of awareness in our community, and it has been difficult to keep up with looking for recipes that fit our lifestyle and our needs. Is anyone interested in a post dedicated to gluten-free and/or egg-free recipes and ideas
just wondering, is there any reason why your family is gluten free
Steak has no gluten. Beer does, though. Too bad about the beer – otherwise, I might’ve joined you 🙂
is a person born with a defficiency to digest it? or do they develope it?
another in the plethora of mishagosim so prevalent in the self obsessed overindulgent culture of america
Check out http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com for links to gluten-free recipes. The diet’s pretty extreme (it’s the “Crohn’s Diet”) but you may get some ideas.
To Feivel: ???
feivel: Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. When I eat properly, which I hope to resume son, I feel soooooo much better. And amazing things happen to my bp.
another in the plethora of mishagosim so prevalent in the self obsessed overindulgent culture of america
Yeah. My wife’s aunt is *highly* allergic to gluten. If she eats it, she could die.
The ability to eat and not die… just another in the plethora of mishagosim…
The Wolf
Celiac Disease is a mishagos? Do you know anyone that suffers from it?
Feivel, why do you say that? Some people are allergic to gluten (and/or eggs).
Some families go without a given food if one member (especially a child) is allergic to it–it makes it easier for the individual to comply.
Ir why don’t you check in amazon if they have any cookbooks, even if they are not religious I’m sure you can adapt them to cook kosher.
ir, I would be interested in gluten-free recipes. My oldest child was diagnosed with celiac 8 years ago & has been gluten-free since. The rest of us do eat gluten though.
feivel, as other posters have noted, celiac disease is not an “American mishagos”. Celiac symptoms were first observed almost two thousand years ago, but the definitive link between wheat (and other grains) and celiac was first noted during the Dutch famine of 1944. And believe me, if you’d ever attempted to follow a gluten-free diet, you’d quickly realize there is nothing “indulgent” about it.
celiac disease is real but uncommon and frequently misdiagnosed
gluten allergies are rare and way overdiagnosed
there is a large grassroots “knowledge base” that gluten is in general harmful to everyone, as well as a whole list of other “harmful” elements, based on nothing but hype and hearsay, poor science and misinformation, and supported and encouraged by anecdotes of cognitive dissonance, and fed by a milieu, (as i said) of self obsession possible only in a sick, opulent, corpulent society.
feivel, just for your information, the correct term is “gluten intolerance”, not “gluten allergy”. If someone with celiac disease eats wheat, barley, spelt, or rye (or derivatives of these), the villi in the small intestine are damaged, causing malabsorption of nutrients. This is what causes the intestinal symptoms, poor growth/ weight loss, and other symptoms (including infertility & osteoperosis) associated with celiac disease.
Celiac disease is screened for using an antibody test & confirmed through an endoscopy to check for the intestinal damage associated with gluten consumption in celiacs. Based on screenings, 1 in 150 Americans are thought to have celiac disease.
I’ve read a lot about celiac disease & gluten-free diets, and have not encountered any “grassroots knowledge base” that believes gluten is harmful for everyone. This doesn’t even make sense, since the four gluten-containing grains are a basic part of most diets.
There are lots of people who experience various intestinal symptoms & attribute these to gluten intolerance. Also, there are those who believe that autistic symptoms can be cured by following a gluten-free diet. Personally I don’t think there’s medical evidence for the latter (unless the autistic child also has celiac), but I don’t think that parents desperate to find a way to help an autistic child are “sick, opulent, or corpulent”.
Also, I’d like to reiterate that there is nothing “indulgent” or “self-obsessed” about having to tell a 4-year-old that she’ll can’t eat her favorite cereal anymore, or telling a 6-year-old that she can’t eat the birthday cake at her friend’s party.
ir, have you tried the cookbooks of Betty Hagman? Also, many pesach cookbooks have recipes that can be adapted, though you’d probably have to use egg replacer (I don’t have personal experience with this).
Do you have any prepared products that you like? I am always on the lookout for new ones. I just discovered a new line of gluten-free mixes from Betty Crocker; unlike the regular products in the line, these are pareve.
What recipes do you use?
ir, my daughter really liked the Betty Crocker cookies. I haven’t made the cakes or brownies yet. They do call for eggs so you would need to substitute for those.
Do you use oats? If so, there is oat matza/ matza meal & oat flour available (Rabbi Kestenbaum). We do use oats because my daughter’s GI said it was all right, & her TTGs (she gets the blood test every 6 months or so) have been fine since a year after her diagnosis.
I’d be most interested in simple recipes/ substitutions or tips about gluten-free (GF) products you’ve tried & liked. I use mixes/ prepared products for most of her food, since the rest of my family is not GF. My daughter really likes Tinkyada brown rice pasta–it doesn’t collapse into a gelatinous mass as many GF pastas do.
We also stock up on non-gebrochts products around pesach time, and I look for pesach items on clearance afterwards. One aspect of pesach that I really love is that it’s the one time of year we can all easily adhere to a GF diet by eating non-Gebrochts (except for matza of course).
ir- Spelt Grain is a known substitute for people who Gluton Intolerent. Millet, Amararanth, and Quinoa are also delicious alternatives for people who are GI. Flax Seed (Linseed Oil) is an egg replacer high in Omega oils.
ir, I’m not sure about how to obtain oat flour; I once saw it in someone’s house but don’t buy it myself, since my daughter eats the oat matza all year round. Rabbi Kestenbaum’s website is http://www.glutenfreeoatmatzas.com so you may want to contact him.
I also like Arrowhead & Bob’s Red Mill products. Thanks for the tip about Trader Joe’s pasta. Where do you buy bean flour for the flour mix you described? Do you just substitute that mix for regular flour, or do you add any other ingredients ike xantham gum?
If you remember the name of the GF wrap, please let me know. I’ve never found one. My daughter likes corn tortillas, but they tend to be brittle at room temperature.
I usually buy bread for my daughter instead of baking my own. She likes ener-g bread & rolls. That walrus bread sounds great though.
yankdownunder, spelt is not gluten-free, though it may be a suitable substitute for those with wheat allergies.
squeak, I’ve read about GF beer made from corn.
anon, let me know when you’ve tasted some, and give me your opinion 🙂
feivel, just for your information, the correct term is “gluten intolerance”, not “gluten allergy”.
yes anon
i was responding to starwolfs post above mine, stating gluten allergies. there are common claims of gluten allergies as well as the separate and proven gluten intolerance, (which is not completely understood by the way and some believe is in itself partly allergen-antigen mediated)
Just a financial FYI, you should save your receipts for your gluten foods. You MAY (depending on your state and amount spent) be able to deduct the difference between the regular food and gluten-free food.
For Federal tax purposes your medical expenses have to be above 7% of gross income, and NY I believe is the same. In NJ, your medical expenses have to be 2% of gross income (much more doable) and then you can start itemizing your medical expenses.
If you can keep track of that, methinks you should be able to keep track of use tax just as well.
squeak, I don’t know if any of them are kosher. Luckily my daughter is nowhere near 21 yet.
feivel, I’ve read a lot about gluten-free diets & talked to a lot of people about them. I’ve yet to encounter anyone who thinks there is a “gluten allergy” separate from gluten intolerance (though many of those who don’t know much about celiac disease do describe it as an allergy). Very few people would go on a gluten-free diet on a whim or due to “indulgence” or “opulence”. Really there are few diets less indulgent or opulent than a GF diet, especially for someone who’s already eating kosher. I know I posted this point before but I’d repeat myself eighty times because a GF diet is difficult enough; no celiac should have to deal with ignorant or condescending attitudes besides.
truthsharer, thanks for pointing that out. For those with health spending accounts, many plans allow one to use account funds toward the purchase of gluten-free foods, even if they don’t equal 2% or 7% of income.
anyone have a HaMotzi challa recipe that tastes good?? i’ve been using an oat/rice/starch mix and have tried applesauce, cinnamon to diguise the taste of the oats but still not happy with the results…i am looking for a texture that feels like bread and would really appreaciate any tips!
BTW, as far gluten free being some new idea on nutrition advisable for e/o (feivel) the book gluten free for dummies does advocate this diet for e/o and has a whole theory derived from apikorsus about why grains are bad for everyone…i did wonder who would want to try this diet if they didn’t have to!
the book “Gluten Free for Dummies” does advocate this diet for everyone and has a whole theory…why grains are bad for everyone
exactly what i am referring to.
i would love the recipe with eggs…thanks!
ir, thanks for the recipe. Since I only have one family member who is GF, & everyone else eats gluten, I do prefer easy recipes/ mixes, and I often buy ready-made products. She usually has oatmeal or french toast for breakfast (I use Ener-G rice bread), but I’ll keep the pancake recipe in mind to use when I have more time to cook.
Was the transition to GF difficult for your family? Or were they more accepting because they knew a GF diet helped them feel better? My dd never had any GI symptoms, but she has been GF for 2/3 of her life & is generally very accepting of the diet. I try to find as many “mainstream” foods as possible that she can eat, even if they are not healthful (our “shabbos cereal” is Fruity Pebbles, since this is one of the few cereal that contains no wheat or barley malt). Also. we do eat cholov stam so she has more food options than otherwise.
ir, that must have been difficult. It sounds like some of your children don’t need a GF diet. Do they eat gluten outside the home?
A gluten-free diet for all of us simply wasn’t practical–my other children would’ve had a very difficult time with it, and most of them don’t eat enough anyway, so restricting their diets to GF food would not have been healthy. It sounds like it worked out wonderfully for your family though. Kol Hakavod!
ir, my situation really is different form yours, in that my daughter has no GI symptoms (she didn’t even gain much weight on a GF diet though her TTGs improved), so the GF diet is not self-reinforcing for her at all. That’s why I try to make the GF diet easier for her by showing her that for most cakes, cookies, etc there are tasty GF equivalents out there. She is very conscientious about avoiding gluten away from home but I want her to feel she has plenty of choices at home.
I think the gluten- free diets are just another fad like the Atkins diet. This doesn’t mean that there are no purposes for these diets, just most people who do it are doing it for the fad. Even the antibodies against gluten doesn’t make the diagnosis, you actually need a small bowel biopsy. Just most clinicians will tell you -go on the diet if you have the antibodies because most people aren’t going for a biopsy. I haven’t seen any articles that say that IBS and Celiac disease are related. If you have any Journal articles (real science) please post. Most people believe that IBS is a psychological disorder. The latest research in IBS- postulates that it might be caused by bacterial overgrowth in the gut, but this has not yet been proven.
Health, thanks for sharing your opinion. My daughter did indeed have an endoscopy which confirmed a diagnosis of celiac disease. I would not have committed her to a such a restrictive lifetime diet otherwise (and her physician would not have advocated doing so either), especially because she experienced no GI symptoms.
That said, if people do experience relief from IBS symptoms on a GF diet, I would not tell them to stop, even without a diagnosis of celiac disease. It’s possible their is link between gluten (or a similar substance) and celiac, and that this link is not well-understood. For years scientists thought chronic fatigue syndrome was psychosomatic; new research links it to the XMLV virus, which is associated with prostate cancer.
I’ve never met anyone who committed to a GF diet because it’s a “fad”. According to Dr. Alessio Fasano, about 1% of Americans have celiac disease.
To anon. for this,
I give you credit for only doing this diet due to disease. I googled gluten free diet -fad and within 30 seconds I found this article from the USA today – “By Kim Painter, USA TODAY
Meet the latest dietary bad boy: gluten.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It causes some people serious health problems. But those people don’t seem to be the only ones buying the gluten-free beer and brownies suddenly for sale everywhere. Consider:
“There is a fad aspect,” says Kupper, who also is a registered dietitian. (Both Kupper and Sandquist have celiac disease.)
What can possibly be behind a fad that has college kids giving up pizza and bagels?
“If you say ‘Gluten and I do not agree,’ you may be right,” Fasano says.
But many gluten shunners may have no real trouble with gluten, Sandquist says. Instead, they feel better because they consume fewer fast and processed foods, which tend to contain gluten. “They are eating more fruits and vegetables,” she says, which is a good thing.
Another good thing: The trend has produced more gluten-free versions of foods the truly intolerant would otherwise have to give up.
But there are downsides:
Dietitians increasingly advise true sufferers to limit such substitutes and instead follow a “naturally gluten-free diet,” Kupper says.”
This article is exactly what I’m talking about. Also, I would NOT recommend this diet for IBS. IBS should probably be treated with anti-anxiety agents such as SSRI’s, psychotherapy and Acidofilus. There are also new meds on the market for certain types of IBS.
IR- i would be interested in a blog for gluten free ideas…and i know of a good Challah put out by Heaven Mills. Heated up, it tastes great!
Where do you buy Heaven Mills products? Are the challahs made with oats?
for all of you out there that are on a GF diet-do any of you NOT eat the special oats (grown seperately)?
Thanks for the info ir. I did not know there was hamotzi GF bread available. My daughter does eat Katz’s products though (the pizza crusts are very convenient).
There’s a pizza shop in Manhattan that started making GF pizza! It’s great! -a little costly though 🙁
IR, if someone’s dealing with Crohn’s or colitis they probably should take it a step further and look into the specific carbohydrate diet, and the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. (There’s a dot com website by the same name.) This is the “Crohn’s” diet. Some people with extreme celiac have found the diet helpful but for celiacs it’s recommended for life, and from what I’ve seen, not necessary for most people.
There is a kosher business in Monsey called Digestive Wellness that sells prepared foods and some basic ingredients, as well as a cookbook. The Weisses, who run it, are very helpful and l’shem shamayim, though there may be cheaper outlets for some of the ingredients, a lot of the products are for advanced dieters, and many people find it simpler and cost effective to make them themselves.
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