Gluten reduction experiment...

So I'm going to try cutting out gluten heavy products for the next couple of days (I'm going to aim for a week). By gluten heavy I mean wheat based foods, things that may carry traces or small amounts of gluten are still game.

My reason for this: I think that bread products are making me feel icky! This is not an issue of too many carbs, I do fine with other carbs like rice and potato based foods.

This morning I have had a not so stellar breakfast (500 cals: rice chips, 3 rolls of rockets, 3 marshmallows :\ ok so it wasn't a good breakfast at all!) but I feel better than I did yesterday when I had a bowl of fruit with a piece of cheese bread (350 cals). My body feels cleaner, whereas yesterday with less cals I felt icky and slouchy and like I was retaining alot of water...

Through elimination (several different proper combinations, not crappy marshmallows etc, I usually get an A to A- grade for the day I swear!) I have narrowed it down to the evil bread!

It should be pretty easy since I'm not a huge bread fan anyways, but I was hoping you other CCer's might have some tasty suggestions for carbs to replace bread (FYI-I'm a vegetarian)!

Especially helpful would be things that are easy to bring to work or buy at the corner store (I don't like using the microwave here at work... it's gross!).

Thanks in advance for the help!!!

 

You might also want to look at the dairy - I used to think that gluten might be an issue for me as well, but I found out it was actually what I was putting on the bread/pasta in the form of dairy (cheese & cream sauces).

You can try gluten free breads too, they don't taste very yummy though.

there's not a really good gluten-free substitute for the good old, all purpose, very portable sandwich

i usually have egg whites with veggies for breakfast

most of the time for lunch I have whatever protein and veggies the dining hall is serving -- if it's pasta day, then I just have the salad bar -- I keep pouches of tuna in my desk drawer in case there's no suitable protein

dinner is usually a serving of protein and LOTS of steamed broccoli or green peas or green beans

since you're veg - maybe it wouldn't be that difficult to carry a tupperware container of last night's beans and rice or whatever you had?

Here is a link to a search on recipezaar for vegetarian and gluten-free dishes

good luck!

i became more and more sensitive to gluten - i used to be able to "get away" with eating very small amounts as long as I ate other things too -- now, if I have anything with gluten, i pay for it with a painful digestive journey for that stupid gluten

:)

Thanks for the replies!

I actually already have a VERY low dairy intake. Never had much of a tolerance for it and I can't stand milk! I usually eat a bit of cheese each day, but not great quantities.

I love the idea of the egg white and veggies for breakfast, I'll for sure give that a go!

I try to pack food for work but we don't usually have left overs (I have become a master at making just the right portion for dinner!)

I think I might try and concoct a crazy barley based veggie pilaf style thingy... That would be yummy!

My friend has celiac disease and she brings veggies, nuts, cheese and some type of cracker (usually rice).  the gluten free bread from the store is not good so she makes her own but the rice pasta isn't that bad.  If you really think it might be the gluten you could always get tested for celiac my son had to and the first part is just a blood test.

Bread alternatives are, as others have said, challenging. But here are some I have used:

- polenta cut into thin slices
- sticky rice formed into patties
- beans formed into patties (like veggie burgers, only used as buns)
- fried potato patties (like hash browns)

All of these tent to fall apaart, though, so are best consumed with fork and knife or eaten carefully wrapped in paper to catch the crumbles.

Japanese onigiri (rice wrapped in seaweed sheets) make excellent gluten free lunches. You can tuck a bit of vegetable ickle or other goodie into the rice before wrapping it. Works well with short grain brown rice, too.

You can also try lettuce, cabbage or any other large leaves as a wrapper for the "stuff inside." Not a carb, but a nice change of pace from the other options.

If you go to a natural food store, you'll find gluten-free breads & wraps you could use for sandwiches.

I was wondering what exactly is Rocket?  I have a few British diet books that mention it but I am not sure what exactly it is.

And Shiritaki tofu noodles are a decent replacement for wheat noodles.  I think they taste way better than rice noodles I used to try.

I'm pretty sure Rockets are candy.

Do you have a whole foods near you?  They have all sorts of gluten-free foods.  I would also check Celiac Disease websites for suggestions.  :)

i know i personally do better if i cut out alot of gluten.

i eat alot of sourdough spelt, sprouted wheat and properly prepared lower gluten breads. i do pretty well on them. But i know i still do better on millet, rice, potatoes, corn, etc.

now i know im most likely not gluten interolant. But i know i have a slight wheat sensitivity. I do very very well on spelt bread and products.

however i would hve to honestly say i feel best on days when i limit my conventional wheat intake to barely anything.

Some excellent ideas!

The website where I bought my mixer from also sells organic grains and flours, I was thinking of trying their spelt flour...

So I was away visiting my parents for the past 3 days. They live in Penticton, BC, Canada (I'm in Calgary, AB) and have a great garden, so I ate organic veggies and fruit for 3 days! It was so yummy! I had the equivalent of 1 slice of bread or less per day and I feel great.

I don't think I have celiac disease, since I seem to be fine with small amounts of wheat, I'm just trying to narrow down the things that make me feel icky and keep them to a minimum.

Rockets are candy! Evil delicious pure sugar!

I do *heart* me some veggie sushi too and make it for lunch whenever I can!

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I think I'll go order that spelt now...

I hope you start feeling better by cutting out gluten if you think that is the problem, however you must cut ALL of it out in order to feel 100% better, imo. I have a gluten allergy, and if I have the tiniest bit, or a piece of bread, it's all the same on my system. So perhaps experimenting and cutting everything out, including hidden sources (read labels!) would make you feel better.