DIET, COOKING & SHOPPING

THIS BLOG ENTRY IS AN UNEDITED WORK IN PROGRESS….

These are the intake results from the Celiac Questionnaire this far

DIET, COOKING AND SHOPPING

28. Describe your diet before diagnosis.

“I ate everything” (1K-T)

“A lot of spaghrtti, bread, fast foods” (2M-A)

Bad. Fast food, beer snob, not balanced (3K-C)

Oh, LOTS of gluten. Pasta, sandwiches, fried food, roux, it was in almost every dish my mom cooked. (4-LJ)

I ate very little because everything made me feel bad. I went through multiple times of being vegetarian. I would eat mostly rice and broccoli or veggies mixed with chicken. I might eat a hot dog or taco. I was fortunate that a lot of my diet was gluten free by default. (5M-S)

29. Did you make any changes to your diet to try to remedy the symptoms you were experiencing?

Tried eating healthier, drinking more water (1K-T)

Yes, cut out gluten first, saw imporvement, than gradually cutout more foods, and reintroduced them, leaving out ones that caused discomfort on reintroduction (2M-A)

No (3K-C)

I stick very strictly to a gluten free diet. My gut was so damaged I had to go to the hospital because plain white rice made me sick and they deemed me unable to digest food. I was on a banana bag for about a month and was visited by multiple doctors. After I left the hospital, I had to stick to the ulcerative colitis diet while my gut healed for nine months. (4-LJ)

Yes I stopped eating meat and ate mostly cheese, rice and veggies. (5M-S)

33. How long do you think it took you to get use to buying gluten free food from the grocery store? 

We quit buying gluten completely for the whole household. His brothers have some snacks in their rooms they know to keep away from Tyler.  (1K-H)

A couple months (2M-A) 

5 or 6 months. Mostly getting used to having to grocery shop instead of eating out (3K-C)

It was a process parsing out the good brands from the bad. But I adapted pretty quickly, I think. (4-LJ)

I made the mistake of buying oats for months. I also used soy sauce unknowingly. I also didn’t really know what to eat other than rice and veggies. I probably ate almost only that for 3 or 4 years. There was not many specialty foods available at the time. When the specialty food access became better, then easier. (5M-S)

34. Did you have trouble accessing gluten free options at the grocery store immediately after diagnosis?

We were super lucky and have a gluten/dairy free bakery owned by a person with celiacs. It tastes almost the same!(1K-H)

Yes, it was hard to locate safe food items (2M-A) 

At first, but after about a year options became much more plentiful.  (3K-C)

Yeah, we had to go to specialty stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s to find anything gluten-free. We managed, but it was a hastle. (4-LJ)

Yes aside from naturally gluten free items. Even Whole Foods didn’t have gluten free specialty options (2005) (5M-S)

36. How long do you think it took for you to get use to cooking gluten free food for yourself?  

Pretty Immediate (1K-H)

About 4 months, one I learned to read labels properly it got easier (2M-A)

 A few months. The learning curve is steep but sustainable after you understand what’s required. (3K-C)

It took about a few years, but I followed cook books and blogs to learn what all can be done gluten free. (4-LJ)

Other than basic stuff like rice and veggies, probably 2 or 3 years. (5M-S)

41. What mistakes did you make as you were adjusting to eating a gluten free diet?

 My son’s 5th grade class were baking a cake and refused to use gf flour (that I offered to supply). That was hard. We've been okay at home, though.  (1K-H)

Not being careful at restraunts, not double checking ingredients, (2M-A)

 I placed too much faith in servers and cooks at restaurants to listen to my special requirements and then assumed they would follow the instructions. Got sick too often. (3K-C)

Mostly cross contamination or misreading a label. (4-LJ)

Oats and soy sauce (5M-S)

42. Do you feel that you were sufficiently or insufficiently informed about cross contamination of food bought from the grocery store? Discuss.

I did my own research. Which companies claim GF, but CC in factory.  (1K-H)

Suffiently, but I did my own searches for information (2M-A)

It was never a concern of the store to make an effort to prevent it because of how small the celiac popular is compared to the general public (3K-C)

Yes, I was. It took a lot of getting used to avoiding cross contamination. (4-LJ)

No and I still don’t think my doctors understand it (5M-S)

43. Do you feel like you were sufficiently or insufficiently informed about cross contamination in medications?  Discuss.

He’s not on any meds (1K-H)

Sufficiently, found info myself, (2M-A)

It wasn’t something that was explained with the exception of the list of ingredients to avoid from the nutritionists. Thankfully, I only take one oral medication in addition to insulin delivered via pump. (3K-C)

I wasn’t even aware until very recently you could be cross contaminated in medications. (4-LJ)

I was never told that this could be a problem. I was cross contaminated by a medication (5M-S)

48. Describe your diet immediately after diagnosis when you first began to eat gluten free.

Took a while to find stuff he liked, so he stuck with fruits/veggies/chicken breast for the first few weeks. (1K-H)

 Lot of prcessed gluten free foods at first, frozen meals (2M-A)

. Grits, eggs and cheese. I basically only ate that for around a month. Eventually I located some GF bread and pasta and began branching out. (3K-C)

Lots of rice, gluten free pasta dishes, curries and stews. (4-LJ)

Rice and veggies. I was to afraid to eat anything else (5M-S)

49. How long did it take you to eat at restaurants after diagnosis? 

3 months (1K-H)

About 8 months, but im still uncomfortable at them (2M-A)

Not long enough. (3K-C)

About a year and I could only eat at sushi restaurants. (4-LJ)

A year (5M-S)

53. Describe your current diet.

Pretty normal.  We just don’t have gluten around. (1K-H)

Mostly just rice and vegetables (2M-A)

Varied but adhered to GF diet. More cooking than dining out. (3K-C)

I try to balance between grain, veggies, and proteins. I have to watch my diet anyway for my diabetes, so I try to maintain a good, varied diet. (4-LJ)

A big variety. Everything that I love, I make for myself. Lots of simple and basic dishes… rice and tacos. (5M-S)

71. Describe your cooking habits at home.

Mostly one pot meals in instant pot, own toaster oven no one else uses, occasionally cakes cooked in toaster oven (2M-A)

We cook dinner most nights. Lunch is usually something small or leftovers. I rarely eat breakfast. (3K-C)

Always make sure my surfaces and cookware are clean and free of contaminates and I keep my gluten free food separate. (4-LJ)

I cook a variety of dishes from scratch like GF pasta, rice dishes, Mexican food, asian foods, etc (5M-S)

72. How much pre-prepared and specialty products do you incorporate in your diet and what of these items do you purchase?

Typically only buy the gf noodles, cans of beans, and frozen pizzas now. I purchase all of my own food (2M-A)

I have a guilty pleasure for Foster Farms GF Corn Dogs. (3K-C)

Usually gluten free bread, waffles, sometimes donuts, and pizzas. (4-LJ)

We use sausage, gluten free bread, pizza, and pastries. Most gluten free specialty foods are only occasional. (5M-S)

73. How many ready to eat snacks or meals do you incorporate into your diet and what are they?

Not many, every so often siete brand chips (2M-A)

I eat a lot of cheese (3K-C)

Mostly granola bars. chips, and popcorn for snacks. (4-LJ)

Not many. Crackers, chips, cheese, and fruit are probably the most common. (5M-S)

74. How many meals do you make “from scratch” and what are they? 

Most of my meals, just rice or noodles, cooked in pot with carrots or other misc vegetables (2M-A)

Stuffed chicken breasts and mashed potatoes. (3K-C)

Not often, but usually gluten free pasta dishes. I also cook Thanksgiving dinner totally gluten free. (4-LJ)

Most of my dishes. Chili, Mexican, Cajun food, etc (5M-S)