Eating A Gluten Free Diet

blueyedgirl5946

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I know there are several on the site that follow a gluten free diet. I have been doing so for about four years, maybe five. I read an article in a magazine yesterday that has me very concerned. It was about high levels of mercury and arsenic found in rice and how people following this diet need to be concerned about eating rice products. The gluten free pastas I have seen all are made with rice products. All the breads, bread mixes, pancake mixes, crackers are all made with white rice or brown rice flours. I looked on the FDA website and there is also caution there in several articles. Has anyone else read about this or are you even aware of this issue?

So now I am looking for a bread recipe made with some other kinds of gluten free flour. Do you have one. If so can you share it.
 
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blueyedgirl5946

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I had hoped to get a response here, although I know this is a thread most people wouldn't know about. I found the name of a bread that can be purchased at the health foods store that has other flours. I also spent time on the internet and found two recipes to make bread with other flours. I am still investigating this study and trying to determine if I need to reduce the amount of these rice based products in my diet.
 

Columbine

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I've never heard of this issue with rice/rice flours before. I can't help you with bread much, as I haven't successfully made gf bread for years (for some unknown reason my recipe suddenly stopped working...as did a friend's who uses a totally different recipe :headscratch:) I have found buckwheat sourdough here in the uk (by Suma, I think), but it's very expensive. Good though - probably similar to dark rye bread in taste/texture.

With pasta, you can get 100% corn pasta (which is ok), 100% buckwheat pasta (which is really good - very like wholewheat pasta as far as I remember), 100% quinoa pasta (or blends of any of these - quinoa and corn seems the most common rice-free blend), but my favourites are the various bean/pulse pastas that are available - especially black bean pasta :yummy: The bean pastas are a little harder to cook (more prone to boiling over and sticking together), but have the best taste AND nutritional profile imo :D

As far as flours go, I love buckwheat flour and defatted almond and peanut flours (I never claimed to be a cheap cook :p ). Cornflour is good for roux-based sauces. A uk chef, Phil Vickery, makes his own flour blends for baking. This is his bread flour 'recipe':
Gluten-free flour mix for bread

400g soya flour
200g tapioca flour
400g potato flour
300g cornflour
(from Gluten-free cooking: Phil Vickery's flour mixes)

Hope that helps you some ;)
 
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Kieka

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I am currently on a Whole30 so no grains, soy, sugar, dairy or legumes for the last two weeks. Pasta in most of its forms is out for me but I can have all the zoodles I want. :biggrin: Less calories and more vitamins too (we leave the skin on when making it). I know it isn't the exact same but zoodles or spaghetti squash are decent substitutes without worry about the negatives for pasta. For bread there are things like sliced sweet potatoes, egg cloud bread, or other options. You might want to search for a Paleo or Keto bread or pasta as both those would be grain free.

I think the thing about rice and arsenic is just like anything you find when it comes to fad diets (not saying gluten free is a fad for you but it is a fad in general right now). Too much of a good thing essentially. Rice, fat free foods, sugar substitutes, soy (which is a sore spot fad for me) everything is fine in moderation but when you end up just doing that it overwhelms you. I am doing the Whole30 to break some bad habits and realign my taste buds to a healthier approach. After, I am probably going to try Paleo or Keto 80/20 approach because I am liking it and it does work for me at least. Less processed and more straight from the edge of the grocery stores. I don't think I have gone down aisles in two weeks thinking about it.

Sorry, got off track. I wouldn't go crazy looking for substitutes for everything. Keep one or two products you like with rice and replace the rest with other options. Hopefully you can find some. I wish I had some but other than the zoodles and lettuce wraps I haven't tried to create versions that fit with my current restrictions.
 

denice

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I've never heard of this issue with rice/rice flours before. I can't help you with bread much, as I haven't successfully made gf bread for years (for some unknown reason my recipe suddenly stopped working...as did a friend's who uses a totally different recipe :headscratch:) I have found buckwheat sourdough here in the uk (by Suma, I think), but it's very expensive. Good though - probably similar to dark rye bread in taste/texture.

With pasta, you can get 100% corn pasta (which is ok), 100% buckwheat pasta (which is really good - very like wholewheat pasta as far as I remember), 100% quinoa pasta (or blends of any of these - quinoa and corn seems the most common rice-free blend), but my favourites are the various bean/pulse pastas that are available - especially black bean pasta :yummy: The bean pastas are a little harder to cook (more prone to boiling over and sticking together), but have the best taste AND nutritional profile imo :D

As far as flours go, I love buckwheat flour and defatted almond and peanut flours (I never claimed to be a cheap cook :p ). Cornflour is good for roux-based sauces. A uk chef, Phil Vickery, makes his own flour blends for baking. This is his bread flour 'recipe':

(from Gluten-free cooking: Phil Vickery's flour mixes)

Hope that helps you some ;)
I hadn't heard of buckwheat in years. My dad really liked buckwheat pancakes so I remember those from my childhood.
 

Columbine

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I am currently on a Whole30 so no grains, soy, sugar, dairy or legumes for the last two weeks. Pasta in most of its forms is out for me but I can have all the zoodles I want. :biggrin: Less calories and more vitamins too (we leave the skin on when making it). I know it isn't the exact same but zoodles or spaghetti squash are decent substitutes without worry about the negatives for pasta. For bread there are things like sliced sweet potatoes, egg cloud bread, or other options. You might want to search for a Paleo or Keto bread or pasta as both those would be grain free.

I think the thing about rice and arsenic is just like anything you find when it comes to fad diets (not saying gluten free is a fad for you but it is a fad in general right now). Too much of a good thing essentially. Rice, fat free foods, sugar substitutes, soy (which is a sore spot fad for me) everything is fine in moderation but when you end up just doing that it overwhelms you. I am doing the Whole30 to break some bad habits and realign my taste buds to a healthier approach. After, I am probably going to try Paleo or Keto 80/20 approach because I am liking it and it does work for me at least. Less processed and more straight from the edge of the grocery stores. I don't think I have gone down aisles in two weeks thinking about it.

Sorry, got off track. I wouldn't go crazy looking for substitutes for everything. Keep one or two products you like with rice and replace the rest with other options. Hopefully you can find some. I wish I had some but other than the zoodles and lettuce wraps I haven't tried to create versions that fit with my current restrictions.
Just want to clarify something here - yes, gluten free has become a fad in recent years, but for those of us with coeliac disease, a gluten free diet is a necessity. Believe me, I wouldn't eat this way if I had a choice :winkcat:
 

Kieka

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I am sorry if it seemed like I was saying you were doing it as a fad. It was more a comment meant to go thw direction of too much of a good thing.
 

denice

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At one time I thought about trying it. I don't have issues with gluten but eliminating it is supposed to help with weight control, particularly belly fat. I never tried it though. I do love fresh bakery yeast breads so it would be tough for me. I have cut way back on things like bread and pasta. At 61 the battle of the bulge is getting harder and harder.
 
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blueyedgirl5946

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I have not been diagnosed with celiac disease. I had a blood test and the doctor said the test was fine. She therefore did not proceed with a biopsy of my intestines. I just had problems when I ate bread and products containing wheat.
I put myself on the G/F diet and solved the problems. I guess you could say I do have a choice, but I don't really want to go back to eating gluten because of sinus and gastrointestinal issues when I do. I would not advice anybody to use this diet for losing weight.

Thanks to all of you for the input. I subscribe to the Gluten Free and More magazine. They have a list of flours and what ones can be substituted. I can use that to go by when I try to make bread.

One of our fast food restaurants here makes a low carb burger, which is a hamburger wrapped in lettuce with everything else inside. I am going to try to learn how to wrap my burger at home because I really get hungry for a good one now and then. I know it would be different, but I think I could even learn to eat a hot dog this way. I am just going to try to eat less rice, and find a way to make my sandwich bread without the rice flours. I have several boxes of bread mixes, pancake mixed, pastas, etc. I am going to use them up and then try to branch out for some other pastas or use spaghetti squash when we want pasta and sauce. It will be kind of like learning the gluten free diet again. I never knew this about the rice flours, and I do think I need to cut some of it from my diet.
 

Columbine

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Your situation is very like my dad's. He has a sensitivity to gluten (gp confirmed, despite a negative on the blood test), but is not full blown coeliac. He definitely pays the price if he accidentally eats gluten, but doesn't have to be quite as paranoid about 'contamination' as I have to be. There are definitely degrees of severity, just like with any allergy. :agree:

What bugs me is the perception by some that it's always healthier to be gluten free, or that it's a weight loss solution - not surprising, as it seems like many marketing campaigns reinforce that idea these days :sigh: In fact, the majority of gf breads are higher calorie than the regular versions, and often have more 'less desirable' ingredients in an attempt to mimic 'real' bread more closely. Not that there's anything wrong with gf bread, but it certainly isn't a health food ;)
 
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LTS3

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Try the bread recipie section on this web site for a gluten-free flour: https://www.cup4cup.com/

Edit: Or maybe not. Just looked and the flour is made from white and brown rice :doh:
 

doomsdave

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Thanks to columbine, blueyedgirl, denice, and kieka (and everyone else) for a sober discussion.
 
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