Just found out my daughter has a possible gluten/wheat problem. Don't know

[madmom]

if it's celiac or allergies, but since she's quit eating gluten she's feeling VERY much better and the rash doctors couldn't diagnose has all but completely disappeared.
So does anyone have any tips, recipes, suggestions that might help learning how to cook and eat gluten free?

[supernova]

1. The easiest way

is simply to stick to veggies, fruit and proteins. Skip grain based products altogether. Oh and make stuff from scratch as often as possible. A lot of the processed ready to eat foods in the store have hidden gluten in them. Veggie patties like Bocca Burgers have gluten in them to keep their shape! Read labels like a hawk. Stay away from corn and corn products too.

Become familiar with other alternatives for side dishes: quinoa, legumes like lentils. If you can take the extra calories, potatoes help round out a meal.

If you simply can't stay away from baked goods, using nut flours is great. I use a recipe of 1/2 GF baking mix and 1/2 almond flour for pancakes. Good stuff. (This time of year, you can also add pumpkin.) Be careful though, even "GF" baking mixes can have gluten in them. OK if you are simply intolerant. With celiac disease, you need to learn alternative chemistry with xanthan gum for baking. Xanthan gum provides structure in baked goods, taking the place of the missing gluten.

I haven't found a suitable bread substitute, though Udi's brand is about the best I've found for taste and texture.

I'm gluten intolerant, afaik, but I do feel so much better without it. I stick to mainly veggies, lean meats, and some cheeses and fruits and nuts. I don't have the rash, I don't have the brain fog, I don't have the bloated belly. Ugh. Bottom line, there is so much other foodstuffs to explore, you'll not miss the wheat one bit. :-)

[Denninmi]

2. I don't know much about it, because I don't have a problem with gluten.

But, if your daughter likes pasta, check out this one made from quinoa and corn -- it's terrific, very much like a fine quality semolina pasta in flavor and texture, but gluten free. I'd buy it all the time if it weren't so expensive -- usually around $4 for a lb.

http://www.quinoa.net/145/index.html

[Warpy]

3. The transition was easy for me except I miss perfuming the house with bread

once a week and eating it for breakfast. However, I was never a big bread consumer so eating rice cakes for breakfast was no biggie for me.

Corn pasta is a good substitute but you have to watch it carefully so it doesn't overcook. It's hard to find broad noodles, but the spaghetti and elbow macaroni are readily available.

Non gluten sides at dinner are rice, potatoes, quinoa. Non gluten ingredients for things like loaves and patties are either cooked millet or hideously expensive frozen non gluten panko. Quinoa has been a great sub for bulgar wheat in things like tabouli. Instead of sandwiches, I do lettuce or rice wraps, the latter available at any big Asian grocery.

Funny, a pinprick, itchy rash was what I was trying to track down when I finally did a wheat free trial for a couple of weeks. The difference was so dramatic I just knew.

I'd have known a hell of a lot sooner if no insurance didn't = no allergist.

[noamnety]

4. I would search online for lowcarb recipes

There's some cool stuff out there aimed at people who aren't eating carbs (and therefore basically no gluten) for diet reasons. The infamous cauliflower pizza crust is one, there's a garbanzo cookie dough recipe that's popular, fruit crumbles that use ground nuts and coconut flakes instead of wheat/oat crumb toppings are great. I'm mainly gluten free (6 days a week), and the main meals for me are soups, salads, meats, beans, and tons of omelet type creations with vegetables. Sometimes I go on a chili binge. But if I was eating dairy and sweeteners still, gosh, I'd feel like I had a whole world open to me.

[pscot]

5. I was baking a lot of bread

and complaining about a chronic stomach. It took a while for the light to go on. If what you're doing hurts, stop doing it.