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gluten free vegan?

1K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Diane in So Cal 
#1 ·
So both my mom and I think we are gluten intolerant... we eat wheat most of the time, and feel constant fatigue - that never goes away. Been like that for a while, and we're considering gluten free vegan (well vegan for me, she eats dairy and eggs sometimes)
We didn't get tested yet, but we are going to make an appointment... I really think I am... and I'm tired of always feeling fatigue, I forgot what it feels like to be 'normal' lol...
Don't know where to begin, what food I could eat on a gluten-free vegan diet...
 
#2 ·
I just started doing this myself at the beginning of the month and I have to tell you, it's not easy. My Mother is celiac, so I'm familiar with eating GF, but adding vegan to the mix makes it harder. I would say, read labels. I noticed that there is eggs in many GF foods. I would also say to try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible and cook for yourself as much as possible. I started a thread similar to this a while back and someone gave me a website: www.xgfx.com. It's for GF vegans. Also, just start looking on the internet. There's tons of blogs and websites for people like us. Good luck and let's definitely keep in touch or keep this thread going.

Laura
 
#5 ·
well, there's always things like rice, quinoa, uncontaminated oats, buckwheat (doesn't have wheat despite the name), etc. Do a little research on gluten free grains. As for desserts, it's actually quite simple to make raw desserts (look online, and you'll find many). You only really need a blender or food processor for some (don't listen to the ones that talk about dehydrators or whatever)
 
#6 ·
Cooking from scratch with whole foods is the easiest way. I don't have problems at home, but eating out can be kind of difficult.

Here's what I've made in the last couple of weeks to give you an idea of GF meals

Tofu and veggie stir fry
Root veggie stew with rice and chickpeas
Veggie Paella
Pizza made with a gluten-free pizza dough (Bob's Red Mill - my friend made it)
Curried lentils and veggies over quinoa
Pumpkin penne using penne made from rice
Buffalo chik'n salad with ranch using soy curls for the chik'n and OrganicVille's ranch that's vegan and GF
Green smoothies - my breakfast every morning
Salads - lunches if I'm not eating dinner leftovers
Roasted veggies with lemon-cannelini sauce that can also be used as a creamy white sauce to go over pasta and other stuff. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-...nnelini-sauce/
Eggplant and potato curry over quinoa
Baked tofu with Italian style green beans and sauteed swiss chard
Hummus and veggies for snacking

The options are really endless. I'm finding new recipes every day that I can't wait to try. I never thought about making a white creamy sauce out of cannelini beans before. I used to make this creamy sauce that I LOVED but it was all processed so even though it was GF it was not healthy. I was thrilled to find a much healthier version that does taste similar. I've found that as long as I avoid processed foods and limit eating out it's easy. I'm still getting the hang of GF baking and I've had some disasters when I've tried to convert recipes that are not GF. I definitely eat a lot healthier now than before since I can't really eat much processed foods anymore and while we do sometimes do GF pastas they are more expensive so I definitely limit it to one real portion serving versus my old servings that were actually more like two or three portion servings.

There are some gluten-free vegan cookbooks and the Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a lot of recipes that are GF or can made GF by subbing Tamari for soy sauce and whatnot. There are a couple of GF baking books I have that I've enjoyed everything I've made from; Flying Apron's Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book and Babycakes Covers The Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes from Donuts to Snickerdoodles. Just as an FYI, the Flying Apron one does have a few recipes that use honey in them, so I don't exactly consider it vegan, so I haven't made those recipes and if I ever do I'll sub in agave or something else instead. Also, Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson has a lot of recipes that are naturally GF too. Same for Mediterranean Vegan and Vegan Italiano by Donna Klein.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by penny79 View Post

Maybe try eating more raw food?
Vegetables
Fruit
Nuts
Seeds

You can make pizza crusts from dehydrated nuts & fruits like tomatoes and herbs like basil, etc.
I also plan on eating more raw too.

What about toffuti, cream cheese and sour cream?
Where do you get soy curls? Do you have to buy those online?
 
#10 ·
I don't know about Tofutti since I haven't ate any of their stuff in a long time. You can probably check their ingredients on their website or google "tofutti gluten-free" to see.

I get the soy curls at the health food store. http://butlerfoods.com/ I have found them to be a great replacement for things that I would normally use seitan or other mock meats in.

A couple of other things I've made recently are roasted beet risotto and spaghetti and beanballs using spaghetti squash. I use this recipe for the beanballs and I use whatever beans I have on hand and they always come out good. http://www.iheartwellness.com/?p=3978
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Almeria View Post

I don't know about Tofutti since I haven't ate any of their stuff in a long time. You can probably check their ingredients on their website or google "tofutti gluten-free" to see.

I get the soy curls at the health food store. http://butlerfoods.com/ I have found them to be a great replacement for things that I would normally use seitan or other mock meats in.

A couple of other things I've made recently are roasted beet risotto and spaghetti and beanballs using spaghetti squash. I use this recipe for the beanballs and I use whatever beans I have on hand and they always come out good. http://www.iheartwellness.com/?p=3978
Thanks for all of the great info. I have wondering what to do for "meat" since I won't be eating the seitan anymore. I've heard of soy curls b4, but I've never tried them.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Almeria View Post

I don't know about Tofutti since I haven't ate any of their stuff in a long time. You can probably check their ingredients on their website or google "tofutti gluten-free" to see.

I get the soy curls at the health food store. http://butlerfoods.com/ I have found them to be a great replacement for things that I would normally use seitan or other mock meats in.

A couple of other things I've made recently are roasted beet risotto and spaghetti and beanballs using spaghetti squash. I use this recipe for the beanballs and I use whatever beans I have on hand and they always come out good. http://www.iheartwellness.com/?p=3978
From their website, I would say it could have gluten. The only thing I've seen that says gluten free is their ricotta cheese - never seen it in stores, probably a new item..?
I never heard of beanballs, but they look good!
 
#16 ·
I haven't been tested yet, but I also suspect I am intolerant or allergic to gluten. I haven't eaten any gluten in a month and I feel so much better. I don't eat a lot of processed foods, which makes it easier. Try making meals around rice (I do rice and beans [or as I prefer to call it - taco beans!], fried rice, rice soups, etc), meals based around starches like potatoes, and when I do eat pasta, corn pasta is the best.
 
#17 ·
I've been eating gluten free vegan for 3 days (but then there's always hidden gluten, some of which I may not be aware of) I still feel fatigue.. I almost wished it was this, so I could actually not feel fatigue anymore... sigh. I'm not sure if I should give it more time, or... Cause I heard tests aren't 100% accurate. Didn't get one yet though. What made me think I had a gluten intolerance though, is when I ate raw vegan for like half a day... I felt dramatically better (STILL had fatigue, just much less of it), and then I had boca chicken nuggets the same night and it just made me feel like crap.
 
#18 ·
Definetely get tested, however go to a homeopatic/holistic physician first. I made that mistake, going to a traditional doctor, and was told that it was 'all in my head'. It wasn't. It was in my intestines. It was a good holistic OB/GYN that spotted the problems, and sent me for saliva/fecal testing, which proved everything I suspected for years. I have been gluten free since December 2008, and then had more blood tests done in 2010, and they came up 'false negative'. I ate gluten, and within 48 hours, it was a proof positive. Sometimes I don't think my traditional doctor believes what happened, but I know what is going on. You have to do what is right for you...most important. Good luck in your journey to wellness!
 
#19 ·
Yeah I tried it for a week and didn't feel different. Hm. I wish I knew why I feel like crap though. I hate it so much, it makes life so dull.

I hate always feeling so drained of energy. Sometimes it feels better, but it can also feel much worse too.
 
#20 ·
Hey, don't give up so soon-- you should not expect to see results before 3 full weeks. I went gluten free vegan and I have to tell you, I'm loving it. I bought a few great cookbooks and I READ them and I USE them. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking is outstanding, written by Julianna Hever, MS, RD, CPT and Beverly Lynn Bennett. Go through a few cookbooks and using post-it notes, flag at the top anything that looks appealing that you'd like to try. Each week, choose 3 of those and plan to try them. Write in your cookbooks-- did you like it? Did you tweak the recipe at all? This has become so much fun and I'll tell ya, I'm becoming a great vegan cook. Oh, and I feel great too. If your body has been struggling, it's going to take some time to heal. Be kind to your body, commit to a healthy vegan and gluten-free diet, and spend time googling recipes. You won't be the slightest bit deprived. It's a great path, embrace it with enthusiasm.
 
#21 ·
Ooh, 3 weeks to notice a difference. My bad, sorry, lol.. I just thought because I eat a lot of gluten, I would notice a change soon. I mean seriously, I eat a lot of gluten. I think I'd rather just get tested than go 3 weeks without gluten to see if I am or not. Although I can still remember when I started feeling like this.. When I first got my period. o.o;; I wonder if that has anything to do with it? I thought it was just going to be temporary, you know, how people feel when they're on the rag anyway.. but it wasn't like that. I can't even remember how it's like to feel more energized.
 
#24 ·
I would suggest that you see a licensed Naturopathic physician, and get a full blood workup, including testing for inflammation markers and what's called a ANA level (this tests for autoimmune disease). If you feel as off as you say, you really need to address this. Please also get tested for a full battery of food allergies (you can have food allergies and not even know it, the symptoms showed up in my bloodwork and we traced the cause back to food issues. But had I not been tested, I never would have known because it's not like eating these foods would give me stomach aches or anything. But my internal inflammation levels were high, due to these undiagnosed allergies. Eating a gluten free vegan diet calmed down my immune system).

I kind of lived with the symptoms I was having (fatigue, feeling low energy, feeling kind of off my game all the time, as well as sporadic skin issues, sporadic joint pain, and more). I would sort of tough it through but I remember thinking one time, "This just can't be normal". I'm so glad I finally discovered the source of it and could address it with diet (which has turned into a path that's a source of great joy in my life).

Good luck.
 
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