Discussion Board

I'd like to know other members who are celiac or gluten-sensitive. Plus, I'm also a vegan, allergic to soy.

I'm working on health issues and am trying to eat as pure a diet as possible, with intact whole grains or starchy vegetables, no added oils, and no added sodium. So, I'm not really into baking or extensive recipes with ingredients I probably can't have. Simple does it for me. Anyone else McDougalling and eating as nutritarian as possible?

Hi Jellen,

I am on the MWL and that means no bread, pasta...the 'made from flours' stuff . The only gluten I take in is my porridge (I could make that from rice) and some soy sauce (but I am sure I could make something to replace that with some Vecon).

I am not even sure I'd miss them.
I wonder if a gluten-free diet is better for the digestive system?

Anyhow, I keep it as simple as possible and I enjoy it

Dechen, what's Vecon? Never heard of it. Where does one get it? Is it both gluten and soy free?

Well, I am in the UK. But I gess it is like a vegetable stock paste.
AFAK it is Gluten and wheat free. Suitable for Vegans.
I really like it. It is great for giving pates flavour, too.

Thanks for the info. I looked it up and it says it's usually fortified with iron. Too bad. My doctor says not to take iron, as my iron reserves are in the normal range, but high.

I sounded like a great option, otherwise.

jellen i am also on a very strict gluten free diet but i have been doing very well. i can eat soy but i am allergic to a few other foods
after awhile you find foods that wii agree with you and that is what you stay with. hang in there you will feel better


sandy

Thanks Sandy. I'm fortunate in that I never felt the affects of being celiac...just inflamation...and who knows how many other health conditions that might have been related--unlike my sister who suffered tremendously...and still does. Not even a molecule can she touch.

I'm one of those borderline celiacs, but I chose to avoid it altogether.

Thanks for your comment.

Sorry to hear of your children's struggles. The thing I miss most is Ezekiel bread. It was whole grain sprouted and low glycemic. Those gluten-free ones are high glycemic and made of milled flours Nothing healthy about them at all. And since needing to watch fats and sodium, cheese alternatives are out. That means pizza's out. That's the toughest for me.

That's interesting. Do you cook the potatoes crispy and then add warm sauce with already cook veggies in it? I can't seem to figure out how you would end up with a crispy crust, otherwise.

Thanks. I'll have to give this a try soon.

I can't believe I missed this thread! I came here just now to post something similar. My family has been strict veg for 10 years, strict gf for 5 years, son and I have been strict soy-free for about 1 year (boy, do we miss our tofu and tamari!). We avoid corn for the most part, but not completely ... yet. Its so frustrating to keep eliminating foods, especially with a child involved! Oh yes, and I got serious about no added oils in November 2008.

I used to frequent a gf forum, but it seems that most people over there believe you should eat a lot of meat and eggs and no grains. Does anyone here have trouble with whole gf grains? We enjoy them and recently started buying gf oats (after not eating oats for 5 years!)!

I also started baking gf bread about 4 months ago for growing son who really needs the higher calorie density. I hate that its not whole grain, but at least its more than 2/3 whole grain - he uses it almost exclusively for pbj and hummus (not mixed! ).

We gave up fake cheeses years ago and have gotten used to it. When I make food to share with "regular" people sometimes I forget that the "normal" food I'm preparing won't seem normal to them without cheese, then its back to the drawing board to come up with something else.

A quick meal for me is a diced sweet potato, carrot, and some frozen broccoli cooked together and eaten over brown rice (we always keep a pot of cooked brown rice in the fridge.

Jamie, I'm so glad you found this thread. I'm on a very clean diet too, no added oil, no added sodium, no flour, no processed foods, no sugars--only dried fruit sweeteners, no gluten, no soy, and mushrooms are my most recent questionable food.

I'm a member of dr. Fuhrman's site also and am a hybrid of both plans, in that I eat less beans (McDougall), eat more fruit, and greens(Furhman), eat an ounce of nuts/seeds daily (Furhman), and limit starches to a few servings per day (McDougall and Furhman).

I have kidney concerns and must limit protein but we both know that's not such a bad thing. Right now, I'm not bringing gluten-free breads into my home. They are too much of a trigger for me to overeat--same with hot gluten-free cereals. But I do keep scotch oats and whole oats in my cupboard. And I eat either brown rice or sweet potatoes most nights at dinner with plenty of steamed veggies.

I get lots of support on the Fuhrman forum and not much here. But even there, I'm fairly unique in that I'm avoiding both gluten and soy. And yes, I do miss the soy. I've been vegetarin--for the most part, if not vegan, for most of the last 6 years...living on a lot of fake soy foods. Then I learned I'm allergic to soy. So out went many of my old favorites. That's when I became serious about my health and diet. So far, I've lost 72 pounds...part of it McDougalling and part of it on Eat to Live with dr. Furhman. I value both doctors.

I'd appreciate getting more support from you and offering more support, as we both share this common concern for soy-free, gluten-free, oil-free, and healthy vegan nutrition.

Wow I thought i was all alone I can not eat almost all of the vegetarian meats as almost all of them with or with out soy have wheat in them.
As to the oat issue

here is what I have found. I only get rolled oats and I am about to try the steel cut ones

What ever you do do not eat the instant oats .. I do not know what they do to them but htey will trigger my gluten tummy and I will end up with a sever case of reflux.

I never get it from the rolled oats, okay at least the Quaker Rolled oats

i stay away from any cheap varieties as they are usually processed on machinery that also process wheat.

And I find it interesting that there are so many different variations of what people are eating on here. IT is comforting in a way becasue you feel like you can mix and match safely.

Kitty, (hope it's ok to call you Kitty for short) I can't eat most of the stuff that's on the gluten-free shelves because they add soy or tamari. And the stuff that's soy free has gluten. But I get the gluten free whole oats and scotch or steel cut oats. I'm a top of the borderline....highest point before being a celiac, so I'm not as severe as you might be. But if I get too much gluten, I do get an awful knot in my stomach. So I've just gone gluten-free as precaution. I've been gluten-free since November--with only one slip in something I didn't have ingredient label on--and it affected me.

I've learned to cook most of my foods at home. I have so much more control over my health and pocketbook.

HI JEllen I am like you I have to read labels carefully.

I have an ulcer and probably a leaky gut, WHen I eat wheat once in a while Is okay but too much and the ulce r hurts the reflux starts and then there is pain also in my lower intestine. in spots.
So yeah I have to be careful. Also for some reason Tofu and I are not very good friends I think because of the way it is processed I can eat soy beans just fine.

Some of the things I have just given up on are most packaged foods. I do get some stuff at trader joes.
but a lot of it I can not eat.
I quit having salad dressing ages ago unless I make it myself
or there are a couple of store ones but I find it is safer to just make my own stuff.
and once my ulcer gets irritated it is usually a couple weeks until it heals up.


Anther issue for me with gluten is the constipation.
I can not tell you howmuch of a relief it was to finally stop eating wheat and have no more constipation.

I found out on accident that it bothered me. Actually when I went on an adkins diet.

What I love about THe McDougal diet is I do not crave the breads like I did on Adkins.
It iwas hard to walk away from it even knowing how much pain it would cause me.

Interestingly on the MCdougal plan I was at Bunco and actually walked away from the deserts.
IT was a HUGE triumph for me!

My hope is that a year down the road much of the ulcer pain will be gone! along with some of this excess weight. I am about 50 pounds over weight.