OMG I'm so hungry and so sick of eating...

[thatBilly]

eating... all the crap that supermarkets sell.

I can't eat gluten and it seems like food choices are increasingly loaded with gluten. I was going to write a long, boring diatribe about it here but I'm sure nobody really cares. Suffice to say wheat is cheap, gluten is useful for making cheap processed food and with the current economic climate I'm finding gluten in more and more products.

About 10 years ago as gluten intolerance was given more recognition, food manufacturers (in the UK) generally started labelling when a product contained gluten. I thought it was great; surely as more manufacturers gained awareness they would start cutting out the gluten where they could? It's hard to believe that the exact opposite has happened.

Rant over. Sorry for being so off topic, I'm just feeling really horrible just now.

[Aegea]

I have some understanding of the problem, since my wife is gluten intolerant. (She's of Italian descent, so it was really hard for her to give up the pasta!)

We eat a lot of home-prepared meals starting with the basic ingredients, no canned sauces etc. And we eat a lot of rice! More work, but you can be sure there is no gluten involved; probably tastes better and is more healthy, too. In the US there's a saying "shop the perimeter", because all the fresh foods (vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, fish) are on the outside of the store and all the processed stuff is on the shelves in the middle.

[thatBilly]

Originally Posted by Aegea

We eat a lot of home-prepared meals starting with the basic ingredients, no canned sauces etc. And we eat a lot of rice! More work, but you can be sure there is no gluten involved; probably tastes better and is more healthy, too.

That's very true. My routine is to have one meal a day, probably because I'm too lazy to prepare lunch the night before and too tired to wake early for breakfast. Not a great situation but it's worked for me for years.

The problem today is that I'm off work this week and I felt like having some lunch but I'm ill-prepared and can't find anything to eat. Had three bananas and I'm still starving!

Originally Posted by Aegea

In the US there's a saying "shop the perimeter", because all the fresh foods (vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, fish) are on the outside of the store and all the processed stuff is on the shelves in the middle.

Never heard that one before. It's mostly true here too I suppose.

I've never liked overly processed stuff but since having to avoid gluten I'm having to rule out sausages, soups, blue cheese and many other ingredients I used to perceive as relatively wholesome and tasty.

I actually can't understand how people enjoy the food they eat, I know people who actually live on McDonalds. I can't even stand to drink coke because to me it just doesn't taste like something we should be ingesting. I mean, what [i]is[/coke] supposed to taste like?

The last two times I accompanied my friend to McDonalds (no choice, their children won't eat anything else!) and I couldn't eat with them, I asked for a bottle of water and they happily chirped "Sorry, we're out of water" then watch me in the expectation that I'll just have a coke like everyone else! If anyone's seen Idiocracy, I can see the world getting there some day fairly soon.

[SwissJon]

At least you can drink alchohol.. I'm intollerant of saturated fats and alcohol since I was poisoned accidentally in 2005 (Or at least I think it was accidental! ), can't touch them without severe pain and cramps for days.. Guess what else cheap processed foods contain a lot of..

Oh well, sh*t happens.. I'm alive, and skinny.. And live on a diet of rabbit food and lean meat and fish, and can drive home from parties, lol.. Got stopped by the police the other day and asked when the last time I had a drink was.. Ooohh About 6 years ago I said.. He brethalised me anyhow!

[thatBilly]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

I'm intollerant of saturated fats since I was poisoned accidentally in 2005 (Or at least I think it was accidental! ), can't touch them without severe pain and cramps for days.. Guess what else cheap processed foods contain a lot of. Can't touch alcohol either.

Never heard of that one. You're probably worse off than me and I find avoiding gluten really hard.

Originally Posted by SwissJon

Oh well, sh*t happens.. I'm alive, and skinny.. And live on a diet of rabbit food and lean meat and fish, and can drive home from parties, lol.. Got stopped by the police the other day and asked when the last time I had a drink was.. Ooohh About 6 years ago I said.. He brethalised me anyhow!

Yeah, I don't drink either but then I don't go to parties. People at work still think I'm hungover almost every morning though.

[faeriegodess612]

I semi know how you feel,..but not really. I'm a label reader. I avoid the words "high fructose corn syrup" and "mono-diglycerides" like the plague.

It's incredibly hard to find a wheat bread, or any bread for that matter, that doesnt contain mono-diglycerides. So, I buy the one thats high in fiber, and mono is far down the list of ingredients. I've been trying to lose weight, and eat better, and I ended up spending over $200 at the grocery store this last trip just for one person! Eating healthy isnt cheap! I buy organic when I can, milk and tuna are SO much better when its organic or wild caught. I try to eat a lot of nuts and whole grain, fresh fruit and veggies, greens that have nutritional value to them, ( iceberg has none ) and avoid starches and white foods. Use agave nectar instead of sugar, brown or whole grain rice, wheat bread, and sweet potatoes, instead of white species. Sweet potatoes are REALLY nutritious.

I dont know if any of that helps you,..I know wheat is kinda out of the question. I don't know much about having to be gluten free, but I've noticed it on things more lately, at least here.

[candleman]

I did the "one meal a day" thing for years.. You do get usedto it. ...But it was one heck of a meal.
I'm not as grumpy now that i'm on 3 a day... but life is less hectic now.

I'm not gluten intolerant though.

[Bruce A]

I'm a diabetic and my wife is a cardiac arrest survivor. Apart from fruit and veges, try getting getting low sugar, low carb, high protein food from our supermakets. It's a battle so I feel all your pain also.

[giunda]

that is my disease. I'm a diabetic. too ! i was struggling with illness very much and hopeless about it.

[Images by Tobias]

Check out AB's gluten free cookies, they will you feel better

The Chewy Gluten Free Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network