Thread: Any gluten-free OR vegans OR raw-foodists here?

Lent is fast approaching and in my spiritual quest, will be eschewing all animal products, except for the hotly debated honey. I will also attempt to spurn wheat/gluten products, to the best of my ability. I mean, a girl's gotta have the option of a ChikPattie, right? ..l;, Actually, though, if possible I would like to not eat processed meat substitutes, even though I really do love Morningstar Farms and Quorn's ChikPatties . I believe I have the bean part down and thus my request is for recipes that are bulked with protein not from beans. I have found a few fabu sites that follow both the vegan and gluten-free life and I have my new favorite cookbooks Vegan With A Vengeance and Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. Is anyone already on this journey? Any suggestions for books, sites, recipes, food?

Thank you to all who read and post!

Yes! I have been a gluten free vegan for 7 years!!!

I am really excited to see your thread...I am going to go back and read it now...

I highly recommend Susan O'Brien's book 'The Gluten Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-free Animal-free recipes' as well as Joanne Stepaniak's book 'Food Allergy Survival Guide' both of these have great information. I also saw that the BabyCakes bakery is releasing a gluten free vegan cookbook in April, I can't wait to get it, I love to bake.

I have lots of recipes I can look through for you and food reommnedations too. I know you want to steer clear of processed meat substitute, but how do you feel about making veggie burgers, croquettes, or things of that nature from scratch? Do you like to bake? Are there specific things you like to eat now that you are looking for replacements for?

I will go look through some stuff and post more as I come up with it. You can also feel free to PM me. If you like I could scan in some recipes and email them to you (I just got scanner and learned how to use it!).

My mom is a GFV. She loves it. I am not brave enough though...

Quinoa is full of (complete) protein, easy to make and delicious!

I have been gluten free for a year..cr.:, the benefits are really good. Hated having to give up pasta but I have made it work.
I found some corn pasta that tastes almmost as good as regular pasta.
I came up with a recipe for muffins made with rice flour that are also very good.
I am a bread and pasta person what can I say?..l;,

The Tinykada (not sure about spelling) rice pasta is my favorite. I found some millet bread from 2 different bakeries in FL (Sammie's and Deland) and twice a year I make a large bread order and keep it frozen so I can keep using it since I haven't found any other bread that I like as much. They even make pizza crusts, diner rolls, and various other bread necessities.

Hemp seed is an excellent source of protein if you want to supplement your foods with it. And agave nectar is an excellent non-animal sweetener that is very honey-like.

I'm curious: are most people's choices to go gluten-free due to food allergies?

Yes, I am gluten free due to allergies, but vegan by choice.

Originally Posted by Mintaka

I highly recommend Susan O'Brien's book 'The Gluten Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-free Animal-free recipes' as well as Joanne Stepaniak's book 'Food Allergy Survival Guide' both of these have great information. I also saw that the BabyCakes bakery is releasing a gluten free vegan cookbook in April, I can't wait to get it, I love to bake.

I have lots of recipes I can look through for you and food reommnedations too. I know you want to steer clear of processed meat substitute, but how do you feel about making veggie burgers, croquettes, or things of that nature from scratch? Do you like to bake? Are there specific things you like to eat now that you are looking for replacements for?

I will go look through some stuff and post more as I come up with it. You can also feel free to PM me. If you like I could scan in some recipes and email them to you (I just got scanner and learned how to use it!).

Oh, awesome, thank you for the book rec!! I will check to see if the library has them.

I would love any recipes you wish to share! I am all for anything I can make at home- by processed, I meant items purchased at the grocery store, like the fake meat products. I love to cook and bake- I noticed Whole Foods has GF products and I was most excited about the GF flour that I think will work well in my vegan recipes. Not looking for any replacements, per se~ except for breakfast. Not really sure what to do about that, and as much as I love tofu, I don't think I want it scrambled every morning for 47 days. ,r:;

Andalee:

My mom is a GFV. She loves it. I am not brave enough though...

I can't say I will continue it past Lent, but I am open to the possibility! I believe it is very possible eating out will become a memory, though, which causes me a bit of sadness as I truly enjoy it.


Azhia:

I'm curious: are most people's choices to go gluten-free due to food allergies?

My choice has nothing to do with allergies, rather A) to go without something I adore, like cheese and bread, in an effort for deeper spiritual awareness, B) to have a pseudo fast to see how much better/worse my body works without these foods. I'm really interested in the results as I have been pondering this for about 4 months.

Originally Posted by Azhia

Hemp seed is an excellent source of protein if you want to supplement your foods with it. And agave nectar is an excellent non-animal sweetener that is very honey-like.

How is the hemp seed ingested- like flax seed? Just sprinkle it on food? Can agave nectar be used as is- pour it straight from the bottle into drinks, oatmeal, vegan yogurt?

Originally Posted by LeylaFahada

Quinoa is full of (complete) protein, easy to make and delicious!

Any recipes to share? ..g.:

Originally Posted by shermie

I found some corn pasta that tastes almmost as good as regular pasta.
I came up with a recipe for muffins made with rice flour that are also very good.

What is the brand of corn pasta? Care to share your muffin recipe? ,r:;

Originally Posted by Mintaka

The Tinykada (not sure about spelling) rice pasta is my favorite. I found some millet bread from 2 different bakeries in FL (Sammie's and Deland) and twice a year I make a large bread order and keep it frozen so I can keep using it since I haven't found any other bread that I like as much. They even make pizza crusts, diner rolls, and various other bread necessities.

Is the pasta available at the grocery store, ie Whole Foods? What does the packaging look like? Do the bakeries happent to ship north? ..l;,

Any raw-foodists as well? I have a very interesting raw "cook"book and am wondering how difficult a transition the lifestyle was and how difficult it is to maintain it outside of the home.

Bump

(Hmm...are non-swap threads bumped? If not- oh, well!) :)

Oh, awesome, thank you for the book rec!! I will check to see if the library has them.

I would love any recipes you wish to share! I am all for anything I can make at home- by processed, I meant items purchased at the grocery store, like the fake meat products. I love to cook and bake- I noticed Whole Foods has GF products and I was most excited about the GF flour that I think will work well in my vegan recipes. Not looking for any replacements, per se~ except for breakfast. Not really sure what to do about that, and as much as I love tofu, I don't think I want it scrambled every morning for 47 days.

Ok, I will try to scan some recipes tonight. As for breakfast check out Bobs Red Mill pancake and waffle mix. You could also get some tater tots or fried potatoes. Lately I've been eating a lot of friend plantains since they only cost 25 cents and are delicious! My boyfriend makes these great tofu sandwiches which kind of remind me of what an egg sandwich was like when I ate that sort of thing, I will find out how he makes the marinade for them.

Is the pasta available at the grocery store, ie Whole Foods? What does the packaging look like? Do the bakeries happent to ship north?

Yes, it is available at Whole Foods, and Trader Joes as well (but as with all Trader Joes stuff the packaging is different and the brand name isn't listed). Here is what the packaging looks like: Tinkyada Rice Pasta
Yes, the bakeries do ship north (I live in MA, whereabouts are you located?) but I think you have to buy a fair amount at a time, like 15 items or so (I usually get enough to last a few months). Its worth it though, their stuff is far better then anything else I have come across.

I finally got around to scanning in some recipes (darn school taking up all my time). So if anyone wants them just PM me with your email and I will send them along.

Originally Posted by maranajla

Any recipes to share? ..g.:

OK, this is embarrassing ... I buy the French Herb flavored boxed stuff!

But I have loads of vegan cookbooks, so I'll check for you when I get home.

Did the title always include Raw? I'm not raw, but just today I started doing green smoothies for breakfast. Let me tell you, I love it!

ETA: I've gotten a lot of info over the past two days from this site: Gone Raw | sharing raw, vegan recipes and advice. The forums are great!

Originally Posted by Mintaka

Ok, I will try to scan some recipes tonight. As for breakfast check out Bobs Red Mill pancake and waffle mix. You could also get some tater tots or fried potatoes. Lately I've been eating a lot of friend plantains since they only cost 25 cents and are delicious! My boyfriend makes these great tofu sandwiches which kind of remind me of what an egg sandwich was like when I ate that sort of thing, I will find out how he makes the marinade for them.

The "egg" sandwich sound awesome!! I will def check out Bob's - I have his oats and love them. I have read varying opinions of oats in a GF diet- what is your experience?

Originally Posted by Mintaka

Yes, it is available at Whole Foods, and Trader Joes as well (but as with all Trader Joes stuff the packaging is different and the brand name isn't listed). Here is what the packaging looks like: Tinkyada Rice Pasta
Yes, the bakeries do ship north (I live in MA, whereabouts are you located?) but I think you have to buy a fair amount at a time, like 15 items or so (I usually get enough to last a few months). Its worth it though, their stuff is far better then anything else I have come across.

Ooh, you're in MA? I am in Maine! I think I am trekking to TJ's this weekend so will look for the pasta there. Any other TJ faves, while I'm there? (I have heard rumors they will open in Portland and I just can't wait!!)

I'm up for anything that tastes good- I tried a VGF (vegan gluten free) bagel yesterday and while I think it would be ok in a bread emergency, it's not something I would like on a regular basis. PLUS, four bagels cost $6 and the hole was so big it looked mor like a donut (ie not very big) AND it was 280 calories. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to calories but that is outrageous. Just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Originally Posted by LeylaFahada

OK, this is embarrassing ... I buy the French Herb flavored boxed stuff!

But I have loads of vegan cookbooks, so I'll check for you when I get home.

Did the title always include Raw? I'm not raw, but just today I started doing green smoothies for breakfast. Let me tell you, I love it!

ETA: I've gotten a lot of info over the past two days from this site: Gone Raw | sharing raw, vegan recipes and advice. The forums are great!

Oooh- where is the French Herb stuff? It's totally not embarrassing! Everything should be easy AND healthy, IMHO. ,r:;

The original post did not include raw in the title, but I changed it soon after as I have Ani Phyo's raw cookbook and am intrigued and interested in others' experience with this plan. I don't intend to be totally raw, I thought it would be helpful and maybe add another layer to my journey. I was honestly surprised by how easy the recipes were- I know people think I'm crazy for that - "Umm...it's RAW. How hard can it be?" - but I just thought there would be more prep time than there is.

Thank you for the site- I will definitely check it out! What is your green smoothie? ..g.:

I am going gluten free but I'm not vegetarian or vegan.

I started having knee pain in 2007 it came and went. It came back over Thanksgiving week in 2008 and the pain was so unbearble that it hurt to sit or stand or walk up and down stairs. Anything that required bending my knees caused lots of pain and I thought I'd have to quit dancing. I went to my doctor who tested me for Lupus and arthitis and found nothing.

I decided to do my own research (doctors don't know everything) on knee pain and I came across this book called "The Gluten Connection." The author talks about how many ailments including Lupus, arthitis and joint pain are often the result of an intolerance to gluten and that wheat as it is processsed in America is not meant for comsumption.

I bought the book, read it and took the author's advice to go off gluten for a few days to see if that would make any difference. My knees hurt so bad so I thought I'd give it a try, as pain killers did nothing. After only three days of going gluten-free, my knee pain decreased dramatically. I guess I had gluten overload over the holiday with all the cakes, pies, cookies, pastas and breads. I decided to play around with and I have come to realize that anytime I eat wheat-based foods my knees hurt really bad.

I had been eating gluten a couple of weeks ago and my knees started to hurt again. I've been gluten-free all this week and my knee pain has started to subside. I think a few more days off of it and they should feel normal again.

All that to say I've decided to go gluten-free to keep my knees from hurting. It's so hard! I love bread, pasta, cakes and pies. And I'm sorry but the rice pasta just doesn't taste as good. :-(

It's funny how all the stuff that is bad for you tastes the best.

Wow, Saheli: What an interesting journey you are having! I'm glad you were able to diagnose this for yourself. What have you been using instead of glutinous products? Any faves?

Hannafords has an awesome selection of Quinoa/rice mixes by Seeds of Change and they are in the Natural Foods section. I really like the curry simmer sauce as well.

They ususally have quinoa/corn pasta and other rice pastas there too...the rice pasta doesn't seem to hold up as well so make sure to cook it al-dente.

I really like searching the food network site for yummie recipes to try.

Originally Posted by saheli

It's funny how all the stuff that is bad for you tastes the best.

so true!!!!

Originally Posted by saheli

All that to say I've decided to go gluten-free to keep my knees from hurting. It's so hard! I love bread, pasta, cakes and pies. And I'm sorry but the rice pasta just doesn't taste as good. :-(

It's funny how all the stuff that is bad for you tastes the best.

You could try the quinoa or artichoke pasta too, see what tastes best to you.

Originally Posted by saheli

All that to say I've decided to go gluten-free to keep my knees from hurting. It's so hard! I love bread, pasta, cakes and pies. And I'm sorry but the rice pasta just doesn't taste as good. :-(

It's funny how all the stuff that is bad for you tastes the best.

Congratulations on making the gluten connection... I've been trying to eat gluten-free for almost two years now, and it's really made a difference in my energy levels and even in things like brain fog and depression.

If you like to bake, get ahold of some of the Pamela's Ultimate Baking Mix. It's kind of like Bisquick, but is gluten free and already has the baking powder, etc. in it. I used it last week to make some cornbread muffins and it did a much better job than trying to use whatever gluten-free flours I had around the house.

I second the notion of trying the other gluten-free pastas... but when I have sauce on top of the pasta, it all tastes pretty good to me. ..g.: