Anyone here on a wheat (or gluten) free diet? We are going to try to go wheat free, but neither of us are allergic to gluten.

If anyone does this, what in the heck do you substitute for breads? We love our bread, lol. I do not have the time (or the patience) to bake gluten free bread. If we can't go completely wheat free, we are surely going to try and cut down on wheat. Luckily General Mills is making gluten free cereals and Bisquick even had a gluten free product, so I could bake biscuits from that. That's the only problem I have with the diet....bread. I can use rice pasta and such. Gluten-free is expensive, but worth a try.

I think we made this decision at the right time since so many companies are making gluten-free products.

Now for the why of it. I've been reading about modern day wheat and how it has been genetically modified and/or hybridized to the point that a certain part of the wheat is missing. That part is essential for proper digestion of the wheat (from what I understand), but because it's missing, it can cause all sorts of problems: gastric distress, belly fat (!), arthritis, high cholesterol and other things.
The "proof's in the pudding" as they say, so I'll let you know.  It will be a while, since we need to deplete our wheat-laden pantry, lol. Pasta, my Special K cereal that I JUST bought. lol

Any hints would be greatly appreciated.

I have to go wheat free due to diabetes. It's not going to be easy, but I've been doing things like hamburgers without the buns and replacing pasta with broccoli and cauliflower - that's helped a lot. The problem with GMO wheat and corn is that the emphasis is on starch production. It makes it easier to fatten up cattle or make corn syrup for soda pop - (the two biggest markets GMO wheat and corn), but it plays hell on the human digestive system and blood glucose.

Thanks Sid. It would be very hard for me to replace pasta with broccoli and cauliflower with hubby, since he hates those, lol. I think I'll stick with rice pasta. 

Diabetes, another reason I want to try it.....Doc told me I show signs of developing type II, so I want to head that off at the pass. I've been working out, with 30 minutes on a stationary bike and another 15 of weights. Going to try to increase that gradually. I've noticed that I must have lost inches, but not weight since my clothes fit differently. Been doing that for about 2 months now. Getting up at 5:30am to work out at 6:30. It's gotten much easier.

  

Something I forgot to mention. A casual friend we know has had diganosed celiac disease since she was 6 years old! She is our age, so she has followed a gluten free diet all of her life. I will be calling her soon to get some tips. I'll let you know if I find out anything that could help you too.

Cool... I could use the pointers. My problem is I spent a good deal of my culinary life developing and preparing Italian dishes - mostly pasta and sauces. I also cook my own pizza. I'd hate to think those things are off the menu. [img]/domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/frown.gif[/img]

Here Sid. Probably not nearly as good as your homemade, but it would give you a treat every now and then. I'm sure the gluten-free Bisquick is expensive, but if you only use it occasionally.........

http://www.bettycrocker.c...a-4d72-8cf8-9922b0f3659a

Thanks Roseanne!

I may well give that a try, but for me it's not so much the gluten as it is the carbohydrates.

Here are the stats for the pizza crust:

 

I've gone mostly wheat-free since I started following Atkins back in February.  I'm just now experimenting with baking using almond meal/flour and coconut flour.  If you're interested, I'll dig up some recipe websites and other wheat-free resources for you, Roseanne.

That would be amazing. I'm going to be starting insulin therapy next week so I will be going through a diet change as well. Going wheat-free (and corn-free) is going to be a part of that. I wouldn't mind finding a wheat-free alternative to pasta as well.

I'll bookmark these for later.... Thanks... (a lot!)

Let me know how the baking turns out, especially if you make any breads. It's funny how I am already missing bread, although I don't eat it every day.
Thanks for the links. I love the recipes, but I'll have to sub sugar for Spenda, since that sent my BP up and up when I used it.
I'm not going low carb (sugar free)........yet. Just wheat free.

Strange how coconut was a no-no when my Dad was on a low cholesterol/low fat diet. Now it's a good thing. Go figure. I've found several recipe sites so far, but none that were as good as Linda's. Her recipes are simple. I like simple, lol. The cheese crisps look yummy. My family used to make something similar on ritz crackers with "Hoop" cheese. We discovered it quite by accident when one of my kids left crackers and cheese in the microwave too long. ha ha! It became a favorite of ours. Never thought about doing just the cheese!

Thanks, but I think I'll stick with sugar for now. FSM knows, my fear of giving up bread is enough stress for the moment, lol!

That bread recipe sounds good. I'm going to go search for a wheat-free rye bread.