Maybe this would be better posted in another forum?
What do you keep on hand? What brands do you like best? I am getting my pantry together, figuring out what I think will really work for us. Maybe someone can tell me if I'm mistaken about something being OK. My list may be treat-heavy as we are adjusting to the new diet. I may also list things not really relevant to GF/CF, but things that I am going to try to keep on hand. Of course, if you are GF/CF or know the drill, I guess just about anything [I]can[I]be relevant, eh? I have a grinder, so I grind my own flours when I can.
We are also egg free, chicken free, peach and pear free,working toward soy-free, at least as a trial, and possibly corn-free. Also trying to avoid artifical colorings and preservatives, trans-fats, and high-fructose corn syrup (at least while we're still eating corn). I'm getting allergy testing soon, too, so I'm hoping that doesn't throw too much of a spin on things...

In no particular order:
Spectrum Palm Shortening
Ghee
olive oil
(our new "margerine" 1 part shortening, 1 part Ghee, 1 part olive oil whipped in the stand mixer + salt)
brown rice (we like basmati)
white rice
Dari-Free, choc and vanilla (especially chocolate!)
Thai Kitchen noodles (if DH and I got anything great about this switch, it's that we figured out that we can make awesome Thai food at home!)
rice milk,vanilla and plain
garfava flour
arrowroot powder
sorghum flour
tapioca flour
potato starch
potato flour
Heinz Organic Ketchup
Crofter's Fruit Spread
Baking soda
Rumford Baking Powder
Real Salt
Ghiardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
McCain French Fries and Smilies
tortilla chips
Lay's plain potato chips
salsa
corn tortillas
canned pineapple
carob powder
cocoa
dehydrated cane juice (I am hoping to make this our primary sugar and make brown and powdered sugar from this).
Terra Naturals Rice Milk Chocolate
Tropical Source chocolate
Sharkies gummies (I think these are gross, but the kids seem to like them)
College Farm suckers
Glee Gum
Other grains to have on hand:
quinoa
millet
buckwheat
amaranth
maple syurp
frozen berries
bananas
apples
oranges
(whatever fruit in season)
spinach
Kale--I haven't really bought this yet, but I want to get it into our diets...)
lettuce
rice vinegar
Braggs
basalmic vinegar
Red wine vinegar
apple cider vinegar
white vinegar
molasses
rice malt syrup
various gluten-free cereals (popular here: Panda Puffs, Koala Krispies; corn flakes (not Kellogs)
apple sauce
pumpkin
black beans
red beans
garbanzo beans
great northern beans
pinto beans
popcorn
guar gum
xantham gum
slippery elm root (haven't tried this yet, but I understand it can be used in place of either of the above and is better for you; however, I can get guar gum for less than $3 a pound, so I'll probably use that as much as possible).

I need to get more healthy foods into us; we have been in sort of an indulgence mode as we have dropped other foods recently. I am guessing the boys are not getting the fiber they should. I like to eat brown rice roughly ground for breakfast, or sometimes quinoa, but the boys aren't much interested, and my oldest has been eating toast every morning for breakfast (Ener-G Light Tapioca--could there be anything with less nutrition???).

Anyway, I've gone on long enough! I am anxious to see others' ideas and lists!

What do you do with guar gum and xanthum gum? Why peach and pear free? I'm revamping our diet too so I just wanted to see if there's something I should be considering. Should you be gluten free even if you don't have an allergy? We love Panda Puffs, but I hardly buy 'em because they're gone the next day, lol. We have a lot of beans and grains on hand and always a good stash of sweetners, sucanat, agave nectar and honey are the faves.

We are peach and pear free due to food sensitivities.

We are gluten and caesin free, not because of allergies, but because of peptide issues. Certain individuals do not process those proteins properly, and the result is peptides which act as neruotransmitters and/or opiates on the brain. Because many who are sensitive to these protiens have "leaky guts" the peptides are able to cross from the gut into the bloodstream. I guess, in theory, once the gut is healed, one might be able to go back to eating those foods in moderation, but it is possible that the gluten and caesin and improper digestion of said is what causes the leaky gut in the first place, so it may not be an option, though some supplement enzymes which help them to digest those protiens.

The nutritionist I spoke to from Great Plains Lab suggested that everyone should have gluten-free days and dairy-free days. We have a number of food sensitivities, and I imagine that once we get settled into the GF/CF thing, we will be working on more of a rotation diet. I think people eat too much of the same stuff all the time, and that sets us up for sensitivities. There are days we eat bread, not once a day, but once a meal, YK? Same with dairy. I think it's really good to strive for some variety. I don't think it's neccessary to be gluten-free unless there are sensitivities, but it might be good to make an effort not to eat it every single day, YK? You're missing out on a lot of good, healthy whole food when gluten is gone (not that there aren't good subs). I'm babbling again, but I guess the short answer is, no, I don't believe there's a reason to be gluten-free if you don't have issues with gluten like there are reasons to be, say, soy-free or dairy-free beyond actual allergy or sensitivity reasons.

Guar Gum and Xanthan Gum are used in gluten-free baking.

I really like agave nectar! I just tried it for the first time a week or so ago. Good stuff!!

I'm really new to the Gluten free game...luckily we are only cutting out wheat at the moment, not all gluten. Your list looks great to me. I can't really add anything insightfull, but I'd love some of your Thai recipes.

jody, thank you for taking the time to type that all in! i will go through our cupboard and see if there's anything else i can recommend. we are gf/cf free and have been for a while. the only thing we "cheat" on is every four days, i let the kids have a piece of soy cheese/ rice cheese (one's allergic to soy, the other to rice!), and that has casein in it as a binder. :( i haven't found any good cheese subs, and goat's milk cheese was too strong for them.

questions:

where do you find:
mc cain french fries and smiles
terra naturals rice milk chocolate 9ingredients?)
sarkies gummies (what are these?)
college farm suckers (what is the sweetener in these?)

lauren (mamabear) had a great recipe for potato chip chicken! if i have time i'll type it in. :) or maybe it was crystal (hannahsorchard) who had it?

alycia

kbsmama, wow that was very helpful, I've really been conidering going dairy free, but I'd never considered the gluten. My sister is a rawist, and yesterday we were talking about how some foof has a negative energy balance, it takes more energy to brek down than it provides for the body, she believes cooked food is this way. She said that after a week or so of going raw she just quit wanting cooked foods, and for someone who has a history of eating disorder, not craving food was a big deal for her. I thought that was an interesting concept and thought maybe dairy and gluten (well I know white flour is this way) are sort of like this, they not only take a lot of energy to break down but they make you want more, so they are extremely inefficient.

I am still looking over the list but Heinz Organic ketchup is NOT GF!! REgular is not but organic. Muir Glen is. So is Westbrae.

Ok, I looked over your list. Many react to Lay's chips because they supposedly do not clean their lines between runs and thus cross contamination is a big issue. Lundberg rice chips are great.

You only need guar or xantham, not both, they are interchangeable. Guar is much cheaper so I stick with it.

What is Glee Gum?

Otherwise, all else seems fine. Oh, Tinkyada pasta is a must. That is the best GF pasta I have had. Ancient Harvest quinoa and corn is too but not if you are avoiding corn.

Thank you, Michelle, for telling me that! DARN! Well, that might explain some behavior....I was thrilled to have something without corn syrup in it. I will have to check out the Muir Glen and/or Westbrae.

Glee Gum is kind of like big chiclets. All natural. You can find it at the Health Food Store. It comes in peppermint, cinnamon, and orange.


where do you find:
mc cain french fries and smiles--Regular grocery (are you in MI? Meijer). They are NOT organic, but they are trans-fat free. Any of the UNSEASONED fries should be acceptable.

terra naturals rice milk chocolate 9ingredients?)--I had a bar of this, but I don't have it anymore. I need to call the company because it is not declared gluten or caesin free in my co-op catalog, but the ingredients look OK (it is manufactured in a facility with dairy). It may not be OK.

sarkies gummies (what are these?)Sharkies are gf/cf gummies, no artifical colors or flavors, no corn. They have electrolytes in them or something. They taste a lot like gatorade to me.

college farm suckers (what is the sweetener in these?)--organic corn syrup. These will probably soon leave our list.

I think we need to explore the Lay's chip thing...They are consumed so often around here that we wouldn't know if there is an issue with them or not...Bad mama, I know. DH gives them to the kids more than I (does that make it better?)

I have a friend who is a raw foodist/hygeinics (would that be hygeinicist?). I think my spelling is off. She struggles with the diet, but has felt best on it. We have lots of interesting conversations. We both have learned so much about food in the last few years; we learn a lot from eachother! Very interesting thoughts about food energy, lazumoon!

Thanks, mamas!

I think we need to explore the Lay's chip thing...They are consumed so often around here that we wouldn't know if there is an issue with them or not...Bad mama, I know. DH gives them to the kids more than I (does that make it better?)

I had eliminated Lays then my order for Rice Chips did not come. The coop was out. My girls are soo bored with lunches right now. So, I gave in and bought some this time. By the time my backorder comes in, school will be over.

Trying to keep all this straight is a headache. I have debated and debated getting a Palm Pilot or something of that sort to keep all the info on for the store. I have a list in my day planner but it is bulky and constantly changing that it is drawn on with arrows and cross-outs. I hate going in for something and it is out of stock then trying to figure out what is safe for a substitute. Now, without a cell phone, it is harder. I can't count the number of times I have called a manufacturer standing in an aisle at WinnDixie or the HFS.

Make sure your rice milk is GF, some brands, like Rice Dream, aren't.

We do fine with Lay's chips, but don't have them often.

Do you eat potatoes? Maybe with sausage? I cook up ground turkey w/seasonings, and then cut up some baked potatoes and mix it all up for breakfast. Another yummy breakfast recipe is the rice pudding on the Arrowhead Mills "rice and shine" hot breakfast cereal mix. It's yummy and has a bit of nutritional value, lol.

We are gf/cf, but only recently (like 3 months), and what we have settled into is local, seasonal produce and meat. We still eat popcorn and occassionally quinoa, but otherwise no grain. This was easier for us than trying to balance this or that grain. This makes our pantry pretty sparse. We do fill in some with frozen fruit and veggies, also local. So each meal is about 2/3 fruit and veggie, 1/3 meat or protein.

nak