As I mentioned in my post on Sourdough Bread, I am not a fan of grains and try to keep those to a minimum in our diet. They are hard for us to digest, they are often refined in such a way that makes them nutrient deficient, and many are causative in some autoimmune disorders like Celiac disease. There is also quite a following of parents who believe that grains and specifically gluten, is like poison to a child with autism or other sensitivities. You hear more and more about families going gluten free for the sake of their health every day.
It was a struggle for us at first since I LOVE bread with a passion but once you get used to not eating as much bread and grains you lose the taste for it. We never opted to buy up gluten free versions of the foods we used to eat but the fact that this option is available is pretty awesome.
The market place has really stepped up to meet the needs of gluten free families. Gluten free products are everywhere, which is actually quite awesome because it used to be hard to find qualifying products. A good gluten free cookbook would be the best place to start if you want to try going gluten free but there are also numerous processed products out there that fit the bill too.
After perusing the site, Free From Gluten, I was impressed with all that they offer. I wouldn’t mind trying the gluten free pretzels (because I still love pretzels) and the ginger juice myself. The curious side of me wants to know how gluten free bread really tastes and heck I didn’t even know there was such a thing as gluten free shampoo… or even shampoo with gluten.
Does your family avoid gluten? How easy or hard has it been? Read also 10 signs of gluten intolerance.
I do my best to avoid it. There are definitely some challenges and things don’t “bind” as well, but it’s all good. Causes you to get more creative in the kitchen, which is always fun. Also opens up your eyes to new foods and products.
My 5 year old has to avoid wheat, but she does ok with rye and oats. Personally I found the same as you – I gave up wheat for a long time and my bread cravings disappeared. I don’t eat wheat often now, I prefer rice.
I have a lot of friends that stay away from gluten; so I bake gluten free all the time. It’s been pretty easy to do.
Gluten free bread products can taste good. If you ever want to bake, I would suggest using superfine flours, such as those from Authentic Foods. It really makes a difference in how any type of gluten free baked good tastes. Also, some blogs to check out are glutenfreegirl.com & glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com. Also check out celiac.org for more resources!