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Celiac Disease and Being Vegan?

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Lynnette Mawhinney said #1 Oct 27, 2009 at 2:39pm

Hello Everyone!

I just picked up Alicia's book, and I read through 54 pages in one sitting. I haven't finished the book yet, but I am enjoying it. I am really sold on the idea of going vegan. I plan to go food shopping this weekend to start a new.

I have one major concern though. I have celiac disease, so I can't eat anything with wheat, rye, or barley. For instance, I can't eat seitan because in my body it acts more like Satan.

Since I am already on a restricted diet, I am curious to know if there are other people with celiac disease out there that are also vegans. How do you manage going out to eat being vegan with celiac disease? Are there other resources people would recommend? Any help in this area would be great.

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Victoria VanOver said #2 Oct 27, 2009 at 6:14pm

Lynnette, I know from experience how hard it is to live first having Celiac Disease where you kind of afraid sometimes of anything that might be put in front of you ...maybe it has been contaminated or that you did not read the label close enough. I can tell you that living a GF Vegan diet will definately feel like a new awakening in your body for the good! WOW! What a difference. Instead of the Seitan, try tofu. Making your choices out I will admit is hard because you have to ask for this not to be used or that but we already to that already. It is just about smarter choices. I know you can do it! You will see such a difference! Do you like chocolate? Enjoy Life has chocolate chips that are gluten, dairy and soy free! Wahoo! Listen, I am totaly here for you! All the best, Victoria











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Samantha Michalska said #3 Oct 28, 2009 at 1:32pm

I don't have Celiac's but I highly recommend the Enjoy Life chocolate chips. THEY ARE DELICIOUS.

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Lea F. said #4 Oct 28, 2009 at 1:42pm

Get The Gluten Free Vegan. A cookbook by Susan O'Brien. A lot of Alicia's recipes are great because rice, vegetables, beans and seeds are all gluten free and are the foundation of her Kind Diet.

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Sierra said #5 Oct 29, 2009 at 11:06am

Also worth reading is www.vegiac.com for ideas and support. It's a site devoted to Celiacs who try to live vegetarian and vegan.

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Tamara Beargeon said #6 Oct 29, 2009 at 5:44pm

Hi,
I am also Celiac (diagnosed 3 years ago) and am attempting to go veg/vegan as well! You are definitely not alone. I have Susan O'Brien's book and have also visited Vegiac.com. I think there will be more of us as more are going GF these days. We have to stay away from a lot of the processed meats, which is probably a good idea anyways. I think the key is trying to meal plan in advance. Be sure you're getting all of your important nutrients. We really need lots of calcium. I'm here for questions as well. Be sure you have Shelley Case's book!

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Lynnette Mawhinney said #7 Oct 29, 2009 at 6:48pm

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! I appreciate all of the sites and reference materials, which I have been looking into, and they all look great. I appreciate the feedback and I don't feel so alone in this!

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Victoria VanOver said #8 Nov 1, 2009 at 6:31pm

Wow! Much thanks goes out to everyone! This is such a HUGE help! It is so wonderful to find all of you and have so much support! You all ROCK!!!!!! All the best, Victoria

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CrunchyJess said #9 Nov 13, 2009 at 2:19pm

Hi Lynette-


I also have Celiac disease, so I definitely understand your concerns. I will say that eating out can be difficult at times- so many vegetarian/vegan options at restaurants are pasta...Luckily, most restaurants have their menus up online now, so you can research beforehand. Also, Japanese and Indian restaurants as well as Mexican have a ton of options. I haven't encountered any problems asking people to leave dairy off any dish- most people seem to be happy to tailor your order. Of course, I do live in L.A. which is land of substitutions in restaurants :).

In place of seitan, I really recommend trying tempeh. It has more of a 'meaty' texture like seitan and holds up really well in a lot of dishes where seitan is called for. I would definitely recommend the O'Brien book that everyone else has- go on Amazon and you will find a TON of awesome cookbooks for gluten-free vegans. I hope some of this helps- best of luck!!!

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Victoria VanOver said #10 Dec 8, 2009 at 2:10pm

How is everyone doing today with GF Vegan? Hope all is well!

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