Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month is "Decision."
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Before we get to the meat of this post, this is a reminder to my fellow ATGIB book club members! A couple of people have sent me photos of their books since last week and that's wonderful! Another book collage for next week's post! If you haven't sent me a photo yet and want to be included, it's not too late! Email me at dominique100 at hotmail dot com by Sunday at 4:00 CDT and I'll make sure your photo is included.
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Earlier this year, Gluten Free Watchdog came out with a recommendation that people with celiac disease not eat oats at all, regardless of whether or not they're labeled gluten-free or not, because of issues with cross-contamination. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they are frequently harvested on the same machines as oats and other gluten-containing ingredients and they are also frequently processed on shared machines.
This was quite devasting to our household. We have historically used a lot of oats in baking and, probably much more importantly, in my husband's daily granola that he eats for breakfast. My husband has a hearty breakfast of yogurt, granola, fruit, and tea and it really sets up him for success during the day.
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| Udi's is about 45.3 cents per ounce and Purely Elizabeth is 87.4 cents per ounce. |
Historically, he's eaten Udi's granola. It's expensive, but it's widely available, my husband likes it, and he's had success with it, which is to say that he hasn't had any violent reactions to it. Alas, the very first ingredient is oats and, certified gluten-free or not, we are quite nervous about the report from Gluten Free Watchdog.
So Dr. BB has tried a couple of other granolas. The most recent is this Purely Elizabeth brand that is mostly nuts and seeds. It's almost twice the price of Udi's per serving size and apparently doesn't quite hit the same spot for Dr. BB and he's had some problematic outcomes. Look, those outcomes could be just because he nervous about trying a new food, but it also could be because he's getting sick from some other non-oat ingredient. But trying to find a replacement granola without oats has been challenging.
I have been making my own granola for years and years and I'm tempted to ask Dr. BB if he'd like me to start making his. In the spirit of this, do any of you have non-oat based granola recipes? Or do you buy non-oat granola that you like? Also, why is eating so complicated?
Oh NO. This is awful. I'm so sorry to hear this. I have nothing to offer but sympathy. It is not the same thing AT ALL, but when I decided to try cutting out dairy to help my skin, I felt completely at a loss. My whole diet was so dairy heavy! Yogurt based smoothie for breakfast, cottage cheese for lunch, yogurt for dessert. What else was there?!?! I feel like your husband must be feeling something similar -- and it's much harder since he has such a severe reaction to gluten. UGH. I hope he finds an oat-free granola he can stomach, or an alternative breakfast option.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a real struggle to even find an oat-free alternative and I think we'd shrug off the price if he LOVED the Purely Elizabeth stuff, but he doesn't. So here we are.
DeleteIf we had to cut out dairy from our diet...I honestly don't know what we'd do. I don't think my husband could possibly get enough calories in the day. He'd have to slam Ensure like it was going out of business, I guess.
I DO NOT LIKE Purely Elizabeth. I really wanted to and thought it would be so good in my yogurt, but IT IS NOT.
ReplyDeleteMy husband hasn't loved any of the flavors he's tried yet. He's got a new bag, so maybe this is the one?
DeleteUgh... I'm so sorry. Does the watchdog agency have any substitute recommendations?
ReplyDeleteNo, no subs recommended. I mean, oats are naturally gluten-free and there just aren't that many grains that are. Sure, there's rice, corn, and potato, so maybe we'll start looking at rice-based options? *sigh* I wish I could help him more with food issues.
DeleteYES. Why is eating so complicated??? I would say... if your husband has been okay with the granola he was eating, even with the oats, then he should continue to eat it. Of course it's easy for me to say- I don't know what it's like to live with celiac. I do know that if I couldn't have gluten, I would also be devastated to not be able to eat oats. UGH! I'll be on the lookout for non-oat granola recipes and I'll let you know if I find anything good.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is that the testing has been getting worse over time for cross-contamination, so while he's tolerating it right now in his current granola, but it's a little bit like the frog in the hot water - if the numbers start creeping up, it's possible he wouldn't notice until it's too late. It's definitely a better safe than sorry situation, but it's made things difficult. I guess I shouldn't complain because there ARE other options (as opposed to twenty years ago), but it's expensive and stressful to try those options.
DeleteI make granola but it has oats in it. As for why is eating so complicated? I wish I knew but I'm almost regretting not getting a PhD because that seems to be the level of education one needs to know how to eat healthy now.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is that my husband DOES have a PhD. It has not helped. LOL.
DeleteI'm not trying to be funny, but I am a little confused. Perhaps I am misreading. But it seems that those oats weren't bothering him before you read that they could bother him?
ReplyDeleteRight. As I said in an above comment, it's mostly because the numbers keep getting worse, so what was an acceptable level of cross-contamination a few years ago has risen steadily. So it might not be bothering him RIGHT NOW, but if this is a pattern that continues to get worse, it's only a matter of time until he does get sick. Really sick. So until they figure out how to regulate it, he's not willing to take the chance and frankly, I think he's right.
DeleteUgh - this is so frustrating. Eating is already so complicated for Dr. BB and to have a tried-and-true item deemed potentially risky must feel so devastating and demoralizing. I've made a homemade granola with quinoa, almonds, and coconut that was delicious (no oats!), and I made date balls without oats too (just nuts/seeds, coconut, and dates).
ReplyDeleteI'll take a picture of my granola recipe now and send it to you.
Also, not sure how you feel about coconut flour, but I'm a HUGE fan of this banana bread - bonus there is no added sugar (and you can sub oil for the seed butter): https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/chocolate-chip-coconut-flour-banana-bread-gluten-free-paleo/
Thanks for sending those along! Do you have a specific quinoa brand that you use? Every brand I've ever used tastes like dirt. LOL. I have a bit of an anti-quinoa stance because of this. I mean, I *want* to use quinoa because it's a grain my husband can eat, but I don't think I have a very good handle on how to clean it.
DeleteI LOVE date balls. Unfortunately, my husband does not. *sigh*
Oh COME ON. That is just MEAN. I am throwing my hands up in disgust and exclaiming in a heated manner. None of this is helpful to you, but it's all I've got. That sincerely sucks and you should complain loudly and at length.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU. I am going to complain about this on any forum I possibly can. I mean, FFS. He can't eat ANYTHING.
DeleteCrap. I hate this for him. I don't do granola, but I also eat greek yogurt with berries and I sprinkle on some cheerios for a nice crunch.
ReplyDeleteIf he's not had issues with the current one, why not keep on with it?
The problem is that the parts per million of gluten numbers keep going up. That's why Gluten Free Watchdog basically said people with celiac disease shouldn't eat oats. He may be fine RIGHT NOW, but who knows what bag it will be where it won't be okay. Also, if there IS cross-contamination and he's eating small amounts of gluten and not knowing it, it's doing damage to his intestinal lining. So. Here we are. No oats.
DeleteOh. I didn't realize the recipe could change and affect him later. Such a bummer. I'm sorry to hear this!
DeleteGoodness gracious, he just can't catch a break, can he? What a mess! I'm sorry he has to adjust his diet YET AGAIN. :(
ReplyDeleteWe'll make it through. I mean, at this point, he's just eating nuts and berries. LOL
DeleteIf he has been eating this granola without any issues, why does he have to stop eating it? Because of "potential" reaction in the future?
ReplyDeleteUgh, that celiac disease is no joke. I wouldn't know what to do (or eat) if I had to deal with this. I am so sorry.
I had bookmarked this recipe a while ago (Haven't made it yet though, but it sounds good).
https://www.fearlessdining.com/crunchy-homemade-paleo-granola/
That granola recipe is so great because it's so versatile. I'll bookmark it, too, and maybe if the granola search turns out badly for Dr. BB, I'll suggest that we try it!
DeleteDude. This sucks. I like San's recipe, although we didn't see Elisabeth's. RE: the quinoa: Have you tried toasting it first? For many people, that can help make it taste less, well, quinoa-like. I've actually been good with the Target brand (ummm...Good and Gather?) organic quinoa, but I am Not Very Picky to be honest.
ReplyDeleteIt's me, I'm the (quinoa) problem. I always think it tastes like dirt. I'll look into the Target brand, though.
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