Gluten-free Whole Grains

[sexysisam]

We recently switched to a gluten-free diet since me and both of my sons tested positive for celiac disease. I'm still having a bit of sticker shock with all the expensive flours and stuff.

My question is, can I buy whole grains like millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, buckwheat, etc from a place like Azure Standard or do I have to buy them from Bob's Red Mill with all the testing and total separation?

We are going to get a new Wonder Mill and sell my old one that is only a year old (sniff). So I can make sure the grinding part of the process is clean.

Where does everyone get their whole grains? Or does everyone just buy the flours?

Also, does anyone have a good whole grain blend with the above mentioned grains, not just brown rice flour? I'm really trying to make this as healthy as possible.

Thanks.

[dannic]

My dd is really sensitive and as yet has not reacted to my bulk grains that are not specified GF. I do buy Lundberg GF brwn rice, but the rest is just organic bulk millet, quinoa, amaranth, teff, ect. I usually soak my grains/ flours, maybe that helps?
It is strange that she doesn't react as she reacts to sitting on wheat grass (oops) and even gluten baking in an oven (the smell particles in the air while baking). Maybe these aren't processed on the same equipment since they're such different sizes?
I love having a grinder! GL!

[sexysisam]

Thank you so much for replying. That's great to hear that your daughter doesn't react to the bulk grains even though she's really sensitive. My boys wouldn't be sensitive enough to react, but they still would get damaged and I wouldn't even know about it. I've been stressing out so much about this. Yay! I love having a grinder too. And with GF stuff I think it will pay for itself in no time.

Do you have an all-purpose flour mix you like to make with all your grains?

[dannic]

Oops, I forgot to mention that dd is not celiac, but gluten intolerant (if that makes a difference).

I really don't have a mix. I usually use brown rice as the base and then add whatever I feel like. So, if a recipe calls for two cups of flour, one cup is rice, half cup is quinoa, millet, amaranth, ect and half cup may be tapioca flour if needed. Then I add xanthan gum. My favorite lately tho is millet. I soak 2 c of brown rice and 1 c of millet overnight for blender pancakes.

Are you and your kiddoes able to tolerate other proteins like casein, soy and eggs? It's been three yrs now and dd no longer reacts to soy but still cannot have the other three. Hoping she'll be able to do eggs again someday. Other than that, it's not too bad.

[changingseasons]

I've asked about Azure grains (that's where we used to get our buckwheat) and was told that they definitely are NOT gluten free (processed on shared lines, etc.) I never could tell if we had issues with that or not, but we're also just intolerant, not celiac. Bob's Red Mill does have the certified GF grains... but those grains are on shared equipment with nut flours, so if you have any other allergies to worry about than it's definitely not the place to go. I would call around and see if you can find another company that only does GF grains (I'm sure there's got to be one!) Check out who your HFS stocks, and call those companies. If they are clean, ask your HFS if you can buy an entire bag at once, rather than risking xcon from the bulk bins (and/or paying shipping to buy direct from the company- that can get really spendy!)

[sexysisam]

I don't think we have any allergies (since celiac disease isn't an allergy but an autoimmune disease). My boys are extremely sensitive to lactose in milk - my first boy throws up if he has pasteurized milk but does fine with raw milk and raw cheese. But that is also a symptom of celiac disease and once healed it usually goes away (hopefully!!!!).

Right now they are on a mix of almond and coconut milk and I just bought them some almond cheese. I'm hoping once their intestinal villi are repaired they can go on regular milk since our raw milk guy crapped out on us again(!).

I also emailed Azure and they did say that they process on shared lines, but they clean very well between products. So I was hoping that the whole grains would be okay since they are probably just re-bagging or selling already bagged stuff. Changingseasons, did you have reactions to the buckwheat from Azure? I do have a health food store that I love and they are great about ordering the big bags from Bob's, etc. I was just wondering since they are quite spendy.

[dannic]

I'd be interested to know what you find out. (If you find a bluk grain supplier that's GF). I only know that Lundberg is.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by sexysisam

I also emailed Azure and they did say that they process on shared lines, but they clean very well between products. So I was hoping that the whole grains would be okay since they are probably just re-bagging or selling already bagged stuff. Changingseasons, did you have reactions to the buckwheat from Azure?

Well... we ate the Azure buckwheat (whole groats) every day for about a year and a half, and suddenly DD no longer tolerates it. So I really don't know. We're eating the Azure quinoa flakes daily now, and she seems fine with those (which I'm sure have just as much xcon, if not more.)

[beadmama]

My dd (celiac) is VERY sensitive and we can't use the Azure products. I have eliminated all grains, nuts, legumes and seeds for now until I find truly clean sources. There are a few and you can find more info about that and other cc issues at the glutenzap forums. When I do find some I will still wash it all very thoroughly and then soak before cooking or dehydrating.

On that note Teff from The Teff Company is clean and super sensitives are able to use it daily. I have yet to try it. You can get that from Azure just call in and add it to your order specifying that they don't re-package it and they will be happy to do that. From what I heard they will do that with anything they re-package from other companies.

HTH

[sexysisam]

Okay. My Azure order was due today and I ordered 25 pounds of Teff and 25 pounds of sweet brown rice (from Lundberg). I wrote on my order to not re-bag it and then I called to confirm that they would do that.

Then I'm going to call my HFS and special order 25 pounds of Bob's Red Mill millet (since it's the cheapest grain from there and seems to be really popular).

Question: Has anyone reacted to the Bob's Sweet Sorghum flour? I bought some and it said gluten-free right on the package, but my very sensitive niece and my both of my boys reacted badly to it. It's made me scared to even buy the grains to grind. Has this happened to anyone else?

Also, I noticed a lot of talk of soaking grains. Are you all talking about Nourishing Traditions, or is there another method I don't know about?

Thanks for all the help.

[sbgrace]

We can't do Bob's because of the nuts issue but I think their gf line is all gluten free equipment--call to confirm that. Azure had some processing line issues (w/rebagging stuff) with our allergens but if their supplier ships in 25 pound bags and their supplier is gluten free you'd be ok. You'll have to contact the supplier and Azure both.

The Teff company is safe, Birkett Mills (Pocono line, probably all) are all buckwheat and safe, Lundberg rice and flour are safe. We're dealing with other allergies so you've likely got safe sources of other things we don't have. But you'd need to call to make sure of that.

As far as gf whole grain--buckwheat makes a nice granola base. I really like teff cooked up but it has a weird texture and I think that puts my son off. He'll only eat teff crackers. Most gf grains (all? maybe) make decent crackers. We do a lot of traditionally cooked grains rather than baked goods as it works better here both in what we like taste wise, nutrition, and allergies.

[beadmama]

Yes people have reacted to Bob's products. Everyone is individual on their sensitivity. Some people triple wash all grains and then soak cook or dehydrate and grind. Some wash with soap some don't. You just need to find what works best for you. Sorghum seems to be an issue for most people. It has to do with the harvesting process as most combines are rented or shared between fields and that is where the contamination occurs. They may be processed on a dedicated line but they are already cc before they even get to the facility. I have yet to find a same hemp as they are already cc in the fields during harvest. The facility might be safe but to be really sure you need to track it back to the fields.

[deditus]

Originally Posted by sexysisam

Question: Has anyone reacted to the Bob's Sweet Sorghum flour? I bought some and it said gluten-free right on the package, but my very sensitive niece and my both of my boys reacted badly to it. It's made me scared to even buy the grains to grind. Has this happened to anyone else?

My husband is sensitive to sorghum but not gluten, dd and I are not sensitive to sorghum but we are gluten intolerant!

[sexysisam]

There are a few and you can find more info about that and other cc issues at the glutenzap forums.

Where do I look on the glutenzap forums? I checked it out, but don't really know which section to look in. Thanks.

[beadmama]

Most of the new testing info is in the private section. Introduce yourself and what you are looking for and one of the mods will give you the code to get into the private forum.