Questions on gluten/GF eating (needing some guidence here!)

[brightonwoman]

I did a bit of searching here and I can't find a thread that addresses my questions, so if I'm being redundant please point me toward a thread, otherwise forgive a GF newbie for asking what I'm sure are very common questions!!!

I have recently begun seeing a doctor for some issues I've been having. We did a whole slew of tests and one thing that came up--something we had not anticipated--is that I have a mild intolerance for gluten. (A test result of 13-14 is "borderline intolerance" and 15+ is intolerance, with 30+ being severe intolerance. My result was 16.)
My doctor recommends going completely gluten-free immediately. The information pages he gave me suggest that if I stick to a strict gluten-free diet for 3-4 months, then after that (because I have a milder intolerance) I can have something with gluten once every week or so.

I am thoroughly overwhelmed.

Like I said, my gluten intolerance result was for "mild" intolerance, so I'm currently trying to do my research about how much I need to do. Going gluten-free would require some MAJOR changes in how I cook (starting with no more homemade whole wheat bread...) and honestly I am feeling very lost in how to start.
So I have three big questions:

1. Can you recommend specific websites and/or books that will be helpful for me in understanding better what gluten-intolerance is, how it works, and for goodness sake which foods have gluten and which don't (for example oatmeal--I'm finding conflicting information on whether it's ok or not).
2. Can you recommend specific websites/cookbooks where I can get good GF recipes?!
3. Are there ways to prepare gluten-containing foods so that the gluten is already broken down and therefore not a problem? For example, if I sprout my wheat before grinding it into flour, then can I eat it? What about soaking? One thing my doctor mentioned was that his personal opinion is that genetic modification in the foods is probably the reason why so many people are intolerant to something that has long been a human staple--so then I have to ask would we (I) be ok if I just made sure all our grains were organic?? This is actually something I'm very hopeful about, especially since my intolerance is on the very mild end of the spectrum. I would vastly prefer to find a way I can just cook for my whole family, rather than having to cook separately for myself...and trust me this family is not giving up carbs.

I really appreciate any help you can offer.

[painefaria]

Here are some of the best sites that I have found. Now GF baked goods do have a different taste and texture so be prepared at first. I really didn't eat baked goods at first so when I did find them it was such a treat I really didn't mind the change.

elana's pantry - She has many recipies that are really great, the chocolate chip cookies are great.
Diet desert and dogs - it is not all GF but there are some great recipes there.
A year of slow cooking - she uses a little more prepared items. Still some really good recipies.
Glutenfree goddess- the recipes look great I have not tried any of them.

[oaksie68]

Yup, I hear you on the overwhelmed front!

Check out the Allergies sub-forum over in H&H - the mamas there are VERY knowledgable AND helpful! You'll be able to search too, with much more success.

Good luck on your GF journey! It's hard a first, but you can do it!

[kjbrown92]

If you're having health issues, then it's best to go totally gluten free for a while (at least a few months, I'd say closer to 6 months to be truly free of it) and then test to see if you can tolerate oats for example. Or distilled vinegar made from grain (okay for some people). We eat mostly the same meal in our house (3 of us are dairy, gluten, soy, corn free, and the other 2 are "normal"). All our carbs are not bread. We do rice and potatoes. On pasta night, there's 2 pots of pasta going - regular and rice pasta. On pizza night, same thing. Two different pizzas being cooked. But I have switched a lot of my cooking so I'm not necessarily making the same things that I used to. And my kids/family still likes my cooking. The aforementioned websites are good ones.