Nan wrote:
>
> I am trying to drop some weight so I am doing low carb/ Primal/Paleo.
> I was on this for about 10 days when I made some fried chicken.
> Lightly floured with spices, like I've been doing for over 40 years.
> I knew the flour wasn't Primal, but on 4 pieces of chicken lighty
> floured, no batter, no egg....how much flour could there be? It was
> so good....then came the bellyache. It didn't last long. I had saved
> one thigh for breakfast and it was good too.....then came the belly-
> ache again. Lasted a couple of hours. I couldn't believe that this
> small an amount of regular plain white flour could mess me up. I
> posted it on MarksDailyApple.com and was told I probably have gluten
> intolerance. And that my body so liked doing without the starchy
> carbs, it was objecting. DH bought some chicken wings all prepared,
> and I read that they had wheat flour in the breading. But O MY were
> they good......then came the bellyache again and lasted for a good 18
> - 20 hours. My whole stomach & abdominal area was hard and hurt.

This is much the same story as how I found out I'm wheat intolerant. It
took a little experimentation with rye (hard to find 100% rye bread but
it is out there), barley (in stew or beer) and oats (oatmeal) to
discover that in my case it was wheat specifically not gluten in
general.

I can hardly remember a day without wheat before I started Atkins. I
think my digestion had always been like that but it had been my normal
my entire life. I had not noticed it going away but it was easy to
notice it coming back.

> I'm sure there are gluten intolerant people here. What do you use as
> a substitute for flouring and thickening agents? I've lost some weight
> and generally feel better eating this way, get up feeling perky and
> bright, not fog brained for several hours. It is an adjustment to cook
> this way after 45 years of marriage & cooking, then to have flour/
> wheat banned is a BIG adjustment.

In my house deep fried equals without breading. Nearly anything that
works deep fried breaded works better deep fried straight. There have
been a few food items that turn to mush but nearly everythnig works fine.

Gravy thickens with its natural gelatin if you're patient. Milk or
cream are very good thickeners. Arrowroot, potato starch and corn
starch are all better thickners than wheat flour. Rice flour and other
grain flours work as well. Nuts and legumes grind to make good crusts.
So does the class of dried aged cheeses.

But think about my point on deep frying - I don't use thickener or
coating at all and I think I get a better end product.

This point applies to a lot more than just deep frying. Cheese or cream
sauce can beat gravy. No sauce can beat yes sauce. Veggies beat baked
goods. Legumes work.

Low carbing is different and it takes a while to get used to it but it
works just as well as other cooking styles.