Donate it to a soup kitchen, and then forget about it.

I feel kind of guilty giving them some lightly freezer burned bread....it is fine if I put it in the oven, but so-so before! I think I should feed it to the horses and forget it.

It's not that good for the horses though, either.

I also loathe wasting food. I detest seeing any food fights on tv.

I think you should just take it from the freezer and put it into the worm farm or (covered) compost heap.

Yes, close your eyes and dump it or feed it to the horses. If you are feeling better then it's worth it to just pitch it.

The birds will love it.

Oh, yeah, I could compost it. My first pony ate Ding Dongs and Twinkies, in addition to bread( before I got him, of course).

Good idea!

Put it out for the birds...they love it. Good for ducks and geese too.

Annie, bread is *not* good for birds, ducks and geese. It bloats in their stomach and they get ill. It's never recommended to feed birds bread

I would disagree jasdip. That was supposed to be the story about throwing rice at a wedding too. The only problem with bread for birds is the same for people...highly processed, little nutrition and just heavy carbs. If it were the exclusive thing they ate, then it would be a problem, but as a supplement to their regular diet, it shouldn't be an issue. If you are really concerned, you can spread it with suet or p. butter first to add nutrients.

You can also break it up and toss it into the water for fish to eat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread for birds

I didn't know that it was all right for their diet. I see lots of signs in the parks etc, not to feed the ducks bread.

If you read the article in the link carefully, you'll see that it's saying that bread really is not good for their diet, but if you add some real nutrition, it's not awful.

Sort of like squeezing lemon juice into Coke and saying "There, some vitamin C, now it's healthier."

Getting back to the original question, it doesn't sound like you had a problem and searched for a solution that happens to be going gluten-free. It sounds like you watched a show where the gluten-free solution was presented, and decided you must have that problem. I suggest that you stop buying any more gluten products but use up what you have, while continuing to research opinions and information both for and against the gluten-free diet idea.

Jasdip, those signs are more about maintenance issues than bird health. Bread wrappers, ties, attracting pests, etc.

I am lost. Why do you feel the NEED to be gluten free? I have several relatives, sister, nieces..who HAVE TO be gluten free. The condition they have has NOTHING to do with me or if gluten is safe and healthy for ME. There is no reason for you to just decide to change your entire lifestyle. Celiacs takes very specific tests to diagnose. You have the cart before the horse. Chill out, use what is in your freezer..in the mean time see if a doctor even thinks there is a reason to test you. If you ever HAVE to get into this world you may discover gluten is more prevalent than you think and it is not confined to bread!!!

As a celiac I too would ask why you are wanting to go GF? If you don't need to for medical reasons please know that it is a massive PITA and if you don't have a diagnosed medical need to be GF you are very likely to cheat, which defeats the purpose of going GF in the first place.

That said, some non-celiacs are sensitive to gluten. There is no great harm in trying it out for 2-3 months to see if it makes a difference in how you feel. But eat all that lovely gluten in your house THEN try going GF for three months.

Cutting sugar out is a great idea though, wish I could manage it.

Good luck.

This post was edited by sochi on Thu, Dec 4, 14 at 20:07

I love sourdough bread. You can send it to me!

I agree that there is no need to go GF unless you have a medical reason to. You can try it and see if you feel differently. If not, go back to it. There is some evidence that if you give it up for long enough, you may not be able to go back to eating it. That's because there are certain bacteria in the gut that digest the gluten for us, and if we don't feed them by eating gluten, they die off and then we can't digest it any more.

Further there is evidence that going GF throws off the balance of gut bacteria, and not in a favorable way.

Analysis of fecal microbiota and dietary intake indicated that numbers of healthy gut bacteria decreased, while numbers of unhealthy bacteria increased parallel to reductions in the intake of polysaccharides after following the GFD.

I suspect that for non-celiac folks, the reason why they may feel better when they go on a GFD is because they are coincidentally cutting a lot of empty carbs, sugars, fats and calories that they don't need.

Here is a link that might be useful: GFD and gut biome

(Aside to jasdip, in an urban environment with lots of humans, birds can easily be overfed empty bread calories relative to their native diet, leading to overbreeding as well as poor diet, thus the warnings.)

I am doing this for DH... He has always shown (sometimes serious) sensitivity to carbs, then developed a severe allergy to nuts and chocolate. I was surprised when he said he wanted to see if the sugar and gluten abstinence would help him.

I have no access to ducks nor geese, and my wild birds do not eat bread. I am going to just gradually toss it out to the horses. If they don't eat it, it will become soil.

Just got my Consumer Reports in the mail today. They have an article on gluten, and why it may not be healthy to eliminate it, unless you are one of the 7% who either has celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.

I am so tired of the gluten free craze. I do understand that there are those who have celiac disease and I even helped raise money for a celiac center at a hospital when I worked there. However, the vast majority of people can handle gluten just fine. In fact most people who have jumped on the gluten free bandwagon have no idea what gluten is.

We have a gluten free bakery, a gluten free chocolate store and gluten free stuff everywhere you shop for food. Items that never had gluten in the first place now crow that they are gluten free.

This will soon go the way of the grapefruit diet, except for those who have celiac disease or for the very few who are actually gluten intolerant.

There is a sign at our local duck pond that asks that you only feed duck pellets to the ducks. I wish they would find something that eats goose poop because it is everywhere. I hear it is gluten free.

The upside to the current craze is it does help the true celiacs have more options. I just hope when the fad passes, restaurants will still offer gluten free options since they learned and adapted.

The disease runs rampant in my family. So far, I'm okay but I'm probably a ticking time bomb. I am eating as much pizza, the perfect food, as I can in case the bell tolls for me.

It sounds like you guys want to be healthier and feel better and I think it's great that you're making the step. Processed breads aren't healthy. If you eat it a lot, maybe just reducing the amount that you eat will help you feel better. Eliminating sugar and processed stuff can really make a difference. I say do what you feel you need to do with the bread. I don't like waste either, but if someone gives us baked goods, we'll eat a piece or so (if we want) and toss the rest. We don't announce that, but once someone gives you something it's no longer theirs and you can do with it what you wish. Back on track, it's not hurting anything by going in to someone else, the garbage, on the ground, to the birds, etc. It's hurting more to put something into your body that isn't healthy. I'd see how you guys feel and adjust from there.

Well bread with no fiber is just like eating sugar straight up so if your HD is sensitive to sugar then it really should be cut out as part of cutting sugar. All refined carbs tend to do this and when you cut those out along with sugar you tend to feel better. White bread or candy has the same immediate spike on my blood sugar so I would get rid of it if that is what you have without any guilt.

I appreciate all the different perspectives!

Annie, thanks for that link! I love reading scientific studies.

I hope crow does not have too much gluten....cuz I guess I will eating some! I have honestly felt like some of the responses....if you are not really celiac! there is no need for a GFD, you should not cut out entire sections of a diet, etc.

Well, it has been a week tomorrow, and I have not felt better in the last 10 years. I have had no sugar, little, if any simple carbs, and I have lost 4 lbs so far. I have no cravings. DH has not been so religious, but has probably cut 95% of his sugar out.

I have been trying to knock ANY amount off of my weight for a few years now with NO success. (I am practically a professional at WW, worked for a gym, etc. I am NOT a novice at this!)

Delete...double post

This post was edited by springroz on Tue, Dec 9, 14 at 10:48

I wanted to update you all on my progress....

DH has lost 10 lbs, and feels a lot better! He is not getting woozy in the afternoon from his blood sugar crashing, so he doesn't dive into the drive-thru for something to eat.

I have lost 5 lbs. Two inches off my waist. I no longer hack in the morning due to acid reflux at night. Honestly, I never realized why I did this; it has been going on for years. I assumed it was allergies.

I have not added any formal exercise yet. I have some DVD 's in mind, but it turns out we no longer have a DVD player! I get plenty of steps and weight lifting with the horses, but still like a workout.

I still have most of the frozen bread in the back up freezer, but have cleaned out the kitchen freezer.

I made bread yesterday from a gf baking mix, and it turned out pretty well. I don't know if I would love a sandwich made from it, but it makes good morning toast. This recipe has 3 eggs, so it is a bit dense. Tastes good, though!!

Glad you are both feeling and doing better. Just wanted to mention that there are a ton of exercise videos on YouTube for free...just about every kind you can think of, so be sure to check it out. You can show your computer screen on tv with just a cable, or you can get Apple TV to play the videos on your tv.

What you may want to try is adding back some whole grain bread and see how you feel. If you feel fine and do well, then it wasn't the gluten that was the issue.

When I did the cleanse, we eliminated a whole bunch of stuff and then gradually add stuff back in, one at a time, to determine what was and wasn't an issue.

Thank you, Annie! I have done a kind of cleansing diet before.....I usually lose during the first phase, and as soon as I add the carbs back in, I blow right back up!

I will search you tube for some workouts. I was going to use MIL's TV for working out, since it is in the spare bedroom.....but she and her sister came up to get her stuff(thank goodness) but they took the TV, too! Now I am back to the den, which limits my time since DH's office is there, too.

Thank you, Annie! I have done a kind of cleansing diet before.....I usually lose during the first phase, and as soon as I add the carbs back in, I blow right back up!

I will search you tube for some workouts. I was going to use MIL's TV for working out, since it is in the spare bedroom.....but she and her sister came up to get her stuff(thank goodness) but they took the TV, too! Now I am back to the den, which limits my time since DH's office is there, too.