[AndreaB]

My daughter has been complaining of her tummy hurting when she eats. Pretty much every meal has rice with/in it in some form. I want to try to eliminate it but she is an extremely picky eater. I told her she has to start eating more meat and veggies if I'm going to pull her off all rice. Right now she considers eating meat as a bite or two. Do any of you have rice allergies? How did you find out about it? She never complained of her tummy bothering her until she got HSP (Henoch Scholein Purpura) the end of February which is part of that disease. We just got tested by enterolab and found out we are intolerant to gluten but had no obvious symptoms of it. She just got glutened on Saturday but the problems with her stomach have been going on longer than that. She's often said her stomach hurt, I just figured she was hungry because there are times she doesn't eat much. Any ideas on how to approach eliminating rice with a picky eater would be appreciated. We are talking about a child that thinks the only food groups are bread type products and fruit. She's 6 by the way.

[lorka150]

Hi Andrea, I was very sensitive to rice, and now can tolerate small amounts of rice flour and rice vinegar. I'm not six, but, learned to adapt without it. For awhile it was frustrating, especially when I was sit and wanted something mushy

I would perhaps not feed it to her for a bit and see if there is improvement.

I found out about it because whenever I had it, my other celiac symptoms hit ten-fold.

There are many rice alternatives... What does she basically eat now? I probably know off hand good substitutions.

[tarnalberry]

if you're not going to just go with starchy vegetables and fruit for carbs, then look into the other gluten-free grains - amaranth, quinia, millet, buckwheat, teff, for instance.

[AndreaB]

She doesn't eat much of anything. Hot rice cereal at time, muffins (Annalise Roberts), rice pasta, panda treats (rice), doesn't like any milk except soy which we don't drink anymore, fruit, brocolli, corn, few bites of chicken, taco seasoned beef, chicken link sausage, beef hotdogs (applegate brand), rice cakes, sometimes rice bread, little salad greens, potatoes (hashbrowns homemade or mashed and frozen tator tots), bite salmon, bite scrambled egg. We were vegan before gluten intolerance. She has never liked that many vegetables or beans (we are allergic to some) and still needs to get used to meat. Maybe if she starts to feel better severely limiting rice she'll start eating healthier. I can always hope.

We've increased rice again to get more fiber in, so fiber ideas would be great. I'll make sure she gets lots of fruit and work her quantities of the other food groups that we can eat.

[eKatherine]

Lots of doctors tell celiacs that it is too much trouble to follow the diet, so they should keep on eating gluten, which is the same thing you are doing.

Reasoning with a six-year-old (I'll let you stop eating rice after you change your eating habits) is not reasonable. This is something that just has to be done. You are the adult here, so you need to figure out how to get it done.

The problem is that you are stuck in the rice mode. She will eat from the foods available when she gets hungry. Serve

• cooked grains, like kasha, amaranth, and millet
  
• starchy vegetables
  
• baked goods made with alternative flours

She won't go hungry for long, and when you find out which foods she's choosing, you should be able to work with that.

[queenofhearts]

Is she okay with corn? There is corn pasta, grits & other corn cereals, & of course corn bread & tortillas... my kids loved them when they were in their starch-only era. (At about the same age.) We were not gluten free then, but they just liked corn a lot!

Leah

[zip2play]

IN all my reading, too much of anything one thing can cause stomach problems. Maybe cut back on the rice and see if that helps.

It is hard, I am sure for a 6 year old. I can't imagine. But, DR's will tell you they won't starve. They will eat, whatever is offered once they get hungry enough. As a MOM, it sure is hard to wait till that point.
It isn't as simple as YOU taking control I am sure. I feel for you. It is really hard with children. Espcially ones that have such allergy or intolerant issues.

Monica

[RiceGuy]

I've just recently started having trouble with rice Avoiding it isn't fun, accept for the relief I am now experiencing. I was eating the parboiled rice, so maybe the enriching agent is tainted with gluten or something. Sometimes the rice looks different too, so maybe they don't always get it from the same source. It's Uncle Ben's brand.

I will begin trying other types of rice later when things improve enough (hopefully). Perhaps a different sort of rice will work for her, but I'd wait a bit so you can better judge the reaction, and she'll learn something too I'm sure.

[Cheri A]

((Andrea)) ~ first of all hugs! My dd is 7 years old and is allergic to rice. We found out last Fall when every meal she would get hives. After allergy testing, we found out wheat and rice. Celiac testing was inconclusive and going gluten-free helped tremendously with the stomach troubles and elimination troubles.

Take rice entirely out of her diet for at least a week and see how she is doing. My dd doesn't like the corn pasta, but loves spaghetti squash. We eat quinoa now (cooked in chicken broth w/sauteed veggies or meat) as our rice sub. I bake w/sorghum flour and sub it for all the rice flours in recipes. She will eat grits occasionally. She loves potatos so that is our starch now.

[AndreaB]

eKatherine, on Jul 12 2006, 02:43 AM, said:

The problem is that you are stuck in the rice mode. She will eat from the foods available when she gets hungry. Serve

• cooked grains, like kasha, amaranth, and millet
  
• starchy vegetables
  
• baked goods made with alternative flours

She won't go hungry for long, and when you find out which foods she's choosing, you should be able to work with that.

Thanks Katherine,

Yes, I am stuck in a rice rute. I've just come of the vegan diet in the last two-three months and am still trying to figure out what to have.

queenofhearts, on Jul 12 2006, 05:30 AM, said:

Is she okay with corn? There is corn pasta, grits & other corn cereals, & of course corn bread & tortillas... my kids loved them when they were in their starch-only era. (At about the same age.) We were not gluten free then, but they just liked corn a lot!

Leah

I think she's ok with corn. I'll buy some corn elbows to make vegan mac & cheese. The kids love mac & cheese and haven't been too picky about what noodles the sauce is with. She loves corn bread, don't know about the tortillas.

zip2play, on Jul 12 2006, 06:09 AM, said:

IN all my reading, too much of anything one thing can cause stomach problems. Maybe cut back on the rice and see if that helps.

It is hard, I am sure for a 6 year old. I can't imagine. But, DR's will tell you they won't starve. They will eat, whatever is offered once they get hungry enough. As a MOM, it sure is hard to wait till that point.
It isn't as simple as YOU taking control I am sure. I feel for you. It is really hard with children. Espcially ones that have such allergy or intolerant issues.

Monica

I'm in a rut and haven't been including a lot of variety, which is also hampered by the kids not liking meat. You're right I need to buckle down, they won't starve.

RiceGuy, on Jul 12 2006, 06:19 AM, said:

I've just recently started having trouble with rice Avoiding it isn't fun, accept for the relief I am now experiencing. I was eating the parboiled rice, so maybe the enriching agent is tainted with gluten or something. Sometimes the rice looks different too, so maybe they don't always get it from the same source. It's Uncle Ben's brand.

I will begin trying other types of rice later when things improve enough (hopefully). Perhaps a different sort of rice will work for her, but I'd wait a bit so you can better judge the reaction, and she'll learn something too I'm sure.

We use Lundbergs organic rice. We typically buy long grain brown rice. If you invest in a rice cooker it would make things very easy for you...but you probably don't want to do that if you have problems with rice. So try some organic brown rice before quitting permanently. Of course, we are also using rice flour products now also.

Cheri A, on Jul 12 2006, 06:22 AM, said:

((Andrea)) ~ first of all hugs! My dd is 7 years old and is allergic to rice.

Take rice entirely out of her diet for at least a week and see how she is doing. My dd doesn't like the corn pasta, but loves spaghetti squash. We eat quinoa now (cooked in chicken broth w/sauteed veggies or meat) as our rice sub. I bake w/sorghum flour and sub it for all the rice flours in recipes. She will eat grits occasionally. She loves potatos so that is our starch now.

I haven't tried spaghetti squash...it's a vegetable she won't eat it. I'll try it though. I tried quinoa about 7 years ago but didn't rinse it first. Didn't know I was supposed to . Haven't tried it again since...it's still in the freezer. We've been out of potatoes lately and I haven't been shopping. Most times I have my hubby pick up misc. things we need. I'm getting ready to head out in a little bit to restock our fridge. I just bought 25# bags of flour etc to make gluten free stuff. I can still use the brown rice for the rest of the family but I'll have to experiment with the sorghum. Thank you for suggesting that. I'm one that used to bake my own bread with my own ground flour so this has been quite a switch and I've been spending fortunes buying everything recently.

[lindalee]

AndreaB, on Jul 12 2006, 01:15 PM, said:

Thanks Katherine,

Yes, I am stuck in a rice rute. I've just come of the vegan diet in the last two-three months and am still trying to figure out what to have.
I think she's ok with corn. I'll buy some corn elbows to make vegan mac & cheese. The kids love mac & cheese and haven't been too picky about what noodles the sauce is with. She loves corn bread, don't know about the tortillas.
I'm in a rut and haven't been including a lot of variety, which is also hampered by the kids not liking meat. You're right I need to buckle down, they won't starve.
We use Lundbergs organic rice. We typically buy long grain brown rice. If you invest in a rice cooker it would make things very easy for you...but you probably don't want to do that if you have problems with rice. So try some organic brown rice before quitting permanently. Of course, we are also using rice flour products now also.
I haven't tried spaghetti squash...it's a vegetable she won't eat it. I'll try it though. I tried quinoa about 7 years ago but didn't rinse it first. Didn't know I was supposed to . Haven't tried it again since...it's still in the freezer. We've been out of potatoes lately and I haven't been shopping. Most times I have my hubby pick up misc. things we need. I'm getting ready to head out in a little bit to restock our fridge. I just bought 25# bags of flour etc to make gluten free stuff. I can still use the brown rice for the rest of the family but I'll have to experiment with the sorghum. Thank you for suggesting that. I'm one that used to bake my own bread with my own ground flour so this has been quite a switch and I've been spending fortunes buying everything recently.

When small children come over they love a tray filled with small bowls that I fill with assorted foods. They usually eat it all. of course I try to always give them some of their favorites like olives or blueberries. LindaLee

[tarnalberry]

definitely try for variety. quinoa and millet are both good grains (with more nutrition than rice), and easy to cook. (millet is 'milder' tasting.) but don't forget about other things - beans and lentils, for instance. or potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other starchy vegetables. maybe she doesn't like them the way you've cooked them so far, but would like them another way. (I thought I *hated* sweet potatoes for the longest time, but tha'ts because I always had them cooked with mashmallows for thanksgiving. that *recipe* sucked, but sweet potatoes themselves are quite good - and make good oven fries!)

[AndreaB]

tarnalberry, on Jul 12 2006, 10:33 AM, said:

definitely try for variety. quinoa and millet are both good grains (with more nutrition than rice), and easy to cook. (millet is 'milder' tasting.) but don't forget about other things - beans and lentils, for instance. or potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other starchy vegetables. maybe she doesn't like them the way you've cooked them so far, but would like them another way. (I thought I *hated* sweet potatoes for the longest time, but tha'ts because I always had them cooked with mashmallows for thanksgiving. that *recipe* sucked, but sweet potatoes themselves are quite good - and make good oven fries!)

I'm not super fond of millet. I've had it in some things that were good and some things that weren't. I'll need to scrounge around online for more recipes. I have lots of cookbooks but I don't remember millet being used that much in them.

Sweet potato oven fries...my hubby would love those! What do you season them with. I typically use onion and garlic powder for potatoes along with basil added near the end (my hubbys addition).

[Rachel--24]

RiceGuy, on Jul 12 2006, 08:19 AM, said:

I've just recently started having trouble with rice Avoiding it isn't fun, accept for the relief I am now experiencing. I was eating the parboiled rice, so maybe the enriching agent is tainted with gluten or something. Sometimes the rice looks different too, so maybe they don't always get it from the same source. It's Uncle Ben's brand.

I will begin trying other types of rice later when things improve enough (hopefully). Perhaps a different sort of rice will work for her, but I'd wait a bit so you can better judge the reaction, and she'll learn something too I'm sure.

RiceGuy,

If you do fine with oraginc brown rice but not the enriched white rice then it could be a sensitivity to corn or free glutamates (msg). People with these intolerances get reactions from anything "enriched".

[lindalee]

AndreaB, on Jul 12 2006, 01:42 PM, said:

I'm not super fond of millet. I've had it in some things that were good and some things that weren't. I'll need to scrounge around online for more recipes. I have lots of cookbooks but I don't remember millet being used that much in them.

Sweet potato oven fries...my hubby would love those! What do you season them with. I typically use onion and garlic powder for potatoes along with basil added near the end (my hubbys addition).

I'm on a healing diet. No grains, beans, corn or night shades. I do have rice when I go to PFChangs @ once a month. I drink bottled water and all this has helped me. LL