Rice/arsenic with kids?

[Bookgirl32]

My son has been diagnosed with celiac as well and while my husband and I have gone grain free, it's not nearly as easy to do that with an 11 year old boy. I have to use bread for him, at least at this point. I've found one Katz brand sandwich bread with no rice flower but I have to order it online. And I'm not sure he will like it. He really likes the Udi's sandwich bread. I realize I don't have to keep him from eating gluten-free products made from rice flour at all costs, but I'd like to limit it. And summer is much easier to feed him lunch. School lunches are going to be a challenge if I can't send him a sandwich. Is it unsafe for him to eat a serving of gluten-free bread made with rice flour a day? 

[ravenwoodglass]

 

That should be no problem. I have eaten a sandwich a day and sometimes even have rice for dinner for 15 years now and no ill effects.  If you are really concerned you could look for 'Grainless Baker' products. He might like their French bread for sub sandwiches. Their products are tapioca based and I like both the French bread and their bagels.

 

[Ennis-TX]

3 hours ago, Bookgirl32 said:

My son has been diagnosed with celiac as well and while my husband and I have gone grain free, it's not nearly as easy to do that with an 11 year old boy. I have to use bread for him, at least at this point. I've found one Katz brand sandwich bread with no rice flower but I have to order it online. And I'm not sure he will like it. He really likes the Udi's sandwich bread. I realize I don't have to keep him from eating gluten-free products made from rice flour at all costs, but I'd like to limit it. And summer is much easier to feed him lunch. School lunches are going to be a challenge if I can't send him a sandwich. Is it unsafe for him to eat a serving of gluten-free bread made with rice flour a day? 

Against the grain (starch bomb), Julian Bakery, Mike'ys Muffins , etc. make grain free breads, He really might like hte Julian Bakery Seed Melody one he might like just order fresh from them as the WHole foods ones and Amazon ones tend to be old. Look for grain free options here.
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/121802-gluten-free-food-alternative-list-2018-q3/
Lunches can be easy, left over stir fry, omelettes, lunch meat roll ups with a vegan cheese spread or cheese in them, Bacon wrapped asparagus/carrots grilled, veggie stick dippers, soups, stews, baked and shredded or cut meats, roasted potatoes/veggies seasoned cut up with a tooth pick.

 

[cyclinglady]

While arsenic has been a concern in the celiac community because it is our “go to” grain, I think you just need to keep moderation in mind.   I still serve rice to my family (I am mostly grain free myself).  I choose rice grown in California (less arsenic) and change up lunches to not include sandwiches every single day.  Ennis  had good suggestions.  I send my kid off with leftovers in a thermos in her lunch a few times a week.  Ravenwoodglass has given great advice too, so no need to repeat.  

Watch out for Apple juice too.  Consumer Reports shared the same concerns about arsenic.  

[Bookgirl32]

7 hours ago, Ennis_TX said:

Against the grain (starch bomb), Julian Bakery, Mike'ys Muffins , etc. make grain free breads, He really might like hte Julian Bakery Seed Melody one he might like just order fresh from them as the WHole foods ones and Amazon ones tend to be old. Look for grain free options here.
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/121802-gluten-free-food-alternative-list-2018-q3/
Lunches can be easy, left over stir fry, omelettes, lunch meat roll ups with a vegan cheese spread or cheese in them, Bacon wrapped asparagus/carrots grilled, veggie stick dippers, soups, stews, baked and shredded or cut meats, roasted potatoes/veggies seasoned cut up with a tooth pick.

 

Those are great idea for summer lunches! I just have to figure out how to translate some of that into a lunch box. I did read about baking flatbreads with green banana flour, have you ever tried that? The Julian Bakery bread was not a hit at our house. I did order it straight from them, all three kinds. It had to be seriously toasted before hubby or son would eat it and that won't work well for school lunches. I think I'll try the Katz bread in case he really likes it, and otherwise save the rice flower products for if he goes to Culvers, or someplace else for a gluten free bun, and the occasional sweet treat from our gluten free bakery here in town. They don't do bread, just sweet stuff. 

2 hours ago, cyclinglady said:

While arsenic has been a concern in the celiac community because it is our “go to” grain, I think you just need to keep moderation in mind.   I still serve rice to my family (I am mostly grain free myself).  I choose rice grown in California (less arsenic) and change up lunches to not include sandwiches every single day.  Ennis  had good suggestions.  I send my kid off with leftovers in a thermos in her lunch a few times a week.  Ravenwoodglass has given great advice too, so no need to repeat.  

Watch out for Apple juice too.  Consumer Reports shared the same concerns about arsenic.  

I read that about apple juice! Thankfully I broke him of that habit  a few years ago and he is mainly a water kid now unless we are at a restaurant. We also have a good homeopathic practitioner that we see that does some metal chelation on both of us, but I don't know if that addresses arsenic or not. 

[RMJ]

What about wrapping something in a corn tortilla?

 

[Bookgirl32]

On 6/3/2018 at 12:32 PM, RMJ said:

What about wrapping something in a corn tortilla?

 

That’s a good idea too. It’s hard to rethink the way you prepare food for kids. 

[PhoebeC]

We definitely eat rice products; just try to mix it up. I substitute non-rice where the products are yummy (like using an excellent corn pasta, Le Veneziane brand, instead of pasta made with rice), which leaves room for things like bread and pancake mix. 

Why don't you try sending a sandwich 2-3 days a week and something else for the other days? That will be quite a small amount of rice. Will he eat leftovers from a thermos?

If he'll eat crackers (with cheese, hummus, nut butter, salami, etc), there are several very good non-rice options. Our favorites are:

-Absolutely Gluten-Free crackers (these are crispy and break easily in the package, but they are very neutral and my kid loves them with peanut butter). Similar to Carr's Water crackers. Made with tapioca.

-Saffron Road Lentil crackers (my favorites are rosemary and black pepper).

-Simple Mills (sea salt, rosemary, cheddar are all good), made with almond flour.

-Skinny Pop pocorn cakes, like rice cakes but with popcorn, that you can put peanut butter, cheese, or hummus on.

Or how about lunchmeat roll ups with a bag of tortilla chips, bean crisps, or popcorners for a "starchy side." If you think about it, that's basically the same composition as a sandwich.

If you don't have a store near you, you can get most/all of these on vitacost.