Feeling Overwhelmed

[jackie4]

Hi. My fourteen yearold daughter was diagnosed three weeks ago. At first I thought I had everything under control and then all this information came flooding in. When I go to the food store I have about 20 pages of lists to look through . Does anyone have any organizing ideas. Also I was wondering if there are any good books or cookbooks out there with meals that a picky teen would eat. My son who is 11 loves all the gluten free food so I am thinking about making the whole house gluten free. i t just seems like an easy solution. HELP jackie

[Guest nini]

I understand the overwhelmed feeling... it will get easier. In fact, it may be much easier to convert your entire house to gluten-free.

I have a newbie survival kit of files and menus and lists of naturally gluten free menu ideas and articles and just a bunch of useful stuff that I wish I had the first year my daughter and I were gluten-free. If you would like it e-mailed to you, just e-mail me at nisla@comcast.net and in the subject put "request newbie survival kit". It is a zip file, so you will need an unzip program to open it, and if you have any problems I could e-mail the files individually.

There really are a lot of foods out there that are NATURALLY gluten free, so your family can still eat "normally" and inexpensively and safely.

[penguin]

I haven't used it, but I've thumbed through The Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults and it looks like it has a lot of good, easy recipes in there. I saw it at my local barnes & noble.

My kitchen is gluten-free (I haven't touched my canisters, I'm afraid to! I think I'll buy new ones), but DH has a dedicated glutened shelf where he can keep his cheerios, mac and cheese, etc. He can only have pre packaged glutened foods in this house!

DH doesn't mind that I'm not making gluten stuff, and he likes tinkyada pasta better than regular pasta!

[Jen H]

Hi Jackie4,

I was diagnosed about 7 months ago and felt so helpless after my first gluten-free trip to the supermarket. I have been sticking with a very basic diet of foods which I am sure are gluten-free. I tend to buy items which say "gluten-free" right on the package.

I started to put together a binder and divided up the sections into gluten-free medicines, recipes, product lists, eating out, and recipes. I bring it with me when I travel and find it works well.

Bette Hagman has some good cookbooks. I think the one I have is "The Gluten Free Gourmet". It has a lot of basic food ideas.

My kitchen is not completely gluten free and my husband and I have a good system going. We both wipe down the counters after preparing food on the counter and I have my own peanut butter, butter, jelly, and salsa labeled. I also have my own toaster labeled. I'm a bit neurotic about it, but it seems to work well. My husband is really open to the diet and listens to my concerns about the shared kitchen.

Let us know what else you need help with.

[jackie4]

Hi Jackie4,

I was diagnosed about 7 months ago and felt so helpless after my first gluten-free trip to the supermarket. I have been sticking with a very basic diet of foods which I am sure are gluten-free. I tend to buy items which say "gluten-free" right on the package.

I started to put together a binder and divided up the sections into gluten-free medicines, recipes, product lists, eating out, and recipes. I bring it with me when I travel and find it works well.

Bette Hagman has some good cookbooks. I think the one I have is "The Gluten Free Gourmet". It has a lot of basic food ideas.

My kitchen is not completely gluten free and my husband and I have a good system going. We both wipe down the counters after preparing food on the counter and I have my own peanut butter, butter, jelly, and salsa labeled. I also have my own toaster labeled. I'm a bit neurotic about it, but it seems to work well. My husband is really open to the diet and listens to my concerns about the shared kitchen.

Let us know what else you need help with.

I have been sticking to a lot of fresh fruits and veggies but it just isn't cutting it for a fourteen year old who lived on pizza and bagels. I just bought another toaster and have dedicated a pantry and a shelf in the frig for her butter, jelly etc. I will try the cook book and the binder idea sounds good. At least I won't have all these papers scattered in my grocery cart. Thanks for the help and support! jackie4

I haven't used it, but I've thumbed through The Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults and it looks like it has a lot of good, easy recipes in there. I saw it at my local barnes & noble.

My kitchen is gluten-free (I haven't touched my canisters, I'm afraid to! I think I'll buy new ones), but DH has a dedicated glutened shelf where he can keep his cheerios, mac and cheese, etc. He can only have pre packaged glutened foods in this house!

DH doesn't mind that I'm not making gluten stuff, and he likes tinkyada pasta better than regular pasta!

I like your idea of only packaged gluten foods in the house. Today I went to make my son cookies (he does not have celiac disease) and the flour sort of puffed out all over. i never noticed how much gets all over everything. I just threw it out and wiped everything down about 10 times. Pre packaged gluten items are much easier. Thanks for the tips. jackie4

[Guest nini]

Kinnikinick makes some pretty good bagels and you can order them off their website if you can't find them in stores locally.

Open Original Shared Link

Chebe makes a really good pizza

Open Original Shared Link

if you have a Whole Foods near you they have an awesome line of pre made Gluten Free baked goods

Open Original Shared Link

[jackie4]

Kinnikinick makes some pretty good bagels and you can order them off their website if you can't find them in stores locally.

Open Original Shared Link

Chebe makes a really good pizza

Open Original Shared Link

if you have a Whole Foods near you they have an awesome line of pre made Gluten Free baked goods

Open Original Shared Link

hi nini! Thanks for all of the info. I have tried the bagels and they are good. my son- who does not have celiac disease- keeps eating them. I willl ltry the pizza. elizabeth really misses that the most. Everyone on this forum is so supportive!! I really appreciate it . have a great day!!! jackie4

[penguin]

hi nini! Thanks for all of the info. I have tried the bagels and they are good. my son- who does not have celiac disease- keeps eating them. I willl ltry the pizza. elizabeth really misses that the most. Everyone on this forum is so supportive!! I really appreciate it . have a great day!!! jackie4

I was sad that I couldn't have pizza, because I made it every Friday. Now, I make the chebe pizza every Friday and it's REALLY GOOD!!! It helps me to maintain a sense of normalcy to have pizza and coke every week