A Mom Needs Help Here.....

[Canadian Karen]

Hi. I also belong to a parenting forum and one of the moms e-mailed me about her children's diet (I post alot about gluten free and celiac). Anyway, this is her question:

I too have 2 threeyear old boys who were recently diagnosed as being severely intolerant to all wheat products, lactose, all dairy (milk, goat, sheep) products, corn, yeast, (along with the obvious ones like sugar, dyes, etc). As they are toddlers, I am going out of my mind trying to find things to make for them. They eat some veggies like green peppers and carrots, and will eat chicken and meatballs. They are getting tired of oatmeal and can only eat chewy yeast-free rye bread so many meals in a row before it gets boring!! They love fruit. Can you please help me find something to serve them other than oatmeal, pb(sugar free) on toast with bananas, and meatballs and baby carrots! They will not eat rice or potatoes, but will eat the brown rice pasta once in a while.

Thank you so much...this has been so stressful for me. Even the slightest dairy seems to set them off. For example, i gave them the instant oatmeal one day instead of the oldfashioned porridge, and realized later that it has modified milk ingredients in it, which set them off again.

HELP!! please..

Thanks guys! I have also directed her to this site too......

Hugs.

Karen

[Guest nini]

her kids are still getting an awful lot of gluten with rye toast and oatmeal... I know she didn't say they are gluten intolerant, but she really needs to explore that.

definitely steer her to this site, I'll do my best to try to suggest some toddler friendly foods they can eat.

[Canadian Karen]

Thanks Nini..... I have e-mailed her back giving her the link to come here.....

I knew you could come through!

Hugs.

Karen

[Judyin Philly]

Gosh, wish i could help her besides just sending her lots of hugs...have to look at her list again i do have a cereal i love that they might like as a snack or cereal..can they have almond breeze vanila milk subst.?

I'll try to find the cereal and post it if it matches her needs.

Has she read that great book, by Danna Korn (I think it is) my chiro has a 7 year old with celiac disease and chrons i'll try to ck out that book too.

bet you've already told her, have you karen?

judy

hi again,

just ck'd ingred of Bakery on Main granola and it has corn sorry.

Kids with Celiac Disease$ 17.95 by Danna Korn (books0012)

A Family Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Gluten-Free Children.

I thought the children were gluten-free. guess i missed something here. thought they were off wheat.???

judy

[flagbabyds]

All i would say would be to cut out gluten as well, that could maybe allievate some of the other intolerances as well.

[lonewolf]

The book Incredible, Edible Gluten Free Foods for Kids (I think that's what it's called) is great and has lots of easy and kid-friendly recipes. It's a good place for a "newbie" to start. A lot of the recipes have dairy, but many of them can use rice or almond milk.

[sam3gemini]

Hi all,

Thank you for your advice (thanks Karen for posting me), I am the mom seeking the advice here. On the testing that was done, my kids did not test intolerant for gluten, which is why I am still giving them the yeast-free rye bread. I will try some of the cookbooks suggested, I am feeling overwhelmed because of the time it is taking to find the foods and try new things (the boys just turned 3 and I have a 6 month old at home as well). Can I ask what type of testing most of you used to determine intolerances or allergies? Mine were taken for electrodermal testing but my gp doesn't put much faith in it. I know that it is accurate b/c two days after I took them off wheat and dairy (and all the other things), their bms improved dramatically.

What about a dietitian? Should I see one? I didn't realize how many different symptoms could be from these intolerances...it makes me question my own diet. Also, one of my friends wondered if it might be candida? I'm such a newbie, I have so many questions, I don't really even know where to start.

Lost...(I'm sure this isn't even really a big deal compared to what some of you are going through with allergies and everything, but right now it seems mountainous!)

[mommida]

I'm checking on some products.

Chebe bread mixes are a good start for different bread. You will have to watch your additions for the mixes. Keep offering all fruits and vegetables. (Not that I really consider this the best advice, but we just adopted a bunny. The kids are eating more fresh vegetables, as they prepare Esbaugh's snacks.)

It is overwhelming at first. Be patient with yourself. I think you will find some major support here.

Laura

(By the way every one of my tests came back negative for Celiac, but trust me bad things happen if it gets in my body. The gluten free diet could help heal their guts faster)

[Guest nini]

my daughter was 3 when I was dx'ed with celiac, her tests were negative, but I've since found out that she did not have the complete panel that I had. However, her response to the diet has been nothing short of miraculous, and after a while of being off gluten, we were able to reintroduce dairy back into our diets, because our insides had healed enough so that we could properly digest dairy... I would seriously recommend giving the complete gluten-free diet a good solid try and see if it makes a difference. There are many foods allowed on a gluten-free and dairy free diet, sure it will require a little creativity, but I think that that age (3) is a good age to indroduce them to the gluten-free diet, they haven't had too long to get used to all the gluten filled junk that's out there. And as long as you can find suitable replacements and fun kid frieindly food that they enjoy, they won't miss it.

Stick with a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, clean organic meats, nuts if they can tolerate them, and grains like quinoa, rice (brown rice is an excellent source of fiber)...

my daughter loves to make funny faces with cut up fruit, ants on a log (raisins on bananas w/ peanut butter or any other nut butter), and baby carrots are absolutely a staple for her.

Ask away any question that comes to mind. Just because you don't have a positive test result for gluten intolerance, doesn't mean you don't have it. Keep that in mind. Positive dietary response is the most valid way to determine a food sensitivity.

[sam3gemini]

my daughter was 3 when I was dx'ed with celiac, her tests were negative, but I've since found out that she did not have the complete panel that I had. However, her response to the diet has been nothing short of miraculous, and after a while of being off gluten, we were able to reintroduce dairy back into our diets, because our insides had healed enough so that we could properly digest dairy... I would seriously recommend giving the complete gluten-free diet a good solid try and see if it makes a difference. There are many foods allowed on a gluten-free and dairy free diet, sure it will require a little creativity, but I think that that age (3) is a good age to indroduce them to the gluten-free diet, they haven't had too long to get used to all the gluten filled junk that's out there. And as long as you can find suitable replacements and fun kid frieindly food that they enjoy, they won't miss it.

Stick with a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, clean organic meats, nuts if they can tolerate them, and grains like quinoa, rice (brown rice is an excellent source of fiber)...

my daughter loves to make funny faces with cut up fruit, ants on a log (raisins on bananas w/ peanut butter or any other nut butter), and baby carrots are absolutely a staple for her.

Ask away any question that comes to mind. Just because you don't have a positive test result for gluten intolerance, doesn't mean you don't have it. Keep that in mind. Positive dietary response is the most valid way to determine a food sensitivity.

Thank you so much, I can't believe I've never known anyone with these problems, and now that I am going through this with my sons, it seems it is so very common!

I have asked my doctor for a referral to a dietitian, has anyone gone this route? Can you suggest any questions I should be asking him/her when I go? I hate leaving an appointment and thinking "oh shoot, I should have asked....". Since I am lugging 3 kids age 3 and under with me, I like to be thorough when I actually make it there!

Also, I'm wondering where these intolerances are coming from? Should I be looking at myself, or maybe my husband? Should we all be changing our diet? I have felt very tired and low energy (but that's to be expected, my life being what it is right now with 3 small kids!!), and just overall "off" for a long time now, I was thinking of visiting my friend's "healer" (I know it sounds crazy, but she's more of a naturopath than a magic healer) to see if she might have any ideas, but now I'm wondering if I should be changing my diet too.

What tipped anybody else off that there might be a problem with their diet, and how did you narrow it down to gluten?

thanks,

S

[wonkabar]

Hi! My 3 year old son has had tremendous success on a gluten-free diet without any type of formal Dx. Once you get into a groove with gluten free foods, it's not as bad as it seems. It's like learning a foreign language. Although I've done far better with this than Spanish, but that's another story! My daughter is 17 months and eats most of this this stuff, too. I just looked in my pantry and freezer; I know some of these won't meet all of your needs. A lot of gluten-free stuff is also free of the common allergens as well. I figured it was easier to post a list of stuff so you at least had a starting point with brand names and such. So as far as toddler-friendly foods go..........

*Wellshire Farms gluten-free chicken nuggets...they're shaped like dinosaurs and quite good.

*Ian's makes gluten-free fish sticks and nuggets...also good.

*Gluten Free Pantry makes some excellent mixes....brownies, chocolate cake (also great for cupcakes), brown rice pancake mix (we add 1 t. of gluten-free vanilla, 1 T sugar and only use 3/4 c milk--you can also add gluten-free/casein free choc. chips to them!), chocolate chip cookie mix (freeze the dough first), etc.

*Mrs. Leepers Pasta for Kids...it's shaped like animals and my kids like it with a little bit of olive oil and grated parm. I'll also add peas and carrots.

*Van's Gluten Free Waffles/blueberry and apple cinn...my kids will eat them plain for b-fast or a snack or with butter and pure maple syrup

*gluten-free tortilla chips (either plain or multi-colored)....you can add some seasoned beef/turkey and shredded cheddar

*Alexia Organic French Fries or Sweet Potato Fries....really good

*Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips (plain)....they're different colors and quite good.

*Gen-Soy Soy Crisps...they look like rice cakes and come in lots of flavors.

*Robert's American Gourmet....this company makes lots of organic snacks.

...and, of course, lots of fruit and veggies if your little ones will eat them! My son loves eating the fruit in the plastic cups so we do lots of peaches and apple sauce. I make lots of chicken and burgers (turkey and beef) using foil on the grill. Things always taste better on the grill. I also try to buy as much organic stuff as I can, which can certainly get pricey. Most of this stuff is organic. Obviously, the fresher the better, but that's not always an option with toddlers. Also, you can do some research on Gluten-Free/Casien Free diets on www.Gluten-free Casein-free.com. If you haven't already done this, don't be alarmed when you see LOTS of info. about Autism and Spectrum Disorders. Some children who are on the Spectrum have shown tremendous progress and have become asymptomatic, to varying degrees, when following a gluten-free/CF diet. There are a lot of resources and useful information on this sight. I learned a lot from it last year when we were trying to figure out what was going on with my son's GI system.

As far as being tipped off.......my son never had solid poops, they had an absolutely awful smell (if your kids ever had Rotovirus that's what it smelled like all of the time), he had a blistery, bleeding diaper rash, he wasn't sleeping well at night (up several times a week--sometimes for a couple of hours), lots of screaming, crying and throwing things for no apparent reason, very irritable at times. This wasn't his typical disposition at all. We started trying different dietary changes after we went to a Pediatric GI who was a complete jack-ass and told us "he's just fine"...HELLO!!!!!!!!!! Eliminating gluten was the only thing we hadn't tried. The whole story is in this forum under the title Does Any of this Sound Familiar?--The effect of gluten to my son's system is unbelievable. He has had tremendous success with this diet both from a GI standpoint and behaviorally. He is so much calmer and FAR less irritable. His behavior is just awful if he ingests gluten. I hope this helps!

--Kristy

[Guest nini]

unless you find a dietician extremely knoweledgeable about the gluten-free diet (highly unlikely), a dietician is likely to be a total waste of time and money. You can learn more on this site than from most dieticians... the only thing they can help with is to see if what you are feeding the kids is balanced...

how was I tipped of about gluten? Once I was dx'ed officially with Celiac and I realized it was genetic, my mom said, "you know, your daughter has the same symptoms you had as a baby, I wonder if she has it too?" DUH!!!

Even after being totally dismissed by the pediatric Gastroenterologist, I still was convinced that was what was behind her terrible mood swings, her foul bm's and raw bloody bottom, and the reason why she was so small.

[Guest Jack's mom]

Have you tried www.foodallergy.org? They have recipes for everything and list allergic ingredients. I have also seen serval cookbooks that are wheat, dairy, corn, and egg free. I have one - Feeding your allergic child by Elisa Meyer. You could probably find plenty of recipes just by searching online - for free. Good luck!

[wonkabar]

Me again...I checked out ingredients in some of the stuff I listed, and it looks like these particular items should meet your needs. Also, if you go to www.welshirefarms.com you can plug in the allergens you're avoiding and they'll list the products they have to meet those needs. Best of luck with your little guys!

--Kristy

*Van's Wafffles

*Terra Exotic Vegetable chips

*GenSoy Soy crisps

*Alexia Fries

*EnviroKids Rice Bars (berry)

*Mrs. Leepers Pasta just for Kids