18 Month Old W/celiac's

[ana-myceliacbaby]

hi i am new to this site and my 18mo old daughter was found to have celiac's. this was after a 3 week long hospital stay because she was contiously vomiting for 8 days strait. anyhow i just need some direction because i cant get many pre made gluten free foods in my area. i have tried to bake things but i am not having much luck so if anyone has any suggestions i am all ears. gosh this so overwelming i just need some help with this. also has anyone ever heard of a child this young having this?

thanks casandra

[FeedIndy]

My 17 month old was diagnosed about 7 months ago. She doesn't eat many prepared gluten free products at all. She mostly eats fresh fruit and vegetables. She likes chicken and turkey too so I will grill breasts or make extras at dinner.

Gerber has a select few of their Graduates meals that are gluten free if you need something fast to keep on hand. Off the top of my head I can remember a turkey stew, chicken & rice soup and one of their new turkey dinners I just saw at the store. These are nice to keep on hand for emergencies or when the family dinner is something she can't have. (DD is also intolerant to beef so anytime we have beef dinners, she needs an alternative.)

Take it easy and know that it gets much easier once you learn what she an and can't have.

[Ursa Major]

Hi Casandra, and welcome to this board.

As FeedIndy pointed out, there is LOTS of gluten-free food that's easy to get. All meat, fruit, vegetables, are gluten-free.

It would be wise to eliminate dairy from your daughter's diet for at least six months, as she may not get better otherwise. Right now her villi are too damaged to produce the enzyme lactase, which is needed to digest dairy.

You can order some baking mixes, gluten-free flours, pasta and snacks online, if you can't get to a store that carries them. That is the easy and convenient way of shopping for gluten-free foods for many people who are in your shoes.

[momagn5]

Welcome to the "No Swheats" life. (My 5 year old says this. She was diagnosed when she was 2, and she still doesn't quite get it, but she knows she can't eat what her friends eat.)

There are many online places to order from, you can have it shipped to your home.

Celiac Disease for Dummies (Barnes and Nobles ordered a copy for me) is a great book to have. There are also ways to modify your cooking/baking so things don't taste too differently. (Remember to put xantham gum in your baking so it holds its shape--my older girls are always forgetting that when they make Betty Crocker sugar cookies, but they turn out pretty good. Oh, avoid bean flours for sweets.)

Since your little one shouldn't be eating many sweets anyway, keep this in mind:

Avoid processed meats--deli meats, hot dogs, sausages. Some companies use gluten products as fillers.

There are some cereals that are gluten-free, but hard to find in the regular store.

French fries may also contain gluten--I'd let my kids snack on them when we were out and about--not any more.

Log onto ClanThompson, they send out a monthly email letter listing many products that are gluten-free!!! Also see if your local/nearby support group has a product guide that lists things in your area that are gluten-free. We purchased two for home (his/her copies for shopping) and one for the day care. It was a very small book, but nice to have.

Stick with fresh fruits, vegies, and meats. Your little one will be healthier all around that way.

Easter is coming--no jelly beans (there is one brand that is safe, but I can't recall it at the moment), no licorce.

York mint patty, Cadbury eggs, Peeps, Hershey's regular sized bars (not the mini's/King's), Reese's, FunDip--those are only a few of the sweets you can use to fill baskets if you don't mind your toddler having candy.

You can do this. You can do anything--you are a parent!...

[darlindeb25]

I have had jelly beans, just not sure which, I did do an internet search and found this:

Following is a complete list of our current product line:

YEAR-ROUND CANDIES

Mike and Ike - Original Fruits, Tropical Typhoon,

Berry Blast Jolly Joes - Grape, Orange 'n Cream, Strawberries 'n Cream

Hot Tamales and Super Hot Hot Tamales

Zours - Original Fruitz and Punch Fruitz

Teenee Beanee Jelly Beans

SUMMER

Mike and Ike - Stripes

Marshmallow Peeps Stars

VALENTINE'S DAY

Strawberry & Vanilla Creme Flavored Marshmallow Peeps Hearts

Non-flavored Hearts

Mike and Ike Valentine Treats

EASTER

Marshmallow Peeps, Bunnies and Giant Bunnies

Strawberry, Vanilla & Orange Creme Flavored Marshmallow Peeps Eggs

Mike and Ike Easter Treats

Just Born Jelly Beans

Peeps Jelly Beans

HALLOWEEN

Marshmallow Peeps Pumpkins, Spooky Cats, Ghosts & Cocoa Bats

Individually wrapped Vanilla Creme Flavored Marshmallow Peeps Ghosts

Snack Pack and Variety Pack Bags - Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales and Zours

CHRISTMAS

Marshmallow Peeps Christmas Trees and Snowmen

Holiday Cookie Flavored Marshmallow Peeps Cutouts

This info is from this site: Open Original Shared Link

[Nikki2003]

hi i am new to this site and my 18mo old daughter was found to have celiac's. this was after a 3 week long hospital stay because she was contiously vomiting for 8 days strait. anyhow i just need some direction because i cant get many pre made gluten free foods in my area. i have tried to bake things but i am not having much luck so if anyone has any suggestions i am all ears. gosh this so overwelming i just need some help with this. also has anyone ever heard of a child this young having this?

thanks casandra

I will post a recipe here. A friend of mine gave it to me and now my 3 yr old eats bread, she didn't for 7 months because all the breads I have found were not very great. But I bake banand bread and she eats it with everything.

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups Gluten free flour (any kind will do)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream together shortening and sugar, add eggs and beat well. Sift together ( I havn't sifted but you can) dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture alternating with banana, blending well after each addition,Stir in nuts, Pour into well greased loaf pan. Bake in oven (350) 40-45 minutes or until done. Remove from pan, cool on rack.

The Gluten free mixture I cook it for the 40-45 minutes on 350 then I turn the oven down to 250 and cook until the inside isnit soggy. About 15-20 minutes longer. Use your judgement and just check on it.

hope this works for you

It is the only bread I have been able to cook right.

[chrissy]

my girls eat all kinds of brands of jelly beans----we haven't run into any that are NOT gluten free----and we even eat brachs candy without problems----people are goint to tell you that brachs are cross contaminated---but i think that is just a CYA statement. jelly belly buttered toast jelly beans have gluten. this diet takes a little getting used to----it is not difficult once you figure it out, but it can be inconvenient.

[dionnek]

Amazon carries a ton of gluten free food (just search "gluten free" under both grocery and gourmet foods to find) - the only problem is you have to order most things in bulk. There are some mainstream cereals that are gluten-free (fruity/cocoa pebble, Trix I think - check the ingredients, Dora the Explorer stars, Mickey Mouse club house and Little Einsteins are some). I love the Pamela's baking and pancake mix on Amazon - use it to make pancakes, muffins, cookies, and banana bread, among many other things. Grapes, bananas, raisins are all great snacks for little ones, and peanut butter is gluten-free (read labels, but I've never seen one that's not) and so is a lot of the lunch meats/hot dogs, sausages (again, must read labels). Kraft and Unilever will clearly label any gluten sources (barely, wheat, rye, malt). This website has a good list of what to avoid. And make sure you check medications/vitamins - gluten has been known to hide in the craziest places!

[Christine E]

Just checked ClanThompson site, per "momagn. " Apparently, Trix has been reformulated. The new formulation is gluten-free, but old boxes may be on shelves. Check ingredients-if wheat is listed, it's an old formulation and with gluten.

Thanks for the link, momagn.

[HawkFire]

You should do what I do. I order my bread products from Kinnikinnick.com I used to do this all the time, but have found may gluten free products are arriving in my town. I relied on Kinnkinnick for several years. They are the best. I recommned all of their products. You will not be disappointed. The pancake mix is great, the chicken crispy coating makes nice chicken nuggets for children. All of thier products are good.

[Kibbie]

hi i am new to this site and my 18mo old daughter was found to have celiac's. this was after a 3 week long hospital stay because she was contiously vomiting for 8 days strait. anyhow i just need some direction because i cant get many pre made gluten free foods in my area. i have tried to bake things but i am not having much luck so if anyone has any suggestions i am all ears. gosh this so overwelming i just need some help with this. also has anyone ever heard of a child this young having this?

thanks casandra

My daughter was diagnosed at 18 months as well! I promise in a few months this will be much easier! I remember being completely overwhelmed and thinking that she would never be able to eat anything good.

-Kraft does a great job at labeling their foods... if it doesn't have anything bad listed its gluten free! (Nabisco too they are the same company as Kraft)

Here is what I fed/feed my daughter:

Breakfast: (some combination of these)

Eggs

fruit smoothie

yogurt

Rice cereal

Fruit of some type

Vans Gluten free waffles (found in the frozen section of my grocery store)

Lunch:

Left over dinner from the night before

Annies gluten-free mac and cheese

Steamed veggies

fruit

cheese

inside sandwiches (basically the stuff that goes in a sandwich but no bread)

Peanut butter and apples

Dinner: (what we at this week)

Sunday: Salmon with rice and steamed veggies

Monday: Chicken Marsala (used cornstarch instead of flour)

Tuesday: Mexican Lasagna (Rachael Ray's recipe but with gluten-free chili and corn tortillas)

Wednesday: Hamburgers with no bun, salad, and baked beans

Thursday: Left over night (we eat through our fridge)

Friday: SMoked Chicken with White BBQ sauce (recipe from BBQ university on PBS)

Saturday: We are going out to eat not sure where yet. my daighter will get Amy's Frozen Pizza (rice crust)

Snacks:

Fruit

Raisins

Craisins

Lara Bars

Popcorn

Veggies

Cheese

Smooshed Fruit (like fruit roll ups)

yogurt

On occasion:

M&M

Hershey Kisses

Enjoy life Cookies

Yogurt covered raisins or craisins

Hope that helps!