Thought I Was A Little More Prepared Than This...

[jitters]

Okay. My mom has been gluten free for about 10 years now. So I'm not brand new to all this. In fact, I thought I would be a lot more prepared for this. Now I'm realizing I'm totally overwhelmed and scared. I have been gluten free (well, okay I admit I have been cheating more and more lately) for four years. My symptoms are almost non existant so its sometimes hard to stay away from gluten when it doesn't make me sick. I would almost rather it made me extremely ill so it would be easier to stay away from it.

So- I got the results back on my three year old daughter today:

Gluten Sensitivity Stool Test

Fecal Antigliadin IgA 30 (Normal Range <10 Units)

Cow's Milk Protein Sensitivity Stool Test

Fecal anti-casein (cow

[RiceGuy]

For the dairy, I've found nut milks are tremendously delicious. I really like them, and the nice part is they are easy to make, so you don't have to buy them. There are other sorts of milk too, such as rice, soy, etc. Dairy free cheeses are available, so check your local health food stores. One brand I know is Open Original Shared Link, but do watch the ingredients, as some products contain casein, and/or hidden MSG.

[abigail]

you may ask to the doctor if a LActose FRee milk will also work for your kid.

good luck, and be strong!!

Abi

[Nancym]

you may ask to the doctor if a LActose FRee milk will also work for your kid.

good luck, and be strong!!

Abi

That won't help for a casein sensitivity. You have to avoid all dairy.

[Nantzie]

Although I've seen much higher numbers, she's got about the same numbers as my kids did as far as gluten goes. They both showed a dramatic improvement in digestive issues AND behavior/mood issues on the gluten-free diet.

Nancy

[jitters]

Although I've seen much higher numbers, she's got about the same numbers as my kids did as far as gluten goes. They both showed a dramatic improvement in digestive issues AND behavior/mood issues on the gluten-free diet.

Nancy

Thanks, thats what I was looking for. We've definitely had some mood issues lately, I'm really hoping the gluten free diet will help. It sure helps my mood!

[shayesmom]

My second question- how in the heck am I going to go dairy free with her? Cheese and milk is a food staple for her. In the back of my mind I always new that she had issues with dairy and gluten, but now I KNOW she does and I am responsible for keeping her healthy until she is old enough to understand this disease and make the right decisions regarding food.

The more and more I think about this, the more overwhelmed I am. I truly thought I was more prepared than this...

Anyone out there with children who are dairy and gluten free? Any tips for me?

My dd is gluten, dairy, soy and egg-free. We also severely restrict food colorings as there is a random reaction associated with them....but we haven't pinpointed which one.

There are a lot of good milk substitutes out there. We don't rely on just one kind, but rather, rotate them. For milk we use any of the following: rice milk, hemp milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk or Vance's Dari-free (potato). For recipes, I often will use coconut milk in lieu of milk or cream.

Cheese is a bit harder to replace because the alternative cheeses invariably contain casein. A while back, someone here posted some cashew cheese recipes. The recipe looked and sounded odd....but we've tried it and it's a very good cheese substitute. It makes a sliceable cheese or just a cheese sauce (a bit like Monterey in flavor). Although it doesn't hold up to heat for long and the texture isn't the same, the flavor is very good. My dd loves it on her pizza, tacos, etc..

Besides that, Enjoy Life makes a good allergen-free chocolate chip. Living Without magazine had a really good dairy/gluten/soy-free pudding recipe if you want an occasional treat.

In all honesty, the best place to look for recipes free of gluten and dairy would be on a paleo diet site. You also may have some luck if you look for raw food recipes or even vegan recipes. I've found that by combining the different techniques/substitutions on these sites that I can acheive a great amount of versatility. Most people don't notice that they are eating allergy-free over here.