Brand New - Could Really Use Some Insight

[mmcdaniels]

Hi. My 7-y-o son who also has autism had a scope Friday with the dx of celiac disease confirmed Tuesday. He was very ill and on clear liquids only most of the time in between (high fever, bloody diahrea, etc) so we decided to reintroduce only gluten-free foods. I figured after going a few days without anything the transition might be a bit easier. I have a fair amount of ideas for eating at home but am a bit stumped on the on-the-go type of eating. Tomorrow we have an appt for the autism study he's involved in at 11:00 and Occupational Therapy at 1:30 and probably need to eat a quick lunch in between. I am open to either packing some nutrious gluten-free foods we can have a sort of picnic on or stopping at a restaurant.

I would really appreciate any suggestions on "what works" for you. We nut-free ideas due to a peanut allergy.

[Eriella]

Worst-case, running late, completely no other options is Fritos and M&Ms and coke.

If you are in the Philadelphia region, WaWa's fruit bowls, cheese sticks, and tostitos are my meal on the run.

In supermarkets get a fruit salad. Then for protein either cheese, yogurt, or bean dip and for solid carb either fritos or rice cake.

As far as fast food-- Wendy's chili and baked potato.

To pack-- cheese stick or yogurt (if you can still have milk), fruit and veggies (like fruit salad or baby carrots), and Glutino pretzels.

[hayley3]

Is Wendy's the only fast food? What about Taco Bell?

Could you eat at Arby's and just take the meat off the bread?

[dandelionmom]

Taco Bell is pretty awful because they sneak gluten into all their spices. We mostly do Wendy's (cheese burger with no bun, orange slices, milk) or McDonalds (cheese burger no bun, fries -but check to be sure they use a dedicated frier or apple slices, and milk).

Honestly though it is so hard to eat out without getting sick. I have to make a big fuss while ordering about how her food can't touch the bread and ask them to change gloves and not forget to use fresh utensils. So I usually end up packing her lunch. She likes those yogurt tubes, envirokids cereal bars, cheese sticks, glutino pretzels, and a variety of fruits and veggies.

I always keep a whole box of the envirokids cereal bars and a lot of juice boxes in my car just in case.

[kbtoyssni]

Taco Bell is terrible for gluten-free people. Not sure about Arby's meat, but most fast food makes me very nervous. Sometimes I get a milk shake. There's enough calories in them to keep me going, even though it is all sugar so not the best. Sometimes I bring some pasta and put it in a cup of hot water. It will pretty much cook after five minutes or so.

String cheese is great. I do mini bags of M&Ms for a small snack. Fruit. Pretzels. Chips (lays stax, corn chips, etc)

I go to a celiac walk every year and I save all the sample items I get for these types of trips. I leave some in my car all the time - I just have to remember to take the ones with chocolate out during the summer so they don't get all melty!

I make those "magic peanut butter cookies" for longer trips - like flying to england. They're the ones made of just PB, egg, sugar and vanilla. I make them with sunflower seed butter because I'm also allergic to peanuts. They travel ok (they do get a bit crumbly, so take them in a tupperware instead of a ziploc bag), but they last a few weeks and don't get stale. Again, it's high sugar, but I use them if I'm really hungry and have nothing. They seem to take the edge off really well.

If you have a cooler, cold pizza is good.

[Lisa]

Me three on the Taco Bell. There is nothing there suitable. Chick-fil-A has a gluten free menu on line at www.chickfila.com.

[pugluver31902]

Taco bell even cooks there tortilla chips with the flour ones.

Wendy's baked potato, chili, frosty, and fries if they have a dedicated fryer.

Chipolte except for the flour tortilla, make sure they change thier gloves.

Dairy queen has an online menu, but you have to ask them to clean the mixer. They are usually very accomodating.

Chic-fil-a fries

McDonalds is hugely debated as to weather they have gluten free fries or not. To give an objective opinion the oil they use does contain wheat, but it does not always show up in testing so it may be considered gluten free. You have to make that descion on your own.

Your best bet for fast food places to to look at the online website, usually in the nutrition section and see if they offer a gluten free menu.

Kids really like (as well as the adults) the brand Enviro Kids. They make vanilla animal cookies, choclate rice cripsie bars, and cereal thats good for on the run. I really enjoy Energy brand pretzles. Nana's makes a gluten free cookie berry bar. Glutino has great ritz like crackers that I put slices of cheese on. Apple slices and peanut butter, string cheese, and yogurt is great for on the run. Carrots and dip, lays stax (like pringles), and cheetos are great too.

Good luck! Its overwhelming in the beggining, but you will catch on. Just remember to REALLY check labels, as gluten hides in EVERYTHING from sauces, dressings, tea, rice crispies, chips, some shredded cheeses, play-doh, shampoo, and more. Don't forget to get a new toaster, wooden spoons, and things like peanut butter that have been double dipped in.

[loco-ladi]

I have eaten at arby's but always go at an off time to get the "personal" service and I order a salad WITHOUT the meat

As for "just take the meat out of the sandwich"...... honey you will still have bread crumbs allllllllll over it so don't even think about it... order it breadless instead.

[hayley3]

I don't even go in Dairy Queen anymore since I found out their ice creams contain wheat! That was my first clue I had a wheat problem because I always got stomach pain afterwards.

My daughter will be happy to know she can have a frosty.

[kbtoyssni]

I don't even go in Dairy Queen anymore since I found out their ice creams contain wheat! That was my first clue I had a wheat problem because I always got stomach pain afterwards.

Woah, I never would have thought to ask about that. Thanks for sharing.

[pugluver31902]

I don't even go in Dairy Queen anymore since I found out their ice creams contain wheat! That was my first clue I had a wheat problem because I always got stomach pain afterwards.

My daughter will be happy to know she can have a frosty.

Holy cow! Are you kidding me? I eat there all the time. The company told me thier ice cream was gluten free, and they have a gluten free menu online.

[happygirl]

Could you eat at Arby's and just take the meat off the bread?

No, you can't----its not gluten free then.

Pack a lunch in an insulated cooler. Bring what you would normally have for lunch.

[cruelshoes]

I don't even go in Dairy Queen anymore since I found out their ice creams contain wheat! That was my first clue I had a wheat problem because I always got stomach pain afterwards.

The soft serve ice creams are on the current Open Original Shared Link. We hardly ever go there, but my son occasionally will get a Dilly Bar.

To the original poster - It is a very good idea to forego eating out when one is first diagnosed. Cross-contamination is a very great possibilty at fast food restaurants under the best of circumstances. Any exposure to gluten will delay your son's healing time. I personally would recommend packing a lunch kit everywhere you go. We have a soft-sided cooler that we fill with yogurt, string cheese, fruit and deli meat whenever we are going to be out of the house for any length of time. Also, there are great shelf-stable things like Dinty moore beef stew, Hormel Chili in microwave cups (read the label because not all are gluten-free), Larabars, Envirokidz Bars and many brands of fruit snacks. If you always try to keep a stash in your purse or car, it really helps with the unexpected times when kids are famished and you have to make a quick choice on what to eat.

Good luck, and remember you are not alone.

[pugluver31902]

The soft serve ice creams are on the current Open Original Shared Link. We hardly ever go there, but my son occasionally will get a Dilly Bar.

Ok, so Im not crazy. I go to dairy queen all the time and get a soft serve vanilla blizzard. The guy is great with cross contamination and also makes sure to clean everything really well for me. Im A Symptomatic so I wouldnt know if I was getting glutened, but my husband gets really bad reactions to gluten and he has always been fine. I saw the previous post that the ice cream has wheat in it and freaked out!

Ok, Im so sorry to hi-jack the thread. Continue on...

[hayley3]

Wow, now I will have to go check again. All we ate were the vanilla cones and I gave them up, maybe for nothing.

Okay, I went back to Dairy Queen website and this is what I'm looking at. Could someone check and see if I'm crazy. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong. My brain is not what it used to be.

Open Original Shared Link

It's a PDF file so it takes a minute or so to load.

[pugluver31902]

Ok, I think on that allergen chart, they are actually including the cone with the soft serve and it is labeled vanilla cone soft serve. BC if you look at the blizzards as long as the candy is wheat free, so is the blizzard. Plus, none of the sundae's which are made with the soft serve contain wheat. Try looking at this.

Open Original Shared Link

[hayley3]

Well, duh, I feel so stupid.

However, now I have to wonder why it made my stomach hurt. I can drink milk with no problems. Hmmmm

Sorry, I got the message off track.

[pugluver31902]

were you eating the cone then bc thats made of wheat?

[hayley3]

Nope, I don't think I ate the cone. I don't normally, but I could have eaten a small section. I can't remember for sure.

Maybe it was the trans fats. I don't have a gallbladder.

[pugluver31902]

Could just be one of those strange things. But even if you didnt eat the cone, if you ate any of the ice cream that was touching the cone that would have been cross contamination. Some people react to unseen amounts of wheat and gluten. For a celiac they say it only takes the equivalint of 1/16 of a grain of rice to cause digestive problems. Some people are even more sensitive than that.

[loco-ladi]

OK, I think you may be misreading it.... the "DQ vanilla soft serve" includes the cone which would be where the wheat is showing up.

[mmcdaniels]

Kids really like (as well as the adults) the brand Enviro Kids. They make vanilla animal cookies, choclate rice cripsie bars, and cereal thats good for on the run. I really enjoy Energy brand pretzles. Nana's makes a gluten free cookie berry bar. Glutino has great ritz like crackers that I put slices of cheese on. Apple slices and peanut butter, string cheese, and yogurt is great for on the run. Carrots and dip, lays stax (like pringles), and cheetos are great too.

Good luck! Its overwhelming in the beggining, but you will catch on. Just remember to REALLY check labels, as gluten hides in EVERYTHING from sauces, dressings, tea, rice crispies, chips, some shredded cheeses, play-doh, shampoo, and more. Don't forget to get a new toaster, wooden spoons, and things like peanut butter that have been double dipped in.

Thanks for your insight & everyone elses. I've been a little slow to get back. This week has been overwhelming. My son not only got his celiac disease dx, he also picked up some salmonella poisioning and had a high fever and bloody diahrea.

It's hard to know how much he's avoiding food because he's mad about the changes and how much he's avoiding food because he has been so sick. He is autistic and a very picky eater who doesn't like change and doesn't have the communication skills to tell me what he's thinking.

I think (hope) Trix yogurt is safe. That has long been a favorite food. So far he won't eat any other kind of yogurt.

The only cheese he eats well are the processed American-type slices and I doubt they are safe. I didn't keep my package and I need to find a lot of time to spend in stores reading labels.

He does eat lunch meats and I have been pleasantly surprised to find many of them are safe. It looks like I can at least pack a cooler of lunch meat, yogurt and juice boxes and maybe some chips--not an ideal meal but at least it would be safe.

[pugluver31902]

I dont know about trix yogurt bc Ive never bought it, but I know the American cheese slices I buy are gluten free, and I get them at a regular grocery store.