Starting A Gluten Free & Dairy Free Diet

[KaidensMummy]

I am suspecting that my son may have Celiac disease but am not getting much help from the doctor at all. (he actually stated to me once when I asked about the possibility of him having Celiac disease that "it could be but that is a very difficult & expensive diet anyway")

I am hoping to change his diet to see if this helps at all.

Any ideas you have would for a Toddler diet would be great as I have no clue, although I am starting to do lots of reading Thanks to this GREAT site.

My son loves fruits & most veggies as well.

Also is there a list somewhere of what kind of foods are safe & what isn't?? I honestly have no idea

Thanks

[missy'smom]

The gluten-free diet doesn't have to be expensive unless you purchase alot of replacement products. If you stick with fresh fruit, veg, meats and naturally gluten-free starches like potatoes and rice it is safer and you may even save money depending on how you shop and cook now. I buy some products that are expensive but the majority of our food is made from fresh ingredients so that offsets the extra cost and we have found a nice balance without spendng more. The fact that your child likes fruit and veg. is a real asset. You can make gelatin with knox unflavored gelatin and popsicles from 100% fruit juice and dollar store molds. Most store bought gelatin mixes should be safe and many pudding mixes and pudding cups are too. Gerber and other companies make freeze dried fruit that is safe and tasty and good for toddlers(I eat it too!) There are some good mixes out there that are a good place to start as far as baked goods go-pancakes, cupcakes, breads etc.. General Mills Rice Chex(but not corn chex) has been reformulated to be gluten-free. Besides eating it for breakfast, you can process it in the food processor to make crumbs to use in meatballs and meatloaf. Be sure to read up on cross-contamination and what measures you need to address as far as cooking/baking pans and other kitchen equipment that is used for his food.

Here are lists of safe and unsafe ingedients.

https://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Glut...3B-Ingredients/

By law, wheat is required to be listed on labels but gluten is not. So we need to know what ingredients can contain barley. Wheat-free products may still contain barley and it's derivatives or oats(which are cross-contaminated with wheat) so wheat-free is not always gluten-free. And even though oats are naturally gluten-free, some still react to them and the mainstream crops are contaminated with wheat so we have to buy certified gluten-free oats. Because some react. it is also advised to wait until the gluten-free diet is well established and GI tract is healed and introduce them slowly.

Some companies voluntarily list barley and it's derivatives on the labels. Here is link to that info.

Open Original Shared Link

[missy'smom]

I noticed in your other post that you are thinking dairy-free as well. Namaste makes mixes that are dairy-free and Glutino makes crackers(original flavor) that are dairy-free, as are the pretzels. Earthbalance is what I use for a dairy-free "butter".

[purple]

We love these waffles:

Open Original Shared Link

I keep bananas in the freezer then thaw one out when I make the waffles. I use 1 1/2 cups milk, usually almond and finely chopped almonds. Bob's Red Mill flour works great. I can get 15 squares, then wrap, bag and freeze the extra for the toaster. Simple and yummy.

Mini muffins! I love muffins for breakfast.

[KaidensMummy]

Thanks so much for all the helpful information.

We went to the doc's this AM & he says all the tests we did last week for a bacterial virus came back negative so the doc says he is thinking my son does have Celiac Disease. He told me to get him on a gluten free diet & check back with him in 2 weeks so we can see if this has helped. I am now just gathering info & trying to come up with a grocery list

Thanks for the helpful tips I really do appreciate it

BTW the waffles look great & my son LOVES bananas so thanx for that recipe!

[lbd]

Thanks so much for all the helpful information.

We went to the doc's this AM & he says all the tests we did last week for a bacterial virus came back negative so the doc says he is thinking my son does have Celiac Disease. He told me to get him on a gluten free diet & check back with him in 2 weeks so we can see if this has helped. I am now just gathering info & trying to come up with a grocery list

Thanks for the helpful tips I really do appreciate it

BTW the waffles look great & my son LOVES bananas so thanx for that recipe!

I'm trying to think of things I use that kids would probably like:

I really like the Blue Diamond Almond Milk and they have a chocolate version too. I also like the Namaste cake mixes (the chocolate and gingerbread mixes are great and they make a lot of cake). I buy Glutino pretzels. Pamela's Baking Mix is fantastic, but it might have some milk powder? I'm not sure, but it probably says so on the label. It makes the best pancakes, even better than glutenized ones.

Belle and Evans makes gluten-free chicken strips (make sure the box says gluten-free since they have both kinds out there). I also like the Chebe mixes for rolls, pizza crust, etc. I also like Kinnikinnick Donuts and Bagels, and Enjoy Life candy bars. I like Erewhon gluten-free rice krispie cereal. Finally, for toast, I like Rice-Almond or Pecan Almond Bread from Glutino (I think) and I think they put out the Flaxseed Bread as well that is good toasted. All are awful non-toasted.

Those are the main processed foods I buy for gluten free. I found I wasted a lot of money on stuff that just tasted bad. I think the Pamela's mix is very good and am sorry I wasted so much money on flours at first. I think someone here probably has a substitute mix which duplicates the formula made from individual flours.

Good luck!

Laurie

[lbd]

Oh yes, and how could I forget Tinkyada pastas! They are the best and everyone in my family likes them!

Laurie

[Mother of Jibril]

We went to the doc's this AM & he says all the tests we did last week for a bacterial virus came back negative so the doc says he is thinking my son does have Celiac Disease.

Well that's some good news at least! The Gluten-free Casein-free is not that difficult or expensive once you get used to it. Here are some simple foods that my three-year-old really likes...

- hard boiled eggs

- baked "french fries" (cut the potatoes into slices, coat them with olive or canola oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 375 for about an hour)

- apple slices

- orange slices

- pieces of vegetables (broccoli, snap peas, celery, bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, slices of zucchini... nice and crunchy!)

- rice cakes or corn cakes with nut butter

- bananas

- strawberries (even the frozen ones)

- dark chocolate (watch out for dairy additives)

- waffles

- raisins and other dried fruits

- nuts (as long as your son is not allergic and will chew them)

- soy yogurt (much better than you might think!)

- almond milk, soy milk

- cream of rice cereal (like oatmeal, but made of rice)

- popsicles or sorbet

- hummus (very nice on carrots or a rice cake)

- Gluten-free cereal (not just for breakfast!)

[irish daveyboy]

Hi here's a recipe for a Gluten Free, Wheat Free and Dairy Free Banana Bread.

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This is really delicious, you can choose to omit the nuts and/or fruit if necessary.

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Open Original Shared Link

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Hope this is of some help.

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Best Regards,

David

[KaidensMummy]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the tips & recipes....i REALLY appreciate the help