Picky Eater Who Has Celiac Age 11 Just Found Out

[Charron]

Hi my son age 11 yrs was dignosed the day before Thanksgiving. he has always been a picky eater. I have tried diffent gluten free food and he has not like them. I see how hard it is for him and how hard it is for him to deal with. I am also on a fix incom and find the food out ragesly priced. I have idenical twin girls who are going to be tested to make sur they don't have celiac. At night I search the web to educat myself, but its hard. I would love any Idea's how to get him to eat better. and try more food that tast a litte better.

[dilettantesteph]

Gluten free food is expensive, and a lot of it is horrible. I don't know how many dollars worth I threw away after one bite. If you eat fruits, vegetables, meats and rice it isn't expensive, but you do have to cook a lot. Some potato chips are O.K. as are some corn chips, pudding, cheese, ice cream. A lot of that gluten free food is cross contaminated with gluten anyway. Good luck.

[shayesmom]

Hi my son age 11 yrs was dignosed the day before Thanksgiving. he has always been a picky eater. I have tried diffent gluten free food and he has not like them. I see how hard it is for him and how hard it is for him to deal with. I am also on a fix incom and find the food out ragesly priced. I have idenical twin girls who are going to be tested to make sur they don't have celiac. At night I search the web to educat myself, but its hard. I would love any Idea's how to get him to eat better. and try more food that tast a litte better.

Looking back, I think that one of the most difficult things to deal with was the shift in attitude that needed to occur once we went gluten-free. In our case, at first, I tried changing out our "normal" foods for gluten-free ones. And some of the substitutes were just nasty! We relied too heavily on using bread or "breaded" products because that was how we ate at the time.

I found that the more we focused on all that we couldn't have, the harder the diet was. What had to change was our focus on all that we COULD have.....and how to promote those items to our advantage. We try to stick with as many foods as we can that are naturally gluten-free for all meals. The expensive, specialty items are kept for treats, special occasions, and sometimes snacks. I've learned to shop the internet for the specialty items. Many can be found at nearly 1/2 the cost on-line. This has really expanded our options as we also are on a more "fixed" income. And my dd also has to avoid dairy, soy and eggs.

If it would help, please post more information as to what types of food ideas you're looking for and we can all try to help....or at least give some reviews as to what's tasty and what's not.

[missy'smom]

It may be that he is picky because things make him feel not so good. He may change. It takes time for our systems to heal and even then we often feel better with certain routines. Introduce new things from time to time and in small quantity. Start with the things that he already likes that are naturally/already gluten-free. We like fruit so I make/buy alot of fruit based snacks and we try a new one every once in a while-we tried a fresh pomegranate over the holidays. If I find one thing we like-be it a product, recipe or ingredient then I brainstorm how I can use it in other ways. I have 3 ways to season a roasted chicken, 4 ways to dress up a pancake mix etc. that builds easy variety. My son doesn't like any of the gluten-free bread and is happy with rice and potatoes, so I send rice most of the time for school lunch. He will occasionally eat a grilled cheese on the gluten-free bread though. You can easily make homemade chicken nuggets and there are some fries from Ore-Ida that are gluten-free. Open Original Shared Link

For snacks we make/buy alot of air popped popcorn, natural fruit leathers, fruit juice gelatin made with juice and unflavored gelatin(plain or with added fruit), fruit juice popsicles-juice poured into dollar store popsicle molds, apple crisp

[Jaimepsalm63]

I've decided to do plain/lightly salted rice cakes instead of the gluten free bread for "sandwiches" or using them instead of popcorn. (One of my sons can't have corn, soy, or oats while another son can't have dairy...I'm the one who has to be gluten free and can't digest corn at all.) They come in a variety of flavors too if you're looking for that. They are crunchy (which most people love once in a while) and more stable than bread (can use them like a tostada). Big benefit is spending half the price for the same "amount".

Also, Wal-Mart is great for labeling their generic products gluten free!! Kudos to Wally world!!

I also get Pamela's choc brownie mix for special occasions only. Talk about something that is rich and very tasty...yum! I use a lot of Pamela's products if I want pancakes, bread, cakes.

At King Sooper's (If you have one near you and they work with this group), at least here in Colorado...they carry UDI bakery goods. They are also expensive and an occasional treat (I love their blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls).

In the Colorado Springs area is a dedicated bakery called Out of the Breadbox, they have breads, cookies, pies, crackers. Very expensive, but worth it for an occasional treat too.

What stinks is that gluten free food like breads and pastas and such are very expensive, but the alternative is much worse. I usually stick to rice, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, and meats (or at least I did before my gastroparesis got really bad). I saved the specialty items for special occasions.

Good luck and I hope your little one starts feeling better.

Jaime

[ang1e0251]

A year ago when I started the gluten-free diet, my husband had been laid off and his unemployment had just run out. Not only couldn't I afford to be tested, there was no way I could afford any specialty foods. I just ate very simply and, you know, now that my situation is better I still buy few of those items. They're expensive, a lot taste like cardboard, and they just don't digest that well for me.

I don't eat gluten-free bread. I did eventually find a recipe that wasn't too bad, but it kind of sits like a stone inside me. When I started out, I used toasted corn tortillas in place of anything I used to eat bread for. I still do that. I eat with butter with my eggs, use them as a base for pizza and for PB & J. They are delicious and cheap, less than $4 for a pack of 100 at Walmart. That lasts me more than a month and they have never gone bad in my fridge.

We eat rice at nearly every meal. My husband is Colombian and that was normal for him. He's very happy to eat that much rice and my system loves it.

I bake the no flour peanut butter cookies and everyone likes those. I make Death by Chocolate cake. It only calls for 4 tablespoons of flour so I sub cornstarch for that...yum!

I like corn or rice pasta that I buy at Walmart. It's not expensive, DeBoles is the brand.

You don't have to eat expensive foods on this diet. You do need to cook but that's healthier for all of us anyway.

Hang in there, he will soon find foods that work and you'll learn all that you need to. Just take it slowly.