Looking For Some Help For My Son....

[Nolan'smom]

Hey all,

my 7 year old son was just diagnosed this week....and needless to say i am a mess....this come hot on the heels of a diagnosis for myself of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis so needless to say our home has been turned upside down over the past few months...ggrrr....none the less just looking to find some info on gluten free snacks (aside from fruits and veggies) that are yummy. We are a fairly healthy family foodwise but my son does like to have snacks as any 7 year old does....havent tried a whole lot yet so lookign for any suggestions. thanks and i look forward to hearing from you.

[Dace]

Hey all,

my 7 year old son was just diagnosed this week....and needless to say i am a mess....this come hot on the heels of a diagnosis for myself of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis so needless to say our home has been turned upside down over the past few months...ggrrr....none the less just looking to find some info on gluten free snacks (aside from fruits and veggies) that are yummy. We are a fairly healthy family foodwise but my son does like to have snacks as any 7 year old does....havent tried a whole lot yet so lookign for any suggestions. thanks and i look forward to hearing from you.

There are a lot of snack options available! That is the good news

I tend to stay away from packaged foods altogether but with 4 kids in the house some must be kept. Corn tortilla chips are great....top with some shredded cheese, refried beans and avocado for nachos. Home popped pop corn, with melted real butter and some sea salt. Yogurt (check ingredients), nuts dried fruit, sliced cheese, rice cakes with peanut butter (preferably homemade)....that is about all that comes to mind.

As I said, I try to get my kids to eat real food not colorful little packages of nonfood, which is what all thier friends have

[Dace]

I meant to add....have you been tested yourself? RA can by a symptom of gluten intolerance. There is also a strong link between RA and vit. D deficiencies....be sure to have your D levels checked.

[mushroom]

As a psoriatic arthritis sufferer myself, I endorse what the previous poster said. My Vitamin D levels were in the pits I actually went gluten free to help my PsA but discovered that I was gluten intolerant too (as well as a lot of other things )

[sa1937]

Hey all,

my 7 year old son was just diagnosed this week....and needless to say i am a mess....this come hot on the heels of a diagnosis for myself of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis so needless to say our home has been turned upside down over the past few months...ggrrr....none the less just looking to find some info on gluten free snacks (aside from fruits and veggies) that are yummy. We are a fairly healthy family foodwise but my son does like to have snacks as any 7 year old does....havent tried a whole lot yet so lookign for any suggestions. thanks and i look forward to hearing from you.

There are lots of snacks available...maybe too many Here are a few of my favorites and I tolerate them well (not everyone can). Of course, read the labels for everything. A lot of these were things I enjoyed prior to going gluten free and many are available in regular grocery stores, not something you need to go to specialty stores for. I bet your son eats a good many of these already.

Glutino pretzels or pretzel sticks

Betty Crocker gluten free brownie mix

Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups (yummy!!!)

Lay's potato chips, Fritos, tortilla chips, Cheetos

Reese's peanut butter cups

Blue Diamond Nut-Thins

Jell-O and puddings

Chex gluten free cereals (I like to snack on the Chocolate Chex)

Dried fruit (like cranberries, etc.) or trail mix

Nuts

Edy's fruit bars (I love the strawberry ones)

Popsicles

Ice cream (obviously NOT cookies and cream, etc.)

I also like rice cakes with peanut butter and had them for breakfast this morning.

Wishing you the best! It is overwhelming at first but does get easier.

[eastvangal]

Hi There,

Check out glutenfreegirandthechef.com I believe is the site. She has many great, tested and easy gluten-free recipes. She is a very enthusiatic cook with a love for fresh ingredients and she has a small child. She is five years gluten free.

I made some really yummy quinoia crackers based on her recipe- using some cooked quioia, a mix of gluten-free flours, such as rice flour and garbanzo bean flour, a bit of butter and a bit of olive oil, some seeds and such (chia, sesame, flax...), salt and bake. Mmmmmmm.

[MartialArtist]

In addition to the fabulous ideas provided already:

• 
  
  
• Yoplait yogurts (not sure what other brands are ok but this is my favorite brand, so I made note of that quick!)
  
• Lay's Stax (look and taste like Pringles only slightly thicker)
  
• Rice Works Crisps -- the baked cinnamon ones are especially yummy

There are a ton of no-flour peanut butter cookie recipes online -- the one I use came from Open Original Shared Link and is best with chocolate chips in it, IMHO.

I'm an overgrown child when it comes to my eating habits, so these quick snack things are important for me too!

[sa1937]

I'm an overgrown child when it comes to my eating habits, so these quick snack things are important for me too!

I'm a LOT older than 7, but I like snacky things, too. Not everything has to be super healthy stuff although I must say, I've probably never eaten better in my life than I am now since going gluten free.

[mommida]

As long as there aren't any nut and/or egg allergies ~ I love the Pamelas pancake baking mix. Gluten eaters love the chocolate chip cookie recipe that is right on the bag! There is one trick to working with it, try not to aggitate it/ no fluffing, don't add any air to it.

There are so many snack options out there.

Keep a food journal. It helps track hidden gluten and can help determine if there are any other food intolerances.

Even if you are a healthy eating family, it is time to get some gluten free candy/junk food treats. A hershey's bar or snickers to store easy at school for birthday treat days. Some teachers have no problem letting you keep a frozen cupcake, cookie, or popscicles at school for such occasions in the staff refridgerator/freezer.

It will get easier! There is a mourning period. It's natural to just be POed at first. Then you figure out what you are doing and just adjust to a new lifestyle.

[buffettbride]

Snickers. :-)

[Skylark]

Hershey does NOT say that Reese's Peanut butter cups are gluten-free. Better to stick to Snickers.

My young nephews love string cheese, Jell-O cups, pudding cups (read the box and avoid the cookie flavors), and the Yoplait Go-Gurt tubes.

[i-geek]

Snickers. :-)

So are dark chocolate Raisinets. Found that one out yesterday. YUM.

[sa1937]

Hershey does NOT say that Reese's Peanut butter cups are gluten-free. Better to stick to Snickers.

I just looked at my package of Reese's peanut butter cups and there is nothing in them that would suggest they are not safe, even though "gluten free" does not appear on the label. Like anything else, that does not mean that all Reese's products are safe nor does it mean that even if something is fine for me that they are safe for everyone due to allergies, intolerances, etc.

I eat Reese's peanut butter cups all the time without a problem...they're probably my all-time favorite candy.

Here are a couple of helpful links in looking for candy:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[Lgood22573]

I am sensitive, and Reese's cups are a staple for me! ;-) Never had a problem here. Did NOT know about the snickers woo hoo

[Nolan'smom]

thanks all....My son was very very happy to know that Skittles were on the safe list LOL....any reccomendations for a tasty birthday cake recipie??? thx again, its starting to sink in and I think I have stopped crying about it and am becoming a little more clear on how to handle all of this...

carolyn

[BethM55]

Knick-Knick's gluten-free version of Oreo cookies (called Koo-toos or something like that??) are pretty darn addictive. They taste VERY close to actual Oreos. Actually, I prefer the gluten-free version. I don't buy them very often, as they are just too tempting.

I second what has been said already about a mourning and adjustment period. It's not easy, but better than being sick all the time. This site will help, vent when you need to.

Someone mentioned GlutenFreeGirl.com. Shauna James Ahern is the Gluten Free Girl. She and her husband, The Chef, have a cookbook coming out in September (I think), which I plan to buy. They test and fine tune all their recipes.

I hope you and your son are feeling healthier soon!

[Bobbijo6681]

for a gluten-free cake mix I tried Betty Crocker's yellow cake a couple of weeks ago. It was very good, a littler drier than a regular cake, but much better than no cake at all.

Good Luck with your 7 year old, I can bet that will be challenging!

[ravenwoodglass]

thanks all....My son was very very happy to know that Skittles were on the safe list LOL....any reccomendations for a tasty birthday cake recipie??? thx again, its starting to sink in and I think I have stopped crying about it and am becoming a little more clear on how to handle all of this...

carolyn

Betty Crocker has both chocolate and yellow cake mixes and brownies and chocolate chip cookie mix. They also mark their gluten-free frostings. Gluten Free Pantry also has cake mixes along with a French Bread mix that makes a great homemade pizza. The dough is really sticky so I put it in the fridge for a bit before I make the crusts. It take a bit to get used to spreading a pizza crust but well worth the trouble. If you like to bake from scratch check out the recipe section of the board for some good ideas.