Help With Food Ideas: Gluten Free Etc.

[redheadheather]

As background - my grandmother and mother both have/had Celiac's as did my husband's grandmother (his mother was never tested and HE was never tested... his "symptoms", etc. are something else entirely!!)... My main questions are: (1) can you be OVERweight and have gluten intolerance/Celiac? ... and... my son has previosly been diagnosed with milk, soy, and tree nut allergies. It was suggested that we go off gluten as well b/c of the family history. (I'm talking to his doctor tomorrow about testing, etc.)... but, what in the world else is there for a 6 yr old boy to eat? I know fruits and veggies - he does well with those and I've gotten good ideas here (and other allergy sites)... but... with the gluten gone too I'm coming up short for school lunches (what do you do for kids birthday treats that they bring in to school to share with the class?? he just can't have them??)

I'd appreciate any help you can give in this area!! Thanks.

[Kasey'sMom]

Hi,

We were gluten-free first and then we found dd has an egg allergy. We also had the ELISA food scan and found that she's intolerant to dairy, almonds, soy and a list of others. It has been about a month since we've taken out the soy and I found it hidden in her Omega supplement this week. I know it's difficult when it seems like there's nothing they can eat. We've found that even tiny amounts of any of her food intolerances really impact my dd.

I usually make cupcakes for my daughter to have when other kids are having birthdays. I even put the rest of the cupcakes in the freezer for those times that are gluten-free emergencies.

I found some really cute animal shapped rice pasta that I'm going to send for lunches. My dd likes pasta salad with chicken and vegetables etc.. I often use Annie's honey mustard vinegrette as a quick dressing. I'm going to order some Kinnikinnick bread for sandwiches. Because my dd can't eat cheese on her sandwich, the whole thing gets a little dry. I was thinking about using small cookie cutters (not used with gluten before) and making little finger foods with the bread and meat.

Also, it's a good idea to have a goodie box that you can leave at school that have safe snacks for your son. Ener-G has wylde pretzels that are gluten-free, dairy, egg and soy free that would be great to leave at school. Enjoy Life Foods has lots of great products that are free of the top 8 allergens. We've tried the cookies and they are avaliable in sanck packs that are great to take to school.

Send me a message if you need more ideas.

[KaitiUSA]

My main questions are:  (1) can you be OVERweight and have gluten intolerance/Celiac? 

Yes, that is actually common believe it or not. Some people lose and some people gain. Symptoms can vary from person to person and there is no symptom that you have to have...some just never get symptoms.

I can help you as far as gluten free foods go but I don't know about what you can have as far as other allergies so I can't really help you there. Maybe someone else would know a bit better. Also, if he is celiac, other intolerances or allergies could be the cause of untreated celiac so there could be a chance he may be able to handle some foods in the future that he can't now.

[Jnkmnky]

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

My son began the diet at age three. Your child may have celiac and the dairy issues may be a result of the temporary villi damage. If you find he can tolerate dairy again after some months gluten free, that would make things easier! For the Chebe bread mixes, I use rice milk instead of dairy milk. We're not dairy allergic, I just limit dairy in our diet because I don't like dairy. We make Hot pockets, pizza stick, corn dogs among other things with the chebe. We add Pepperoni to the garlic flavored chebe and extra garlic salt for pizza sticks. Kinnikinnick makes very good breads, great donuts, pizza crusts, cinnamon buns, I like all their stuff.

[Hennessey]

Hi,

We were gluten-free first and then we found dd has an egg allergy. We also had the ELISA food scan and found that she's intolerant to dairy, almonds, soy and a list of others. It has been about a month since we've taken out the soy and I found it hidden in her Omega supplement this week. I know it's difficult when it seems like there's nothing they can eat. We've found that even tiny amounts of any of her food intolerances really impact my dd.

I usually make cupcakes for my daughter to have when other kids are having birthdays. I even put the rest of the cupcakes in the freezer for those times that are gluten-free emergencies.

I found some really cute animal shapped rice pasta that I'm going to send for lunches. My dd likes pasta salad with chicken and vegetables etc.. I often use Annie's honey mustard vinegrette as a quick dressing. I'm going to order some Kinnikinnick bread for sandwiches. Because my dd can't eat cheese on her sandwich, the whole thing gets a little dry. I was thinking about using small cookie cutters (not used with gluten before) and making little finger foods with the bread and meat.

Also, it's a good idea to have a goodie box that you can leave at school that have safe snacks for your son. Ener-G has wylde pretzels that are gluten-free, dairy, egg and soy free that would be great to leave at school. Enjoy Life Foods has lots of great products that are free of the top 8 allergens. We've tried the cookies and they are avaliable in sanck packs that are great to take to school.

Send me a message if you need more ideas. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

my son is dairy & soy allergy as well as others....just wondering what did you find for your daughter to drink that is nutritious?? He will be 1 year soon, still struggling with the formula issue. At 1yr they usually say milk anyways but that won't be the case with him.....searching for solutions..... thanks for any advice.

[jenvan]

Read this thread below. It is another discussion on gluten-free lunch/lunch box ideas:

Open Original Shared Link

[Canadian Karen]

I know it may seem so overwhelming at first and wonder what the heck are your going to feed a six yr old with such restrictions, but really, there are lots of options out there, foods that are mainstream.

Here is a link to a list of gluten-free food which is really comprehensive, always kept up to date and is categorized for convenience......

Open Original Shared Link

You are in the best place for advice and suggestions!!!!

Karen

[Alwaysbren]

This is a great topic that I am glad that was posted here. I am brand new to this forum. My 17 month old has Celiac, or at least what my Gastroenterologist has said, she shows all the signs of it. Here's my story:

My daughter Emilie was born 4 weeks early and was nursed for the first two weeks of life. After that, I had to put her on regular Baby formula with iron due to my milk supply running out. Pretty much from day one of starting the formula, Emilie started to projectile vomit. It started off as maybe once or twice a day after a feeding. Then, as time went on, she was projectile vomiting every meal. She was loosing weight, and at 6lbs 3oz, she really did not need to loose any. After consulting with our peditrician, who refered us to a pediatric surgeon, Emilie was pre-diagnosed with piloric stenosis. This, of course, after many tests and Upper GI Series. She was admitted to the hospital at 5 wks old. The night before the surgery, a kind nurse saw how much of a problem Emilie was having keeping the formula down that she suggested a soy based formula. So we tried it. It was an almost instant cure. I could not believe how much she was taking in, and that most of all, she was keeping it down. The next day my husband and I told the surgeon what was going on and he suggested that we wait on the surgery and see how Emilie did on the prosobee Lipil formula. We thought we were all set. Emilie was thriving.

When Emilie was old enough to start eating solid foods, we found that we were back to square one. Emilie was vomiting again. The same as before. She also started to break out in terrible rashes and hives. After more tests, we found that Emilie is allergic to any and all fruit. She swells up and breaks out in hives. Hopefully, next month we can try them on her again. If she still breaks out in hives, the allergist said it will be a life-long allergy. So now we have a dairy and fruit allergy. We hoped that was all. After we stopped all intake of fruit, that included all fruit that may be mixed into something else, we found that although the hives have disappeared, the vomiting had not. Our pediatrician suggested that we bring Emilie to a gastroenterologist. SHe was a God send! After a biopsy of her intestine, she told us that although it appeared normal, except for some irritation, Emilie was showing the "outward" signs of Celiac Disease. THe doctor told us that a baby's immune system is not mature enough so the blood test would not be conclusive. We will retest her at 3 yrs of age. But, she strongly suggested that we treat it as Celiac and follow all the precautions that come with it. Since we cut gluten out of her diet completely, she is doing very well. No more vomiting, no more cries of pain.

I guess the biggest problem I have is, what do I feed her? She can not have dairy, nor fruit, now, no gluten....not much left for food ideas. I know she is getting tired of the same thing almost every day. A boiled egg for breakfast with gluten free cereal. Rice macroni for lunch and meat and veggie for dinner. With some crackers in between. THis is not every day, but just a sample. But at 26lbs now, and 17 months of age, she is doing well. I just need ideas. I can not afford most gluten free foods. I bought some flour to make her bread because $5.00 a loaf is too much money. I can't afford it. But the biggest thing is, I can't seem to find the spice xantham gum. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for letting me vent and tell my story. I am so at a loss as to what to feed her. I can't buy the books and my local library does not have any books on the subject. I live in a very small town.

[Jnkmnky]

I would like to suggest you get the gluten free breads. I kow $5 a loaf sounds like too much, but you can feed her half sandwiches, a single slice of toast with that egg, a single piece of french toast, a half a grilled cheese, a half a pbj, a slice of cinnamon sugar toast, a piece of buttered bread with stew or make a single slice of it into a piece of "pizza" with sauce and mozzerella cheese. You can really make that one loaf fill in a lot of spaces of her daily diet and help add variety. Just don't over feed her with it. Keep a simple single slice rule. Also, there is Chebe breads. They are very easy and quick to prepare. Plus, again... You can do so much with them. You can wrap Chebe around a hot dog for a "corn dog", you can roll it flat and fill it with things like ham and Cheese, turkey cheese and broccoli, pepperoni and mozz and sauce ... hot pockets. You can make pizza sticks with it. You can make buns with it, balls for buttering to go with stews or soups. Pizza crusts.... so much. Here are some links.

The donuts from kinnikinnick are pricey, but OH, so filling. She could totally only eat HALF and be full. This adds variety, reduces temptation to cheat, helps keep the happiness going... Only recently did my 7 year old son begin eating a FULL donut. I got my money's worth from the bread and donuts at Kinnikinnick. Please reconsider. It would make things easier for you. I usually order 10 or more loaves at a time, tons of donuts, pizza crusts, muffins *the muffins are small and not a good deal *but tasty!* Shipping on orders up to $200 is a set $10 Isn't that great!? Good luck. You can't manage this long term without a few more products that make life easier.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[Guest taweavmo3]

Alwaysbren, although gluten is the only thing I have to cut out of my daughter's diet (so far anyway), I can sympathize with the cost issue. I became a SAHM a few months ago, right after Emmie's diagnosis. We couldn't afford it, but Emmie was so sick, I really felt like I had to stay home for a bit to just concentrate on the diet and get her well. We have been financially strapped too, so I haven't been able to splurge on alot of the pre-packaged gluten-free stuff. Although it's a little boring, my little girl eats alot of the same foods. At her age, she really doesn't want a huge variety anyway.

We stick with pancakes for breakfast, made from scratch (pancakes are about the only gluten-free item I can make from scratch w/some success!) I make big batches, and both my little ones eat these for breakfast and for a snack. For lunch, it's either gluten-free pasta or rice, with chicken and a veggie. Oh, she also likes Delimex chicken taquitos. Dinner, it's a meat, veggie, and either potatoes (regular and sweet pots for variety) or beans. We also eat Taco salad to change things up! It's boring, but it works for us right now. She'll have snacks in between, but not alot. She loves popcorn, carrot sticks w/dressing, and rice cakes with PB. Of course, there's also plenty of candy that's gluten free, that's been one of the really nice things about this diet. She can still have plenty of treats.

Like someone else said......you might find that once you have Emilie on the gluten-free diet for a while, she might be able to tolerate dairy again. Both of my kids have had major dairy issues as babies and toddlers. My son Ben, who isn't gluten free yet, can't tolerate even the smallest amount. Emmie, has been gluten free for 5 months.......is finally tolerating dairy again (as of this week!) In fact, alot of the foods that used to bother her before, she can handle now. She is finally eating fruit again, which she hasn't done since she was a baby.

This is becoming a novel, I'd better quit! I hope you both find some great ideas from this board.....there are a ton of recipes for different food intolerances. Good luck!

[Alwaysbren]

Tamara,

Thank you for your kind words. I see we have very similar situations. My Emmy has been gluten free since April. I have been making my own shake n bake using gluten-free flour which seems to be going over well with everyone. What I am trying to do is make one dinner each night, instead of two. Some nights it works. I can not try fruits on my daughter until she is 18 months old. On 9/11/05, she will be 18 months old. I gave her a little bit of vanilla ice cream (2 tbsp) which she tolerated well, not to mention she LOVED it. I just can not give her too much too soon. My other daughter has no symptoms at all, no food allergies to anything so far. She is 8 yrs old.

Thanks again,

Brenda-Lee