JennyC

I have no idea about the energy drinks. I do know that when I called Crest a couple months ago they said all their toothpastes are gluten free. Oral-B (they also make Zooth character toothpastes for kids) are not gluten free. They will not tell you any of their products are gluten free and my son was getting sick from their toothpaste.

Just wanted to add that Yoplait will clearly list their gluten, and many containers say gluten free right on them. I wish I could get my son to eat the natural stuff. He doesn't like it plain and he will not eat any flavors with fruit chunks.

You can purchase gluten free food software, but when I bought it many of the brands that I use were not even on it. In my opinion it was a big waste of money. I think the best way to shop is to buy products from companies that will not hide gluten in other ingredients such as spices, flavorings, and natural flavorings. When you look in the ingredient list from one of those companies if there is gluten in the product they will disclose it. For example, Nestle Butterscotch chips ingredient disclosure looks like this: natural flavors (barley). There are many companies like this including Kraft, General Mills, and Nestle. I will post a link to a more complete list. Other companies have gluten free lists online such as Ore-Ida/Heinz, Newman's Own, and Frito-Lay. What I do is if the company does not list their gluten, I go to their website and look under the FAQ or ingredient section and if I find nothing there, then I call them. It gets easier once you figure out the brands to buy.

I recommend that you call all of the major companies, because this list may not be perfect.

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Thanks everyone. I tend to like to do things ahead of schedule, and I guess my worrying about him starting school is no different. I will wait and see how it goes, but something does not feel right to me about sending him next year. I don't know if I'm just being overprotective, but it's likely.

My daughter is 2, I stay home with her, I think I would be in the looney bin if I had to work right now. In our church, it is run by volunteers, the nursery that is, and not the same person is there every week and sometimes who I drop her with is changed by the time I pick her up. The eating area is just a table in the middle of the nursery, right there where all the toys are. I think I just need to find a new church. But what about hand sanitizer, will that do the job?

Hand washing is the best way to get rid of gluten, since you are trying to wash it away--not kill it, but hand sanitizer can't hurt. I would look into finding another church if you're not too attached to the one you're attending. I know your daughter is young, but start teaching her never to put things in her mouth, not even her hands unless they have been washed. This most likely won't be effective right away, but it's a start.

I make my own bread and it is wonderful. For some reason I could not get it to turn out quite right before I got my bread machine. I think maybe because the bread machine heats the dough while it mixes and kneads, but I have also learned the right texture to look for when making my recipe. I have the Breadman Ultimate Plus, which has gluten free and low carb settings. There are many bread mixes out there that you can buy or there is a great recipe at recipezaar.com for gluten free flax bread.

I hope your new job is going well.

Yeah, my son loves cocoa puffs! Now if they could only make fruit loops... I hope my store will start carrying the new products soon.

My son will turn five next year on August 4th. I always assumed that I would start him in school right after he turned five, as that is what was done with me (my b-day is August 1st). I am starting to have doubts about it--all ready. I think that he will be ok academically. At four he knows most of his ABC's, can count to 15, knows his shapes and colors, and can identify many numbers and letters. He also has a great imagination and gets along really well with other kids. My issue is with his social behavior and his size. He often takes the follower role with other children. When we go to the park he latches onto a kid and follows them around until one of them has to go home. He never initiates his own games with other children. He is an only child, but I have had him in group daycare full time since he was two so I know he gets lots of time with other children his own age. At daycare all the children adore him, and I wonder if it is partly because he follows them around. I also cannot picture him raising his hand to answer a question in class, and when he is uncomfortable and put on the spot he will refuse to talk. Right now, being gluten free for 6 months, my son is in the 10th percentile. I just don't want him to be the tiny, shy kid with the weird diet. (I do realize that the following year he might be the bigger, shy kid with the weird diet. ) I'm also unsure that he will be mature enough to manage his diet in a year. I guess what I'm trying to get at is do you think it's wrong to wait until he's six to put him in school? Hopefully by then he'll be more mature and have some leadership skills. I just don't want school to be harder than it has to be for him. Does anyone have any tips about how to get him to take a more lead role around other children?

I'm not sure if they are dairy free, but Bell & Evans make really good chicken nuggets (black box). Maybe he could have french fries, you could always make them yourself if needed. My son likes Food for Life brown rice tortillas as well. As far as store bought bread goes I think Kinnikinnick is the best, if he can have it. Pamela's has some great mixes for pancakes/waffles, bread, cakes, and brownies. Many of my son's favorites were listed above so I'll leave it at that. You may just find that your son is much more open to trying new foods once he feels better.

Soy is commonly used for menopause since it lessens heat flashes by having natural phyto-estrogen properties. My mom has used it for years.

Not to scare you just to inform you, but here's a few articles on soy. I still give my daughter soy occasionally since its very hard to find snack foods for her that are gluten, soy and dairy free but I do try and limit it.

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Thanks

Unfortunately, none of those things will ease a glutening. Anaphylactic reactions are caused by histamine release from mast cells. A celiac patent's response to gluten is caused by cytokines/interleukins released by T-cells. These reactions are very different. In truth, the IFN-γ cytokine that is released during glutening is essential to our bodies and we should not try to suppress it. It has antiviral, immunoregulatory, and tumor suppression activities. We just need to try our best not to get glutened. Easier said than done, I know.

If she reacted to dairy in your breast milk, then it seems likely that she will need a non-dairy milk. Once you have her transitioned well to her new milk, you could try giving her a little cow milk and slowly & slightly increasing the amount to determine if she has a reaction. I was unaware of the soy and estrogen connection. I think that I'll look into that. My son has been on soy since he was 9 months old. He really likes the Silk Very Vanilla in the purple container. It's fortified just for kids.

My four year old was a very picky eater before diagnosis, and is still a pretty picky eater 6 months after diagnosis. Before diagnosis all he would eat is gluten, gluten, gluten, poultry, and dairy. He was a gluten junkie. Now he is much more open to trying new things, especially meat. He likes almost all meat now (even salmon ). The only fruit he will eat is bananas (it's a texture thing) and he just started eating corn on the cob this week. I do let him eat too much junk, but with such a picky eater I just don't know what to do.

I also wanted to add to avoid Jo-sef brand graham crackers as well. My son thought they were disgusting and wouldn't even eat them with smores. They have a strong soy flour taste.

Thanks Jenny.

Do you just wet your hand then - and is the dough easy to get off your hand? Sounds like a dumb question...but that stuff can be sooo hard to remove!

So to get this straight...I don't want to screw it up...as it is mixing, you add more flour...how much would you guess? I mix this in my Kitchen Aid only because my hubby says he likes the smaller slices of the "pan" method as opposed to the bread machine's 2 lb. loaf size. I told him to cut the bread in half then...jeez...he's such a GUY. But he won't listen. So I was thinking of adding flour, like you said, while it's in my mixer. I bet I will try it in my bread machine though. I am soo the curious type.

Thanks again Jenny!

Well, I just man-handle the dough with the plastic spatula. It's not nearly as sticky with less liquid, but still more so than wheat bread. I have not made bread using my new method in my mixer, but this is what I would try. I would use your dough hook. As I mentioned I would decrease the liquid by one third. (When I use the Flax bread recipe I use 2/3 cup milk & instead of honey I add 3 TBSP sugar and 3 tsp yeast, as it seems to work better for me.) Help the mixer incorporate all the ingredients. If the dough is lumpy & goopy add more flour. I usually add 2 or 3 moderately heaped serving spoons worth of flour. Add them one at a time. Your dough should form a ball & ball up around the hook. Add more flour until it does. I know it may seem crazy to decrease the liquid AND add more flour, but since I started doing this my bread never sinks. I got so sick of making my little boy sandwiches with 3 inch tall bread. Now his bread looks more normal.

If the sides caved in it was because there was too much moisture. Many posts on here say that the dough texture should be different than wheat bread, like a really thick cake batter. I found that when I followed that idea with the flax bread recipe, the sides and bottom of the bread always collapsed.

Here's what I do:

I start of by decreasing the amount of water/milk called for in the recipe by 1/3. Then as it is mixing in the bread machine I usually help it mix with a plastic spatula. I add either flour or water (usually flour) until the dough forms a ball when the bread machine is mixing/kneading it. At the correct texture the dough is thick. After the kneading is complete, I remove the paddle (wastes less bread that way) and I try to spread out the dough evenly in the pan using a plastic spatula. The dough should resemble the texture of wheat dough, but it will be heavier and sticky. Since I started doing this, my bread has not caved in once (and it used to EVERY TIME).

Is some of the information here out of date? Sure some of it may be, especially if you look at older posts. Ingredients change. That is why I buy from companies that list gluten. On my previous reply I gave you a link to a list of those companies. That way no matter how many times they change the ingredients, all you have to do is read the label. When I do not buy from such companies, I call them often, about every few months. There are very few companies like this, so it is not a big deal.

This is exactly why I have been scared about taking my son to a restaurant. In the six months since his diagnosis he has only gotten restaurant food twice, and both times it has been ice cream. I do realize that eating out is a part of life sometimes, and I plan to start taking him out. I will choose places that I hope are safe. He's four and he needs to learn how to behave in restaurants, and as he ages I need to teach him how to order in restaurants. It's still scary though.

Does anyone use the celiac disease information cards that you give the wait staff/cooks in restaurants?

I actually went to Trader Joe's when someone mentioned on another post about their "cheetos." My son ate them and he did not get sick. He seems to get sick every time he eats a Frito-Lay product. It does bother me that many of their products are made on equipment shared with wheat, but hopefully they have better practices than Frito-Lay! Time will tell.

I also love their prices on olive oil!

What I am wondering is why people don't think Lactaid chewables/caplets are not safe when the company says there are no detectable levels of gluten in their products. I understand that is not the best statement to hear from a company, as it would be better if they would say it is gluten free. The ingredients are gluten free, and they take the time to test their products. I was just looking for others' points of view.

Thanks for all the responses.

My son has been gluten free for six months and his eczema has still not gone away. I tried to take him off of his medication, but the eczema came back. The only thing that works for him is Elidel (sp?).

O. K. I forget the rest of the questions. Hope this helps.

Just a quick question for those of you out there with children. Are there any commercial cereals that are gluten free. ie. corn pops, captain crunch, alphabets?

Thanx

Andie

For mainstream cereals you want to stick to General Mills. All of the Pebbles cereals (cocoa, fruity & berry) are gluten free. Trix and Dora Stars are also gluten free. Safeway brand Cocoa Astros (cocoa puffs) are also gluten free.

Other good cereals are Health Valley Crunch-em's, Erewhorn rice cereals & Envirokids cereals (not all are gluten free).

I hope this helps.

Frito-Lay products are a hit or miss. It seems like they have a high risk of cross contamination. I usually do not buy their products, but if my son is really having a Cheetos craving I will buy a small bag. I will try Trader Joe's or Whole Foods brand.

Thanks for the recipes! They look fantastic.