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You could try using creamed corn instead of cheese on tacos. It gives that additional texture and flavor you're missing when you don't use cheese. I've been doing this for a few years now as I've worked to cut down on the amount of dairy I consume, and it's delicious.

My company does a big lunch for everyone for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am normally completely open and happy to talk about my celiac, but I HATE these lunches. I always have to sit with people I didn't know well because everyone comes down to the cafeteria that day, and when I say food allergies, I get the question "you're allergic to turkey??" more times than I care to count. So now I treat it as a social hour. I pretend I've already eaten and jump from table to table with a drink in hand socializing and saying hi to everyone. No one asks questions if you're not eating because they assume you've already finished, but everyone asks questions if you're eating something different.

You could have her search around for a doctor that will diagnose her with celiac or gluten intolerance due to her reaction to eating it. I never had positive blood work, and my doctor (and the few doctors I've had since) was perfectly fine with a diagnosis based on dietary response. I'll admit, I try to find someone younger, someone who may be more up on the current celiac research and open to less traditional methods of diagnosis.

Another option is beans instead of meat. Canned beans are pretty inexpensive, taste good and high in protien. We do a lot rice and beans.

I buy bags of dried beans and cook them myself. It's about 75% cheaper to do it that way.

I always check my take-out orders before I leave the restaurant to make sure they're correct. There's no way I want to risk getting all the way home with the wrong food.

Maybe as he's getting over getting glutened you could send him to school for half days to help him not get behind. When I got mono in high school I would go in for my hard classes and skip the ones that were easier for me to make up on my own. Also, with a 504 plan you could try to work his schedule to have all his harder classes back-to-back so it's easier to go home for the easy classes and study halls. It might be too late for this year, but next year you could try that.

You could keep looking around for a doctor who will write you a diagnosis based on dietary response so you don't have to do a challenge. That's probably safer than purposely feeding the kiddo gluten.

I use acupuncture for my many chronic injuries. I started going because of my arm. I'd been to traditional doctors and had X-rays, MRIs, nerve tests, PT, been to the Mayo Clinic. I could not get answers and was at the point where I was having trouble writing, opening doors, definitely couldn't do many of my sports. I finally decided to try acupuncture as a last resort. After about five sessions, I was nearly better!

I've been going again recently when the arm flared up again, and it's also helped my big toe which I did something to back in December and spent two months limping around on it. A few weeks ago I was feeling really tired and had no energy so I had my acupuncturist take care of that, too.

If you're just starting out, try googling "community acupuncture". It's generally cheaper with a sliding payment scale. My place maxes out at $40 while traditional acupuncture is more like $65-80 a session. It makes a big difference since it's usually not covered by health insurance. It's absolutely worth a try.

You could request a 504 plan. It's typically used for grade school aged children, but it can be used when you're in college, too. It would give you the legal backing to request gluten-free food or opt out of the meal plan.

When my company provides lunch for everyone, I'll often expense $5 for the cost of the lunch I had to bring myself. My managers are fine with this arrangement, and I'd prefer to bring my own than trust them to provide a guaranteed gluten-free lunch.

Sometimes I have a gluten free dinner for friends on my anniversary. Sometimes I just make myself a gluten-free cake that I bring to work to share. Congrats on one year!

I always call the place where the reception is being held and ask for a gluten-free meal. Nicer places can usually make you a meal. I don't want the bride and groom to have to worry about contacting the place - I know they're busy dealing with other things. I also ask if the cost of the meal will increase, and I would pay that increase. I've never had that happen but you never know. The one wedding I went to that was buffet-style I brought my own food. I did talk to the caterer, and there was no way they were going to be able to make me a separate meal.

When I moved into my current place the kitchen and bathroom were disgusting. I vacuumed the kitchen drawers first to get all the crumbs out before wiping them down with my standard kitchen spray cleaner. There's no way I could have gotten all the crumbs out with just a rag and some cleaner there were so many of them. Now that I've scrubbed every surface, no gluten is allowed in the door!

Mexican rice is often made with broth which can have gluten.

Seeing flashes of light and stars can mean a torn retina which is something you should see an eye doc about ASAP.

Black specs in your vision is usually usually caused by "floaters", small pieces of things like blood in the eyes. That's normal and nearly everyone has some.

This is a little off topic, but I had a thought. When I was in elementary school, my mother would talk to the school counselor every year to pick the best teacher for me for the next year. We had three teachers per grade, and she wanted someone who would keep me interested in learning (I was one of those kids already reading chapter books in first grade so I got bored easily). I bet you could also talk to the school counselor or nurse or someone and select the teacher that would be best at dealing with celiac.

Awww, that's fantastic! Sounds like you found yourself a great school.

The University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse has a great meal plan for their gluten free students. My brother went there, and eating in the cafeteria with him was no problem. They've got a freezer full of gluten-free food (frozen pizzas, bread, TV dinner type things) in the back, and the gluten-free students are allowed to go back there and cook stuff in a dedicated microwave. They have egg mix and pans out for students to make their own scrambled eggs or omelets, but the cooks would always give me real eggs and a clean pan if I asked. I never tried to eat any of the hot food offerings. If a student didn't branch out into hot foods, meal time might get a little boring. LaCrosse does have suite-style dorms, too, so you could try to get into one of those to have access to a fridge and kitchen.

I'm planning a ski trip for me and about ten other people. I'm also going to make a big group dinner for everyone the two nights we're on the trip (which is great - I have complete control over the food since I do all the shopping!) Last year I made a chili hotdish and tacos. I was thinking of making chili this year, but I'm having trouble figuring out what to make the other night since I have more dietary restrictions to work around this year. Dinner must be gluten, egg and peanut free. I would prefer it to be dairy and meat free. But I've got a couple friends who are very meat-and-potatoes so I'd like to avoid serving up a giant pile of veggies - chili sans gluten/dairy/meat can still be appealing. One-pot meals are great, as are meals I can prepare ahead of time in my own gluten free kitchen. Any ideas???

Brainstorming last night I thought maybe a "breakfast for dinner" - does anyone have a good egg-free pancake recipe?

Or maybe something pasta-based or rice-based?

Maybe his class could eat their pizza in the cafeteria or other room to keep the crumbs out of the regular classroom?

I had fried rice for dinner tonight. Delicious!

Love the idea of creamed corn on mexican food. I used to love creamed corn as a kid, but I haven't had it in a while.

Really like the hummas pizza and stuffed potato ideas. I suppose if I keep more veggies around, it's easy to put together these types of meals without cheese. I have a few veggies I love and buy all the time (mushrooms, peppers, onions), but I tend to not stock up on other veggies because they go bad if you don't eat them quickly. Looks like I'll have to do a *little* more advanced planning so I can buy what I need for the week.

OptimisticMom - I'll have to try that quick soup recipe. Sounds like it would be good.

I don't feel I need to use dairy-free substitutes for all my old favorites, although I do want to try that sour cream recipe. I'd almost rather find new, naturally dairy-free foods to eat which is what I did when I went gluten free. Today I bought orange juice at the grocery store. I'm hoping it will be a good substitute for drinking milk with my breakfast. I can get it in concentrate form so I can always have some in the freezer.

I'm thinking about going dairy free, but struggling with what to eat when I want something fast and don't feel like cooking. I have plenty of Gluten-free Casein-free recipes that I make, but I run into problems when I need something quick. When I don't have time to cook I eat baked potatoes or rice with cheese and salsa for lunch, quesadillas or tacos for dinner, string cheese for snacks. I also don't eat a lot of meat. Any ideas for stand-by dairy free foods?

Thank you for having me. I had a great time.

I have a gluten-free kitchen, and guests aren't allowed to bring in gluten, either. I do make sure I have food in the house that my guests like to eat, though. I never eat bread on my own, but I do make it when people visit since they like to eat it.