Raising a Child with Food Intolerance

Delicious Homemade Rice Milk

2012-01-13T11:21:00.001-07:00

I've been experimenting with rice and almond milk recipes because buying rice milk at the store is really expensive, and they add fun things like carrageenan to the mixture, which more and more people are showing allergies to. Here is the recipe I have had most success with so far. So much success, in fact, that my very inflexible son told me it tastes just like the rice milk in the blue box. I don't think it does (it's better!), but if he thinks so I'll take it!

Ingredients:
1/4 c raw almonds (you can blanch them first but I don't)
1/4 c shredded coconut
3/4 c cooked jasmine rice (or sweet rice)
6-8 dates
1/4 tsp salt
4-6 cups hot water, depending on how thick you like it. (My kids seem to like it thick--and all the better since I need to stuff them with as many calories as possible!)

Directions:
Place almonds, coconut, rice, and dates in a high-quality blender with two cups of hot water. (The higher quality your blender is, the thicker and smoother your milk will be and the less you will have to strain out. The milk is probably higher in fiber as well). Blend until the mixture becomes too thick for your blender and slowly add in the rest of the water.

Strain the mixture through cheesecloth. This is the hard part because you have to make sure the cheesecloth doesn't collapse and ruin what you've just strained. I usually use a large piece and make a large dip in it inside the picture so there is lots of room inside. I lean one edge of the cloth-covered pitcher to keep it from falling in and hold the rest with my free hand. Pour a little at a time and then pull the cheesecloth up and squeeze it. (Make sure you wash your hands first!!!) Throw away the excess pulp, rinse your cheesecloth and repeat. I have also heard of someone who uses automobile filters with elastic on the edges to make it easier. I like to strain mine twice.

Add the salt and mix in, then store your milk in the fridge and remember that it has no preservatives so it will not last as long as store-bought products. I like to keep it in a pitcher with those handy pumps on the lid because the milk settles and separates over time. I also prefer to use glass to store my food to avoid plastic leaching into my food.

No Bake Cookies-Dairy/Gluten free

2011-11-13T13:51:00.001-07:00

1 3/4 c white sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 c rice milk
1/4 c butter
1/4 c shortening*
1/4 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 c gluten-free quick oats**

*I use this only if I am using non-hydrogenated butter, otherwise I use 1/2 c butter or margarine
**I want to try this using quinoa, sweet rice, or some other grain because my kids don't tolerate even gluten-free oats very well. I bet it's really good with sweet rice.

Melt sugar, cocoa, butter, shortening, and peanut butter in a pan. Bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Add oats or other grain. Stir for 2-3 minutes while the grain absorbs moisture. Drop with a large spoon on a pan covered with wax paper and cool in refrigerator.

Chinese Sweet Rice Balls--a naturally gluten, milk, and soy-free treat

2011-11-11T11:46:00.001-07:00

I recently bought some Chinese red rice to try for a little variety. I didn't find much on that but I stumbled across this recipe for Sweet Rice Balls that intrigued me. I'm always looking for easy recipes for my kids so I decided to try it. Result: BIG SUCCESS! They were a big hit and really easy to make.

Filling:
1/3 c peanut butter (or sesame, almond, or other desired nut butter)
1/4 c powdered sugar
rice, soy, or cow's milk to desired consistency

Stir powdered sugar into peanut butter and if necessary, add a small amount of liquid if it get's too thick and clumpy. You should be able to pick up and shape the peanut butter with your fingers. I used a knife to place pieces onto the balls.

Shells:

1 cup freshly ground sweet rice flour*
4-6 oz water
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
1/8 c fine ground flour of your choice (I used corn, but sorghum might be really good)
(optional) a nice health idea that I haven't tried yet is to add a small amount of ground flax seed

*I don't store flour, I store whole grains so I used a coffee grinder to grind sweet rice kernels (and it's so much cheaper!). You can use any kind of glutinous rice (does not contain actual gluten, it just means it's sticky). The coffee grinder is an easy way to grind a small amount of grain but it makes the flour a little bit coarse. This is why I had to add xanthan gum and another fine ground flour. If you use Mochiko or a store bought flour you can probably just use water and flour with no additional ingredients.

Fill a medium saucepan halfway full of water and begin to heat. Combine rice flour and water until it forms a large sticky ball. I mixed it with my hands. If the mixture is not sticking add the xanthan gum and other flour until it forms a ball. roll out the ball into a long "snake" and cut into 1/2" circles with a knife. Smash the circles flat and place a small amount of peanut butter filling onto the circles. Wrap the dough around the peanut butter and form small balls. When the water is boiling, place the balls into the water. They will float when they are done. It took mine about 5 minutes. These are best if served while warm.

Syrup:
This is traditionally served with a fermented rice soup or brown sugar and ginger soup poured over the top. I'm trying to pack my kids with calories so I made a brown sugar and ginger syrup to pour over ours.

1/2 c brown sugar
1/8 tsp ground ginger*
1/4 c water

*You can also use a slice or two of fresh ginger instead.

Stir brown sugar and ginger together in a small saucepan on medium heat. Add water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Pour over rice balls and serve.

Book Review: Special Needs Kids Eat Right

2011-10-28T14:10:00.000-06:00

This is not a book review I wrote. This is one a friend of mine wrote but I needed to share it. Please read it: http://freelifeglutenfree.blogspot.com/2011/08/special-needs-kids-eat-right-book.html

I took her recommendation and got a copy of this book. It is helpful for any child with bowel problems, not just kids with disabilities. Although I found it even more helpful because I do see some elements of Asperger's in my son, I just have not found it necessary to seek a diagnosis.

The book talks about how nutrition significantly affects the functioning of children and their ability to focus, learn, and grow. She addresses specific issues children with Autism and ADHD face nutritionally and gives steps for restoring nutritional health in children. Proper nutrition can make medications work more effectively, or eliminate the need for medications at all. I highly recommend it.

Baby#3--Also Gluten/Milk Intolerant

2011-10-28T14:05:00.001-06:00

I have been doing a lot of research about food sensitivities since dealing gluten-intolerance. When I got pregnant with my third child I was determined to avoid all of the potential triggers hoping he would not have the same problems as my other children. I chose to have a home birth to avoid hospital medications, interventions, and pathogen exposure. We avoided vaccinations and watched very closely as we introduced foods to my baby. And unfortunately, it hasn't done a lick of good.

Kaden had rashes all over his face for the first three months and has very sensitive skin. He has really bad eczema on his legs, feet, and hands and I have not been able to find the trigger. His stools are not normal. He was in the 85th percentile in weight and at 8 months he had dropped to the 25th. He is very active--but I don't think his activity could account for the huge drop. He does have the same gene sequence as his sister--two different gluten intolerance genes and no celiac genes. He reacts to gluten and milk with a flushed face, increased eczema, diarrhea, diaper rash, and evidence of intestinal damage in his stools, and sleep problems.

On the other hand, he has been much more easy-going than his siblings. He has a very easy temperament, was crawling at 5 months and walking at 10, and learning words at 10 months. It could just be a different personality, or that we knew what to watch for in food allergies so he hasn't had as much stress to deal with.

Either way I am disappointed that our lifestyle changes didn't seem to help even a little bit. The only other known potential trigger that I could not avoid was pesticide. We got chickens to eat yard pests, but the mosquito abatement truck still goes by almost weekly in the summer. I hope one day research shows why so many more kids are having autoimmune problems!

Goat's Milk

2011-10-28T13:54:00.000-06:00

Now that we have got things relatively under control for my oldest child, I have been braver about trying new things. It is obvious to me that he still is not getting proper nutrition, even though we seem to have eliminated most of the foods that bother him. His teeth (and probably bones) are particularly bad. He is only 5 years old and just had 2 root canals and some additional cavities filled. Compared to his milk-eating sister with perfect teeth, his teeth are very, very weak. I worry that his bones are in the same condition. I want to make sure to get him the proper amount of calcium and other nutrients required for tooth development before his adult teeth are finished forming.

I don't think the calcium supplements and calcium-fortified rice milk are really doing the trick for him. I've been trying to make sure he eats calcium-containing dark green veggies every day, but that can be a challenge for a 5 year old. I recently found a source of raw goat's milk and tried it to see if it caused the same reaction that cow's milk does. And lucky us! No reaction (so far)! I am so relieved to find a better substitute that is more nutritious than rice milk, and I will be able to get cheese as well. He is hesitant to try it, but we have slowly been working it in.

I don't have my hopes up just yet though. We had success with soy milk for about a month before he started reacting to that after switching him off cow's milk so the jury is still out. But the most frustrating part is that his little brother (10 months old) does not tolerate the goat's milk so I'm still stuck using rice milk in a lot of my cooking. :(

Gravy and Biscuits with Mashed Potatoes--dairy, soy, gluten free

2011-10-28T13:46:00.001-06:00

Biscuits

I just found the most fantastic biscuit recipe. I've never been able to get one to work very well. I got it from this link and made a few adaptations: http://iamglutenfree.blogspot.com/2010/10/most-amazing-biscuits-gluten-free-egg.html

1 1/2c. flour of your choice (I used brown rice and coconut)
1/4 c. potato starch
1/4 c. tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2/3 c. rice milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice (or milk of your choice)
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c. oil

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add lemon juice to milk and set aside. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Form a hole in the center of the mixture and add liquid ingredients to the "hole". With a spoon (not a whisk or the batter will get stuck inside) slowly stir dry ingredients into the liquid until fully mixed. Batter will be very thick. With a 1/4 cup measuring cup form biscuits and place them on the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. For me this recipe made 10 biscuits.

Sausage Gravy:

This can be really fattening, but in our house that is a good thing. My kids do not get enough calories so we are looking for many ways to increase their calorie intake and get them growing again. You can use less grease if this is too much for your taste.

1 lb ground sausage
abt 1 cup milk
abt 1/4 c potato flour
salt
ground pepper
herbs of your choice

Cook 1lb ground sausage in a frying pan. remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside. Using about 3tbsp leftover grease (to desired taste and fat content). Add milk and heat. Slowly add potato flour, stirring constantly until desired thickness. Add about 1/4-1/2 tsp salt and ground pepper to taste. The sausage should add plenty of flavor, but if not add herbs of your own to enhance flavor. Add some of the sausage back in if desired.

Mashed Potatoes:

I don't like using rice milk in my potatoes so I usually pull some potatoes out after they have been boiled for my dairy-intolerant kids and use cow's or goat's milk for the rest of us.

Boil potatoes until tender (at least 1 potato per person). Drain. For dairy-intolerant kids add rice milk and dairy-free butter substitute and mash until creamy. For dairy-eaters add sour cream and milk to taste. You could also use plain yogurt. Serve with gravy and biscuits. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flatbread--by Mary Brown

2011-06-30T15:37:00.006-06:00

I recently sent in a children's book manuscript modeled after my son Barrett with his experiences living gluten-free around other children. My book (currently titled That Will Make You Sick but that will probably change), was accepted by Tate Publishing and given a production date. After having a discussion with my publisher they informed me they had just published a Gluten-Free cook book and sent me a free copy:

Going Gluten-Free: Breads and Baked Goods with Mary Brown

I have only tried this flatbread recipe, but it is just perfect for making sandwiches, bread sticks, cinnamon bread, pizza, and much more! I have made a few adaptations, as usual, but the original is very good too.

dry:

1 1/2c brown rice flour

3/4 c gluten-free oat flour (or white rice flour)

3/4 c tapioca starch

3 tbsp potato starch

3 tsp sorghum flour

3 tsp cornstarch

3 1/2 Tbsp sugar

3 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/8 tsp unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 tsp yeast

liquid:

1 1/2 c water with 3 tsp sugar dissolved

3 egg whites

1 1/2 tsp egg yolk

3/8 cup corn oil

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Take the yeast and eggs out of the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature. (You can warm the eggs faster if you place them in a bowl of warm water).

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Grease pan (I use a jelly roll pan).

Mix yeast and sugar water in your mixing bowl and let sit until it foams.

Separate the eggs from the whites. (Google it if you don't know how, there are lots of ways to do this).

After the yeast is foaming add the required amount of eggs, oil, and vinegar and mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix. (I use the bread arm on my Bosch but I bet a paddle attachment on any mixer would also work well). Beat for 10 minutes.

Spread dough (looks like a really thick batter) in the pan and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour. (I have cheated and done it for less--the bread is just flatter and more dense).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

When bread is risen bake for 20-24 minutes. (The instructions say to release immediately and cool upside down on cooling racks, but I have never done this).

Cut the pieces to whatever size you want. Use right away or freeze for later use.

Best Brownies Ever!

2011-06-08T15:15:00.005-06:00

This recipe is adapted from my friend's Blondie recipe, which is also fabulous.

1 cup packed brown sugar*

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup dairy-free margarine

1/2 cup cocoa

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups gf flour blend (I used 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1/8 c potato starch, 1/2 +1/8 c sweet rice flour, 1 c GF oat flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

optional add-ins: 1-1 1/4 cups of total of dairy-free chocolate chips, walnut pieces, coconut, etc.

*The brown sugar seems to be the key to what makes these so good. It helps cover up the rice flour taste and makes the brownies more moist.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9x2 pan, set aside. Melt sugar, butter, and cocoa. In a separate bowl mix together flour blend, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add cocoa mixture, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in any additional add-ins you desire.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly in pan. Cut into bars while warm. Makes 24 bars.

Tom Kha Gai--Chicken, Coconut, Galangal Soup

2011-04-04T20:42:00.001-06:00

This is one of my favorite gluten/dairy-free dishes. I make it soy free as well by leaving out the soy sauce. (I'm not sure if fish sauce has soy or not, but the thought of it makes my stomach turn so I don't use that either).

Adapted from From Our House to Yours: Comfort Food to Give and Share

‎1-2 lbs cubed chicken
1 19oz can of coconut milk (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups chicken broth
4 fresh lemon grass stalks, sliced into 4 or 5 pieces and bruised
20 quarter-sized slices of galangal
12 kaffir lime leaves

2 cups water
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 green onions, sliced
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
fresh cilantro to taste

Toss all but the green onions, lime juice, and cilantro in a pot and boil it until the chicken is cooked. Stir in onions, lime juice, and cilantro. Remove the lemon grass, galangal, and lime leaves before serving.

Product Review: King Arthur Brownie Mix

2010-12-19T20:16:00.002-07:00

I had a brownie craving the other day and found a Brownie Mix by King Arthur at the grocery store. (Give me a break, I'm 8 months pregnant!) I have been really pleased with the King Arthur chocolate cake mix so I decided to try the brownies. I had some guests over for dinner who were not gluten intolerant when I made this mix.

The good:

tasted really good--especially with ice cream on top!
very fast and easy to make
King Arthur produces their products in a facility free of the top 8 allergens--that means no soy or dairy so my son can eat them!
our guests never gave an inkling that they suspected I was feeding them gluten-free food. The subject would never have even come up if they hadn't asked about my son's milk allergy.

The not-so-good:

They totally fell apart. They might work better if you let them cool completely, but then you lose the sensation of warm, fresh-baked brownies.
They were really good, but not quite as good as the "gluten" brownies I used to crave.
The mix only makes an 8x8 pan--hardly enough for a pregnant woman and her dinner guests. :)
It's over $4 for one box

I think the brownies would be improved by the addition of chocolate chips. Especially if you like a sweeter flavor, adding milk chocolate chips would sweeten them up a little.

Gluten/Dairy/Soy Free Orange Rolls

2010-12-17T15:20:00.005-07:00

I tried to make orange syrup to put on my pancakes the other day. It didn't really work at all. But I couldn't let it go to waste so I decided to make it into a glaze and put it on some orange rolls. I found a recipe that looked promising at Lauraleacooks.com. I tried it and it tasted really good. I'll post what I did below. BUT WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE BREAD RISE?!? I always end up with dense lumps instead of bread or rolls.

Despite the density though, these do taste pretty darn good.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice milk

1/2 cup oil

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 1/2 c GF flour (I used 1 cup oat, 1 cup brown rice, and 1/2 cup sweet rice flour)

3/4 c potato starch

3/4 c tapioca starch

4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp yeast

grated rind of 1 orange (I would actually recommend using 2 oranges because 1 didn't seem like enough to me)

3 eggs, room temperature

Glaze:

1/4 c orange juice

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp softened soy/dairy free margarine or butter

1 1/2 c confectioners sugar

grated orange rind (optional)

Directions for dough:

Set eggs out in a bowl of warm water until they are room temperature. Scald the milk (heat until just before boiling point), then remove from heat and add oil. Let cool until it is lukewarm.

Mix sugar, flour, starches, xanthan gum, and salt, in a bowl. (I use a Bosch mixer with a bread arm, but you can also mix and knead by hand if you don't have a Bosch or Kitchen-Aid type contraption). Pour yeast evenly on top of flour mixture. When milk is lukewarm, pour it over the yeast. Crack the eggs over the top of the whole mixture and sprinkle in orange rind. Mix with the bread arm for 10 minutes or until flour is fully mixed in (or knead until flour is mixed in).

Put oil on your hands and seperate the dough into two balls. Rub outside with bowl or pour oil in the bottom of your bowl and roll the balls in the oil until it is completely covered. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise.

The original recipe said to let it rise until double, but mine had not doubled after two hours so I gave up and moved on to the next step:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x12 pans and separate and roll out dough into about 24 balls and lay them in the pans. Let rolls rise until they have doubled again. (Mine did rise more, but not double and I was starving so I just cooked them after about 30-40 minutes). Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Directions for glaze:

Mix softened margarine with almond extract and orange rind and slowly blend in orange juice. Slowly blend in the sugar until the desired consistency is reached. If you want a stronger orange flavor you can use a more concentrated orange juice. When rolls are cooled, drizzle glaze over the top of all of them.

*You can also include something like dried cranberries or blueberries in the bread dough, or fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries in the glaze.

Gluten/Soy/Milk Free Gingerbread House

2010-12-10T15:09:00.008-07:00

I used to love making graham cracker houses with my family when I was a kid. I made my husband and foreign exchange student make them a few years ago even though none of us were kids because I love doing it so much. I was sad when I realized that I couldn't do that anymore.

But this year I learned that I actually had two choices. I could uses Kinikinnik Smoreables to build houses with, or I could try to make my own gingerbread. Since it would take a whole lot of Smoreables to build a house I opted to try to make my own gingerbread for the first time ever! I searched the internet and found this recipe and was going to try it because the almond meal sounded good. However, a friend of mine posted a different recipe and I had both up at the same time. I accidentally started following my friend's recipe instead so I just went with that one, with a few adaptations. I'll try the other one next year. ;) The recipe as I used it is posted below.

For candy we used various gluten-free cereals, cashews, Glutino pretzels (they contain soy lecithin but my son never reacts to the lecithin so we still use them), spice drops, Nerds, Skittles, M&M's (for my dairy-eating daughter), and gummy bears.

I'm not sure why Blogger keeps inserting this picture upside down but I'm tired of trying to fix it so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Recipe:

2/3 c sweet rice flour*

2/3 + 1/4 c gluten free oat flour (I use a grinder to grind up Bob's GF oats)

2/3 + 1/4 c almond meal

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca starch

*If you grind your own flour you may want to add just a touch of extra liquid to the recipe and let the dough sit for a little while to soak up the moisture.

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c molasses

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 c palm oil shortening

1 egg, beaten (I haven't tried it with egg replacer but I might next time because it turns out that my son is still having problems with egg).

Directions:

In a saucepan, mix sugar, molasses, ginger, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, mix flour mixture together in a mixing bowl. Once sugar mixture is boiling, remove it from heat and stir in soda (it will foam up). Melt in shortening. Slowly stir in flour mixture. Knead dough until fully mixed.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lay out plastic wrap or parchment paper on rolling surface. (Some recommend to use a floured surface but for me it worked better to just use plastic wrap.) Divid the dough into two equal portions. Set one aside with a wet towel over it to keep it from drying up. Smash the other flat and lay it on rolling surface. Place plastic wrap over the top and roll it until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

Create pattern pieces using wax paper (don't use mailing envelopes like I tried, because you won't be able to peel the paper off the dough). You can draw your own or look one up on the internet. Place the pattern over your dough, cut it out, and move it to a greased cookie sheet. They shift a bit when you move them so you may have to trim them later.

Bake for about 12 minutes. Let them cool for just a minute and then move them to a cooling rack. (Don't wait too long or you will regret it, they harden pretty fast and it is difficult to get them off without breaking them).

For me, this recipe made two houses with pieces about 4x6 inches, and four gingerbread men. Except that I was short one piece on one of my houses so it probably would not have made any gingerbread men if I had remembered the last piece.

Next you need to make frosting to put the house together. I used Royal Frosting this time, but it's not going to cut it next year because like I said earlier, I found out my son still doesn't handle eggs well. The egg-white in the frosting was just too much for him. But for you...here it is:

2 egg whites

2 tsp lemon juice

3 c powdered sugar

Put egg whites and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Beat until the mixture is frothy.

Add the powdered sugar and beat in. Once the sugar is mixed in well enough that it doesn't fly all over the place, beat on high until the frosting is shiny and it peaks.

Spoon it into a frosting bag and cover what you do not use with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out.

Now you are ready to put your house together. Do this the day before you plan to decorate it so it has time to dry up and gather strength.

I had a really hard time putting mine together because I didn't trim the pieces and they weren't stable enough to stay up. Finally I gave up and trimmed all the edges straight with a serrated knife. I had my son hold up one wall while I attached others to it for stability. I made the base and left the roof for later because I didn't want to take any chances.

In the picture at the top you will also notice that one roof is different from the other. That is because I forgot to make one piece and so I used Kinikinnik Smoreables to finish it off. I thought they made a pretty cute roof so maybe next year I will make the house out of gingerbread and use crackers for the top. That way there will be enough dough leftover to make a few more gingerbread men.

Also, after I discovered my son got sick off of royal frosting, I made a new kind to attach the candy with. It didn't really work all that well but it was enough to get a 4 and 2 year old through the process. I just mixed powdered sugar with rice milk and made it really thick. I left out the shortening/butter because those don't really dry out. I also added blue food coloring so my son could tell the difference between "safe" and "not safe" frosting.

I found a recipe that supposedly worked really well but I didn't try it. It called for glycerine and I was hesitant to put something that is commonly used in soaps and lotions in my frosting. Maybe next year though. ;)

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie 2010 (soy/milk free version)

2010-11-24T13:04:00.003-07:00

Last year I posted egg-free recipes, but my kids tolerate eggs now--at least in baking--so this year I am going with the Libby's world-famous pumpkin pie recipe from the back of the can of Libby's pumpkin. The recipe is on the back of the can but I'll type it up here so you will have it handy. You can use any pumpkin you want, but I have to say that I have never been satisfied with any other brand (or even fresh pumpkin) other than Libby's.

This recipe makes two pies. All I had to do to make it soy/dairy free is to substitute the evaporated milk with evaporated rice milk. The instructions below are how to make a soy/dairy/gluten free pie:

Step 1: evaporated milk

Pour about 64oz plain rice milk(2 boxes) or SoDelicious Coconut Milk into a large pan (at least twice as high as your liquid so your milk doesn't boil over). Simmer on med-high heat, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan. Boil it down until it reaches 12 oz--less than half of what you started with. This will take at least as long as it takes to prepare everything else.

(You can also do this with soy milk, but you will probably not need as much because soy milk is typically thicker than rice milk).

Step 2: pie crust

recipe adapted from the Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman

1/2 c tapioca starch

1/2 c corn starch

1/4 c potato starch

1 rounded tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c soy-free margarine

1/2 c palm oil shortening

1/4 tsp imitation butter flavoring (optional)

1 egg, cold

1 tbsp GF vinegar

4 tbsp ice water (if you use only 3 tbsp you don't need to chill the dough)

sweet rice flour for rolling

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in margarine and shortening until the mixture pieces are about the size of lima beans. With a fork, beat the egg, vinegar, and ice water together and stir into the batter. It will slowly get thicker as you stir. form it into a ball (or as close as you can get) and cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Refrigerate for at least 30 min, while you prepare the rest of the pies.

After the dough is chilled, reform it into a "brick" and divide it into how many pieces you need. (It makes three thin crusts or two thick ones). Lay out two pieces of saran wrap (connected at the edge to give you a large rolling surface) on your table or counter top and sprinkle rice flour or tapioca starch on top to prevent dough from sticking. Spread out dough as much as you can with your hands and lay it on the saran wrap. (You can also use parchment or wax paper but saran wrap is the easiest for getting the crust into the pan). Place another piece of saran wrap over the crust and roll until the size of your pie tin. Slowly peel off the saran wrap and lay a thinly greased pie tin upside-down over the crust. Carefully place your hand underneath and flip the pan and crust right-side-up. Peel off saran wrap and shape crust onto pan. With a fork, poke holes all over the crust to prevent it from bubbling up.

Step 3: pie filling

1 1/2 c sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

4 large eggs

1 29 oz can pumpkin puree

24 oz evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix powder ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Beat eggs into pumpkin a little at a time. Slowly beat in the powder mixture. Set aside until your evaporated rice milk has finished boiling and has cooled a little bit. Once milk is ready, slowly mix into the pumpkin mixture and then pour into pie crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 40-50 more minutes (I usually have to do it 55-60 minutes--not sure if that's because of the rice milk or the high altitude where I live) or until a knife comes out clean.

Gluten-Free Fruit Cobbler

2010-10-28T20:50:00.002-06:00

I combined two different recipes for this cobbler. The filling comes from about.com and the breading comes from celiac.com.

Filling:

4 cups chopped fruit
1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup water or juice from canned fruit

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Topping:

1 cup GF flour (I used 1/2 cup GF oat, 1/4 c rice, 1/4 c potato starch)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 c rice/soy/cow milk or buttermilk

Abt 2 tbsp butter, margarine, or soy/dairy-free buttery spread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x9 baking pan and place the fruit in the bottom of the pan. In a saucepan, sift sugar, corn starch and cinnamon. Add lemon juice and water or juice from can and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil at medium-hi heat until thick and bubbly. Pour over or mix with the fruit in the baking pan. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. Slowly mix in milk with a whisk. Pour over fruit/filling mixture and dollop with butter or butter substitute. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. (Only insert the toothpick as far as the batter goes. Do not push it all the way down to the fruit).

Scallop Squash

2010-10-04T22:32:00.003-06:00

I grew this in my garden just for fun and I have finally figured out what to do with it. This recipe turned out really good--and it is wide open for variation! I didn't actually measure any of it, so my ingredient list is a ball-park guess. Really you just put in what you like, and how much you like of it.

4 white bush squash (you could probably use butternut or acorn squash as well)

8 slices of bacon (or 10 if you peel off the fat).

1/2 onion, diced

1 c bread crumbs or crushed cereal or chips(I used rice and corn Chex)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp marjoram or rosemary

1 egg (optional, or you could use two eggs if you want the filling to be more firm)

1/2 c Parmesan cheese (optional)

10 cherry tomatoes cut in half (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut open the top of the squash and scrape out the innards like you would when carving a pumpkin and set aside. (If you want to speed up cooking you can cook them for a few minutes in the microwave while you prepare the filling). Cook the bacon and chop it up (I used pre-cooked). Add onions, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and marjoram or rosemary and mix together. Mix in egg and cheese. Stir in tomatoes if desired. Scoop into squash and place the lid back on top. Fill a baking dish or pan with a small amount of water on bottom and place squash in the pan. Bake for 45 min to an hour, until the inside of the squash is tender.

Variations: try mixing in cottage cheese or softened cream cheese. Experiment with different herbs such as lemon and dill, Italian herbs etc. Use rice or quinoa instead of bread crumbs. The possibilities are endless!

Tips for Testing the Diet Change

2010-09-26T21:17:00.002-06:00

If you suspect you or your child has gluten-intolerance here are a few tips:

The gluten protein is very similar to casein in milk and soy protein. It is often wise to avoid those as well too--at least at first.
You can try a few approaches, depending on what sounds most overwhelming to you:
1. Eliminate just gluten, and if there is still a problem eliminate other potential irritants one at a time. This can take a long time and patience, but for some people gradual is easier.
2. Eliminate one or more of the main potential irritants and gradually reintroduce them, watching for reactions. (i.e., milk and gluten; milk, soy and gluten; etc). Don't introduce new foods for at least a month--three months is better. It can be overwhelming to try to figure out how to feed you or your child like this, but it is a more certain approach than #1.
3. Go to a very basic diet of rice, rice milk, fruits and vegetables, and basic meats with no add-ins (like avoid sausage and watch out for tuna because it sometimes has soybean oil). Introduce foods one at a time and watch for reactions. Don't introduce new foods for at least a month--three months is better. This can also be overwhelming for the same reasons as #2. But then there is no question as to what caused the reaction.
Be very careful of cross-contamination. Gluten is sticky and even the smallest trace can cause a reaction in some people.
It might get better before it gets worse. There may be withdrawal symptoms, similar to that of a drug. The body will not be used to it. (That never happened to us but I have seen it happen to others).
Don't give up! Once you get a system down and get your house stocked with "strange" ingredients it will be relatively easy to make substitutions and get by.
Keep a food/symptom journal to make sure you get accurate information. It can help a doctor with diagnosis as well.
Just because medical tests come up negative doesn't mean there isn't a gluten problem. If you feel better--that's a pretty good indication that the diet is working, regardless of the diagnosis. Gluten-intolerance is hard to pick up by tests.

Tips for Moms of GF Children

2010-09-26T20:10:00.007-06:00

Today a friend told me that her son has been having digestive problems and she was going to try a gluten-free diet to see if that helped him. She asked me for any tips or help I could give her. I figured I'd post it here because I'm sure she isn't the only one who could benefit from the information.

It can be really challenging to have little kids with gluten-intolerance, especially if you have to send them to school, daycare, birthday parties, and even just planning a picnic in a park or a trip to a restaurant. Things are getting better as more food producers become aware of the problem, but when I started there was really no help so here is what I learned to do:

Make muffins in large batches and freeze them. They are great to send to school and for taking them to picnics and restaurants. Those that have worked best for me are banana bread, applesauce bread, pumpkin bread, and zucchini bread--anything moist. (My recipes are without eggs but you can use egg instead of my replacer and take out 1/4 c of some other liquid item to make up the difference). If you are worried about sugar it is okay to reduce the amount of sugar you use in them.
Make things like chicken nuggets and chicken tenders and freeze them. It is easy to make them gluten-free and I've never seen anywhere you can buy them. You can substitute any flour you like in the breading mix and it doesn't really affect how it turns out. If the flour taste is too strong just make sure to put a lot of flavorings in your breading.
Depending on your child, baby food can be a godsend. They typically make baby foods with rice flour unless it is a pasta dish. I keep on hand Gerber turkey and rice, chicken and vegetables, and vegetable beef. I bring the jars to the park or when I travel and know there won't be anywhere handy to prepare food. Even my 4-year old still eats it. And my kids will eat it cold so it works really well for me.
You can now buy several types of GF crackers. My favorites are Glutino (their pretzels are good too), Kinnikinnik animal cookies, and Kinikinnik Smorables.
You can also make and freeze various types of cookies. One of my favorites are peanut butter cookies.
Corn tortillas are a great substitute for many things. I get a little tired of them sometimes, but I have found that the Banderita brand are the softest and easiest to use.
For birthday parties you can bring your own cupcakes for your child to eat. Betty Crocker makes some pretty good cake mixes. King Arthur makes the best one I have tasted (their bread mix is pretty decent too). I also like the Blue Chip brand because it comes in a resealable package. You can divide the recipe and make just a few cupcakes so one bag can last you for several birthday parties.
If you take your child to a daycare or nursery, talk to the providers and make sure they will accommodate your child. I take my kids to a church nursery every Sunday. I gave the nursery leaders a large bag of GF snacks to keep in their closet. They have my daughter sit in the same place every time so they can make sure she doesn't try and eat the other kids' snacks. It's hard for the kids at first--but typically not for yours. The other kids in the nursery get jealous of your kid's "special" snack. After awhile my daughter caught on to the routine and has quit trying to sneak the other kids' snacks as well.
It can be easy to worry about your child feeling left out because they can't have what everyone else has. Trust me, it's worse for you than it is for your child. You will have some sad moments with your child, but the kids really are quite resilient. Especially if they get used to it while they are young. My kids have learned to regulate themselves very well and even at age 3 they would refuse food unless it was given the okay by Mom. There have been very few times where they actually felt left out and when they did they got over it very quickly.
Be wary of strangers who try to feed your children. They think they are just being nice, but it can be disastrous. Be vigilant at parties, wedding receptions, family reunions, church parties, and even grocery stores. Other kids will try to share with yours too so it is important to teach your child to politely refuse.
For Halloween, pinata parties, and other holidays, I keep a stash of substitute items to replace any items my kids get that they cannot eat so they don't feel bad. (I mostly have to do this because of the soy/milk intolerance but it applies to gluten too). Sometimes I trade them their Kit-Kats and other such items for safe candy, other times I get small dollar store toys like dinosaurs, pencils or army men and trade for those. Honestly my kids like the toys better than the candy anyway.
If you go to a restaurant and order french fries, make sure to ask if the fries are cooked separately, or if they are cooked with fried chicken and other breaded items. The gluten WILL stick to the fries if they are cooked in the same oil.
Oats have gluten. Unless you find specially marked gluten-free oats, they will very likely contain gluten. Oats are nearly always grown near, stored with, transported with, and processed with wheat and the gluten sticks right to them. (But gluten-free oat flour is one of my favorites, just FYI).
If you are just testing the waters with a GF diet, buy things in small quantities or go in on it with someone and share mixes. Try the instant mixes and see which ones you like. But if you decide to stick with the diet long term, it's good to plan to make more from scratch and buy in bulk. I can buy oats and rice in bulk and store them as whole grains. I grind them every once-in awhile and use them for flour, but they store much better whole. You can also buy things like tapioca starch (a must-have for GF cooking) in bulk.
You can pre-make your own flour blends and store them ready-to go. The typical recipe for 3 cups flour is 2 cups flour of your choice, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca starch. I use about 1 tsp xanthan gum for moist breads, and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum per cup of flour for things like pizza dough, biscuits, and breads.
Conventional cereals that are gluten free (some won't guarantee it because they don't test, but they don't use or cross-contaminate and we've never had a problem): Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Cupcake pebbles, most generic versions of both of those, Trix, Kix, Chex cereals, Cookie Crisp with Sprinkles (not the chocolate chip ones--those have wheat). I usually buy organic rice crispies and organic corn flakes because they don't put the barley malt in most of those. BUT ALWAYS READ THE LABEL BECAUSE THEY MIGHT CHANGE THEIR RECIPE. WATCH OUT FOR BARLEY MALT.

I'm sure I'll think of more later, but this should be enough to digest for awhile.

My New Favorite GF Pizza Recipe

2010-09-23T10:26:00.004-06:00

The pepperoni-only portion of this pizza has soy-free rice cheese on it. Apparently my son does not like the rice cheese baked so I would recommend leaving it off and just putting sauce and other toppings.

I have been very unimpressed with most GF pizza recipes I have tried. Last night I searched for a new one and found one that I really liked. It actually would have made a fabulous dessert pizza (with cinnamon and glaze...mmmm!) as well. (If you want this one less sweet then leave out the sugar and use the original recommendation of millet and rice flour instead of oat and sorghum like I used).

I adapted this recipe from GlutenFreeMommy.

2 Tablespoons almond meal
2 eggs (I used 1 egg and 1 egg's worth of egg replacer because I ran out of eggs)
2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Honey

1/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup oat flour (I actually used 1/2 c oat and 1/2 cub Bob's all purpose flour, just to get rid of the extra Bob's I had)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon sugar for proofing yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 c warm water

1/2 cup warm water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix liquid ingredients together and set aside until room temperature. Do not mix it in with dry ingredients cold.
Combine all the dry ingredients and sift together in a bowl.
In a separate small bowl, place your yeast and the teaspoon of sugar. Mix with about 1/4 cup of the heated water, stir, and let it sit for a few minutes. Once you know the yeast is active, proceed with the recipe. At this point, you want to double check and make sure all your ingredients have come to room temperature.
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.
Add the yeast mixture.
You want the dough to look like stiff cake batter. The dough should hold the swirls of the mixer, but it should be shiny and not dull. Add the rest of the water slowly until the right consistency is achieved.
Grease pan or grease parchment paper and place on a pan. With a cake scraper, slowly spread the pizza dough batter in a 12-13 inch circle. You want the batter to be evenly distributed. Cover your hands in olive oil and shape the edges like you want them. If you find your hands getting too sticky get a little more olive oil on your hands. You don’t want your dough to be too wet, so be careful.
You can either let the dough rise and then cook it, or bake the crust as is. I baked mine at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
Then add toppings and place back in the oven until toppings are heated and/or melted

Gluten-Free Bread Experiments

2010-09-13T15:06:00.006-06:00

For a long time I had given up on the bread idea altogether. I couldn't find anything that tasted good enough to make me want to spend the money on it. I couldn't really use any of it for sandwiches because it wouldn't stay together, and never tasted very good after the first day it was opened/made. But I have been CRAVING bread lately (probably because I am pregnant now :) ). A friend of mine told me she found a recipe that made delicious, chewy bread that stays together. I was skeptical but desperate so I tried it.

She was RIGHT! I smelled good, tasted good for multiple days, and stayed together!

I will credit the author of the book the recipe came from just as soon as I can find out. I'm hoping to buy a copy and try some other recipes from it as well.

Stir together:
¾ C brown rice flour (I used GF oat flour, my friend uses a mix of rice and oat).
2/3 C potato starch
2/3 C tapioca flour
2 tsp potato flour
2 ½ xanthan gum
2 tsp egg replacer
1 tsp salt
2 tsp (1 pck) unflavored gelatin
1/3 C almond meal (or grind up some almonds)
1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp yeast
Put yeast on top of powder mixture

Stir together in separate bowl:
1 ¼ C warm water
1 tsp vinegar
1 ½ tsp olive oil

Pour on top of yeast and let it sit for three minutes.
Mix everything together on low speed.

Add two egg whites
Mix until combined and beat on high speed for five minutes.

Grease a loaf pan
Spoon into pan and let rise for 20 min. (texture is really sticky, thick)
Smooth it out with wet fingers or greased spatula
As bread is rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees
Bake for about an hour, covering with aluminum foil after first 10 minutes.*

*I didn't have very good success with the foil thing. Next time I am going to cook it uncovered and put foil on for the last 10 minutes. If you don't do it right the crust is way too hard and the middle is doughy. (Still tastes good though).

King Arthur's Bread Mix--Product Review

This tasted pretty good, but it was not as "normal" as the bread recipe above. It almost has the texture of angel food cake, but it stays together better than most GF bread mixes. It also stayed soft after several days. I know mine doesn't look very professional, but that's because I wasn't very careful about smoothing it out in the pan. It made decent toast. It still probably wouldn't work very well for sandwitches because it is still pretty dense and falls apart under pressure. I didn't try doing it though so I could be wrong.

Superb Sweet and Sour Chicken: gluten-free

2010-06-28T19:26:00.003-06:00

Sweet 'n' Sour chicken from the Chinese restaurants is one of the things I missed the most after going gluten-free. I've spent a lot of time, with the help of my wonderful husband, trying to perfect this recipe. I admit it is not a replica of what's in the restaurants, but in my opinion it tastes much better--and I know it's good for me!

Breading

3/4 c rice flour

3/4 c potato flour

1/4 c paprika

2 tbsp garlic salt

1 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp dried oregano

Shake ingredients together in a plastic bag until well mixed. Pour about 1/3 of the mix on a clean plate and leave the rest in the bag.

Egg Mixture--Standard

3 eggs

1/3 c milk

Egg Mixture--Dairy Free

3 eggs

1/3 c water

Egg/Dairy-free Version

4 tbsp milled flax seed

4tbsp water (or according to directions with your seed for replacement of 4 eggs)

water*

Add water until it has the consistency of slightly watered down eggs. The flax doesn't work quite as well as real eggs but I've had pretty good success with it.

Chicken Cots

2 chicken breasts or the equivalent of meat

breading mix

egg/flax mixture

1/2 inch oil heated in a wok or pan*

Clean plate lined with clean paper towels.

Rinse chicken and cut into bite size pieces and pat dry. I usually put the pieces on a plate lined with paper towels as I cut so excess water gets absorbed quickly. Once pieces have excess water removed, put them in the bag of breading mix. Seal the bag tight and shake it vigorously until all the chicken pieces are coated. Dip chicken pieces in egg/flax mixture and set on plate with flour mixture. (You can dump the rest of the mixture from the bag onto the plate. Make sure cots are completely covered with flour mixture and drop into heated oil. Cook until breading is golden brown and the meat on top starts to turn white. Flip the pieces over and repeat until chicken is cooked all the way through. (Make sure the oil does not get too hot or you will get burnt breading with raw chicken in the middle. Always cut a piece or two in half to make sure they are cooked all the way through). Place cooked cots on the paper towel-lined plate.

*oil is ready for cooking when you toss a pinch of flour in the pan and the oil sizzles vigorously.

Sweet 'N' Sour Sauce

1/2 c white vinegar

1/3 c white sugar

1/3 c brown sugar

1 20 oz can pineapple chunks with juice

1/3 c ketchup

1 tsp ginger

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp cold water

1 large bell pepper

1 garlic clove

1 onion

Chop onion and pepper into bite size pieces and sauté in leftover oil from chicken with pressed garlic clove. Cook until tender. Meanwhile. Put ketchup and ginger in sauce pan and slowly stir in vinegar. Heat with sugar and pineapple until it gently boils. Mix corn starch and water in a cup and when sauce is hot, slowly pour into sauce pan. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Add peppers and onions. Serve with rice and chicken cots.

DON'T FORGET TO COOK RICE TO GO WITH YOUR MEAL! I prefer Jasmine rice.

Almond Milk Recipe

2010-04-23T16:53:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine gave me this recipe saying it was far better than any store bought milk you can buy. He was absolutely right! I adapted the recipe to have more calories for my calorie-deprived son.

Original:

1 cup unsalted, uncooked almonds

6-8 dates

6 cups water

Instructions:

Blend almonds and 3 cups water. Add remaining ingredients. Then add three more cups water. Strain through cheesecloth.

And it's that simple! One small problem is that most blenders can't handle these proportions. I usually cut the recipe in half and do it twice to get the requisite amount of almondmilk.

My adaptation:

1 cup unsalted, uncooked almonds

6-8 dates

5 cups water

1/4 c sugar

Next time I think I will add 1/2 tsp vanilla and perhaps a tough of oil to increase the calories.

Instructions:

Blend almonds and 1 cups water. Add dates and 1/2 cup water. Blend. Add dates, sugar, and vanilla and add liquid a little at a time. Strain through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. The milk is very foamy so I actually poured it into one of those gravy separators first:

That helped keep the foam from blocking the strainer completely.

Product Review: Lindsay's Lipsmakin' Sugar Cookies

2010-04-23T16:32:00.004-06:00

These cookies were surprisingly good! They don't look that great in the picture but that's because I let my son paint some with food coloring and frost the others.

There are a few things you need to do though, to make them work:

The first batch I followed the instructions on the box and the cookies were nearly impossible to roll out and then when I cooked them they "melted". After that I kneaded a little bit of extra flour into the dough (I used gluten-free oat flour) they worked perfectly.
Roll the dough out directly onto the pan and peel away the extra dough because it is incredibly difficult to transfer the cookies.
Take the cookies off the pan before they have cooled off completely or they will break into pieces when you move them.

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

2010-04-08T18:52:00.003-06:00

Here is my new favorite gluten-free crust recipe: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/03/gluten-free-beer-bliss.html. The recipe does have yeast, however.

I apologize that you have to scroll through a section about beer before getting to it. I do not advocate the drinking of beer, or of any alcohol for that matter.

And for a soy-free pizza sauce, here is my recipe:

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

Gluten Free Oats--My Newfound Love

2010-03-27T20:19:00.005-06:00

Do you see those divine-looking chocolate chip cookies above? Well they taste divine too. And they are totally gluten/soy/milk free (I admit I splurged and used eggs on this one instead of egg replacer--my kids are getting so they tolerate a little egg better).

Do you want to know my secret? I suppose the title give is away, but the secret is a bag of gluten-free oats and a grain grinder. I grind up my oats and keep the flour in a container that holds about 8 cups. (You don't want to grind too much at once because the nutrients deplete over too much time after the oats are ground). Oat flour makes wonderful Snickerdoodles too!

Gluten/Soy/Milk Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c white sugar

1 c brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/3 c palm oil shortening

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp guar gum (or xanthan gum)

2 c gluten free oat flour

1 c your favorite flour blend*

dairy-free chocolate chips

*I used Grandpa's Kitchen Baking Flour Blend with a shot of Bob's Gluten Free baking mix. You can also use the typical baking flour ration of 2 parts rice flour, 2/3 parts potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca starch

Baking directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 2. blend together sugar, vanilla, eggs, and shortening 3. add salt baking soda, guar gum 4. add flour by degrees. (dough should be firm and should not stick to your fingers if you touch it 5. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet 6. Bake for 8 minutes or until slightly brown around the edges

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c soy-free margarine

1/2 c palm oil shortening

2 eggs

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 3/4 c flour

Cinnamon/Sugar Ratio:

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Baking directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 2. blend sugar, margarine, shortening, and eggs. 3. add dry ingredients by degrees. 4. roll dough in cinnamon/sugar blend and place on cookie sheets. 4. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Product Review: Enjoy Life double chocolate brownie cookies

2010-02-26T12:12:00.002-07:00

I give these two stars. They don't taste bad but they have that chalky/sandy texture of many gluten free foods. Not worth the calories. My children, however, seem to like them and since they are free of all of the foods Barrett cannot have, I guess they are okay to have around on occasion.

Product Review: Enjoy Life Snickerdoodles

2010-02-17T15:39:00.003-07:00

I admit I had low expectations for these cookies. My experiences with the Enjoy Life cereal bars and granola cereal were not very good. I only bought these cookies because I knew they would be safe for Barrett.

However, I was pleasantly surprised! I expected hard-as-rock cookies that taste like sand. What I got was the deliciously chewey-soft flavor of cinnamon and cream of tartar that is so familiar to me. They really do taste like a REAL snickerdoodle! These will make great home and travel snacks for my children. Delicious "duckies" (as Abbie calls them) that I can send with my kids to parties and events on holidays and birthdays so they will not feel left out.

I highly recommend this product.

Banana Bread--gluten/soy/egg/milk free

2010-02-03T13:44:00.004-07:00

I just tried the most delicious banana bread recipe, compliments of the Gluten Free Goddess. The recipe is quoted below but with my own adaptations. The original recipe can be found a the above link.

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine in a bowl:
2 mashed bananas (medium size)
1/2 c applesauce (or 2 more bananas)
1/3 c canola oil
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Stir together in seperate bowl:
1 1/2 c gluten free flour (I used 2/3 c gluten free oat flour, 1/3c brown rice flour, 1/4 +1/8c
potato starch, 1/8 c tapioca starch)
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp Ener-g egg replacer
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp guar gum
1/4 tsp salt

Optional: chocolate chips

Slowly beat dry ingredients into liquid mixture.

Spoon batter into lined or greased/floured muffin tins (or bread pan) and bake for 20 min. (If you use a bread pan you will probably have to bake longer than 20 min but I don't know how long because I always use muffin tins).

I believe the oat flour played a big part in making these taste so good. I finally got a grain grinder and was able to grind my gluten-free oats into a fine flour and it tastes so much better than rice flour! It's nice to have a little variety in our grain consumption as well. I think it's time for me to start purchasing gluten-free oats in bulk.

Product Review: Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies

2010-01-28T10:29:00.002-07:00

I was hoping these cookies would make a good travel snack or a snack to send to nursery/preschool with the kids. No good. They are way too hard and the kids can't really eat them without milk. (My kids can't anyway--older kids should be fine). They taste pretty good and stay together well though. My only real criticism is the hardness. Buy them for your 6 year old but not your 3 year old. They also have soy lecithin so be cautious of that if your children have problems withs soy.

How to Have a Gluten-Free Big Mac in the United States

2010-01-13T16:32:00.004-07:00

Lately I have been craving the taste of a McDonald's Big Mac. Strange, I know. You'd be amazed at the kinds of things you crave after living your whole life eating whatever you want and then suddenly having to restrict your diet significantly. So I finally broke down and found a way to satisfy my craving. (It was expensive and probably a one-time deal, but I thought I'd share it anyway).

First, I found some Schar Classic White Rolls in my local Wal-Mart (only one of our two Wal-Marts have a gluten-free section). I took them to the McDonald's across the street and asked them to make me a Big Mac using my own bread. The manager was happy to comply and used three rolls to make 2 burgers.

Here is my suggestion--because gluten-free breads are more dry and fall apart more easily than regular breads, use less bread. It was better when I just used one roll and left out the middle portion of the bun. Also, ask them for extra sauce to offset the dryness of the roll. With those small suggestions it made a perfect Big Mac! I was quite pleased with the result.

As for my review of the rolls, I would say if you are craving the rolls you used to eat at your favorite restaurant--these will not satisfy. They are too dry and too thick for that. However, if you are craving a burger, chicken salad sandwich, or other item that you typically put condiments on it is an excellent choice. It stays together well enough and tastes pretty good.

Ingredients: water, corn starch, rice flour, palm oil, sugar, guar gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, lupine protein, yeast, salt, psyllium seed husk (vegetable fiber), diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of edible fats

(May contain egg and soy)

Schar Pizza Crusts

2010-01-13T16:25:00.003-07:00

This was $8 for two pizza crusts. It's a little pricey, but not nearly as pricey as paying $15 for the same size of pizza (but only one) at Pier 49. I crave pizza on a regular basis and this is a quick and tasty alternative to eating out. I have really been impressed with the quality of gluten-free products that are becoming available! Bon Apetite!

(Unfortunately it does have milk so my son can't eat it--but my daughter and I can).

Ingredients: water, corn starch, rice flour, potato starch, glucose syrup, yeast, guar gum, mono- and diglycerides of edible fats, potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, glucose, whey protein, salt, tartaric acid, citric acid

Kinnikinnick S'moreables Graham Style Crackers

2010-01-13T16:17:00.003-07:00

These crackers get five stars in my book! They are a pretty good imitation of what graham crackers really taste like--and they actually taste really good. There is no strange texture or chalky rice-flour taste in them. They are sweet and tasty and were a big hit with my kids! I am so excited to be able to bring these along on our family camping trips so Barrett (and I) will no longer be left out of the Smore tradition. Another bonus is I now have the means to make my own "graham cracker" pie crust!

Ingredients: Pea starch, non hydrogenated shortening(palm fruit and/or canola), potato starch, brown rice flour, brown sugar,sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, water, rice bran, sugar, blackstrap molasses, honey, glucose,vanilla, salt, sodium bicarbonate, pea protein, pea fibre,guar gum, inulin, soy lecithin, mono calcium phosphate(May contain traces of eggs and tree nuts).

Product Review: Kinni Kritters Animal Cookies

2009-12-27T18:02:00.004-07:00

Over the holidays I visited a Good Earth store in Orem, UT. They had a huge selection of products (particularly snack products like cookies) that were safe for Barrett (no dairy, gluten, soy, egg, or yeast). I splurged and bought a lot of them and will post a review of each as I use them.

The first one we opened was the animal cookies listed in the title (http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.home/productcategoryid/12) These do have soy lecithin, but Barrett doesn't seem to have a problem with the lecithin (amazingly enough). They were delicious though! I think they taste as good as any normal cookie and Barrett was so excited to be able to eat a cookie. I wish I had bought more boxes of it because it isn't available where I live at this time.

Product Review: Gluten Free Life Cookie Mix

2009-12-27T17:36:00.007-07:00

I'm not sure if this is a real brand or not. I picked it up near the check stand at a Good Earth store in Orem, UT. My guess is that it is created by either Good Earth itself or a local distributer. There isn't really a prominent brand name on it. The ingredients are sorghum flour, organic evaporated can juice, tapioca flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and sea salt. You are supposed to add 1 1/2 sticks of soft butter, 1 egg and that is all. (I used Earth Balance soy free buttery spread).

This mix is terrible.

1. It smells disgusting and that is never a good sign.

2. The recommended butter/flour ratio is totally off. It was way too much liquid. I would recommend less butter and/or using half shortening and half butter.

3. It said to drop by tablespoons onto a sheet, which I did. They completely melted together to make one giant cookie.

4. They ended up being hard as rock.

5. If you could manage to chip any away to eat it did not taste very good.

6. The recipe says it can make chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, or sugar cookies. What it really means is that you can put chocolate chips in it, roll it in sugar, or roll it in cinnamon sugar (although it would actually be extremely difficult to roll in anything with how runny it was).

Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Rice Cheese

2009-12-16T20:08:00.003-07:00

A friend of ours with a milk allergy made an interesting discovery the other day: rice cheese. Better yet, Vegan rice cheese. This "cheese", made by Galaxy Nutritional Foods, comes in slices like the Kraft Singles. I tried them myself and while they weren't bad, I wasn't that excited about them. It seemed more like a really soft cracker than cheese, but it would probably be alright on a sandwich or something.

The good thing is that my son really liked it. He felt so special to be able to eat cheese like his sister. He kept asking for the "cheese that doesn't make me sick". It warmed my heart to have him feel like he was included in something that the average person participates him. That alone made it worth it!

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

2009-12-16T19:58:00.003-07:00

I just made a wonderful discovery. Recently Betty Crocker came out with a line of gluten-free products. I bought a cookie mix just to try but I didn't have high hopes. After all, the main ingredient is rice flour. Last night we had a Gluten-Intolerance Group meeting that was a Christmas sampler. I figured now would be a good time to try the cookies because if they were nasty I wouldn't be stuck with a whole box of them.

The first test of knowing if you have truly good cookies is the batter test--and it passed with flying colors! Sampling the dough made me feel like I no longer had to miss the cookie dough I so loved as a kid. In fact, I'd much rather eat the dough than make the cookies!

The next test was the cookies. They tasted awesome! A little crumbly, perhaps, and they probably won't last more than a few days, but they tasted like a real cookie--even my gluten-eating husband thought they were good! It was a pleasant surprise.

I did not try it with egg replacer this time (I used real egg) but I will add to this post when I do and let you know how it worked out.

Corn Meal Scones--gluten/dairy/egg free with Marshmallow-Honey Butter

2009-12-02T21:22:00.005-07:00

We were looking for some new food options and experimented with this recipe. They don't look very professional but I thought they tasted really good. They have a satisfying crunch on the outer shell and are nice and chewy inside. Dip them in a little marshmallow-honey butter and you are set!

2 c corn meal
1/3 c tapioca flour
2/3 c potato flour
1/3 c sorghum flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp guar gum
2/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c oil
1/3 c honey
2/3 c almond milk
egg replacer for two eggs

oil for frying

Heat oil in a frying pan until you can flick a bit of flour in and make it sizzle.

Mix dry ingredients together. Slowly stir in wet ingredients.

Dough should be like a thick cookie dough--runny enough that you can "spoon" it into the frying pan. (If you can roll it into a ball in your hands it is too thick). Spoon into frying pan and cook until golden and crisp on the outside. Flip and do the same. Cool on a plate with paper towels to soak up the grease.

Marshmallow-Honey Butter

1/4 c of your favorite butter substitute (I use Earth Balance Soy Free buttery spread)
1/8 c honey
1/2 c small marshmallows

Microwave for 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

Update 2/8/10: I just tried this again and something in the batter reacted with the grease and they all fell apart. It was like trying to cook straight corn meal in hot grease. I swear I made it the exact same way but this time it didn't work. We ended up cooking them as pancakes, which didn't work that well either.

New Cereal: Cookie Crips Sprinkles!

2009-12-02T09:14:00.002-07:00

I discovered that General Mills now makes Cookie Crisp Sprinkles, which appears to be gluten free. Wikipedia states, "In July 2009, Cookie Crisp Sprinkles were introduced. They are vanilla cookies with small sprinkles on them. The cereal is said to be gluten free." The beautiful thing about this is that I can use them as a substitution for Nilla wafers and they make great travel snacks. Even though they are loaded with sugar I feel good about the fact that they are fortified with vitamins like most breakfast cereals. In my opinion that makes them BETTER than Nilla wafers!

Sorry for those intolerant to corn--it is a corn-based cereal.

Gluten/Egg/Soy/Milk Free Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-29T21:18:00.006-07:00

Pumpkin pie is my favorite part of Thanksgiving and I wasn't about to go without just because of food allergies. Last year in a gluten-intolerance group meeting I learned how to make a delicious pie crust so I started with that:

Crust:

Donna Jo's Dream Pastry

I believe it comes from the Gluten-Free Gourmet cookbook. I'm sorry I'm not going to post the whole recipe because I don't want to be guilty of copyright infringement, but I posted a link so you can still get it. I used Ener-G egg replacer instead of the egg and it worked out just fine. I also used Earth Balance Soy-free margarine and Spectrum organics palm oil shortening in place of Crisco and butter. The crust looks pretty bad in my picture, but that's because I forgot to take pictures of the good ones before I filled them. This one is broken because I had too many "helpers" in the kitchen. It tastes delicious though!

Pie:

I decided to try four different varieties of pie to see which ones I liked the best. I went for two baked and two un-baked versions. In place of milk in all of these pies I used 2 quarts of Pacific Foods plain rice milk boiled down to about 1 quart with 1 cup of sugar added (for my own version of sweetened-condensed milk).

#1. Vanilla pudding Pumpkin Pie-unbaked:

(It is actually supposed to be Butterscotch but I didn't want to go to the store and I already had vanilla pudding). It tasted pretty good but did not set up very well. It might work better with real milk, or less milk, but I don't know. I also think the recipe calls for too much cinnamon so I'd put a little less in than it says. I don't think I'll be making it as a pie again but I'm thinking it's going to make some delicious pumpkin shakes.

#2. Unflavored gelatin Pumpkin Pie-unbaked:

I thought this one tasted fine but the texture didn't really satisfy me. Too--gelatin-y.

#3. Corn Starch Pumpkin Pie-baked:

This one was the best of all the pies. It was fairly close to normal pie in taste and texture. I still just can't get over the texture of real pie--but it was a fair substitute and a nice treat. In the future I think I will stick to this recipe.

#4. Crustless Pumpkin Pie from Karina's Kitchen-baked:

This one looked interesting so I thought I'd try it, even though I didn't really need to have four pies. Unfortunately I couldn't use what she says is her key ingredient--buckwheat--because Barrett doesn't tolerate that either. I used a mixture of sweet rice flour and sorghum instead. I have yet to taste this pie too but I'll post an evaluation as soon as I do. The batter tasted good and it looks good though.

UPDATE: This one tasted pretty good, but it's not like the "real" pumpkin pie that I crave. My kids absolutely love it though. They wouldn't eat any of the other pies but they beg for seconds and thirds of this one.

My Sister, Negative Blood Test but Testing a Gluten-Free Diet Anyway

2009-10-28T21:48:00.005-06:00

It turns out that my sister, who swore she would never try a gluten-free diet, is giving it a try. I don't know what all of her symptoms are, I just know she has not been feeling well and the doctors tell her she is just fine. She had a blood test for Celiac, some allergy, and her thyroid and all came up perfectly normal. They just assume that means there is nothing wrong but with the way she feels I'm sure she would tell you otherwise. I was looking up information on Celiac.com and found that a lot of people who are gluten-intolerant but don't have Celiac end up with negative blood tests. And my son also had a negative test result and he is extremely sensitive to it. So she has decided to try the gluten-free diet to see if it makes a difference. I hope she doesn't have it, but at the same time it would be a relief for her to find out what's wrong and be able to find a solution to it.

UPDATE: My sister has been feeling much better on a GF diet. She did a trial for a few weeks and then ate gluten again--not a good result. Of course, real results are complicated by the fact that she is in the first trimester of pregnancy so morning sickness doesn't really help. But she was convinced enough to avoid all her favorite foods. People just don't go on a GF diet because it's fun, you know? If you really do feel better it is worth it!

Just an Update

2009-09-30T22:08:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to update since I haven't posted in awhile.

The kids are doing very well as am I. It is amazing how much better I feel after going gluten-free. It is even more amazing to see how much Barrett is progressing since we supposedly discovered all of his intolerances.

Abbie is also doing very well on whole milk. It is a relief to see that she is not really bothered by the dairy. I still try to keep her away from soy as much as possible. I will let her decide whether or not to eat soy when she is old enough to connect the effects of what she eats with her symptoms. We've been tempted to test her on gluten again but every time we go to give her some we get a really bad feeling about it and pull back. I hesitate because I must have gone through my whole life with an intolerance and never known it. I don't really want to take that risk with her.

And as a side note--I am loving the Earth Balance soy-free butter. It has made life 10 time easier!

"New Cereal"

2009-07-02T09:03:00.003-06:00

I went grocery shopping yesterday and just for fun I read the ingredients on all the non-wheat containing cereals again. I discovered that the new boxes of Kix cereal and Honey Kix no longer contain oat flour. I was so happy to discover that! The honey Kix has caramel coloring and I called to make sure it did not contain gluten and it's good to go. Hooray! More selection! They do not test specifically for gluten content, but I'm willing to risk it.

Seizures?

2009-06-25T13:11:00.003-06:00

I don't want to sound paranoid, I'm not that concerned about it at this point, but I wanted to write it down.

Last Saturday at a social gathering Barrett exercised such great self-control for the most part. I was very proud of him. He was hovering over the cookies and cheese crackers with such longing, but he would just look up at me and say, "Those will make you sick." However, you can only expect so much self-control for a two year old. After about 30 minutes he snuck under the table and was eating the crumbs of some smashed cheese crackers.

We saw the usual contamination symptoms: stomach ache, diarrhea, diaper rash (his poor swollen legs!), runny nose/cough, bloating, meltdowns, etc. But I also noticed times when he would just stare off into space an appear not to be aware of anything for several seconds. Then he would just go on as if nothing had interrupted what he was doing. Just yesterday he had been crying because he got a sliver in his foot. My husband was holding him and then he just stopped for several seconds and was staring into space. I was snapping my fingers right in front of his eyes and he wouldn't blink or anything.

I don't want to jump to the conclusion that these are seizures, but the certainly could be. It's something that I am going to watch closely and keep in mind though. I'm not sure if there is a link between that and celiac or not. If anyone knows anything about it though, please comment! (It only seems to happen if he is contaminated).

Confusing Contamination

2009-06-17T21:11:00.002-06:00

I have no idea what caused it this time, but both kids ended up with the strange-smelling, undigested diapers, bloating, and had trouble sleeping. Barrett was a major basketcase as well and niether one would eat much for a few days. It started a few days ago after we had a casserole for dinner that had sweet potato, carrot, cinnamon, pineapple, molasses, and brown sugar. It didn't really peak until we had pancakes and sausage for dinner last night though. It could have been cross contamination in the pancakes, or it could have been the sausage. The ingredients looked okay but you just never know. Perhaps I was too lax with the ingredient listed "flavorings". In fact, it probably was something in that because the worst part of the contamination was today. That's when the diapers started smelling strange anyway. I guess I should have been more careful. It's just that sausage is so nice and fattening...

Product Review: Pamela's Bread Mix, Palm Oil Shortening

2009-06-11T15:27:00.007-06:00

I tried Pamela's bread mix for the first time yesterday. I used half the small bag to make a small pizza for myself and some bread sticks for my kids. It actually tasted good! Not like the sawdust-pizza I had been making from scratch. I didn't follow the directions quite right but it still had a good texture and taste. It doesn't have any of the allergens my kids can't have in the ingredients although it is made on the same equipment where milk is processed. I haven't seen a reaction in anyone. I assume, knowing who they are, the Pamela's company cleans their equipment fairly well between processing. Then today I made a pie crust out of the rest and it worked really well. I actually like doing crust better with gluten-free mixes because it's easier to patch mistakes. (Unfortunately my pie didn't really turn out, but once I figure out a dairy-free recipe that works well I'll post it.)

Also, I used the Spectrum Organic 100% Palm Oil Shortening for the first time in my pie crust. I substituted it for both butter and shortening and it worked out well and tasted fine. I did add about 1/2 tsp imitation butter flavor but I don't think it was necessary. Anyway, it looks like it will be a fine substitute for regular shortening and as far as I can tell it doesn't behave strangely.
Doesn't that look wonderful? The crust was. Too bad the rest totally didn't work. I think I failed on the egg-replacer part of it.

Gluten-Free Shepherd's Pie

2009-06-11T14:16:00.005-06:00

3 large potatoes or 6 small, cubed
1/4 c sour cream
Milked to desired consitency
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp butter or margarine (optional)
fresh chopped chives to taste

1lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped

1 14.5 oz can green beans

1 60z can tomato paste
abt 6 oz water
1/2 tsp powdered celery seed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350. Peel, chop, and boil potatoes for about 20 minutes or until tender

2. Cook ground beef and onion together. Place in bottom of a casserole dish. Spread green beans over meat.

3. While beef is cooking slowly stir one can of water into the tomato paste in a small bowl. Add celery seed, onion and garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour over top of beans and meat.

4. When potatoes are cooked drain them. Add sour cream and/or butter and milk and mash until smooth and creamy. Stir in garlic and chives. Spread evenly over top of bean and meat mixture. Top with cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake until warmed through (about 30 min)

*tip-for a cleaner pan, line the pan with aluminum foil before filling it.

**If you want an easier version, replace the tomato paste mixture with a can of Amy's gluten-free tomato soup.

Diary/soy free version:

Mash potatoes with canola oil, rice milk (or soy) add imitation butter flavoring if desired, and leave out sour cream. Also leave out the cheese on top of the casserole. Sorry, it's not quite as exciting. If you can think of anything good to put in it to make up for the cheese please leave a comment!

Gluten/Soy/Egg Free Breading (for Chicken or Zucchini, Etc)

2009-06-03T19:02:00.003-06:00

Flour Mixture
1/2 c Bob's GF All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 c Brown rice flour
1/2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano

"Egg" Mixture
2 tbsp milled flax seed
1/2 c water

Combine water and flax in a small bowl and set aside. Heat 1/2 c oil in wok or frying pan. Pat chicken or zucchini dry. Roll in flour mixture and set on a plate. When flax is set up (should resemble egg white) Dip pieces in flax mixture and then coat with breading mixture once more. Place in hot oil (oil should sizzle when you flick flour or water into it) and cook until both sides are golden and pieces are cooked.

Gluten/Egg/Soy Free, Easy to Chew Chicken Nuggets

2009-05-29T16:20:00.005-06:00

"Egg" Mixture
1 tbsp milled flax seed
1/4 c water

Breading Mixture
1/4 c gluten-free corn flakes (can be substituted by any smashed cereal or bread crumb-type item of your choice)
1/8 c brown rice flour (can also be substituted by any flour)
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp salt or seasoning salt
pepper to taste

Chicken Mixture
1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded (you can also use un-cooked chicken but I'm not skilled enough to make sure it gets cooked all the way through when I fry the nuggets so I use pre-cooked chicken)
a dash of the following: oregano, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt or seasoning salt, pepper, poultry seasoning

abt 1 1/2 cups canola oil

1. Stir flax seed and water together in a small bowl and let it set up. After several minutes it should resemble egg-white

2. In another small bowl, mix together corn flakes or bread crumbs, flour, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour about 1/3 of the mixture on the edge of a plate.

3. In a food processor chop chicken into a fine paste. Add oil or water if you need more liquid to make a paste. Add oregano, garlic and onion powders, parsley, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to the paste.

4. Roll chicken paste into nugget-sized balls. Roll in flour mixture on the plate. Heat canola oil in a deep frying pan. Oil should sizzle if you toss a little flour in the pan, but it should not be smoking.

5. Take each "floured" ball and dip it in the flax mixture, then roll it in the bowl with the rest of the breading and drop in oil. Turn when outside is golden (about 2 minutes, depending on how hot your oil is).

6. Dip in honey mustard sauce (equal parts of mustard and honey) and enjoy!

*Makes about 16 1 1/2 inch nuggets.

Mine kind of fell apart easily. I'm open to suggestions of how to avoid that. Guar gum in the chicken mix, maybe? But they tasted really good! I'm addicted. I'm going to try making a huge batch and freezing them for quick and easy meals. The chicken I used was actually the chicken off of one I boiled yesterday to make chicken broth. I used most of it for chicken enchiladas and the leftovers were just enough for a batch of nuggets.

Homemade Coconut Ice Cream in a Ziplock Bag

2009-05-20T19:22:00.005-06:00

1 cup coconut milk*
1 tsp vanilla
3/8 cup (6 or 7 tbsp) sugar
optional flavorings of your choice

ice
rock salt (abt 6 tbsp)
quart-sized ziplock bag
gallon-sized ziplock bag
newspaper or hotpads
packing or duct tape (if using newspaper)

*Use partial combination of coconut milk and rice milk for fewer calories or milder coconut flavor.

Pour milk, vanilla (or other flavoring of your choice), and sugar in quart sized bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal it. Place a layer of ice cubes and rock salt in gallon sized bag and put in quart sized bag in. Surround with additional layers of ice and rock salt until full. Seal bag. If using newspaper and tape (to keep your hands from getting cold) wrap in several layers of paper and tape shut. If using hot pads use the gloved pads. Shake bag vigorously for 15 minutes or until ice cream is hardened. Remove quart sized bag, rinse salt off very quickly (so ice cream doesn't melt) in cold water. Eat straight from the bag or transfer it to a bowl.

This turned out to be delicious! Coconut has been my favorite flavor of ice cream for a long time. The flavor was a little strong for the kids so I recommend using a blend of coconut and rice milk for kids with a strong sense of taste. (My kids sure need the calories from the coconut milk though!)

Dairy/Soy Free Hot Fudge

2009-05-11T12:24:00.003-06:00

*picture coming soon.

This one turned out to be very delicious! Drizzle some over coconut or rice milk ice cream, dip banana slices in it, or drizzle some on your favorite pastries.

3/4 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa
2/3 c coconut milk
1/3 c corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c canola oil or 1/3 c margarine substitute of your choice

Mix sugar and cocoa in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Stir in coconut milk and corn syrup. Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and oil or margarine.

Variation: melt in peanut butter to taste for a different flavor or added protein or calories.

Mine was a little thin because the coconut milk I used was watered down. You can use a more concentrated coconut milk to make it thicker.

Soy/Dairy/Gluten Free Shortening and Margarine

2009-05-08T09:21:00.003-06:00

I just discovered these two items:

Earth Balance Soy Free Natural Buttery Spread
This one is relatively new and so not widely available. I haven't been able to find any yet but I am in the process of requesting it at our local stores. I wish I could just order it online but they don't do direct sales.

Spectrum Organic Shortening This is made from 100% palm oil. I haven't tried it yet either but I'll write a review as soon as I do. You can only order this one online. They don't appear to sell through stores. Of course the disadvantage of that is it's $7 for 24 oz plus $6 shipping. Not cheap. But they do have a monopoly on it so I guess they can get away with it.

Gluten/Dairy/Soy/Egg Free Applesauce Bread, version 2

2009-05-07T21:39:00.004-06:00

(pictures coming soon)

2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
2 1/4 c flour*
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp guar gum (or xanthan)
3 tbsp milled flax seed (my egg replacer)
1/4 cup finely chopped cashews and peanuts**
1 15 oz can applesauce
1 c canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, guar gum, and flax seed, flour, and nut paste. Slowly stir in applesauce and oil. Batter should be thicker than cake batter but thinner than cookie dough.

5. "Glop" into muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes about two dozen.

*For this I used 1/2 c gluten-free oats made into flour in a food processer, 1/2 c brown rice flour, 1/2 c coconut flour, 1/2 c (2 parts potato flour, 1 part tapioca starch) 1/4 c Bob's baking mix

**I wanted to add protein and calories and Barrett won't eat anything with chunks so I blended the nuts very finely, almost like peanut butter.

The goal was to make these not quite as dense is the last ones and I accomplished that goal. I still want to put coconut milk in but it just had too much moisture last time. I could possibly do 1/2-1/2 ratio oil and coconut. I could also put coconut milk in place of applesauce but that would still make them pretty heavy. I'll have to check to see which has more calories. But maybe heavy isn't bad since the kids ate the last batch just fine.

Gluten-Free Cream of Chicken Soup

2009-05-06T09:06:00.004-06:00

Sorry it has dairy, but I needed a substitute that I could eat for sauce on Hawaiian haystacks and to use in casseroles.

4 oz softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used homemade broth with chicken bits in it)
1 tbsp potato flour (or rice flour or whatever)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp parsley

Beat cream cheese. Slowly beat in broth (try to keep the chicken pieces out until you are done beating). Stir in herbs and spices. Add chicken. Once the broth and cheese are mixed together you can heat it on the stove, stirring often. Or when everything is mixed together you can microwave it for 2-3 minutes. Make sure and stir every once in awhile if you do it in the microwave. You can change the consistency by adjusting the amount of flour you use.

Makes about 2 cups.

Gluten/Dairy/Soy Free Rice Krispie Treats

2009-04-30T09:20:00.006-06:00

Fruity Treats:

3 cups Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice
3 cups Fruity Pebbles (or the imitation brand from Wal-Mart is okay too)
1 bag marshmallows
4 tbsp canola oil or Nucoa margarine (if no soy allergy)

Melt oil and marshmallows in a large bowl in the microwave. Add cereal and stir. Spread onto a flat pan like a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle a few colored cereal pieces on top for aesthetic reasons. Let cool.

Chocolate Treats:

3 cups Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice
3 cups Koala Crisp (may contain traces of soy but it didn't bother Barrett)
1 bag marshmallows
4 tbsp canola oil or Nucoa margarine (if no soy allergy)
1/2 c Enjoy Life or Tropical Source chocolate chips (or more if you want it really chocolaty) (Tropical Source chips have soy lecithin but it has never caused a reaction in Barrett).
Enjoy Life chocolate chips to sprinkle on top.

Melt oil and marshmallows, and chocolate chips in a large bowl in the microwave. Add cereal and stir. Spread onto a flat pan like a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top for aesthetic reasons. Let cool.

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with Coconut Frosting

2009-04-30T08:50:00.004-06:00

It was my daughter's first birthday and we made two gluten-free carrot cakes. One was also dairy free and had coconut frosting. The other had cream cheese frosting. They turned out pretty good. I even fooled my little brother into thinking they were regular cakes. I used this recipe from Karina's Kitchen. We have also tried this one in the past from Allrecipes and just substituted a GF flour mix. I remember liking the Allrecipes one better, but I also used Pamala's baking mix in that one, which I don't use anymore because it has buttermilk. I decided to try letting my kids have the small amount of eggs they would get in the cake. Abbie was fine with it. Barrett didn't seem to handle it very well althoughI still suspect that buckwheat might bother him.

Here is the recipe as I made it. This is the doubled version.

6 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 crushed pineapple or applesauce
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp Allspice
4 cups flour mix with 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda added per cup of flour*
1 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut (I left this out--you can also put in raisins or nuts)
3 cups processed [or finely grated] carrots (about 4 medium carrots)

*I used 1/3 c tapioca starch, 2/3 c potato starch, 4 tsp guar gum, 1/2 c buckwheat flour, 1/2 c coconut flour, 1/2 c brown rice flour, 1/2 c Bob's all purpose baking mix, 1/2 c sweet rice flour, 1/2 c potoato flour---I think I could have done with only 1/2 cup starch total and put in another 1/2 c of flour instead.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 9" square pans with cooking oil and sprinkle with sweet rice flour (mochiko). Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add oil and brown sugar. Mix. Add applesauce or pineapple. Mix. Slowly beat in dry mixture. Add carrot. Batter will be fairly thick. Spread batter into pans. Bake for 40 minutes (I am high altititude). Turn over onto wire racks and let cool.

Coconut Frosting.

I sort of guessed on this. I mixed coconut milk with powdered sugar and vanilla until I had a good consistency. I think it would have been better with almond extract instead of vanilla but I ran out. The coconut is a little strong or bitter or something so you might want to use just a little coconut milk and then use rice milk or water if it needs more liquid.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8oz pkg softened cream cheese
powdered sugar
vanilla

Blend them all together to desired consistency and sweetness. I know it's not very helpful instruction, but I didn't measure so that's all you get.

Gluten-Free Flatbreat Sandwitch

2009-04-26T16:16:00.002-06:00

I tried this last night and it was so nice to be able to have a sandwich!

GF Wrap Sandwich Success

It does have eggs and yeast but it was sure nice for me to eat! I would not use straight brown rice flour like the recipe says though. I used a mix, as usual.

Can't Chew

2009-04-13T10:08:00.003-06:00

I recently learned why I haven't been able to feed Barrett things like meats, apples, carrots and other raw vegetables. I took him to a speech pathologist who specializes in feeding and she said that he chews like a baby who is just learning to eat table foods. He doesn't use his tongue or the rotary motion that allows food to be ground up smaller. So I guess now he gets to have "chewing therapy".

I didn't think too much of his chewing abilities until I noticed that his little sister with no molars could chew up things he couldn't. I hope if we can get this solved we can help him to be better nourished.

Gluten/Milk/Soy/Egg Free Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

2009-04-01T16:13:00.006-06:00

1 c canola oil
1 c gluten-free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill GF Oats)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp guar gum (or xanthan)
3 tbsp milled flax seed (my egg replacer)
1 15 oz can applesauce
1 c coconut milk
2 c flour*

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine canola oil and oats in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes (to help soften the oats). Set aside to soak.

2. In a large bowl combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, guar gum, and flax seed. Slowly stir in applesauce and coconut milk.

3. After the oats/oil have been soaking for at least ten minutes add them to the mixture in step #2.

4. Slowly stir in flour. Adjust amount for desired consistency. Batter should be thicker than cake batter but thinner than cookie dough.

5. Drop into muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes about two dozen.

*For this I used 1/2 c coconut flour, 1/2 c brown rice flour, 1/2 c Bob's baking mix, 1/2 c tapioca/potato starch.

They turned out really good, but also very dense. I'm not sure how to make them less dense without eggs but I'm open to suggestions. Maybe less starch and more flour would do the trick. And maybe there was too much oil. I was just trying to get as much fat in there as I could for my skinny little boy (oil and coconut milk).

The Baby Definitely Has A Food Intolerance Problem

2009-03-29T08:55:00.002-06:00

It is now obvious that Abbie has a problem similar to Barrett's. Her diaper rashes and diarrhea the last week have been sure evidence. Unfortunately I can't pinpoint the exact cause yet. We started giving her more milk products like yogurt and cheese, and I also have been slack on my own gluten-free diet. It's possible the gluten from breast milk is bothering, or the increase in cow's milk has been bothering her, or both. So now we get to start the elimination process with her. Keep those things out of her diet for a few weeks to see if she improves, and then add them back in one at a time and see what happens. I already suspected gluten which is why I don't feed it to her directly, but my current theory is that both are a problem. I know for sure that she can't tolerate eggs at this point. She and Barrett both had a hard time the last time we fed eggs to them. I'm not even going to attempt soy with her if she can't have casein.

Oops! A Little Cow's Milk

2009-03-25T14:53:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we left Barrett with a babysitter. We made the mistake of assuming she would remember from last time that he couldn't have gluten or milk since her sister has the same problem. Never assume anything. We came home to find a sippy cup with the last dregs of cow's milk in the bottom. (It was in the morning). That night at about 2 am Barrett woke up screaming, "poopy diaper!" Now I know how long it takes for a contaminant to affect him. I've changed a lot of diarrhea diapers since then. Today is the first day he hasn't had one...yet. Hopefully it has cleared his system by now. I felt so bad about it. He never complained about his stomach hurting though, and it didn't seem to affect his personality, which is good. Just diarrhea and diaper rash. Those contaminated diapers sure smell bad though!

We have finally ordered the protein drink the doctor recommended. I couldn't find it anywhere in stores and they changed the name to Regence Boost Fruit Beverage so it took me awhile. It also has whey protein from cow's milk and I wanted to make sure that wouldn't bother him before I forked out the dough. I bought some Special K protein water that has whey protein in it to test it out. It didn't seem to affect him so I went ahead and ordered a six pack of the Boost. Hopefully it won't bother him either because he really needs the nutrients. His fingernails are still peeling.

Gluten/Milk/Egg/Soy Free Pumpkin Bread

2009-03-12T16:53:00.006-06:00

Before cooking

After cooking

I just found this recipe and I thought it was really good:

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread

I adapted it a little and I'll post the adaptation here. I left out the nuts and coconut flakes because I didn't think Barrett would eat them. I also added more spice to hide the taste of the flour and reduced the sugar because I use it as more of a meal than a dessert.

3 1/2 cups flour (I used buckwheat, Bob's all purpose, rice, and potato flours)
3 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp Jamaican all-spice
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients, and mix until all of the flour is absorbed. Spoon batter into cupcake tins (or two greased loaf pans)
Bake 20 minutes for muffins or 1 hour and 15 minutes for loaves.

An Egg Reaction, I Think

2009-02-24T14:19:00.002-07:00

We wanted to be sure whether Barrett was really sensitive to eggs or not so we scrambled up a few and fed them to him and his sister Abbie for dinner a few nights ago. They both ended up with diarrhea. I was not surprised about Barrett but I was surprised about Abbie. She doesn't appear to be sensitive to either milk or gluten. She is generally somewhat constipated though, so I don't know if it was just her body trying to clear itself and was just a coincidence with eggs, or if there was some bacteria or something in the eggs that mad them both sick. It's too bad it's so hard to tell these things for sure.

A Visit With the Gastroenterologist

2009-02-18T15:01:00.004-07:00

Our appointment wasn't for a few more weeks but yesterday the clinic called and said they had a cancellation for this morning so we took it.

The appointment wasn't long but it was nice to finally be able to talk with some who actually had some experience with this sort of thing. The doctor is Dr. Harnsberger. We discussed the Enterolab results a bit but she said she couldn't do anything with them because it was considered an alternative form of medicine and she was not trained or qualified to interpret such results or use that approach. She said the tests are sketchy because some of the things they test for are naturally found in food and so would come out in a stool sample. At least that was the case with the transglutaminase tests. She did, at least, concede that the information about soy was helpful, and that regardless of any sort of testing we have seen and can conclude that Barrett is sensitive to milk, soy, and gluten.

We discussed possible causes of his insensitivities. When Barrett was a baby they suspected giardia, but the stool sample came up negative. Dr. Harnsburger said you couldn't entirely rule that out because it only shows up in 50% of stool samples when people have giardia because it lives in the small intestines. She said the bacteria could cause the food sensitivies because it breaks down the proteins in larger chunks than normal that cause the immune system to react to it. We could have seen improvement on an elimination diet because the bacteria was not being fed the foods it was previously ingesting.

Another possibility could be a genetic food insensitivy or allergy since it does run in the family. My uncle couldn't eat anything but rice until he was about three years old. His daughter had a similar problem. My family also has a history of autoimmune disease and my husband's sister has Celiac.

Another possibility is that there is some kind of damage or infection in the digestive tract that caused something like leaky gut. The only way to rule that out would be by a biopsy. Dr. Harnsburger recommended waiting on that and trying other methods first. Especially since he has done so well on the elimination diet.

Our main concern was getting Barrett the nutrition he needs on a restricted diet. Barrett was taking Usanimals, but he won't eat them anymore. Not even if I smash them and put them in his food. She recommended a simple gummy vitamin, if we wanted to give him one. Even more importantly though, she recommended some protein juices designed specifically for children like Barrett. They come in juice boxes and are called either Boost Breeze or Eo28. She gave us a sample of Eo28 and Barrett seemed to like it. They are supposed to be hypoallergenic. She also recommended a medication called Cyproheptidine, which is an antihistimine for the digestive tract to help lesson reactions. It also stimulates appetite. She wanted us to do that for three weeks and then call and update on his status.

She also said that 90% of kids outgrow their food allergies by the time they are in kindergarten. Even with kids as severe as Barrett. I guess I will place some hope in that.

Baffled

2009-01-29T15:54:00.007-07:00

Barrett has been a basket case the last two days. So much that I could hardly stand to be around him. He has been very whiny and has refused to eat much of anything. Today the reason was manifest in a full-blown diaper explosion. His diapers had been getting progressively greener and runnier, but this one required the bath tub. The only culprits I could think of were buckwheat hot cereal, Trix cereal, or fruit snacks. I'm still unsure about corn, I have suspected food dye, and the buckwheat could be cross-contaminated, or it could be the buckwheat itself. He's had buckwheat in his diaper but it has hard shells that are difficult to digest anyway. I assumed it would be that way for anyone, but perhaps I am wrong. It could also be the canola oil he's had the last couple of days.

ETA: I just remembered that we have been giving Barrett Prednisolone the past couple of days for his asthma. Some versions of it have some ingredients that contain some milk proteins, I discovered after looking it up. The particular one he took didn't appear to have it, but that is the only thing he has ingested that he doesn't usually eat.

ETA: Yesterday, Saturday, the contamination cleared. I still don't know what it was, but I'm glad it's gone. He had horrible diaper rash until yesterday afternoon. (It's great for potty training, by the way. I can actually get him to poop in the toilet when he is contaminated)!

Chicken Broth

2009-01-26T16:12:00.003-07:00

Following Anna's suggestion, I cooked my first whole chicken today and the broth is simmering in the crock post. It was a huge chicken, cost $12. But I got 8 cups of boiled chicken out of it that I can freeze for later and 11 cups of broth. I am posting Anna's instructions for making chicken broth as its own blog for easier referencing. I hope you don't mind, Anna--and thanks for the info!

Have you considered making chicken broth to avoid the MSG issues? Do you have a Crock Pot slow cooker? You can also make it in a big pot/Dutch oven on the range, but then you'll have to stay home to babysit (peek at it now and then). CP slow cookers are easier because you put the stuff in, set the temp and come back later and it's done.I used to make broth with leftover chicken bones/carcasses, but a friend showed me her way, with a fresh whole chicken, and I like it better because a) it's easy, b) it makes a big container of cooked and deboned chicken meat for easy snacks, soups, and quick meals at the same time.

Seriously, I unwrap a whole chicken and put it in the pot. Add water until it is about 2" from the top. Add chopped onions, carrots, and celery (or keep a bag in the freezer for onion ends, scallion, carrot, and leek, trimmings, and limp celery and dump them right in when you make broth) and a bay leaf if you can, but they aren't essential if you are pressed for time or don't have any. [note-I added other herbs as well such as thyme and marjoram. I can't stand a bland broth. Also, somewhere I read "crap in, crap out", meaning I wouldn't recommend using onion skins and carrot ends--use stuff that tastes good.]

Here's the important part: pour in a "glug" of vinegar (a couple tablespoons) such as apple cider vinegar, even lemon juice. The slight acidity of the water will "leach" minerals out of the chicken bones and into the broth, for greater flavor and nutrition. You won't taste the acidity, but it makes great broth.

Cover and set the temp. Naturally, Low will take a lot longer and High will cook faster. A few hours at the minimum, though, but not all day (you don't want to cook all the flavor out of the chicken meat). I tend to set on High at first until the water is hot, then reset it to Low later. When the chicken is cooked well, carefully remove it to a big bowl or platter to cool off a bit (watch out for splatters and splashes and falling legs if it's really well cooked and falling apart - use tongs if necessary). When the meat is cool enough to handle, quickly debone with big hunks of meat to serve right away or store in a container in the fridge. Ladle a bit of broth over the meat to keep it moist.

Return skin, bones, and cartilage to the pot, perhaps add a bit more water and cook a *lot* longer. Strain into containers and store in the fridge for a week or in the freezer (leave space for expansion). In the winter I do this weekly, for the meat and the broth. Even though the cooking takes several hours, the hands-on time is very minimal.And homemade broth is richer with gelatin than commercial broth, so it's great for the GI tract (my friend Dianne likens commercial broth to "water used to rinse chicken). Gelatin is very soothing, nourishing, and promotes GI healing. And no MSG! Yay!

http://web.mac.com/gandasalvesen/iWeb/GandA/Chicken.htmlhttp://web.mac.com/gandasalvesen/iWeb/Site/Blog/95426232-1443-448C-A0D6-C50EBB668568.html

This one might freak you out ;-):
http://web.mac.com/gandasalvesen/iWeb/Site/Blog/822FEFE9-4B66-44EE-8F3E-95DB501FA531.html

P.S. For ideas on how to use the boiled chicken check out this thread from Discusscooking.com

Flourless, Eggless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-01-23T13:10:00.004-07:00

1 c peanut butter
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milled flax seed
1/4 c water
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and roll into balls, about the size of a teaspoon. Cris-cross with a fork and bake for 8-10 minutes. Yield: abt 1 dozen cookies. (Cookies are a bit crumbly).

I use either Skippy all-natural peanut butter or Arrowhead Mills Organic Crunchy Valencia Peanut Butter because they don't have any soybean oil in them. If you can have egg, then substitute one egg for the water and flax seed. I use dairy-free chocolate chips in mine as well. I've had some people tell me these are the best peanut butter cookies they have ever had, but I disagree. They aren't the best, but they are pretty good. And it's one way to get some protein and fat into my little toddler's body!

Cross-Contaminated Trail Mix

2009-01-21T13:00:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I ate a bunch of Sam's Choice Trail Mix. The label said it was made on equipment that processes wheat. I figured it wouldn't be a problem because if I am sensitive to wheat at all, I didn't think I would be very sensitive and was sure not much could get through to the baby. Well I was wrong at least for my part. I felt awful this morning and I haven't felt like that since going gluten-free. It could have been coincidence or it could have been something else. That was just the most likely candidate. It looks like I may be on this diet permanently.

Hiding Vegetables in Pasta Sauce

2009-01-21T12:50:00.003-07:00

I can't get Barrett to eat any vegetables in their original form. Last night I decided I would try making a sauce out of them since he loves to eat rice noodles. I just feel like eating nothing but Rice Chex, rice and rice noodles isn't considered a balanced diet. I was trying to get him to eat some left over green beans and he would just split them in half and eat the seeds. So I blended them up and mixed them into his rice. It worked just fine, so for dinner I decided to make a vegetable puree pasta sauce to keep his noodles from being too bland and to add a bit of nutrients to his meal. He really liked it and is eating some at the moment. Here's the recipe:

10 green beans
5 baby carrots microwaved until soft
A few slices of onion
a dash of garlic powder
A handful of fresh spinach, microwaved until limp
water

I just blended them in a blender until they were the consistency of a nice red sauce and mixed them in his noodles. It was enough to fill a cereal bowl completely full with noodles and sauce. I liked the sauce enough that I might make some for myself too!

Bloating Tonight

2009-01-16T20:38:00.004-07:00

Barrett's belly was very bloated tonight. I could tell without measuring but I measured anyway. Around his belly button he was 21 1/2 inches (normally 18 1/2). He has just been complaining that his stomach hurts as well. So far he hasn't had any other symptoms but we'll be watching him.

Foods he ate today:
buckwheat cereal in rice milk, banana, homemade zucchini bread, mixed nuts, quinoa cooked in chicken broth with organic ketchup, pineapple, apple, orange, Baked Lays Natural potato chips, black beans

I'll update if and when more symptoms show up.

ETA. I just read the label of the chicken broth I used. It was Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken Broth. It claims to have no MSG. However, the label says it has autolyzed yeast extract (oops, I was supposed to be avoiding yeast anyway). It could be the yeast that made him bloat, but he has never bloated from the yeast in the tapioca bread he used to eat. In fact, I have never seen him react to yeast. However, this website mentions that a different variation of Swanson broth states that the yeast extract comes from wheat. This article talks about manufacturers hiding MSG under the name of autolyzed yeast extract which is used to make MSG (wikipedia:yeast extract). MSG is something that should generally be avoided because it often is derived from wheat--and many people who react to gluten react to MSG anyway.

Adding Mom and Sister to the Diet

2009-01-16T09:25:00.003-07:00

I have suspected that my daughter, Abbie, who is now almost 9 months old is also intolerant to gluten. I was pregnant with her when I discovered that Barrett couldn't eat it. I was worried about her getting exposed to gluten too early as well so I went gluten-free for the last month of my pregnancy and the first months or so after she was born, since I was nursing her. She was a perfect baby: healthy, happy, easy to please. She started sleeping through the night when she was 9 or 10 weeks old and I could just lay her in bed and she'd fall asleep without crying. I slowly started eating gluten again (I'm a sucker for chocolate chip cookies and rolls!).

When she was about 4 1/2 months old she started waking up twice a night, then three times, then every two hours, then every hour! I waited for growth spurts to end, teeth to come in, milestones to be learned, and still her sleeping did not improve. She got to be really gassy as well and became very famous for passing gas all the time. I really didn't want to go gluten-free again, but when my gene test from Enterolab showed that I had two gluten-sensitive alleles I knew that my kids had a three in four chance of having gluten intolerance--and it would probably benefit me as well.

I really didn't want to go gluten-free again but I'll do anything for my kids so I've been gluten-free for about a week again (and it really isn't so bad). She is still sleeping horribly but I suspect it will take some healing time and body-adjustment time before that improves. But she hasn't been gassy at all. A good sign that she is improving, but a bad sign since I was hoping she wasn't gluten-intolerant.

Even more, I myself am feeling much better. After Barrett's Enterolab results came back I began to wonder if I was gluten-intolerant myself and started paying attention to what happened after I ate it. I noticed very slight, uncomfortable intestinal cramps. Nothing bad. Nothing I would even complain about to anyone. I could have had them my whole life and just passed it off as a natural digestion process because it wasn't very painful. And what do you know, since I've been gluten free I haven't had that at all! I want to do stool samples through Enterolab for my whole family but I can't afford to do it right now. I refuse to have a biopsy done for any of us because I think it is the most useless and ridiculous diagnostic process I have ever heard of.

I think I'll end up staying gluten-free at least as long as my baby is nursing, and possibly forever. I just hope I don't have any problems with casein because I am addicted to milk shakes and cheese!

Pineapple Zucchini Bread Gluten-Free/ Dairy-free/ Soy Free

2009-01-13T20:37:00.007-07:00

	Gluten-Free Pineapple Zucchini bread.
1 c	Pamela's baking mix (has diary)	1 c	White sugar
1 c	Buckwheat flour mix*	1 c	Brown sugar
1 c	Bob's baking mix	3 tsp	vanilla
1 tsp	Baking powder	1 c	canola oil
1 tsp	Baking soda	3	Egg yolks
1 tsp	salt	3	Egg whites, whipped
2 tsp	nutmeg	2 c	chopped zucchini
1 tsp	cloves	8 oz	Crushed pineapple w/ juice
1 tsp	Jamaican allspice
6 tsp	cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl mix the flours, sugar, soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Separate egg yolks from whites, putting the yolks in a bowl and the whites in a blender.
Beat egg whites until thick and fluffy, almost firm.
Add zucchini, pineapple (with juice), vanilla, canola oil and egg yolks to blender. Blend until very smooth.
Slowly mix contents of blender into the flour bowl. Pour into to large loaf pans or three small loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour. (Or 20 minutes in muffin tins).

*Buckwheat flour mix: ration of 2 cups buckwheat flour, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, 2/3 cup potato flour, 1 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum. Buckwheat flour is a little sweet and is great for making dessert-like foods.

Variations:

Do the same thing but don't separate the eggs. My husband also says he thinks it had too much cinnamon and nutmeg so feel free to put less spice in it if you want. You can also add a few raisins but my son won't eat it that way.

Gluten-Free Biscuits

2009-01-13T20:13:00.003-07:00

You WILL taste the flour in this recipe so choose your flour carefully! You don't have to use the flour I used.

1 c Bob's Gluten-free Baking Flour
1 c soy flour mix*
1/2 c potato flour (not starch)
1 tbsp sugar
3 1/4 tsp baking powder**
2 1/2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1/2 tsp garlic salt (takes the edge off the flour)
abt 1 1/4 c milk (you can use soy milk--maybe rice milk but I have never tried)
1 cube butter
garlic salt to taste

Preheat over to 450. Melt 1 stick of butter or margarine and mix in garlic salt. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk. turn out and knead. Add extra milk if it doesn't all hold together. Roll into 1 1/2 in balls and smash to about 1/2 inch in your hands or on the counter with a cup. Dip in butter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes.

The trick is to hide the taste of the flour with lots of butter and garlic salt. I really enjoyed these biscuits.

*2 parts soy flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca starch

**baking powder is made with corn starch so if you have a corn allergy use featherlight baking powder made from potato starch or use a substitute from the like of food substitutes on the left sidebar.

Signs of Contamination

2009-01-11T20:53:00.007-07:00

There are 8 things we watch for to see if Barrett has been contaminated:

1. Behavior. Shortly after he eats something bad he becomes a basket case. My sweet little boy turns into a nightmare. He whines because he can't zip his jacket up and when you help him he cries because he wants it off. He quits paying attention to what he's doing so he trips a lot. Normally when he trips he says, "I fall down," and goes on his way, but when he is contaminated he sobs and sobs or else throws a tantrum. There are also times when I suspect seizures--he blanks out and doesn't respond for 10-20 seconds, but I can't tell if he's just spacing off or if they are really seizures.

2. Sleep. He usually wakes up several times in the night afterward. Sometimes with a poopy diaper or upset stomach. But sometimes he just gets up and plays and talks to himself and gets really hyper.

3. Diapers. We pay attention to a lot of things with diapers. Frequency, volume, content, smell, and acidity. He usually has 4-5 bowel movements after contamination that are large in volume, contain undigested food--and smell absolutely horrible! They are also very acidic but I'll get to that in the next one.

4. Diaper rash. His diapers after contamination are usually pretty acidic and he gets burn rashes all over. He usually tells me his "bum hurts" immediately after passing a BM. It's difficult to clean off and usually requires rinsing with water so it doesn't continue to burn him.

5. Stomach Cramps. This can be hard to tell. It was a relief when he finally learned to say, "Stomach hurts!" so I knew for sure. I think when my baby gets stomach cramps she just cries out suddenly or twitches side-to-side a lot. She is also really gassy and often gasses or burps after she has been twitching or crying out. I am assuming the reason is that it hurts her stomach.

6. Bloating. Sometimes after he eats food he shouldn't his stomach bloats, but not every time. I haven't been able to figure out at what point it bloats or what exactly causes it. It's just something we have seen happen on more severe contaminations.

7. Eczema. After being contaminated sometimes his eczema on his ankles flares up. I haven't noticed it lately though. My theory is that we've finally managed to eliminate all of the allergens from his diet. Hooray!

8. Loss of Appetite. After contamination Barrett rarely asks for food and usually refuses it when we offer. If he does it it's only bites of what is given him. It used to stress me out because he is so skinny, but I learned that he doesn't digest the food anyway. It just comes out in his diaper and gives him cramps and a rash so he is better off not eating much.

Tips for Going Dairy-Free

2009-01-04T16:55:00.006-07:00

I think it was harder to adjust to going dairy-free than it was to go gluten-free. I couldn't hide the flavor of unusual flours with cheese anymore! We tried soy cheese but it was made with casein and so it still was no good (I didn't know my son also had soy intolerance at the time). You have to be careful looking for dairy replacements because some things still use milk. A friend of mine whose child has a milk allergy says that even "milk-free" acidophilus still has traces of milk because it has to be cultured with milk. I wanted so bad to give it to Barrett to help with digestion but he could not tolerate the milk-free tablets, like she said (although they may possibly contain soy so it's possible that it is the soy and not milk that bothered him).

There are a few kinds of dairy-free margarine. Nucoa, Blue Bonnet Light, and Earth Balance are all dairy-free. If you are intolerant to casein other kinds might be okay too because they contain milk but it is whey and not casein. ((Milk is usually divided into two parts--curds (casein) and whey (not a protein). Cottage cheese it the curds and so is basically pure casein. Don't ever feed it to your kid)! I found it safest to just avoid milk altogether though to avoid cross-contamination. I would also avoid using butter-flavored Crisco because while they claim it contains no milk it is derived originally from milk.

A good alternative to milk, if your child can tolerate soy, is Silk Very Vanilla which is specially fortified for kids. I found it to have the most vitamins as well as calories and my son loved it (until we found soy was bad for him). Even the Silk Plain tasted good to me. There are many brands of soy milk and you can try as many as you like, but I never found one that was fortified as well as the Silk Very Vanilla. If soy is also a problem or if you want fewer calories I would recommend almond milk or rice milk. Hemp milk is supposed to be the most nutritious, but let's be honest--it's nasty! And do not use oat milk because it contains gluten. Also, if you buy rice milk be careful if you buy Rice Dream because some of it is made from barley which contains gluten. For a list of gluten-free rice dream products click here.

You can make a very good pumpkin pie with soy milk (don't use vanilla flavored milk though). You can substitute soy milk for evaporated milk and it will still taste good (use the recipe on the package of Libby's Pumpkin), it just won't set up quite as well. You can, however, make your own evaporated milk by boiling 2 1/2 cups of soy milk down to 1 cup and using that. I could not taste the difference between my dairy and my soy pies. You can use a gluten-free crust (I'll post a recipe later), or I like to just pour the mix into cupcake wrappers and have crust-free pies. That's what I did for Barrett's second birthday. It makes for nice easy servings and easy storage.

You can get dairy-free chocolate chips as well. Tropical Source is the only brand I have been able to find. Be careful if you are sensitive to soy. They have soy lecithin in them. It shouldn't bother most people but if you are extra sensitive to soy it may bother you.

You can also buy soy ice cream and yogurt but I have never tried them so I don't know if they are any good. I have recipes though and I will post those later as well.

Tips for Going Gluten-Free

2009-01-03T10:06:00.004-07:00

It was overwhelming for me, at first, to put Barrett on a gluten-free diet. What would he eat for nursery snacks at church? How could I feed him while we were traveling? How would I get him enough calories? How much would it cost? Where do I even find gluten-free foods? But I learned that after I found a system things would fall into place and it would not be stressful for me.

There are many places to find gluten-free products. Most health food stores will have at least a small selection. Many grocery stores like Smith's and Macey's have organic sections or special shelves marked as "organic" that often have gluten-free foods. Sunflower Market also has gluten-free products that are specially marked.

For nursery I put gluten-free cereal, raisins, craisins, fruit snacks, and crackers in zip-lock bags and put them in a container. I explained the situation to all the nursery workers and they now keep his snacks in the closet so I don't have to worry about bringing something for him every week.

One thing I really struggled with was finding foods that I could give my son quickly. A friend told me that she makes gluten-free cornbread muffins and freezes them, then puts peanut butter on top and send them to school with her son for lunch. I thought it was a great idea, and although I learned that my son can't have corn I like to make zucchini and pumpkin bread muffins and keep them in the freezer. Then I just thaw them out in the microwave for 40 seconds on defrost and give them to Barrett. If I am travelling I put one or two in a ziplock bag and bring it in the car.

Many people make their whole house gluten-free when a member of the family goes on the diet. We chose not to do that because it is very expensive and my son has to avoid so many things it would be very difficult to have us all do it. We may try it if it becomes necessary, but so far Barrett just accepts that he eats different food than everyone else and does not have a problem with it. When I cook dinner I try to make it gluten-free if I can do it easily, otherwise I just cook something different for Barrett. When I make pasta I make the sauce gluten-free and then use rice noodles for Barrett and regluar noodles for the rest of the family. I thicken chile and soups with gluten-free flour (you can also use corn starch but I avoid that because of his possible corn intolerance).

There are many gluten free flours you can choose from for baking. You can buy premade pancake mixes, cake and cookie mixes, breadstick and pizza crust mixes and more. They are expensive but they tend to taste better than a lot of homemade ones. I however, prefer to make my own. You can read about different kinds of flour and how they work on the internet. Experiment with them and when you find a combination you like you can make your own pancake mixes and cake mixes and store them in large zip-lock bags or tupperware containers. It's a lot of work at first but in the long run it is cheaper and will save you time. Usually it's best to combine different types of flours so the flavor of one does not overpower your food. You also need to add a starch to it or the flour will not hold together very well. The standard mixture is:

2/3 part potato starch
1/3 part tapioca starch
2 parts flour of your choice
1 tsp xanthan or guar gum (I use guar because xanthan gum is derived from corn)

I usually throw the ingredients in a large ziplock bag and shake them up. Then I date and label them. Some flours need to be stored in the fridge so read the labels.

The noodles I have found to be the best are Tinkyada brand noodles. They are made from rice, taste good and they don't fall apart. Even the lasagna noodles work well. I also like Ancient Harvest Quinoa and Corn noodles, but they fall apart more easily if they are overcooked.

For breakfast you can usually find hot cereals like quinoa flakes, buckwheat cereal (not related to wheat), hot rice cereal, and gluten free oats for oatmeal (make sure the oats are specially marked gluten-free. Red Mill sells some gluten-free oats but they are expensive). Regular brand cereals that are currently gluten free (but always check the label because they change the recipe sometimes) are Rice Chex, Fruity Pebbles, Trix, and Dora and Diego cereals. I also like to buy Erewon Crispy Rice and some no-name brand called Cinnamon O's. (Basically just a plain box with plain black print I found in the gluten-free section at Macey's).

You have several options for flour. The best, if you are not avoiding milk, is Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix. It is a little light though and if you want something heavier just mix it with another flour. Bob's gluten-free baking mix is a pre-made mix made out of garbanzo and fava bean flours. It's alright but I never use that alone because the bean flavor is a little strong. The cheapest is rice flour. You can even get a grain grinder and grind your own to make it even cheaper. I can't stand the taste of rice flour though (brown rice is better than white rice in my opinion). Sweet rice flour isn't bad and is good for pie shells, but it is a lot more expensive. You can get it in Asian stores and it's usually called Mochika. I like to use buckwheat flour for sweet things like pancakes, cakes, and sweet breads (but never alone--mix it with another kind of flour). Soy flour works well if you do not have problems with soy. You can also use millet flour, garbanzo bean flour, fava bean flour, sorhgum flour, coconut flour, and potato flour (different from potato starch). Millet flour is better for pizza crust-type foods. I use coconut flour to absorb extra liquids. It is probably a good one to mix with the Pamela's mix. I will be posting recipes that I have tried and adapted on this blog soon.

Enterolab Results

2009-01-02T17:03:00.004-07:00

A) Gluten Sensitivity Stool and Gene Panel Complete *Best test/best value
Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 163 Units (Normal Range <10>

Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA 152 Units (Normal Range <10>

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score <300>

Fecal Anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA 112 Units (Normal Range <10>

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0301

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0602

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 3,1 (Subtype 7,6)

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA: Intestinal antigliadin IgA antibody was elevated, indicating that you have active dietary gluten sensitivity. For optimal health, resolution of symptoms (if you have them), and prevention of small intestinal damage and malnutrition, osteoporosis, and damage to other tissues (like nerves, brain, joints, muscles, thyroid, pancreas, other glands, skin, liver, spleen, among others), it is recommended that you follow a strict and permanent gluten free diet. As gluten sensitivity is a genetic syndrome, you may want to have your relatives screened as well.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA: You have an autoimmune reaction to the human enzyme tissue transglutaminase, secondary to dietary gluten sensitivity.

Interpretation of Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score: Provided that dietary fat is being ingested, a fecal fat score less than 300 indicates there is no malabsorbed dietary fat in stool indicating that digestion and absorption of nutrients is currently normal.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic "sensitivity" to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Interpretation Of HLA-DQ Testing: Although you do not possess the main HLA-DQB1 genes predisposing to celiac sprue (HLA-DQB1*0201 or HLA-DQB1*0302), HLA gene analysis reveals that you have two copies of a gene that predisposes to gluten sensitivity (any DQ1, DQ2 not by HLA-DQB1*0201, or DQ3 not by HLA-DQB1*0302). Having two copies of a gluten sensitive gene means that each of your parents and all of your children (if you have them) will possess at least one copy of the gene. Two copies also means there is an even stronger predisposition to gluten sensitivity than having one gene and the resultant immunologic gluten sensitivity may be more severe.

C) Egg, Yeast, and Soy Food Sensitivity Stool Panel
Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 35 Units (Normal Range <10>

Fecal Anti-saccharomyces cerevisiae (dietary yeast) IgA 35 Units (Normal Range <10>

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 140 Units (Normal Range <10>

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic "sensitivity" to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-saccharomyces cerevisiae (dietary yeast) IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic "sensitivity" to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

Interpretation of Fecal Anti-soy IgA: Levels of fecal IgA antibody to a food antigen greater than or equal to 10 are indicative of an immune reaction, and hence immunologic "sensitivity" to that food. For any elevated fecal antibody level, it is recommended to remove that food from your diet. Values less than 10 indicate there currently is minimal or no reaction to that food and hence, no direct evidence of food sensitivity to that specific food. However, because 1 in 500 people cannot make IgA at all, and rarely, some people can still have clinically significant reactions to a food antigen despite the lack of a significant antibody reaction (because the reactions primarily involve T cells), if you have an immune syndrome or symptoms associated with food sensitivity, it is recommended that you try a strict removal of suspect foods from your diet for up to 12 months despite a negative test.

THE MOTHER'S GENETIC TEST

Gluten Sensitivity Gene Test
HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0301

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0301

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 3,3 (Subtype 7,7)

Interpretation Of HLA-DQ Testing: Although you do not possess the main HLA-DQB1 genes predisposing to celiac sprue (HLA-DQB1*0201 or HLA-DQB1*0302), HLA gene analysis reveals that you have two copies of a gene that predisposes to gluten sensitivity (any DQ1, DQ2 not by HLA-DQB1*0201, or DQ3 not by HLA-DQB1*0302). Having two copies of a gluten sensitive gene means that each of your parents and all of your children (if you have them) will possess at least one copy of the gene. Two copies also means there is an even stronger predisposition to gluten sensitivity than having one gene and the resultant immunologic gluten sensitivity may be more severe.

Diaper Rash and Bloating Photos

2009-01-02T10:24:00.003-07:00

Barrett never got this kind of rash until about a month ago. It seems to be related to either soy or corn. It is usually accompanied by the burn rash but this one tends to spread up his back and down his legs a little. It doesn't seem to bother him at all though.
Sometimes the rash spreads to his legs if the BMs are large and the diaper chafes his legs. His legs then swell up so we have to cut off the edges of the diaper or fold them under.

This is what the burn rash usually looks like. Sometimes it is so bad he actually bleeds.
Barrett's stomach often bloats after eating "illegal" foods. Around his belly button he normally measures 19" but when he bloats it is usually close to 20". It's hard to tell in this picture but the bloating usually occurs right under his ribs. his ribs actually get pushed out a little bit and it makes him look like an Ethiopian child.

Accidental "Contaminations"

2009-01-01T21:06:00.003-07:00

After having been on a gluten/casein free diet for over 6 months this is how long it took for Barrett to get over eating bad foods and how much they affected him

The effects of a cheese cracker:

Stomach cramps a few hours later
A few hours of being extra sensitive (cries or throws a tantrum over every little thing)
2 or 3 "contaminated" diapers
Waking up multiple times that night

The effects of a powdered donut:

Two weeks of stomach cramps and bad diapers
Two weeks of night waking
An additional week of effects tapering off
Several days of being extra sensitive
Always manages to pick up a nasty cold during this type of contamination
Eczema flares up for a few days
Diaper rash burns

The effects of 5 corn chips (with soybean oil--not sure what triggered the reaction)

Two weeks of extremely bad diapers
Two weeks of night waking
An additional week of tapering off
Several days of being extra sensitive
Always manages to pick up a nasty cold during this type of contamination
Eczema flares up for a few days
Diaper rash burns

What "Contaminated" Bowel Movements Look Like

2009-01-01T11:45:00.005-07:00

Newborn: Every diaper I changed for the first three months of my sons life was poopy. That is not an exaggeration. It was always just yellow and runny and very acidic. It would burn his bottom and so we had to change him immediately and frequently. He would squirm and try and hold it in as much as he could because it would hurt him.

Baby: After he started solid foods the BMs were very large and runny and would explode out of his diaper in every place imaginable.

Toddler--no special diet: They were very acidic and would leave burns on his bottom. He would have 3-5 very large BMs every day. They were very sandy; it literally looked like he had been eating sand.

Todder--after being on a gluten-free diet: When he is not contaminated they are solid only has one a day. They do not have a strong smell. When he eats something he shouldn't they are be very large, very acidic, and very frequent. They look undigested and whole foods can be identified. They have an extremely strong and unique smell that "hovers" and does not dissipate for a long time after the diaper has been changed and taken outside.

An Overview of Our Story

2008-12-31T17:56:00.009-07:00

If you would have told me when I got married that I would have a child with severe food intolerances I would have laughed. Nobody in my family, extended family, or anscestry had any known food problems except for one cousin who was allergic to pretty much everything. It was the same with my husband's family.

Barrett was my first child and so I did not know what was normal and what was not. He was born a month early and had diaper rash from the day he was born until three months later. Four doctors and several treatments later did not help in the least. I finally discovered that a concotion of A&D for burns and Mylanta solved the problem. It was a fix for the symptoms but I never discovered the cause.

Many months later when Barrett was walking he got a very severe diaper rash. He had rashes on and off for no apparent reason but never this bad. It was so bad we had to put toys on a chair for him to play with because he couldn't sit down. If he dropped one it hurt too bad for him to pick it back up so we had to be right there with him all the time. We had to rinse him off in the sink when he needed a diaper change because it hurt so bad to have us touch him with the wipes. We were at a loss and my special diaper concoction (we refer to as Stuff) had ceased to work months ago. We also noticed that when he had a bowel movement it looked almost like a pile of sand.

We did what any computer-programmer's family would do and did an internet search on sandy bowel movements and diaper rash. The search took us straight to a thread on Celiac.com. I was a little bit surprised because I was looking up diaper rash, not food intolerance. It had never occurred to me to make the connection. But I read about people with similiar experiences whose children were all diagnosed with Celiac. My husband's sister had been diagnosed with Celiac six months earlier so I did a search on symptoms and sure enough, Barrett had almost every one. I just hadn't recognized them.

I had no idea that it was not normal for a child to have 4 large bowel movements every day. I didn't know that sleep problems were related to digestion. He got sick easily, and I myself have an autoimmune disease although it is not food related. Everything seemed to come together. I realized that just before the bad diaper rash showed up we had eaten whole wheat pizza for dinner. Looking back further I realized the ever since my husband's sister had been diagnosed with Celiac I had tried to keep an eye on Barrett after eating wheat products, but I could never be sure if it was affecting him because I didn't write anything down and I brushed off what I did notice as me being paranoid.

We took immediate action and started my son on a gluten-free diet while we looked up diagnosis and treatment methods. We called his pediatrician and requested a blood test. The blood test came up negative but we had read that it was not a very reliable test, especially for kids under age five. We read the same about a biopsy. So we brushed off the test results and kept him gluten-free.

It took some time, but after several weeks he started to have fewer and smaller bowel movements, and they started to look less sandy. The diaper rash faded sooner than that and the burns on his bottom healed. That was enough evidence for me.

However, he still had problems every so often and although we had tried to eliminate all hidden gluten if we were missing something. We read that others with gluten intolerance could not tolerate casein either, so we decided to try to eliminate milk from his diet. Bingo. We solved it! Or so we thought.

He made even more improvement but after awhile we still felt like we were missing something. We had not had much success with local doctors. No one seemed to know much about what was going on, or even think that anything was going on at all. The pediatrician said if I was really worried I should just make an appointment with a gastroenterologist and have a biopsy done. I was completely against doing a biopsy because I would have to put Barrett back on a gluten-containing diet just to get a positive result. It seemed ridiculous to do something I knew would cause my son a lot of pain and discomfort just to prove that it was doing him damage. That much was obvious. I wanted to know what was causing the damage and a biopsy could not tell me that. We even tried a chiropractor and some homeopathic medicine that did absolutely nothing. We also had Barrett tested for cystic fibrosis (which thankfully he doesn't have).

Then we discovered Enterolab. We had read about it on Celiac.com and decided to fork out the money for it. (They do not deal with insurance companies). We sent for the tests and sent them back in. A few weeks later we knew that my son was sensitive to gluten and casein and carried no Celiac genes but two gluten-intolerance genes. It was so nice to know for sure that he had those sensitivities and that it wasn't some other obscure problem.

However, Barrett had still been having trouble and Enterolab does not have a test for corn sensitivity yet. We had found a connection between some cornbread muffins I had made, some taco soup a neighbor brought us (but cleared all ingredients with me first), and some Earth Balance margarine with natural flavoring derived from corn. I was sure it was corn that was causing the problem but my husband wasn't convinced. We tried feeding him some corn chips. He at about five of them and he had horrible diapers for two weeks and I was convinced.

But we had sent in for some more tests through Enterolab and the results showed that he is also extremely sensitive to soy (we had been feeding him soy milk for months) and mildly sensitive to eggs and yeast. No wonder we had been missing something! We looked back to the foods that had bothered him--the corn bread had the margarine which is soy based, the taco soup had hydroginated soybean, and even the corn chips were cooked with soybean oil. So we are still trying to figure out if corn really is a problem or not.

That is all to the story--for now.

E.T.A. Since writing this I have had an opportunity to experiment on Barrett with corn. He made such improvements after removing soy from his diet we decided to try corn again. Straight corn so there would be no confusion with any other ingredients. That was three days ago and so far--no reaction! It is such a relief! I let him have a corn tostada today, we'll see how that goes.