Gluten Free Prayers

Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free

2011-11-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

I didn't go gluten free in an effort to loose weight, I did it for my son, Emery. Along the way I discovered that gluten makes my stomach sick too. I still have yet to get the rest of the family tested to see if we have the celiac gene pair as well, but we are all gluten free at home (Jay and Marly eat it out). You'd think I would have lost weight, but instead I've gained (maybe I hadn't been absorbing those vitamins before). At any rate, I'm interested in checking out this book. I looked for it at Barnes & Nobel the other day, but they didn't have it. I'd like to break the sugar habit for our family!

Dr Vikki answers...

2011-05-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

... my genetics and celiacs disease question. So much to learn! We feel that Emery is getting better, but he is still getting abdominal pain. One of Dr Vikki's blog post about why some people with celiac disease never heal suggests we should cut out dairy too.

Celiac Gene Pairs Present & Eliminating Omega 6s

2011-04-30T09:45:00.001-07:00

We have been gluten-free for eight weeks now. I think Emery is getting better. He only missed one day of school this week. He did have some abdominal pain a night or two. His blood work came back. He does have the paired genes for celiacs disease and his body has been building antibodies against his thyroid because of gluten. While none of this confirms that he has celiacs disease, he certainly has an intolerance to gluten. Either way the treatment is to cut gluten out of his diet. Like most of us, he has low vitamin D so we he's taking that in addition to his multi-vitamin. Dr Aukerman also says that we should cut out foods that are high in omega 6 - chicken, turkey, nuts, seeds, avocados, tortilla chips and hummus. This includes all plant oils - that's hard! Plant oils are in so many things! It's even in Emery's favorite gluten-free pretzels! I did find a snack food yesterday that fits the bill (although won't work for my friends who have to avoid dairy and eggs) - Mrs Crimble's Cheese Bites. I tried the sour cream & onion flavor. It was a small bag, but I ended up eating them all before anyone else got home to try them!

Praying this last month of school is a healthy one for Emery.

Ravioli and Donuts!

2011-04-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

Remember that ravioli I mentioned? We tried it this week. It's by Conte's Pasta Co. Emery gave it five stars. Marly (who pretty much automatically discounts things that are gluten-free) gave it one star. I'd give it three and a half. Jay had a business dinner and didn't get to try it. If you have a craving for cheese ravioli, this will certainly fit the bill.

We like Kinnikinnick Foods maple glazed donuts - I think we opened our third box (and it's only been a month since we went gluten-free)!

Emery had some extensive blood work done today so hopefully we will have some answers soon. Tomorrow we have our first GI consult.

Lemon Cupcakes, Tortillas and More Doctor Appointments

2011-04-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

Recently we made the Flying Apron's lemon muffins (minus the poppy seeds), topping them with lemon frosting and attempting to pass them off as cupcakes. The family ate them up. Despite the frosting, they certainly had more of a muffin texture than cupcake. I think they might have been yummy with the poppy seeds.

Yesterday we tried making tortillas using the recipe from Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids. They got three thumbs up from our family. Marly is hard to please - he just wants his gluten (which is why we've been letting him buy those awful school lunches lately). The tortillas were thicker than store bought and shaped like amebas, but we certainly liked fresh versus thawed!

I found a new product that I like. It only got one thumb up (because I didn't share) LOL! For a treat, try Schar's Chocolate Hazelnut Bars. I found them at the Market District. While better than Giant Eagle and Meijer, I wasn't overly impressed with their gluten-free selections (although I did find some cheese ravioli in the frozen section - we'll let you know how it is). Another thing that I found in their frozen gluten-free section (Ian's Macaroni & Cheese) didn't end up being gluten-free and I made sure to let them know! Emery and I tried Enjoy Life's Cocoa Locco Chewy bar and will be passing them on to my friend who said she likes them!

This week I am hoping to check out the Raisin Rack. I hear they have an awesome gluten-free selection.

Tomorrow we are meeting with a new pediatrician. Thursday we meet with Dr Aukerman, The OSU Center for Integrative Medicine and get blood work done. Friday we have our first appointment with the Children's GI specialists. Hopefully we will get some answers soon. We have been gluten-free for a month now. Emery has good days and bad days with his abdominal cramps. Hopefully we can also figure out what's causing the peeling and "searing" pain on the soles of his feet (luckily the pain has subsided, but it looks like his other foot is going to peel as well).

Pumpkin Cookies

2011-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Our family LOVES pumpkin cookies so after a gluten related fit over lemon pound cake tonight at Starbucks from our seven year old, I decided to make the family a treat. I made the pumpkin cookies in Flying Apron's gluten-free & vegan baking book. Keep in mind that our old recipe included shortening and all-purpose flour (and eggs). I knew that they were going to be a bit freaked out by the color of the buckwheat flour. I was accused of burning the cookies. Jay and I like them. They have that sweet, yet somewhat healthy taste. The boys didn't like them, but I'm pretty sure the dog did! I did use sugar instead of powdered stevia. For my gluten-free friends in the Columbus area, I made a double batch of these cookies (to account for the amount of pumpkin in the can) and I'd be happy to hook you up with samples!

After I get to Whole Foods this weekend I am going to try Flying Apron's lemon poppy seed muffins (minus the poppy seeds), top them with lemon frosting and call them cupcakes. We'll see how that goes!

Marly did like Trader Joe's gluten-free toaster waffles (that's a good thing, because they eat a lot of waffles and he didn't like the Van's brand).

Other products that we liked this week - Trader Joe's rice spaghetti and Lundberg rice chips (perfect with my home made black bean hummus). Yum!

Day Nine

2011-03-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

We have been gluten free/dairy free for nine days now. Emery is still experiencing stomach pain. The MiraLax has moved things along. Our chiropractor is still trying to get the insurance company to pay for an MRI. Our psychiatrist wants to use an alpha stim machine on him each evening for a couple of weeks to help his mind relax so he can sleep and his muscles to relax so they'll stop cramping. It sounds promising, but we have to wait to get a unit…

So it's Thursday and it's time for meal planning. Here are the three gluten free products that Emery requested more of:

Enjoy Life Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies
Gluten Free Cafe Chicken Noodle Soup
Ian's French Toast Sticks

I need to come up with three more meals that the boys will eat...

Gluten Free Baked Goods

2011-03-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

This morning we had pancakes made with Arrowhead Mills mix. They were more chewy than "normal" pancakes, but all four of us liked them. We talked about the possibility of making them thinner and using them as wraps.

With our homemade butternut squash soup for lunch we enjoyed some toasted gluten free bread from Whole Foods. It was sweet and the texture was pretty good. I have been storing it in the freezer since I understand the shelf life for gluten free baked goods is pretty short so it's hard to break off a slice, but that's OK.

Emery and I had a little treat of Enjoy Life Soft Baked Snickerdoodles. They have a decent texture and are a bit spicy (makes me think a little bit of gingerbread, but not quite that spicy). Just right for a sweet tooth, but not something you'd choose to eat the whole box of in one sitting (that is a good thing - right?!)

Emery had a good day yesterday, but had an "attack" this afternoon. However, it hasn't even been a week since we went gluten & dairy free. I look forward to getting this MRI and stool testing done so we can rule out other possibilities!

What to eat, what to eat?

2011-03-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Last night I made mushroom stroganoff (a new recipe) and served it over rice noodles. I should have stuck to my trusty recipe and substituted non-dairy ingredients! I guess every new recipe is a learning experience! Emery ended up having left over mac & "cheese" (not so good reheated) and Marly had Easy Mac. We all had strawberries. I did make a yummy gluten free/dairy free dessert! I used Namaste Foods Gluten Free Spice Cake Mix, a can of pumpkin and a cup of water (a Weight Watcher's recipe). Four thumbs up!

I hated meal planning the way it was. After personally going vegan a few weeks ago and now the whole family going gluten free/dairy free, it's even more of a challenge! I don't usually get many suggestions while planning, but plenty of complaints from the boys when serving. Luckily Marly made two suggestions this week and Jay had one!

Pizza (pesto & veggie for Jay and I, pepperoni & "cheese" for the boys). Crust to be determined.
Quesadillas (pinto beans, onion, red pepper & guacamole for Jay and I, "cheese" for the boys). We liked brown rice tortillas last week, I'm not sure what our other options are.
Pad Thai (again), Mac & "cheese" for the boys
Chicken fingers for the boys, tofu fingers for me & Jay, sweet potato rounds
Curry (soy) yogurt tofu for Jay and I, burgers & baked beans for the boys
Spaghetti (type to be determined) with marinara & turkey meatballs for the boys
Potato soup (hopefully I can find DariFree non-dairy milk alternative at Whole Foods so I can make my own evaporated "milk")

I'm sure this will get easier, but right now I'm overwhelmed!

Gluten Contamination

2011-03-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

I have already gotten rid of our wheat flours and pastas. The boys wanted waffles for breakfast. I put Van's Natural Foods wheat gluten free, dairy & egg free waffles in the toaster for Emery and suddenly began to wonder if I was contaminating them by toasting them where I've been toasting their regular waffles all along. How often does one really clean their toaster?! I know that one gluten crumb can contaminate those gluten free waffles. I plan to do only gluten free/dairy free cooking, but what about packaged convenience foods? Do I make Marly eat gluten free too? Do I get rid of the regular bread and waffles? Obviously Emery's health is more important than Marly's palette. In case you're wondering about the Van's waffles, Emery gave them a thumbs down. I didn't think they were bad. If you were really jonesing for a waffle, they'd do - maple syrup makes everything better! OK, now this is funny. Marly says the waffles are gross (remember he was eating the regular ones). I guess that solves the waffles - we just won't buy any!

On to lunch. Marly requested a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I make it with regular bread. Now if that knife goes back into the peanut butter after rubbing against the bread, the whole container of peanut butter is possibly contaminated with gluten. I usually use the same knife for the jelly, now the jelly is contaminated too. So no more whole wheat bread for Marly? I guess that's a decision our family will have to come to together, but if it stays in the house, we will have to be VERY diligent about protecting against contamination!

So Emery got another "attack" of stomach cramps and didn't make it to school today. He had woken up well rested, but after the "attack" he is exhausted and back in bed. Jay reminded us about yesterday...

...we were told not to go gluten free before the blood test so before Emery had his done, he wanted Panera one last time. He ate a cinnamon crunch bagel with cream cheese and a pumpkin muffie. Jay told him he was going to be in lots of pain today! I look forward to seeing if it really is the gluten. It would certainly put my mind at ease! Now we are talking abdominal MRI and stool testing to rule out other possibilities and we continue to pray.

Pad Thai

2011-03-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

This was fabulous and I can't wait for lunch tomorrow to eat the leftovers!

3 tablespoons vegetable broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 package of flat rice noodles, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, then drained

1 package of West Soy Thai Sesame Peanut Baked Tofu, cubed

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup bean sprouts

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons of chopped peanuts

Heat the vegetable broth in a large nonstick skillet until it starts to bubble. Saute the garlic in the broth for one minute, until it browns lightly. Add the onions, noodles, tofu, broccoli and sprouts. Stir and heat through until the broccoli cooks to your liking. Add the chili powder, sugar, tamari and lemon juice. Stir and remove from heat. Dish it up and sprinkle some peanuts over the top.

Serves 4

Our first few gluten free experiences

2011-03-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

I wish I still had the wrapper so I could tell others not to buy these! I bought a package of four perfectly formed hamburger buns from Giant Eagle. They were white, extra firm, but kind of turned to dust as you ate them - Four thumbs down from our family!

Snyder's of Hanover Gluten-Free Pretzel Sticks - Three thumbs up from our family (one of us doesn't like pretzels)!

Road's End Organics Gluten Free Dairy Free Penne & Cheese Cheddar Style Organic Brown Rice Pasta Dinner - One thumb up from our family (from our ten year old who loves mac & cheese and is the reason our family is going gluten free and dairy free).

Glutino Gluten Free Pretzel Twists - Two thumbs up from our family (again, one of us doesn't like pretzels)!

The test is done, our journey has begun

2011-03-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

Our ten year old son has been struggling with stomach issues for a couple of months now and our pediatricians have pretty much been useless. I need to request his medical records to help me plot out how antibiotics (one round for a sinus infection and one round for strep) might have played a role in all of this. He has been on probiotics since his second round of antibiotics (my idea, not the doctor's). His stomach cramps and gas would last for three or four days and then go away for a few days and then come back. When the cramps come he's curled up in the fetal position and his abs are rock hard. He has now missed twenty-one days of school this year. The doctor had us give him Zantac. He had a similar experience last winter and Zantac seemed to work. Not this time. Having a number of friends with gluten intolerance I told the doctor that I wanted to explore allergies. He told me to start a food diary. He ended up with nine days in a row of stomach cramping. The only foods that he eats everyday are gluten and dairy. The doctor finally suggested probiotics and said to cut out dairy. After five days with no change we went back to the doctor hoping to actually have some tests ran or something. We saw the other doctor in the practice who told us that kids are prone to stomach aches and suggested that we try Prevacid and a fiber supplement. Since then he has gotten two days pain free (not in a row). My chiropractor does nutritional counseling so I contacted him for help. We met with him and he felt that the ileocecal valve seems inflamed and we should cut out both gluten and dairy for the next two months. Upon the recommendation of my gluten free friends we had the pediatrician order a gluten blood test. The test is done, our journey has begun!