Healthy Parenting

Gluten Free

In March 2004, we took our 5 year old in for allergy testing and discovered that he had a severe intolerance for gluten. I'm still not altogether sure about the diagnosis (we were told he does not have Celiac's Disease, but who knows) as I've since done research on the difference between Celiac Disease and a gluten intolerance or sensitivity. There are apparently no clear cut answers on this path, you sort of have to stumble through it on your own.

                    

What I discovered so far about Celiac's is;

1. It's genetic. You can develop it at any time during life from the gene that you carry. And most likely someone in your family has it if you do. One in 133 people are said to have Celiac's Disease with only 3% being diagnosed.
2. The reaction to protein in grains (gluten) damages the villi in the small intestines. This villi is where we absorb nutrients. So not addressing celiac can lead to malabsorption and nutrition issues. Many children not previously diagnosed with Celiac's end up being tested for "failure to thrive".
3. There's no "definitive" test that determines Celiac. It's a combination of tests and evaluations.
4. Symptoms can range from none to a few but include;
   
   Immune issues
   abdominal cramping
   intestinal gas
   distention and bloating
   chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)
   anemia
   weight loss with large appetite, or weight gain
   dental enamel defects
   osteopenia
   osteoporosisbone or joint pain
   fatigue
   weakness and lack of energy
   infertility
   depression
   ulcers
   Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH)

The journey to gluten free is a frustrating and sometimes overwhelming one. I thought I'd jot down some of the neat tips and hints I've learned from those more experienced in this area.

• Get a breadmaker! You can buy gluten free (GF) breads premade but they taste MUCH better made at home from mixes or recipes. My breadmaker has been a LIFESAVER!!



• The Gluten Free Pantry makes a decent sandwich bread mix that you can use until you find a recipe you can make yourself (cheaper). Whole Foods usually carries this mix but you can also buy it online from their site; http://www.glutenfree.com



• Crushed potato chips make a GREAT crumb for fish and/or chicken. Try garlic flavored potato chips or honey BBQ for a yummy dinner. You can buy GF corn crumbs (we didn't care for them) or maybe crush corn chips, which I plan to try.



• Tinkyado is THE only brand to buy in Rice Pasta...all others turned to complete mush for us. We've used them all with wonderful results including making lasagna with the rice lasagna noodles. It is a bit different from wheat pastas but it doesn't take long to get used to rice pasta. You can usually find Tinkyado at any Health Food Store or Whole Foods, my local Shop Rite even carries it.



• Whole Foods makes a decent line of Gluten Free products, found usually in a refrigerator case near the prepared foods/salad bar section. Corn bread, banana bread, cookies, muffins, pies, brownies/blondies, etc. Even a sandwich bread that on first look is heavy and dense but softens immediately in the toaster. I keep one of these loaves in the freezer for emergencies.



• Wellshire Farms makes a frozen chicken dino nugget called "chicken bites" that is gluten free. It's usually in the prepared meat section at Whole Foods, but you can request it at your supermarket. Give the meat guy the site; http://www.wellshirefarms.com . It's the children's line. They also make a GF turkey bologna that is minimally processed, no antibiotic turkey and no nitrates, as well as being tasty.



• Lifestream makes some decent frozen waffles that are wheat/gluten free. Not all ingredients and flavors are organic. Van's also makes a few gluten free frozen waffles that might be better for those not used to whole grains.



• I discovered a GF cake option for those not having luck finding a good cake for birthdays. It is EXPENSIVE and LOADED with sugar but might be an option if you want to please the tastebuds of guests AND allow your GF kid to eat at the same time (though adults love this too). We tried the Dark Vanilla flavor and it tasted heavenly and smelled even more so. It was delicate while hot but cooled to a more firm consistency. Anyhow...this brand brought something to my attention.... italian chestnut flour! Sounds interesting and is supposed to add a nutty flavor to GF baked goods since as I said, most GF flours are quite bland. I will have to buy some and see what happens. :)
  http://www.dowdandrogers.com



• Another thing I learned to be mindful of is that GF flours are much blander than WW flour is and really can't handle a strong flavoring like molasses very well. At least not in the same amounts as used in whole wheat flour recipes.



• Tom's Celiac Light Bread! An amazing man created this chic pea flour recipe and freely shares it. I LOVE this bread !! I haven't been 100% successful in making it by hand using his recipe but the mix works for me until I can experiment with the recipe (found on GFCF Recipes yahoo group). Tom also sells his recipe in a prepacked mix via The Gluten Free Pantry.



• Pamela's Products makes an AMAZING brownie mix and really good cookies. Our favorites are the chunky chocolate chip and chocolate walnut chip.



• This GF product line was shared recently on the GFCF Recipes list. I love the brand and have gotten it at Shop Rite in the "natural/organic" frozen section but never knew about the gluten free line they also produced. I'm printing out this page below and taking it to Whole Foods as the managers are really good about ordering stuff you point out to them. Apparently, you can order direct from them but the shipping is expensive ($25 for 7 boxes). Email them for stores near you that carry it. http://www.drpraegers.com



• Ian's Natural Food's makes a really good WFGFCF fish stick! Ask your local supermarket or Whole Foods to carry it (right now Whole Foods is on the fence - the more people asking the freezer manager for it, the better chance we have of them carrying it)



• Cereals I found that are really good! We have cereal for breakfast once a week and it's getting hard to find enough cereal to rotate so Connor isn't eating the same thing.
  Arrowhead Mills: Organic Maple Buckwheat Flakes (WFGF)
  Whole Foods Brand 365: Organic Oat Bran Flakes (WF) (made in a factory that also processes dairy/peanuts).
  Arrowhead also makes an Amaranth flake cereal which I haven't tried yet.
  EnviroKids also makes a chocolate puffed rice cereal (Koala Crisps) and a puffed corn cereal (Gorilla Munch), found at Whole Foods or any Health Food Store. EnviroKids is high in sugar so we don't buy it regularly but its a nice treat now and again.



• The Gluten Free Pantry has a few of their own mixes that are yummy. My family LOVES the chocolate chip cookie/cake mix. It calls for sour cream in the recipe but I used plain yogurt and added 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup to counter the bitterness. I also used an 8 x 8 pan instead of what was called for and it worked out perfectly (just needed to cook longer). This cake lasts one day in my house. The Old Fashioned Cookie/Cake mix also comes highly recommended and I look forward to trying it soon.

Keep an eye on my recipe section! I created a GF buckwheat pancake recipe that my kids love. I'll post it soon.

Articles

A Basic Diet Guide for Celiacs - from http://www.tccsg.com/
http://www.tccsg.com/gfarticle.pdf

Celiac FAQ
http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/faq.html#celiac%20disease

Celiac Disease (very informative article)
http://www.ucheepines.org/celiac_disease.htm

10 Weeks to the GFCF DIET!
http://www.tacanow.com/gfcf_diet_10_weeks.htm

The Gluten-Free Vegan Diet: Easier than it Sounds
http://www.vegfamily.com/health/gluten-free-vegan-diet.htm

Recommended Reading

• Books to come very soon!

Resources

BRYANNA’S VEGAN, WHEAT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE FILE
A fabulous resource written by Bryanna Clark Grogan
Bryanna's Vegan WF GF File

GFCF Recipes - Yahoo List
An amazing list with lots of GF experts and pros..some even doing it for over 5 years. There's lots of sharing and information AND recipes.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFrecipes

Celiac Forums
http://www.celiacforums.com/

Celiac.com
Gluten-Free Recipes & Cooking Tips
http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=20

The Gluten Free Pantry GF Recipe Collection
http://www.glutenfree.com/recipes.htm

50 Fabulous Gluten Free Recipes!
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~coeliac/det.html

Gluten, Dairy, etc. Free @ The Pratt Family Allergy Free Cookbook
http://www.fastq.com/%7Ejbpratt/recipes/allergiesintol/gf/main.html

Free Vegan Cookbook
Over 90% of the recipes are GLUTEN FREE!
http://www.vitalita.com/cookbooks.html

Gluten Free Recipes
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/celiac/recipelist.html