I've been on a celiac diet since 2004. I have some advice, because my house is free of gluten, soy, dairy, egg, processed sugar, peanuts, treif foods, usually corn, and I'm weaning my kids off oats.
I've come to realize, after joining my local celiac support group, that there's information and products that I had not known about, before I joined. So, that helped me a lot. And there are blogs with recipes that are gluten-free and cassein-free because many autistic children are on that kind of diet (GFCF). You might want to check those out.
We have multiple allergies, in my family, and of course being Jewish, I have to sift through and then disregard a lot of GF recipes that are so un-Kosher, like cheese on chicken or seafood recipes. All in all, I cook mostly homemade meals that are simple, usually from products that are Kosher, but not always.
It's a bit daunting to scope EVERY label for not only Kosher, but is it gluten free or is there possibility of cross contamination because it was processed in a facility that has gluten. I just do the best I can. What helps me is cooking some basics like animal protein (chicken, meat) with a side of rice or buckwheat. Add in vegetables and fruits as a main part of the meal, not a small side dish. Think how your meals would look if they were not the standard American faire. Think Asian--although you might not care for rice dishes without soy sauce or sesame oil. Think African--use teff and sorghum recipes. Think Mexican--black bean chili recipe served with rice crakers or corn chips, and a side of vegetables.Think vegetarian (raw vegatarian, too). I start most days with a nut smoothy of nuts that were soaked overnight. I use a high powered blender called a Vita-Mix. I add banana or dates for a sweetener and any extra nutritional supplements I choose.
Think of countries where wheat and potatoes are not the staples. Read those recipes for menu ideas. Make a homemade bread of sorghum and brown rice flour and tapioca starch instead of potato and corn starch. Forget about challah. Forget about trying to substitute every little thing to make it look like the food your son used to eat. Truthfully, it won't even look the same or taste the same. The GF pizzas and bread might look the same, but nothing ever compares to the wonderful taste of wheat. Oh, the good ol' days... And I don't know how sensitive he is, but after joining the local celiac group and hearing other people talk, I am now making my husband use a separate knife and cutting board for his wheat bread. I try to use a different sponge and dish towel to avoid cross contamination. Some people even get separate toasters and towels. Oy vay. I don't eat at restaurants. I'm just not at that point, yet. The wait staff needs to be aware of using
separtate utensils, work spaces for chopping, clean towels for wiping their hands from other customers food, etc... I had never thought of those things before joining that group.
You are in survival mode right now. Find some support and recipes that you can handle to make a weeks worth of food. After a while, that will be easy and you will find yourself wanting to branch out into other grains, other meal ideas. You will be concerned with adding more whole grains and nutrition back into the somewhat empty GF diet. That's where I think you might want to start, to get a grip on this new lifestyle. You will want to talk to others and see if they make things special for just one person in the family, or if the entire pantry is full of newly discovered foods that everyone in the family eats.
For instance, tonight, my three year old ate just a bit of her dad's homemade guacamole with corn chips; although, often, I give her rice crackers instead.
Then, she refused to eat anything else. So, we offered her cantaloupe, and she ate it. We were glad that she got vitamins, minerals, fiber, and omegas from some raw, healthy food. Sometimes, her dinner is almonds, carrots, and a slice of GF bread, if she is in a picky mood. My in-laws are from Ukraine. My mother in-law makes foods that my daughter loves, like a rice dish called Plof and a beet salad. Each week I make a chicken soup and a cholent. Sometimes she eats it--sometimes she doesn't because she's a toddler, and that's what they do. I just try my best. You will try your best, and you will succeed. I am open to your questions if you have any (that I didn't cover, here. :-) lol . --Denise
--- On Wed, 6/17/09, cyndi526@... <cyndi526@...> wrote:
From: cyndi526@...
<cyndi526@...> Subject: [allergicjews] new to group To: allergicjews@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 9:40 PM
I am new to this group. I joined because my 12 year old son has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. We are not quite sure yet all of the foods that give him symptoms, but we know that eggs do. Our allergist also took him off wheat, oats, potato, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame for now (although he has eaten a little wheat, with no reaction). Soon we will be able to try each food to see if he reacts. I've looked through some of the posts, and it seems like most of you have issues with gluten. Is this true? Although a wheat free diet is difficult, I'm finding it very difficult to deal without eggs and potato. Many gluten free products have potato in them. Anyone else dealing with similar issues?
I am new to this group. I joined because my 12 year old son has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. We are not quite sure yet all of the foods that give him symptoms,...
I've been on a celiac diet since 2004. I have some advice, because my house is free of gluten, soy, dairy, egg, processed sugar, peanuts, treif foods, usually...
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Hi Cyndi, You might like to subscribe to clanthompson.com It is a newsletter with a lot of good information. Also celiac.com has useful information on the...
Cyndi, I am in a strictly kosher home, w/a 4 y.o. daughter who has had anaph. to egg and dairy. The house is completely free of things she is allergic to: ...
I've been seeing someone who specializes in food allergies. She said to rotate what you use every 4 to 5 days to avoid becoming allergic to that food. So if...
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