Gone Gluten Free

Well, we have officially taken Buddy completely off of gluten. After much reading and talking with others I decided to give it a go. We decided to not have him tested, because of the concern that official diagnosis would create a black mark on him with insurance later in life. So we are going forth assuming that gluten is the source of the problem and believing we will see results.

We have already started to see results. We removed gluten completely about a month ago. His appetite has increased more and he seems to be feeling better over all. He is really starting to eat like a BOY! (that makes this mother very happy) We are still avoiding all the other foods we have been. That being said, going  gluten free is simple and yet not. Just because something is labeled gluten free does not mean that it is safe for Buddy to eat. I hope that over time that WILL become so for him. Our hope is that his body will heal, once the gluten has been out of his sytem for an extended period of time, and we can eventually start trying to add other foods back in on a rotational basis.

I am changing once again how I cook for Buddy to be completely gluten free and watching more carefully for cross contamination issues (because the rest of us have to eat too). I can't afford nor desire to put the whole family on a gluten free diet, so watching for cross contamination is always important.

I am also having to search out new sources for things like flours and oats. Wow! Gluten free oats are expensive! I mean like four times the cost of regular oats!! But as I discover new sources I will try and post them here. And as I come up with new recipes I will add them in as well. Hopefully those things will be helpful to someone.

So off to peruse Amazon.....

Our favorite foods

We have changed our diet considerably since August. I will be updating this to reflect the GAPS Diet we are now following. Below is what I used when we were gluten, casein etc free. See this page for our current foods and diet protocol.

I wanted to list some of our favorite basic grocery items in the hopes that it would be helpful for someone.
(If you want to see a more indepth description of how these are used in our house go to my other post.)

Puffed Grain Bars (find the recipe here)

Erewhon Rice Twice Puffed Rice Cereal

Bread Mix-                                                                  

 Cornbread Mix-



















Baking Mix (if I don't make my own)

Almond Milk (the half gallon refrigerated)

Turkey Hot Dogs (gluten free)

Organic Frozen French Fries

Ian's Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets

Kettle Potato Chips

Liquid Stevia

So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream Vanilla Bean

Almond Crackers

Gluten Free Crackers

Coconut Macaroons

Agave Nectar

Sheep Yogurt

So Good Gluten Free Sugar Free Banana Nut Muffins

Buddy gave me the best compliment ever, coming from him. He ate his first gluten free sugar free banana nut muffin and quipped "they are so good, so good you see!" So with that in mind here is the recipe

1/2 cup local Honey

1/3 cup raw organic extra virgin coconut oil

2 eggs & 1 egg white

1 3/4 cups Rice Flour Mix 

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

4 Very Ripe Bananas

1 tsp alcohol free gluten free vanilla

1/4 scoop Rice Protein Powder (optional)

Cream Honey and Coconut oil in a stand mixer. Add eggs and egg white and vanilla (and protein powder) and mix. In a separate bowl mix the rice flour mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. While mixer is running add portions of the dry ingredients to the mixer alternating with bananas until all are incorporated. Add nuts if desired. Fill greased muffins tins 3/4 way full and bake at 350 until slightly brown around the edges and toothpick comes out almost clean (aprox 18-20  minutes). I forgot to time them. Turn out onto cooling racks or serve warm. 

Makes 18 muffins. 

Menu? What's a Menu?- How do we eat

So I am long overdue in posting a basic weekly menu and how we do what we do. I do not make menu plans. I cook what I feel like cooking that afternoon based on the foods I have on hand. This list is in retrospect using Buddy's food diary -actually a large calendar posted on the fridge. I fill it in as he eats foods that day and circle the allergen food. Then I can look at what is circled and see a visual of what allergens he has eaten when. Based on that, I will never let him eat something in less than four days. So if he eats an allergen food, he can not eat the food again for another three days (atleast).

I am trying really hard to give Buddy more days in a row that he eats allergen free. There are some foods that he eats pretty much everyday (especially Peanut Butter) but the boy has to eat!  I will just put in what I cooked for the rest of the family each night for dinner to help give the bigger picture. Breakfast and lunch are the usual uninteresting orders of wheat bread sandwiches etc.

Okay not terribly interesting post but maybe it will give an idea to those who are needing to cook for different food needs in the same house.

A generel rule of thumb, I try and cook the same protein for everyone for dinner but just modify it for Buddy. As when I make chili or meatloaf or meatballs and spaghetti, I make a hamburger on the side (his favorite food anyway!) for Buddy. I pull off the meat for his hamburger before I start assembling the dish and then fry it in a small pan right before we are ready to eat. If we eat pasta, then I cook a small sauce pan full of rice pasta for Buddy. Or when I cook chicken or pork I try and cook the meat the same way but have a smaller baking pan with Buddy's meat that is seasoned safely for him. It is possible to feed everyone and not lose your mind trying to do it. I try and keep it simple.

Here goes the break down, if you're not still with me by the end,
I understand  ....


Day 1 (*allergen foods eaten)
Organic Oatmeal with Maple Syrup

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey along with apple slices

Tuna Patties with onion and garlic powder pan fried in safflower oil and coconut oil with steamed Brown Rice and fruit (* allergen foods- fish & onions)
( The rest of the family ate Tuna Patties with Brown Rice and green beans)



Day 2 (allergen free)
Fried Egg with Corn grits

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey along with apple slices and corn chips

Baked chicken breast, steamed organic brown rice and apple slices. I try and cook the same protein in a smaller pan with Buddy's allowed seasonings.
(The rest of the family has baked marinated chicken breasts with baked potatoes and salad)

Day 3 (*allergen food eaten)
Scrambled egg with gluten free bread toasted

(can we all guess this time?) - Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey with Peach chunks

Shelton's Turkey Hot Dog (* allergen food- has sage family seasonings in it) with organic mustard and local honey with Deboles Brown Rice Pasta and blueberries and applesauce
(The rest of the family had .... ummm I don't remember, I only keep a food log for Buddy!)



Day 4 (allergen free)
Fried Eggs with Rice Pancakes and maple syrup

*clearing throat* ummm  Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey with grapes

Hamburger with Cascadian Farms Krinkle Cut Fries with blueberries and So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream
(The rest of the family had Hamburgers on Wheat Bread and salad and regular ice cream)

Day 5 (allergen free)
Fried egg with grits

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey with peach chunks and blueberries

Hamburger with Pamela's corn muffins and more blueberries ( cooked Buddy's Hamburger from the same beef that I made the chili- just in a small separate pan)
(The rest of the family had Chili with corn muffins and salad)

Day 6 (*allergen food eaten)
Eggs and Coconut Milk Yogurt with blueberries (*the coconut yogurt has cane sugar in it which is an allergen)

Gluten Free Bread with Organic Peanut Butter & Local Honey and Banana

Pork tenderloin with steamed brown rice and applesauce and blueberries, and Vanilla Almond Breeze with Arrowhead Mills Puffed Corn (he was reaaally hungry that night)
(The rest of the family had Roast Pork Tenderloin, baked potatoes or steamed rice and yellow summer squash) I usually buy the Pork tenderloins from Kroger that are two in a pack. I roast both- one seasoned for Buddy and other seasoned for the rest of the family.

Day 7 ( allergen free )
Oatmeal with maple syrup and raisins

ummm do I really need to type lunch?.... with apples slices and corn chips

Ian's Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets with Cascadian Farms Organic Fries  with applesauce and Homemade Puffed Grain Bar for dessert.
(The rest of the family ate- either Grilled Pre-seasoned Steaks or Applegate Farms Organic chicken nuggets with fries or baked potatoes and salad)

Mikey He Likes It! (Puffed Grain Bars Extra Nutty)

So as you may have read in my other Puffed Grain Bar recipe, Buddy was less than excited about the first recipe product. But with some tweaking (and even some pictures for this one). Here is the one he WILL eat!!


Puffed Grain Bars Extra Nutty
1 cup honey
1 cup date sugar
2 cups nut butter of choice
4 cups puffed grain

So here is the specs on what I used.

I used 1 cup roasted almond butter (no salt)  and 1 cup cashew butter (no salt).I like to use the organic nut butters from Once Again Nut Butter.

But we also get the organic butter from Maranatha. Just watch out for their No Stir ones, they usually have sugar and palm oil added.

 

I usually buy puffed rice, puffed millet and puffed corn from Arrowhead Mills BUT they are NOT certified Gluten Free. They claimed (when I spoke with someone at the company) that they practice good handling practices and clean equipment between runs; but they can not guarantee that there are not any traces of gluten in the puffed grain. But that is okay with us since Buddy does not have Celiac's disease. But if you have someone who does find another brand, one that does say Certified Gluten Free. We are now gluten free so I use Erewhon Rice Twice Cereal for the puffed grain.

For this recipe I used 3 cups puffed brown rice and 1 cup puffed millet. I use about 3 cups of Erewhon Rice Twice Cereal. (I found it at the Whole Foods 90 miles from me. I stock up)

Mix together honey, date sugar & nut butters. Microwave one minute at a time. Stir after each minute. I microwaved for a total of 4 minutes (but my cashew butter was cold out of the fridge). Microwave in one minute increments until bubbling and fully combined. This stuff will be REALLY HOT! I cook mine in my Pampered Chef Batter Bowl.

Remove from microwave and mix in  the puffed grain (you can also add raisins or chopped dried fruit at this stage too), stirring carefully until well combined. Pour out into a well greased large lasagna pan or cookie sheet with a lip. (I spray my lasagna pan with Pam Olive Oil Spray). Let cool completely.

Cut into squares or bar shapes and store in ziploc bags.

Store flat in one layer or put plastic wrap between layers. They will want to stick back together.

And if you ever travel with them in the car, beware,
you may end up with one very larger grain BALL. Twelve or more hours of travel in an over-stuffed minivan for us, equaled a large grain ball about the size of a cantaloupe. But it was still yummy.  We just tore off chunks and munched. When you are in the car for that long with three children, food makes everyone happy and hopefully a little more quiet!!!

So there ya go. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. There are days I even count this as Buddy's protein in a meal (Shhh don't share that.) and give him some extra crackers and fruit.

Microwave Meatloaf

Okay, so I know you read the title and are thinking "you can't make good meatloaf in the microwave!" Aaaah but you can and here it is.

1 lb ground chuck or ground round

1 onion finely diced

1 tsp Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Seasoning

pinch salt

pinch of black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp minced fresh parsley (or dried if need be, but use 1/2 tsp if dried)

1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 c Gluten free cracker crushed, or Gluten Free Italian bread crumbs or crushed saltine crackers

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (I use Meir Glen Garden Vegetable)

1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together well in a microwave safe - oven safe pyrex dish. Shape mixture into a ring, forming around the outside edge of the bowl. Microwave 7 minutes. Remove and squirt ketchup over the top. Microwave another 7-8 minutes. To finish you can place in the oven or under a low broiler for a crunchier top. When finished cooking, the fat from the beef will pool in the center hole of the ring and you can use a turkey baster to remove it or simply mop it up with paper towels. 

What I love is that this is so fast and the shape allows you to remove the fat, which otherwise would absorb back into your meatloaf and make it all greasy. bleck! 

So yummy with mashed potatoes and green beans or your veggie of choice. This also makes great meatloaf sandwiches the next day cold and freezes really well. You can make this gluten free by simply using Gluten Free Crackers for your bread crumbs. It double and triples really well, just be sure to increase your cooking time. 

Gooey Puffed Grain Bars

I have to thank my friend Karen for this one. She gave me the recipe and I have used what worked in our diet restrictions in it. Of course Buddy doesn't really like them, but everyone else does. Squirt likes to eat one on her ballet class day when she will eat dinner late and burn lots of calories before. Her Daddy likes to grab one in the AM if he is running late for work and needs a quick breakfast. And Bubba likes to mooch bites from anyone who will share with him. Buddy takes one bite and is done. ((((sigh)))) at least I tried to give him a new food option. Anyway, I have no idea how many calories or protein grams are in one but they are loaded with both.

1 cup honey
1 cup date sugar
1 cup or more of nut butter of choice (I use almond butter or cashew butter)

Combine in microwavable safe bowl and microwave for three minutes stopping and stirring between each minute. Pour in puffed grain of choice and mix well (about 3 cups or less). I just eye ball it until it is the right consistency I want. More puffed grain for crunchier, less for gooier. I use 2 parts puffed organic brown rice and one part organic puffed millet (more protein).

Pour out into greased lasagna pan or other pan with lips and let cool completely. Cut into squares and store in ziploc bag.  These are waaaaay cheaper than buying protein bars and have so much less other 'stuff' in them. Simple and yummy.