Question of the day: My child just got diagnosed with Celiac Disease and food allergies. Help! I need to change us over to a gluten free diet, and I don't know where to start. What should I do?
Three years ago, my oldest child was diagnosed with celiac disease and a number of food allergies. We had about 3 days of doing Ok, and then I totally panicked. What were we going to eat? Since we haven't starved to death, I have a lot of suggestions to share.
First, make a list of all the foods you ate before this diagnosis that you can all still eat, both meals and snacks. Meals I had cooked before that we could still have included: Chili, beef stew, vegetable soup, salads, roasted chicken, barbecue chicken, pot roast, baked potatoes, steak, steamed or roasted vegetables, grilled pork chops, grilled chicken, raw fruits, apple sauce and rice. My kids ate a LOT of apple sauce and cheese sticks as snacks while I was figuring out our new diet.
Next, make a list of foods you can still have with some simple changes. For us that list included that I could still make my meat loaf recipe, as long as I changed out the regular bread crumbs for gluten free ones, and served it with broccoli and roasted potatoes instead of mac and cheese. There were also many meals we could change a little, such as having fajita steak and veggies on top of refried beans in a bowl, instead of on a tortilla.
Now, you are thinking- "I saw gluten free breads, pizzas and tortillas at the grocery store, should I just buy those?" The answer is No. Just don't do it, yet. Those things will not taste like the ones you are used to, and you will be heartbroken by them. Wait a few weeks, or a month, until you have forgotten what really great pizza tastes like, before you have a gluten free one. It will be better for waiting. Not all brands are created equally, and some breads, pastas and tortillas will eventually become palatable, but they just don't taste like the wheat versions.
On the topic of gluten free foods, you should know that most of them are just not very nutritious. They are often made of simple flours that will convert straight to sugar in your body. When my family went gluten free, I gained 25 pounds in the first year, because I didn't want any of the kids to feel deprived, so we had a lot of those replacement foods. It was bad for me, and I don't think it gave my children the nutrition they needed to grow. Today, I still make some gluten free mixes, but I try to add some nutrition, and only make them sometimes. My favorite trick is to take a gluten free pancake mix and add shredded apples, cinnamon and a spoonful of ground flax seeds. It makes the pancakes more filling and adds a lot of nutrition. I have also started cooking with coconut oil, to add good, healthy fats to my baked goods, instead of the canola oil I used to use. I think it must be better for us, because one piece of cake now is much more satisfying and I don't feel like have to go back and eat the whole thing.
I also recommend getting a few new cookbooks. When we went gluten free, I got a number of gluten free cookbooks, there isn't a single one I would recommend. Too often they had recipes that were basically the same as my old cookbooks but with words like "And serve this sandwich on a gluten free loaf of french bread." That sentence makes me stabby. First off, I didn't need a gluten free cookbook to tell me how to make a sandwich on gluten free bread, and second of all, wonderful loaves of gluten free french bread are not exactly easy to find. Instead of these, I suggest getting a good Paleo diet cookbook. My first experience with a paleo cookbook made me SO happy. The recipes left out my daughter's other food allergies of corn and soy, and no one tried to tell me how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on gluten free bread. The recipes were inventive, and tasted good.
Now, there are going to be nights when you have to cook, because if your child has celiac disease, you can't exactly order a pizza- though awareness is increasing, and I do hope to someday be able to order a safe gluten free pizza that I know wasn't cross contaminated. SO- my cheat meals of not exactly cooking including having some Tinkyada noodles in the house, and a jar of pasta sauce. That brand of noodles is actually pretty good, and it makes for an easy dinner on occasion. I also have been known to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store- you will still need to read the label to make sure it doesn't include soy sauce or other wheat ingredients as flavoring, and a bag of salad. It also works to make a can of baked beans and some frozen french fries- again, be sure to check the label- some brands or flavors can be coated in wheat flour to make them "extra crunchy." And learn to use your crockpot, so sometimes you can throw dinner in there at breakfast and know there will be something to eat at the end of a long day.
Making the transition is hard. When we transitioned, we found that my husband, who had had digestive problems for years, was apparently celiac, too. He lost lots of weight, has more energy, and has a better attitude for getting off of gluten. My daughter, 3 years later, has grown to be an average sized person, instead of the tiny, frail child she was, she is healthier, gets sick less often, and when she does get sick, she gets well faster. The benefits of this change are worth it.
And when I can't stand it anymore- I sneak out with a good friend and eat Italian food behind their backs. Gluten and I are having a secret affair- don't tell my husband.
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