C.P.
Hello G.,
Hang in there! It will get easier with time. There are a lot more alternatives in the market today than a few years ago.
For now, start with a simple diet and cook it yourself. make a list of the things she CAN eat first.
rice, beans, veggies,
chicken, beef, fish,
fruits, corn, quinoa,
millet, amaranth, oats,
rice milk, oat milk,
potatoes, peas, lentils,
buckwheat (although it has 'wheat' as part of the name, it's gluten-free)
look into asian/caribbean/mediterranean recipes/foods. BTW, soy sauce has wheat...need to find the gluten free one.
~~~from now on you need to
________ READ ALL the labels EVERY TIME ________
companies DO change ingredients from time to time.
. You'll need to learn the different names of wheat, milk products/derivatives.
. go to http://www.celiac.com/ and read about it. although your daughter has not been diagnosed as having celiac sprue, you still need to avoid wheat in all its forms. That website has great info.
. go to www.nomilk.com -- find recipe links
Your daughter needs a
gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free diet.
check out: http://www.reallygreatfoods.com/ They have AWSOME CAKES and you can use EGG SUBSTITUTE to bake them.
for some things. do read all the ingredients before buying to make sure there is no dairy on it.
even rice packages have wheat added to it.
even shampoo and conditioner and lotions have wheat products.
You will have to bring her snacks wherever you go (at first while others learn what she can have). when you go to birthday parties, bring her own gluten-egg-nut-free cupcake.
You'll have to train your friends and family. Some people donot realize that 'flour' is from wheat unless otherwise explicitly listed.
They have lots of products at wholefoods and sprouts.
. look into getting her a bracelet that lists her allergies.
. talk to her about her allergy and what she can and cannot have. tell her that some foods make her sick and tell her which foods and that you'll have to figure out what she can have. when you find crackers/cookies she can have, tell her what ingredients are in it and that it doesn't have wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, etc. she needs to know too.
Good luck! PM me and let me know if you have any questions.
~C.~