Food Allergies - Parker, CO

Are daughter has enjoyed the variety of gluten free stuff at Whole Foods. Not cheap, but what I've tried has been yummy. I cook what I can with everyone else's food and then substitute for her. It's worked out okay for now. GL! We have dealt with food allergies that have thankfully been outgrown. I know it's no fun. :(

Your life sounds like mine. There are lots of things you can do. Let's see:
1. Vitamin cottage is usually cheaper than whole foods and has more gluten free choices
2. the best rice pasta is tinkayada--holds it's texture great just like regular pasta
3. For mixes for muffins, cookies, cakes, brownies, pancakes and waffles etc, I really like Namaste. Pamela's is also good.
4. Breakfast cereal: Arrowhead mills maple buckwheat flakes. Bob's red mill makes gluten free oats. They also make hot cereals--brown rice, buckwheat, one called Teff (it's pretty good) and a combo called gluten free hot cereal. Puffins are made from rice, as are any type of rice crispy type cereal. Also, perky O's are like cheerios.
5. Enjoy life makes decent snack bars. They also make allergenic free chocolate chips and trail mix.
6. Bread is a tough one. They do have tortillas made of brown rice that are okay--they are a little brittle.
7. You can get gluten free fish sticks by Ian's.
8. There are frozen gluten free pizza crusts by Debbie's--Beau Joe's pizza also serves gluten free, dairy free pizza.
9. A good restaurant is Ted's Montana grill--they make everything fresh and you can get stuff without the bun. Greek food is also often dairy free and gluten free--falafel, hummus, kabob's.
10. I use avocado in place of cheese on mexican food and even on sandwiches and hamburger's.
11. There's a cookbook called "The Kid Friendly allergy cook book" with lots of great ideas.
12. You can often substitute coconut milk into recipes that call for whole milk--it changes the taste a little, but is still pretty good. Rice milk works just fine if you don't need high fat content as a replacement for milk. The rice dream original has the added vitamins and less sugar then the vanilla flavor.
13. Vitamin cottage has a variety of sauces and marinades that are gluten free (as does whole foods)--you can ask for someone at the store to help you--they have special customer service people who specifically do that.
14. New grains to try--quinoa, rice, millet.
15. Mexican food is always a pretty safe bet if you leave the cheese off and use corn tortillas.
I've been doing this for so long that I'm sure there's more, but it's become a way of life for us. The Naet will work great as your son gets back in balance and you'll be able to eat more and more. We've had great success with it. My oldest is much better than when he was little, and my baby is still getting treatments--as his system matures the treatment "sticks" better.
If you have any more questions I'm happy to share what else I know.
Good luck!
J.

Hi! I have Celiac Disease and my two older children have severe food allergies. I would highly recommend The Gluten Free Pantry. Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and even the King Soopers near our house all have good selection of gluten free/casein (dairy free) foods. If you live in Denver there are a few gluten free bakeries that will also do dairy free (Debi's is on Iliff east of Quebec). Good luck!

Look in the organic section of your market. I don't have experience with these issues, but I know that when I have been to the organic section of Fred Meyer, I have seen some gluten free foods. I don't know what type of selection they have there, but you can also look online, there may be more variety there. Good luck.

I know I've seen previous posts that gave a website with lots of recipes and info. Might be worth it to look up old posts about gluten/dairy allergies.

I would say to start easy to make the transition easy on everyone (including you). Whole Foods has a whole freezer of gluten free, and a whole dry shelf as well. Not cheap, but a good way to start and see what is available and what he likes.

Also, check out lots of cookbooks at the library to inspire you and help you get your kitchen set up. By the time you are ready to be done buying expensive pre-made stuff, you'll already have a good idea of how you want his diet to look and what he likes and dislikes. And you'll already have some staples and some ideas to start cooking.

My friend has celiac and a dairy intolerance, and I am vegetarian. We just have to laugh at how high maintenance we are when we eat together! But I think humor is always a good way to go!

Brother's All-Natural fruit snacks are yummy... available at Costco. It's just freeze-dried fruit: apple, pear and banana/strawberry.

Target's house brand (Archer Farms) has some very yummy fruit strips & bars. I think they're organic. Can't remember about added sugar, but you might check.

Just a couple of ideas. Good luck!

Here is a great website with many vegan gluten free recipes called Karina's Kitchen http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

There are TONS of websites like it online if you do a Google search. I have a friend who's 20 month old was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and they are going through some of this as well. But their little girl is doing extremely well now that she is gluten free. Also Bob's Red Mill products are terrific. You will be able to find many gluten free flours, etc. I would recommend learning to grind your own gluten free flours though as buying them can be quite spendy. Good luck!

Did your son get treated for the food allergies via NAET? The practitioner should be able to get rid of the sensitivities so you don't have to restrict yourself so much. I agree that the gluten and dairy are very overwhelming and it may be difficult to get him proper nutrition or completely avoid them. Good luck.

Go Asian! A lot of yummy Asian food is both dairy and gluten free, and these days it's easy to find recipes online. It would be helpful if you have an oriental market nearby, but even if you don't, you can find what you need to make a variety of Asian meals at your local megamart, or you can order things off the internet. Since soy is also a problem, look at Thai and Vietnamese recipes, which usually use fish sauce instead of soy. Just remember, though, while it tastes delicious cooked in things, straight out of the bottle fish sauce is pretty stinky stuff, and a little goes a long way. Heaven help you if you spill it in your fridge (which I have done) - the smell will linger for weeks.

I have my 3 children off of dairy and wheat. I really love kinnikinnik brand mixes for pancakes and cakes and muffins. I think they either call for eggs or use them in the mixes, but they turn out the best and are easy to make if you can use an egg substitute in some of the mixes. If corn is okay, glutino pretzels are great. I like going to Good Earth and looking in their Gluten free section. Not all things are dairy free, but there are more and more cookies and things. I have also liked "Enjoy Life" brands, other brands are a bit grainy, you'll have to try and see what you like. I also like to order my favorite products from Amazon because it seems a bit cheaper. We buy brown rice pasta: Tinkyada brand.

Other than that, for dinners we do a lot with veggies, soups, pastas, mashed potatoes, beans, etc. Good luck!

I suggest checking out the $5 dinner mom! I know that she's talked about taking her kids off gluten (and I'm pretty sure that she has a separate site about it) and how it works for them as a family. Plus there should be some recipe/snack ideas too.
http://www.5dollardinners.com/
Good luck!

Hi A.,

First, it's wonderful that you are taking care of your son and that you've found NAET.

Going dairy and gluten free is so hard at first. I've done it in the past--thanks to BioSET (an offshoot of NAET) we no longer have to do that.

Good suggestions already here, and you may also want to ask at your local health food stores if they can direct you to local support groups, etc. Or look for support groups online--there are many resources now.

A quick, easy high-protein cookie recipe that my family loves (if your son can tolerate some egg):
1 cup peanut (or almond) butter
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1 cup sucanat (unrefined sugar AKA evaporated cane juice)
1 egg
Mix, spoon onto cookie sheets. Bake at 325 for 12-14 min.

Good luck with the NAET--it can make a huge difference. And good luck with making the dietary changes. Just remember that it will get easier.

B.

Hi A.:
Are you able to obtain treatment via the NAET method, also? I had several allergies cleared that way, and I know that they can do it with children. You might want to give it a try.