GFCF Diet

Whole Foods in Troy is also a good one and even Meijer's is starting to get a section going in their stores. I know the drill, my mom can't have any either!

Have you tried Hiller's? There are several branches in the area, and they have a certain section of foods that are gluten free. About two months ago, they had a gluten free fair and showcased a lot of products.

D.
You have to go to a quality health food store to find GFCF items. Also you can buy things online too.

Good luck

Trader Joes has a lot of Gluten Free products, I am not sure about Casein except that since it is mostly in milk and cheese you might find some good things at TJ's!! The website has an area where you can check out the list of Gluten Free products they carry.

Walmart has a whole section of them plus your local health food stores are loading up on the products.

Picasso of Pizza in Commerce has gluten free pizza. You need to give 24 hours notice to order. On Maple between Haggerty and & Welch.

Have you signed up online for the food and allergy network yet? They are awesome, they have newsletters, resources etc...plus on the east side of town there is a GFCF bakery too.
And Trader Joe's has tons of GFCF food items too,.
http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.php?s=e087e14f9155b0...

once you begin your search I think you will find this is not as hard as it seems intially, ten years ago it was nearly impossible to find anything ready made...now Kroger's carries it.
good luck
E.

plus you may want to consider getting your son a allergy ID bracelet for daycare, outings etc....

I am not sure where you live but Whole foods is a great place to find gfcf food. Also, try Holiday market in Royal oak and Good Food co. in Troy. You also can order alot of food on line and have it sent to your house. Good luck. my son was on it for 2 years. He ate alot of Wileshire farms chicken Dino Bites. It really was not that bad.

My son has a gluten intolerance and we find lots of products in specialty markets like Whole Foods. There are even some in the mainstream grocery stores here in Michigan. IF you go to a specialty market, go right to the customer service desk and tell them what you are looking for. They will either have a sheet or take you on a tour of the store. Good luck. It seems hard, but one you get used to it it is easy.

Definately check out gluten free or diabetic recipes on allrecipes.com . In looking at the recipes you can find some other great ideas of what to give him or what to buy at the store as well.

We ahve recently been checking in to this diet for our son. We were looking to start by doing away with the glutton first. If you check on line you will find listings of foods that the store offers for the GFCF diet. Kroger and Meijer had quite a few. As you get used to the diet and find things your son loves you can also order bulk quantities which will cut down your costs. Also check organic and natural food stores which are in your area. Hope this helps, Good luck!

My daughter is allergic to gluten, wheat, barley, eggs, and peanuts - so I can completely relate to your dilemma. The Good Food Company (15 & Livernois) and Whole Foods (15 & Coolidge, but they have multiple locations) in Troy are good places to start. Krogers even has some pretty decent selections to choose from in terms of gluten free breads. The Enjoy Life line of products is free of the eight common allergens. You could also get involved in a parent support group to find out more information like the Circle of Food Allergic Families (COFAF)at http://cofafdetroit.weebly.com/ or FACES (Food Allergic Children Education and Support). I hope this helps!

The easiest places are health food stores and web sites. Then fresh products of course. Out of chain stores I've found the most at Kroger. Hope this helps.

D.,

I don't have any kids with gluten or casein food issues, however, I think I have seen products at the following stores, depending if you are looking for already prepared foods or ingredients:

Whole Foods, Good Food, Trader Joe's and Westborn Market

Hope that helps. Good luck.

S.

Oryana in Traverse City has a wonderful selection of GFCF products. Soy protein would be a great alternative to the milk protein and so far as the gluten there are so many alternatives now from pasta and breads to flours! Try Oryana, it is priced well (quality means everything) and the staff is very knowledgable and customer service oriented. Ask for help on picking out products for a two and a half year old! Hope this helps.
B.

Whole Foods has the best selection...

There is a great little store in Southgate called Celiac Products. The owners of the store have children with Celiac and opened it.. They also have a website. The name is Celiac Products, ###-###-####. www.celiacproducts.net
Good luck.

I know that Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market and Hiller's Shopping Center carries a wide variety of these products.

Does he have celiac disease? I have a distant relative and a friend of mine has a sister that both have celiac's. Those with the disease must adhere to a Gluten Free diet as well. There are websites for those with celiac's that might help you.

If you are looking for a vitamin to give to your son, might I suggest one that is Gluten and Casein free? I am an Independent Consultant with Arbonne. I did some research for you in regard to a GFCF vitamin to be certain that he has all bases covered. Our Daily Powder Punch for Kids is GF and CF. It's packaged like Crystal Light to Go. Just mix it in 6 oz of water. It tastes like fruit punch. Very yummy for a vitamin.

Details: Super Food antioxidants from fruits and veggies (blueberries, carrot, broccoli, tomato, cabbage, spinach, parsley, boysenberries, raspberries, cranberries, apple, pumpkin, pomegranate, elderberries) with core vitamins & minerals specifically made for kids needs. No artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors.

One serving a day is all that is needed. It is packaged in a 30 day supply. $22 retail. I give a 15% discount for MamaSource Moms. Wholesale buyers save 35%.

I hope this helps. Contact me if you would like to talk ###-###-####. No pressure, really!

D., I've been on a GF diet myself for the last 3 weeks. I picked up a "Living Gluten Free For Dummies" book at Borders and it really helped get me started. It breaks everything down into easy to understand ideas. They also list other books, magazines and websites that are helpful. The best resource I've found so far has been the internet - but with a warning - the lists of unsafe foods are not always accurate or up to date, so make sure you do a lot of cross-checking & understand why they are unsafe and don't be afraid to call the manufacturers, this is a regular question that they get & usually have an good answer ready for you! Good luck!
M.

I feel your pain!! It took a long time to get a handle on some of this.

You are lucky you were only recently disgnosed. A couple of years ago it was nearly impossible to find things. It is MUCH easier now. I don't need casien free myself, but most of the things I eat are both gluten free and casien free.

As for main-meal type things, it is just a healthier diet since meat, fruit and veggies are all fine. We eat more white rice, and use rice-noodles for dishes like spaghetti.

A couple of things that have been lifsavers for me:
1. Wendy's & McDonald's french fries are fine to eat!
2. Burger King's french fries are NOT!
3. Luna bars are gluten & casein free (I like the "Nuts Over Chocolate")
4. Whole foods has a BUNCH of gluten & casein free products
5. Meijer now has a whole bunch of gluten & casein free products too! (products in both places are pretty expensive)
6. I also like carmel rice cakes, which are fine to eat

Oddly enough, the Luna bars are cheaper at Whole Foods than they are anywhere else.

Get more info and connect with more resources at: http://www.celiac.org/

Good luck!

check out: yourcalamityjane.blogspot.com for recipes

Hi D.! My sister in law has celiac disease and is on a gluten free diet. They have a section in the meijer store that is gluten free. ex. rice noodles and such. Another place to look is if you have an organic or naturals store near you. They tend to carry the gluten free items. Hope this helps.

I went through this for a little while with a step daughter about the same age at the time. It lasted about 6 months. But I found recipies online I may have some floating around still. but for the ingredients I found them all at a Health food store in Port Huron. but I am sure you can find them at any of the larger health food stores. Occasionally I still see them in the stores in the organic sections ask your local store if they have them. But one piece of advise don't by large quanities unless he has been diagnoised by a specialist.

As of April 1, Meijers will be offering gluten-free pizzas. A lot more stores are realizing that this is a major allergy for families and are providing products albeit slowly. Contact your store manager and see what plans they have for the future. Any whole food store will have the gluten and casein free products; unfortunately, at a cost.

Resource for Gluten-Free products: http://specialchildren.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?z...
http://specialchildren.about.com/od/allergysaferecipes/qt... - Listing of Gluten-Free candy
http://www.pamelasproducts.com - wheat and gluten free cookies (taste really good)
http://glutenfreeda.com/ - on line gluten free cooking magazine
http://www.hendricksons.com/ - kosher, wheat and gluten free salad dressing (offer a free sample)
http://www.sheknows.com/articles/food-and-cooking/healthy... - gluten-free raspberry souffle recipe

You may want to try going online to Whole Foods. I think it would be Wholefoods.com, but if you google it, chances are you will find what you need. If you are nearby a Whole Foods store or just about any natural foods store, you should be able to get what you need there. Stock up on gluten free flour and rice, oat bran. There are likely to be some good books on the subject through Amazon.com.
Best of luck. Does your child have Celiac disease?
J.

Alton Brown of the food net work had a show last night on substitutions. Heres a link to the gf cookies he made.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_99...
I'm in the process of going wheat free, and I feel every slip. I have the pleasure of being a SAHM, and love to cook. So most every thing I make is from scratch.
It's expensive and hard to find pre made foods that are wheat free. How old is your son, and what does he like to eat?
Trader joes has rice pasta, and a few GF items. But see if he's interested in helping you cook, it will give him a good start. And you can teach math at the same time.
Casin is dairy, if he's not to have any dairy get a vegan cook book from the library.
Some of my friends run a vegan catering co, and teach cooking classes. detroitevolution.com if you need some help.
Good Luck! A. H

Check out the web site for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), www.foodallergy.org - they may have some good and useful information for you. Also check out places like Whole Foods and the Good Food Company (I think that is the name - it is a grocery store on Maple around Crooks or Livernois).

HI D.

My daughter and I have had to go on a gluten free diet because of candida. It effects our weight and scoriasis (sp?) I lost 17 #s the 1st month. BUt 2 days at family and just cheating on regular bread and pasta I gained 7 #s!
Anyway now my daughter has a boyfriend that is vegan for moral reasons because of factory inhumane farming! He loaned me his good books and my whole family is loving the recipes! We live in a very small town that now does have 2 small health food stores. I get spelt flower from one and I make all my own bread. With a breada machine it is easy. I can share my bread machine recipe for it with you if you like. I feel so much better eating this way.
The cookbooks with substitution in it are great. ( like how to make tofu sour cream, mayo, etc. I make parmesan replacement with brown rice flour garlic powder, salt and pepper, can add some nutritional yeast, and then a bit of sunflower oil. I don't miss the real thing! If you do a search online for Gluten free vegan cookbook youwill get a list with sites with free recipes.
The cook books Gary loaned me are. The Vegan Planet, The Vegan Source book 2nd addition, and THe Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen.
Sift Bakery.com has a gluten free vegan bakery cook book.
One recipe even one of my sons, a very picky eater love a recipe for black bean and sweet potato enchiladas! The whole family does and it is one of our favorites and regulars to make.
Our super Meijer has a gluten free section of the store and if yours does not ask them to order some things for you. They usually are pretty good about that.
Hope this helps, let me know how it goes for you.
S.

Oh casein is dairy.

Have you tried a health food store? I really like Sawall's in Kalamazoo, there's also one on West Main in Kazoo called Nature's something, I can't remember. They might be a little more expensive, but they are more likely to have those types of items. I wish you luck in your endevor.

I don't know how close you are to Busch's but they do have some selections of GFCF things. I have to maintain a GF lifestyle so I understand that finding things that your son will eat is going to be hard.

I have resorted to a LOT of fruits and vegetables. But there are several mixes for things and have a brand called Enjoy Life which is free of major allergens (though I have to say they are not my favorite, they take getting used to.) They have little cookies. Alot of things that are marketed as GF are also CF. There is also a place in Farmington called Sammy's which carries some things. A brand called Annies Kitchen has some variety of foods of foods, but I see them from time to time. Kroger's tends to have a limited but ok section of allergen free foods.

If you are looking for kid friendly recipes let me know I'd be happy to share.

D.-
There are two websites that I can steer you towards for allergy-free foods: www.divvies.com, which carries a whole line of nut/gluten/dairy-free products, and www.kingarthurflour.com, which carries a line of gluten-free products that you can bake at home (think brownies and pizza). The Divvies products come pre-packaged, so that you can take them with you for quick snacks on the go. I haven't found their stuff carried in any local grocery stores, but with so many food allergies on the rise, they may start. Good luck!
L. in Almont (____@____.com)

Have you tried trader joes or whole foods grocery stores, or the health food section in your local grocery.

We are GFCF and find great stuff at Whole Foods, Trader Joes and this place called Zorbos around Canton. You have to be very careful because somethings are labeled GF but are not CF. Also, things like soy-yogurt are tricky. My son had an awful reaction to it the other day. Good luck! We have found awesome bars, cookies, and snack stuff that are good. Trader Joes also has a GF brownie mix that is amazing!
Good luck!

Better Health and Zerbo's. Both great stores!

Well, the simple answer is 'buy single-ingredient foods'. A very simple diet of whole grains (that are gluten-free, I don't know the list), beans and vegetables, meats and fruits will be much easier to deal with than constantly trying to find the products that have hidden additives.

The problem from a reading-the-labels perspective is that the law states only *ingredients* have to be included in the ingredient list -- so if the, say, pre-cut yams are 'treated' with potassium metabisulfide to keep them from going black 30 seconds after being cut into fry shapes, it's not on the ingredient list because it's a process. The same is true of some decaf coffee -- it's 'processed' with egg shells, so eggs are not listed on the ingredients... and exciting prospect for people fatally allergic to egg whites. Commercially-prepared orange juice has buckets of plain white sugar added, to precipitate out the bitter orange oil, and oops, some of it just happens to dissolve into the juice -- but it's a process, not an ingredient, so they can legally say 'unsweetened' (because that's not why they do it, so it doesn't 'count'.) Grrr.

The closer the food is to the 'way it comes' -- whole cuts of meat, uncooked beans and grains, uncut fruits and vegetables -- the greater the chances are that nothing surprising has been done to them.

It means eating a very simplified diet, but that's probably healthier for everyone, anyhow. Unfortunately for the pop and chip fans...

Whole Foods in Ann Arbor is gigantic and they have a huge selection of things. It's worth the drive!

D.,

You will do much better at Whole Foods and health food stores than your traditional grocery. Also, you can check http://www.gfcfdiet.com/ for support. Good Luck!

T.

I am currently on a wheat free, gluten free, and soy free diet. I live in Ferndale, and there is a great little natural health food store called The Natural Food Patch. It is located on W 9 Mile and Woodward Ave. They have a lot of breads, pastas and snacks that are gluten/wheat free and organic stuff too. Good Luck!

Better Health stores or Whole Food stores. There's a Whole Foods in AnnArbor and W. Bloomfield (or Farminton). My acupuncturist was just telling me yesterday that there's a place in Royal Oak that has Gluten Free products. I can give you the tel # or email address to ask her the name of the business.
But at your average grocery store you won't find a great deal of health foods. You need a health food store.

I don't know about the store, but I know someone who has an online business and she might know more to help you. Her company is The Dippy Chick company. Her site is www.dippychick.com. She has some info on the side about this, as well. Hope this helps some.

My son is on a GF Diet, there are many alternatives at the Better Health Market. They have a whole GF aisle and many are CF too. My friend that is GFCF and Corn-free like the Namaste brand mixes for pancakes, waffles, cakes and other baked goods. I like the Kinnickinnick brand. My son loves the energy pretzels. For dinner plans I signed up for the weekly mailer at the Traditional Foods Forum, it is gluten-free and casein-free, http://www.tfrecipes.com/forum/ We get a delicious meal for everynight and the recipes easy to follow and your whole family will enjoy it so you won't have to cook something different for everyone. With all the resources out there you'll soon see it is easier than you think.

Hi D.,

You are right, it is really hard to find packaged products which are both gluten and casein free. You can find the necessary ingredients to make things, but pre-made products are difficult.

I'm not sure where you are located, but Trader Joe's is a great place. They have several locations in lower Michigan, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, Farmington Hills, Grosse Pointe, etc. They have a gluten free pancake mix, and lots of other items like this.

Check out their website to see the kinds of items they have http://www.traderjoes.com.

It will take some adjustments, but you will do great!

Meijers has a decent selection of Gluten Free foods. Kroger also sells some in their organic/natural food area.

Better Health & Trader Joe's are the places I would start.

I am allergic to wheat, corn, and fish. It is very difficult to use any processed foods because most of them contain wheat. Meijer and Walmart are begining to carry wheat free products. Walmart has gluten free spaghetti and penne pasta for a minimal price.

Most natural health food stores carry all kinds of gluten free snacks, cereals, and really just about any food you could buy in a normal store. There are some good gluten free cookbooks at Barnes & Noble that may help. Good luck.

I think Hiller's Market has a pretty large section - at least the one in Commerce Township at 14 mile and Haggerty.

http://www.hillers.com/

Good Luck!