I was thinking about doing a casein free,Gluten free diet for my son. My question is where do you buy meat's that aren't processed. Do you have to buy spices that are gf and cf? What about Milk. What kind of milk could I buy that taste the same. i had tried almond my son hated it. what can I buy that would taste like it and that I can cook with. oats what brands? can you eat normal eggs or do they have to be brown eggs? what do you make for kids lunches? What vitiams do you giv eyour children. My son had ADD and Sensory processing disorder,pdd.nos,visual processing delay. Thought I would try this. Im in Roseville area. Oh yes, what about chesse,milk,eggs, butter. Can I use normal items or not. Just trying to see what I need .. I wanted to try this on friday.
We decided to change one at a time, that way if there was a difference in behavior we would know what caused it. We went casein free first (and never did go gluten free so I can't help you there). It takes less time for the casein to get out of their system than it does gluten, so I would try casein free for a couple of weeks and then try gluten free. We tried several different milks, the only one my son would drink was soy milk.
Eggs have never and will never contain wheat or milk, no matter what color their shell. I mean, unless you add it to them!
Rice milk is pretty good for cooking, as is coconut milk (depending on the recipe), but I wouldn't hold your breath for a suitable animal milk replacement. The only thing that really tastes like milk is, well, MILK!
There are some replacement cheeses out there, but I've never heard a single good review. I don't know of any CF butters. I do know that the majority of margarines out there contain whey proteins, so you may have to be careful there.
"Dairy free" labels aren't actually required to be dairy free - they only have to be under a certain percentage.
Oats are tricky for gluten-free. Technically, oats are fine, but they can easily be "contaminated" by nearby wheat fields, or "contaminated" by processing equipment that is also used for wheat. There are certified-GF oats, but they're fairly expensive.
The easiest way to be GF/CF without driving yourself insane and going broke is to eat foods that are naturally GF/CF instead of replacement versions.
I do this diet for my son. It's so not as hard as you think, once you get your pantry switched over, meals become a no brainer. I'll address each food you listed first, then give you a bunch of blogs/websites to help you with meals so you have something to go by.
Meats: I buy all meat from a local farmer or from Whole Foods. You want to make sure you are getting grass fed beef.
Spices: I just buy organic spices from Target or other stores in my area, don't fret about the spices UNLESS, in the ingredients it lists flour to help with clumping.
Milk: My son enjoys Hemp Milk. You can find it at regular grocery stores or Whole Foods. It's my favorite when baking and for morning cereal. Also, a brand called So Delicious makes a "coconut beverage" milk that's really good.
Eggs: No worries, unless he has an allergy to the yolk or whites.
Cheese: We buy a brand called Daiya. It melts and stretches like real cheese. It's much better than rice cheese you'll find on the market.
Butter: We use Earth Balance (soy free version) brand. Our regular grocery store carries it. Tastes and acts just like regular butter.
Oats: We use Gluten Free Bob's Red Mill brand.
Lunches: PB&J ( I use Bob's Red Mill GF Wonderful Homemade Bread Mix) If you don't have a good bread maker with a GF bread setting, ler me know, I have two different ones and can tell you cons/pros of both.
Quesadilla: (GF tortillas from Whole Foods), Daiya cheese and mashed pinto beans. Serve with tortilla chips and favorite salsa and fresh fruit.
Homemade Chicken nuggets (if you want my recipe let me know)
Homemade Turkey Meatballs (again, let me know if you want the recipe)
As far as vitamins, my son is seen by a wellness doctor regarding his Autism so what he is on, is specific to his own symptoms. But if you really want to know, let me know and I'll list them off for you.
Now, Here are some websites/blogs to help you with mealtimes:
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/
http://myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.nourishingmeals.com/
http://www.affairsofliving.com/
Hope that gets you started on a good foot! Other items I've found that may help are:
So Delicious cultured coconut milk Yogurts (my son loves the mango flavor!!)
So Delicious agave sweetened coconut milk ice cream bars
Applegate Farms lunch meats
Applegate Farms Turkey Bacon
K-Toos cookies (like Oreos)
Oogave Root Beer (Yes, your child CAN have root beer floats!)
Envirokids Cereals
Oh, while I'm thinking about it, has your son been tested for any food allergies/intolerances? If not, go do that first just to make sure some of his symptoms aren't a result of eating foods he really shouldn't. My son has an allergy to garlic, I would never had know that and after I removed it, it's amazing how some of his symptoms cleared up:)
If you are lost and confused, send me a private message and I can definitely help you as I've been on this journey of a gf/cf diet and other biomedical treatments for 3 years now:)
My suggestion is same as the other post...a lot of foods are naturally gluten/casein free. I found a page online that I was able to print off for day care that listed TONS of snack options for my son that were both G&C free.
Lots of awesome websites, just google it and you will be amazed at all the great sites that pop up. Anymore you do not even have to shop at specialty stores because even Walmart and Target are starting to carry these products.
Google the Autisim Diet, also check out websites like autisimspeaks.org.
If you are going completely casin free, then ZERO dairy products. You will have to learn to like the soy products like Silk or the rice or coconut milk.
Gluten free is a bit easier because many companies like Chex cereals have labeled many products gluten free. However the FDA has yet to establish the amount of gluten allowed in a food item to be considered gluten free.
My granddaughter is Autistic and has been on a low gluten - low casin diet for years. And my daughter was recently diagonosed with Celiac disease. Part of the problem with going to a gluten free diet is the cost. A box of mac and cheese (gluten free) is $5 a regular box of mac and cheese is about .50. A bag of pretzels was $7.50. Besides cost you have to read every lable on every food product you buy, salad dressing can have gluten in it. I am not trying to discourage you but warn you that although this is a great choice to make, it is not easy.
I would also cut MSG from his diet as well. Your son could fall into the Autisim spectrum and kids with Autisim, ADD-ADHD and other processing issues can become violent on MSG. It can take 2-4 weeks before you see a real change in your son's behavior but it is so worth it. Please keep us posted.
FYI - my son avoids all dairy and eggs, but he does it gluten, so make sure you're checking any of my recs below for gluten! Everything is definitely 100% dairy, casein & whey free.
No milk is going to taste like cow's milk. I found Rice Milk to taste better than soy; however, it doesn't have as many nutrients. If you're going to switch milks, make sure you talk to his pediatrician about how to get enough of the essential vitamins, calcium and protein that come in cow's milk.
For cheese, be careful as a lot of "soy" cheese actually still contains casein. Tofutti brand makes decent sliced cheese for sandwiches and stuff that is 100% dairy/casein free. Follow Your Heart brand cheese is good if you want to melt it. There is a company called Namaste Foods that make a bunch of products, including a type of Macaroni & Cheese that is dairy free (double check for gluten, though I'm pretty sure it's gluten free too).
For butter, there are a variety of dairy free margarine options. We like Earth's Balance the best, as well as Best Life and Nucoa. They are available at Ralph's and other major grocery stores, plus places like Whole Foods, Sprouts and Henry's.
If you want a good egg substitute for baking, try this:
1.5 TBSP water
1.5 TBSP oil
1 tsp baking powder
mix all three ingredients together in a small bowl, then add to the recipe where you would normally add an egg (double for two eggs)
Good luck.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck has good book about gluten free diet:
http://www.amazon.com/G-Free-Diet-Gluten-Free-Survival-Gu...
It will help you if you read up on the subject. Most foods are naturally gluten free, casein free. As for casein, it's in dairy products. Other single foods don't have casein. Butter contains butter fat and not casein; therefore us OK to use. Where it gets complicated is when you use mixes or foods that are combined. Herbs and spices do not contain casein or gluten. Neither do eggs. Gluten is primarily in wheat and grain products. Lunch meats are processed but regular meat that you buy from the butcher case does not have casein or gluten. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc. when butchered are all OK.
To simplify it. Casein in dairy products. Gluten in grain products.
I just drank a glass of rice milk. It doesn't taste like cow's milk but has a bright clean taste similar enough that I like it. You can also use it to cook and bake with.
