We are 48 hours into what I call an "elimination diet." The clinic that we went through has done an extraordinary job with giving us grocery lists, recipes, etc. to make it as easy as possible. My husband and I can do it, but the problem is, we are all doing this for my 3 (soon to be 4) year old son. He has absence seizures and has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS (ASD). We are doing this to see if it has an affect on some of his symptoms. My son is pretty set in his ways already with his eating habits and the recipes (although they look very good) aren't exactly kid friendly. My question is, is there anyone out there who has done this diet with your child, and if so, can you please share any recipes that are glutein, casein, rice, corn, AND sugar free that your kids loved?? Also, please share your experiences, both positive and negative. I know it is terrible, but I am already getting discouraged because he did not eat much today and I am feeling guilty that he is going hungry. Our nutritionist keeps telling me that he will eat when he gets hungry, but they don't know how strong-willed he can be. The idea is to do a 28 day diet excluding these groups and then do oral food challenges one at a time to see if we see if any of this is affecting his behavior. Any help is greatly appreciated.
If you want to try to some more recipes, our blog, Welcoming Kitchen has recipes that are free of the top 8 allergens, are gluten-free and vegan. Many of the recipes use alternative sweeteners, too. Our website is www.welcomingkitchen.com. I also agree that Cybele Pascal, www.cybelepascal.com, has a ton of great recipes that will work for you, too. Good luck!
I don't have much advice but I just wanted to say that you're an awesome mom for doing all for this to help your son! When I was in my 20s I did the elimination diet to figure out what was causing my food allergy symptoms (turned out to be dairy). During those weeks I ate a ton of fruits, nuts and seeds. If you're not eliminating nuts you could try all natural, sugar-free nut butters on gluten free.
I wish you all the best of luck!
We eliminated dairy from my son's diet about a year ago when he was 2 and it made a big difference. The eczema, constipation, and lots of irritability went away. Can you start with that first? Does everyone have to go casein/gluten free? I know its not ideal but my son, my husband, and I all eat different food. We just like different things and it works for us. As far as foods that your son would like, home made fries are good and filling, roasted meats, high quality cold cuts, lots of fresh fruit, and veggies if you can.
We eat fruit, veggies and proteins (baked chicken, turkey, tuna etc). I just feel like it is eating what God created. It's called God's garden eating. Anything real basically. You can do it. It is hard at first but you get used to it. With someone as so important as your son's health. I don't see why the whole family just doesn't start eating healthy like this. Food is supposed to be fuel not entertainment anyway which is hard to wrap our minds around though. My favorite GF/CF recipe for winter is chili. Even my son LOVES it which is shocking since he is so picky. It's just V8 vegetable juice, chili beans, kidney beans and quinoa. So easy. I'd put onion and veggies in it but then my son wouldn't eat it. Maybe yours would. Let us know how he responds after the 28 days....
Take it one meal at a time! My son (age 5, with Aspergers) has been GFCFSF (soy free) and Feingold (no artificials or preservatives) since last October. It really is a crapshoot - for every 20 recipes I try, he might like one of them. But when he DOES like it, it goes into my rotation. I have a menu set now for breakfast and lunches for every day of the week. Being an Aspie - he likes the regularity and I like that I don't have to buy much to surprise him!
Some tips -
Don't try to immediately make substitutes for his favorite things. For example - don't try to make a GFCF mac n cheese to start, there is no substitute and he'll hate it. Go as natural as possible - all fruits and veggies are a go (well, except corn). Eggs are also a great protein source, as are meats.
Message boards can be a lifesaver! There are 2 GFCF groups on Yahoo of which several members also are corn free and rice free. They can give you links like crazy.
If you get a good GFCF recipe, it can be tweaked to eliminate your other concerns. My favorite blog that is kid-friendly is Ginger Lemon Girl (gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com). She doesn't market it as "for kids" but I've tried about 15 recipes off her site and my son has loved every one. Her baking items are especially good, pancakes and muffins and waffles. These are great because they can be frozen, and they can be served for ANY meal - don't limit breakfast foods to breakfast! Eggs, pancakes and bacon can be great for dinner as well.
Rethink your idea of a "meal" - whatever you feed him doesn't have to be a casserole or 5-course dinner. I have a mix of things on hand that I pick and choose from - shredded chicken, potato chips, fruit, CF yogurt (So Delicious coconut milk yogurt), banana dogs (on cinnamon raisin bread, we use Rudis), hard boiled eggs, etc. I grab a few of each and put them on his plate. In the summer, we use muffin tins (12 tin) and I fill each one with something different. It's much easier than trying to plan an entree, and he loves the presentation.
Since your child is on the spectrum too, I would like to suggest one more diet for you (as if you need one, I know!). Look at the Feingold diet (feingold.org). It eliminated all artificial coloring, flavors and preservatives. We had as many behavioral changes with that diet alone as we did with GFCFSF - his tantrums and hyperactivity simply stopped with Feingold. You'll find a lot of GFCF things are already dye-free (like all of Ian's and Annie's Homegrown), but be wary of candy. Surf Sweet is a great company we use a lot, gummy bears and jelly beans that are naturally colored and flavored.
Feel free to email me with any questions!
S.
I would suggest buying a really good cookbook geared towards allergies....there are some great ones on amazon.com that you can look at! This will give you lots more options for substitutions. Or even some vegan recipes too! They actually taste good with the subs they make. Definitely get some resources because it's a new way of cooking and you really need help to learn to make the transition!
My son has wheat, egg and peanut allergies. He is on gluten free diet since he was 9 months old. Initially, it was hard to adjust to this new diet but now it is easy. There are so many gluten free products out there but you have to try them out to fit to your taste.
I use almond flour in place of flour. It tastes pretty good and it is better for you. I go to this website: www.comfybelly.com often. She has a lot great recipes without using wheat.
As for dairy can he drink goat milk? My son eats goat milk yogurt for breakfast everyday. There is also almond milk.
The negative aspect of going GF/CF is that it is costly. You have to make meals from scratch and it can be time consuming. However, your child is eating healthy food.
I know exactly how you feel. I have a 4 and 2 year old and we just recently went gluten, yeast, dairy, sugar, corn, egg, wheat free too. At first I was over whelmed. I cried! I thought there is no way my family can eat this food. I was used to letting my kids snack all day long on mostly healthy food, but normal food like gold fish and cheez its and random snacks like that. We are now 4 months in and eat almost 100% of the way we should. It does get easier!
The way our eating has changed has been eliminating snacks. Now my kids eat their meals! It was really rought at first, but I knew it was going to be. I limited snacks to fresh veggies and my kids will now eat loads of carrots, or sliced english cucumber with hummos. I am amazed! Kids adapt easy.
I was overwhemled by the websites out there too. I went to my library and checked out some really great food allergy cookbooks and they have saved my life! Cybele Pascal
is a great whole foods cook book writer. I have made so many awesome recipes that even my meat and potatoes fast food husband Loved.
I too am just starting this so I will be eager to read what people write! I will PM you some recipes and snack Ideas that work well for us, I just don't want to take up any more space on here!
Hi L.,
My son is on the gf/cf diet. The only way to start is slowly.
Don't take everything out at once or you are more likely to have a very difficult child on your hands. You may see a withdrawl from the allergy foods where he is having some rough days. Rice is probably one you should leave until last as there is so many recipes that have rice or rice based products in them.
There is a book called THE KID FRIENDLY ADHD & AUTISM COOKBOOK by Dana Laake. It is really great. Under each recipe title she has symbols saying which allergy this one is for. There are a lot that cover all the foods you mention. If you can borrow one or get one it is useful to have on hand when you can't think of anything to make.
I thought that the you would need to do the diet form longer than 28 days as it takes months to gluten out of your system.
I know that you will be able to do it. We have such strong protection instincts when it comes to our kids.
W.
