Finally Posting

Due to the stomach flu last week, SJ and I went off the gfcf diet.

I started him back on it Monday. He was like a little zombie, not horribly aware of his surroundings most of Monday.

Today he came back. He is a completely different child when he is on the diet.

That is all the proof we needed. We don't need a six week trial. We are sold on this diet.

Tonight was his birthday. He fell asleep at five and slept through dinner. We didn't cut the cake. That wouldn't have been very nice, would it?

I made him a yellow cake with vanilla pudding in the middle and chocolate frosting. It is all gfcf, of course.

My only complaint is that the pudding came out runny. I need a gfcf vanilla pudding recipe that will thicken. Maybe the corn starch needs doubled since almond milk doesn't thicken as well as cow's milk.

The cake was from the taca website. I already know it is good because my daughter licked the bowl. Usually you can't stand to lick the bowl with some of these baked goods.

For dinner I made chicken nuggets, rice with coconut milk and corn. I think he would have liked it if he had been awake!

I made him a plate and put it in the fridge. He can have it for lunch tomorrow.

More Good Food

Yesterday I made refried beans, Spanish rice and carnitas. Everything came out great.

SJ enjoyed the rice a lot.

We need to buy more grapes. He hasn't been getting enough fruit and veggies.

I found gluten free pasta at Trader Joe's. It was only two dollars a bag. For that price, the whole family can eat it.

I tried a chocolate cake recipe today. It tasted enough like the real thing that nobody would know. I did accidentally put extra baking soda and baking powder in it. I thought I was using a measuring teaspoon and I was using a TABLESPOON. Duh!

It rose very high!

I saved the recipe. It's a keeper.

If Amazon ever sends my copy of "Special Diets for Special Kids", I will be a happy camper.

Tamales and Carnitas, Hooray!

My mother-in-law brought up tamales this weekend. My little guy loves tamales. If I am correct, there is not one wheat or dairy thing in tamales, especially if I make them myself.

I also looked up a carnitas recipe on-line. I am cooking some tomorrow. I have corn tortillas ready and some pico de gallo sauce.

We are eating something besides meatloaf. Of course, if anybody has a good carnitas recipe they want to share, I am all ears. Hint hint. :^D

Some Good Stuff

Yesterday I went to buy some sorghum flour and I happened to spot some Rice N Shine Cereal.

This morning I cooked it with raisins added. Then I put in sugar and vanilla almond milk. SJ and I both loved it. It was really, really good.

Last night, I made a white sauce with chicken stock, almond milk and potato starch. It came out good also.

I am feeling much less discouraged than I did yesterday. Yay!

Discouraged

This is discouraging.

There are only so many ways to have meat and potatoes or meat and rice. Even my son has quit eating as much stuff. He is sick of this diet too.

Everything I bake tastes like crap. It is not the same as the "real deal." Rice flour sucks ass! Rice milk does too!

I have gained so much weight in less than two weeks that I can't even fit in my fat pants.

Is this all there is? Does it ever get better?

Does my son have to eat sucky food the rest of his life?

Last night he wanted a piece of wonder bread and I felt horrible not giving it to him.

Yuck, yuck, yuck! Yucky diet!

Short Post

I made the chicken nugget recipe from the tacanow website.

They were delicious.

Too bad the kids wouldn't eat them. LOL

Back to the drawing board I go.

Sweets For My Sweet

Everybody is getting chocolates tomorrow. SJ needs some too so I hand-dipped some today. He had a taste test and loved them.

Peanut Butter Balls

1 cup powdered sugar
1 stick gfcf margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups gfcf pretzels, crushed (about two bags the 2.65 oz size)
1 cup peanut butter
1 to 2 bags gfcf chocolate chips
1 to 2 TBS shortening

Mix powdered sugar, margarine, pretzels and peanut butter. Form into small balls.

In double boiler, melt chocolate chips with one tablespoon of shortening added for each bag of chips.

Dip peanut butter balls in chocolate.

Put dipped balls on cookie sheet covered with wax paper (I used tin foil)

Put in freezer to harden.

Keep frozen or refrigerated. Very good stuff.

Adventures In Cooking

I read some more on gluten-casein free and came across the part that says I need to use a separate waffle iron and toaster for the boy child. Sigh.

I also went grocery shopping Friday. I carefully read every label. It was confusing and frustrating and it took forever.

This week, I stocked up on cooking needs at the health food store. I thought I had everything I needed. I have potato flour, tapioca flour, corn starch, bean flour, rice flour and brown rice flour. Thirty-three dollars, please, cha-ching!

But wait, I realize I need potato starch and tapioca starch and I am almost out of rice flour. I have already gone through one box of rice flour and one box of tapioca flour.

This crap is expensive! I'm not even counting the package of xantham gum that costs twelve dollars. A little pint of rice ice cream was three dollars!

The almond milk and rice milk aren't cheap either. I've discovered that the almond milk is quite delicious. Of course, it costs more than the rice milk.

I want, so badly, a big glass of fat-free cow's milk. I would arm wrestle my poor grandma for some right now. I also want syrup on my pancakes, not jelly! I've heard Aunt Jemima syrup is gluten-casein free, but I need to call them to make sure.

I am gaining more weight and I am a big, fat disgusting blob. I feel very limited on what I can cook for dinner. This will pass, I'm sure, as I discover new recipes, but right now I'm fat and frustrated.

This morning, I made tapioca and rice flour waffles. They were okay. Even my picky middle child ate them. She complains about everything so I was pleasantly surprised.

This afternoon, I made some peanut butter chocolate bars. They were good. I ate half the pan. Oops.

Here is the recipe for the bars. I purchased a cookbook from a lady on ebay. For 2.99, she will e-mail it to you in adobe acrobat format. It's not a bad little book.

Easy Nut Bars

1 egg
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. beat egg and sugar until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, peanuts and vanilla. Blend well. Spoon into a lightly oiled 8x8 baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Top with chocolate chips as soon as you remove the pan. Spread with spatula or knife when chocolate chips have melted. Cut into squares when cool.

Watch out for Carolyn or she will eat them all.

Feeling Lazy

I should post what SJ ate today, but I am too darn tired.

I did make a vanilla pudding with rice milk. I rolled it in a homemade gfcf crepe and he loved it. Hurray a successful recipe.

He had too many carbs today and not enough veggies, but I think I upped his protein/calcium intake.

And I noticed today, thanks to a friend, that there is a tiny bit of gluten in the rice milk that I am using. So I have to find another, probably more expensive, kind.

Yeesh.

Does anybody have a good vitamin reccomendation for him?

Fourth Day

I forgot to write down what SJ ate today. He didn't do quite as well as yesterday. He doesn't want the chocolate rice milk at all. Calcium source ideas anyone?

He didn't flap his arms much today until we went to the health food store. Then he saw a ceiling fan and got very excited. There was also a water fountain he tried to climb in.

Today's intake:

3 cups of apple juice, at least
1 cup of chocolate rice milk
A pancake (crepe really) with sugar
1 piece of chocolate cake
A few bites of chicken soup
A hamburger patty with ketchup. Is ketchup bad?
1/2 blueberry breakfast bar (not as popular as they were)
Chocolate cookie
A few chicken nuggets (This was not such a great recipe. You win some, you lose some.)
A few bites of fried potato
A few bites of corn

I just realized how dismal his fruit and veggie intake was today by looking at this. Oops. We'll try harder tomorrow.

Third Day of GFCF

Today I took SJ to the same Tuesday morning group I usually take him to. The group lasts until eleven-thirty but we always leave at ten-thirty to get home in time for speech therapy.

He always plays around the edges of the room, playing with the copy machine, trying to push the buttons on the alarm, generally being a turd.

Today he played near the other kids and with them quite a bit more than usual, and when it was time to leave he said, "no."

He ALWAYS leaves willingly, like he doesn't care that we're there. Today, though, he didn't want to leave. Woo hoo.

He did flap his arm a bit today when Tish, his speech therapist, got here. He was very excited. He flapped a little bit more the rest of the day, but not much.

He LAUGHED while he was watching TV. (Teletubbies) He never does that.

I went to the grocery store to buy some of the things I needed to bake gfcf. Xantham gum was on my list until I saw it was twelve dollars. Ouch.

Today he had:

2 cups apple juice
Lots of water
1 large bowl chicken soup from last night's dinner
half a fried egg
1 1/2 blueberry cereal bars
half a piece of toast with peanut butter
some grapes
1 hamburger patty
1 serving of corn
2 tator tots (I think these are gfcf, but need to check online)
Homemade gfcf chocolate cake with frosting - A BIG PIECE
Potato chips
A few sips of vanilla rice drink, but he doesn't like it much

My husband seems sold on this. I think he was unsure at first until the Teletubbies incident.

I'm afraid to get too excited, but still this is so neat.

Guarded Optimism

My husband wants me to get SJ tested for gluten and dairy intolerance. I hope it just involves peeing in a cup - no needles please.

Today was day two of his diet. He didn't flap his arms once today! I'm very excited.

Today's food intake was:

2 bowls of grapes
3 cups of apple juice
1 1/2 cups of chocolate rice drink (He's not liking this as much as he did.)
A few bites of potato fried in oil
A bowl of gf pasta with Ragu tomato sauce
2 blueberry breakfast bars (A very popular food item.)
1 large bowl of chicken soup

I made the chicken soup with chicken, broccoli, carrots, onion, potato, salt & pepper. I was going to add seasoning salt, but it had whey in it. Everything seems to have whey in it!

It came out great. Usually, I use chicken bouillon, but it also has whey as did the vegetable bouillon.

SJ is actually eating more food than usual, probably because I am spoon feeding him. He doesn't like to feed himself.

"A" got in trouble for leaving her milk on the table. This was, of course, after I warned her not to and explained why. She is used to being a slob and she can't leave her dirty plate out anymore. I'll get her trained. It is past time!

Day One of the Diet

"SJ" is not a big fruit and vegetable fan and it will show in today's food choices. He didn't seem to notice the difference between the gluten-free and regular food. Whoopee!

SJ's daily intake:

2 sippy cups chocolate rice dream drink (fortified with calcium)
2 sippy cups apple juice
Water - not sure how much.
1/2 poached egg on 1/2 piece of gluten-free toast
2 Glutine brand blueberry breakfast bars (He loved these.)
1 bowl gluten-free pasta with Ragu organic pasta sauce
Few bites of baked potato with Nucoa margarine (dairy free)
Several bites of basmati rice
Few bites of salmon
Four or five grapes

Offered to him but he didn't eat - apple,peas and hot cereal

I will have to find a healthier juice than apple juice and more fruit and vegetable choices for him. He is hard to feed. He doesn't like to stop to eat AND he is picky. Joy joy!

I have not seen any major behavioral changes but it is only day one.

Trying A New Diet

Our son was recently diagnosed with PDD. I didn't think it had anything to do with diet.

However, he recently had a bowl of Weetabix and started bouncing off the walls.

So we are going to try a gluten-free and casein-free diet.

I want to chronicle what we have purchased and what he has eaten and see the correlations in behavior with each food.

Then we will see if it works. I am hopeful but I know this won't be easy. And boy are these gluten-free products expensive!