Favorite GFCF recipes?

Avatar for ishipop
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2004
Favorite GFCF recipes?
6
Mon, 10-03-2005 - 9:33pm

I'm just starting my son on a gluten and casein free diet and I'm a little intimidated. I'm hoping that you guys will have some tried and true recipes that fit into the strict guidelines of this kind of diet. Please help!!!

-Alicia

  
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Tue, 10-04-2005 - 6:48am

Hi Alicia,

If you tell me a bit about what your family likes to eat, I will be happy to send you some recipes and the names of some ready to buy products.

I like cookbooks by "The Gluten-Free Gourmet" Bette Hagman. Some of hers have milk, but you can substitute. A good kids one is her "Comfort Foods" book. There are also two by Lisa Lewis called "Special Diets for Special Kids" although a few of hers are complicated.

Here are a few ready-made products you can get at Whole Foods, Trader Joes etc. Wellshire Farms has GFCF dinosaur chicken nuggets. Expensive, but worth it until you get your own recipe down.

Some kids cannot have soy, but it they can, the SILK company has some strawberry soy milk in little box containers with animals, my son likes. They also have a silk yogurt smoothie that is kind of like Danables called LIVE, again expensive. O'Soy yogurt by Stoneyfield Farms is good.

Vance's DariFree is a good soy, milk, rice free substitute for milk. It is calcium and vitamin fortified and tastes and looks like real milk. It's cheap too, down side is you have to mail order it. Try it, if you like it, you can order it in bulk and get free shipping. It comes as a powder and you add water. Sounds odd, I know, but it really tastes good. It is potato based and good for people with allergies. You can mail order from Miss Robens web site or from Vance's directly.

For pasta, DeBoles rice pastas are pretty good and regular Prego or Newman's sauces are ok. Just read labels. Most ready made pasta sauces are pretty good.

Anything from the Envirokidz brand is good, they make cereals, cereal bars, cookies. Newman's alsohas an organic line of cookies that you can get at health food stores, although some do have dairy and gluten, just read labels.

Gluten Free pantry company and Pamela's have good mixes for cookies, breads, cakes etc. but you have to get them from health food stores.

Some other tips, organic is usually fine, Kosher is usually fine too. Just read all labels.

Wish I had a good substitute for mac and cheese, but alas, I do not. But now Eric doesn't even remember he liked it!

It does get easier!

Katherin

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 10-04-2005 - 9:23am

i haven't done the diet in awhile now.

but at the time, i would bake spaghetti squash. use a fork and pull at the inside when it's soft. my kids never knew the difference from pasta.

ragu and prego have some nice organic sauces now. less additives you have to worry about.

gl, valerie

~Valerie
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2005
Tue, 10-04-2005 - 10:32am

Hi, Alicia -- I'm about two months into the diet, so I'm still trying to figure out stuff, too, but there are a few things I've tried that have gone over surprisingly well.

* slices of polenta fried in GFCF "butter" ( I like "Earth Balance") then drizzled with a little maple syrup. Works well with chunks of sweet potato, too.

* Rice pasta with olive oil, small chunks of Tofutti "cheese" and steamed broccoli (trace amounts for Calvin, but he's getting better about green things)

* Cooked brown rice with ground chicken and apple sauce. Sounds yucky, but is surprisingly good.

* Scrambled eggs. Loves them and they are good protein.

Those are the favorites -- hope that helps some. Good luck!

Kellie

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Wed, 10-05-2005 - 10:19am

Hi Alicia,

Me again. Just a few more ideas. I agree, scrambled eggs are a favorite with my guy.

Also, peanut butter on apple rings or bananas. I like a natural pb from Smart Balance that does not separate and is creamy like Jiff. It has omegas and tastes good.

Eric likes any kind of beans, so we do burritos in corn tortillas. I have made a mexican "lasagne" using rice lasagne, ground beef mixed with salsa, layered with refried beans and tofu and topped with that tofuttie "cheese."

Hummus is a favorite.

Homemade soups are good. Just use organic chicken or veg broth as a base and add in whatever the little one likes. Chicken and rice is one of Eric's favorites. I sometime have to puree veggies so Eric will eat them.

For snacks I make trail mix with peanuts, cashews and "gorilla munch" cereal (from Envirokids). Sometimes I throw in skittles candy as a treat.

If I think of other ideas, I'll post them.

Katherine

Avatar for ishipop
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2004
Wed, 10-05-2005 - 12:35pm

Wow! Thank you guys so much! I guess my little one will not have to starve! He will still be able to eat a lot of his favorite things! One more question- is soy okay? I've heard some different opinions. It seems that soy is in every dairy substitute. Not to mention, soy ice cream looks way better than rice dream...

-Alicia

  
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Thu, 10-06-2005 - 10:38am

Soy is a tricky one and there do seem to be a lot of opinions. I think you have to just take it case by case and see what works best for your child. I have read that lots of kids who can't handle casein also have trouble with soy. But you are right, if going GFCF is hard, going GFCFSF would be even harder.

I have also heard that a lot of soy isn't great for boys, although I am not exactly sure why. Also soy is another one of those things that lots of people have allergies or intolerance to. The way to really tell is to remove soy from the diet for awhile and note any changes. Then reintroduce it and see what happens. If you don't see a difference, it is probably ok.

I can tell my guy's bigger problem is the gluten, so I am stricter about that. I do, however, let him have some soy. I let him have the soy yogurt and the silk soy strawberry drink and I do sometimes use the soy "fake" cheese (although, interestingly, my DS doesn't really seem to crave "cheese" anymore.)

For drinking and on cereal, I usually give him the Vance's Darifree which tastes and looks good. I find it works better in cooking too b/c it doesn't add any extra taste like soy or rice. My son also likes rice milk and I sometimes mix the soy milk with a little rice milk.

But it really depends on your child. I do wish someone would do a really comprehensive study on this diet stuff. We work with a nutritionist who specializes in special needs kids and I find that helpful. Both our pediatrician and our neurologist recommended her to us. I know some people use DAN doctors, but we have not gone down that route.

Then there are enzymes, which I know many people find to be the easiest method and as effective as the diet. Also there is the whole question of vitamin supplements.

It is complicated isn't it?! But we have found over time, that by our own observations of our son and by working with the nutritionist we came up with what works for Eric and what we are comfortable with doing.

Hang in there, just keep educating yourself. I bet in time you will know what is the right thing to do. Every child is different.

Katherine