Wheat free help!

[svs79]

We are starting a wheat free diet for my 19 mo DD to see if it helps clear up her eczema...any ideas for toddler meals/snacks? Is there a good substitute for bread? I didn't think she had much wheat in her diet, but once I started reading labels more closely it seems like there is wheat in so many things. Is there already a list of wheat-free recipes somewhere that I haven't found yet? I am trying to go wheat free too, since she is BFing...so all suggestions will be appreciated.

[kjbrown92]

Did she test positive for wheat on a blood test? Are you avoiding just wheat, or all gluten?

There's lots of gluten-free recipes on celiac.com. There's also a recipes thread on here somewhere (there's a link at the top of the page, in resources I think). These days I think if you use searches for gluten-free recipes, you'll find more than wheat-free.

[svs79]

No blood test yet, as we haven't seen an allergist. She's had this eczema the past few months, and it is pretty mild but persistent. My chiro mentioned that grains are a common culprit for eczema, so thought I would start with wheat. Right now just focusing on wheat, not all gluten. I think this is just hard for me as we normally have bread, crackers and other wheat products. I started working on a meal list last night and actually came up with a lot, since we're still eating rice, corn, potatoes. I am very new at all of this allergy stuff, so I am open to any and all suggestions!

[fruitfulmomma]

We eat lots of rice and potatoes.

There are a lot of cookbooks out now that have gluten-free recipes in them, but there are also a lot more products on the shelves now then there were even two years ago that are gluten-free.

If you can do corn okay Ancient Harvest Quinoa noodles are good. There is another brand we get which are made from rice which are good too. Can't remember the name but the packaging is clear and yellow and written in some other language. I think De Boles is *nasty*. They get all gummy and fall apart.

We shop at Whole Foods Market and Sprouts. If you are in one of the few states Sprouts are in, go there. They have a great gluten-free selection and mark all their stuff right on the shelves so you don't have to wonder before picking up the package. King Soopers (Krogers) also started doing more gluten-free stuff in the last year. Wal-mart is also pretty good about marking their private-label stuff if it is gf.

If I am making gravy, I use Bob's Red Mill Rice Flour as the thickener.

There are some good brands of bread. I think Udi's (http://www.udisfood.com/) is the best I've had. Also Gillian's French Rolls - http://glutenfreegilliansfoods.netfirms.com/.

Love this cake! - http://www.glutenfree.com/index.cfm/...-Cake-Mix.html

[svs79]

Thought I should add...I was just reading about c-section syndrome from the resource link, and thought I should mention that my DD was a c-section She has had constipation problems since early infancy, which has been alleviated through chiropractic care. Just wondering if the constipation could be another allergy symptom in addition to the eczema?

[fruitfulmomma]

Just wondering if the constipation could be another allergy symptom in addition to the eczema?

Absolutely. I had problems for almost 30 years until I was forced to go gf for my two kiddos who were having problems. It was only then that I realized my "normal" wasn't right.

[Angelorum]

We really like the kinnikinik (sp?) brand of gf bread. It's kept in the freezer section of the store. We just keep it frozen at home too and toast slices as needed. Pretty much any gf bread does better toasted, it doesn't crumble as easily that way. Stay away from EnerG brand bread though, it tastes like cardboard! We also use a lot of white corn tortillas instead of bread, to make sandwich wraps or to eat with beans and rice. I's much cheaper than gf bread, and if you rinse the tortillas and heat them in a toaster or toaster oven, they are much more supple and yummy.

For baking, I've really been getting into coconut flour recipes lately, it makes the yummiest muffins. Also we use tapioca (manioc) flour bread mixes for rolls or pizza crusts. Chebe brand is the one we always see in the hfs, but if you can't find it there, try an international food store, I think it's a common bread in Brazil?

[svs79]

Thanks for all the tips! We tried the Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta tonight and it was really good. Even my DH liked it!

I will be doing a lot of shopping at our local hfs this weekend! We have also been using the corn tortillas, which I had on hand for quesadillas. Now I just have to be patient and see if this helps...

[4myfinn]

I've been gf for three years now. It does get easier. My favorite place for recipes, hands down, is the gluten-free goddess blog. She is gf and a vegan. (My BFing DS can't have milk/eggs so this is the perfect place for us). I love to bake, and since finding her website I've managed to add so many wonderful desserts, breads, wraps, muffins, and cakes into my diet. It's wonderful.

I am constantly making muffins, banana cake, wraps, bread in my bread machine, etc. Sliced fruits/veggies or nuts are great to always have on hand.
Crackers, breakfast bars, cookies, etc. are available at any good grocery store with a health foods section, but they're super pricey.

And the best gf cereal for a kid (I imagine) would have to be Panda Puffs. They're yummy.

[fruitfulmomma]

And the best gf cereal for a kid (I imagine) would have to be Panda Puffs. They're yummy.

My kids love those.

Chex also has several versions of GF cereal out now too.

[nayma]

i ABSOLUTELY recommend the UDI's bread, also. we've been gf for 9 months, and that bread makes my heart sing - lol! yes, it's expensive, but i justify it with the fact that we never go out and spend money on restaurants. i also love mochi - a pressed brown rice that bakes up like a little dough ball in ten minutes. my dd (3) loves to make all kinds of dipping sauces for it -honey, butter/cinnamon, etc. there are good rice tortillas out there, too. there are gf crackers that are good- nut thins. good luck!

[babygirlie]

Gerber's puffed cheese chips are gluten free. They also come in other flavors. My daughter and me have always been gluten free. You have to more than try because any contaminants make you not gluten free and it takes 6 week + to get it completely out of your system.

If you have a health food store they have loads of GF food including grahn crackers and banana baby first food crackers. Tons of cereals though rice chex and other chex are gluten free now. Hamburger helpers asian fried rice is gf. I picked one up but I don't think rice is a kid friendly food.

A lot of grocery stores have tons of rice pasta. The tinkyada is the best! Tastes just like real pasta. Of course you have bananas and all fruits and veggies. They also have GF kid's speghetti (which is dairy free also). I could go check out the name. I just bought some. Skip the hard rice crackers for the soft kind in a square box by energy. And there's also glutino crackers.

My daughter has always had excema. We just started milk and I don't THINK it's making things worse though I think she has a fungus on her back that's unrelated. She still has excema on her face at 14 months. It use to cover her body. She still is a very itchy girl but a lot better.

My ped said you can't test a baby for 18 months since it would still have your antibodies and that she needs to be eating wheat which doesn't make sense to me sinc e I would test her for the DNA not damage done. So she hasn't had any testing done yet. I'm just not ready to introduce gluten. I'm having enough anxiety over the milk and she is having some delayed issues. At least I know it wasn't the gluten or the vaccines.

Oh I also bought a frozen GF mac n cheese I normally eat to see if she likes it. Those are pretty good too. My daughter has texture issues so I will try it soon. I gave her two pieces of noodles last week and she threw it up (she always throws up solids).

We use a prescription cream for her face which sorta helps. Helps a lot more than the face script i have which was just the 1% over the counter stuff. That hydrocortisol? creamed never helped.

[babygirlie]

Your baby is older and maybe better off than mine, but I would avoid all breads and hard cereals (unless it's a fresh home made loaf). The tapioca and frozen breads can really dry your throat out as an adult and you need a lot of water with it. Sticks in your throat and the cereals are really hard. I just bought some honey nut GF cheerios and they are hard as a rock. I've offered the rice crispys (GF brand as the one with the little people has gluten (malt)) but she's not into that yet.