Insatiable hunger in 3yo -we saw the doctor!- - Page 3

[WindyCityMom]

Originally Posted by sunnygir1 

Some more gluten free food and snack ideas:

Pasta:

Tinkyada Pasta Joy is an excellent brown rice pasta.  The long noodles tend to stick together while cooking, but the smaller shapes are great.  My husband is not gluten free and loves that pasta too.  And, the only ingredients are brown rice, rice bran, and water.

Bread:

Udi's brown rice sandwich bread is really good, but a little "white" for me.  Glutino makes a good brown rice bread, but it has to be toasted (in my opinion) -- this is the kind I love for toast.

Cereal:

Watch out for the O cereals.  I have never found one that is gluten-free.  The problem is that oats (gluten free) are processed with the same machinery as wheat -- so it is kind of rare to find certified gluten-free oats, but they are out there.  Bob's Red Mill makes gluten-free rolled oats.  Erewhon makes a good rice krispies-like cereal that is not sweet.  Also, Perkies Nutty Rice is a nice not-too-sweet crunchy snack cereal for kids.

Snacks:

I recently made some chex mix for my kids as a snack -- rice chex-type cereal, corn chex-type cereal, O's cereal (not certified gluten free, but no gluten ingredients), Glutino pretzels, nuts.  They like dried fruit and nuts and seeds.  Fresh fruits and vegetables.  Granola bars (if you can find glulten-free due to the oat problem).  Potato chips are always a hit when they are jealous of someone else's snack.

Flour substitutes:

I, personally, don't care for most gluten free flours on the market because they contain garbanzo bean flour, which I think tastes funny and might not be very easy to digest (Bob's Red Mill is one of these).  Pamelas pancake and baking mix is excellent -- it has almond flour in it and buttermilk powder -- it makes great pancakes, scones, biscuits, coffee cakes, etc. and is great for dusting fish or chicken before pan-frying.  You can substitute brown rice flour for the flour in most cake and quick-bread recipes with great success.  I often make chocolate zucchini cake, banana bread, carrot cake, etc.  Cookies and yeasted breads can be a little more difficult, but a regular cake or quick bread made with brown rice flour tastes great -- even to people who eat wheat.

Best of luck!

Thanks!  We have the Pamela's Pancake & Baking mix and it made awesome pancakes :)  The cereal we had was the Puffins gluten free cereal.  It's pricey but it's just for her snack cup really. I'll check out your other suggestions as well :)

[WindyCityMom]

Originally Posted by MamaMem 

I have been where you are. My 3.5 yo has food issues. It is not fun, but I found it to be so worth it because he is so much happier, easier and tons more fun. He has bad reflux problems when he eats food he should not. It is pretty easy - most days - to redirect his food wants by telling him it will make him belly hurt.

WalMart carries the best pasta I have found. It is Heartland brand and is a corn and rice mix. I serve it to people that scoff at  "gross gluten-free food" and they never now the difference. Penne, Fusilli and Spaghetti

Bob's Red Mill also has a pizza crust mix that is so so so good. You would never now the difference between that mix and a glutenous homemade crust.

If you have a hard time finding bread, Samisbakery.com has really nice bread and bagels.

Thanks for the pasta rec! I'll check that out- we don't have a super walmart though so they might not carry it :( might have to go out to the suburbs.  how much does it cost by you?

The bread our local grocery store carries is Schär brand and it is the most disgusting bread on earth.  We have some Bob's Red Mill raisin bread mix and some corn muffin mix (both gluten free) that I've used before and like :)  Once we figure out getting her gluten free and happy (now just striving for happy, lol) I'll go gluten free myself.  

[rush2ady]

I'm really glad you got some answers!  All the best for your dd! 

I would like to read your blog on Aspergers... do you mind sharing the link?

It's interesting someone else posted a link to disorders being aggravated by food sensitivities.  I mentioned here before that I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, and looking back on my childhood, I believe I had many Asperger symptoms, and still have some, like oversensitivity to light and noise, though I've largely overcome my social awkwardness and monotone voice (not perfectly, but better than I was).

I had a vast satisfaction from rythmic things like bouncing my body against the chain link fence the entire recess. 

But I totally notice an improvement in myself when I stay away from the foods I'm sensitive to.  Of course when I was a kid, nobody heard of Aspergers... people probably just thought I was an odd kid, and I was never diagnosed with anything.

[MamaMem]

The Heartland pasta is $2.08 a pkg and feeds 6. I live on the West Coast where everythin is a bit pricier. hth

[corban's mum]

Originally Posted by rush2ady 

I'm really glad you got some answers!  All the best for your dd! 

I would like to read your blog on Aspergers... do you mind sharing the link?

It's interesting someone else posted a link to disorders being aggravated by food sensitivities.  I mentioned here before that I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, and looking back on my childhood, I believe I had many Asperger symptoms, and still have some, like oversensitivity to light and noise, though I've largely overcome my social awkwardness and monotone voice (not perfectly, but better than I was).

I had a vast satisfaction from rythmic things like bouncing my body against the chain link fence the entire recess. 

But I totally notice an improvement in myself when I stay away from the foods I'm sensitive to.  Of course when I was a kid, nobody heard of Aspergers... people probably just thought I was an odd kid, and I was never diagnosed with anything.

yup  food hugely affects our minds.  My DS was recently diagnosed as ADHD inattentive, so i stripped back his diet to basic foods with no added anything, no sugar, no salt/preservative, every single thing he eats is homemade- even cereal/cereal bars. gone GF too. and BAM in two weeks he is a changed boy. honestly i was thinking id lost him into his own little world, but he's doing so well now, thinking for himself etc (ie- realises we're going out and he will put his shoes and coat on w/o being asked, two weeks ago he'd just have been wandering around in his underpants looking confused lol)

[meemee]

Originally Posted by corban's mum 

yup  food hugely affects our minds.  My DS was recently diagnosed as ADHD inattentive, so i stripped back his diet to basic foods with no added anything, no sugar, no salt/preservative, every single thing he eats is homemade- even cereal/cereal bars. gone GF too. and BAM in two weeks he is a changed boy. honestly i was thinking id lost him into his own little world, but he's doing so well now, thinking for himself etc (ie- realises we're going out and he will put his shoes and coat on w/o being asked, two weeks ago he'd just have been wandering around in his underpants looking confused lol)

WOW!!! not even salt?!!! how did you even get him to eat it?
 

[MamaMem]

Originally Posted by corban's mum 

yup  food hugely affects our minds.  My DS was recently diagnosed as ADHD inattentive, so i stripped back his diet to basic foods with no added anything, no sugar, no salt/preservative, every single thing he eats is homemade- even cereal/cereal bars. gone GF too. and BAM in two weeks he is a changed boy. honestly i was thinking id lost him into his own little world, but he's doing so well now, thinking for himself etc (ie- realises we're going out and he will put his shoes and coat on w/o being asked, two weeks ago he'd just have been wandering around in his underpants looking confused lol)

Way to go, Mama!!! It is not easy, but when you see such drastic results and your lo feels better, it becomes so much easier.

One suggestion for all these littles is to use RealSalt. It is not refined and has other minerals in it.