Logan ’s been on the gluten free diet almost a week. It’s been a challenge to put it lightly. Logan ’s always been picky, but when we found out about his peanut allergy about a year ago that put a different spin on things and now with the gluten free diet we just keep spinning. I’ve found a good bread, good pizza dough, a great cook book, but I’m still really frustrated. This past week I made GF chocolate chip pancakes, regular pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, and waffles and he doesn’t like any of it. I’ve basically been the GF Betty Crocker. I’m pretty picky too, so I tasted all of it to make sure they weren’t gross and honestly they were all pretty good, but he takes one bite and that’s it. I know it’s going to take time and he’s only four, but it’s hard when he doesn’t like anything. I’m going to just keep trying new things and try to be patient.
I have to remember that he probably sees this as his world being turned upside down. Logan told me today on our walk, “Mommy, I can’t have pizza, chicken nuggets, brownies, cake, mini wheats and cocoa puffs.” I told him that we just have to find new pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. that don’t have gluten and he nodded, but I think he just thinks all the good stuff has been taken away. He’s also been super moody, which I guess I should have expected, but didn’t. He’s been moody for awhile because his tummy’s been hurting, but I thought to myself, when he’s on a GF diet, his stomach won’t hurt, his eczema will be better, he’ll feel better and whoohoo, he won’t be moody. Well, I was wrong, his tummy still hurts (maybe because he isn’t eating much or maybe it still hurts) and he’s even more moody. What to do? Well, I’m going to ask the doctor as soon as we go for our follow up. It isn’t coming fast enough.
New G-Free Foodie Mommy,
Jennifer
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ElizaBeth says
I can understand the challanges. Our daughter can't have wheat, corn or peanuts. (A lot of GF foods still have corn, keeps our safe list short.) We found that Naked Nuggets (we find them at Sam's Club) make a good substitute for regular, and maybe making "fun" pancakes (2 ways my daughter likes are with food coloring or cinamon and applejuice substituted for the water) may make them more interesting to him. Encourage him when he does try something- we went through 8 brands of tortillas and 14 kinds of bread before we found ones she liked. There are lots of GF choices- mac'n'cheese, cereal-envirokids is one my daughter loves- cake mixes too. We've found most traditional recipes can be made with buckwheat (not a wheat) or GF mixes. Using regular recipies with the alternative makes it feel more like "regular" food too. There may still be hidden gluten in some of the things he's eating- we had to learn all the other names that can mean wheat or corn. Just because it doesn't say wheat- doesn't mean that something that was made from wheat isn't in it! Give it time you'll all adapt to this new way of eating.
ChickiePea says
I understand completely where you are coming from. Just know that things will get better. Have you tried digestive enzymes like papaya for the tummy aches? You may also need to build up some good flora by using probiotics. Fermented foods and kefir is good for this too if you can do dairy.
Unfortunately, some kids need more than just gluten removed and no amount of allergy testing, etc is going to show you that. Remember, what shows up in a test tube is not always an accurate indication of what is going on holistically with our bodies. It is by trial and error that you will learn what affects his health overall.
We started out by just eliminating artificial food dyes because of their impact on my daughter's mood at age 5, then progressed from that to the Feingold program to go on very low salicylate foods for overall mood and ADD like symptoms and random unexplained fevers at age 7. From there we moved to all organic foods. We had lots of testing done for allergies and sensitivities (both traditional blood and scratch testing, and muscle testing along with MSA testing) that gave us insights as to what some sensitivities were, and we eliminated those as well. Now at age 9 we have eliminated gluten, white sugar, and eat only very specific dairy and as little processed food as possible, as well as looking for fresh local organic produce with high brix, and introducing as much of the Weston A Price/Sally Fallon traditional eating as possible.
I would advise you to look into some of this, and try to stay positive, focus on the things you CAN eat and spend lots of time searching blogs and meal planning. I know it's easier said than done. The best thing that has worked for us has been for the entire household to conform to the diet instead of trying to modify everyone's individual meals. We all feel better too! Look into GAPS diet and SCD diet too- those may really help you. There are some great sites out there like pecanbread.com and magazines like Living Without in addition to the blogs and support websites.
Hang in there and know you are not alone 🙂
ChickiePea
chickiepea.wordpress.com (eating for autoimmune health blog)
Nikki says
For eating out for McDonalds you can take your kids but go in and order a hamburger or cheese burger with no bun or a mcdouble with no bun. if they liked a big mac you add mac sauce and lettuce for .15. they put it in a bowl and give you a knife and fork. It's also great if your trying to reduce carbs. So maybe if you try it too it would make your Son feel better. When you order this way it's always fresh too!! Then the fruit and yogurt cup work very well for the meal.
Jennifer says
Thanks for the support and advice! It's always good to hear what other's have tried and liked and different ways to make things for kids. I will definitely be checking out some of these products and we'll have to try McDonalds again once he gets chicken nuggets off the brain. : ) We've all been pretty much GF because I can't expect him to accept this new way of living without our support. It's getting easier.
PDX Mouse's Mom says
I feel your pain, our son is 25 months and though we have no medical testing to back it up we are pretty sure our son in Gluten Intolerant just like his mommy. The only two times he has had wheat he had the worst diaper rash ever and he NEVER has diaper rash. Poor guy, the good news is that he pretty much lives in a GF household and I learned a ton about this with my own trails in the beginning. Beware of hidden gluten sources! http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html is an awesome list of unsafe foods and food additives. Also, you need to be sure you are using GF personal care products for your son. You have my email, feel free to contact me since I represent a company that has an awesome GF kids line of high end personal care products.
Also, Karina's Kitchen http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/ has wonderful recipes for just about everything. I make my own chicken nuggets-which oddly my son won't eat-he's already a foodie I guess, with a rice flour mixture and fresh chicken tenderloins (cut into small pieces). Also Enjoy Life Foods makes great soft baked cookies and they are GF, nut free and casein free and made in a dedicated facility.
Chin up, once you get the hang of it-its not so bad now.
PDX Mouse's Mom