Have you heard about the little boy that can only eat 4 things? I feel for his mother. We aren't there yet, but somedays it feels like that's where we are going to end up. I get frustrated, but I remind myself what is at stake - my child's health, happiness, ability to communicate and his entire future. Oh is that all? Then suddenly whatever has newly been subtracted from his diet doesn't seem like such a big deal.
This week, we are subtracting watermelon. Apples and apple juice went about a month ago -we switched to peeled pairs and pair juice. I was pretty skeptical and then he started using 3 syllable words. Look, a little over a year ago we celebrated a three word sentence - when you've come from there and your kid says "Mom, that's not a good compromise!" Well you can't help but notice, pee your pants a little and act like you've won the lottery. Okay the other Mom's in the school office thought I was crazy. Ask me if I care! This was exciting!
Anyway the apple/pear switch brought on language, then Cherries took everything away and I got hit. So cherries are banished. Last night we fed him the smallest piece of watermelon and within a half hour we were in the presence of drunken four year old who could barely speak and couldn't focus his eyes at all. UGHHHHH!
Fruit is one of those things that helps us get through a birthday party with no cake and no candy. Time to find some new alternatives. I am making pretzels out of the pizza dough mix now. I just have to remember that usually when we subtract something we get another peice of our little boy back. That beats Watermelon any day of the week!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, December 14, 2007
The GFCF Adventure!
We went to a holiday party tonight and one of my son's friends (they are both 4 1/2) gleefully broke her roll in two pieces and placed one half on my son's plate. She said, "Here, a Christmas present for you!" and she smiled like she had bestowed the Frankincense and the myrrh! I tried really hard not to over react. I wanted to sand blast his plate, to make sure it was crumb free, but I was really aware of my son watching my reaction, so I asked him, "Is that something you can eat?" He looked at me and looked at her and then said sheepishly, "No, I can't eat that." Then there was a long conversation with the little girl about how some people can't eat certain things. We started listing off the things that my son can't eat - but for everything I said that he couldn't eat, he told her something that he could eat - completely without prompting - and that was when it occurred to me that I might be doing a better job raising him than I am raising myself.
I'm always trying to put things in terms of what he can do instead of the opposite... but there I was listing all the things he couldn't eat, while he reminded me of all the things he can eat. Later on in the night he suddenly launched himself at me and gave me a huge hug and a slobbery kiss as he said. "I love you Mama!" right before he ran off to play with his friends. I was reminded of what an adventure we are on. And adventures aren't always easy - but they are always worthwile!
I'm always trying to put things in terms of what he can do instead of the opposite... but there I was listing all the things he couldn't eat, while he reminded me of all the things he can eat. Later on in the night he suddenly launched himself at me and gave me a huge hug and a slobbery kiss as he said. "I love you Mama!" right before he ran off to play with his friends. I was reminded of what an adventure we are on. And adventures aren't always easy - but they are always worthwile!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Gluten Free - The Easy Way
Okay, call me lazy - but my son has been gluten free for 2 years now and I have yet to buy guar gum. Does anyone even know what guar gum is? I went looking on the web last night to see what the other gfcf moms are cooking this holiday season - and I remembered why I stopped looking on line to see what other gfcf moms are cooking. Because I'm pretty sure that they have more time than I do. I don't have time in the morning to make pancakes from scratch - there are a lot of mornings where I don't have time to add water to the GFCF pancake mix that my son loves - so instead he gets toast and eggs.
I do cook, but most of what I cook takes 15 minutes or less to cook - that's how much time I have, realistically. Yes, over the last two years there have been times when I have ventured to "cook" something - like when I attempted to make hummus from scratch - my son loves hummus and the company that we buy it from changed the recipe and added, cultured dextrose, which makes our kid a little nutty. So I tried to make it myself - after 3 very messy attempts (all of which yielded fabulous tasting hummus that my son refused to eat because the texture was different) I found another brand of hummus that doesn't have cultured dextrose. The new hummus comes in individual serving sizes in a tetra pack so it doesn't have to refrigerated - perfect for Disneyland, car trips and my son's earthquake survival kit at school. And the best part? Instead of standing over my food processor, I have time to spend with my lovely, beautiful child. I'm good with not owning guar gum!
I do cook, but most of what I cook takes 15 minutes or less to cook - that's how much time I have, realistically. Yes, over the last two years there have been times when I have ventured to "cook" something - like when I attempted to make hummus from scratch - my son loves hummus and the company that we buy it from changed the recipe and added, cultured dextrose, which makes our kid a little nutty. So I tried to make it myself - after 3 very messy attempts (all of which yielded fabulous tasting hummus that my son refused to eat because the texture was different) I found another brand of hummus that doesn't have cultured dextrose. The new hummus comes in individual serving sizes in a tetra pack so it doesn't have to refrigerated - perfect for Disneyland, car trips and my son's earthquake survival kit at school. And the best part? Instead of standing over my food processor, I have time to spend with my lovely, beautiful child. I'm good with not owning guar gum!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A GFCF Answer to Decorating Christmas Cookies!
All week long all my son has talked about is decorating christmas cookies - he even found cookie cutters in the kitchen drawer where I keep all of my "preGFGC" cooking utensils. I sat and decorated a gingerbread "cookie tree" with my son thinking this would satisfy him - It was a Wilton kit with real gingerbread and we had the whole talk before we started about how we weren't go to eat anything. It went fine but when we were done he said he wanted to decorate cookies he could eat, like his friends at school.Now I have to say this is a double edged sword because to hear him voice the words - it kills me - I have been waiting so long to hear him speak about his friends and to notice what they do - I just want to give him what ever he wants to celebrate the words!!! But my saner brain knows that a great deal of the reason why he has words and notices his friends is BECAUSE he doesn't eat like them. So for days I have been trying to come up with a healthy way that he can make and decorate and eat gfcf chistmas cookies. Oh, and did I mention that we are also corn, potato, sugar, yeast, artificial color, flavoring and sweetner free as well? There are many great GFCF cookie mixs out there -full of sugar - and decorations are a Feingold artificial color nightmare!
Then tonight it came to me in a fit of desperation as my child stood in front of me with a Christmas Tree cookie cutter and Star cookie cutter, begging. Pizza Dough! I'm telling you that Namaste Sugar-Free Pizza dough is a GFCF mom's best friend. No, I am not on their payroll, but I would like to buy stock in their company.
I made a quick 1/4 batch of pizza dough and we rolled it between two pieces of parchment paper - My son gleefully cut out two stars and two christmas trees and we threw them in the oven - While they cooked I made some egg free turkey nuggets and heated some carrots, broccolli and red, green and yellow peppers in the microwave. In ten minutes we pulled our "pizza cookies" out of the oven and let them cool. My son frosted them with tomato sauce (Trader Joe's Marinara) and decorated them with broccoli, carrots and peppers. He was literally jumping up and down with glee! I threw some nuggets on his plate and dinner was cooked in less than 15 minutes start to finish!The best part is that he was sooooo happy. We will definately cook more "Pizza Cookies" soon.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
GFCF Chicken/Turkey Nuggets
This is a kick butt GFCF recipe that will have them begging for more. This recipe includes eggs if you or your little one are egg free see yesterday's post for the egg free version (also kick butt good). I do this recipe with pre-cooked chicken or turkey - for three reasons. 1. It makes it really quick and easy. 2. It's a great use for left overs - Thanksgiving turkey has never been so easy to get rid of! 3. It allows me to make bigger, thicker nuggets - the meat is already cooked so it's just a matter of making the outside crispy!
Ingredients
Cooked, boneless chicken or turkey
Namaste Sugar-Free Pizza Dough Mix
1 egg
Canola Oil
Salt to taste
Directions
Cut up the meat according to how your child prefers it (some kids love strips, others like chunks)
Beat the egg in a bowl. Place about a 1/2c of Namaste Pizza Dough Mix in another bowl.
Dunk the meat in the egg, one or two pieces at a time. When the meat is coated with egg transfer it to the Pizza dough mix bowl, coat it with pizza dough. Heat some canola oil in a heavy frying pan on medium heat then transfer the meat to the frying pan. Flip only once when crispy brown on the first side. Cook until both sides are crispy brown. Drain on a clean white dish towel. Salt to taste. Serve warm and prepare to hear a chorus of "Yum!"s.
More recipes and tips to come!
Ingredients
Cooked, boneless chicken or turkey
Namaste Sugar-Free Pizza Dough Mix
1 egg
Canola Oil
Salt to taste
Directions
Cut up the meat according to how your child prefers it (some kids love strips, others like chunks)
Beat the egg in a bowl. Place about a 1/2c of Namaste Pizza Dough Mix in another bowl.
Dunk the meat in the egg, one or two pieces at a time. When the meat is coated with egg transfer it to the Pizza dough mix bowl, coat it with pizza dough. Heat some canola oil in a heavy frying pan on medium heat then transfer the meat to the frying pan. Flip only once when crispy brown on the first side. Cook until both sides are crispy brown. Drain on a clean white dish towel. Salt to taste. Serve warm and prepare to hear a chorus of "Yum!"s.
More recipes and tips to come!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Gluten Free Casein Free Chicken Nuggets
Okay - you have decided to go GFCF - But what do you feed your kid? Never fear - This recipe will be a staple, even my husband loves them!
There are 2 different versions one with egg one without - today the egg free!
Egg Free, Gluten Free, Casein Free Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
Canola Oil - for frying
Boneless Chicken or Turkey sliced 1/2 thick or less
Namaste Sugar Free Pizza Crust mix
Salt to taste
Directions:
Make sure the meat is fairly uniform in thickness, rinse and pat dry. Cut the meat into strips or chunks (whichever your child prefers), put about 3/4 of a cup of the pizza dough mix into a quart sized zip lock bag. Place some of the meat into the bag and close securely. Shake the bag until the meat is completely coated. I have my child do this and we sing "Shake your Turkey" to the KC and the Sunshine Band's "Shake, Shake, Shake" tune. He loves it.
Heat some canola oil in the heaviest pan you own. Make sure that you keep the heat at medium so you don't set off the smoke alarm like I do! Place the coated meat into the pan once the oil is hot. There should only be enough oil to cook one side. Let them cook while you shake another batch. Turn the cooking meat when the top side is almost completely white and the bottom side is crispy brown. Only flip once. When both sides are done let them drain on a clean white dish towel and add salt to taste. The first time you might want to crack one open just to make sure the inside is done - if it isn't you need to reduce your heat. Serve after they have cooled slightly.
If you drain them sufficiently they travel well - I take them to birthday parties and on car trips with a cold pack. You can microwave them to heat them up - 20 seconds does the job.
We make chicken nuggets occasionally but we make turkey nuggets all the time - I buy Trader Joe's sliced turkey cutlets and cut them into strips - it takes seconds to get them in the pan. We purchase the Namaste Sugar Free Pizza Dough mix at Whole Food's Market and Lassen's Health Foods. The Pizza Crust Mix also makes great bread sticks and a pretty decent pizza crust - It is a god send!
There are 2 different versions one with egg one without - today the egg free!
Egg Free, Gluten Free, Casein Free Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
Canola Oil - for frying
Boneless Chicken or Turkey sliced 1/2 thick or less
Namaste Sugar Free Pizza Crust mix
Salt to taste
Directions:
Make sure the meat is fairly uniform in thickness, rinse and pat dry. Cut the meat into strips or chunks (whichever your child prefers), put about 3/4 of a cup of the pizza dough mix into a quart sized zip lock bag. Place some of the meat into the bag and close securely. Shake the bag until the meat is completely coated. I have my child do this and we sing "Shake your Turkey" to the KC and the Sunshine Band's "Shake, Shake, Shake" tune. He loves it.
Heat some canola oil in the heaviest pan you own. Make sure that you keep the heat at medium so you don't set off the smoke alarm like I do! Place the coated meat into the pan once the oil is hot. There should only be enough oil to cook one side. Let them cook while you shake another batch. Turn the cooking meat when the top side is almost completely white and the bottom side is crispy brown. Only flip once. When both sides are done let them drain on a clean white dish towel and add salt to taste. The first time you might want to crack one open just to make sure the inside is done - if it isn't you need to reduce your heat. Serve after they have cooled slightly.
If you drain them sufficiently they travel well - I take them to birthday parties and on car trips with a cold pack. You can microwave them to heat them up - 20 seconds does the job.
We make chicken nuggets occasionally but we make turkey nuggets all the time - I buy Trader Joe's sliced turkey cutlets and cut them into strips - it takes seconds to get them in the pan. We purchase the Namaste Sugar Free Pizza Dough mix at Whole Food's Market and Lassen's Health Foods. The Pizza Crust Mix also makes great bread sticks and a pretty decent pizza crust - It is a god send!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
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