BlessedMommy

And if you can't find it where you live or if it's too expensive, Amazon sells it! Gluten free cat and dog food is readily available where I live, but it's a lot less expensive and more convenient on Amazon. I am subscribed to a 10 lb bag every month. It saves me over $9 per bag to buy it on Amazon.

Yes! I run across so many people who are "gluten free" but think that it's okay to have just a little bit since they're "not celiac." (even if they haven't been tested to rule it out)

I wasn't able to be diagnosed and I manage good dietary compliance and don't cheat, but I've had very serious complications from gluten. People with milder symptoms may not be as motivated not to cheat.

I try to hide my toothbrush so that my gluten eating children and husband won't accidentally use it.

I use a brand that is labelled gluten free. It's Xyliwhite by NOW.

http://www.nowfoods.com/Xyliwhite-Refreshmint-Toothpaste-Gel-6-4-oz.htm

The key is to get a good waffle iron if you want to make waffles on a regular basis. The cheap ones require more babysitting and take twice as long to make the waffles. I absolutely love my Waring Pro waffle iron. It cost $100 and was worth every penny.

One reason why I tend to prefer waffles over pancakes is because I find them to be less work and less time consuming. With waffles I can just slam the iron shut and forget about it until it beeps. My waffle iron is lightning fast (about twice the speed of the cheap ones plus I can do two at a time). I can also sit down at the table and eat while more waffles are cooking, because the waffle iron will tell me when they're done.

If I make pancakes I have to babysit them constantly to keep them from burning and it takes a long time to get breakfast totally ready. 

I buy grain free cat food (I purchase it online for better pricing) for extra assurance and also because my kitty loves it and does well on it, but I doubt that pet food is the highest risk as long as it is handled properly. I'm far more worried about getting glutened by my kids, than by my pets.

I was wondering if others had some tried and true gluten free waffle recipes that you wanted to share. Or anything that isn't a typical waffle that can be made in a waffle iron. New ideas are always good!

We're a big waffle eating family and I have a heavy duty Belgian Waring Pro waffle iron that makes two at a time. I make other stuff in it too, like omelettes, falafel, hash browns, etc.

If eating gluten free makes you feel better, than that is what you should do.

That's good that you are pursuing formal testing for her. It is recommended though that you do an 8-12 week gluten challenge before you do the blood tests for most accurate results. I chose to leave my 8 year old on gluten for 3 solid months, so that I could be confident that the testing was accurate.

How long had she been off gluten before introducing it for the challenge?

Best wishes in finding answers.

It makes a lot of sense to do it! With low cost vet clinics available, it's financially accessible to most people these days. The Humane Society has enough strays and feral kitties to deal with, that they really don't need to be housing pets. The great thing is that if owners microchip, then Humane Society doesn't have to! (at least not for very long)

Humane Society told me about a low cost veterinary clinic being held at Tractor Supply. I got both kitties their microchips for a cost of only $15 each. Not bad!

If there's anyway that you could get $250 for testing, this site might be useful for you. Open Original Shared Link

Even if you can never afford to get an endoscopy, blood testing could be helpful.

Good for you! Nobody needs permission from their doctor to eat gluten free! It sounds like it is really working for you! Great job!

I contacted the Humane Society and they said that Family, Farm, and Home does a clinic every other month. That would help the budget since we are adopting another kitty. 

Oops, I quoted off the Australian website by accident. This is what I read from the U.S. website:

Quorn Chik'n Tenders, Grounds, Turk'y Roast, and Naked Chik'n Cutlets are suitable for a gluten-free diet. All allergens are clearly marked on the back of each package within the ingredient declaration and allergy advice section.

Open Original Shared Link

I'm going to email the company for more information on cross contamination. This is confusing!

Going vegetarian (or staying vegetarian) is perfectly safe for a celiac. The main thing to watch if you don't use many (or any) animal products is your B-12 levels. It doesn't hurt to take a B-12 supplement if you have any doubts that you are getting enough.

Protein is not usually an issue, as long as you're not living on junk food or doing a more extreme version of a vegetarian diet that omits a lot of food groups.
Protein is very easily had from non-meat sources. 

I think that you misunderstood Cyclinglady, I believe that she was saying that she wouldn't consider Quorn safe for celiacs (at least in the U.S.), not that celiacs cannot be vegetarians.

Even my puppy is going gluten-free! :-)

How wonderful! My kitty eats gluten free and he is SO healthy and has such a shiny coat of fur! I don't think that animals were ever designed to eat gluten to begin with.

Yes, please get tested. I cannot get a formal diagnosis because gluten causes me severe neurological symptoms. I really wish that I had gotten properly diagnosed before going gluten free. 

I get neurological symptoms from gluten. So it can very definitely affect the brain! 

How long is the school trip?

There's got to be a way that she can work around this. Could she bring her own simple food and assemble it herself? Could she rely on a lot of naturally gluten free things like fresh fruits and veggies and bring a bunch of stuff from home in her suitcase, like KIND bars and other shelf stable safe things?

Lots of things are simple and fast to prep. Are there places over there to buy gluten free bread and gluten-free deli sandwich meat?

I love Amy's dinners, especially their gluten-free/DF macaroni and cheese and gluten-free/DF lasagna.

Very interesting! I have a friend who finally was able to succeed in getting pregnant after her celiac diagnosis and after going gluten free. 

I'm researching about it and am seriously leaning towards microchipping our kitty cat. He's an indoor/outdoor cat (he loves to hunt!) and that would hopefully increase his chances of making it home if he got lost. He wears a collar and engraved ID tag, but of course those can get pulled off or lost.

The Humane Society said that they routinely check every animal who comes in, for a microchip, so that they can determine if they are a lost pet. I adopted our kitty as a stray and before deciding to keep him, I took him into the vet to check for a microchip, because I wouldn't have kept him if he was someone else's lost pet.

If you got one for your pet, how much did it cost? Was the procedure fairly simply and well tolerated by your pet?

Yay! Congrats on the negative tests. It always feels good to get a definitive answer. I was very relieved when my daughter tested negative for celiac.