lbsteenwyk

My daughter started preschool this week. I've already purchased gluten-free playdough for her classroom. Are there other art/craft supplies that may contain gluten? What about finger paint and glue? I've already reviewed the potential danger of doing crafts with pasta, cereal, etc. The preschool has been very accomodating to my child's needs so far.

Endoscopy is the term that refers to putting a tube with a camera on it down the esophagus and into the upper GI tract.

Biopsy is the procedure of taking a small tissue sample from the GI tract during the endoscopy.

Hi Sue - Welcome to the board. How old is your daughter? Is she adjusting well to the gluten-free diet? My daughter has been gluten-free since 26 months, so she really doesn't know any different. I am about to send her to preschool, though, so things may get more complicated!

My Mom sent me a copy of Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. I was so excited to try out some of her recipes. I've been using her standard rice four mix for baking, but I mixed up a batch of the Four Flour Bean Mix and made the following recipes:

Springy Corn Bread (pg 151)- this turned out great - my kids ate it up!

Cheesy Vegetable Corn Bread (pg 152) - I thought this was even better. My husband really liked it, but my kids wouldn't eat it - "It has too many LITTLE THINGS in it"

Streusel-Topped Apple Muffins (pg 219) - these were so good, I made them twice. I didn't make the streusel topping, but they were great anyway. The second time, I reduced the flour by 1/4 cup and added 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed to make them more nutritious. My kids loved these.

I am going to try a yeast bread soon. Does anyone have any favorites from this book, or any critiques to share?

I've used both Potato Starch and Tapioca Flour successfully to make a roux. I use them 1:1 as you would regular flour.

My father has been on a gluten free diet for about a year. He tried the gluten-free diet to see if it would improve his chronic skin problems. He has a 15 year hx of itchy skin that presented as tiny blisters and then turned into red, itchy sores. This has been primarily on his back, arms and legs. The diet seemed to help at first, and by the time he had blood work, he had been gluten free for several months. His blood work was negative for celiac. Later he had a biopsy, which was also negative, but my Mom thinks the dermatologist didn't do the biopsy correctly, because it was not taken from the edge of the lesion.

Last night, my Mom called to tell me that Dad was having a terrible breakout - his back is a mass of sores. She read something in a magazine about a autoimmune skin disorder called Bullous Pemphigoid (hope I'm spelling it right), and thinks this may be his problem. His dermatologist has never been able to give him any type of satisfactory dx and he has not responded to any of the psoriasis or eczema preparations he's been given.

Does anyone have any knowlege of this disorder? Is it commonly mistaken for DH or vice versa?

I also want to comment, that I don't believe my dad has been completely gluten free. He is 78 and is getting mildly forgetful. I can think of 3 occasions that he ate obvious gluten containing foods without thinking. Most recently he ate the cone of an ice cream cone. That was 2 weeks ago. Could it take 2 weeks for a DH reaction to occur?

Any comments are appreciated.

I am by no means an expert, but I would say that she does not need to be gluten free at this point. She has the gene, so she could develop celiac disease later in life. If you've had her on a gluten-free diet, I would put her back on gluten and see what happens.

I agree, try tapioca starch (I think it's labeled as tapioca flour). I've used them interchangeably as thickeners, and I've also made lots of flour mixes that use both both potato starch and tapioca flour. You could try substituting tapioca flour for the potato starch and see what happens.

Have you tried the Bette Hagman mixes using garbanzo/fava flour? This flour helps breads retain moisure better. If I remember correctly Bette Hagman's Four Flour Bean Mix does not use potato starch. I believe it is just garbanso/fava, sorghum, cornstarch and tapioca starch. I've made several great recipes using this flour mix rather than her standard rice flour mix.

The fructose intolerance is an interesting idea. She does seem to have a definite aversion to fruit. She does not drink juice. Occasionally she will drink a few sips. She will not even eat jelly. She loves honey, though, and I believe that is mainly fructose. I have tried smoothies in the past, but we haven't tried them for a while, so I think we will try them again.

Thanks, everyone for your ideas. I will talk to her Ped about testing for fruit sugar intolerance.

My 3 yo daughter has been refusing to eat fruit since she turned one. She simply will not put it in her mouth. The only way I can get her to eat any fruit is to put mashed bananas or applesauce in muffins. Recently she also started to accept a few raisins - although often she chews on them awhile and then spits them out.

I have tried everything I can think of to get her to try fruit. I have begged, pleaded, offered bribes. We always eat fruit with dinner and my son eats it at all 3 meals, so we are setting a good example. I have put sugar on it, offered her honey to dip it in. She will not even taste it! When she was much younger, I noticed she would start to gag when she tasted fruit, so maybe there is something else going on. I'm just so frustrated! She hardly eats any vegetables and I am concerned that she does not get enough good quality nutrition. (I do give her a multi vitamin, but there are a lot of phytochemicals, etc in fruits and vegetables that a multi can't offer).

Does anyone have any ideas on how I an encourage her to eat fruit?

momma j

There are some good gluten free cookies out there. My 3 yo daughter likes:

Pamela's Shortbread Swirl

Glutino Zebra Dreams (like a cream sandwich cookie)

Frookie Gluten Free double chocolate and chocolate chip - they make regular cookies too, so be careful. These are really good - nice and soft, but they are sometimes hard to find.

We get all these products at our local healthfood store.

If you have access to Whole Foods Market, they came out with a line of Fresh Baked Products that they make in a dedicated gluten free bakery. The molasses cookies and blondie bars are excellent. They make about 20 fresh baked gluten free products- breads, muffins, pizza crust, etc.

I just received my order of Gluten Free Play Dough from Discount School Supply. My order was shipped quickly and the product is very nice. It is a large amount of Dough, so I put half of it away in zip lock bags and then in another sealed container. There is probably enough play dough in one order to share with a small preschool room. I would definitely recommend this product.

My daughter eats Bush's Vegetarian beans all the time with no problems. They are one of her favorites.

This is probably not related to celiac disease. You could have an esophageal stricture or Barrets Esophagus, as the previous reply suggested. You probably need to have an EGD (endoscopy scope down your esophagus) to find out what is going on. The esophagus can be "stretched" to decrease your symptoms. They can do it when they do the EGD. Do you have a GI doctor that you see? He/she should be able to help you with this. If not, get a referral from your GP.

Good Luck!

There is a thread in this forum called "A day in the life of a celiac child" which has a lot of good ideas for both meals and snacks.

Here are some snacks my 3 year old daughter likes:

Hummus (homemade) with either tortilla chips or Snyders of Hanover veggie crisps

Yogurt (yoplait or Stoneyfield)

Envirokids Krispy Rice Bars

MiDel gluten free animal cookies or chocolate chip cookies

Raisins

Peanut Butter and honey mixed together (she eats it with a spoon)

Kraft Chocolate Pudding

I also make my own gluten-free muffins which she eats with peanut butter and honey - email me if you would like the recipe.

You'll get the hang of the diet soon. There is a lot to learn; I'm still learning and my daughter has been gluten free for a year. Good Luck!

Since you are using some formula, you could use a 24 calorie per ounce formula. All of the major formula companies make them, although they are more expensive. (Standard formula is 20 calories per ounce). You can make the baby cereal with formula or breastmilk instead of water to add calories as well.

Where does your baby's height fall on the growth charts? Head circumference? Your doctor should be considering these measurements as well in evaluating your child's growth.

Since your child has been gluten free since birth and you are gluten free as well, I don't think your child could be having any celiac symptoms. Does your child take a bottle well? Does she seem interested in the food you are feeding her? Do you have to coax her to eat? If you are having difficulty getting her to eat or take a bottle, or if she doesn't seem interested in breastfeeding, her current weight should be concerning. But, if you aren't seeing feeding problems, it may just be that she is genetically small. Are you or your husband small framed? Remember, anything above the 5th percentile on the growth charts is still considered within normal range.

Kaylee

Your patties are a great idea. I'm going to try these with my daughter. She is becoming increasingly selective about eating vegetables, so this may be a good way to get some into her. Thanks!

KarenAnne

Have you considered doing Gene Testing through Enterolab? If your son tested positive for the gene, that would be pretty good evidence that he has it, although not 100% conclusive. If he has a negative gene test, that it is certain he does not have celiac.

I have read that aloe juice is not recommended for children under 12. That may be because clinical trials have not been done in this age group. Here is a link to a reputable source for more information.

Open Original Shared Link

Here's my hummus recipe:

1 15 oz can chickpeas

1/3 cup sesame tahini (available at the health food store; sometimes you can find it in the regular grocery store)

2 Tbs Olive Oil (or more for calories)

Juice of 1 small lemon (optional - I often leave it out)

1 heaping tsp minced garlic (optional-depending on your child's taste)

1 Tbs ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 cup water

Put all ingredients except water in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding water until you achieve the desired consistency. I usually have to stop the blender and stir several times before it gets mixed up really well. Stores for a week in the fridge.

Thanks for your responses! You have been very helpful.

I have heard conflicting information on which brands of yogurt are safe. I am particularly interested in Dannon Extra Creamy and Horizon, but info on any brand would be appreciated.

Donna:

I wouldn't stress too much over the protein issue. You can get adequate protein during pregnancy, even if you are eating a vegetarian diet. Especially if you are still eating dairy and eggs. As long as you are getting adequate calories and take your prenatal vitamin, you should be fine on the protein front. Your doctor will let you know if you need more iron. Since you are not getting the benefit of iron fortified breads/cereals, you may need a supplement. Most people get far more protein than they need, so even though there is a slightly increased need for protein during pregnancy you probably will still be exceeding your protein requirement.

Each year, the University of Iowa puts out a gluten free packet with major brands in it that they believe to be gluten-free (it really saves me sometimes)

Do you have a link to this information that you can share? I would like to have access to this gluten-free list.

Thanks!

Terri-Anne:

I feel for you. My daughter, who is 3, is pretty picky, though she is eating better now. For a long time she would not eat meat, except for hot dogs. I have had some success with cutting meat (pork or chicken) into strips, sauteing in olive oil and then letting her dip it in mustard.

I find that she eats things better when they are sweet. I've had good luck with sprinkling sugar on rice and also having diced sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar. You might also try real maple syrup. I've also gotten her to eat carrots by giving her a small dish of honey to use as a dip.

Will your child eat muffins or other wheat free breads? I make gluten-free cornbread, muffins, etc and try to boost the nutritional value by adding flax seed, buckwheat flour, or garbanzo flour. Then I serve them with lots of peanut butter and honey. We have syrup on the cornbread.

Have you tried Hummus? My daughter LOVES it and will eat alot at one time. I make my own. I'll be glad to share my recipe if you don't have one. It's pretty high in calories and you can make it richer by adding more olive oil. It's also fairly nutritious. My daughter will eat it with a spoon, or you can dip tortilla chips in it, or spread it on a sandwich. I spread it on corn tortillas, add cheese and make grilled quesadillas.

I hope some of these ideas help. I know it's very frustrating when your child doesn't eat. Good luck!