Gluten and Casein Free Diet

The Final Choice

2010-11-01T09:54:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in my prior post the fact that I had the chance to review "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef" and I promised to share the recipe I chose.

It wasn't easy to choose just one recipe. There was a cracker recipe I was interested in. I am beyond tired of paying almost six dollars for a four-ounce package of gluten-free crackers.

The cracker recipe contains cornmeal for sprinkling on the pan. Shauna mentioned that not all cornmeal is gluten-free due to manufacturing practices. I immediately checked my bag of cornmeal and read the dreaded words "contains flour." Ugh. I've been cooking with that cornmeal for a while now. While I will probably cook the crackers next, they were not the recipe I chose.

I then eyeballed the recipe for millet tabouleh. My husband loves tabouleh. I made it for him once about twelve years ago, but it didn't come out right. So I was eager to try Shauna's recipe. But I didn't pick that one either.

The recipe I finally tried was pork paprika. My reason for choosing this dish was I wanted to cook something the whole family could enjoy. The recipe itself was for veal paprika but the directions said it was okay to use pork. Pork butt was on sale for ninety-seven cents a pound that week. I only had to buy fourteen pounds to get that deal! Have I mentioned how grateful I am for my freezer?

The recipe called for pork, kosher salt, pepper, EVOO, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, smoked or sweet paprika, Piment d'Espelette (optional), dry white wine, chicken or veal stock, mushrooms, sour cream and chives (optional).

Shauna recommended making your own stock. I haven't done this in a while because I have been sacrificing flavor for convenience. Homemade stock really is better. I usually use carrots, chicken, onion and salt in my broth. If I have celery I add it also. But I added fresh rosemary from my friend Lhia's garden this time. It added a complex and delicious flavor my stock had never had before. It was the best stock I had ever made.

My prior rosemary experience was not good. A friend had made mashed potatoes with rosemary in them and they were disgusting. So I had sworn off rosemary, assuming it was a vile spice. However, rosemary was mentioned a lot in this cookbook so I decided to give it one more try. I'm so grateful I did. Rosemary rocks as long as it isn't in potatoes! Thank you, Lhia!

I had a few missteps with the recipe. The first misstep was when I made my stock. I used my soup pot to make it. It cooked for two hours and I was left with two cups of stock. I needed a quart. So I started another batch and made two more cups.

However, my daughter was coming down with a cold and I thought some chicken stock would be just the thing. She loved it, but then I needed more stock. Finally the light bulb in my brain came on and I hauled the STOCK POT out of the dusty cupboard it had been relegated to. Amazing thing, that stock pot.

After I had my stock, I could start my recipe. Hooray!

I seasoned and seared the meat and removed it from the pan. I sauteed my vegetables, except for the mushrooms and green onions. Then I added the paprika. I used sweet paprika, not smoked, and I left out the Piment d'Espelette.

Then I poured in the wine, scraped the yummy goodness from the bottom of the pan and cooked until the wine was reduced by half.

Next the stock went in the pan. I heated it to a boil and added my meat. Then I simmered the stew until the meat was fork-tender, about two hours.

But it wasn't done yet. After the meat was tender, I threw out the vegetables and set the meat and liquid aside. Then I sauteed the mushrooms, more carrot, onion and garlic for about ten minutes, added the liquid back to the pot and brought it back to a boil. I was supposed to simmer it for another fifteen minutes to reduce it more, but I had been smelling the stock all day and I was too impatient to wait anymore! I know, it was only fifteen more minutes, but I was HUNGRY from those good smells all day.

Rather than whisking in the (tofutti) sour cream, we each put an individual dollop in our bowls with chopped chives sprinkled on top. We served it over mashed potatoes.

The pork paprika was delicious, easily one of the best meals I have ever cooked. My husband commented on the fact he could taste how it had cooked all day, melding all the flavors together. I am excited to see if all the recipes taste this good. I will absolutely be making this dish again and I promise to let it finish the last fifteen minutes of cooking even if my husband has to restrain me with duct tape.

I recommend this cookbook if you are a foodie, gluten-free or not. If you had a dinner party, these are the recipes that would wow your friends. The only problem with a dinner party would be having to share. Thanks for reading!

Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef - A Preliminary Review

2010-10-25T12:37:00.001-07:00

I was recently offered the chance to review a gluten-free cookbook and I jumped at it. The majority of the meals I cook are gluten-free and I have a serious cookbook addiction. So I was very excited to get the chance to review Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.

Normally I wouldn’t review a cookbook prior to trying the recipes but Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef isn’t solely a cookbook. It is also a love story. Since food and love go hand and hand, at least in my opinion, a love story within a cookbook makes perfect sense.

Gluten-Free Girl’s name is Shauna James Ahern, and her chef, and husband, is Daniel Ahern. They met through a dating service just when Shauna had ever given up hope of meeting “the one.”

Shauna tells of their first meeting and how they clicked. She tells the tale of a most interesting proposal and she talks of how she and Daniel shop and cook together.

She tells the story of how Daniel accidentally served her gluten and how after that, he made every dish in his restaurant without gluten. He told her he didn’t want to cook anything he couldn’t share with her.

Imagine walking in a restaurant and not having to explain to the server what gluten is. Or imagine asking for a gluten-free menu and not being handed a single page that mostly consists of salads without their dressing or burgers without a bun. Just think what it would be like to be handed a menu for the whole restaurant with every single item being gluten-free. There would be no more staring longingly at the onion rings across the table while you ate your boring burger patty with no sides. That restaurant would earn my loyalty twenty times over.

I have only briefly touched on the love story. You will have to read it yourself. Now I want to touch lightly on the recipes and the cooking tips.

One of the first cooking tips was on the importance of mise en place. Mise en place translates to everything in place. Basically, it means all your ingredients should be chopped and ready to go before you start cooking. This is actually something I have always done but only because I have the land speed of a snail when I am chopping. I find this is the only way I can have all my ingredients ready to go at the right time.

Shauna also talks about the importance of cooking in season and the importance of fresh herbs. A friend of mine who has a garden very kindly shared some fresh herbs with me for my first recipe. I will share more on that in my recipe review.

This cookbook is definitely for foodies. You know who you are! These are not hurried recipes. These are recipes that will take a bit of time, especially for those snail- paced food-choppers like me. On a night when the kids are yelling they are hungry and hanging underfoot in the kitchen, these are not the recipes I will be cooking. But on weekends or other days when I have some extra time, I am going to enjoy the experience of trying out this book.

Some of the recipe titles sound intimidating. Roasted chicken roulade with goat cheese and arugula was one of the recipes that sounded pretty intimidating to me. However, I looked at the ingredients, none of which I would consider exotic. Then I read the instructions and said, “Ah, I can do this.”

That is not, however, the recipe I picked. Later this week I will tell which recipe I picked and why. For now, imagine how my kitchen smells with a chicken stock simmering on the back burner. I think the word Heaven definitely comes close to describing the scent. Are you jealous yet? You should be.

Shepherd's Pie

2009-07-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

This is a dish that both kids like. My daughter likes every bit of it. My son doesn't like potatoes though. When I am assembling the dish, I leave the potatoes off his portion.

This is a New England style shepherd's pie with a tomato base. My mother used to use Campbell's tomato soup for the base. Since I can't do that, I make a mock tomato soup that tastes just as good. As an added bonus, it's cheaper.

Shepherd's Pie

Meat mixture

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (chicken or turkey is fine also)
1/2 onion diced
1 can corn, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Mock Tomato Soup

2 TBS Earth Balance margarine
2 TBS corn starch
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 8 oz can water
1 tsp sugar or to taste
Salt to taste

Potato layer

2 2/3 cups potato buds
3 1/3 cups gf chicken broth
1/4 cup earth balance
1 tsp salt
Paprika to taste

Heat oven to 350. Set out a 9x13 pan.

Brown your meat, adding salt and pepper to taste. Drain fat. Add diced onion and cook until translucent. Remove pan from heat. Drain the corn. Stir it in and set the pan aside.

Now make the tomato soup. Melt two tablespoons Earth balance in a pan. Whisk in the two tablespoons corn starch. Let cook about a minute. Sprinkle with salt. Then whisk in the can of tomato sauce, the can of water and a tsp of sugar. Let heat through and taste. Add more sugar if necessary. Some brands of tomato sauce are less sweet than others so the amount of necessary sugar is usually anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon. After the tomato soup is done, mix it in with the meat mixture.

Get a new pan. Bring the gf chicken broth, salt and Earth Balance to a boil. Turn it off and put in your potato buds. Let sit a minute and fluff with a fork. If it seems too dry, add a bit more broth or even some water. You can always make potatoes from scratch with chicken broth. Potato Buds are great for when you are in a hurry though.

Place your meat mixture in an even layer in the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Then put the potato layer on top of the meat. Sprinkle the potato mixture with paprika, if desired. Bake at 350 about 20 minutes or until browned.

Enjoy!

Mushroom Stuffed Squash

2009-07-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make some stuffed zucchini tonight so I went to the store to get the ingredients. I ended up getting a kind of grayish squash that was next to the zucchini since it was bigger and looked "stuffing worthy".

I've never stuffed a squash before, but it seems to be one of those recipes that can be played with depending on your favorite ingredients. I do wish I had doubled the mushrooms, but my husband and son both ate it. It goes under my file of recipes to keep, unlike the truly horrid crab cakes I made last night. Blech.

Stuffed Squash

5-6 zucchini or summer squash
2 tsp cooking oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 minced onion
8 ozs of sliced and washed mushrooms - I always buy them pre-sliced, easier - You may want to double the mushrooms.
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked rice, basmati preferred
1 to 4 splashes of Worcestershire sauce - I used Lea & Perrins. It is gluten-free in the U.S. - If you want your dish to be vegetarian, leave it out.
Salt and pepper to taste
Basil to taste
Onion powder to taste - probably optional. I had a kitchen "helper" who wanted to sprinkle stuff in the pan.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cut off the knobby ends of the washed squash and trim off any blemishes on the skin with a knife.
Place squash in boiling water. Be careful not to splash.
Boil for 10 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the squash.
While it is boiling, heat some oil. Toss in your onions and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir a few minutes. Toss in the Worcestershire, basil and onion powder. Cook until softened. Remember the vegetables will cook in the oven also. Throw in the tomatoes and stir.
Set aside the pan and wait for the squash to be ready.
When the squash is done, remove from the water and let cool. Once it cools, slice it lengthwise and take out the insides. Place the insides in a bowl. Place the squash skins in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Now is a good time to heat your oven to 350.
Mash the squash insides in a bowl. Drain off the excess liquid in a colander.
After the insides are drained, put them in the pan with the mushrooms and onions. Then add 1 cup of rice. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Put your stuffing inside your squash. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Serve with rice on the side, if desired. Enjoy!

You Scream, I Scream, We Scream For Vegan Ice Cream

2008-06-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

THE OFFICIAL TASTE TESTERS

My very first try at casein-free ice cream was an utter disaster. So I stuck to buying the So Delicious brand for my son. While my son enjoyed it, it wasn't cheap. Plus it didn't have the creaminess of real ice cream.

Recently I did more research. I found an excellent vegan ice cream blog at veganicecream.blogspot.com.

This gave me a guideline for how to make vegan ice cream.

I then decided to convert my old dairy-filled ice cream recipe. It called for whipping cream and half and half. Since those ingredients weren't an option, I picked coconut milk for the fat content.

The ice cream doesn't taste like coconut milk. There is just enough coconut milk in it to give it a creamy texture.

I also added some soy margarine for extra fat. For those who can't have soy, I would replace the margarine with 1/4 cup safflower oil or 1/4 cup canola or an additional 1/4 cup of your milk sub.

My milk sub was vanilla almond milk which also contains soy. Any vanilla milk sub would be good. We are big fans of almond milk and it was on sale. So that's what we used.

So without further ado, here is the ice cream recipe.

Carolyn’s World Famous Vanilla Ice Cream

1 can coconut milk
2 cartons vanilla almond milk (You won’t use all the almond milk)
¼ cup Earth Balance margarine
1 ¾ cups sugar
½ tsp salt
1 TBS vanilla
6 TBS corn starch or 4 TBS arrowroot starch

Mix the coconut milk with enough vanilla milk to make 7 ¾ cups total. Reserve half a cup and pour the rest into a large saucepan.

Add the Earth Balance, sugar and salt to the saucepan with the milk.

Heat just until it starts to boil.

While the saucepan is heating, whisk the corn starch into the reserved half cup of milk.

As soon as the saucepan starts to boil, remove from heat. Add the corn starch/milk mixture and stir until dispersed throughout. The mixture should begin to thicken.

Add the vanilla.

Pour the ingredients into your ice cream freezer. Let cool completely before making ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s directions. It is very important to let it cool completely so you don’t end up with ice cream sludge.

Good luck keeping the rest of the family out of it.

Let me know if you enjoy it as much as we did.

An Excellent IEP!

2008-06-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

Sammy had his IEP last week.

It was the biggest one ever. He is transitioning from pre-school to kindergarten so his old team was there to hand him off to his new team.

Developmentally, he has made some huge strides. His physical development was last tested in February 2006. Before he tested at 28 months. Now he tests at 54 months. His self-help skills have gone from 22 months to 53 months. His social/emotional skills have gone from 26 months to 46 months. His cognitive skills have improved from 26 months to 53 months. His communication has progressed from 28 months to 43 months.

He will be going in a mainstream kindergarten class. Our local school offers a charter Montessori class and we were lucky enough to get a spot. Since Montessori consists of so much visual and hands on learning, I feel it is the perfect placement.

The school is going to send in an aide for an hour a day. If they feel an hour isn't enough they are going to offer more individual time with him. I didn't have to fight for this. It was offered! I was flabbergasted but in a good way.

He is going in a brand new socialization program this summer thanks to our local regional center. It is a Montessori based social program. His new kindergarten teacher is very interested in attending so he will get to know her and she can observe the program.

It has taken a village to get to this point; it honestly has.

His pre-school has been wonderful. He's had ST and OT at the pre-school and all the other teachers have been awesome.

He has been receiving ABA at home for six months. Within a few months of starting ABA, his teacher was sending home notes stating that he was blossoming at school.

There is, of course, the diet which has allowed him to focus on the ABA and all the other things he needs to know. Without the diet, we would not have come as far as we have.

If you see my son in public, you see a normal five-year old. He is catching up rapidly. His behaviors are so improved.

Give us ten years or less and we will beat this autism label. Just watch us. The sky is the limit.

Offline For a While

2008-05-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

To the lovely lady I was corresponding with,

I downloaded your last e-mail. But then my kids wanted the computer. My monitor died while they were on it.

I can't answer your e-mail!

Currently I am on my husband's computer so while I can check e-mail online, I can't get to any of my old ones!

Sincerely,
Carolyn

Don't You Know Millet Is a Girl's Best Friend

2008-04-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Because we are on the gluten-free diet, we eat a lot of rice. Rather than going to the store every five days to buy a small bag, I finally broke down and purchased a twenty-five pound bag. I feel a lot like Bubba Gump with my Spanish rice, my teriyaki rice, my chicken rice, my fried rice... But rice gets very boring as does potatoes, our other mainstay. Plus my son doesn't like potatoes.

Two nights ago I decided to make quinoa. My son doesn't like that either but boy am I tired of rice.

I melted some Earth Balance margarine in my pan. Then I threw in one small diced onion, two pressed garlic cloves and about three-fourths of a cup of shredded carrots. I sauteed them for about five minutes then went to measure my quinoa. It was then I realized that the box of quinoa only contained a measly half cup.

What to do? Inspiration struck. Okay, desperation struck. I remembered the millet stored in my cupboard that I had picked up a month ago. I had tried it once as a breakfast porridge and been a bit disappointed. However, desperate times call for desperate measures.

I added a cup and a half of millet to the pan along with three cups of water. I also added another tablespoon of Earth Balance and one and a half teaspoons salt. Then I cooked it like rice; brought it to a boil, covered and then simmered it for about twenty minutes.

It was delicious. My husband and kids all loved it as did I. A bonus was that it was completely vegan and very filling too.

I served it with baked chicken and asparagus, a winner of a dinner. Hee.

Double Dutch Treat

2007-07-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Yikes. I haven't posted here since January. This blog was originally to follow the changes in my son since we implemented this diet and they have been huge. We are on it for life. I think the hardest part will be teaching him how to cook for himself when he gets older. Of course, eating out will always be an issue.

Today I made a chocolate cake recipe from a Bette Hagman cookbook called "More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet." It makes a delicious chocolate cake with a pudding type layer underneath.

So much for the Weight Watchers points.

Here it is.

Double Dutch Treat

Batter

1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I'll post this below)
1/2 tsp xantham or guar gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS cocoa
2 TBS butter or margarine, melted (It seems you could substitute oil here.)
1/2 cup milk or nondairy liquid
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I left these out)

Sauce

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups cola, heated to boiling, or 1 2/3 cups hot coffee plus 2 TBS rum
Ice cream or whipped topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Batter: In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, xantham gum, baking powder, salt, sugar, and 2 TBS cocoa.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, milk, and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and blend until mixed. Stir in the nuts. Spread the batter in a greased 8" square pan.

Sauce: Combine the sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle the mixture over the batter. Pour the cola gently over the batter.

Bake in oven for 45 to 55 minutes until the cake top springs back when touched lightly. Serve with a scoop of ice cram or a dollop of whipped cream (if desired).

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

6 cups white rice flour
2 cups potato starch flour
1 cup tapico flour

Mix together for your gluten-free baking.

A Gluten, Casein-Free Banana Split Party

2007-01-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

We had a gfcf banana split party.

Our ice cream of choice was Soy Delicious. I try to avoid soy, but I don't like the Rice Dream as much.

We made strawberry syrup.

16 oz bag strawberries, thawed
sugar to taste
2 tsps. cornstarch

Drain the juice from the strawberries into a saucepan. Mix with cornstarch and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add the strawberries. Smash with a potato masher. Add sugar to taste, I think I added about 1/2 to 3/4 a cup. Heat through

We made chocolate syrup

1 cup semisweet gfcf chocolate chips
3/4 cup vanilla -flavored almond milk

Cook over low heat stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth.

We made marshmallow sauce

18 marshmallows
1/2 cup vanilla - flavored almond milk

Cook over lowest heat stirring constantly until marshmallows completely melt.

(This kept seperating but tasted great)

Put your ice cream in a bowl. Add your banana and favorite sauces. We also added chopped peanuts and chocolate sprinkles.

There is a way to make whipped cream out of coconut milk. We didn't do that, but if anyone wants to know how, I will gladly answer that question.

Love Those Blue Eyes

2007-01-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

Easy Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets

2006-11-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've tried all the gluten-free flours, or most of them, on chicken nuggets.

The bottom line is ewwwwww. They're just not the same.

But if I take 3/4 cup cornmeal plus 1/4 GF tortilla crumbs, and then add my seasonings, I get a very nice coating.

The seasonings I like are onion powder and paprika, maybe some garlic salt.

I also really like Pappy's brand seasoning. I'm pretty sure they are gluten-free, but haven't called the company yet.

I cut up my boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I dip them in egg, then roll them in the coating.

There are two different ways I cook them.

One is in a pan with some melted shortening and Nucoa brand margarine. I don't put in enough oil to completely cover. I flip them partway through.

The other way is in a 350 degree oven. I melt some Nucoa in the pan and flip them halfway through.

Either way is good and everyone likes them. Finally, I have a recipe for the whole family.

Another Food Cuprit

2006-09-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Since my son doesn't eat dairy or cheese, I worry about him getting enough calcium.

When he started drinking soy milk with strawberry syrup, I was thrilled.

Then the flapping and mouth noises started.

I assumed it was the soy and switched to almond milk. Then he was drinking strawberry almond milk to his heart's delight.

Only the flapping continued.

I looked at the ingredients in the strawberry syrup. Two stood out. One was high fructose corn syrup - a definite contender. But the one I'm pretty sure it is, is the red dye 40.

Now we have yet another thing we must avoid. Oh goodie!

Banana Bread Update

2006-08-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

It came out great!

I had added the honey to keep it moist and it was super moist. So the honey is optional.

If you don't like the flavor of honey, leave it out. If you like honey, I enjoyed the flavor immensely.

GFCF Banana Bread

2006-08-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

My Mom's banana bread recipe is the only one that I absolutely love. I have tried converting it today. It is currently in the oven. The batter tasted good, so hopefully it comes out okay.

Converted Banana Bread

1 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 TBS honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 ripe bananas (the browner the better)
1 tsp baking soda
3 TBS rice or almond milk
1 3/4 cups Hagman flour blend (I'll post that below)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp xantham gum
2 tsp egg replacer (This may be optional. I put it in to be safe.)

Cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg, honey and vanilla.

In seperate bowl, mash bananas. Add baking soda and almond milk.

In 3rd bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, xantham gum and egg replacer.

Mix all three bowls together. Bake in greased, floured bread pan at 300 until done, probably at least an hour of baking.

********************

Hagman's Flour Blend

3 cups white rice flour
1 cup potato starch flour (Remember potato flour and potato starch flour are not the same)
1/2 cup tapica flour

Mix all together

Fly Boy

2006-08-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

SJ likes things that spin. He loves fans, helicoptors and chairs with wheels.

For chair spinning, first he flips the chair, then he spins the wheels as fast as he can. Various objects are placed on the spinning mechanism to see what they will do. Will they stay? Will they fly off? Will they make lovely, loud, clunking noises that hurt Mom's ears?

He is like a little scientist with his chairs and his cause and effect; very focused. I wish I could get in his mind and understand what he was thinking. Of course, don't we say that about all men? LOL

Behaviors That Are (Mostly) Gone

2006-07-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it is diet, but here are the behaviors that are mostly gone.

Flicking lights on and off.

Inexplicable 45 minute tantrums.

Smearing poop all over the place.

Flapping arms.

As far as good behaviors added, he tried to play a little bit with some kids at the park today. He even hugged one boy.

Now if I could get the turkey to give up breast-feeding. I'm afraid that is going to be a battle heard around the world.

Gluten-Free Rip Off

2006-06-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Anybody that has cooked gluten-free knows how expensive the ingredients are - especially when you add the health food store mark-ups into the equation.

I finally went to the Indian store nearest to us because I heard rice flour was a bit cheaper there.

Holy Moly. Not only did they have rice flour, they had corn flour, garbanzo bean (chick pea) flour, sorghum (jowar) flour and corn flour!

And the prices, my goodness! The stuff was cheap and in huge bags compared to what I have been buying.

Here are the price differences.

Bob's Red Mill Corn Flour - 1.89 for 1 1/2 lbs.
Indian Store Corn Flour - 1.69 for 2 lbs.

Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Flour - 2.29 for 1 1/2 lbs.
Indian Store Chick Pea Flour (same as garbanzo) - 4.49 for 4 lbs.

Bob's Red Mill Rice Flour - 1.79 for 1 1/2 lbs.
Indian Store Rice Flour - 2.99 for 4 lbs.

Bob's Red Mill Sorghum Flour - 3.99 for 1 1/2 lbs.
Indian Store Jowar (sorghum) - 2.49 for 4 lbs.

I obtained the Bob's Red Mill prices from their website. I actually pay more than that for their products locally. And they are one of the cheaper sources of gluten free products.

I was blown away at the price difference.

I told my husband I wanted to bow at the feet of the lady behind the counter and kiss her. He said that I practically did. :P

Autism Clay Update

2006-05-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

I will post this on both blogs.

First I have to confess that we have not been diligent lately on the gfcf diet. My son seemed oblivious at first to the fact that his food was different than the other kids.

Now he is getting more aware of these things and it is getting harder to divert his attention with a "safe" food.

I haven't noticed a huge difference in behavior. We have had a bit more of the arm flapping but that is it.

Yesterday in the pediatrician's office, he pointed out a painted butterfly on the wall. He used a four word sentence to do it. For him, that's big.

Now to the main topic. I ordered the clay that is supposed to clean environmental toxins out of the body.

It came with a packet to mix in it. You use a whisk to mix the ingredients. You're supposed to wear a face mask so you don't breathe in clay.

I mixed it outside with my shirt over my mouth.

The clay sounds like it gets really gunky in the tub. I didn't want to pay four extra bucks per bath for the special clay cleaning agent.

Since my son is small, I mixed a third cup of clay in one of those round galvanized metal tubs. He had to stay in four minutes.

Then I rinsed him off in the shower.

My husband and I weren't sure if there was a difference.

He was super calm after the bath but any bath can do that, I think.

Today he said, "I play outside." Again, this is a big sentence for him. But yesterday he was using big sentences.

In conclusion, I just don't know if it has helped yet. We will continue to give him the baths. I think he gets one every two weeks.

I will keep everybody updated.

To Add Casein or Not Add Casein - That Is The Question!

2006-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

In the last week, my son has had some dairy products.

We are postive that he has an adverse wheat reaction, but we weren't sure on the dairy.

My husband had kept telling me that we should let him try some dairy. So the day my son found the yogurt in the fridge and brought it to me, became the day.

Here is where it gets hard. I'm not sure if the dairy is good or bad.

We got more annoying poop behaviors. Instead of telling me when he has pooped and laying down to get changed, my son says, "Poopins." Unfortunately this is usually after he has thrown it on the floor or the wall or played in it. Yick.

But his teacher at pre-school mentioned how sociable he was that day. He has seemed happier and more upbeat at home also.

Today "J" from California First Five came to the house and said he was much more focused. But that could be from all the sleep he got yesterday. He was running a high temp and slept until two in the afternoon, waking up occasionally to nurse.

In fact, he got ice cream yesterday to bring down his temp.

After "J" left today, he was a real turd. When I went to pick up the girls from school, he kept shouting out words I didn't understand and becoming agitated. He did not want to ride in the van.

So I'm torn on the dairy. It is a great protein source.

Any advice from anybody familiar with this would be greatly appreciated.

And my clay bath is on the way. I will let everyone know how that works.

Little Sick Guy

2006-05-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

My guy is running a temp today.

He just wants to sleep and it is already noon.

Last night I hauled out my copy of "It Takes Two To Talk."

The book said to lean forward silently and watch your child until they start to communicate with you.

So I put down the newspaper and watched him play.

He caught my eye and showed me his helicoptor. Then I took a turn with it.

Then he had me pretend to make it fly and crash repeatedly.

When he said, "Again," I reminded him to look at me, not the helicoptor.

I need to do these kind of things more. Hopefully my poor guy feels better soon.

Pity Party Warning

2006-05-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

You've been warned. Read no farther unless you want to be privy to a pity party.

Okay. This sucks.

It sucks having a child who is trying to tell me something and I do not understand him. I am frustrated. He is frustrated.

His speech has quit progressing. Forty minutes a week of speech therapy is not enough.

His motor skills are taking off but I think speech is a bit more important.

I can't have a conversation with my child.

When I ask him a question, he can't say "yes". He always says "no."

He doesn't understand "after A we will do B."

He is a pain to take in public.

I can't go to the library at all. If I visit friends, he runs around tearing up their house while I chase him. I never know how the grocery store will go.

He is forty inches tall. He can reach everything. Nothing is safe from his grasp. It's like babyproofing for King Kong - it isn't going to do you any good.

There. I wrote it and I feel I am no less frustrated. Maybe it's because he got up at four freaking twenty in the morning. I want some sleep and maybe a weekend off from this child, maybe even a week.

Does this make me a bad Mom?

Good Grief - I Never Post Here

2006-04-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

I had the best intentions with this blog and I never seem to get to it.

Maintaining two blogs seems beyond me.

I called my insurance company to see if they would provide any extra services for my son, such as speech therapy.

They said, "NO."

A speech therapist is considered "behavioral" not "medical".

Tricky aren't they at avoiding treating autism?

So, if you are considering getting Cigna, DON'T, at least if you have a special needs child.

Sunny Select Vanilla

2006-04-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

I purchased some Sunny Select Vanilla at the store. This is the Raley's store brand.

It didn't say if it was gluten-free so I called Super Store Industries. They are the company that distributes it.

They said that their vanilla and all their other extracts and flavorings are gluten-free.

Thought I'd pass it on.

Unimpressed with Campbells

2006-04-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

I purchased a bottle of Prego spaghetti sauce. Of course the last ingredient listed was "natural flavors" or something like that. I HATE when the companies put natural flavors or artificial flavors or spices. Crap and double crap!

So I e-mailed Campbells (they make Prego) to ask if the sauce was gluten/casein free.

They e-mailed me back and told me that they would mail me a list of their gluten free products if I supplied my address.

I supplied my address but also replied that I also needed the products to be casein free.

They mailed me a very short list with a few gluten free things and a note that said they did not have a list of casein free products.

WTH! Don't they know what goes in the food they're selling.

The list is useless for me.

Beware Campbell's. They get a bad company rap in my book and I won't be buying their products if I can help it.

IPP Meeting

2006-03-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

A lady from Alta Regional came out yesterday to discuss Sean's IPP. I can't remember what IPP stands for, but these are the services we set up.

I am signing him up for medi-cal. That way, if my insurance partially covers any extra services like speech therapy, medi-cal will pick up the portion they don't cover.

We are also signing up for respite services. I could have gotten more hours, but I picked two Saturdays twice a month for four hours. My husband is thrilled. I thought that was a good start, as it is eight hours more a month than we get now.

I can't think of anything else we set up service wise. We agreed that the goals for him in a year are:

Feeding self with spoon
Telling me when he has to go potty
Verbal compliance with commands at least eighty percent of the time

Alta also would have covered diapers for him. While the extra fifty bucks a month would be nice, I felt too guilty to take advantage of that.

Well it is already one o'clock and I have to pick him up at 2:30. I'd better finish vacuuming before he gets home. (He insists on stealing the vacuum.)

Del Monte Info

2006-03-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

I called Del Monte to make sure that their chili sauce was gfcf and received some excellent news.

I was told that, with the exception of their pre-made green bean casserole and their pasta sauces with meat, all their products are gfcf.

Woo-hoo!

Overdue for a Posting

2006-03-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to post SJ's behavior changes here, since this is the blog for it.

He has not had one of his post-nap tantrums all week. Usually he has a tantrum after he wakes up in the morning AND after his naps. None of that happened this week.

To watch a movie, he doesn't just say "moomie" anymore. He says "Clues, Tubbies, Yellow Deedee, Wiggles and Baby Apple."

Yellow Deedee is a Wiggles DVD with their picture on the front. He knows the difference between it and their other DVD which he calls "Wiggles."

He hugged his sister when she was crying and said, "I love you."

He touched his Dad very seriously and said, "You my Daddy."

He's doing great!

Scalloped Potatoes

2006-03-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

I have been neglecting this blog!

I think maybe SJ had something to eat that was suspicious this week. He was agitated and whiny. I am so tired of reading the ingredients on something and seeing the word "flavorings". AAARRRRGGGHHHH! That tells me nothing. Then I have to call or e-mail the manufacturer. I've sent out two e-mails now, one to Raleys and one to Prego, that were never answered. Thanks jerks!

Anyhoo, here is a gfcf scalloped potato recipe. It came out wonderful. I sucked them down. Well, I suck everything down, but they were good.

Scalloped Potatoes

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 TBS gfcf margarine
2 TBS potato starch
1 1/4 cup plain almond milk (because vanilla or chocolate would be nasty. hee hee)
3 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (3 cups)

For sauce, cook onion in margarine until tender. Stir in flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.

Place half the sliced potatoes in a greased one-quart casserole. Cover with half the sauce. Repeat layers.

Bake covered in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Uncover. Bake 30 minutes more or until tender.

(When I make these, I boil the potatoes on top of the stove until they are about half cooked. Then I assemble the casserole. That way, I only have to bake them in the oven for half an hour uncovered.)

Chicken Fingers

2006-03-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

I tend to eyeball things so this recipe may need to be adjusted according to your tastes.

4 cups potato chips
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 cup gfcf margarine, melted
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the potato chips in a large-sized ziploc bag. Smash them with a rolling pin. Put in the cornmeal, paprika, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix well.

Dip the chicken pieces in the melted margarine then into the flour to coat.

Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 20 to 30 minutes, until done.

More Milestones

2006-03-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

SJ did two new things this week. The cat was meowing outside to be fed. SJ went to get a cup of cat food to feed the kitty. Actually, he grabbed dog food, but it was the fact he showed awareness of the cat being fed that impressed me.

He also looked at his Teletubbies backpack and said, "Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, La-La, Po." He has learned the names from the music at the beginning of the show.

I am convinced that the dietary changes are bringing about the behavior changes.

Eureka

2006-03-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

I checked out a Bette Hagman dessert book from the library today. Then I discovered what I had done wrong with my cookie conversion!

The Bette Hagman flour substitute on tacanow.com is only for bread. That's why my coffee cake came out great but my cookies didn't.

I am going to have to buy a Bette Hagman cookbook. She explains the properties of the different flours and why you blend them the way you do.

I am also baking my way through the cookbook I purchased from kurly1@rogers.com off ebay.

Her belgian waffles are BETTER than wheat flour waffles. I made her snickerdoodles today. Yum.

I didn't like her chicken fingers, but that is because they had rice flour. I coat mine with potato chips and corn meal - much better.

SJ did much better this week now that he is on his diet. We still have tantrums but his behavior has improved A LOT from last week.

Making Progress

2006-03-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

SJ re-started on his gfcf diet last Monday, ten days ago.

Last week he had tantrums all week long.

This week he has improved immensely. He still has a tantrum a day, but he doesn't cling like he did.

He is also occasionally answering questions with, "okay."

When I usually ask him something, he just echoes it back to me.

Tonight I asked him, "Do you want to watch the Teletubbies?"

Normally he would say, "Tubbies?"

Tonight he said, "okay."

He is singing to his music more to instead of just humming along. There are real words coming out of him.

I am also having better luck baking gfcf treats. Phew.

SJ's Favorite Granola Bars

2006-03-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

This is another recipe from my ebay cookbook. It looks like bird poop, but tastes delicious.

Granola Bars

3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
4 cups puffed rice (I used crumbled up rice cakes)
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup chopped dates (I didn't have any - left these out)
1/2 cup raisins (Increased to a cup)
1/2 cup chopped apricots (Didn't have any)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I increased to 1/2 cup)

Combine peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup in a large bowl. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well. Spread into a 7 x 11 inch lightly oiled baking pan. (I used a 9 x 13) Cut into bars when cooled. Wrap each bar individually with plastic wrap.

The first time I made these, I also added half a cup of marshmallow creme to the first three ingredients, but SJ seems sensitive to marshmallow creme. Left it out this time.

Today he said, "Brrrrr, it's cold outside."

Finally Posting

2006-02-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Due to the stomach flu last week, SJ and I went off the gfcf diet.

I started him back on it Monday. He was like a little zombie, not horribly aware of his surroundings most of Monday.

Today he came back. He is a completely different child when he is on the diet.

That is all the proof we needed. We don't need a six week trial. We are sold on this diet.

Tonight was his birthday. He fell asleep at five and slept through dinner. We didn't cut the cake. That wouldn't have been very nice, would it?

I made him a yellow cake with vanilla pudding in the middle and chocolate frosting. It is all gfcf, of course.

My only complaint is that the pudding came out runny. I need a gfcf vanilla pudding recipe that will thicken. Maybe the corn starch needs doubled since almond milk doesn't thicken as well as cow's milk.

The cake was from the taca website. I already know it is good because my daughter licked the bowl. Usually you can't stand to lick the bowl with some of these baked goods.

For dinner I made chicken nuggets, rice with coconut milk and corn. I think he would have liked it if he had been awake!

I made him a plate and put it in the fridge. He can have it for lunch tomorrow.

More Good Food

2006-02-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made refried beans, Spanish rice and carnitas. Everything came out great.

SJ enjoyed the rice a lot.

We need to buy more grapes. He hasn't been getting enough fruit and veggies.

I found gluten free pasta at Trader Joe's. It was only two dollars a bag. For that price, the whole family can eat it.

I tried a chocolate cake recipe today. It tasted enough like the real thing that nobody would know. I did accidentally put extra baking soda and baking powder in it. I thought I was using a measuring teaspoon and I was using a TABLESPOON. Duh!

It rose very high!

I saved the recipe. It's a keeper.

If Amazon ever sends my copy of "Special Diets for Special Kids", I will be a happy camper.

Tamales and Carnitas, Hooray!

2006-02-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law brought up tamales this weekend. My little guy loves tamales. If I am correct, there is not one wheat or dairy thing in tamales, especially if I make them myself.

I also looked up a carnitas recipe on-line. I am cooking some tomorrow. I have corn tortillas ready and some pico de gallo sauce.

We are eating something besides meatloaf. Of course, if anybody has a good carnitas recipe they want to share, I am all ears. Hint hint. :^D

Some Good Stuff

2006-02-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to buy some sorghum flour and I happened to spot some Rice N Shine Cereal.

This morning I cooked it with raisins added. Then I put in sugar and vanilla almond milk. SJ and I both loved it. It was really, really good.

Last night, I made a white sauce with chicken stock, almond milk and potato starch. It came out good also.

I am feeling much less discouraged than I did yesterday. Yay!

Discouraged

2006-02-16T12:04:00.002-08:00

This is discouraging.

There are only so many ways to have meat and potatoes or meat and rice. Even my son has quit eating as much stuff. He is sick of this diet too.

Everything I bake tastes like crap. It is not the same as the "real deal." Rice flour sucks ass! Rice milk does too!

I have gained so much weight in less than two weeks that I can't even fit in my fat pants.

Is this all there is? Does it ever get better?

Does my son have to eat sucky food the rest of his life?

Last night he wanted a piece of wonder bread and I felt horrible not giving it to him.

Yuck, yuck, yuck! Yucky diet!

Short Post

2006-02-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

I made the chicken nugget recipe from the tacanow website.

They were delicious.

Too bad the kids wouldn't eat them. LOL

Back to the drawing board I go.

Sweets For My Sweet

2006-02-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

Everybody is getting chocolates tomorrow. SJ needs some too so I hand-dipped some today. He had a taste test and loved them.

Peanut Butter Balls

1 cup powdered sugar
1 stick gfcf margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups gfcf pretzels, crushed (about two bags the 2.65 oz size)
1 cup peanut butter
1 to 2 bags gfcf chocolate chips
1 to 2 TBS shortening

Mix powdered sugar, margarine, pretzels and peanut butter. Form into small balls.

In double boiler, melt chocolate chips with one tablespoon of shortening added for each bag of chips.

Dip peanut butter balls in chocolate.

Put dipped balls on cookie sheet covered with wax paper (I used tin foil)

Put in freezer to harden.

Keep frozen or refrigerated. Very good stuff.

Adventures In Cooking

2006-02-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

I read some more on gluten-casein free and came across the part that says I need to use a separate waffle iron and toaster for the boy child. Sigh.

I also went grocery shopping Friday. I carefully read every label. It was confusing and frustrating and it took forever.

This week, I stocked up on cooking needs at the health food store. I thought I had everything I needed. I have potato flour, tapioca flour, corn starch, bean flour, rice flour and brown rice flour. Thirty-three dollars, please, cha-ching!

But wait, I realize I need potato starch and tapioca starch and I am almost out of rice flour. I have already gone through one box of rice flour and one box of tapioca flour.

This crap is expensive! I'm not even counting the package of xantham gum that costs twelve dollars. A little pint of rice ice cream was three dollars!

The almond milk and rice milk aren't cheap either. I've discovered that the almond milk is quite delicious. Of course, it costs more than the rice milk.

I want, so badly, a big glass of fat-free cow's milk. I would arm wrestle my poor grandma for some right now. I also want syrup on my pancakes, not jelly! I've heard Aunt Jemima syrup is gluten-casein free, but I need to call them to make sure.

I am gaining more weight and I am a big, fat disgusting blob. I feel very limited on what I can cook for dinner. This will pass, I'm sure, as I discover new recipes, but right now I'm fat and frustrated.

This morning, I made tapioca and rice flour waffles. They were okay. Even my picky middle child ate them. She complains about everything so I was pleasantly surprised.

This afternoon, I made some peanut butter chocolate bars. They were good. I ate half the pan. Oops.

Here is the recipe for the bars. I purchased a cookbook from a lady on ebay. For 2.99, she will e-mail it to you in adobe acrobat format. It's not a bad little book.

Easy Nut Bars

1 egg
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. beat egg and sugar until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, peanuts and vanilla. Blend well. Spoon into a lightly oiled 8x8 baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Top with chocolate chips as soon as you remove the pan. Spread with spatula or knife when chocolate chips have melted. Cut into squares when cool.

Watch out for Carolyn or she will eat them all.

Feeling Lazy

2006-02-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

I should post what SJ ate today, but I am too darn tired.

I did make a vanilla pudding with rice milk. I rolled it in a homemade gfcf crepe and he loved it. Hurray a successful recipe.

He had too many carbs today and not enough veggies, but I think I upped his protein/calcium intake.

And I noticed today, thanks to a friend, that there is a tiny bit of gluten in the rice milk that I am using. So I have to find another, probably more expensive, kind.

Yeesh.

Does anybody have a good vitamin reccomendation for him?

Fourth Day

2006-02-08T18:38:00.000-08:00

I forgot to write down what SJ ate today. He didn't do quite as well as yesterday. He doesn't want the chocolate rice milk at all. Calcium source ideas anyone?

He didn't flap his arms much today until we went to the health food store. Then he saw a ceiling fan and got very excited. There was also a water fountain he tried to climb in.

Today's intake:

3 cups of apple juice, at least
1 cup of chocolate rice milk
A pancake (crepe really) with sugar
1 piece of chocolate cake
A few bites of chicken soup
A hamburger patty with ketchup. Is ketchup bad?
1/2 blueberry breakfast bar (not as popular as they were)
Chocolate cookie
A few chicken nuggets (This was not such a great recipe. You win some, you lose some.)
A few bites of fried potato
A few bites of corn

I just realized how dismal his fruit and veggie intake was today by looking at this. Oops. We'll try harder tomorrow.

Third Day of GFCF

2006-02-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

Today I took SJ to the same Tuesday morning group I usually take him to. The group lasts until eleven-thirty but we always leave at ten-thirty to get home in time for speech therapy.

He always plays around the edges of the room, playing with the copy machine, trying to push the buttons on the alarm, generally being a turd.

Today he played near the other kids and with them quite a bit more than usual, and when it was time to leave he said, "no."

He ALWAYS leaves willingly, like he doesn't care that we're there. Today, though, he didn't want to leave. Woo hoo.

He did flap his arm a bit today when Tish, his speech therapist, got here. He was very excited. He flapped a little bit more the rest of the day, but not much.

He LAUGHED while he was watching TV. (Teletubbies) He never does that.

I went to the grocery store to buy some of the things I needed to bake gfcf. Xantham gum was on my list until I saw it was twelve dollars. Ouch.

Today he had:

2 cups apple juice
Lots of water
1 large bowl chicken soup from last night's dinner
half a fried egg
1 1/2 blueberry cereal bars
half a piece of toast with peanut butter
some grapes
1 hamburger patty
1 serving of corn
2 tator tots (I think these are gfcf, but need to check online)
Homemade gfcf chocolate cake with frosting - A BIG PIECE
Potato chips
A few sips of vanilla rice drink, but he doesn't like it much

My husband seems sold on this. I think he was unsure at first until the Teletubbies incident.

I'm afraid to get too excited, but still this is so neat.

Guarded Optimism

2006-02-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

My husband wants me to get SJ tested for gluten and dairy intolerance. I hope it just involves peeing in a cup - no needles please.

Today was day two of his diet. He didn't flap his arms once today! I'm very excited.

Today's food intake was:

2 bowls of grapes
3 cups of apple juice
1 1/2 cups of chocolate rice drink (He's not liking this as much as he did.)
A few bites of potato fried in oil
A bowl of gf pasta with Ragu tomato sauce
2 blueberry breakfast bars (A very popular food item.)
1 large bowl of chicken soup

I made the chicken soup with chicken, broccoli, carrots, onion, potato, salt & pepper. I was going to add seasoning salt, but it had whey in it. Everything seems to have whey in it!

It came out great. Usually, I use chicken bouillon, but it also has whey as did the vegetable bouillon.

SJ is actually eating more food than usual, probably because I am spoon feeding him. He doesn't like to feed himself.

"A" got in trouble for leaving her milk on the table. This was, of course, after I warned her not to and explained why. She is used to being a slob and she can't leave her dirty plate out anymore. I'll get her trained. It is past time!

Day One of the Diet

2006-02-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

"SJ" is not a big fruit and vegetable fan and it will show in today's food choices. He didn't seem to notice the difference between the gluten-free and regular food. Whoopee!

SJ's daily intake:

2 sippy cups chocolate rice dream drink (fortified with calcium)
2 sippy cups apple juice
Water - not sure how much.
1/2 poached egg on 1/2 piece of gluten-free toast
2 Glutine brand blueberry breakfast bars (He loved these.)
1 bowl gluten-free pasta with Ragu organic pasta sauce
Few bites of baked potato with Nucoa margarine (dairy free)
Several bites of basmati rice
Few bites of salmon
Four or five grapes

Offered to him but he didn't eat - apple,peas and hot cereal

I will have to find a healthier juice than apple juice and more fruit and vegetable choices for him. He is hard to feed. He doesn't like to stop to eat AND he is picky. Joy joy!

I have not seen any major behavioral changes but it is only day one.

Trying A New Diet

2006-02-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

Our son was recently diagnosed with PDD. I didn't think it had anything to do with diet.

However, he recently had a bowl of Weetabix and started bouncing off the walls.

So we are going to try a gluten-free and casein-free diet.

I want to chronicle what we have purchased and what he has eaten and see the correlations in behavior with each food.

Then we will see if it works. I am hopeful but I know this won't be easy. And boy are these gluten-free products expensive!