My Kids Have Celiac, Now what?!

So it's official, all the tests for Babies A and B have come back and they both have Celiac Disease. 

We are still new to our gluten free journey so we are sharing our findings with you in our new Adventures in Gluten Free Series . We have started to make many of the accommodations per the Doctors request, like a separate toaster to prevent cross contamination of foods since Hubby and Sissy are still NOT gluten free. 

this toaster was only $16 at WalMart- so changes do NOT need to be expensive!

So here's some menu item updates that you may want to add to your repertoire: 

* We are obsessed with Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix 

blueberry pancakes. recipe on back of bag of Pamela's Mix. I just add whatever fresh berries I have on hand!

We have used it to make pancakes, muffins, scones, coffee cake and biscuits. All have been DELICIOUS. 


* We have connected with different companies via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest; and we scored THIS gem Sunday from Udi's Gluten Free Foods.  

 

picture from HERE

 I made our meatballs out of ground beef, salt and pepper, chopped spinach, 1 egg, shredded Parmesan, a few tablespoons of soy flour to make them easier to form.

I have NEVER claimed to be a food photographer ;)

*  Another night we tried THIS recipe I found on Pinterest, but the zucchini at our grocer that day did not look that great, so we substituted summer squash. Still came out good and all the kids ate it! <3 

And if you're wondering why I always have tinfoil under my food lol, it's because it was another method the Dr recc for avoiding cross contamination with NON GF items ;) 

And we have always enjoyed fruits and veggies regularly, so being GF has clearly not changed the girls snacking habits much : 

blackberries right out of the carton. Yep, that's about right ;)

yep, the blackberries that day were a hit! <3

Enjoy!

What is your favorite ALLERGY FRIENDLY website or FB page?

Adventures in Gluten Free series: Part One

Since our journey into the world of Celiac disease and eating gluten free, we have had to make some (albeit not too significant changes) to our diet. I would say our diet itself has not changed dramatically, but paying attention to cross contamination is what we find most challenging thus far. I'm assuming (and also hoping) this gets easier with time and more knowledge! 

from www.piecesofamom.com

So, here are our faves so far in the categories of products and recipes. As we continue with this series, I will post more pictures (although admittedly I am NOT a food photographer ;)) and more complete recipes HERE for easy access. 

My hope with this series is that others with allergies or Celiac disease will benefit from the products and recipes here to feed their families gluten free, and on a budget <3 

Top 5 Necessity Products for our family of 6: 

1. fruit of all kinds, we are trying to stick more now than ever, with what is in season as to add some variety to our menu!
2. veggies. frozen are cheaper and contain the same, sometimes even better, nutrients. The only fresh we stick to are arugula for salads and baby carrots- a kiddo fave <3 and then whatever I might need for a particular recipe, of course!
3. meat. we buy organic when we can- cage free, grass-fed all that stuff. but sometimes, it's just not economical and Gluten Free can be expensive. So we are not below taking advantage of the managers' special!
4. Pamela's Products Baking and Pancake mix: we make everything with this! Pancakes, scones, coffee cake, biscuits- you name it! and it all has been DELISH <3
5.  Annie's microwavable Mac n Cheese (yes, we have 3 under 5, this is a necessity ;))

Top 5 DELISH treats or premade wonders we have discovered thus far: 

1. Larabar, preferably the choc chip cookie dough which is a house FAVE
2. cooksimple dinners made easy!
3. Visalus shakes adult and kid friendly, FULL of protein and nutrients, DELISH, easy and GF!
4. Trader Joe's Gone Bananas- dark chocolate covered banana slices FROZEN
5. Cabot Greek Vanilla Bean yogurt

Top 5 recipes I have made so far that the WHOLE family has liked! 

1. Garlic & Feta Baked Shrimp  OMG YUM is all I can say! 
2. Polenta Lasagna : I modified this recipe a bit though, and used ready made polenta and just made a "standard lasagna" replacing the noodles for "disks" of polenta. I used marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and arugula within my layers and it was delish! a bit watery, and I'm not sure why still, but next time I'll try less sauce. (we served this at a dinner party with other non-GF ers and everyone loved it!) 
3. Lemon & Thyme mushrooms, I served ours over polenta and cooked spinach
4. Caprese quiche: I just made a crust less quiche with 8 eggs, a splash of milk, goat cheese, basil, and 1 tomato. YUMMO breakfast/brunch idea and everyone had seconds for dinner with my stand-by sausage in the crock pot (pkg of mild Italian sausage in marinara sauce. place in crock pot on low for 6- 8 hrs)  mmmmmm....
5. Parmesan Baked Tomatoes  make an incredible side dish or quick lunch!  


 Now, share your FAVORITE recipes, sites, blogs, PINS, anything GF here! Then go and get cooking!! :) 

What makes you interested in GF cooking/foods? Are you gluten intolerant, trying to lose weight, have Celiac Disease???? Other reasons???? 

and What would you like to get out of our Adventures in Gluten Free Series?