Re: starting GFCF diet

May 29, 2003

,

Thanks so much...you and so many others have been extremely helpful to me.

Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions. I'm already off to a great start

with the gluten part of the diet--the boys are already cassein free(about 2 or 3

years now). We have also been using the Houston enzymes when we would cheat on

the diet--now I will use them to hopefully catch minor infractions(let's hope

they're minor) Thanks again....

a

starting gfcf diet

a--

I have signed up to be a diet support person for Houston, so I'm happy to

help. I've been thinking about doing a cooking day one time, but we all

live so far from each other. If you wanted to swing by, I'd be happy to

give you a run through of my kitchen. And always happy to e-mail about

specific questions.

A few tips before starting. . . .Since your kids are older, you should phase

the diet in more gradually. Also, try not to start anything new for a

couple of week when they finally get completely gluten & casien free. My

Karl had two & a half weeks of really bad diarrhea when we finally got GFCF,

and he had already been CF for 3 months and ate very little gluten. I would

almost suggest getting some enzymes for your kids too to help them with the

transition.

It's much easier to phase out casien. You may want to start cutting

whatever milk they drink with whatever you're going to substitute. After

lugging hundreds of tetrapaks home, I have become a huge fan of Vance's

Dairy Free (www.vance'sfood.com) 10 lb powder. Also, many GFCF recipes use

dairy free.

www.gfcfdiet.com has a great diet starter pack for $40. It's horribly

written and edited, but it's the best place I've seen to start learning all

the places where gluten lurks. It also has a three week shopping list.

For snacks, you can always use www.kinnick ? (I don't use them, but they're

on the gfcf shopping source that I'm sending you.) They overnight the best

doughnuts muffins and other goodies etc. Everyone raves about them.

I send you a list of GFCF shopping sources in Houston privately. Anyone

else who would like a copy, please e-mail me, and I'll forward one to them

too.

The key to success with the diet is to have a few recipes that can be

cornerstones while you're kids adjust to the diet. As you learn (and it's a

big learning curve) all the places gluten lurks, you can gradually pull more

and more gluten from their diet. My Karl is about as picky a child as any

out there, but he can live on eggs and pancakes. If you like, I will send

you my pancake recipe for him and to anyone else who would like it.

I like the first book (special diets for special kids) for the

information and a few of the dessert recipes, but I LOVE the Carol Fenster

books, Special Diet Solutions and Special Diet Celebrations.

Also, sign up for gfcfrecipes . They have an amazing,

searchable archive of just about every recipe you could ever think of. It's

a great place to brainstorm for subsitutions for a favorite recipe and pick

up tons of tips.

For snacks and on the road. . . .you can always use Mc's--just be sure

to ask for just the hamburger patties in a box (bring your own bun or not),

french fries and sprite. I learned how to pop popcorn on the stovetop, and

now that's one of my favorite snacks to take along, that and dry Rice or

Corn Crunch Ems (available most dependably from Whole Foods) Karl is

finally starting to eat carrot sticks with Tofutti Cream Cheese spread on

them. Also, fruit is a big hit--pears or sliced watermelon. Potato and

corn chips--there are quite a few brands that are gluten free--just check

those labels.

If your boys will eat beef sausage, there is a fabulous little butcher in

Industry (near Brenham) that makes a msg free fresh sausage. At

$1.89/pound, it's a STEAL. They are called Eckerman's. My outlook is

rebelling right now so I can't find their number. They also sell to some of

the meat markets in Brenham.

Let me know any other questions or concerns, and I'll be happy to help.

May 29, 2003