What Going Gluten Free Does to Your Kitchen

For years, I was the type of person who didn't even have her own blender. My kitchen appliances consisted of a stove, fridge, microwave, a crock pot, and a toaster oven that was a gift from my parents. (I'd have bought a regular toaster.) I had a spice rack filled with spices, which was also a gift, and went mostly unused for over a decade. My hand-held mixers were used for cookies maybe two or three times a year, if that. After living on my own for about 7 years, I also sprang for a rice cooker.

Going gluten- and dairy-free changed all of that. Yes, Willow is also dairy-free now. Turns out casseine doesn't agree with her. We were soy free for a while, but she has grown out of it, which made our lives incrementally easier.

In trying to keep Willow's life as normal as possible, I have acquired an entire kitchen-full of implements. I am now the proud owner of a blender, an automatic mixer with different attachments, a salad spinner, an electric orange juicer, a much larger crock pot, and most surprisingly of all, canning supplies. Yup. I canned my own strawberry preserves last weekend. The only thing missing was the flowery apron with lace around it. (I have an apron, but it's black with a picture of a parrot saying "Forget the cracker, Polly wants wine!")

The amount of purchases I've made for my kitchen in the past two years is something I don't really like to contemplate. I've added utensils, baking pans, candy pans, food thermometers, and a rack-and-pan combo for this year's Thanksgiving turkey.

I've used spices I'd never even heard of before, created no less than four pumpkin pies from scratch, made gluten-free play-dough for Willow's school, and discovered delicious ways to cook jicama, yucca root, jerusalem artichokes, kale, cabbage, and fennel. I've even grated fresh ginger for recipes instead of converting it to the dried, ground stuff.

This diet is life-changing, and yes, a little scary at first. But I would also say it can be very enriching. I have a whole new skill set that I'd never imagined having. I really enjoy meeting other people who are starting out on this diet and helping them make the transition. My grocery store trips are now worry-free since I know what to look for and feel comfortable making judgement calls on what to try and what to avoid.

Yes, my kitchen is now a perpetual disaster zone, with more appliances than I have counter-space. Yes, it often feels as though I will never see the bottom of my sink ever again, and that my stove-top will forever be stained. But the oddest thing happened when going gluten-free: I found I get a huge sense of accomplishment from trying a new recipe and succeeding at it. I like cooking now. Go figure.

This is Totally a Plug

There's a new gluten-free flour mix in town my friends, and it's freaking fantastic! I cannot urge you enough to try Tree Street Grains gluten-free pancake mix. This mix mimics the flavor of whole-wheat flour instead of your standard all-purpose flour. They have a recipe on the back that makes great pancakes or waffles, but I've also managed to use it in two of my favorite pancake recipes and I'm going to provide those here. I'm also currently trying to adapt my favorite  chocolate chip cookie recipe with it and will let you know how that goes.

This first recipe is courtesy of a dear friend of mine, named Kristin, that gave it to me and my ex-husband years ago. The only thing I had to modify for the Tree Street Grains mix was to add some vanilla extract.

Omelet Pancakes
(serves 6)
3/4 cup sifted Tree Street Grains gluten-free pancake-mix
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs, beaten

1) Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl
2) Stir in milk slowly and beat to form a smooth batter
3) Stir in beaten eggs, blend well
4) Pour 1/2 cup of batter on very hot greased 10" griddle; spread batter to edges
5) Cook about 20 seconds until browned
6) Turn, brown on other side
7) Remove to warm plate. Keep warm in oven while cooking remaining pancakes.
Tastes wonderful wrapped around cooked sausages, cranberry sauce, strawberries and whip cream, cinnamon-sugar or applesauce. Roll up if you wish.

This recipe is courtesy of Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.  I had to double the recipe simply because I have a large family. If you cut it in half, use an 8x8 dish and check the oven after 15 minutes to see how they're coming along. I also had to add the vanilla extract and take out the baking soda, since the Tree Street Grains mix already has enough baking powder in it. I recently had to learn a LOT about the difference (or should I say similarities) between baking powder and baking soda, so just trust me on this.

German Pancakes
(serves 6)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup Tree Street Grains gluten-free pancake-mix
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease a 9x11 oven-safe dish.
2) In a blender, beat the eggs until thick and fluffy. Gradually add the flour blend, salt, and milk and blend until well mixed. Beat in the butter.
3) Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. After removing from the oven, the center will fall slightly.
4) Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

This is a Utah-based company, so you can order online or find their mixes at your local Harmons. They do also make a non-gluten-free flour mix for anyone interested in trying it out. So go out and support a great local business!

In other news, Willow starts Kindergarten August 3rd! She's super-excited for it and so am I, though I'm feeling a big nervous about managing her diet. She's not a big sandwich eater, so I need to start working on some ideas for her. Lots of apples, that's for certain. She loves those!

For her birthday, we're pitching in with her Dadoo to buy her a loft-bed with a desk underneath. We took her to Ikea while looking for a bed and she wanted to test out everything in sight. I don't think we've ever sat in so many chairs or sofas on a visit before. 

I'd better start working on deciding what type of cake to order for her birthday too. I like to be prepared for these things and her birthday is approaching quickly. I can't wait to see what the local gluten-free bakeries have to offer!

OMG this Cornbread!

This won't be a long post. I just HAVE to share this corn bread recipe.

Pumpkin Corn Bread
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of ground white pepper
2 eggs
1 cup puréed fresh or canned pumpkin
1 cup sour cream
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1.    Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square cake pan.  (I use this pan with my gluten-free breads or cakes to get more even heating.)
2.    Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and white pepper in a mixing bowl.
3.    In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the pumpkin, sour cream, and 7 tablespoons of the melted butter until smooth.
4.    Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes (possibly up to 25 minutes for high altitude). Serve warm, cut into pieces.

Oh The Food!

The past several weeks have been a very busy time, but during it, we've learned a lot and had some truly great experiences with new foods. We've also had a few setbacks.

We've had a few instances where we believe Willow got some gluten in her system, though we're not quite sure how; once at daycare and the other time at a sleep-over at her Aunt Lisha's house. As far as we can tell, it must have been either cross-contaminated food, or one of the children shared something with her that they shouldn't have.

One fight that we've constantly had is over lip gloss. Willow loves to wear it and I find her sneaking some of mine from time to time. Her best friend left some over at our house one day too, and I found Willow sneaking it up to her room.

Then, in March, our whole family started getting sick with a cough and sore throat. Without thinking, I gave Willow some Delsym cough syrup one night as she was going to bed, hoping it would help. She spent the next few days with tummy cramps and diarrhea. I could have kicked myself...several times.

For the most part, though, things have gone pretty well. At daycare, Tina has been a dream to work with. She can't always come up with a gluten-free lunch for Willow, but she tries to at least a few times a week. She's even purchased GF snacks for Willow so that I don't have to constantly supply them.

Also, again, I cannot recommend Harmons grocery store enough. We've found some fantastic gluten-free foods there. They're carrying a new local brand of GF flour called Tree Street Grains. We tried their pancake mix and found that it can be used in any pancake recipe we have, not just the one they provide on the bag. The flour tastes a lot like whole-wheat flour and has a great texture if you're a fan of whole-grain foods. I'm going to try it in some chocolate chip cookies next.

Willow also wanted me to find her a GF hot cereal, so we bought Quinoa flakes and we flavor it with cinnamon, allspice and brown sugar. She devours every bowl.

Also, thanks to Harmons, we now have a fantastic pulled pork recipe. They were demo-ing it in the store and Jer and I fell in love with it. The recipe is extremely simple:

Pulled Pork

Buy a Spoon Roast, some Stubbs Spicy BBQ Sauce, some Pepperlane Raz-Pepper Preserves and some raspberries.

Put the spoon roast in a crock pot and cook for half a day at medium heat. Pour out the fat. Add several spoon fulls of the BBQ sauce, a heaping spoon full of the preserves and a handful of crushed raspberries. Turn the heat up to high and cook for another few hours. (Make sure you stir it or it will burn to the side of your crock pot.) When it's done, the meat will just fall apart.


The next recipe is VERY fattening, but if done right, you just won't care.

Maple Glazed Sweet Potato and Sausage

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes
3 Tbsp butter or gluten-free margarine.
1 lb smoked sausage cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used Harmons breakfast sausages instead of smoked sausage and cooked them on the side first)
1 medium onion, halved crosswise and cut into thin wedges
1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced (I recommend a tart green apple)
1/4 cup real maple syrup (not the type you put on your pancakes)
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg  
1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground red pepper or cayenne (we left this out since I have a gringo tongue) 

1. Bring 1 inch water and 1/2 tsp salt to boiling in a large saucepan. Add potatoes; return to boiling. Cover and cook over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain well. 
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage, onion and apple. Cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in maple syrup, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and red pepper, mixing well. 
3. Stir in sweet potatoes, stirring to coat. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly glazed.

We also had to come up with an alternative to Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup because we had a favorite recipe that called for it. I found a recipe online and modified it to make it gluten-free. This was my first home-made soup, so I was pretty nervous, but it ended up tasting fantastic. We used it as the sauce for a pork and pineapple stir-fry as well as for a chicken and rice casserole.

Golden Mushroom Soup

2  Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup white wine
1 lb mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 Tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp dill
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup gluten free beef stock
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
salt, to taste

1. Heat butter in a large pot and add the onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown; about 7-8 minutes. 
2. Add white wine to pot. Add the mushrooms and spices. Slightly lower the heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 
3. Add the soy sauce and stock. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes. 
4. In a separate small pan, mix the 1 tbsp butter and corn starch to form a thick paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until steamy and slightly thickened. 
5. Add the milk mixture to the soup; add the lemon juice to the soup. Stir well; serve. 

These are the best of the best that I've found so far, but I'll share some others later. It's been fun watching Willow get used to the new requirements of her diet. She has become very conscientious about asking me if things are gluten-free (now if only she'd be so conscientious with her friends). Some of my favorites questions so far have been, "Are those eggs gluten-free?", "Do those apples have gluten in them?" and the one I almost laughed aloud at, "Mommy, is your water gluten-free?"

She has also successfully attended two birthday parties. For those, I've made her some gluten-free brownies and I sent her to each party with one so she could share in the cake. I even frosted them for her.

The rest of us have simply been enjoying experimenting with the new foods. Our twins, especially, have been enthusiastic taste-testers.

On other topics, we recently got all of the girls library cards. They adore books and trips to the library are quite a treat for them. I haven't had a library card since I was in junior high or high school, so it was nice for me as well. It'll allow me to read all those short-stories or graphic novels my favorite authors put out but I don't want to purchase. Kim Harrison's are first on my list. Speaking of Kim Harrison, I just read her newest novel, Pale Demon, and it was amazing. I then went straight to J.R. Ward's newest, Lover Unleashed. I just finished that one tonight and I'm honestly not sure which of the two authors has me clamoring for the next novel the most.

Baby Erik has started walking and boy is he getting good at it. We bought his first pair of shoes recently and let him wander around outside at Jordan Landing for a while. He loved every second of it. He has also learned to say “Hey Budda Boo” which is one of his nicknames.

On the movie front, I recommend RED with Bruce Willis and Hellen Mirren in it. It's a grand romp of an action movie and I actually liked John Malkovich in it. He's not an actor I usually enjoy watching, but he was perfect for this role. It's definitely a fun one for a late night with the honey, after the kids are in bed.

Post Date-Night Contentment

Days 6-8

I’m in a great mood today. My husband, Jer, and I had our Valentine’s Day date last night. The twins were with their mom, and my ex-husband, Willow’s Dadoo, took her for the night, so Jer and I hit Five Guys for some gluten-filled hamburgers and fries. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and spent about an hour wandering care-free through the store. It’s what we did on our first date and we would have spent far more time there if we hadn’t had a very hyper Monster Babby with us. Afterwards we came home and bathed the baby (word of warning, the floor at B&N is REALLY dirty), then watched an episode of The Tudors.  All in all, it was a fabulous night. 

Also, I’m excited to say that Willow’s diarrhea has completely cleared up on the new diet. Yes, I know. You were on pins and needles waiting to hear that, weren’t you? We also haven’t had any problems with tummy aches in days. Dinners go fairly smoothly now, instead of being a string of complaints and half-eaten meals. Best of all, we’ve found a new gluten-free recipe that is absolutely divine. I’m going to share it here. It’s from Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus by Carol Fenster, Ph.D., pg 112.

Chicken Breasts and Mushrooms

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

3/4 cup dried gluten-free bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons brown rice flour

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup shredded provolone or Muenster cheese (or nondairy cheese of your choice)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1.                   Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into thin slices.

2.                   Combine the bread crumbs (a good way to use up your leftover gluten-free bread), thyme, and flour in a pie plate. Dip the chicken pieces into the eggs, then the crumb mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

3.                   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch-square baking dish.

4.                   Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and sauté on both sides until golden brown.

5.                   Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, top with the mushrooms and sprinkle the cheese on top. Pour in the wine. Bake for 30 to 40 minute or until the cheese melts and the liquid bubbles. Before serving, drizzle the lemon juice over the casserole.

We used the Muenster cheese. I left out the pepper (I’m not a fan) and we used maybe a quarter of the lemon juice that it says to use. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone.

Another recipe we’ve used is one that we’ve always enjoyed and it only required one adjustment: buying gluten-free Worcestershire sauce. We used Lea and Perrin’s. This recipe is from The Compleat(sic) I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken, pg 237.

Simpleburgers

Mix some chopped onion, salt and pepper with a pound of ground beef and fry some patties. Keep them hot somewhere and to the fat remaining in the pan, add:

1/2 cup cream

3 tablespoons gluten-free Worcestershire sauce

Stir it up, simmer a minute, then put the patties on a platter and pour the sauce on top.

Personally, we like to add sautéed mushrooms in the sauce. They’re fabulous with this recipe. We serve it with brown rice and steamed veggies. 

I found that a great way to make lunches for Willow to take to daycare is to simply use leftovers from the night before. It’s far less hassle than putting together sandwiches or packing hot dogs, and often there’s enough for her to have two days worth of lunch. Then I just have to worry about making sure she has snacks to eat. 

We’ve added a couple of things to her snack list. One of them we found at Sam’s Club. They’re called “Veggie Straws”. They’re organic, gluten-free, have 0 trans-fat and taste like potato chips. Monster Babby loves them too and has been gobbling them up any time I give him a few.  We also bought some GF Cinnamon Chex to replace Willow’s beloved Cinnamon Toast Crunch. 

The adjustments to our cooking habits are going well. We have certain pans set aside purely for cooking gluten-free meals. We’re also going to branch out a bit more with our veggies. We bought an acorn squash and are looking forward to having that this weekend. I’d cook it sooner, but Jer is going to be out for the next three nights. He’s attending the Life, The Universe and Everything conference at BYU. I’d have loved to go with him, but not with the Monster Babby in tow. I’ll attend next year though, when we can leave the little tyke with a sitter. 

I finished watching the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. It’s fantastic. Seriously, if you enjoy anime, or just really great story-telling, watch it. It’s everything cartoons should be and then some. Netflix has all three seasons available for instant play. I even picked up a Manga about the character Prince Zuko last night and am anxious to read it. 

For those of you who adore the trashy urban-fantasy romance novel subgenre, I’m really enjoying Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione. It’s the second book in the Demonica series. I read the first one when I was pregnant with Erik and had been meaning to get the rest of them ever since. In fact, now that the vacuuming and dinner are done, I think I’ll go spend some time curled up with my Nook.

Valentine's Day

Days 2-5

I’m not sure if it’s the stress of constant worry and research or if I’m just not getting enough sleep, but I feel like a slight breeze could knock me over right now. I know the sleep is at least partially to blame, because I’ve had some very odd dreams the last few nights. 

Friday morning started off well though. Willow was more than happy to eat the cereal, and the lunch I packed for her was the same as the day before except that I switched the rice crispy bar to chocolate flavor.

Early in the day, Tina called me to ask about some Frigo string cheese she was giving to the kids. It turned out that it’s safe. You have to watch cheeses and dairy products I’ve found. Some of them have dyes or preservatives in them that aren’t gluten free. Just tonight I had to run out and buy a different brand of sour cream because the kind I had on hand contained modified food starch. It’s possible it was still safe, but I couldn’t verify it for certain. I purchased Daisy Sour Cream instead since the only ingredient listed is grade A cultured cream. 

When I picked Willow up from daycare, she had eaten everything I’d packed for her. Tina and I discussed a few more items, like the yogurt she gives to the kids. She had given Willow some salad earlier but no salad dressing. She told me which kinds she had on hand: Hidden Valley Ranch and Heinz Salad Vinegar. I couldn’t find anything conclusive online for the Hidden Valley so I’ve nixed it for now, and the Heinz contained malt vinegar, so that also had to go. However, Trix Yoplait yogurt cups are safe!

For dinner, we went with the Harmon’s bratwursts and sauerkraut cooked in Redbridge beer. Willow will get a baked potato on the side while the rest of us will have pirogies. (Hence the grocery run for some new sour cream.) 

I don’t want to make this a blow-by-blow listing of every meal , so I’ll just hit the highlights of the weekend. Saturday night I had to run to the store to find some Teriyaki sauce that I’d read was gluten free. I found it and glanced over the ingredients and didn’t notice anything wrong. I took it home and it was after my husband had poured it over our chicken and veggie stir-fry that he noticed what I had missed. “Natural Flavors (including malted barley extract)”. I’d completely missed it. Luckily we still had some of the GF chicken nuggets in the freezer, so Willow had that instead.

Sunday morning, we had Bob’s Red Mill pancakes. I’d heard mixed reviews on these but was very pleasantly surprised. They were wonderful and all of the kids, even baby Erik (aka Monster Babby, misspelling intentional) gobbled them up. I’d definitely recommend them though you’ll probably need to add a bit extra milk. 

Sunday was a bad day for me though. The stress of the kids, work, the poor sleep and the constant worrying over what Willow was eating had finally worn on me too much and I ended up snapping at Willow pretty severely because she insisted on asking me to do something for her even though I’d repeatedly asked her to go to her sisters for help. Apparently my wonderful husband realized how bad off I was and took Monster Babby and Willow downstairs so I could sleep a couple more hours. 

I spent a great deal of time Sunday planning out a menu for the entire week. It was very stressful, partially because I was doing it at my Mother-in-Law’s house and all four of our children and their 5 cousins (all boys) were there, wreaking havoc. I was amazed I made it through the visit without snapping. 

We went shopping for all the items we needed that evening and found some Udi’s GF bread in the freezer section. $5.19 for a very small loaf. I was shocked. I don’t think bread will be making a very big appearance in our meals for a while, at least, not until I learn to make my own. 

For her daycare Valentine’s Day party today, I decided to get M&M’s. This was her first party and she was very excited about it. We went through the holiday section at the store and she ooh’ed and aah’ed at all of the plush toys, roses and balloons. When we got home tonight, I went through the bag and took out all of the unsafe candies and replaced them with little packs of M&M’s. There were only 5 that needed replacing, including some no-brand lip gloss that she’d really wanted to wear.

And that’s the thing that’s been killing me over the past several days: You have to watch EVERYTHING. Foods, drinks, lip glosses, lotions, medicines, vitamins…it’s daunting when you’re first starting out. The incident with the teriyaki sauce upset me more than I’d have expected. It truly helps to have a spouse or other family member watching out for you. My mother is also on the look-out, sometimes calling me from the grocery store to tell me about an item she just found, or emailing me information she found online. 

Also, I decided to put down the book I was reading, Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. It’s a fantastic book and I want to read it very badly, but not right now. There’s nothing relaxing about it. I usually read to get away from life and that book actually makes things far more real. I’ll pick it up again later, once I’ve got some experience with this new diet under my belt. Until then, my escape will be a trashy, urban-fantasy/romance novel. In other words, my usual vice. I’m also watching the cartoon series of Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you’ve seen the movie, don’t judge the cartoon by it. The cartoon is far better; the characters are more developed, the story line is more coherent, and the special effects don’t bore you to death. I’m on the third season and will be watching some more tonight before bed.

My Gluten-Free Adventure

Ever since Willow was a baby, she’s had a lot of diarrhea. At the age of three, she started complaining about tummy aches, usually around dinner time. When I was young, I’d had heartburn quite frequently, so I tried asking her to describe the pain. Only once did she ever seem to be describing heartburn, and a Tums cleared it right up that time. But the nightly tummy aches persisted. We talked to the doctor about it and she had us test the diarrhea, but none of the tests found anything. The doctor suggested that sometimes children complain when they find it gets them attention, so we tried giving her a placebo (an orange tic-tac). Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Conversations with her doctor always suggested different things, and we tried everything she came up with. 

When she was three and a half years old, we decided to take her off lactose.  This was the first thing that seemed to make a truly positive difference. After a few months on soy milk, we started buying Lactaid and her diarrhea greatly improved…but the stomach aches kept on coming. We tried Tums and children’s Pepto Bismol tablets, but nothing seemed to help consistently. I had to face it. She was probably gluten-intolerant, like her father.

She's four and a half now. Last week we had her tested for Celiacs Disease. This is only one form of gluten-intolerance though, and it’s also the only one they can test for by drawing blood, so when the test came back negative I had only two choices left: put my daughter through an endoscopy or change her diet radically. It was a pretty simple choice.

So I dug into the internet, contacted my friends on Facebook, got in touch with my mother who had done a little experimenting with gluten-free recipes when I was married to Willow’s father. I started putting together a plan to switch Willow to a gluten-free diet and set the date for February 10^th. I hit the local grocery store the night before to pick up items for her breakfasts and lunches. I could only hope that I would be able to get her to eat whatever I found.

Day 1

Willow woke up early this morning and went downstairs to watch Despicable Me while her sisters prepared for school. I’d had a rough night sleeping. Researching this new diet has caused me a bit of stress and I’d spent the whole night dreaming about it. I’d even realized, while dreaming, that I wasn’t sure that Willow’s Lactaid tablets were gluten free. So upon waking, I headed straight for the internet and my phone. While waiting on hold for the Lactaid Customer Service rep, I did a quick Google search. Both my search and the rep verified that the tablets are safe. Next step: Get Willow to try a new cereal.

Willow isn’t an overly picky eater, but it’s difficult to get her to try something for the first time, especially at 7:30 in the morning. I showed her the cereal box of Koala Crispies (cocoa flavor). She wasn’t interested. I opened it and pulled out a few grains and explained they taste like chocolate. She cried, “No! I don’t want it.” I put some in my mouth and told her how yummy they were. Still she shook her head as tears filled her eyes. 

I sat her on my lap. “Remember how last night we talked about the new foods we’re making for you now? They’re going to make your tummy feel all better. Don’t you want your tummy to stop hurting?”

“No. I want my cereal and milk,” she cried.

“I know honey, but that cereal is making your tummy hurt. This kind is super yummy. Will you please try it? For mommy?”

“Noooooo.”

Not sure what to do next, I just held her in my arms as she cried for her Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Finally, inspiration hit. A while back, I had started a bed-time trend that I’d soon come to regret. To ward off bad dreams, Willow’s Barbie and an Elmo doll both talk to her every night and promise to help her have happy dreams. Of course, now Willow can’t sleep without them and the conversations have become a bit repetitive and annoying to me. But they work. Maybe Barbie and Elmo could convince her to try the new cereal. I asked, “Do you think you could try it if Barbie and Elmo like it?”

Her eyes lifted to mine and the slightest little nod of the head was my answer. 

“Run upstairs and get them then and I’ll get your bowl ready.” 

She returned with them a moment later and I held out a spoonful of the new cereal for Elmo. For some odd reason Elmo and Barbie always seem to side with Mommy, so naturally, Elmo loved the new cereal! He raved about how good it was and how Willow should try it. Next it was Barbie’s turn. Barbie has very good manners and stated that the cereal was “just lovely”. Willow was finally willing to give it a shot. I poured some milk in, gave her a Lactaid, and held up a spoonful for her. 

The suspense was killing me as she chewed it slowly, but then her eyes lit up, she smiled up at me and said, “Mommy! I like it!”  SUCCESS!

She ate the rest of the bowl rather greedily, and asked for a second helping. (I’d only given her a tiny amount for the first bowl.) After finishing the second bowl, it was time to explain lunch to her.

I pulled out the lunchbox that I’d packed for her the night before. Inside was a gluten-free hotdog, some Heinz Ketchup, an apple cut into small chunks, an EnviroKids Crispy Rice bar (peanut butter flavor), and some Almond Nut Thins (cheddar cheese flavor). I also grabbed a banana, just in case she didn’t like something in the lunch.

“This is your special lunch to eat at daycare today. None of the other kids get to eat this. It’s specially made just for you.” I pointed out the different items. “Tina will let you know when you can eat each one.” Willow took this news very well and wanted to carry the lunchbox (a Buffy the Vampire Slayer collectible that was an old Valentines Day gift to me from her father) out to the car.

Tina, her daycare provider, was outside when we got there. I explained the items to her and told her that I expected Willow would love the rice crispy bar, but worried she might not like the crackers much. Those were her snacks for morning and afternoon. The banana was there for backup if she didn’t like one of them. I wasn’t worried about the hotdog and apple. Willow loves those.

I went to work and spent some time talking to a coworker that has a daughter with Celiacs. She was extremely helpful and generously offered some recipes as well as her cell phone number in case I ever need some advice. In between work projects, I also Googled several food items I had around the household to see if they were safe, as well as checking on some of Willow’s favorite candies. After all, the Valentine’s Day party is coming up soon.

Part way through the day, I also received a call from the local grocery store, Harmons. Yesterday I had emailed them to ask if their bratwursts were gluten-free. Instead of emailing me back, they called me personally to let me know that yes, all of their brats and sausages are gluten-free. I was impressed with the customer service and thrilled with the news because Willow adores both brats and sausage. 

When I went to pick up Willow, the day had gone very smoothly, though not as I’d anticipated. Turns out Willow loved the crackers and devoured them during morning snack time, but in the afternoon she only took three bites of the peanut butter rice crispy bar and didn’t want the rest. She always loved peanut butter granola bars, so I was rather surprised. Tina and I discussed future meal ideas. I’ll keep providing meals for a while as Tina and I both learn more about gluten intolerance, but we found that a lot of what Tina serves will be perfectly safe. She uses a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables for the kids.

Planning dinner was a bit more stressful.  We hadn’t given quite as much thought to it the day before and were winging it. We decided to have Parson’s Ham, which is ham covered in rice and cheese, and garnished with peaches with brown sugar on them. A phone conversation with a good friend of mine helped me decide the rice should be fine, even though I couldn’t guarantee there wasn’t cross-contamination with other products in the packaging plant. However, after researching the ham, I found we couldn’t guarantee it was safe for Willow. I had purchased some gluten-free chicken nuggets last night and eventually decided to give her those with some rice and peaches on the side. It worked out splendidly. She ate every bit of it and was still hungry for more. She also got to have some Breyer’s Neopolitan ice cream. But the best part of all was that Willow never once complained of a tummy ache and even told me her tummy felt just fine.

My husband had done some shopping earlier in the evening and had come home with Redbridge beer, which is gluten-free. The same friend that helped me with the rice, suggested it to us. We plan to use it for cooking bratwurst and sauerkraut. He tried it and was impressed with the flavor. Brats and sauerkraut are on the menu for tomorrow night. 

Finally it was time for bed and one last worry reared its head.  What about the toothpaste? Thankfully, yet another Google search helped us determine that all Crest toothpastes are gluten-free. Day one was done…unless you count the hour long bedtime routine of reading, brushing hair and having the nightly Elmo/Barbie discussion. We’re currently reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. It’s a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.  

There have been moments over the past couple of days when this has all felt extremely overwhelming. The trouble over the breakfast cereal this morning almost had me in tears. I keep wondering what types of things Willow will have to do without in life and how I can make that easier on her.  I couldn’t be more grateful for all of the friends and family that have offered me their help in taking this on. My daughter’s health is worth everything to me.