Ready?
So I'm really glad for those of you are embarking on this adventure with me - whether you're already a gluten free family and ready to chip in week to week with all your valuable knowledge, or if you're trying to learn how to start a gluten free diet for your family, or if you're just reading along to plain ol' be supportive of this really big new change for my family.
I had a huge head start on what gluten free living would be like since my mom has been gluten free for a while now. I already understood the major food do's and don'ts and some of the trickier ones. Here's a simple way to start that I like to call : Gluten Free, 1-2-3 (oh yes I did, rhyming and everything. I know. Amazing)
1. Go to your library and try out these books (or, of course, order them from Amazon through my links
!) : Live Gluten-Free for Dummies by Danna Korn, Kids with Celiac Disease by Danna Korn, Gluten-Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern, and Wheat-Free, Worry-Free by Danna Korn2. Visit this page for a quick reference sheet for both yourself, friends, and family. It's an easy overview of what you can and cannot eat on a Gluten free diet. Visit here for a more in depth of the "cannot eat" ingredients. And use these pages to do #3 which is...
3. Purge your kitchen. Go through the fridge, cabinets, pantry, freezer, etc. It's easier to just get it out of the house instead of saving it for "Oh, maybe when we have guests." You'll use the wrong ingredients on accident thereby ruining an entire meal, or someone watching your child doesn't know better and gives them the glutenous food. Just do yourself the favor and give it to a friend or neighbor.
I would like to add that if you're looking at a label and you're not positive if it is gluten free call the 1-800 number listed, almost every single product has one. Also, Kraft has pledged that if their product is gluten free it will say so below the list of ingredients. So if you have a Kraft item that does not specify it is not ok for the GF diet.
Remember that food in it's most natural, unprocessed form is best for everyone - but also most easily identifiable as gluten free or not.
Lastly, I'd like to leave you with a link to a great blog that I know all mom's are going to love, whether you're a GF family or not. It's called A Year of CrockPotting and she shares a new crockpot recipe every day! And, all her recipes are gluten free. So you're going to want to subscribe to that one for when you need a new crockpot meal or if you're having your favorite Gluten Free family over for dinner ;-)
4 comments:
Hi Katie - I read about the changes in your family diet earlier - for whatever reason blogger wouldn't let me leave a comment. Glad you have good support for the switch - I know it's not easy per se but your family will obviously be better off. Take care!
I just found your blog, not sure how..maybe from SunnyBrookFarms. Anyway, hurray for you going gluten free. Over the past 6 months my family has been mostly GF. My husband has always had GI problems, allergies, headaches, etc. After researching and trying different things I finally thought we should try a GF diet for him because his symptoms were all leading me to Celiac's Disease. Wow, what a difference! No more GI problems, no more headaches, no more allergies...you get the idea. And to think he suffered through it his entire life. Yes, it seems to run in his family, but... Now, my girls and I eat a little bread here and there, but they're mostly GF too, as am I. Thanks for the links to GF sites.
Wow! I love the crockpot blog! Interestingly enough, I had planned this week's meals to consist primarily of crockpot meals (chili, lentils with ham and rosemary, pot roast with root vegetables....) so it's great to see that I have a bunch of new recipes to try out! Wahoo!
On the subject of gluten-free...wow again. I understand that it has to be hard to make such a big change. My mom tries to eat gluten-free as much as she can - she always feels better when she does. I can't imagine having to purge my kitchen like that - I hope you are feeling better than you did in that other post. I feel for you, sister!
And, I'm definitely going to take a look at those links! I don't really know much about gluten intolerance or what it looks like.
Love!
This recipe is really good. I like it because it's soooo simple and quick; Daniel and the kids like it because it's yummy. :) Sometimes I sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate chips on top to make it a PB-Chocolate dessert. But it's really good plain, too.
Thought I'd pass it along in case you're looking for a yummy treat for your kiddos who are being so cheerful about going without a certain many things!
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