Growing!

Just an update about me: I am growing! (yay!)  Here's a look at my growth chart thing:

Not only am I growing, but my headaches are almost all-the-way gone.  I still get the occasional headache, but only once every few months at the most.  I feel so much better all the time.

Milk: Yes or No?

Since it's been about six months, we decided to start introducing dairy again.  We started with hard cheese on top of pasta and stuff like that.  We also tried Kefir, a weird yogurt-milk thing, but I didn't really like it.  At a fundraising event, I also had a gluten free cheese pizza.  After multiple experiments, though, we don't know what to think.  After having dairy-loaded cheese pizza, I was perfectly fine.  But, having some shredded cheese one time had me in bed with a migraine.  Yesterday, we tried cheese again, and today I have no reaction.  Now, I think that whenever I have cheese I should write down what I ate and if I have a reaction.  That might help us figure out what is going on.  It's pretty crazy!

Gluten Numbers Go Down, Down, Down!

When I was first tested for my active antibodies toward wheat in August, my numbers were 122.  This was bad because the normal was between 0 and 20.  I was tested again recently, and my numbers were 15!  The dietitian says this means that we are doing really good about staying gluten free!  This is really exciting because it means that we are on the right track!

Halloween- Dissapointing...

I knew that I would not be able to eat a lot of candy, but I did not realize I would only get about seven pieces.  That's it.  I got two sour patch kids (only one gummy in a package) and five dum-dums.  No candy corn; no Hershey's; nothing.  Definitely disappointing,  but the good news is my dad is paying me for the candy I got so I can use that money to buy a bag of dark chocolate chips, which I can have! 

I CAN Believe It's Not Butter!

 We have found the perfect butter!  Smart Balance Buttery Spread Light with Flaxseed Oil!  This is gluten free, lactose free, non-dairy, and vegan.  It does contain soy(beans), the second ingredient.   Here are the ingredients:

water, oil blend (palm fruit, soybean, flaxseed, canola, and olive oils), Contains less than 2% of: salt, natural and artificial flavor, and then a whole bunch of long weird stuff.  It is very very good!

This is what it looks like!

Growing Chia Seeds

When my dad forgot to put chia seeds in the bread, I decided to use them instead of throwing them away.  2 weeks later: they have grown a lot and are still alive!  They have been living in the bathroom.  It was really easy!  I just put the soaked seeds in a pot and put dirt in it.  Now I want to grow all the seeds in the kitchen!  

School Lunches

School has started!  At the beginning of being gluten-free, my mom's main worry was packing a school lunch.  Now, we have figured out a lunch that is mostly the same but has some variations. 

We always have a "main course".  This is normally an udi bread, almond butter, margarine, and jam sandwich.  You can use different fillings, too. We also sometimes pack soup.  We found a canned soup that is gluten-free called Amy's Organic Soups.  My favorite flavor is something like english vegetable.  My mom has a special trick for keeping the thermos that we put it in warm: heat a pan filled with water on the stove and put the thermos in.  It works really great!  We have not tried a meal-in-a-thermos yet, but we plan to do one soon. 

Along with this, we always pack these items:

-Lunch meat in a container

-A granola bar

-A fruit cup

-Gluten Free Chips, pretzels

This way, we get protein, energy/sugar, fruit, and a yummy snack.  We have found that this is the best combo because it fills me and I like it!  When I get home, I have hummus as a snack and that usually lasts me a long time.  Now, lunch is one of my favorite meals!

504 Plan for Celiac

Today we went to school to meet with the vice principal and get a 504 plan.  504 plans accommodate a person's specific needs.  The 504 plan for me is for the following things:

1.  Allow me access to the staff microwave to heat my lunch, because cold rice is nasty.

2.  Excuse me from activities that involve wheat, like home economic classes or science experiments.  

3.  Allow bathroom privileges in case I need it in the future.

4.  Notification if there is a class treat so my parents can send a substitute gluten-free treat for me.

5.  Permission for missing a lot of school due to doctor visits.

We also talked about having a snack in my locker, because I get hungrier faster.  Number 3 does not apply to me yet, but in case I get these symptoms later it is already covered.  This should help some and let teachers know about my condition.  Hopefully this will help!

Check Hand Sanitizer!

On a whim, today we checked Bath and Body Works hand sanitizers, and they contain wheat ammino acids!  If you buy hand sanitizer, check it first!

Gluten Free on the Go

We just got back from Crater Lake, and now we know how difficult it is to be gluten-free on the go.  McDonalds and Burger King can no longer save you on long road trips.  We had the most trouble while driving.  When we got to the hotel, it was also difficult to get good meals that would keep us going.

For on-the-road and fast food, the best (and only) place that we found was Subway Sandwich.  They have gluten free bread (don't be surprised, it looks like hamburger buns) and are very careful to not contaminate it.  They open it in a wrapper, so no gluten gets on it while it sits in the back.  They wear fresh gloves and put the bread on a new piece of paper, also to prevent contamination.  Our helpers even asked us how severe our allergies to gluten were.  We were very impressed!  The bread does have a different texture, but is way better if you toast it!  Subway was a definite yes for gluten free.

We also made our own sandwiches with Udi's bread.  Udi bread is the best bread we have found, for taste.  The texture, similar to Subway bread, is a little different.  We put in lunch meat and lettuce and ate it with an apple.  This worked better when we assembled the sandwich at our destination because it kept the bread from getting soggy. 

We were very lucky and came across a Thai food place that served gluten free food.  Chicken satay, egg rolls, noodles... it was delicious!  We also brought potatoes, turkey and carrots to make a filling dinner meal.  On our last day, we ate at the Olive Garden in Eugene.  They actually had a separate health menu that included gluten-free items.  We had to ask for it, though.  The pasta we had was so good, I was afraid to eat it because I thought they were gluten noodles!  They gave us the brand of the noodle:  Zerega.  We want to look for it and buy it for our own use.

My sister's test results came back and she does not have celiac disease.  Now my mom and dad are going to be tested because it is highly hereditary.  

My Sister Joins the Gluten-free Club

My sister's test results came back, and to everyone's surprise she is also gluten-free!  No one suspected my sister because she weighs as much as I do and seems taller (though she is only a tiny bit taller than I was at her age.)   She is also allergic to dairy and eggs, but she is not allergic to soy or corn.  She does not like the gluten free diet because she has had more headaches in the past three weeks than she has had in the past 3 years.  I suspect it is because her body is getting rid of all the glutens, so she is feeling bad.  Now we are going to test her for celiac disease.  I hope she doesn't have it!

Also, my dad just finished reading a book called The Immune System Recovery Plan  by Susan Blum.  He said it was really helpful and explanative about the immune system and gluten-free stuff.  It is not a recipe book, it is an information book.  I recommend it!

Tacos

Now that I can eat corn again, tacos are an option!  

To make a healthy taco, make sure that you have different colors, in a rainbow!

Red                 Orange       Yellow/White    Green     Blue     Purple    Black

Tomato       Bell Pepper      Chicken         Lettuce    Good luck          Olives

                                                                                      finding this!

This turned out to be really filling!  My mom liked it because it was fast and easy.  She is running out of lunch ideas that are fast and easy, because macaroni can no longer be used as a quick fix.  Hopefully, we'll find more lunches soon!

Another thing we found:  Laughing Planet is a really good restaurant!  You can request to have anything made gluten-free.  Here is the website:  http://www.laughingplanetcafe.com

The Food Log

Today I started a Food Log.  I am going to keep track of everything I eat.  It will help us stay on a rotational diet.  If I get a headache, we can see if it is related to something that I am eating.  It takes a while to write everything down.  Here is an example of what it looks like:
 8/5/13-Mix Mash day
Cheerios, Rice milk, Yams, Bok Choy, Chicken, Strawberries, Blueberries, Grapes, Spinach, Basil, Chocolate cookies, Vanilla chamomile tea.

As you can see, it takes some time and effort, but i think it is a good idea.  That is only breakfast and lunch, too! 

Food Surprises

Here is a list of some things and what are in them.  It is mostly stuff I am allergic to: corn, soybean, dairy, wheat.

-Pesto.....Soybean oil

-Powdered sugar.....Corn Starch
-Fake syrup.......Corn Syrup

-Marshmallows.....Corn Syrup
-Oreos......Flour

-Margarine......Whey 
-Some hand sanitizers...... Wheat ammino acids
-Imitation crab.....Wheat Starch
-Salad dressings.....Various

I will keep adding to this list when I find unexpected no-no food surprises.  (I hope this list does not grow. :) )

Milk Substitutes

Because my favorite drink/food is milk, the no-milk rule has been hard.  My dad tried coconut milk and liked it, but I tried it and it was disgusting!  Coconut milk is too sweet.  If you like vanilla milk, you might like it, but I thought it was sickly sweet.  

Almond milk is better, but you can taste an obvious nutty flavor.  I also did not like that one because nuts are not one of my favorite foods.  

I recently got vanilla enriched Rice Dream milk, and I thought it was much better!  The vanilla flavor is not super strong and it masks any rice-y flavor.  Original rice milk is also good, but you can taste a kind of strange aftertaste.  I like original in cereal but vanilla to drink.  Normally I have water.  It is better for you and less expensive.  I am also trying caffeine-free herbal tea.  I tried cinnamon apple tea, but it was gross.  Vanilla chamomile is pretty good!

Day 1

Hi! This is my first day blogging as a gluten free kid.  I am 11 years old and I was tested for food allergies.  The results came back with high allergy in wheat, all dairy, and eggs.  This blog is a collection of tips, recipes, and other stuff about a gluten-free diet.