2 New Recipes

Well, I think pretty much everyone has a good idea of some possible menus from what I've already posted.

So I think I will let ya'll know about new (good!) products I've found and different recipes I've tried with my kids and had success.

A big one right now is Cheeseburger Macaroni.

I've found these awesome GFCF boxed mac and cheeses by Road's End Organics.

I take one box of those and add a lb of ground hamburger and some frozen peas and carrots.

I add more rice milk than the recipe calls for so the whole thing gets good and "Chreesey". (They call their GFCF cheese product "Chreese.")

The kids love it and just eat it up and one box lasts 3 or 4 meals.


Also, for sandwiches for school, I've been mixing a pouch of boneless skinless salmon, 2 shredded apples, and some mayo. This makes enough sandwiches for a week! I serve them on rice bread.


We also found these crackers by Mary's Gone Crackers and the whole family loves them!!

June 7

Breakfast:
Breakfast tacos
(corn tortillas, bacon, scrambled eggs*)
Sliced avocado
OJ

Lunch:
Apple slices
Dark chocolate peanut butter
Plain Rice Cake
Hardboiled egg

Snack:
Mott's applesauce fruit snacks

Dinner:
Chicken taquitos
Refried beans
Green beans

Dessert:
Chocolate chips

June 6

Breakfast:
Gorilla Munch Cereal
(I added peanuts and raisins)
Soy milk
OJ

Lunch:
Chicken Taquitos*
Refried beans
Veggie medley (broccoli, carrots, red & yellow peppers)
Soy milk

Snack:
Archer Farms Organic 100% Real Fruit Strips
Water

Dinner:
Baked fish (with olive oil and lemon pepper)
Baked Sweet potato
Peas

Dessert:
Frozen banana drizzled with chocolate syrup

(Here's a good recipe for the chocolate syrup.)

June 5

Breakfast:
Ian's French Toast Sticks
Bacon (Read labels!)
Strawberries
OJ

Lunch:
BBQ chicken sandwich on Van's Waffle
Tortilla chips
Mild salsa
Sliced orange
Water

Snack:
Almonds
Apple juice

Dinner:
Catfish*
Peas and Carrots
Mashed Potatoes**

*Mix cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Coat catfish nuggets with mixture. Fry in oil until golden brown.

**Use potato flakes. Use GFCF margarine and soy or rice milk.

June 4

It's summer here now so Sam's lunches will be less like lunchbox lunches and more like dinners.

Breakfast:
2 hard boiled eggs
Van's Waffle with PB
OJ

Lunch:
"Nachos"*
Grapes
Rice milk

Snack:
Archer Farms Organic Almond Raisin Trail Mix Bar
Apple Juice

Dinner:
Red Beans and Dirty Rice*
Sliced fresh peach

Nachos:
I take tortilla chips and top them with refried beans, browned ground beef, diced tomatoes, and diced avocado.

Red Beans and Dirty Rice:
I cook the dried red beans according to the bag directions.
I cook the rice according to the box directions.
I sautee onions and peppers and sliced GFCF hot dogs (try Applegate Farms!) in olive oil.
I mix the ingredients together.

June 3

Breakfast:
Rice Chex with fresh sliced strawberries
OJ

Lunch:
Amy's Baked Ziti
Rice milk

Snack:
Dry, roasted, unsalted peanuts
Apple juice

Dinner:
Baked tilapia fillet with olive oil and lemon pepper
Green Beans
Natural applesauce (the generic kind)
Water

Dessert:
GFCF chocolate chips

June 2

Breakfast:
Rice Chex (with raisins, sunflower seeds, and almonds added)
Soy milk
OJ

Lunch:
Salmon-topped Rice Cake*
Sliced Mango
Tostito's Crispy Rounds
Soy milk

Snack:
Almonds
Juice box

Dinner:
Steak sandwich**
Peas and carrots
Natural applesauce

*I top a plain, unsalted rice cake
with salmon mixed with shredded apples and mayonnaise.

**I chop up leftover steak, brisket, or roast and mix it with BBQ sauce
and serve it on a GFCF Waffle.

June 1

Breakfast:
Breakfast taco
Scrambled eggs
(cooked in oil, scrambled with soy milk)
Bacon
Warm corn tortilla
Salsa to dip
Soy milk

Lunch:
Chicken taquitos*
Refried Beans
Peas and Carrots
OJ

Snack:
Minute Maid Juice Bar

Dinner:
Ethnic Gourmet Lemongrass and Basil Chicken
Soy milk

May 31

Breakfast:
Waffle "pizza"
(Van's GFCF Waffle topped with peanut butter, sliced bananas, and raisins.)
Rice milk

Lunch:
Hamburger patty on waffle with ketchup, mayo, and mustard
Peas
Florida's Natural Fruit Stik
Water

Snack:
Dry roasted peanuts
OJ

Dinner:
Catfish*
Green Giant immunity boost veggie medley
Mashed Potatoes**

*Catfish recipe
Catfish nuggets
Corn meal
Salt
Pepper
Oil

Heat oil (a nutritionist who worked with us on Sam's diet recommended Canola oil) over med. Mix corn meal, salt, and pepper to taste. Coat the catfish pieces on all sides with corn meal mixture. Fry 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Can be frozen and microwaved 60-90 minutes for a small serving.

**We used boxed potato flakes (with nothing added, just potato flakes), rice milk, and GFCF margarine. We usually use Fleishmann's Light when we can find it.)

May 28

Breakfast:
Gorilla Munch Cereal (with raisins)
Rice Milk
OJ

Lunch:
2 Hardboiled eggs
Apple Cinnamon Quakes
Archer Farms Organic 100% Real Fruit Strip (Strawberry)
Juice Box

Snack:
Mott's Fruit Snacks
Water

Dinner:
Ian's Chicken Fingers Dinner
(7th one down)
Grapes
Rice Milk

May 27

Breakfast:
Gorilla Munch Cereal
Rice Milk
(I added raisins to the cereal)

Lunch:
A "hamburger"
(Small hamburger patty served on a Van's GFCF plain waffle)
Quaker Apple Cinnamon Quakes
Mott's All-Natural Fruit Snack Packet
Juice box

Snack:
Smoked almonds
Water

Dinner:
Amy's Baked Ziti (a frozen dinner that includes rice penne noodles, tomato sauce, soy "cheeze", broccoli, rice foccacia, and an apple crumb dessert.) (Her website is either www.amys.com or www.amyskitchen.com but neither are coming up for me at the moment.)
Rice milk

Dessert:
a lollipop

Why We're Here

I think that most, if not all, people would benefit from this diet. I've seen a remarkable change in my own son, who is on the autism spectrum.

My mom has gone GFCF and has experienced wonderful results. She no longer has seasonal allergies or digestive troubles. My 8 month old is also GFCF (why not?) and I hope to transition the entire family (my husband and I are the holdouts, we're weak and love cheese) to GFCF soon.

Many parents have expressed to me that it would be impossible for their child to go GFCF because:

1. All they can get their kid to eat is wheat and dairy and if they take that away, their kid will starve.
2. It's too expensive to go GFCF.
3. It's too hard to go GFCF.

Our family is proof that that isn't true. We spend about $300 a month on groceries for four people. At first, shopping GFCF was very difficult because I either had to read labels or go to specialty (higher priced) stores.

Over time, I've found inexpensive substitutes for almost all foods kids "not on the diet" eat. This blog is a daily food diary of what Sam eats to show you that it IS possible, that GFCF foods are available at even big retail chains, and that he hasn't starved to death. (And he's been GFCF for over 5 years!)

For those thinking about trying the GFCF diet but think that your child will refuse to eat, they won't. They may test you and put up a fight, however. Sam was only 16 months old when we transitioned him but he still expressed his preference for the foods he used to have. (Goldfish crackers were a big deal.) I made it easier for all of us by slowly introducing the healthier foods, as well as the ones whose taste is very different from their non-GFCF counterparts. Your kids might not even notice the change if they get to have slightly different versions of their favorite foods!

And for those who look at Sam's menu and think "Yeah, right. My kid would never eat grilled fish and vegetables." I said the same thing about Sam. We overcame that the way you would overcome eating struggles with any kid, offer him healthy choices, let him decide how much he eats (while enforcing reasonable time limits for meals) (Sam would take 2 hours to eat a meal if we let him.) and if the child doesn't eat, save the food for when they complain about being hungry later and offer it again.


Each day's entry will include what Sam ate and drank, brand names for specific GFCF products, and recipes for the stuff I make myself. I will link to websites where you can learn more about the products where I can. At the very least, you'll know what the packaging looks like when you go into the store. If you're a take-charge kind of person, you can call or email the companies to find out where their products are available near you. I have spoken to customer service at each of the companies and every single one has been incredibly helpful.

May 26

Breakfast:
2 Hardboiled eggs and OJ

Lunch:
Tilapia fillets cooked in olive oil
Vegetable medley (broocoli, carrots, red & yellow peppers) also cooked in olive oil
Natural applesauce
Rice milk

Snack:
Archer farms almond/raisin granola bar
Water

Dinner:
"Spaghetti" (Mung bean threads) and meatballs
Peas
Rice milk


Meatball recipe:
Ground beef
Basil
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Ground up plain rice cake
(I could have added an egg, but I was making these for our 8 month old too so I didn't.)

Mix together in a bowl, form into balls, brown in a pan on med. heat. (I added some olive oil. Sam eats so many rice products that he can get constipated so I make sure he gets lots of fresh fruit, veggies, and olive oil.)