Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Gluten Free Diet

So my daughter had to go to the ER about a week and a half ago because of a rash. We couldn't figure out why she had a rash and she wasn't acting any different. We sat down and thought about all the foods she had eaten and the frequency of it as well as how it effected the rash. The rash slowly got worse over a 3 day period and the only common thing in her diet over those 3 days was pasta. So the ER doctor thought that maybe it was a gluten allergy and had us stop all gluten.

After 2 days of a completely gluten free diet the rash was completely gone. I then introduced just a small amount by way of 2 bites of a cookie. The rash came back. Confirming until she can see an allergist that we think it's a mild gluten allergy. So being the good mommy I am I set out to conquer the gluten free diet.

After doing research on what all things contain gluten and what to avoid I was shocked. You wouldn't believe all the things that contain gluten. First there are the obvious...cookies, cake, pasta, bread, pie, and oatmeal. Then there are the things you don't think about. Malt contains gluten so things like malts and malted milk balls are out of the question. Most oats and what you would consider the typical "starches" contain gluten.

The only "grains" she can eat are rice and corn. After thinking about it I'm glad to announce that I am no longer scared of a gluten free diet. We're going to tackle this bad boy head on and I'm going to expand my culinary skills to include a gluten free diet. My daughter will be 1 in March and knowing that cake contains wheat flour I thought it'd be a bit of a tackle finding a baker that would do a gluten free cake for her. After searching for local bakers I sent out a slew of emails. I was pleased to find that the first baker I contacted indeed did gluten free cakes. So we ordered her birthday cake and a smash cake from her. The smash cake will be the only gluten free one but I figured I'd go ahead and order the regular cake as well. I'm so excited about her cake.

Being the curious person I am though I thought to myself "I wonder if I can make a gluten free cake". I figured it can't be any different from making a regular cake right? The tackle for me however is that I am not a baker. I love to cook. I can stand in the kitchen all day long and enjoy every bit of hit. However baking isn't my forte. But with a daughter who may have a gluten allergy I'm going to have to get use to it and learn how to bake. And not just regular baking at that....gluten free baking. I want my daughter to be able to experience all the yummy foods that are out there. Including things like pancakes, waffles, cookies, cake, bread, muffins, and all the other kid friendly baked goods. What kid doesn't love a mom who bakes them fresh cookies right? So that is my new goal for the year.

I'm going to search high and low until I find a gluten free flour and then I'm going to start baking up a storm. I'm going to learn to make homemade muffins. How to make a cake from scratch. Cookies that are gluten free. Because of this I'd like to issue an apology and forewarning to the men who work with my husband. Watch out cause I'm gonna be baking up a storm and guess where I'm sending all these cookies, muffins, and cakes when I'm done? YOUR WAY!!!

3 comments:

  1. if you look on facebook, there are a lot of gluten free groups that share recipes and stuff :)

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  2. Thanks a ton Kat!! You're so incredibly awesome. :)

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  3. Hi! I know this is an old post and it looks like you haven't been blogging much lately so I hope you get this message. My young daughter has just been diagnosed with celiac. If you have the time, I would love to talk with you about how you've dealt with all the challenges it brings. :)

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