When we first started the GFCF diet we were overwhelmed with the whole shopping experience. We struggled with where to find the foods we needed as well as planning quick and easy or last minute meals. Having done this for a year now we have been able to figure out which stores have what we need, what items are an absolute must to have in our house at all times, and when in need (which is often with 2 kids, crazy schedules, and a growing belly) the places to find items for last minute meals.
At first, after starting the GFCF diet believe that every type of food we needed for our son would have to come from a specialty food store. We were almost certain we had never seen any gluten free or casein free items in our local grocery stores, but we had never had to notice them before as well. In the beginning we did shop at ONLY the specialty food stores, such as Trader Joes and Lil's Dietary Specialty Shop located in Chicago. Both are fabulous stores that we continue to shop at still today, but both also proved to be obstacles on occasion. Trader Joes is located in Orland Park, which is about a 25 minute ride and Lil's has earlier hours than we sometimes need. We definitely need to work on being more organized and scheduled but that is another story, lol! So, we learned to stock up big time and probably over-shopped for quite some time. Eventually, as schedules got rearranged and life happened and babies came along, this was not so easy to do. We began to do some research and check out products at the local grocery store. They definitely did not have many options to choose from, (which is getting better with time) but they did carry more items than we had thought. For instance our Jewel branch has a whole gluten free section, so we just make sure to cross reference each item for casein. We also discovered that Target carries Vans waffles, taco seasonings, Annie's natural fruit snacks, and others. There is a local grocery store nearby as well, County Fair, that carries all different kinds of safe meat, pastas, breakfast sausages, muffins, and other snacks. It is our go-to grocer most of the time. Eventually we started to look beyond just the items that were labeled GFCF and start checking into items that used to be part of our everyday meals. That is when we stumbled upon the website GFCFdiet.com. It has and still is an amazing resource for us, they list products by category that are safe to have. They do make you aware that you should always check with the companies that manufacture these products in case something changes. We found a ton of items on their list that we never even knew were safe for our son, it truly has been a huge help to us when we have last minute shopping or our planning a meal later in the day when our only option of a store is our local grocer. So check GFCFdiet.com, you can also find them on Facebook. I am also going to include a list of items that we find helpful to have in the house at all times, most if not all, should be able to be found at your local grocer, so happy shopping :)
Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce
McCormick Onion Powder
McCormick Garlic Powder
McCormick Vanilla
Hunt's Ketchup
Hellmann's Mayonnaise
Tamari Sauce (found in the oriental aisle)
Fritos
Tostitos
Snyders Gluten free pretzels
A1 Steak Sauce
Mission yellow corn tortillas
Newman's Own Mild Salsa
Wish-Bone Italian Dressing
Brianna's The New American Dressing
Welchs Concord Grape Jelly
Hershey's Syrup Original
V8 Splash Juice (we stick to the Tropical Blend to avoid red dyes)
Simply Orange Juice
Enjoy Life Chocolate
Earth Balance Buttery Spread
Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
Rice Chex
Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch granola bars
Betty Crocker Gluten free mixes
couscous
quinoa
Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Chips
Pepsi/Sprite (which we only use for special occasions)
Mug Root Beer
Annie's Fruit Snacks
Olive oil
Sesame oil
Rice Milk
Almond Milk
Along with these, other safe items include: eggs, fruit, veggies, and filler-free meats! Happy eating :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The Gluten and Allergen Free Expo
A couple of weeks ago my husband and I attended our very first Gluten and Allergen Free Expo in Chicago. We told Josh he would be coming with us and he was very against it, telling us he would rather play with his friends than come with us and walk around all day. Regardless, he was told he was coming with us! Much to our surprise, halfway through the walk through he was thanking us for bringing him and was super pumped to find all these new foods and brands we either never knew existed or never knew he could have. It was by far one of the best experiences we had as a family. Having started this diet about a year ago, we have really searched high and low to find a variety of foods to stock for Josh, and have put in a lot of time and energy in the process. The GFAF Expo saved us a lot of time and energy by placing all these products and foods in one place for us to browse through. There was no research and reading reviews, no running to three different stores to find what we needed, and no spending money on a product we were not sure Josh would approve of. We ate our way through the expo (which this preggo certainly didn't mind), got a ton of great coupons (which are hard to find with these foods), and discovered a bunch of new foods that all of us really enjoyed. Companies whose brands we were familiar with were there, but we discovered other products that they had available that we were completely unaware of, along with companies we did not even know existed!
Having gotten to experience this AFTER going through what seemed to be a not so easy transition to this diet, was definitely an eye opener. When we first eliminated the gluten and casein from Josh's diet, as well as our own, all we knew was that clean meats, fruits, and veggies were safe. We had to do a lot of research to find out what kinds of cereals, breads, chips, sauces, desserts, juices and drinks were safe. Along with that, we also had to find what medicines were safe as well as shampoos, soaps, lotions, toothpaste, and lip balms. When you think of diet changes, you only think of things you eat and drink, you do not give any thought to the fact that gluten, more so than casein, is present in other products as well. Products that when you touch them can be absorbed into your body through your skin. The changes you have to make when committing to this diet change your entire lifestyle, which is never an easy thing to do. There were times when we were discouraged and annoyed and felt like giving up. There were times we just wanted to go back to our old lifestyle, but we told ourselves we had to stick to this, that we had to be committed to this change for Josh! We needed to find something that worked for him, something that helped him to feel safe and comfortable in his own skin. Well needless to say, this difficult lifestyle change did just that...almost 1 year later and Josh is a totally different kid! All the hard work, all the research, all the trial and error, the financial burden that the diet brings with it...all worth it! It may have not been easy getting where we are today, but I have learned that when you want something bad enough, you do anything you need to do to get it. Today Josh still has Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD, but his symptoms are lessened greatly and on most days Asperger's is not even something that seems to slow him down.
Having gotten to experience this AFTER going through what seemed to be a not so easy transition to this diet, was definitely an eye opener. When we first eliminated the gluten and casein from Josh's diet, as well as our own, all we knew was that clean meats, fruits, and veggies were safe. We had to do a lot of research to find out what kinds of cereals, breads, chips, sauces, desserts, juices and drinks were safe. Along with that, we also had to find what medicines were safe as well as shampoos, soaps, lotions, toothpaste, and lip balms. When you think of diet changes, you only think of things you eat and drink, you do not give any thought to the fact that gluten, more so than casein, is present in other products as well. Products that when you touch them can be absorbed into your body through your skin. The changes you have to make when committing to this diet change your entire lifestyle, which is never an easy thing to do. There were times when we were discouraged and annoyed and felt like giving up. There were times we just wanted to go back to our old lifestyle, but we told ourselves we had to stick to this, that we had to be committed to this change for Josh! We needed to find something that worked for him, something that helped him to feel safe and comfortable in his own skin. Well needless to say, this difficult lifestyle change did just that...almost 1 year later and Josh is a totally different kid! All the hard work, all the research, all the trial and error, the financial burden that the diet brings with it...all worth it! It may have not been easy getting where we are today, but I have learned that when you want something bad enough, you do anything you need to do to get it. Today Josh still has Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD, but his symptoms are lessened greatly and on most days Asperger's is not even something that seems to slow him down.
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