Sure Foods Living - gluten-free and allergen-free living

Last night my daughter ate a dinner of pasta (gluten-free) with a sauce of olive oil-sauteed red onions, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and chicken apple sausage. There was nothing left in her bowl… not because she is an amazing kid who eats anything, but because tonight she cooked it with me.

Let me back up a bit and introduce you to Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking. I was introduced to Michelle on Twitter by Stephanie O’Dea, the Crockpot Lady — this is the virtual blogger world that I live in, but we all live in the Bay Area and I now know them as real people. Michelle teaches cooking to kids. She has built a business around it, not because she is a businesswoman as much as she is a teacher, which is where she and I really connected. It turns out that she was a student teacher for a science class at the same high school where I was teaching history. Our paths didn’t cross at that time, but here we are now!

Michelle’s work inspires me to get my kids more involved in cooking and understanding where their food comes from. Her blog is full of great advice… recently she gave two tips for cooking with kids:

1. “Let go of perfection.” - I don’t know about you, but this is a hard one for me!
2. “Let kids DO.” - seems obvious, but this is easy to forget.
3. And I would like to add: “Have patience.” Give them time to learn.

Michelle and I met up for the first time at the farmer’s market where she encouraged me to buy kale to make kale chips (they were yummy!) Her passion has stuck with me since that day, although I really do forget to involve my kids enough in food preparation.

But not last night! Last night my daughter cut cherry tomatoes in half with a serrated knife for the first time. I taught her how to hold the knife, how to hold the tomato and how to cut with a forward and back motion. She was so proud of herself. (If your child isn’t ready to use a sharp knife, you can let him/her use a butter knife to cut olives, as shown in the picture.) She also stood at the stove on a step stool and stirred, as I added each ingredient. The result was that she felt that she cooked the dinner, and so of course she thought it was delicious! (Bonus: little sis also ate most of it, even the yellow peppers, because big sis was eating it!)

Involving your children in the preparation and cooking of healthy food helps them to appreciate it, understand it, and best of all — eat it!

I grew up opening those little packets of Quaker Instant Oatmeal — I can remember the smell and taste of the Maple & Brown Sugar flavor and how all the sugary stuff came out at the end. Since most commercial oats, Quaker included, contain gluten because of the contamination with wheat, only “gluten-free oats” are considered safe for a gluten-free diet.

I have tried other gluten-free hot cereals, and some are very satisfying, but my favorite (and my daughter’s favorite) is Eco-Planet Organics Instant Hot Cereal. Maple & Brown Sugar flavor of course!

The hot cereal contains 7 whole gluten-free grains: oats, buckwheat, sorghum, brown rice, puffed amaranth, quinoa and millet. It also contains flaxseeds and chia seeds! There are three flavors: Original, Apples & Cinnamon and Maple & Brown Sugar. The product is made in a dedicated gluten-free facility, tested for the presence of gluten, and certified gluten-free. It is also free of the top 8 allergens.

The ingredients of the Maple & Brown Sugar flavor are:
Organic Instant Rolled Oats, Organic Puffed Amaranth, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Maple Flavor (Organic Brown Sugar, Natural Maple Flavor), Organic Chicory Root Powder, Organic Flaxseed Flour, Chia Flour, Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Sorghum Flour, Organic Quinoa Flour, Organic Buckwheat Flour, Organic Millet Flour.

This is a satisfying, delicious and quick breakfast. Healthy too — there are 5 grams of protein and 500 mg of Omega-3s in every serving. Add your own fruit or nuts for variety.

Eco-Planet Instant Hot Cereal is available in natural foods stores and online. Contact the company directly for more details.

Did you enjoy summer camp as a child? Have you been hoping your child would have the same opportunity to learn and grow in a summer camp environment? This can be difficult, even impossible, if your child struggles with food related health problems. That is why Camp Westminster on Higgins Lake in Michigan (www.campwestminster.com) is offering camp opportunities for children who require special menus. GFCF camp will be the week of June 20-26, 2010.

The summer camp program allows children and youth to develop a sense of responsibility and self-worth in a Christian community. The enthusiastic, gifted, and multicultural staff are carefully selected and thoroughly trained. The camp director is year-round staff at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Detroit.

NEW THIS YEAR: A gluten free menu will be available, with advance registration, during any week of camp in 2010. If your child has other food issues, contact us to discuss accommodations. Last year we accommodated kids with allergies/sensitivities to gluten, casein, eggs, soy, corn, nuts and legumes. If you have food related camp questions, please contact Deanna at dkseng99@voyager.net or Pam Jann at pamelajann@hotmail.com.

Other gluten-free camp info:

Camp Celiac

Remember animal cookies or animal crackers from our childhood? What fun to experience them again through your kid’s eyes! But if your child can’t have gluten or has other food allergies, most animal cookies are off-limits. Don’t worry… there are several brands now making them free of gluten and other allergens!

Kinnikinnick Foods

In addition to being gluten-free, Kinnikinnick’s animal cookeis are also dairy-free, nut-free and egg-free. (They contain soy lecithin and pea protein.) Three flavors of animal cookies are available:

• Kinnikritter Animal Cookies
• Kinnikritter Chocolate Animal Cookies
• Kinnikritter Graham Style Animal Cookies

Orgran

In addition to being gluten-free, Orgran’s animal cookies are also dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free. Several flavors of animal cookies available:

• Outback Animals Vanilla (also in Mini)
• Outback Animals Chocolate (also in Mini)
• Itsy Bitsy Bears

Nature’s Path Organic

In addition to being gluten-free, Nature’s Path’s animal cookies  are also egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free. (They do contain soy.) Flavor:

• Envirokidz Vanilla Animal Cookies

Jo-Sefs Gluten Free

In addition to being gluten-free, Jo-Sefs animal cookies are dairy/casein-free, lactose-free, egg-free, and nut-free. (They contain soy.) Products are processed in a dedicated nut free and gluten-free kosher facility. Flavors available:

• Vanilla Animal Cookies
• Chocolate Animal Cookies

Mi-Del

Not all cookie flavors made by this company are gluten-free, but the Arrowroot Animal Cookies are. They do contain egg, soy and milk. Regarding nuts, the website says: “Only Pecans are run on the MI-DEL line of bagged cookies. Peanut Butter Cremes are sometimes produced on the same line that makes the MI-DEL Sandwich Cookies but strict sanitation/allergen procedures are in place to avoid any potential contamination.” Flavor available:

• Arrowroot Animal Cookies

Now go make that little person in your life happy!

Registration begins February 1st for Camp Celiac, a gluten-free camp for kids with celiac disease, ages 9 to 17. The camp will run from July 25-30, 2010. The goal of the camp, located in northern California, is to provide children restricted to a gluten-free diet with an opportunity to relax and have fun with kids their age, without having to worry about social acceptance or what foods they can eat.

My cousin’s son Reed who was 13 years old when he attended the camp last summer, has been gluten-free and dairy-free since age 7. He has been to the camp two times and looks forward to going again. He sat down with me after the camp last summer and told me all about it in an interview:

What were your favorite things about the camp?
The ropes course, the lake and the gluten-free dairy-free grilled cheese sandwiches!

Did you worry about food while you were there?
I worried a little that the food would be gone, but not about the gluten.

Was the food good?
Really good.

What were your favorite foods?
Pizza, breakfast — bacon, eggs, pancakes (they had a different tray for the dairy-free ones), and of course the grilled cheese sandwiches. The desserts were really good. My favorite was ice cream in a chocolate cone.

What about snacks?
There was a snack basket with individually wrapped samples whenever you wanted. There was also a snow cone machine!

Did you know any of the kids?
I got to see my friends from last year.

Do you want to go to the camp again?
I want to go every year and then when I am old enough, be a counselor at the camp.

So there you have it — a big endorsement from Reed!

To find out more about Camp Celiac, view photos from the camp, and register, visit the Camp Celiac website.

If you have a gluten-free child or a child with food allergies, you are no stranger to packing his or her “special” cupcake to bring to a birthday party. The challenge is how to send one cupcake and not smush it! I have found the answer my friends… Go Go Cupcake Holders!

These cupcake holders are awesome! Not only are they cute, but they really hold the cupcake in place with a perfectly tight fitting bottom and a spike in the top so the frosting doesn’t get smashed. Stick it in a backpack or hand it to your kid to take to the party (just make sure the latch is completely closed).

Here is a picture from the last time I used them:

The best part is that they are cheap: $6.99 for 2 on Amazon!

My girls turn 5 and 3 this month and once again I have pulled off the double birthday party (one party per year is about all I can handle)! I have no right to complain or take complete credit since I had lots of help… thank you to both set of grandparents, and a special thank you to my mom who volunteered to make 2 gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free birthday cakes! Oh, but that’s not all — they also had to feature Ariel the mermaid as demanded requested by two very excited little girls.

Here are the birthday girls:

Here are the Ariel mermaid cakes (that’s my older daughter’s picture surrounded by red Ariel hair!) :

And here are the girls with their cakes:

Happy birthday my darling girls! (And in case you’re wondering, they really did have friends at the party even though it looks like they were the only 2 there! I swear!)

The cakes pictured were made using Pamela’s Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix with the egg-free version (recipe on package). It always turns out moist and delicious!

Related articles:

• Happy Birthday to My Girls (2008)
• A gluten-free dairy-free egg-free birthday menu (2007)
• Get your allergy-free cupcakes ready

This is a fabulous video to show your food-allergic child (and it wouldn’t hurt for non-allergic kids and adults to watch). My daughter LOVED seeing other kids just like her and it opened the door for us to talk about the Epi-Pen (not a fun subject!) Thanks to the Food Allergy Initiative for producing the video and for raising money to fund research.

A newer video has also been put out by the same organization with the same cute kids. This one includes parents talking about their kids’ food allergies. Also a good one to see! (It might take a while after you press play, but it will come eventually.)

Want to help fund a cure? You can donate to the Food Allergy Initiative or you can sponsor my family in the Food Allergy Walk in San Francisco to raise money for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.

Whether your child is gluten-free, nut-allergic or has other food allergies or intolerance, it’s not too early to begin preparing for the start of school or daycare. My own “baby” is starting kindergarten this fall and there are lots of things on my allergy to-do list! Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

Here’s what you can do now:

1. If your child has an Epi-Pen, check the expiration dates. Get prescriptions for new ones if yours have expired.
2. Get all the medical information you need from your allergist or pediatrician. Don’t wait until the last minute rush when your doctor will be too busy.
3. Set up a meeting with the school and/or teacher to discuss your child’s allergies. Here are some items you will want to discuss:
   • What training does the staff have for working with a child with food allergies?
   • What policies are in the place at the school regarding food allergies?
   • What policies are in the place in the classroom regarding food allergies?
   • Who provides snacks and lunch?
   • What are the snack and lunchtime procedures?
   • How will your child be protected from coming into contact with or eating other children’s food?
   • What is the food policy about special events in the classroom? How will you handle birthday parties or class prizes? You will probably want to set up a snack box — a  container with special treats that are safe for your child. Also ask if there is a freezer where you could keep a container of frosted cupcakes or other baked goods that could be microwaved at the last minute. Remember to boldly label everything!
   • How will substitute teachers be notified of your child’s allergy or intolerance? You may want to provide the teacher many copies of a pre-written notice so that he/she doesn’t have to do it or forget. Here is an example letter for a child with celiac disease: Letter to Substitute Teacher
   • What is the food rule on the bus? Is the bus driver prepared in case of emergency?
4. Provide the teacher with a list of safe and unsafe school supplies. You can find this information here: Gluten-free art supplies for school and Potential food allergens in preschool and school activities.
5. Discuss food allergies with your child… again. There are some great books that really help your child understand it better. Some I recommend:
   • Mommy, Is This Safe to Eat? A Guide for Preschoolers Allergic to Peanuts and Tree Nuts by Christina Black
     This book is small, but the real pictures of food help make the connections for kids. My daughter loved this.
   • Starting School with a Food Allergy: Tips for a Peanut Allergic Kid by Christina Black
     Same author as above, the real pictures of nut-containing foods and of children are what make this book so relatable!
   • Gluten-Free Friends: An Activity Book for Kids by Nancy Patin Falini
     An activity and coloring book for kids age 4-11 about living gluten-free. Would be a great tool to share at school too.
   • Make your own book with your child using cut out pictures of foods he/she cannot have! Have your child create the conversations in the book!
   • Have your child watch other children talk about food allergies. Check out these great videos!
6. Read up on the topic of kids and food allergies yourself. Here are some other books that are great for parents or caregivers of allergic or gluten-free children:
   • How to Manage Your Child’s Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips for Everyday Life by Linda Coss
     The author has a child with food allergies and she does a great job providing practical information about school and life. This is a great guide for anyone who has a child with a food allergy — I learned a lot!
   • The Peanut Allergy Answer Book by Michael C. Young
     This book contains everything you want to know about peanut and nut allergy, including latest research. The information presented is straightforward and will give you a better understanding of your child’s allergy. It eased a lot of anxiety I had, so I highly recommend it!
   • Kids with Celiac Disease : A Family Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy, Gluten-Free Children by Danna Korn
     Written in 2001, some of the references may be out-of-date, but the emotions and advice endure!
   • Back to School Basics - free resource provided by Kids With Food Allergies

One final tip: the easier you make it for the school, teachers and other parents, the more cooperative everyone will be!

Do you love or hate the tinny tune of that ice cream truck cruising through your neighborhood or past the local park? At some point you are going to give in to your crying, begging children. It is best to learn which treats are okay for those everybody-else-gets-to-have-one-so-why-can’t-we-have-one-too ice cream truck moments. After all, you don’t want to be the Mean Mom — at least not in public!

Every ice cream truck is going to pack different treats, but fortunately there are always some that are just basically sugar, color and water. Not that I am a big fan of corn syrup or Red Dye #40, but once in a while I let my kids have a snow cone or frozen pop. If your child has an allergy to either of these ingredients, steer clear of commercial popsicles. Hopefully in that case, they can opt for an ice cream bar (be careful of nuts!)

In my fantasy world, an ice cream truck stocks real fruit juice popsicles, organic non-dairy ice cream bars and shaved ice with natural flavorings and colorings. Don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon, but at least you can buy some healthier options at the store, or make your own.

TREATS YOU CAN BUY

• Popsicles
  Many commercial frozen pops are gluten-free and free of the top 8 allergens. (They do however contain corn syrup, which is a problem for individuals allergic to corn, and food coloring, to which some kids are sensitive.) A page of Popsicle brand treats that are free of the top 8 allergens can be found here: Popsicle (always check the ingredients before consuming).
• Fruit Bars
  For a healthier option, look for bars made with fruit juice that contain no corn syrup, like Breyer’s Pure Fruit bars.
• Snowcones
  Most snowcones that you find at fairs and amusement parks are gluten-free and free of the top allergens. Usually they are made with crushed ice and a flavoring syrup (corn syrup). Same with packaged snow-cones.
• Dairy-free ice cream treats
  Most ice cream treats, including Fudgesicles, are off-limits for kids with dairy allergies, but there are some dairy-free options:
  • Soy Dream ice cream sandwich (not gluten-free)
  • Rice Dream ice cream pies and bars (not gluten-free)
  • Rice Divine ice cream bars and sundae cups (gluten-free, contain soy).
  • Turtle Mountain soy ice cream bars and fudge bar and soy ice-cream sandwiches (not gluten-free),  dairy-free and soy-free fudge bar (gluten-free), coconut milk ice cream bars. For a complete list of Turtle Mountain allergens, see Gluten-Free Frozen Products & Allergen Identification Table.
  • Smooze Fruit Ice push-up bars are made with coconut milk and real fruit. My kids love them! Flavors: Mango, Passion Fruit, Guava, Pineapple. I find them in Whole Foods.
• Gluten-free ice cream cones
  Use your favorite ice cream or sorbet to make ice cream cones at home, or take your own gluten-free cones into your local ice cream shop. There are lots of cones to choose from (click to see ingredients):
  • Let’s Do… Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cones
  • Barkat Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cones
  • Barkat Waffle Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cones
  • Goldbaum’s Natural Foods Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cones
  • Goldbaum’s Natural Foods Gluten-Free Sugar Ice Cream Cones

TREATS YOU CAN MAKE

• Frozen juice pops
  Put any kind of fruit juice into fun pop molds - use white grape juice or apple juice if you don’t want to stain their shirts! Mix juices to create a new flavor. This is a great option for kids who can’t have corn syrup or food dyes.
• Frozen fruit pops
  If you want a chunkier, thicker pop, put frozen fruit in your blender, add liquid and freeze. The liquid could be juice, milk, coconut or other non-dairy milk.
• Smoothie pops
  Make a fruit and spinach smoothie and put it into the pop molds. Yes, your kids will eat frozen spinach!
• Snowcones and slushes
  Make your own snow cones with snow cone supplies! Otherwise, you can make a “slush” or “slushie” in your blender by blending ice with juice. Serve it in a fun cup with a straw or spoon.
• Dairy-free ice cream treats
  • Take your favorite non-dairy ice cream, let it soften a little, put it in a mold and refreeze to make an ice cream bar
  • Try this recipe for Strawberry-Vanilla Swirled Frozen Pops - could be made with any fruit and a non-dairy ice cream
  • Make an ice cream sandwich using your favorite gluten-free cookies or try this gluten-free dairy-free egg-free ice cream cookie sandwich.

Any more summer treat ideas or products? Let me know!