Giving Up Grains

My Collin

 Collin is our 8 year old who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 20 months. I have learned and constantly learn so much from this child. Much of which involves food as Collin has been on a gluten free, casein free diet since he was 2 years old. 

The diet brought about many positive things like SLEEP and focus and a happier boy and family all together. In Novemeber 2009 I attended a Robb Wolf Paleolithic Solution seminar  which lead me to the decision that our entire family needed to eat gluten free. As a side note I had another child who was 3 now who had been a REALLY tough baby due to not sleeping and a lot of throwing up and fussiness. Ryan could not tolerate milk and I eventually took him off gluten as well. Anyway, our whole family ate gluten free for a year. After that year passed I know there was still something not right with our son's diet. Collin had been off dairy, off soy and off gluten for years at this point but his belly was distended and his bathroom trips were not regular or normal! I asked my husband if he wanted to attend Robb's seminar as he was coming back to Atlanta agin. He said yes and he went to Robb's Seminar in October of 2010 and came home with Robb's new book "The PaleolithicSolution:The Original Human Diet". He had also had a short conversation with Robb about Collin and Robb stated that we needed to get Collin off the other grains.

So here I was once again about to take a huge chunk of Collin's diet away. No gluten free pretzels, gluten free toast, gluten free crackers, gluten free ice cream cones. No more popcorn, gluten free cupcakes or potato chips. But we did it and it was fine. KID ARE REALLY ADAPTIVE. So many people say to me "I could never do what you do because my kids would never agree." Well they do. It was really only about three day of suggesting other options at any request for crackers, chips,popcorn ect. So now our entire family eats a grain free diet. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen trying to" paleofy" recipes or dream up new snacks for the kids which is why I started this blog. We have all seen posative results in eating a grain free or Paleo-ish diet and Collin looks and feels better and better. I hope these recipes and information help others who think they can't do it. Your really can, and nothing makes me more happy than when we are in the market and my just turned 5 year old says "Mom, I need a healthy snack. Can I get some beef jerky and a bowl of cut up fruit?" True story!!!

Collin is still autistic but the changes in his focus and behavior have been major all due to proper food choice. I am very happy that our family has chosen to eat for a longer healthier life.

Gluten Free Foodie......very cool!

This is a great new site. They have food for sale, featured restaurants, a blog and one of my favorite options is the RECIPE CONVERTER! Go to www.gfreefoodie.com and click on recipes/recipe converter. From there you will be presented with a form in which you type in the recipe you want converted. Then Gluten Free Foodie Team and Rachel Carlyle ”the gluten fee mamma” (see below) will convert the recipe and notify you by e-mail when the recipe appears on the site. Great deal! Gluten Free Mama – Rachel Carlyle Rachel Carlyle, aka “The Gluten Free Mama,” founded the Gluten Free Mama Kitchen, LLC in 2006. Rachel’s youngest daughter Lexie was diagnosed with Celiac/gluten intolerance at the age of 18 months. After discovering that Lexie needed to be on a strict gluten free diet, Rachel struggled with finding food that tasted good, had good texture, and was easy to make. She found that the food was gritty, bland, fell apart or was hard as a rock. Not being able to expect her children to eat food that she wouldn’t eat, she put her love for baking to use by following her lifelong dream of writing a cookbook, Gluten Free Mama’s Best Baking Recipes. Rachel teamed up with a friend Billie McCrea who helped her bring the cookbook to fruition. Rachel brings a long history of cooking experience to the company including four years of baking gluten free, seven months experience cooking in a private high school and attending Bon Vivant School of Cooking achieving certificates including Mastering the Basics, Art of Fine Cuisine, Cordon Bleu and the Art of Baking Bread. Rachel’s mission is to redefine Gluten Free Baking by offering a variety of recipes that everyone will enjoy, not just those living with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance. Gluten Free Mama Kitchen began with two amazing gluten free flour blends, Mama’s Almond and Mama’s Coconut Blend. Since then Gluten Free Mama has expanded her line to include Mama’s Pancake, Pizza, Cookie, Scone and Pie Mixes. Rachel is dedicated making gluten free living tastier by offering great tasting gluten free baking recipes and products that the entire family will enjoy. Just because you are gluten free doesn’t mean your food can’t taste good. The proof is in the taste! In addition to being an author and business owner, Rachel is blessed to be a mom to 3 beautiful girls, Gracie, Cassie and Lexie. Her family lives in the beautiful Mission Valley of Montana with their two St. Bernard’s, one Shih Tsu, and two cats. You can learn more about Gluten Free Mama by visiting her website at www.glutenfreemama.com or her blog at http://glutenfreemamafriends.blogspot.com

Time Magazine ' s " How You Can Change Your Genes "

Dr. Lars Olov Bygren's research helps explain how a father's diet might affect certain traits he passes to his son Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1952062_1952061,00.html#ixzz0cQn1DqQI

Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free Organic Chicken Tenders! Wooohooo!

I have been "threatening" to replace my kids chicken tenders with something that is grain free. They have been eating organic gluten free chicken nuggets/tenders, but those still contain rice flour and corn starch ect. This was very easy to do, I just need time to try it. Yesterday I cut up free range, vegetarian chicken boneless chicken breasts into 1 inch strips and then cut them in halves and some in thirds. Ryan (age 3) helped me dip each on in egg then in another bowl full of coconut flour and salt. I then deep fried the pieces in a mini deep fryer I purchased filled with organic coconut oil. I fried the basket of pieces for 6 to 8 minutes and them put them on a plate with a paper towel to cool and drain. The KIDS LOVED THEM. I was skeptical about Collin (age 7 with autism) because he is SO picky and different tastes can be very aversive to him.BUT he loved them. Collin just started eating chicken recently. For years it was a huge turn off to him. He eats his with organic catsup and Ryan used Ken Steakhouse Honey Mustard (gluten free also).

Dairy?

This podcast from Robb Wolf clears up many questions I get about dairy. This is the iTunes podcast link. The first 10-12 minutes of the 12/8 episode is very informational. http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=340221970 or you can get it straight from his site. http://robbwolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Paleolithic-Solution-Episode-5.mp3 In a nutshell......dairy makes you grow! (good if your a body builder or underweight athlete  but bad if you have pre cancerous cells)If you are trying to lose bodyfat and/or have ANY autoimmune disease you want to stay away from dairy. If you are trying to "get big"and are healthy already....some dairy consumption would help. Raw milk and grass fed dairy would be best as it is full of Omega 3's.(we need MORE Omega 3's to help fight the 20:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio our country has developed) Dairy does give you an insulin spike! You have to use it wisely. My son's Collin (age 7 w/autism) and Ryan (age 3 and typical) have never been able to tolerate dairy. Collin has been on the gfcf diet since age 20 months.  Ryan  always threw up and never slept or felt good when I breast fed him (I ate and drank dairy) and/or when he took  formula as a baby. It was not until he switched to soy that he calmed down. The day we started Collin on the gfcf diet he slept through the night after MONTHS of not sleeping well or even waking up at like 1:30am FOR THE DAY! It was crazy! [caption id="attachment_177" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Dairy?"][/caption]

Traveling...and sticking with our diet!!!

So we had an excellent Paleo Thanksgiving and are really enjoying and doing well at our new grain free dairy free diet so.....I was not going to let one little trip mess us up. It does take some prep work, and we are driving on this trip so I was able to prepare lots of food to bring. I really didn't mind at all. I did most of it Thursday and Friday early morning and we were able to leave by 10am. We are headed to Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park to meet my brother and his family for some fun this week-end. The boys are tremendously excited and we are too. I planned a menu to have all breakfasts, lunches and plenty of snacks on hand for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will probably leave the lodge in the evening and go meet my Dad and my Aunt who are near by this NC Wolf Lodge. I am requestiong a steakhouse and one that promotes gluten free like Outback. Collin HAS TO EAT GLUTEN FREE no matter what. Other options may be five guys (gluten free with no buns) and or PF Changs. In any event I do not want to take in any grains or dairy during this trip. The way we have been eating is making us feel better and better.Here is a list of what I prepared. Spinach,Sun-dried tomato and spicy turkey sausage tart (from Elana's cook book) 2 packs of nitrate free organic bacon (trader Joe's) Bark ( a candy type dish using dark 85% chocolate and roasted and salted nuts) Gotta have some road trip junk! Breakfast Bars (from Elana's Pantry website www.elanaspantry.com) A tub of fresh mixed veggies like broccoli, carrots,sweet peppers ect. w/cumin dip. Yum in the car!!!! Paleo Pancakes Applegate Farms Sun-dried tomato spicy sausage (organic and nitrate free) Almond milk (chocolate and vanilla) Gluten free chocolate chip cookies for the boys Apples,oranges,bababas,grapes Chocolate Chip Scones from Elana's Pantry (There is a Duncan Donuts in this place so this will be a good replacement) raisins, craisins,nuts,natural fruit sticks AND red wine and Gluten Free Beer from Red Bridge!

Fish Oil

Upon watching several seminar clips of Dr. Barry Sears I was convinced my family needed a large consumption of Fish Oil and Omega 3's added to our diet. When Collin was first diagnosed with autism we used to put the liquid form in his drink. We saw good results from this and then as he grew older he would not tolerate it any more. He was too young to swallow pills so we stopped. We have spent quite a bit of money the past few months trying different fish oil and Omega 3 supplements for the boys (Collin age 7 and autistic and Ryan age 3 and typical). I FINALLY FOUND ONE  they will consume. After completeing my Nutrition Certification by Robb Wolf and CrossFit I understood the LARGE AMOUNT that was needed in our diets. I started dosing Garrett (my husband) and I in the same manner. Anyway, the best supplement I found for the kids is the Trader Joe's Sea Gummies OMEGA-3 with DHA.(200mg) Garrett and I are taking the Trader Joe's Omega 3 Fatty Acids with 1200 MG Fish Oil. According to Robb Wolf you need to consume .5 grams per 10 pounds of body weight if your healthy and 1.0 grams per 10 pounds of body weight if your body is sick or overweight. We have been following these guidelines in our house and it is only adding to the good things we are seeing in Collin and ourselves. There are many stories about people overcoming obesity ( Manuel Uribe, world's largest man), ADHD, allergies ect... due to the added consumption of fish oil. People used to have a healthy rate of Omega 3's to Omega 6's but now the rate is extremly unhealthy and we are eating at about at 1:20 ratio of Omega 3's to Omega 6's. Omega 6's are the ones that PROMOTE inflammation. When our grandparents gave our parents a teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil daily, it was one of the best things they could have done for our parents. That practice has seemed to come to a halt and our ingestion of Omega 6's in our current society now is through the roof! Another good place to get your Omega 3's is buy purchasing Omega 3 eggs. I highly recommend starting to add fish oil to your daily diet to help with current inflammation and/or disease as well as for long term health.

Birthday Parties and Cupcakes

So Ryan has a birthday party today too. We made grain free dairy free brownies (in blog below this week) for his party on Friday and today he is going to PLAY for another. Ryan and I made cupcakes following this recipe. Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Vegan Chocolate Frosting ½ cup coconut flour, sifted ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 6 eggs ½ cup grapeseed oil ½ cup agave nectar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a small bowl, blend together eggs, grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer or hand blender until smooth
4. Pour batter into well oiled muffin tins
5. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
6. Cool completely
7. Top with chocolate frosting

We made these in kind of a hurry. I was rushing out to go teach CrossFit. As I poured the batter into the muffin cups I realized there was lots of flour on the bottom of the bowl. So they did NOT turn out great. BUT they have a delicious flavor. I will try them again, probably this morning b/c I still need cupcakes for the party. What I usually do with my kids is make a dozen or two of cupcakes that are gluten free and dairy free then freeze them and when a party comes up or an event at school where the Mom's are bringing in cakes ect. I send in one cupcake for the boys. The teachers and staff are all aware of their "allergies" and are always good about asking me what they can and can not eat. Yesterday one of Collin's teachers brought in apple pie and knew to e-mail us to ask if he could have some ("NO"). If I know in advance what they are going to serve I can pretty much duplicate it with the ingredients I choose. Parents ALWAYS ask me "how in the world do you keep up with that, find time, figure it out ect?" I have been doing this so long for Collin who has been on the GFCF diet since age 20 months due to autism, that I really don't know any different. I do it for Ryan (age 3) just the same and it really is not that difficult. Ryan's school has pizza day every Wednesday and I send in a gluten free pizza for him every Wednesday. I either make it or buy a frozen one form a specialty store. I just try to stay prepared.At Collin's and Ryan's school the parents send out an e-mail to the class list and will let us know a day or two in advance when they are going to come in and bring a "treat" for a child's birthday. I just grab a cupcake out of the freezer and add it to their lunch.I use these little carriers. My kids are fine with this and so far it has never been a problem!

" You mean you can ' t eat bread? "

When people start to check out what I am doing......"you mean you can't eat bread?" is about the first thing that comes out of their mouth. And the answer is ..."right....no grain bread". But there are lots of non grain recipes and this is one of the first things I wanted to tackle.I made this recipe from Elana's Pantry (www.elanaspantry.com) and it turned out good. It has the consistency of a typical banana bread and in fact I think it would be GREAT with some mashed bananas and crushed walnuts to make it a banana bread. You could try apple or maybe even pumpkin or zuccini. I gave Ryan a piece of it with some jam and he ate a little then set it down...but he is 3 and does that with a lot of food. Anyway, here is the link to the recipe. http://www.elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-bread-20/ Good luck. I wil try more breads and keep you posted. Just a note.....Arrowroot flour is at Harry's.

Breakfast Bars (These are AWESOME!) and Update

[caption id="attachment_65" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Breakfast Bars from Elana's Pantry"][/caption] I made these breakfast bars yesterday (Wedenesday November 19,2009) and they are delicious. I have had more people than just my family try them and they have gotten great reviews. I did not have any sliced almonds so I subbed pistacious and I put in a few dried cranberries since I was short on raisins but I won't use THOSE cranberries anymore because they were dried with sugar.It really won't make a difference to take them out I don't think.Check them out at     http://www.elanaspantry.com/breakfast-bars/. The week is going really well. Last night I used no recipes but cooked some Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon form Harry's. I covered it with grape-seed oil (I love this oil) and rosemary and garlic and baked it. I made Cauliflower Mash to go along with it and we had some green salad with balsamic vinaigrettes. The kids ate earlier than we did. They had chicken tenders. I buy Organic Gluten Free Chicken Tenders or Nuggets and they enjoy thise and Ryan does not ask to go to Chick Fil A anymore. Ryan eats them with Ken's Honey Mustard Dressing which is gluten free and Collin uses organic catsup (gf also). The chicken I buy has breading made with corn and rice products so this is something I am going to work on but for now, those are the lesser of the evils for the gut and they are gluten free at least. I am going to try making them with almond meal! Later the boys wanted popcorn. They are popcorn freaks and I am happy to say they have not had any in about a week. I really did not have a good substitute so they shared some Newman's all natural plain popcorn.I was fine with that but would really like to get all of the corn out of their diets, especially Collin's. Many kids with autism have corn and soy taken out of their diets along with the gluten and casein and see better results. I feel grat eating this way. I have more energy although I am not CrossFitting at this time due to a couple injuries (another reason to start this diet) but I wake up on my own every morning between 5 and 6 with no alarm. That indicates I have gotten enough rest. Garrett (husband) says he feels better as well. His energy was low at  CrossFit so we looked at what he ate and he was VERY LOW on carbs which can accelerate fat loss but may make his performance change a little. BUT after body fat decreases, performance can skyrocket. I agree with Robb Wolf and you should throw out your scale and go by other measures like how you look, feel. perform. How your triglycerides are,blood pressure levels and levels of disease. HOWEVER, I did hop on the scale to see what was up. I was down 3lbs for this week so far. I DO know my body fat % and that is what I am going to measure in  the future as well as how I feel and perform and how my injuries are healing.. Anyway for this week, so far so good!