Looking for Gluten-free and Casein-free Recipes/ Ideas

Updated on February 20, 2009
S.W. asks from Allen, TX
20 answers

Hi, everyone! We are going to try the Gluten-Free,Casein-Free diet with my son. He is on the autism spectrum and also has some nutritional issues. I am looking for two things: recipes/ meal ideas and behavior issues that should diminish with the diet. We want to track his behavior to see if the diet is working or not. Has anyone else tried his diet? Any tips for us?

8 moms found this helpful

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C.P.

answers from Dallas on

Hello S.,
Here are a few links I've collected over the years:

http://glutenfreeliving.bravehost.com
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/celiac/mixes.html

---this is where I buy the birtday cakes for the kids--- the pineapple flavor is great! I use it instead of the yellow cake. (notice also SOY-FREE)
---> www.reallygreatfoods.com

http://www.glutensolutions.com/
http://www.glutenfreemall.com/
http://www.gilliansfoods.com
http://www.dfwceliac.org/html/gluten_free_foods.html

Good luck! ~C.~

3 moms found this helpful

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

http://myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com/ this blog has wonderful recipes!

1 mom found this helpful
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P.M.

answers from Dallas on

We went organic a couple of years ago in response to my hubbys constant illnesses. He didn't eat well in the first 28 years of life. His mom didn't cook much and he ate a lot of processed foods. Whole food market has many products that will help you with your diet. It is a little more expensive, but we find we eat less because we are getting the nutrition our bodies need and not the chemicals and stuff. We don't always adhere - we love Chick fil A, but we eat organic 90% of the time and my allergies are better and he is better as well.

Hope this helps!

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

Dr. James Mahoney in Southlake- Center for Hope and Healing carries a cookbook his wife, created for their own children who have dietary allergies-- plus, he is a highly sought after physician for dealing with children with autism. On his website, you can actually download the cookbook-- The Nurture Diet. Kid tasted and approved recipes!!!

Go to www.centeru.com and click on STORE and then click on The Nurture Diet cookbook or go to link below.

http://www.naturalhealthcoach.com/online_store/?page=shop...

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Dallas on

Hi S.,

I would recommend checking out the website:

Healthy-Family.org

It has tons of wonderful recipes that should suit your diet needs, as well as an awesome forum (there is specifically one thread titled "gluten-free and casein-free diet info"). Hope this helps!

Best of luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.W.

answers from Dallas on

A friend of mine has celiac disease. She started a blog. http://gfdfw.blogspot.com/
If you want to contact her you can call the Star Telegram, I am sure she would talk to you. I just made a vegan lasagna using brown rice noodles and substituting tofu with vegan Parmesan for ricotta. Ok, I had some real cheese there also, but you don't need to. Best of Luck. D.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.F.

answers from Amarillo on

I wish that I had recipes for you, but I don't...however, my mom recently found out that she has Celiac Disease and out of curiosity I have been doing a lot of label reading. I have noticed that the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart is very good at labeling their products. If it is gluten free, they have it labeled so. I have been really surprised at how many products they have that are. You should also watch shredded cheeses. My mom's physician told her that a lot of shredded cheeses have some sort of wheat/gluten product in them to keep the cheese from sticking together. Great Value cheeses use potato starch, making them gluten free. Hope this helps!!
If you have time, I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward me any recipes you receive as I would love to pass them on to my mom.
Good luck S.!!

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D.D.

answers from Dallas on

S.-

My daughter has been on the diet for the last 2 years and it is not as bad as we thought. We did the casein free thing too for the first 6 months but has added that back and she is still doing well. There is so much available and it may take a little trial and error on brands and products to find what you like, but a lot of it is pretty good. To omit casein will be a little harder to do. You can read more about it on various websites and order cookbooks if that's your thing. It is also easy to modify recipes too. Herbmart is a great place to find gluten free items at a savings and Whole Foods and Sprouts are always a good option. There are even restaurants like 'Delicious and Fit' in Plano and 'Kozy Kitchen' in Dallas that cater to this need as well. There is so much it is hard to tell here. Just let me know if you need more information; I would be glad to help.

B

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C.W.

answers from Wichita Falls on

My friend's site has some great raw food recipes! www.rawmazing.com

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S.W.

answers from Dallas on

Hi S..

My sister, brother-in-law, and their two children have to eat gluten free due to a disease called Celiac. I have gained a lot of knowledge as I do keep my niece and nephew and have to make sure they do not eat any gluten. My sister's family found a group that meets at The Church of Christ (I believe that is the church) in North Richland Hills. It is located at Rufe Snow and 820. They will provide you with materials regarding foods that you can eat as well as restaurants that you can eat at. Cross contamination is a big concern when having to stick to a 100% gluten free diet. You can shop at places like Sprouts that carries a ton of items that are gluten free. Try "googling" Celiac Disease and you will find a ton of information on foods and recipes. I hope this helps. If you would like some more specific information, please feel free to contact me and I will put you in touch with my sister who is much more knowledgable than I am on the subject. My email address is ____@____.com.

B.H.

answers from Dallas on

I saw your other post, and I am sure you are on the right track. Sprouts carries a ton of gluten free foods for less money than Whole Foods. I love Sprouts, and their gluten free choices are great tasting and numerous.

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S.E.

answers from Dallas on

I am on araw foods vegan diet, which I just love! This diet has almost healed me of an autoimmune illness, similar to rheumatoid arthritis. Google Ritamarie Loscalso in Austin if you are interested in learning more. Blessings to you ~ S.

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M.B.

answers from Dallas on

Hi S.,

You've already gotten lots of good info, but I wanted to suggest you get him tested before starting the diet. You can get tested here:
www.enterolab.com
This will show if he is having any immune reaction and is more accurate that celiac blood tests. Research is now showing that celiac is a very specific immune reaction to gluten in the gut. But, folks with non-celiac genes are also impacted by the gluten systemically and in particular the brain. For autism spectrum kids, the reactions are due to the leaky gut and there are excess gluten and dairy protein that make it into the blood stream and into the brain - the have an opiate impact on the brain.

The reason I recommend the testing is due to how long it takes to get the diet right and ensure you have no cross contamination in your home, in particular if the whole family is not GF/CF - in particular with another child you will find it very difficult to keep your son entirely away from gluten and it does require a completely GF diet to get the good results - the tiniest amount of gluten can still impact someone that is sensitive to gluten. And, you'll need separate toasters, have separate plastic utensils (the gluten molecules will adhere to plastic, but not to glass and metal), kitchen and appliances (blender, mixer, etc. ) cleaned extremely well to ensure there isn't flour from making gluten containing products.

The diet has worked very well for my family - ADHD son's behavior dramatically improved and Aspie son is now significantly better with social interactions, eye contact, etc.

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S.S.

answers from Dallas on

Hi S.. I have a three-year-old who has been on a gluten-free/casein-free diet for 3 months now after being diagnosed with a gluten/casein intolerance in the fall. She was never suspected of being on the Autism spectrum, but she did have inconsolable mood swings that have since diminished. She is a much calmer, sociable girl with a growing vocabulary (she was a late walker and late talker). As far as the diet goes, it looks like you have gotten a lot of recommendations for being gluten-free, but being casein-free as well makes it more complicated. Assuming your son can still eat soy, you can find a lot of substitutes -- Silk milk/chocolate milk, Silk yogurt, shredded soy cheese, even soy pudding. We shop a lot at Market Street in Colleyville and the Sunflower Shoppe on Hwy 121 between Glade and Hall Johnson. For a special treat, we go to Pizzeria Uno's in downtown Fort Worth. They have gluten-free pizza crust, and they will let you bring your own cheese for them to melt on it. Best of luck.

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M.G.

answers from Dallas on

Hi S.,

My son was/is on the Autism spectrum (I consider him recovered). However, he has behavior issues and MANY skin issues. His skin is horrible. I thought going G.F. would help his skin clear up, but it didn't. Then I tried C.F. as well. He was GVCF for 2 days and then I stopped b/c he refused to drink rice milk, chocolate rice milk, almond milk or chocolate almond milk. He drank soy milk, but soy isn't so good for you, so I didn't want him drinking it all the time. Cottage cheese is his favorite, and it was very difficult for him to say goodbye to it. So now he is back drinking cow's milk and eating cottage cheese and other dairy products and is very happy. I gave up. I am telling you this not to discourage you, but to warn you that it is very difficult. Hopefully your son won't be as picky as my five year old son. For GF foods, I went to Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Central Market. I just bought a book called The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook - The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-free Diet. The authors are Pamela J. Compart and Dana Laake.

Also, PF Changs has a GF menu, and Laura's Bistro in Plano is a GF restaurant! Good luck!

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R.G.

answers from Dallas on

I started my gluten free diet at the beginning of the year. I thought it was going to be a pain trying to find stuff for me to eat, I am doing mine for weight loss. Anyway, I have found everything I could possibly imagine at Kroger in a section that is over by the pharmacy and they have all kinds of kids stuff from chicken nuggets to pasta that is similar to spagettios, you might also try health markets, I go to cox farms in duncanville. If you would like to send me your email address I would be more then happy to send you some of the recipes that you guys can try. I also cut out all dairy and do nothing buy soy milk (vanilla).

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E.G.

answers from Dallas on

My entire family has been gluten-free, dairy free, soy free and corn free or about 6 months. We go to Market Street because they have an isle dedicated to gluten-free items. Typically the way we eat is protein with a veggie for breakfast lunch and dinner and then fruit in between. It makes it easy to stay on track and we don't need fancy recipes - basically we bake and steam or eat raw. Good Luck it isn't easy at first.

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J.W.

answers from Dallas on

S., my Mom has been on a gluten-free diet for many years. It is becoming easier to find products. I have even noticed that some of the local, well stocked grocery stores are starting to sell some gluten-free food. Check out the health food isle. There are several health food stores around and they would have recipe books and and gluten-free products. There is a big one, north of 30 on Collins St. in Arlington. Look in your local book store and go on line. You should be able to find plenty of information. My Mom has been more pleased with products and recipe that contain rice flour. If your son likes cornbread, Morrison's makes a mix, in a packet that only has cornmeal in it. If you make a thin bread from cornbread, just think of the toppings you could put on it, you know like little pizzas. Go to a health food store and put your thinking cap on.
J. W.

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S.C.

answers from Dallas on

We have been gluten -free since my son was 2 years old ( now 16). We still mess up every once in a while.Lots of hidden gulten in products.He loves Peanutbutter Panda puffs for breakfast, I also use it to make a trail mix with other gluten free ingredients. the Panda puffs are available at Kroger in the health food section. He also likes Amy's frozen pizza the rice crust one is gluten free it only has a cheese topping so we add some other gluten free toppings to it.(This is great to take with you to a birthday party where they will be serving pizza so your child does not feel left out) I make my own pasta using a recipe from Gluten free gourmet and my kitchen aid mixer I have the pasta attachment. Although some times I use dry pasta from the international section of the food store it states that it is gluten free. Good luck

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