A few month’s ago I mentioned that one of my nieces had to cut out dairy and gluten from her diet. You might remember me making gluten free Oreo Dirt Pie for us at Thanksgiving too.
Well today I want to talk about her situation a little bit. About how to build a support system for kids with allergies (gluten free in particular). Every family has a different situation, but the support is always needed!
R-A-E-N —> easy to remember, right?
Reassure– Reassure the parents/kids that there are great alternatives. I brought my sister in law all kinds of gluten/dairy free products to try. It took a lot of trial and error, but we kept note of what was working!
Assist- Offer to cook, to shop, to make a special dinner for the kids, etc. My sister in law is one amazing mama. With 4 kids and 2 with allergies, it’s hard to feed everyone and keep sanity. But my whole family is very supportive and often picks up things for them while they are grocery shopping.
Here’s an easy recipe to make for kids or with kids. It’s an oldie but goodie!
[print_this]Â Gluten Free Baked Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with Honey Almond Custard (topping)
Ingredients:
Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread (I use Udi’s bread)
1 egg or â…“ cup egg whites
½ cup milk alternative (I used almond milk)
1 tablespoon honey
cinnamon (to taste)
small handful or less of cashews (plain or honey roasted)
fresh fruit to garnish
almond butter and/or peanut flour to use for the topping.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly oil a baking dish/cookie sheet and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, honey, and almond milk. Whisk together. Coat each piece of bread in your egg batter and then place on baking dish or cookie sheet. Spread your cashews on top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip over bread and broil for another 1-2 minutes. Be careful you don’t burn the cashews. While the French toast is baking, take your left over batter (eggs, milk, honey) and microwave for 30 seconds. This will make a nice custard like texture. Add in 1 spoonful of melted almond butter and stir until smooth. This will be your topping. Once the bread is baked, add your honey almond topping and fresh fruit. Drizzle with syrup or honey. [/print_this]
Educate– Send small articles or links to websites that may be useful. Like my Basics of GLUTEN FREE living post. Don’t overwhelm them. Keep it simple. And if the child is old enough, teach them about their food allergy and what it is. What foods to avoid and alternatives to make. My sister in law is very good at sharing this with my niece. She now understands what she can have and can’t have. I also try to show her ways to make her favorite foods gluten free. In fact, we made collard green wraps the other day and she is a pro at making delicious salads! She may have put a ton of pickles and mustard in her wrap.. but hey, whatever works, right? haha
Normalcy – Make it feel normal to them. Don’t make them feel restricted. I’m so glad I can provide Healthy Bites for my niece. It makes her feel like the rest of the kids. They don’t know the difference between which is dairy free and which one is only gluten free. All are tasty and good for them, yet they think it’s a cookie. WIN WIN! And when I’m out of healthy bites, I bring back ups; Peanut butter lara bars or Udis Gluten Free cookies or muffin tops!. Hey, kids need to be kids sometimes. Baked goods are sometimes needed, and are allowed.
Support system’s are so important. Wouldn’t you agree?
[Tweet “Tips and Recipes for #glutenfree Kids via @LCCotter @udisglutenfree #udisglutenfree”]
Cheers,
Lindsay
Dirt Pie was one of my FAVs as a kid!!
I think the fact that I’m gluten free as well makes it a bit easier on Norah, but it’s still hard if we go to someone’s house or to a birthday party where, for instance, only pizza is served. She usually will ask for what everyone else is having, but gets over it pretty quickly. I just have to always remember to have food with us!
but at least she has healthy bites, right? hehe. actually, she has YOU
I want people to SUPPORT ME when I do a salmon eating contest – GLUTEN-FREE support right there! đŸ˜‰
But seriously – I wish there was far more gluten-free and allergen-free food support ten years ago when I first started dealing with all of this!!
i don’t even think they knew what gluten was back then. even 5 years ago, when i had to go GF, there was nothing. No wonder you are a squashaholic. hehe
Wonderful post! While I am lucky enough to not have any food allergies I know a few people with serious-celiac disease. It makes eating out and traveling tough so I love to hear that you are helping your niece so much (:
thanks hayley! we do what we can, yes?
I totally agree. While my son doesn’t have allergies, my sisters boyfriend has a poultry and all nuts allergies. It can definitely be overwhelming and some members of my family just don’t understand it (i.e. having turkey be the only option for an entree) but while it takes some research and experimentation it can be done. And you are an awesome aunt for being so helpful in her journey!
i think nut allergies are almost worst than gluten. they are in everything!
I totally agree, finding chocolate chips that are nut free was Luke mission impossible. When I finally did, I made him cookies and then bought a bunch of chocolate for him to keep at home!
Lovely post. My niece has to follow a gluten free diet as well due to some symptoms she was experiencing. I love being able to help- in fact I am sending a gluten free care package to her soon! I just want her to feel like she can have just as many wonderful foods as the next person.
oh i love that! you are a blessing!
I need to make that french toast…It looks fabulous and of course will be even better topped with NuttZo! XOXO
only if you make me some crock pot chili!!!!
Great tips LC. Building a support always goes a long way.
Recipe looks fun and tasty for all ages đŸ˜‰ When can I come over?
come over now! we can bake and try to make gf bread, k?
awesome post! and this french toast sounds wonderful.
we remember when we sold our gluten-free vegan goodies at farmers market and kids would get so excited that they could have anything off the table!! everything was worth it to see their smiles!!
those smiles are the best. Kids need to be kids!! <3 that
Do you have celiac? Why do you eat gluten free?
I had a parasite in the past that wrecked my gut and gut lining. I was put on a GF diet for healing because they thought i could form Celiac from this event. It literally helped save my stomach
One of my buddies’ son is celiac. He is 6 year old, and the way his celiacs works, is that he doesn’t necessarily feel ill aftser ingesting gluten, but rather the gluten eats away at his insides and could, long-term, cause him to pass early. Having a little boy understand WHY he can’t eat a regular hot dog is pretty rough, especially when he doesn’t have any sort of immediate sickness. But his life literally depends on it.
They have told me that all of the new gluten free products have really helped…..and they have learned to cook Risotto like nobodies business! =)
PS. I would take you to ski in a heart beat, but unfortunately….I am not very good either, I just get by because I love the environment!
PSS. You live in Austin?! Awesome, I’ll try to see if we ever have any overlapping races. Would love to meet another Texas blogger! I used to visit regularly, but now that I am “old” (read, not just out of college and no friends attending UT), I don’t get up there as much.
oh you must come do austin 70.3!!!! would love to meet!
Great posts. My students ask me about it a lot, since I always bring in my lunch and turn down a lot of food they give me. It is hard explaining it to them. I know it would be much trickier if it was the child affected, great tips.
Living with food allergies is definitely no easy task when you’re a kid. I have two cousins who have some serious food allergies – one has a peanut allergy and the other has a gluten allergy. I love these tips, especially the need for reassurance and normalcy. It was always hard for them to see other kids eat certain foods that they couldn’t, so those two things really play a big part!
oh man, double whammy! but glad you can be there. I bet you make them feel normal and can create some great recipes! p.s. email me for your ebook! [email protected]
Great tips, Lindsay! I grew up with a serious peanut allergy, and I can definitely relate to how difficult it can be to manage — especially since there wasn’t so much allergy awareness back in my day. I think the most important thing is to focus on what you CAN have instead of what you can’t. Yes it sucks to have to pass on certain things, but it’s a lot easier when you have delicious alternatives to enjoy.
I’m not gluten-free, but I did just decide to have French Toast for breakfast. This looks perfect!!! xoxo
Support system is SO important no matter what it is! You make such amazing things – they have a super awesome aunt to help that is for sure!
I really like the reassure and the normalcy points… two things parents are VERY concerned about! I’m thought about trying gf with L because she sometimes complains of a stomach ache but it is SO hard with school, parties, etc…I’d have to be very sure that was the issue to commit to it.
These are great tips, and you’re the best aunt ever!!! What a great idea đŸ™‚ I’m glad you’re spreading your GF support đŸ™‚
so important!! I know how hard it would have been for me without great resources… I can only imagine how hard it is for a kiddo. Thanks love! xoxo
Ahhh Lindsay you are so inspiring! You are so loving and selfless, always trying to help others become happier, and live life in normalcy no matter what their situation (as you mentioned once again here). Great read, and I will pass this on to anyone I think would benefit! Great job! Keep up the good work!
Totally agree. Support systems are everything.
I am always so blown away by your posts, your dedication, your support, your inspiration, etc… If there is anyone who defines what beautiful means – it’d be you!