Thursday, August 2, 2012

How gluten/wheat affected my son and some of our favorite gf foods

Hello everyone!  Hope you all have been having a good summer so far.  The heat has been kicking in out here in California.  How is it in your area of the world?

I've been packing for our move in 2 weeks which isn't something I would like to be doing. The house we are in was put up for sale, which is a bummer because we're pretty comfortable here.  Luckily we found a new house rather quickly and it's actually closer in town.

On another note a while back my son Keaton was having ear problems for about 1 1/2 years, constant ear pain and ear pressure along with bouts of fluid in his ears.  His ear problems actually started around age 5 then as he got older they were becoming more frequent along with ear infections and then about 1 1/2 years ago it got really bad with the issues I mentioned above.  He had allergy tests which came up with nothing, although she didn't do a food allergy test.  His pediatrician and the E.N.T. Dr. said the only option left would be to put tubes in his ears.  Ear tubes at the age of 14, I don't think so.  I decided to try another doctor and I found a osteopathic doctor who said he didn't need tubes and a Naturopath which helped us start to build up his immune system and hat we should get him off gluten because he has had stomach issues for quite a few years as well.   Keaton and I had a suspicion  he was sensitive to wheat because of his stomach pain but he wasn't consistent with eliminating it all together.  As I was doing research on wheat/gluten intolerance I found that it does cause damage to the immune system and can cause ear pressure/infections.  I discussed this info. with Keaton and he agreed to do anything to stop the pain.  It's been almost 2 months now and how is he doing?  He is ear and stomach pain free!!!!  He just got a physical and the doctor said his ears look great! 

This is where I have to stock up on gluten free foods for the kid.  The first thing to buy would be a great tasting gf vegan bread that I can locally, yet there are only the heavy rice bread options.  Blah! The best tasting gf vegan bread I've found so far is Sami's Bakery(I've mentioned in an older post) located in Florida!  Seriously it's the best tasting bread and now they have burger buns and bagels.  Oh yah and also wraps!  The bummer about ordering from here is that if you want 2 day delivery it's very expensive so I get the standard delivery which from the time of order to arrival can take a good week so I order extra and freeze it.  Check out the bun below which has a Dr. Praeger's Veg. Patty in between. Keaton raves about these buns and says they are better than any non gf bun he's ever eaten. I have to agree with him these buns taste amazing!



Sami's Bakery Burger Buns
I did recently find another bakery which is actually located out here in California that is now making gf vegan breads and I am hoping they taste just as good.  My son will be trying it out for the first time while he is visiting his grandparents.  We'll let you know more about it when he gets back.
As far as finding other gf foods, there are so many more options out there nowadays, some are good some not so good.   Pastas: our favorite is Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta it holds it's shape and also does well reheated up. As far as a rice pasta we like Jovial Brown Rice Pasta which has a great texture but is a bit pricier but worth it.  Gf vegan burgers: Sunshine Burgers, Dr. Praeger's and there is a new one we tried from Health is Wealth Sprouted Grain Burgers that tastes really good although it might not look it would.  They do contain soy but there was only 2 boxes left on the shelf so I figured it had to taste good.  Oh and check out this find...


 
Helen's Kitchen Organic Veggie Ground
I noticed this new product next to the other veggie ground products so I picked it up and noticed it was gf and vegan so I snagged a package to try.   I decided to use it as a taco filling so upon opening it up that it was very moist but this did cook out the longer I cooked it.  It has a really nice flavor without adding any seasoning but I used it to make taco's so I added taco seasoning to it.  I was pleasantly surprised with this product and highly recommend it to anyone who has been wanting to use crumbles but can't do to being gluten free.
So this is just some of our favorite products that I buy the rest I make.



Speaking of things I make.   I recently made the best gf pie crust that turned out fabulous as well as the pizza crust from Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats by Allyson Kramer which I won over at Happy Vegan Face...thanks Jessy I'm loving the new cookbook!  The pizza crust also has a great taste as well.


Gf Vegan Peach Scone from our local health food store

What are some of your favorite gf products/foods?
Next post will be a raw e-book giveaway!

12 comments:

  1. so awesome to hear about Keaton feeling better, JoLynn. wahoooooo! i'm gonna keep an eye out for those crumbles. while i love a sunshine burger, i also love those Amy's Sonoma burgers. they're soy-free and gluten-free, i really enjoy them. isn't Sammi's bread the best? i order a bunch and freeze it as well. hrm......i'm trying to think of other gluten-free goodies i love. oh yeah, those Butler soy curls, and Ian's makes some gluten-free onion rings when i'm in the mood for something trashy. ha! i'm gonna say it again - MEGAyay on Keaton feeling so much better!!!!

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    1. Jessy we are very happy Keaton is feeling better too! I haven't tried Amy's Sonoma Burgers yet and I love onion rings so I'll have to try Ian's out. Today at New Frontiers(our health food store in town) had another new product from Helen's Kitchen...drum roll please.....Gf Veggie Chorizo!!! Talk about awesome!

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  2. I always love to read your blog. Lots of good information. It is great that Keaton is feeling better, I am going to do a little experiment on my own with regards to gluten. I am glad that I lost my ear ache buddy. You are an awesome mom. I am going to share this information. ~ Its Yvette.. I don't work the blogs well yet. : )

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    1. Yvette! You made my day by typing in a comment. Thanks for the kind words. Let me know how your experiment goes all though I'm sure we'll be chatting on the phone soon. Oh and you'll get the hang of the blogging thing soon enough.

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  3. Glad to hear Keaton is feeling better! I had no idea ear aches could be related to eating wheat. There's Zest Bakery here in the SF bay area if you're ever up in the area. They're gluten-free but not everything is vegan. If you're visiting, it's always best to give them a head's up and they can make stuff for you too. :-)

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    1. Chow,
      Thanks for the info on Zest Bakery. I think we may be heading up that way in Sept.

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  4. oh my gosh that's so awesome that your son's ear and stomach issues were healed! isn't it amazing the havoc gluten puts on our bodies! And my fav GF product is definitely Tinkyada brown rice pasta -- AMAZING! That and anything from TUlu's bakery in NYC :)

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  5. I'm so glad you figured out it was a gluten problem! Luckily, that's no longer a death sentence and there are more delicious alternatives everyday. I want to check out the cookbook too, and I have no qualms about gluten myself. :)

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  6. It sounds really scary that your son had to deal with these horrible issues for years. I am glad you could resolve it!

    And yes, it's hot here, too. Almost 40°C, totally crazy. I cannot wait for autumn.

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    1. Mihl,

      It was scary and I was really concerned with all of this affecting his hearing. Luckily I read enough and am aware how food can effect our bodies. My worry is that how many doctors are prescribing unnecessary procedures on kids.

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  7. Great post! It's incredible all the varying ways that gluten intolerance affects our lives. So glad to hear that going gluten-free has worked for you guys. I know it practically saved our lives. :)
    Great resources too, thanks!
    ~Amber

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    1. Amber!-It's crazy though how doctor's can't figure these things out yet we can. How many more people are suffering with health issues that are linked to Gluten but the doctor just prescribes them meds and they continue to suffer because they don't think food plays a factor.

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