Going Gluten-Free

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Here is the loaf of banana bread that gave me hope.  Since Maddie was diagnosed with celiac disease, I have attempted a few mixes for baked goods, but haven't made gluten free baked goods truly from scratch.  Maddie has been on a banana kick and asked for banana bread, so I bought some gluten free AP Flour, some Xanthan Gum and decided to give it a try.

Let me say that this was easier than I thought it would be.  Luck was with me in that the Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour that I purchased had a recipe for banana bread right on the package and, other than Xanthan Gum, all the ingredients were things I already had. 

The banana bread is tasty and rose beautifully and now I have the confidence to alter recipes so as to make them gluten free. 

If you are interested, the recipe for the Banana Bread is available at the Bob's Red Mill website.

Some Clear Evidence that a Gluten Free Diet Works

Yes, changing your diet can make a huge difference and in a very short time.

Before:

After:

Maddie has gained about 8 pounds in the last 6 weeks.  Can you even believe the change?

Gluten Free Medication -- Total Frustration!

So today my daughter went to the orthodontist and when she came home her teeth were hurting.  Usually a dose of children's Ibuprofen will take care of the discomfort she is feeling, so I went to the medicine cabinet and pulled out the bottle we had gotten from Jewel/Osco a while back.  I looked at all the product information, but it didn't say the medicine was gluten free.  So I called the number on the bottle -- what a mistake!

After listening to the automated menu, and pressing buttons until I got a real person, I asked if the product was gluten free.  The "customer service" person asked for my Jewel Osco card number.  What???  Finally I gave him my phone number since I wasn't about to go searching for my card.  Then he wanted to confirm my address and he asked for my email.  At this point I said "No" quite firmly and told him I just wanted an answer to my question.  Why he needed all my personal information, I do not know.

Then he tells me -- get this -- he doesn't have that information!  Why, then did he waste my time, asking me for this other info? 

His solution is to call the local Jewel.  The pharmacist there had absolutely no idea which products were gluten free, but said, "It doesn't say gluten in the ingredient list."  Well, as you can imagine, that was no help. 

His final solution?  He could "put in a case" and possibly have an answer in 24 hours.  At this point I said thanks, but no thanks.

I looked online and found that Walgreen's had gluten free children's ibuprofen, so I headed out the door.  I knew I wanted to pick up dinner -- which was next to a CVS, so I stopped in there first.  I couldn't find any information on their gluten free medicines and the pharmacist looked at me like I had two heads when I asked her if she could point me to a children's gluten free pain reliver.

Finally I went to Walgreen's -- and lo and behold!  right on the package I see the words "Gluten Free" right below the ingredients.  Thank goodness for Walgreen's.  They have my business from now on.

A Gluten Free Halloween

Another hurdle -- Maddie's first gluten-free Halloween.  And I have to say, it wasn't nearly as bad as I though it would be.  My family has been wonderful -- a big thank you goes to my sister Heidi, who made a special batch of gluten-free cupcakes so that Maddie could have one at the annual pumpkin carving contest.

On Sunday, as Maddie was preparing to go Trick-or-Treating, she was less than enthusiastic.  In fact, she was thinking about skipping it altogether.  I asked if she was upset about not being able to eat a lot of the candy and she claimed that wasn't the problem.  Once we got out, met up with her cousins and started going door to door, she perked right up and was out there running around the neighborhood and having a great time.

I used this usper helpful Halloween candy list from Alison over at Sure Foods Living -- it was so wonderful that she spent so much time compiling all this information and then shared it with us all!  Something that could have been a disaster became almost fun as Maddie sorted her candy and we checked it against the list. 

Maddie ended up with more than enough candy that was gluten free, and I'm feeling very hopeful as we enter the holiday season.  I'm sure it will be a challenge, but we can handle it!