Help! I need advice on making my 3 year old gluten-free for a fortnight!

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And I know nothing about it and have no idea where to look. Am going to try and dash to a supermarket this afternoon to check out the free-from section.

Ds2 (3.7) has had some bottom problems for a while now and the doctor wants us to try gluten-free for a fortnight to see if it makes any difference. How can I do this for a child that loves bread, rolls, pasta. Have looked at my cupboards and freezer in horror at the stuff he can't have.

Any help would be pathetically-gratefully received!

Hi, just googled gluten free recipes and come up with the following:

www.recipes4us.co.uk/Specials%20and%20Holidays/Special%20Diets%20Allergies/Gluten%20Free%20Recipes.htm

Good info on what is is and also some ideas(goog old BBC) www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_coeliac1.shtml

Doves farm make gluten free flour etc so can be used in baking eg rice flour

www.dovesfarm-glutenfree.co.uk/

Tesco do a range of Tru free stuff. The websire for trufree have some ideas too:

www.trufree.co.uk/en/article.asp?chco_id=4&chli_id=

Hope the links work but can always try going to the stem of them and working your way through.

Can also recommend checking in your library. There are loads of good books on diet and allergies. Am always recommending "The allergy bible" which has info and recipes in the back. Also there will prob be specific cook books and info. If not you can usually order them from nearby libraries.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Sainsburys definitely sell gluten free bread and pasta so I expect the other supermarkets do too

Tesco have loads of gluten free products - corn pasta which tastes just like normal pasta, he won't know the difference. Didn't like the bread at all when I tried it but that was some time ago and they may have perfected it.

Other things you can have are omelettes, baked potatoes etc

god

I would never do this

am surprised your doc has suggested it tbh

My neice has a gluten allergy and you can get almost anything that is gluten free now Lidl sell lots of glute free stuff and sainsburys

Really Enid? Why?

We've had bouts of diahorrea since the beginning of the year, to the point that the poor child almost never has a normally solid poo (sorry - TMI!). We saw the doctor a month ago and they tested samples for bugs and infections and ruled that out. He suggested at the time that it might be behavioural, but agreed today that after this much time that was unlikely and required further investigation. The lactose can be tested from the sample I/(ds2!) delivered but he wanted to rule out gluten by trying it before referring us to the paediatric dept.

There's some fantastic suggestions here, guys, thank you so much. I've decided to leave the supermarket until tomorrow and do some research today. (I live in a village half an hour away from a supermarket.) We're going in tomorrow anyway so may do a tour of all the supermarkets! Managed to get some pasta and crackers here, so will try that tonight. Now just have to explain to him why he can't have crumpets after school with dd and her friends...

Shameless bump!

And again!

Hi some more ideas for you. Check out this thread from someone else who's kid is gluten free:

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=29&threadid=215071}

Hope that works.

Plus (as mentioned in that thread) check out the pure spread website which has gluten free recipes.

\link{http://www.purespreads.com/home.asp} Go to the pure fun recipes page

Gah links didn't work. Hey never mind. Try going to them by cutting and pasting anyway!

Thank you alibobble, that other thread was really interesting.

One question though: the dr said to cut out wheat/gluten (he used them synonymously). But can I make ds2 some flapjacks? We looked at flapjacks while we were out in Boots and Sainsbury's and they both said oats and gluten, so didn't try. My instinct is to go with the "wheat" bit of what he said, rather than the "gluten" bit! What do you all think?

OK won't pretend I have a clue so have looked it up on wikipedia! Found ref to gluten and one on gluten free diet. May help you figure. Usually when docs say cut out wheat they are refering to gluten anyway? Not sure. Read and see what you think.

Page on Gluten: Occurance and health sections may be most helpful: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten

and page on gluten free diet which also includes section on what foods are gluten free:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free_diet

btw you're on my watch list so let me know how it goes

Labelling is getting better and a lot of places are distinguishing now between wheat and gluten. My dh is fine with oats, but a coeliac, for example, wouldn't be able to eat oats either.

For now I would try and avoid all types of gluten, pain though that is. And start reading labels, it is in all sorts of stuff - like squash, and sausages, where you wouldn't think to look for it.

It is do-able, although quite tedious when you're not used to it. Rice, potatoes, maize (so cornflakes good for breakkie). As the others have said, lots of Free From products available, inc wheat-free pizza bases (which you can take with you to places like Pizza Express, if you have a need to eat out in the next few weeks). The bread's not much cop but okay toasted.

Excellent, you guys, thanks! I think I'm going to make some flapjack for ds2 and risk the oats gluten. I've got some pizza bases today and some bread mix (bought with shame because I have looked at the bread thread - if he turns out to be wheat-intolerant I'll start making it properly, honest!), some crackers and rice cakes and stuff. And some pasta, as we eat lots here. God, we're only 24 hours in and I'm heartily sick of this already...

I guess you're still decreasing significantly the amount of gluten ds2 is getting, so should see results even if his tummy is upset by the oats - but if in doubt, I seriously would exclude this too. Otherwise you'll end up having to repeat the experiment at some point.

It is tedious if you're not used to it; it doesn't bother me at all now but I don't have to 'think' about it, it just comes naturally. Watch out for any kind of pre-prepared food, cooking from scratch is a much better idea.

The other thing to beware of is it might make your food bills rocket for a while. I have lactose and egg intolerance and have to cook everything from scratch. Food bill much more due to not being able to eat the BOGOF offers that used to be the main stay of our shopping! That's not to depress you, just something I've found.

Gluten free bread is generally awful, the pasta not too bad.
If DS is diagnosed as celiac then you should be able to get bread for him on prescription which will be free for him as he's under 16. It is expensive to carry on getting from the supermarkets.
There is a new blood test for celiac disease, you used to have to do a biopsy. Has the doctor mentioned about doing the blood test?

Gluten free bread is horribly expensive. DH & I had to do gluten-free (and a lot of other things-free too) for a few months about 4 years ago. We missed bread and couldn't afford the g-free stuff. This is what I did (by mistake the first time).

Rice flour
Baking powder
Milk
Tiny pinch of salt

Mix it up into a pancakey type consistency. Drop into a frying pan and cook! You'd have to experiment with quantities as I really can't remember.

Spread with whatever you like, either while still warm (better) or when cold.

DH loved it and sometimes I do it just 'cos he likes it!

Really good info here, thanks. I did make the flapjack. My thinking was that if we're excluding wheat gluten totally, then we'll have an answer to that at least and couldn't we just exclude oats another time if we're aren't getting any other answers.

Binkacat - the dr didn't mention a blood test, but I read about it somewhere (probably here!). I assumed that was something he couldn't do at the surgery and would need a referral to hospital for and this route would be quicker.

The more I read about coeliac/wheat intolerance the less I think he has it. He just doesn't fit the physical profile. We've had this problem since the early spring but he isn't losing weight, just the opposite, he's growing, running, jumping and full of beans. But I understand that we have to do this properly to rule it out before we can look at other possibilities.

Poor little chap: his lunch box for pre-school was so sad: lots of rice crackers and non-gluten stuff. I even took in rice crackers to replace his cream crackers at snack time. He's being so good about it breaks my heart. Mind you, being up to my elbows in diarrhoea and having to manage his diet like this breaks my heart too.

Thank you all for advice though, it really is so helpful.

yes you prob do needa referal for the hospital for coeliac disease test. Is done by blood test cos I had it tested a few months ago. Hope things imporove for you.

Yep, some GPs would be unwilling to do a blood test on a 3yo. But a paed referral for a blood test would be useful now rather than later.

Maybe he wants to try diet before the trauma of a blood test for a little one...... I'd just have thought that a blood test would be the only way of getting a definitive answer.

It could be dairy intolerance, maybe?

Has the doctor taken a stool sample to rule out any bugs?

binkacat - we went to the gp a month ago with a sample and they ruled out bugs. I took another sample this week which they can apparently use to test for lactose intolerance. That result should be back next week. I also have an appointment with our HV because I need to discuss strategies to deal with the constant stream (!) of accidents.

i didn't think you could test for lactose intolerance with a blood test. Was offered a breath test but not blood test for myself. can test for allergies tho? Now I'm confused!

Alibobble, the sample was poo, not blood!