Gluten Allergy? HELP!

[cfred]

I had a gluten free child and it's not so bad. Wheat is the biggest thing you're looking to avoid, including Kamut. For today, since it's short notice, just give her some rice or whatever you have that isn't wheat. Cheerios are fine too because they're oat. Honestly, gluten free is soooo easy to do now. Gluten free options are available in many stores now. I think even Metro has gluten free options, over by the bakery breads I believe. They're much cheaper in conventional grocery stores than in specialty ones such as Nature's Emporium. I just buy a loaf and stick it in the freezer and pull out single portions as needed. There are also gluten free granola bars, cereal bars, cereals, crackers available in health food stores and many times, in health food sections of grocery stores. Read labels and pay attention to ingredients in things. You'll get used to it quickly and will soon have a list of okay items that you'll know to have on hand. If you want to do home baking, you can purchase prepackaged gluten free flour mixes....for a significant price. Bulk barn makes a cheaper one, but it tastes a little heavy on the quinoa or bean flour....kinda gross. I've tried to make my own blend and they always come out with gummy end results. Personally, I like spelt flour. You'll have to tinker around with recipes as the flour is heavier, but I've always had better results with that. Don't forget that you'll need Xanthan Gum for any baking to bind the end product. 1/4tsp/cup flour for cookies, 1/2 tsp/cup flour for muffins, 3/4 tsp/cup flour for cake. Xanthan Gum is pricey, but you use so little, it lasts a long time. For pasta, I found corn pasta to be the nicest, but don't forget to start cooking it before the other kids' pasta as it takes a while to cook. And yes, there is gluten in lots of things, but if you read labels, you can avoid them easily enough. Most gluten free items will plaster 'Gluten Free!!!" all over their packaging, so they're pretty easy to spot.

Don't sweat it....not terrible at all.