Gluten Free Mom

Favorite Gluten Free Snack Bar

As summer is approaching and there may be more on-the-spur outings, I thought it would fun to make a list of favorite gluten free snack bars.  

Gluten free snack bars come in handy when you are in  in a pinch.  For instance, a PureFit bar saved me at Outdoor Education last week.  It was the normal chaotic Monday morning with getting three kids ready for school and out the door - searching for missing shoes and backpacks, math books and band instruments.  Add to that the preparations needed for the Middle Child and I to spend three days "out in the wilderness,"  and the Weekend Chef flying solo at home.  

In the middle of all of this, the Weekend Chef was to make lunches for the Middle Child and myself.  Somehow there was a miscommunication and he only made one lunch.  Four hours later, sitting on wood bleachers surrounding the campfire at Outdoor Education, I was so happy I had packed a PureFfit bar.  

You got it,my lunch was a PureFit bar, an apple and bottle of water.

PureFit bars are my favorite Gluten Free snack bars exactly because they are like a meal in a bar.  Instead of leaving me still hungry and wanting for more, they leave me full so I can make it until the next meal.  I like all flavors, chocolate brownie being my least favorite and almond crunch my most.  The new Granola crunch bar has more of that traditional snack bar taste.  

What I really like about these bars is everthing these bars do not contain:

100% All-Natural Ingredients, 18 Grams of Soy Protein, Non-GMO Soy, It offers:

• NO Hydrogenated Oils
• NO Animal Products - Vegan
• NO Cholesterol or Trans Fatty Acids
• NO Wheat or Gluten
• NO Artificial Sweeteners
• NO Hidden Carbohydrates
• NO Sugar Alcohol

 

Berry Almond Crunch Serv Size 56.7g = 1 bar Calories 230 Calories From Fat 60 *Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Amount/Serving % DV* Total Fat 6g 10% Saturated Fat 1g 4% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 190mg 8% Potassium 140mg 4% Total Carb 26g 9% Dietary Fiber 3g 11% Sugars 16g Protein 18g 36%

Vitamins & Minerals VITAMIN A 0%  VITAMIN C 0%  CALCIUM 6% IRON 15%  MAGNESIUM 8%  PHOSPHORUS 15% Ingredients SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, GROUND ALMONDS, BROWN RICE SYRUP, ENERGY SMART™ (FRUIT JUICE, NATURAL GRAIN DEXTRINS), ENERGY BLEND (FRUCTOSE, NATURAL EXTRACT OF CHICORY, DEXTROSE) SOY CRISP (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, RICE FLOUR, CALCIUM CARBONATE), AGAVE NECTAR, SOYNUTS, SOY FLOUR, TEXTURED SOY FLOUR, NATURAL RASPBERRY FLAVORED FRUIT [(SUGAR, RASPBERRY JUICE, RASPBERRY EXTRACT) CRANBERRIES], ALMONDS, INULIN, RASPBERRIES, NATURAL FLAVORS. MANUFACTURED IN A PLANT THAT ALSO PROCESSES MILK, EGG AND PEANUTS.

I have to add that PureFit sent me some sample bars, but I would of happily bought them on my own as I just ordered a case from Amazon.com.

  

While I like the Purfit bars, the Gluten Free Teen likes the Nonuttin bars.  She likes them mainly for the chocolate flavor and the fact that they are most like the bars she ate before going Gluten Free.

I am also a member of a new ROCK group in Seattle.  Honestly, I have not had the time to attend a meeting yet (which I feel really bad about btw) but I am on the email list.  Before the most recent meeting, they had everyone email in their list of GF favorites.

The favorite GF snack bars from this group include Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco and Apple and Blueberry breakfast bars by Glutino.

I know you are a shy group, but leave a comment with your favorite snack be it bar or otherwise.  

This week on Facebook:

• Here is a nice little write up on my favorite Gluten Free Bakery in Seattle - Wheatless in Seattle formerly known as Da Vincis.

Wheatless in Seattle: a destination for gluten free baked goods - Seattle Gluten-Free Food Examiner

www.examiner.com

• Dallas gets it first Gluten Free Bakery. 

I spent part of my growing up years just South of Dallas and my family still lives in East Texas, so we make several trips through the Dallas area. I was so happy to see that they have their first dedicated Gluten Free Bakery! Can't wait to try it out next time I am in town!

Wholesome Foods Bakery is Gluten Free! | DALLAS MOMS Blog | dallasnews.com

momsblog.dallasnews.com

• Help Canada Revise Gluten Free Labeling

Consultation - Proposed Policy Intent for Revising Canada's Gluten-free Labelling requirements

www.hc-sc.gc.ca

• Do you eat McDonalds French Fries? Nice article by Tiffany with good background information as to the current status of McD's fries but my favorite part of the article is this: 

Eating out anything, anywhere (except a gluten-free facility) is always a risk – for all diners. Food poisoning is common and of course, there...

NFCA Athlete for Awareness Eats McDonald’s Fries

celiac-disease.com

Washington state to impose an additional sales tax on all candy THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN FLOUR.

This one just drives me crazy!  Starting June 1st Washington State will impose an additional sales tax on some candy:

Starting next month, Washington will begin adding sales tax onto the price of gum and most but not all candy products.

For example, Three Musketeers will be taxed but Milky Way will not.

Starburst, Gummi Bears and M&Ms? Yes. Nestle's Crunch and Twizzlers? No.

How will you and retailers know which is which?

The state Department of Revenue has posted a list on line of nearly 3,000 items that will be subject to tax. Another 263 items that are not.

What's the difference? Basically, flour. If the candy you like is prepared with flour it will not be subject to sales tax.

The Dept. of Revenue explains it this way:

Candy is a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings and formed into bars, drops, or pieces. Candy does not require refrigeration. Candy does not include any preparation containing flour.
Flour is made from grain such as wheat, rice, corn, rye, oats, and barley.  Flour does not include flour substitutes, such as starch. Any product that lists flour as an ingredient on the nutritional facts label is not taxable as candy.

 king5

So by imposing this tax the State of Washington is imposing an additional burden on a group of citizens solely due to their medical condition, that they cannot eat flour.  

Moreover, I worry about whether or not this will cause manufacturers to add flour to their ingredients so the candy will not be taxed.  As pointed out on Celiac-Disease.com:

 

The “candy tax law” could affect how candy manufacturers make their products. More specifically, it might affect what ingredients go into them. The new tax allows for candy with flour in it to be exempt from the new candy tax. Kit Kat candy bars already contain wheat, but Snickers don’t. Because so many people are going wheat or gluten-free and wheat is a major allergen, it’s doubtful that candy companies are going to run out and add wheat flour to products that don’t already contain it. However, the barley industry might take this opportunity to let candy companies know they can make “healthier” candy by adding barley flour to products. And they will avoid having the items taxed in certain states.  

 

Some will say "it is just candy, you are better off without it anyway" and that is probably true, but whether or not I want to eat candy should be my choice and if I choose to eat it, I should not have to pay more just because of my medical condition!

Living a Healthy Gluten Free Life by Ashley Koff

I have been out in the wilderness this past week - in Washington State all 5th Graders journey to the wilderness for a course in Outdoor Education.  We spent a few days at Camp Colman learning about outdoor survival, canoeing and marine invertebrates, forging new friendships and just getting down right dirty.  

 

 

I have returned home with a ton of laundry, and completely  exhausted - did I mention I was with 52 fifth graders as I describe as "kids with hormones who do not know what to do with them."  So I am thankful for the following guest post from Ashley Koff.  

 

 

Ashley believes, as I do, that the best way to live gluten free, is to live a healthy gluten free life: 

 

Got a young one who needs a gluten-free diet or maybe you are following a gluten-free diet and don't want your kids to feel "penalized" by the food choices.  Regardless of who needs to eat gluten-free, it can seem  tough to find kid and parent approved options that are gluten-free and taste good and are healthy. 

 First, note that when it comes to capturing the full health benefits from a gluten-free diet, it’s best to choose the highest quality ingredients – this means organic whenever possible and non-GMO as well as free from any artificial ingredients. This also means eating food in its whole form as often as possible which provides optimal ratios of ingredients like fiber to sugar, and potassium to sodium content.  

Second, beyond what we feed our kids, what we package their food in matters too. From what you pack their lunch in to what they drink from, try to skip plastic (or use BPA-free) and use eco-friendly materials for a healthier child, and healthier environment.   

Third, to take the pressure off, remember that kids’ bodies need “eating occasions” not meals during the day – think of the school day as a series of “pit stops” (its even great to discuss this analogy with your child – that their body is like a race car that needs “pit stops” about every three hours). Also, aim for a balance of nutrients at each eating occasion – some carbohydrate, protein, and healthy fat – plus unlimited vegetables. This way, with eating occasions, you can pack a bag of fun “sample-sized” items and your child can choose what they eat and when thereby further engaging them in their eating behaviors. 

Need some Kid-tested, Parent and AshleyKoffApproved (AKA) ideas: 

1. Real potato chips – choose organic or baked – and achieve portion control by re-packing it at home into a portion controlled container or buying a 100 calorie pack. For nutrient balance, pack a string cheese and for a way to get in some extra veggies pack some salsa. You can also crumble corn tortilla chips (gluten-free too) into a salad and make a taco salad with beans, avocado, salsa, and chicken (optional). 
2. Nature’s candy bowl: create a trail mix from a whole grain gluten-free cereal (Nature’s Path Gorilla Munch), add some nuts and / or coconut pieces (coconut is not a tree nut so it’s ok if the school has a “no nut” policy), organic chocolate chips, and dried fruit (avoid dried fruit with sugar, try Just Berries or Just Mango). 
3. PB & Fruit: Take an organic, gluten-free waffle and spread an organic nut butter (almond, peanut, or sunflower seed if skipping nuts) and then place sliced strawberries on top. 
4. Quick sundae, everyday: grab a plain, organic yogurt and send them with their own toppings: organic berries and a gluten-free organic granola or organic, whole grain cereals (you can also use your trail mix here – see #1) 
5. Dip-it! Dips are a perfect way to upgrade nutrition and even hide in some veggies – if you use organic Greek yogurt you get more protein and less carbohydrate so it pairs perfectly with your baked chips. Make them in kid-friendly flavors (and even hide some pureed broccoli in there) by adding spices or blending with a nut butter and some honey (kids love this dip and it goes great with vegetables or chips). Homemade bean dips don’t just have to be hummus – you can make them from different beans and oils to change things up. And a lot of kids like pesto which can be a great way to get in some omega 3 fatty acids and goes with veggies, chips, and even can replace the yolk filling for yummy deviled eggs. 

For more recipes, visit ashleykoffapproved.com or get my cookbook Recipes for IBS or The G-Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

 

Ashley Koff RD

www.ashleykoffapproved.com 

If you'd like to submit a guest post for this blog, email me at jamie@glutenfreemom.com 

For more photos from Camp Colman, click here.

Testing for Celiac Disease - From a Kids Point of View

Since May is Celiac Disease awareness month, I thought you might like to read what it is like to be tested for Celiac Disease from the kids point of view.  Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that my daughter Alex was diagnosed with Celiac Disease the summer between third and fourth grade.  You can read more about this from my perspective on my website, but here is what it was like to Alex.  She wrote this at the beginning of this school year, as a memoir assignment for English.  

 A Summer to Remember

by: Alex   

For most kids, third grade is one of the easiest years in school, but not for me.  I was just like every other kid, I loved to play with my friends, I had a family that loved me, but I was sick.  Altogether I missed 36 days of school.  My stomach felt like somebody was punching me from the inside.  My head was burning almost as if a heater was constantly following me.  

The sad part was that I was skinny and pale and never felt good.  

Of course, my parents got worried and that is when the first doctor visit happened. 

I stumbled into Room Two at Woodinville Pediatrics, I felt worried and sick, as usual.  I can still remember the smell of the antibacterial soap and rubber gloves.  The doctor strode in and did not know what was wrong, so he decided to draw my blood.  It was a completely painful and terrifying experience because I was so dehydrated they could not find a vein.  Ever since then, I have been completely terrified of getting my blood drawn.  When the test results came back, I tested positive for Celiac Disease.  

At the time I had no idea what that was and could not even pronounce the name.  We discovered later that Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder that requires you to not eat gluten so you do not get stomach aches.  To figure out if I really had Celiac Disease, we had to go see a specialist doctor. 

On that summery day between third and fourth grade, I was terrified about what would happen.  I staggered through the automatic sliding doors and considered everything that might happen.  Children’s Hospital is made to look warm and cheery and happy, but all I felt was fear and nervousness.  

The Top Five Tips on Raising Children with Food Allergies

As a parent of children with food allergies, I am often asked “How do you manage it all?”

Here are my Top Five Tips:

Never Let Them See You Cry - Number one and most importantly, never let them see you   cry!  When our oldest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, I was relieved to have a diagnosis but overwhelmed with what seemed like the mountain I had to summit to provide her with safe food.  This was back before Gluten Free had become a household term, but even today navigating the ins and outs of finding safe food can often feel like a part-time job.  Rejoice in the fact that you know what is making your child sick, but then take your private time to grieve.  For me, I spent a day locked away in our guest bedroom, mourning what I perceived to be the loss of our “normal” diet and watching a documentary on the evolution of life.  At the end of my pity party, I emerged from the guest room determined to make the best of our new diet.  I still have moments when I just wish we could go out to eat and order off the menu, but I do not let those moments show.  How can I expect my kid not to have a bad attitude about our diet if I do?  Luckily, this approach has worked so far.  It would be a lie to say that my daughter loves her diet, but she deals with it and does not let it get her down. 

 Educate, Educate, Educate - Consider yourself enrolled in a Food 101 class to learn about whatever diet restrictions you may have.  The internet is an amazing resource of information.  Perform a simple Bing search with your diet restrictions and you will have more than enough information.  For a list of resources on the gluten free diet, go to GlutenFreeMom/GettingStartedGlutenFree.com In addition, if you are following other specific diet restrictions check out these websites: 

www.allergicchild.com

www.peanutallergy.com

www.autismweb.com

Learn to Read Labels - You may have successfully negotiated life without ever reading a food label, but those days are over.  Life will be a little bit easier if your child suffers from one of the top 8 allergens, as the FDA requires food manufacturers to label containers with these ingredients.  Thus, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts), fish (such as bass, cod, flounder), shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp), soy, and wheat will be labeled.  Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it may sound.  For instance, the parent of a child with a dairy allergy also needs to avoid foods that contain butter, butter fat, butter oil, butter acid, butter ester(s), buttermilk, casein, casein hydrolysate, caseinates, all cheese, cottage cheese, cream, curds, custard, diacetyl ghee, half-and-half, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoferrin, lactose lactulose, milk (including condensed, derivative, dry, evaporated, goat’s milk and milk from other animals, low-fat, malted, milkfat, nonfat, powder, protein, skimmed, solids, whole), milk protein, hydrolysate pudding, Recaldent®, rennet, casein, sour cream, sour cream solids, sour milk solids tagatose, whey, whey protein, hydrolysate, yogurt.  You get the picture - and the important point is Educating Yourself!  For safe eating, our motto is When in Doubt, Go Without.  For more on understanding food labels go  to food allergy.org.

Go Healthy – When first tackling food allergies, you can choose one of two paths – you can spend a lot of time reading labels and searching the web for “safe” allergy friendly food, or you can spend that same time cooking wholesome food for your family that you know is safe.  You will have to find the approach that works for your family, but for us simpler is better. Thus, if something has more than five ingredients and is not clearly labeled, I will not buy it.  I would rather go without than spend all the time it is going to take to find out if it is gluten free.  I have also found that in most instances it is quicker and easier to make it myself and find reassurance in knowing what all of the ingredients are and where they came from.  So instead of searching for a box of processed crackers that are free from all of your allergens, feed your kids an apple smeared with peanut butter (if they can have that) or a slice of cheese.  You will all be better off in the end. 

Do Not Stop Living – Some people live to eat - we have learned to eat so we can live.  Eating out, traveling, school, birthday parties, etc., will be little mountains that you will have to summit over and over again.  For us, we would rather go and have to deal with the challenges presented by our special diets than to not go at all.

Bold statements to be sure, having lived with kids with multiple allergies for five years, but I have to admit we did not eat out for the first six months on the gluten free diet.  I just wasn’t prepared enough to handle that yet. The first time we did go out, it was a disaster!  We went to a chain restaurant, during the busy lunch hour, at a very busy mall.  We were not sure what we were doing and our waiter was even worse.  When the food finally did arrive – the burger was on a bun.  We sent it back.  Of course, while we were waiting for the new burger the other kids (who were starving by this time) gobbled all of their lunch and they were more than ready to go by the time the Gluten Free Kid’s burger arrived – then, in tears, she refused to eat the burger.  Just a hunk of hamburger meat was not too appealing to her.  So we went home and cooked lunch.

It was months before we went out again.  This time we were armed with information, called before we went to confirm they could prepare a GF meal, picked a gluten friendly restaurant, and went before the dinner rush.  Most importantly we had a great time – they were so nice they even gave us complimentary desserts.  No – we do not eat out as much as we used to.  But we have had many terrific gluten free dining out experiences since then and have had friends also successfully prepare us meals in their homes.   

 

 

Because living with diet restrictions will not stop you from living the life you choose!