GFCF DIET

(Gluten Free Casein Free)

Week 1 -2: Remove all milk-based products. This would include milk,
butter, whey, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, Pediasure, milk-based
formulas, and all sub-ingredients. To replace milk, use Rice Milk or
Almond Milk. Soy is so close in molecular structure to casein that it
should be avoided in the replacement of milk and yogurt. It may have
to be eliminated all together later but at least avoid it as a total
replacement for milk. An overuse of soy is linked to the erosion of the
esophagus, stomach and upper intestine. Also, be sure to add a
calcium supplement to your child's diet during this time to prevent
problems caused by calcium depletion (i.e. Eye stemming).

During the first two weeks, read the book "Special Diets for Special
Kids" by Lisa Lewis to acclimate on the WHY to do the diet and what
the diet includes. Also take this time to stock up on the gluten free
foods. Buy the ready to eat and package mixes only. Hold off
purchasing the various flours and baking ingredients for awhile.

Go to GFCFDiet.com and print off the various sections of GFCF food
categories that can be purchased at your local grocery store.
Familiarize yourself with the brands you may already have on hand (i.
e. Heinz Ketchup, Lays Potato chips, etc.).

Week 3: Find five GFCF foods that your child will eat for breakfast and
serve it. Here are a few suggestions:

Frozen GFCF Waffles and real maple syrup
Bacon and eggs (check for a GFCF brand of bacon)and GFCF
HashBrowns like Cascadian Farms brand
Cream of Rice Cereal
Any of the Envirokids cereals with rice or almond milk (avoid Rice
Dream because it has a gluten in it).
GFCF pancakes made from a mix. Serve with real maple syrup.
GFCF French Toast made from a GFCF bread.
Earth Balance margarine or Fleishmann unsalted are very good butter
replacements. Earth Balance has a small amount of soy oil in it but if
your child has not been diagnosed with a soy intolerance then small
amounts are okay.

Week 4: Find five GFCF foods your child will eat for lunch and serve
it, maintaining the choices for breakfast. Here are some lunch
suggestions:

GFCF Hotdog (no bun)- we use Best Kosher, Hebrew National
Reduced Fat, Sheltons Chicken or Turkey Hotdogs too.
Fritos (yes, they are GFCF)
Lays Potato Chips
Cascadian Farms French Fries with Heinz Ketchup (I use Westbrae
fruit sweetened ketchup too)
Boar's Head Lunch Meats
Tostitos Tortilla Chips
Trader Joes Fruit Leathers
Fresh Fruit
Trader Joes White Organic Tortilla Chips
Whole Foods Market Chicken Taquitos (The 365 brand)
Ian’s GFCF Chicken nuggests (also at Whole Foods – make sure you
get the RED LABELED)
Most Juice boxes are okay. Just verify with the manufacturer. We use
the Hansens Juice Slams.
In a pinch for fast food then In-n-Out may be okay IF the restaurant
processes the french fry grease properly at night. I always ask how
the fries are cooked and then I ask how they filter the grease at night.
So ASK. I order a hamburger, no bun, no condiments with french fries
and soda (sprite only). If they have Heinz packages I will use ketchup.
If not we pass.
I have found many restaurants who are willing to accommodate our
requests. Even Rain Forest Cafe has a children's hamburger meal that
can be served with tortilla chips and a soda.

Week 5: Find five foods your child will eat for dinner and serve it,
maintaining your choices for breakfast and lunch. Here are some
suggestions:

Any meat, starch like rice or potato and a vegetable. Just ensure they
are cooked to GFCF standards. For instance, in place of milk in the
mashed potatoes use a
organic chicken or vegetable broth.
Rice Spaghetti with Prego Spaghetti Sauce or your own as long as it is
GFCF.
Homemade chicken nuggets with french fries (use Lisa's recipe or
make up your own)
Any breakfast or lunch item your child will eat for dinner.

Week 6: Replace all snack items with GFCF.

GFCF Pretzels from Glutino
Lays Potato Chips
Fresh Fruit
Welchs Fruit Snacks
Trader Joes Fruit Leathers

Week 7: Replace all soaps, shampoos, lotions, sunscreens,
toothpaste and laundry detergent and over the counter medication
with GFCF.

There is a wide variety of items at the regular grocery store. It may be
as simple as replacing brands or confirming that your current brand is
okay.

Week 8: Replace all classroom contaminants. GFCFDiet.com has a
whole section to give caretakers and teachers on what classroom
items constitute non GFCF, like PlayDough and certain glues. Ask if
you can donate the items to be replaced and work with the school to
ensure your child is not contaminated by these items by coming in
contact or ingesting anything. Educate the caretaker/teacher on your
GFCF efforts. Be firm with your expectations because of the
seriousness of these foods and contaminants in your child.

Week 9: Begin making GFCF goodies from mixes. There are quite a
few websites that cater to GFCF cooking and quite a few to offer
mixes. I usually make up cupcakes or cookies and freeze them to
have on hand for special occasions like a birthday party at school or
just as a special treat.

Here are some terrific websites:

www.causeyourespecial.com - All of their package mixes are GFCF
and very easy. We especially like the pancake/waffle mix and all of the
cake mixes. One suggestion is to try one of every item you believe
your child will like. And reorder the successes. I usually put a
powdered sugar frosting on cupcakes but Duncan Hines frosting is
okay for some kids too.
www.creationsbykristin.com - terrific homemade goodies that are
fresh and relatively inexpensive. My son loves the cinnamon rolls,
breadsticks and cookies. I love the pancake mix from them too.
www.glutenfreepantry.com - great mixes that can sometimes be found
in the grocery stores. Just watch the ingredient list because they
sometimes have casein in them.
www.Missrobens.com - great for online general ordering. They have a
large selection. It's worth looking at what they have to get an idea of
what is available out there.
www.glutensolutions.com - Another online ordering source for a
variety of items. Just make sure their items do not have casein in
them too.
Week 10: Now move to making a GFCF meal from scratch. Go ahead
and start stocking up on the baking item replacements. Create a
separate section for them that is out of the area that contains regular
wheat flour in order to avoid contamination.

Here is a starting list:

GFCF Baking Soda
GFCF Baking Powder
Xanthum Gum
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt (Morton's is not recommended because of
chemical processing)
Spices should be switched to GFCF brand like McCormicks or organic
Tapioca Flour / Tapioca Starch (same thing)
Potato Flour
Potato Starch
Bette Hagman's General All Purpose
Sorghum Flour - great for baking homemade breads
Brown Rice Flour
White Rice Flour
Arrowroot Starch
There are others so read the recipes from the various cookbooks and
decide what to stock up on. Try one recipe a week at least to develop
your favorites.

Prepared by: Mary Romaniec – super TACA mom
Email: MRomaniec@aol.com
Date: June 27, 2003
Disclaimer:     ArkansasAutism.org provides general information of
variety of sources and  ArkansasAutism.org does not independently
interest to the verify any of it. The views expressed herein are not
doctor regarding his or her individual needs.