GF Cookie Mix

Tonight, on a whim, I grabbed a box of GF cookie mix and decided to see what my little boy thought of some "new chocolate chip cookies." From what I can tell, this is a fairly common brand, as I see it in pretty much every store's GF section, no matter how small. 

So, this is defenately not a "from scratch" recipe, but as I am completely new to the GF lifestyle, I figure I have to give everything a chance.



First bite, you can tell he's unsure.



These cookies cooked up really well. They ran quite a bit, so they became large and thin, but they are so chewy (which is a total positive in my book).  The main flour used in this recipe is rice flour, which, as a rule, I find off-putting when not cut with any other flour or starch to create a more pleasant texture, but it worked fine in this mix. The true test was whether or not my picky little man would eat them.

 It took two tries, the first time he picked up a cookie, took a small bite, and fed the rest to Nathan. But hey, he touched the cookie, which is a huge first step! He also tried a bite without gagging, which is very encouraging.  A few hours later I offered him the platter of cookies again and he actually picked up a cookie and ate the whole thing!

For some of you, this may not seem like a big deal. Woohoo Melissa, your kid ate a chocolate chip cookie. What 2 year old would turn that down?  Uuuhhhhh, mine would.  And has. Plenty.  Corban is terrified of food, anything that has to be bitten or actually chewed is often pushed away with shrieks of panic.

I wish my son would eat veggies and lean meat (actually, meat of any kind at this point would be exciting).  We are working on his feeding/texture issues and are looking forward to the day when he eats what we eat.  For now, he is primarily eating yogurt and drinking PediaSure, so we rejoice over his willingness to chew a cookie.  

He must have liked it, it's almost gone!

Nope!

So far the goldfish are a no go. Corban is not fooled.  He has barely looked at them. He refuses to touch them, and he gagged when I put one close to him.

I was so sure he would love these.

Don't worry, I am not giving up.  I will try an alternate recipe in a few weeks and in the meantime, maybe he'll miraculously decide to give these yummy little guys a try.

Fishy Crackers!

Look at what arrived in the mail today! Isn't it the cutest little thing?

When I heard Corban's diagnosis last Wednesday, I knew that his "Fishy Crackers" were going to be the biggest hurtle.  The boy loves his fishy crackers.  I have looked at various stores over the past few days and surfed the web, but have found no GF substitute for his beloved fishies.  However, I did find a tried-and-true gf goldfish recipe at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. She also provided the link to a website that sold these adorable little copper fishy cutouts!  I know I have said it many times already, but these are just the cutest little cookie cutters I have ever seen! 

The recipe she uses on her website was taken from Robin Ryberg's Cookbook titled  "You Won't Believe It's Gluten-Free! 500 Delicious, Foolproof Recipes for Healthy Living!" Now, since I am completely new to the whole GF thing, I obviously don't yet own this book. But I hoped Robin knew what she was talking about and planned to use her recipe as soon as I received the cookie cutter in the mail.

Cutter in hand, I hurried back to the house, asked Nathan if he would mind being on "Corban duty" for the rest of the night and went to work assembling the necessary ingredients.  It is a short list and a very simple recipe, so it wasn't long before the oven was pre-heated and I was on my way to being my son's hero! 

The Recipe goes as follows:

4 oz. Cheddar Cheese, shredded
4 Tbs. Butter
3/4 c. Cornstarch
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

2 Tbs. Milk

Topping: salt, dried herbs or spices if desired

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

• Combine all the ingredients, except the milk, in a medium size-bowl. Mix until the mixture resembles a fine crumb. Add the milk and beat well.

• On a lightly greased surface, pat or roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness.  Cut into 3/4 inch squares or another small shape that you like.

• Prick the tops of the crackers with a fork and sprinkle lightly with your desired topping (I just used salt). Bake on the prepared baking sheet until golden brown and crisp, approximately 10 minutes (I cooked mine for 9). The crackers will be light and crispy, although barely browning at the edges. The bottom of the crackers will have a bit more color.

Here was my final result. 

Here they are nestled happily in Corban's fishy.

These little fishes have a great flavor! They taste so cheesy, and I can feel really good about Corban eating them because they are made with real sharp cheddar cheese, whole milk, and real butter.  There is a ton of protein and flavor in each of these little guys.

But, without a doubt, I made one very big blunder- I didn't roll the dough flat enough. These guys are thick! They resemble little cheesy fish biscuits more than crackers. And I can tell you, with the spotted coloring and the thickness, Corban was not in the least bit fooled.  He reached his hand hungrily into his fish, and recoiled as soon as he spied the "crackers" inside. He moved away and didn't look back. 

So, I will try this recipe again (like, as soon as I am done typing). But, this time I am going to make sure the dough is really thin, and I am going to add some food coloring so that they more closely resemble the goldfish his little taste buds are missing.

As a cheesy snack, these little guys taste great!  But, because I am trying to trick him into believing they are the fishy crackers he has come to love, I will definitely need a take 2.

Stay tuned!

A Very Productive Monday

Today, while Corban napped, I designated the top food shelf in our pantry to his GF foods.  Over time, and as Corban begins to eat more of the same food we eat, I assume our diets will all become mostly GF. Nathan and I may have a secret indulgence stashed here or there, but in order to keep Corban healthy, I'd like to eliminate as much gluten as possible in our diets as well.  Until that time, this top shelf is keeping all of Corban's foods safe and sound.

I have found a GF flour substitute on another website that has great reviews, so I have purchased all of the ingredients and will be making it soon. Once I do, and taste it, I will also post it here.  Giving credit where credit is due, of course. The author says it is a great 1:1 substitute for conventional wheat in most recipes-- except for making bread.  Since I have also found a great GF bread for sandwiches, I don't expect that to be a problem right away.

I wasn't the only one who made a great effort in our new GF lifestyle today. Corban did something almost unthinkable-- he asked for a piece of toast!  It may have been inspired by the fact that I bought him his very own toaster (specially for the GF bread) this morning. But, whatever the reason, after he woke up from his nap, he asked for a piece of toast.  I was excited to try the new GF bread we purchased (by chance) a few weeks ago at Costco. So, I pulled it out of the fridge and handed a piece to Corban to pop in the toaster. 

Now, don't get too excited. For those of you who aren't familiar with Corban's hate-hate relationship with food, actually asking for a particular food by name is only step 5 in the 10 step process to get Corban to willingly take a bite of any particular food.  So, when the toast popped up, I enthusiastically buttered and cut it and placed it before my adorable son, all the while promising him how yummy it would taste.  Of course he immediately rejected it. He didn't even touch it.  But, he did spend the next several minutes talking about the toast, pointing to the toast, and pouring cinnamon on the toast.  This may sound like a ridiculous waste of time (and pricey bread), but I promise, this is progress in Corban's World.

The bread we purchased is from Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery, we bought all three varieties, but the one we tried today is their multi-grain loaf. First I have to say, this was my first experience with GF bread, and it was toasted (I imagine the texture would have bothered me if I had tried to eat it right out of the bag), but this stuff is good! Like, so good that I actually look forward to Corban rejecting his daily piece of toast in the weeks to come, so that I can continue to eat it. It was moist, very porous, and had great flavor. The ingredients are listed as follows:

Water, potato extract, rice starch, rice flour, sorghum flour, organic high oleic sunflower/safflower oil, organic evaporated cane juice, organic honey, egg whites, organic inulin, yeast, sea salt, xanthan gum, organic cornmeal, organic sunflower seeds, organic millet, organic flaxseed, organic molasses.

Also, this weekend we went to both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in search of GF foods for Corban. Aside from some certified GF chocolate chips, Trader Joe's was a complete disappointment.  Whole Foods was a different story. I found- and purchased- all sorts of exciting and tasty-looking treats that Corban will reject over the coming weeks. I am looking forward to him branching out and trying these foods in the future, but as I try them I will also review them here.  Another "kudos" to Whole Foods for having coupons available to print directly from their website.

Day 1

So yesterday was the day we learned from our son's GI doctor that he has celiac disease. Not the worst diagnosis in the world, but it definitely complicates meal time just a bit.  So, for a lazy cook like me, that means learning new gluten free recipes and converting my current wheat-lovin' recipes to GF (gluten free).

In the short-term, it meant getting my kiddo down for a nap and throwing away all his foods that he could no longer eat. (Bye-bye beloved gold.fish crackers and morning baby oatmeal!) I cruised a few GF blogs (which I will soon reference and link here), wrote down a few emergency recipes and started a GF grocery list.

As you can imagine, after 18 months of eating foods that are painful to his system and contribute to extremely bad acid reflux (he takes two kinds of medicine, four times a day), Little C is pretty wary of food.  Mealtime is usually a battle. The ONLY things he takes without a fight are gold.fish, yogurt, his meal replacement shakes, and most anything chocolate. So, most of the recipes I have written down won't be accepted and enjoyed by my kiddo right away. BUT I am hopeful that as we slowly introduce food that doesn't cause him pain, he will learn to trust new foods and become more adventurous. 

We have a looong road ahead of us. For me, I need to educate myself and stock up on basic GF essentials. For Corban, he has to discover that not all food causes pain, it's okay to try new things, and trust that his mama wants to make him food that tastes good and is good for his system. 

So, I am calling today day 1.  With baby oatmeal no longer an option, I bought some baby rice cereal (which I already know he won't like, why do I do that to myself?) and some chocolate flavored crispy rice children's cereal.  Not the most nutritious choice, but I need to be honest, these next few weeks are going to be all about bait-and-switch bribery. 

Little C is not a fan of cereal. He doesn't like when it gets soggy. He doesn't like having to chew, chew, chew.  There are a dozen reasons why he won't give this a try.  There is a very real likelihood that he will throw up at the sight of it. (Another fun little trick he keeps up his sleeve). But, mama is holding an ace of her own, this rice cereal is chocolate flavored.  I poured a small amount into a bowl of milk, grabbed a spoon, and casually sat it before my kiddo. "Look buddy, chocolate cereal! Yum!"

Wish us luck!

*~* UPDATE *~*

I have since learned that purchasing corn or rice breakfast cereal, if not certified gluten-free, is a big no-no.  This cereal was likely made on machines that also process cereals that are riddled with gluten.  Sigh. With a disease as serious as celiac, every gluten molecule counts. This is why educating myself is so important!