I'm looking for some ideas for what to pack in my 9 year old daughters school lunches. She has food sensitivities so we are eliminating gluten and eggs. She also take medication for anxiety and is acutely aware of what other eat and how she'll be judged. Any thoughts/ideas/recipes are welcome!
Hi E., the hardest part will be helping her with her feelings concerning the whole thing. As long as you're supportive and treat it as no big deal that should help her realize it's no big deal...just a part of life. Have you looked at the parents website? they have great ideas, just a thought.
good luck.
E.
You might look at the cookbook, "Allergy Free" by Alice Sherwood." - my niece and nephew have allergies and this cookbook looked like it might work. Says it makes the GF food not taste like cardboard. It looked like a good cookbook when I flipped through it at the book store.
The Gluten Free Mom blog has tons of ideas for GF lunches (most of her suggestions are egg-free as well) and just general ways to help your child not feel left out when she can't eat what the other kids have.
Whole Foods and New Seasons both carry quite a good selection of Gluten Free food items, as does Bob's Red Mill. There are gluten free breads and plenty of different kinds of noodles (although I would check to be sure they don't have any eggs), crackers, etc. Cheese and crackers and sandwhiches on gluten free bread seem pretty run-of-the-mill for school lunches. Also, you could make gluten free muffins (freeze a batch on a weekend) as the starch in her lunch and include a protein and fruit/veggie too. Good luck.
All of my kids prefer "snacky" lunches to sandwich lunches, so it has been pretty easy for us.
My son has celiac, and here are some of his favorites:
Babybel cheese, sliced turkey & rice crackers
chocolate rice cakes/popcorn cakes
fruit roll ups
pudding
go-gurts
Corn Nuts
tortilla chips and mild salsa
apple slices with caramel or peanut butter
gluten free cookies ("Pamela's are really good)
gluten free cold pasta salad (Trader Joes has great gf pasta that doesn't fall apart)
nachos
Tiger Milk bars
sting cheese
stuffed celery
Little baggies of gf trail mix (gf cereal, raisins, nuts, choc chips)
You can also get the "Lunchables" and peel back the corner of the plastic, take out the Ritz crackers and put in the rice crakers. She'll love being "normal" with a Lunchable. :-)
Go to Nature's Market in Kent. It is by the Target and Home Depot on the East Hill. Ask for Heather. She is the manager and has celiac disease (no gluten). (and she is my sister.) She is there everyday but Tuesday. She can give you all kinds of ideas and Nature's Market has a gluten-free fairs. I believe their next one is in November. Bring your daughter and she can meet lots of kids that eat gluten-free!
www.naturesmarketkent.com
26011 104th Ave SE
Kent, WA 98030
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Hi E.,
I have a 3 year old daughter who was just diagnosed with Celiac and has to be on a gluten free diet .. so we pack her a lunch where ever we go. I know there is a big difference between 3 and 9 when it comes to what is cool in lunches but here are a few ideas that i hope will help.
I cube a cooked ham and send that cold, thicker slices of deli meats, turkey hot dog, string cheese, rice cakes, baby carrots, cucumbers, fresh fruit, and GF products like fruit bars, corn tortilla chips, cheese puffs, cookies, fruit snacks, etc. Depending on where you live finding a good GF grocery store is key. I shop at Trader Joes and Fred Meyers.
I hope this helps and wish you the best.
K.
I LOVE Pamela's gluten-free bread mix. That way I can pack sandwiches like every other mom. Also, I can pack gluten-free things from the Central Market bakery. A lot of specialty-baked goods stores, or natural markets carry treats and cakes that are gluten free as well.
Hello, I understand the dilemma you are going through as my 5 yr old son is allergic to eggs, milk, and peanuts. Some of the things that we have tried are lunch meat rollups, try long pickle slices cut in two long strips and wrapped up in ham or turkey slices. Grape tomatoes are also a favorite at my house. Now that he is out of preschool where everyone packed their lunch and is in kindergarten where the other kids are getting hot lunch, he has made comments about the differences, but the funny thing was that when we went over the menu and I gave him the option getting hot lunch on the days that offered food that he could eat, he chose to take his cold lunch!! I guess it is just a hit or miss but try to put one thing in her lunch that is her favorite treat occasionally so that it makes her feel special. Good luck!!
E.,
I had a great e-mail for you but I dropped my keyboard and everything got erased, so this is going to be quick.
Four meals my entire family likes that are gluten, egg and soy free are:
Tossed green salad with ground turkey and rice.
Pizza with crust made by Ener-G foods.(New Seasons has it)
Amy's brand Lentil soup
Quinoa "salad" - hot or cold
Don't worry about others judging. Our oldest has classmates with peanut allergies and gluten allergies. Kids are getting used to others having food allergies and are understanding.
The last thing is her anxiety could be triggered by food. Make sure she is eating frequently enough, make sure it is the right foods; not fast food and junk. Make sure she is eating enough protein for her system. Not eating enough can make anxiety worse. Always remember, what is right for you is not necessairly right for her.
Best wishes to you and her on your journey.
If you would like specific recipes, let me know.
Hi E....try Google www.gluten-free.com. There's about 6660 sites with ideas for gluten-free foods. As for eggs...have you tried the "egg beaters" in the cartons...if that doesn't work, try Google www.egg-free.com....
Good Luck
C. Hamlin
Cave Junction,OR.97523
One popular lunch (with my kid) if she likes nut butters is rice cakes and peanut, almond, or other seed butter. Also snacky gluten free crackers and cheese with veggies. My kid is younger but she prefers the snacky style lunch because she can share and pick out what she feels like. Good luck
You should check out the laptop lunches website. Even if you don't buy the lunchbox they have a wide array of ideas for what to put in the lunchboxes.
Tricities schools are not the most sensitive to dietary needs. My oldest needed a special diet and the best I could do was request that he be allowed to eat a teachers salad on the days we did not brown bag for him.
I would suggest looking into some cool items for her lunch bag like snacking on Gorilla Crunch cereal or one of those that make her stand out less. Perhaps glee gum. Different things you can find and add to her brown bag that are similar to what the other kids are eating.
http://www.c4vct.com/kym/bento/
Very fun and bento boxes are inexpensive. Mine has the most beatufil blue butterfly cloth I wrap it in and I even use chopsticks. It usualy receives positive attention.
