Need High Fat/High Calorie Gluten-Free Food Ideas

Updated on July 15, 2009
H.F. asks from Point Reyes Station, CA
23 answers

My 21 month old has celiac disease (an inablility to digest gluten the protien in wheat, rye, barley (malt) and oats) because it took so long to get a diagnosis she became very malnourished and very underweight. Her doctor has her on a special very high calorie fromula and high calorie juice beverage. We add butter and olive oil or dip to most foods but I am running out of ideas for snacks and lunch foods. Does anyone have any ideas. I am especially interested in ones that would be portable and that might incorporate small amounts of fruits or vegetables. Large amounts of produce aren't okay because they are not high enough in calories. Thank you!

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S.G.

answers from San Francisco on

Good for to go:
Brie Cheese on apple slices instead of crackers. You can try other creamy cheeses if she prefers, but brie triple cream has more fat than butter.
I second the suggestion of Weston A Price.

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A.C.

answers from Sacramento on

Can you tell me how you got this diagnosis? My doctor suspects it may be a problem for my daughter too and we are consdering doing a blood test.
As far as food choices, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods seem to have a lot of options.

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P.T.

answers from San Francisco on

My son loves avacodos. You can make gauc if she prefers. Try with corn chips (they have gluten free) and let her dip. Make it more fatting by making nachos and letting ehr dip in gauc and in sour cream. Kids that age love to dip. Give her a fatty dip with everything. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.T.

answers from Stockton on

What about good old fashioned "Bugs on a Log"? Celery with peanut butter in the groove and raisins sprinkled on top? Peanut butter is high in fat and protein and a decent source of fiber....peanut butter smeared thin on apple slices are one of my son's favorites.

1 mom found this helpful
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I.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Stir Flax Seed Oil into everything and consider drizzling it on whatever is tolerable... it's a great fat and adds a nutty taste to things.

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A.K.

answers from San Francisco on

My mom has this. One of her favorite snacks is apples dipped in peanut butter. She also get this gluten free bread (made from tapioca flower) that she uses for sandwiches. I think she get's it at her local healthfoods store.

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S.E.

answers from San Francisco on

A friend of our had a little boy with the same issue. He was 6 mo. older than my daughter when she was born and she was bigger.

Their doctor told them to make Carnation Instant Breakfast with half & Half. He loved it.

Stephanie

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M.T.

answers from San Francisco on

If your daughter's not allergic to nuts, I make healthy nuts (and granola, but she probably can't eat that) and popcorn with maple syrup and spices. Nuts are high in healthy fats. My kids and many of my friends kids love the maple pecans -- I also have almonds and walnuts. I have a small size which are great for snacks or to through in lunches. If you're interested you can check out my website marasmaples.etsy.com. Feel free to contact me directly through the site or through mamasource if you have any questions.

Hope you find some good options for your daughter.

M

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P.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi H.:

I don't have celiac disease...but I have an allergy to gluten (which is also known as leaky gut and other things...it's not a true allergy, I don't think, but calling it such immediately conveys the idea you just can't eat it!) I went undiagnosed for about 17 years. Thank God your daughter's problem didn't take THAT long to figure out! When people tell you how sorry they are for you, remind them that she is lucky as her disease is easily controlled with diet...so many other "issues" have no quick fix. So while it's a pain in the @#$)^%)(#*)(@, it's livable...

The other thing that is lucky - there's SOOOO many more products on the market now than there was even just 5-6 years ago when I first started this diet.

I love making myself and my kids avocado and cheese quesidillas with corn tortillas. There's no wheat in corn tortillas. You can even add sour cream to pile on the fat (just the way I like it!)...when she's older, add some mild salsa. (Corn chips, tortilla chips and some potato chips, <I LOVE Michaels Seasons> are GF--note that many potato products are dusted with flour to keep them from sticking to eachother, so if you give her something potato, watch her closely for a reaction)

I read with great interest the post recently about fixing dinner for the family...and one of the links listed in the advice led me to a new website that is a meal planner/grocery list service for glueten free folks like us. WOW! (I have the extra added challenge of a vegetarian husband, so I really struggle with what to feed us!) http://www.gfreecuisine.com/index.htm

Lots of grocery stores now carry glueten free items. Our local Raleys carries great pizza crust (frozen) by Kinnikinnick. They also carry (frozen) donuts, waffles, bread, english muffins, hamburger buns, and plain bagels. The tapioca bread is OK...but I prefer the prarie bread at Whole Foods. One thing to know, it's all expensive. One loaf of prarie bread is about $8.00, but what are you going to do? (re the English muffins and hamburger buns, I don't really see a difference between the two...only bought the english muffins once, they didn't provide anything near a close resemblence to a wheat-FULL english muffin...but the hamburger buns are YUMMY!)

Bob Red Mill carries a bread machine mix and lots of other GF things. The interesting thing is that there are MANY more people in the US who are Gluten intolerant, but don't know it...and as more and more are diagnosed, the options available should go up and the $$ go down. (The statistic from my nutritionist about 5-6 years ago was that one in 250 in Canada are Gluten Intolerant, and the thought was that the # is similar in the US, but it is WAY under diagnosed)

SavingDinner.com also has a gluten free menu option. I use their "menu mailers" for our family. I find that by using their vegatarian planner I can make almost anything there GF too. It's worked well for us...if I didn't have the "issue" of a veg husband, I would just buy the GF menu instead...

quinoa is a great grain as it is high in protien and easier and quicker to make than rice. I used it for tabbouleh earlier this week for dinner (instead of barley). It was good tasting to me.

When I first diagnosed I ate a TON of frozen waffles with peanutbutter and blueberries on top (with a touch of maple syrup too)...I just didn't know what else to feed myself. Any traditional American meal - meat, potatoes, veg is usually GF too...so eating out is not too bad if there's a baked potato, grilled meat and veg on the menu...of course, In-and-Out doesn't deep fry anything breaded, and they cut real potatoes into fries moments before frying, so you are safe to get a "protien style" burger and fries there.

My advice is to google gluten free, there's a million sites out there...and then get a sitter and go to whole foods with the intention of spending several hours just reading labels. They have some lunch meats there that are options...(there's also some good GF sausages at Raleys) Sorry this is so stream of consciousness...so many things just jump into my head...oh one more, Cheebe bread is yummy. It's from Brazil originally...I guess they all eat in the afternoon with their coffee...they have a pizza crust mix, but honestly, I prefer their breadstick mix for pizza crust...and the original mix made in the traditional manner. This is a cheese bread, so it could be high in calories...?

There's a bakery in SF called CRAVE (don't you love the name) that is GF. I've had some of their stuff (bought at Whole Foods) and dreamed of going there some day. (ahhh, Mecca...LOL!)

Pamelas baking mix is my preferred mix for pancakes and muffins. I also like their brownie mix.

You can make fried chicken using crunched up corn chips as the "breading"....

cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, can all be full fat and are usually GF.

Once you get the chance to start looking and learning, you'll find lots of options. I think Whole Foods has a link on their website to get a list of their GF products...it's been a while since I 've been on their website, probably easiest to find with a seach on gluten free.

Good luck to you...send me an email if you want to discuss any of this. Also know, Whole Foods generally has more GF items around the holidays that they don't necessarily carry year round, like frozen pie crust or bread crumbs for stuffing...so keep popping in to see what's there.

P.

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E.C.

answers from San Francisco on

how about things like avocados, cheeses with high cream content, and whole-milk yogurt?

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J.E.

answers from San Francisco on

I would check out www.glutenfreeclub.com or you can google other gluten free sites. Whole Foods has a large gluten free section and you can check online and sort through their products to find ones you want to purchase. That way, you won't have to spend hours reading labels in the store (what mother has hours to spend doing anything)? http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/gluten-free-prod...

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A.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Check out westonaprice.org - great resource for nutritional info. There is a cookbook called "Nourishing Traditions" which is fabulous. I've bought about 10 copies of this book for friends and everyone loves it. You may find that their methods of soaking grains will make it possible for your daughter to digest grains that she hasn't been able to so far. Coconut oil and butter is a wonderful healthy source of fat. I recommend Artisana coconut oil and butter and other coconut treats. Yummy! Avocado, eggs, nut butters are good nutrition and most kids really like these.

I'd like to hear if this is helpful. I don't always check in with Mamasource, but you can email me at ____@____.com if you don't mind.

Power to you Mama!

A.

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G.B.

answers from San Francisco on

peanuts and other nuts are high in fat, so nut butters if she can eat them. There are also nut flours, like almond, and such, even coconut flours.

put cream on oatmeal instead of milk.

Canned coconut milk is high in fat. When making steamed rice, use canned coconut milk in place of water in the recipe. Yummy.

Salmon.

Olives.

Seeds. Check out Chia seeds online, They are a powerhouse of good stuff. 20% protien,25% fiber, 34 % oil, 5 x the calcium of milk....amongst other things. They can be put into pancakes (set in the ready pancake mix for 20 mins before cooking)baked goods, drinks, hamburger, oatmeal, etc. and they are so tiny there is really no affect on texture.

Homemade cheesecake

Homemade french fries with the skin on, dip in garlic mayo.

egg yolks

Cod Liver oil- one of the best sources of vit A. Walmart carries an orange flavored one. (just dont chase it with anything or the fish flavor comes up!).

I have read celiacs can cause vitamin deficiencies, like magnesium, A , D and copper. Try to stay away from highly processed /frozen foods because they are high in sodium and lower in potassium and other nutrients. The sodium can cause weight gain, but it is water gain instead of tissue gain.
check out this site:
http://www.cookingtf.com/hiddengluten.html

ps.....the yeast Candida Albicans has the same protien chain as wheat gluten and can trigger or stimulate,( or simulate) the same symptoms.
http://www.devernaturopathic.com/news/celiac.html

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M.Y.

answers from San Francisco on

Hello H.!

First I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. With everyones help she will be where she needs to be in no time=)
My son is also on a high cal diet. Butter is great! I also give him Vit D milk (20 cal per 2 oz), sour cream with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, half and half mixed with whole milk or just by itself is great too! Oh yea. he love banana pudding and cheesecake with whip cream!! ;)In time she will be a lil porker..hehe

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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi! I was doing glutenfree for a while. One idea is the flourless chocolate cake, if your daughter can do eggs. See http://glutenfreemommy.com/lighter-than-air-chocolate-cake/. If she is able to eat eggs, quiche without crust or with GF crust is another great idea. To deal with portability issues, I invested in a good Japanese thermos (zojirushi brand) where you can pack items separately. I was giving my son a lot of protein, like chicken, lamb and beef but he wasn't growing. A pediatrician told me I had to give him a lot of carb. After serving regular big helpings of rice with every meal, he finally put on some height. So if you do the thermos, you can include hot rice. Where growth is an issue, I would do white rice (Japanese rice) as they have good texture and taste great. This will encourage your daughter to eat more. The GF breads really don't taste that good so I wouldn't bother with those for sandwiches. At the end of every meal, I also included a decent serving of ice-cream - that was before I discovered my son had food sensitivity to diary. Good luck!

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K.U.

answers from San Francisco on

Avocado. It's such a great, good-fat, vitamin rich fruit. And it tastes so darned good. I eat a really tasty GF millet bread, and you could mmelt cheese on it and throw some avocado on there too. Or you could just open an avo and give her half to eat.

I don't know if you've got any idea about other allergies/intolerances but nut butters are a fabulous food with great protein and fats, and other vitamins. (And also taste great.) Good luck.

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X.L.

answers from Sacramento on

Elizabeth Hasslebeck has celiac disease and she wrote a book called the G-free diet, I ordered one on amazon.com for a friend of mine who has an austic son, see if you can find one and give it a read, maybe she has some great portable snack ideas! Many blessing to you and your family, and good luck in your search, I hope this helps!

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H.A.

answers from Sacramento on

Does your family like pasta? I also need to be gluten-free. Of all the gluten-free pastas I've tried over the years, the favorite is Tinkyada brand rice pasta. Many different shapes. Larger shapes are good for toddler finger food. Cooks up great and people in our family who are used to regular wheat pasta can't tell the difference.

As a main dish, served with a protein sauce (ground turkey, beef, tofu, etc) or as a side dish with melted cheese, it's a great dinner. Then can be heated the next day for lunch.

Another quick idea is Alexia brand sweet potato fries. They come frozen in a bag and don't have any kind of gluten coating, like some of the other brands do. They are quite yummy!

Have fun exploring.

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L.B.

answers from Sacramento on

Hi!

Check out www.StudiesOnJuicePlus.com It is 17 different fruits and veggies in a capsule, gummie and chewable. I found it after going through some health issues with my son when he was a baby. He went through a similar situation as your child, but was not diagnosed with celiac's even though he had all of the signs. It is not high calorie, but it is gluten free and it is micro nutrition from a variety of fruits and veggies that your child will benefit greatly from. My whole family has been on it for 6 years now and what a huge difference it has made in all of our health. My mission is to share the gift of health with as many Mom's as I can.
Good luck to you!

L.

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M.R.

answers from Redding on

i make snack nuggets for my son. Artisana makes a COCONUT BUTTER. grind up pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, almonds, whatever...(i use a coffee grinder) in a food processor chop up some dried fruit...i use raisins and goji berries. they chop better if you add the ground up nuts and seeds into the mixer. i also add powdered seaweed for minerals and saltiness, shreded coconut is good too. once you have a nice uniform mixture, mix in the liquified coconut butter until you get a nice consistancy, roll into balls, or press into a pyrex dish and cool and cut. high in great fat and loaded with minerals!!
peace,
M.

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J.K.

answers from Redding on

i scramble eggs in everything. easy to hold veggies together in bites. i would say that quinoa, scrambled eggs, and veggies all simmered in meat broth would be my standard quick meal for your little one. nuts too!! go crazy on ones she will eat -- my kid loves cashews. expensive, but so good for them.

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M.S.

answers from San Francisco on

If you're looking for portable, easy to use GF foods, try Amy's Kitchen foods. They have a very large assortment of GF foods, some specifically aimed at kids - like a Rice Mac & Cheese and Rice Crust pizza that you can add toppings to. Also, Lundberg Family Farms makes rice chips that are really yummy and there are six servings per bag - but I've never been able to eat less than half the bag at once - so those calories will add up for sure. Actally all of Lundberg's foods are gluten free.

With some quick internet research I'm sure you'll find more foods than that. There's a mom that started a GF line of food that's supposed to be pretty good, but I cannot remember the name for the life of me. Good luck.

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J.C.

answers from Sacramento on

I subscribe to glutenfreeda.com and glutenfreechecklist.com which sends me recipes everyday. My friend has chose to go GF because of my daughter and I having Celiac and he takes the recipes and puts it into a word doc for us to use.

Good luck!

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