Last night I took Avery to Wal-Mart to help shop for lunches and snacks. I taught her how to read the labels, reinforced that we could no longer have anything that contained wheat. She really liked finding packaging that had Gluten Free written on the front of the packages and I'm sure that is why I now have 3 bags of Quaker Rice Cakes.
Giving Avery that control over being able to pick which cereal we have (chocolate chex and pebbles) and letting her read the back of the Cheerios box to see that it "really does contain wheat", completely changed her outlook. She seemed lighter, almost excited (wants to learn how to bake English Muffins).
First you have to understand my daughter... She is the happiest person I have ever met. Really, that's not just mom bragging, she is a happy go lucky girl. She looks at the bright side of everything. She loves everybody, even the mean boy in her room (who I just want to put in the corner or have an extremely harsh talk w/ his mom).
But, this last week she has been sad, she has been whiny and just not herself. It has weighed heavy on my heart. So to see her dancing and singing around the aisles of Wal-Mart, I knew that together we could do this. YES, it would be a really long time of adjustment, but eventually we would have it down.
As a treat for a crappy week I let her get a chocolate milk. She read all of the labels. I read all of the labels. She picked CHUG Milk Shake in the Cookies and Cream flavor. I read the label again.
We live 10 minutes from Wal-Mart. She began drinking it while I was loading the car. By the time we got home she was complaining that her stomach hurt.
Did we miss something? Is there gluten in this?
No other dairy has ever given her issues so I do not think it is the cassin. She has never tested being allergic to whey or cassin (not sure if that is the same now). Could it have just been too rich, she has had a very light and fairly bland diet this week. Should I start documenting her milk reactions too?
Thanks
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I was diagnosed about 3 months ago with Celiac disease. With four adults in our household, I am the only one truly on a gluten free diet. I have noticed that items that are processed on the same equipment as items containing wheat, or items made in a facility that also processes wheat bother my stomach. Has your daughter noticed any of those problems? Perhaps something in the milk is processed on equipment that somehow also processed something with wheat.
ReplyDeleteJust thought I would share. I know that anything that is Wal-Mart's Great Value brand makes me feel sick, so I stay away from that.
Well, we've been GF for just over a week so, I haven't had a chance to notice any reactions like that. I did notice that all of the Great Value products have a general disclaimer for allergies. I am making meatloaf soon with some crushed Great Value rice "chex" that I already had in the cabinet. This will be a good test to see if it upsets her tummy. That will be the only iffy ingredient in the meal and she will have been at home the whole day where I can monitor everything.
ReplyDeleteHow do you keep cross contamination down? Do you notice your reaction to being glutened is more severe now that you are free of it on a daily basis?
Thank you so much for reading, and sharing your thoughts with me.
Keeping cross contamination down with the gluten-eaters is pretty tough. I have my own set of cooking utensils that are a different color than the others, which seems to help. I also have my own set of condiments, dressings, peanut butter and jelly, etc. It is the small things like that that seem to be overlooked the most. It is still hard, I am only in my 4th month of being gluten free.
ReplyDeleteI do find that I can tell within about an hour or so if I have been glutened, and it seems I have a worse reaction to it. Eating out seems to be when it hurst the worst. I am trying to limit going out for dinner, but I don't want to completely cut it out. Celiac disease is a life-changing diagnosis, but it doesnt have to be something that deprives you of everything you once loved.