Jackpot!

One of the hardest things about the gluten free diet is trying to find adequate substitutes for some of Tad’s favorite foods.  There’s also a lot of “convenience foods” that we just can’t serve him anymore – and the types of treats are limited as well.

Marshmallows over a campfire?  Fine.  S’mores?  Nope, no graham crackers.

Popsicles?  Yes.  Ice cream?  Mostly yes.  Cones?  Not unless they are gluten free.

There are many alternatives out there in the form of rice pastas, GF pizza crusts, and there’s even a GF teriyaki sauce that I found.  But we still haven’t found a really good bread.  But Tad likes plain rice cakes, so I just make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of a couple of rice cakes.

So I took the kids with me to Central Market, a local natural foods grocery store, after a play date yesterday.  And it was like finding the Holy Grail of gluten free foods.

Frozen waffles!  Hamburger buns!  Bagels!  Pizza crusts!  DONUTS!!!

I was so excited I called my mother from the frozen food section to say, “I just found gluten free DONUTS!!!”

It was a big moment.  Because as soon as I was done shopping at Central Market, I marched the kids across the parking lot to the best local independent doughnut shop in the area, FROST Doughnuts.  Where I promptly bought donuts for those of us who are not on the GF diet.

And after lunch, everyone – including Tad – got a donut as a treat.

The GF donuts are frozen, so they are supposed to be kept in the freezer and then thawed and zapped in the microwave as needed.  And they came six to a box, so this treat will last a while.

I also got pizza crusts (I’ve become quite an expert at making a good personal cheese pizza for Tad), and frozen waffles (which the Webmaster would often make on Saturday morning for breakfast as a special treat – and real maple syrup is gluten free).

Though Tad may not really notice, I am trying to make things as “normal” as possible for him.  My only hope is that it really will make a difference in the long run.  And if not… at least he’s discovered rice cakes, and this experiment hasn’t tasted like cardboard for him.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 12:32 am and is filed under Children, Shopping Stories.
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