Friday, July 20, 2007

Before and After

So this is our fifth day of Zachary being gluten free. We've hit a few bumps here and there and yesterday I started feeling really discouraged after I think he ate a little rice/oat puff off of Marc-Adam's tray. I'm going grocery shopping sometime this weekend, and I think I'm only going to buy GF and I'm going to give all our "normal" food to the food pantry that our church assists. I'm just too obsessive and worried about cross-contamination (it seems I'm going to have some trouble finding things for Marc-Adam that are GF, but we may have to compromise there until he's repertoire of food has expanded a bit more). But we've seen some progress. His eczema is actually starting to heal up and his whole personality seems to be more even-keeled (he's always been a little dramatic and his mood swings were terrible for him only being two).

I tried to pass off "Penne and Chreese" (yes, you read that right, it's not a typo: "Chreese") as mac and cheese....the kids were having none of it. It was awful. And it made my house stink. And I'm so not impressed with the selection of bread that we have, so now I'm on a mission for the best GF bread. Preferably store bought and preferably under $5.

I thought I'd post some befores and afters so I could see them side by side and to "journal" our progress. Here's the day we started GF (the backs of his knees):



And here's first thing this morning:

So what do you think? I think his legs actually looked better yesterday and they don't look as pink in person as they do in this picture.

I'll post some more befores and after tomorrow.

10 comments:

mamashine said...

Mom knows way more than I do about this, but here's some stuff I've learned about mac & cheese:

Tinkyada pasta is the best. We can only find it at whole foods here, but it's the closest thing to the real stuff. For the cheese sauce, Ragu makes a double cheddar sauce in a jar that's pretty tasty, and Kraft actually sells the cheese powder in a shaker can near the parmesan cheese. It's GF too.

As far as bread, from what I hear that's hard. Kinnikinnick is good, I think. Expensive though.

mamashine said...

And oh, I forgot to say, YES! His legs do look much better! :)

Rachel said...

Alli - they do look better, much better! yay mommy! Im not sure on the cost but there are a lot of other flours if you want to make your own bread. Im sure its much less than buying it. I know you can bake with 100% coconut flour (tropicaltraditions.com) but Im not sure on the price of that. hmmm. if I come across something Ill let you know!

LaughterThoughts said...

he's looking great!

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Oh man- I can't believe that Chreese stuff is on the shelves. I tried it, too (we can't have dairy or eggs) and ICK ICK ICK. THAT could be an entry in my grosser than gross contest!!! And not sure if you already know her, but do you read my friend Lori's blog - "Glass Half Full" ? Her son is wheat & Gluten free. And she has lots of great tips!

Steph

Glass Half Full said...

Adventures in Babywearing told me you were going gluten free. My son has celiac disease and we've been gluten free for over 4 years. I'll be happy to give you some advice!!!

KatieBug said...

He does look better! Have you taled to Aunt Linda about food? I bet she know all the tastey stuff.

k said...

I've tried to post several times and have not been able to get through. First, oh my goodness, he looks much better in the 2nd picture and I'm sure it is even more obvious in person. What an encouragement to see improvement so quickly. I know your dad has been in touch with Linda. She is a wealth of information. I couldn't have made it through the first six months without her. If you haven't gotten it from her already, this forum (link below) is invaluable.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/celiac

I think bread is one of the hardest thing to find a good substitute for. Many of the people on the forum make their own. I haven't bothered much with it because sandwiches aren't really that important to me. But Kinnickinnic has a good bread/bun mix that I use to make hamburger buns with. It's a little sweeter than I really like but it's still better than most of the other stuff I've eaten. I'll bring you some when we come next month.

k said...

And thank you for your comment about Gram :-) I'll have to tell you some more of my memories.

Anonymous said...

wow! what a difference! That must make you feel so much better to see it clearing up. yay!

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