They say it's a process

and, Lord, how I hate that cliche. Especially since it seems to be true. I hate hate hate being a cliche!

So, this GF thing has started to normalize in our house. At first, all I could see were the myriad of things Shannon couldn't have....the bread and pasta and cookies and doughnuts and tortillas. Side dishes with dinner are still a struggle for me and I'm actually considering canning my own potatoes in an effort to speed up the dinner process.

But, now I see the tremendous number of things Shannon CAN eat. She can't have baked goods, and that's a pain in the backside. The pizza thing was a bit of a let down. The bread thing is frustrating and discouraging at times. But she's never been a picky eater, and we've found lots of things that she really likes. I've found lots of companies who clearly label their products--Kraft, Heinz, Nabisco, Feneral Mills, M & M Marsy, Nestle and Frito-Lay. More and more companies are getting on the labelling bandwagon, making my life much easier. Even Walmart's generic products are labelled well, and both their soy sauce and Worchestershire sauce are GF.

We've found some wonderful crackers made with Almond Flour from Blue Diamond. They're about $3 a box, which is a normal cracker price. I never pay that for regular crackers, but wait until they go on sale and stock up, so that's still a bit high for me, but Shannon loves them and I'm watching for sales on those too.

And, I found the cutest book at the library. It's called The Gluten Free Kid by Melissa London. It's actually a true story that started as a 12 yo's school project. Her parents took the idea and ran with it, publishing a book about Celiac disease for kids. Shannon loves this book! I'll be taking my Borders 40% off coupon and buying it, that's for sure.

So, today's a good day. Mostly anyway. I'll be baking another round of bread and hoping it turns out. If not, I've got a couple other recipes waiting to try, including a recipe for rolls that could be used for hamburger and hot dog buns. Wish me luck!

Another bread attempt--Update

I'm using a recipe from Bob's Red Mill, and I'm crossing my fingers it works. There seemed to be an awful lot of liquid in it, but now it's on the second rise and seems to be doing just right.

It's this recipe: http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=124

But I had to modify it just a bit. I didn't have an guar gum or soy lecthin, so I didn't include them, and I had potato starch, but not potato flour. Getting to 3/4 cup of egg took a bit of doing. Worked out to be 3 eggs, plus the white of a 4th. My dog is liking the yolks he's getting from all these recipes that use whites. His coat should be shiny shiny shiny!

Update--Well, Shannon didn't like it. I thought it was the best attempt so far, but she didn't agree. I think she's still comparing it to "regular" bread and it's really not the same. After a trip to the store today, I'll try again. There are dozens of recipes out there. We'll keep trying until we find one that works for her.

Success!

I checked out half a dozen gluten-free cookbooks from the county library, and there are dozens more available. It's a matter of trial and error right now.

Today, we made GF waffles for our traditional Saturday morning breakfast, and they're GOOD! Yippee!!

Breakfast has been a bit difficult. We tried a GF peanut butter cereal that she didn't like, so she's been eating eggs. But now, we've got waffles! And she's got her own dedicated toaster so she can toast some during the week if she wants to. I also made up a pot of rice last night and she liked that with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. We're still looking for other breakfast alternatives, but it feels good to have a handle on that right now.

The waffles are made with corn starch and xanthan gum. See, gluten provides the binder for many bread products. It's the stuff that holds breads together. So, you have to adjust recipes and hope they don't fall apart. Xanthan gum helps provide that binding agent as well. But, wow....it's EXPENSIVE. Or at least it was a shock to see that $12.99 price tag on an 8 oz package. But, then again, the waffle recipe requires only 1/4 teaspoon, and from my skimming of other recipes, this stuff will last a while.

I've still got lots to do and lots to process. The house seriously looks like a tornado hit. The kitchen needs a thorough cleaning out. I need to sort through the refrigerater and get rid of things that Shannon can't have (soy sauce can be made with wheat....who knew?). Same thing for the pantry. My neighbor was thrilled to recieve the Costco-size jug of soy sauce and the oyster sauce we can't use. She'll be getting a bottle of Worchesterchire sauce, and probably some other things. And, we'll be making a hefty donation to the food bank as well, things like barbeque sauce, packaged potato mixes, noodle mixes, rice mixes and more.

This is HUGE learning curve for all of us. There are lots and lots of things that Shannon CAN eat. But, I have to read labels and try to remember or cross-check all those long-winded names of different things. Some companies are better about labelling than others. Kraft is AWESOME. They make it very easy to determine if their products contain gluten. So far, they're the best I've found.

But, this morning is a good day. Our Saturday morning tradition is intact. Shannon can have the waffles she loves. Praise the Lord!

Maybe I really can do this.