It's the little things

My child was addicted to chicken nuggets. And when I say addicted....I mean it. She was so under weight that anytime she asked, we didn't hesitate to drive her down there and get her some. It was SOMETHING she would eat, and eat quite a bit of so Bryan and I really had to let go of our idea of how much "fast food" we really should be eating.

Finding out they both had Celiacs threw us all for a loop and thinking that she wouldn't be able to eat any more chicken nuggets was what originally started my tears.

Since then, my good friend Amber got us on to these AMAZING Gluten Free chicken nuggets. They are gluten free because they have no bread....but yet they are so scrumtious! Jayda and Dallyn (and mommy) all love them. I got them at Costco (which I totally bought a membership to just for them!) and it just makes my heart happy. In the car I no longer cringe at passing a McDonalds. I just have to tell her to wait until we get home and I can whip her up some.

Thank you Blue Ribbon!!!!!!!!!!!


Here is the website on the Naked Nuggets :)
http://shedthebread.com/

PB&J

Another Jayda favorite is PB&J.....heavy on the peanut butter. She used to eat it on Wheat Bread....which is a BIG no no now! We ended up buying her some bread from Henry's....which was NOT a hit....she told me it smelled like Gus(our dog). Apparently that means it stinks and she didn't want to eat it.

A good friend recommended trying it rice cakes...so I figured snaps would be just as good! I made 5 and she ate every single one!!! She LOVED it. And the best thing is that I can buy them at the commissary....YAY for no tax!

Jayda got bored with the last two apparently. This was right before she scarfed them down! Silly kid!

Cupcake Party!

One of the first things I thought about when finding out the kids have Celiacs was CUPCAKES. Jayda loves them. And to say loves is a complete understatement. Any time I even begin to mention birthday her mind automatically shifts into cupcakes and balloons....in that order. My heart broke thinking that she would be the only one not able to join in eating them at birthday parties. So on Friday I made it my mission as a mom to find her a cupcake mix she could eat and make her cupcakes. We were going to a party on Saturday so the time was pretty short....especially considering I had never cooked with anything other than wheat flour!


We succeeded at Henry's, I was really pleased with what we picked out. We came right home and got to work. Jayda was really excited about having her own "special" cupcakes. The batter was NOT good.....she asked and asked and asked so finally I let her try a taste and she wrinkled her nose and ran away. That finally solves the problem of her licking the batter everytime I bake now!

I thought that they turned out great, she ate the whole thing at the party and she didn't seem to mind having something different from everyone else. I am sure the pink sprinkles helped quite a bit......as did all the wonderful people who made a point to say something awesome about her "special" cupcake....it really means a lot to me how much people care for my kids.

The begining

This is our journey (meaning my family's) through changing our life to eat Wheat and Gluten free.

It all started with my kids not gaining weight and eventually falling off of the growth chart. Jayda started around 1 year and Dallyn is only 10 months. Jayda only gained 3 lbs in 2 years. She is still growing upwards, as is Dallyn but neither is gaining a significant amount of weight. So our dr sent us in to get blood drawn to test for all kinds of metabolic problems, infections and other things that could be causing them to not be growing as fast as normal.

On May 26th, which happened to be my birthday, the dr called us and let us know that their lab results showed higher levels of enzymes that most likely means that both have Celiacs Disease. They referred us to a Gastro Interoligist where both will be having biopsies done on their small intestine to make 100% sure this is what we are dealing with. Tricare is still in the process of dealing with paperwork so that is where we are now.......just waiting. Hopefully by Monday they should call with an appointment schedule.

To say that it was devastating would be an understatement. It's amazingly hard to hear that there is something wrong with your child, something that will be a lifelong battle for them. Something that you can't fix even if you try your hardest. But there is comfort in the fact that they will be able to have healthy, nutrient rich foods and will be able to grow. If anything, this will definitely make our family a lot healthier and more aware of what we are putting onto our plates and into our bodies. This is our adventure....and I am so glad that we are all in it together.