My tips for feeding your gluten free family

Originally posted on spirochicks, I thought the new year would be a great time to "reshare" my tips for feeding your gluten free family:

It seems that one of the hallmarks of Lyme sufferers is having to struggle with multiple food sensitivities and chief among them is gluten. I've eaten a gluten free diet for well over ten years. But in the past several years I've discovered that my sons are gluten intolerant as well. While feeding myself had been challenging enough, feeding my kids gluten free was even more challenging. With school lunches, birthday parties, and social events, somehow I've had to figure out how to provide options for them that free them up to choose what their body needs while still engaging in everyday social activities. It's been hard! Here I share a few tips that have made this endeavor a little easier.

Breakfast on the go:

This Multi-grain waffle recipe from Ali of Whole Life Nutrition has made on the fly breakfasts possible. On Sunday mornings my husband and I make this recipe for our family. Today I made them while my husband went out and picked our blackberries. So we had waffles with fresh organic blackberries. Yum! And then there's always plenty left over to pop in the freezer for on the fly breakfasts throughout the week.

A sweet treat:

My gluten-free brownie recipe has way too much sugar but it's decadent and way too good for those glutenous eaters to turn their noses up. I make these and wrap them individually and put them in the freezer at school. Next time the birthday treats roll through the classroom there's a super yummy scrumptious treat in the freezer for the teacher to pull out for my son. He doesn't feel quite as deprived, after all their his favorite!

Pizza Pizza:

I think the hardest food for my boys to give up is pizza. Thankfully I found this super easy pizza crust mix from Namaste Foods that tastes soooooo good. For tips and pizza sauce recipe see my pizza blog post. I haven't taken the boys off dairy ... yet. So for now they get Mozarella cheese and I get goat cheese which tastes delightful by the way. But maybe we can get Kim to share her "cheese" recipe made from cashews, another great alternative to make this a dairy free treat as well. I make this usually once per week so I can tuck a pizza in my son's lunch for a little change from the usual.

Super packed on the fly nutrition for mom:

Green smoothies are the best invention ever. I feel so good when I drink these! I use it as a meal replacement or midday snack. It's a super fabulous way to load up on greens without having to eat a salad loaded with dressing.

My favorite green smoothie:

2 cups water

3 large handfuls spinach

1 apple or pear

dash of cinnamon

blend to smooth consistency with blender

Blender tip: after breaking two blenders in the first four months of smoothy making I broke down and purchased a Vitamix. Smoothies made with the Vitimix taste so much better than the ones made with others. It's now a necessity in my kitchen.

Another staple I can't live without:

I shared the recipe for Maple Granola in this blog post about Progurt. But it's worth mentioning again as it's a staple in my home. I make Maple granola usually once per week. It's fabulous to add on top of yogurt or eat for breakfast. I buy the gluten free oatmeal from Bob's Red Mill and get organic coconut shred in large pieces. Super crunchy and good for you too.

I highly recommend this cookbook from Whole Life Nutrition. It is packed with useful information and tried and true recipes. Also Ali's recipe blog is an invaluable resource.

I know we'd all love to hear what other tips you all have for living a gluten free life. So please share.