Gluten Free Product: Bumble Bars

Another nutrition mom recently introduced me to these organic, gluten free and vegan Bumble Bars when we were trading information about gluten free foods. I tried the original Bumble Bar at her house and I liked them so much I had a chocolate crisp Bumble Bar for BREAKFAST the next day when I stumbled upon them at Provisions health food store after dropping my kids off camp. It's not really "what to feed your kids" for breakfast (although it might be healthier than typical breakfast fare) but it was certainly a yummy treat for me on a busy morning.

Top Things That Have Helped My Kids

TOP THINGS THAT HAVE HELPED MY KIDS...Here is a list of the things that have helped my son get better...I am posting them in the order we did them. Getting better didn't happen overnight. Many of these things have worked synergistically to heal our gluten free family. Some of these were suggested by doctors--others were recommended by parents and some I stumbled across doing research, implemented and noticed huge benefits. Most recently, it's been the biofilm protocol and the thyroid medication that have made the biggest difference for my kids. And in case you think that I like everything I have tried, I have to tell you that there is an even longer list of "things that didn't help my kids." And a few cabinets of supplements that we never used/didn't make a difference/I couldn't get my kids to take. Which doesn't mean the things that didn't help my kid, might not help your kid. The one thing that I have learned is that everyone is different. And not everything I have done is on this list. There are a ton of little things I found helpful: using coconut oil, cooking with garlic, epson salt baths for sensory integration disorder. But these are the big things that really shifted things.

1) Gluten free/Casein free diet (and soy free diet)
2) Getting rid of chemicals in our house
3) SAY and PLAY speech therapy at 20 months
4) GI FLORA probiotics from Dr. Teich
5) sublingual B12 with folic acid <--my son started talking when he took this
6) 1/2 a tablet of Kirkman's B6/magnesium
7) ALCAT food intolerance testing through Dr. Pescatore
8) No-Phenol and Tri-Enza Enzymes by Houston Neutraceuticals
9) Thyroid testing through Dr. Kellman and Armour thyroid
10) Biofilm Protocol to get rid of yeast through Geri Brewster

***These are in the order we did them.

Potatoes, Green Beans, Olives and Hard Boiled Eggs--Composed Salad for Kids

I fed this composed salad of roasted potato rounds, green beans, olives and hard boiled eggs to two three year olds today and they ate it. The adults were eating a Barefoot Contessa provencal salad and I decided I would simplify it and separate the ingredients to make it more kid friendly. It was a little bit of luck. The younger one had just come in announcing she wanted a peanut butter sandwich and I said I had this and some LEMONADE! I emphasized "EAT THIS and I will bring you some lemonade." I find the less I say about food , the better. Anyway, it worked so I thought I would share it with you. Even if the kids only eat the potatoes, it is good to try to introduce them to new foods because you never know when they are going to eat them.



















POTATOES:
Slice the potatoes in 1/4 inch rounds, toss them in oil and put them on a hot sheet tray in a 375º oven for 20 minutes on each side. Then sprinkle with salt.

GREEN BEANS:
Cut ends off green beans. Drop in boiling water for 3-5 minutes until green and just cooked. Plunge in cold ice water bach. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and salt.

HARD BOILED EGGS:
Put eggs in a small pot and fill with cold water one inch above eggs. Bring to a boil. Turn town heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers & Smores Recipe

I made these graham crackers for the kids to make S'mores. The secret to the graham crackers is rolling out the dough and letting it harden in the fridge before cutting them into rectangles and piercing them with a fork. It is the third year I have made graham crackers so I have perfected making them. At first, the idea of making graham crackers seemed overwhelming, but now it is a fun summer tradition that seems easier than buying them. Happy Fourth of July!

1 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening
1 cup agave (or 1 cup sugar)
2 eggs or

2 cups + 2 T. gluten free flour mix

1& 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1.5 cups of finely ground cashews

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat shortening and agave with an electric mixture. Add eggs and vanilla until mixed well. Add flour mix, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Then add 1.5 cups of finely ground cashews. Mix until well blended.

Divide into 3. Place parchment paper on counter. Place 1/3 dough onto parchment. Cover with plastic wrap and roll out dough until 1/8 inch thick. Place flattened dough in fridge to cool dough. When dough has hardened, take out and cut into rectangles 1.5 inches by 3 inches.
Pierce with a fork. Cook 15 minutes in oven.

For Smores: Enjoy with Kraft marshmallows and Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

Drop 1 inch cookies onto cooking try 1 inch apart. Bake in center of oven for 8-10 minutes watching closely to make sure they are light brown.

FUN FRIDAY: Vegetables' Destiny at Goat on a Boat

Vegetables' Destiny is a puppet show for kids at Goat on a Boat in Sag Harbor--but adults will also enjoy this off broadway quality show as well. It's playing July 3rd and July 4th at 11 am.

My favorite song was "DIRT." D-I-R-T. It doesn't hurt!" (Although the poop song about manure was a close second.) The show is full of crunchy and witty songs about the cycle of life and the finale is a plate of veggies the kids get to eat. One writer/performer said "Even if your kids don't eat vegetable--they will now." And she's right. After watching the veggies grow proudly from seed to seedling to plant to vegetable everyone was happy to help them fulfill their destiny.

See Vegetables' Destiny on July 3rd or 4th at 11 am or see the whole summer line up at Goat on a Boat for more entertaining, creative and thoughtful events. It will also be play at this summer's Mid Atlantic Puppet Festival in Washington, DC. They also run a playgroup and camp.

* At the show, the popcorn is made from organic corn, safflower oil and sea salt!

GOAT ON A BOAT
Route 114 and East Union Street
Sag Harbor, NY
631-725-4193

Eco-Planet Organics 7 Grain Whole Grain Hot Cereal

My son and I played a game while eating this Eco-Planet Organics 7 Whole Grain Hot Cereal. Whoever took a bite and said "yummy" first won. It was his idea--probably sparked by the fact that the cereal is so delicious.

We tried the maple and brown sugar flavor which is creamy and sweet, but also full of whole grains. Oats, Amaranth, Sorghum, Quinoa, Millet and Buckwheat and Chia. The oats are certified gluten free and according to Dr. Peter Greene of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia, buckwheat is okay on a gluten free and should be called "buckCORN" and not buckwheat as the protein is more similar to corn than wheat. Normally, I am not a huge fan of healthy looking labels, but I wonder if I felt so good after eating this cereal because of the 500 g. of Omega 3s...

You can order a case of 6 boxes online now through Eco-Planet Organics or find them at Wegman's. They should be at Whole Foods in several weeks. I will keep you posted.

UTZ: This is a GLUTEN FREE FOOD.

My eight year old said "This is a HUGE score" after reading "This is a GLUTEN FREE FOOD." on all the UTZ chips that were hanging in a line at the store today. Besides being psyched she could have them all, she was especially impressed that they "went to the effort of labeling them GLUTEN FREE." I usually don't buy junk food with tons of chemicals, but she was so happy saying "This is the ONLY junk food I can have" that I bought her the bright orange cheese curls to celebrate. I split the package with her because it was two servings. If your kids can't have dairy or they are sensitive to MSG, you might want to steer clear of the cheese curls. And a lot of UTZ chips are made with cottonseed oil-- which is NOT my favorite. But, in a pinch, UTZ chips are a GLUTEN FREE FOOD and I do appreciate the labeling and how happy my daughter was that there was some actual junk food she could have.

•••Although we were both fine with the cheese curls, there is a huge anti UTZ backlash. Apparently, there have been reports of people getting sick from UTZ chips that have been labelled gluten free on celiac. com.

Map of Gluten Free Restaurants in New York City (NYC)

Here is a map of New York City with gluten free restaurants. Please make comments with your favorite GF restaurants in the NYC area and I will add them to the map...

View Gluten Free Restaurants in New York City in a larger map.

Downtown Westside:

Risotteria
270 Bleecker St (btwn 6th & 7th Ave.)
New York, NY 10014-4101
(212) 924-6664

Downtown Eastside:

BabyCakes NYC
A bakery which serves gluten free and agave sweetened treats.
248 Broome St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 677-5047

Pala
I haven't been yet, but it is always nice to hear about another place that is serving gluten free pizza.
198 Allen Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 614-7252

Midtown Eastside:

Bistango Restaurant
415 3rd Ave (at 29th St.)
New York, NY 10016-8104
(212) 725-8484

Asia De Cuba on Madison
237 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10016-2818


Upper East Side:

Lili and Loo
We love this eclectic gluten free asian restaurant.
792 Lexington Ave (betw 61st and 62nd St)
New York, NY 10065-8106
(212) 421-7800

Opus Restaurant
Opus in our new favorite place for food. They have delicious gluten free pasta and crab cakes. It is such a pleasure to have waiters who understand gluten free food.
1574 2nd Ave (btwn 82nd & 83rd)
New York, NY 10028-2617
(212) 772-2220

Lumi Restaurant
Lumi is an elegant italian restaurant with a gluten free
963 Lexington Ave. (at 70th St.)
NY, NY 10021
(212) 570-2335

Peters Restaurant
My kids love to go to Peter's for gluten free french fries. They also have a nice backyard that is a well kept secret--SHHHH...
1606 1st Ave (btwn 83rd & 84th)
New York, NY 10028-4311
(212) 734-9600

Slice, The Perfect Food
Organic, gluten free pizza that can be customized to accomodate different allergies--tastes healthy.
1413 2nd avenue
New York City, NY 10021
(212) 249-4353

Upper West Side:

Trattoria Sambuca
Family style italian restaurant on the upper west side which has a gluten free menu.
20 W 72nd St
New York, NY 10023-4100
(212) 787-5656

Nice-Matin
I spoke to them over the phone about their gluten free menu. I have never been to the restaurant, but it's on my list of places to go.
201 W 79th St
New York, NY 10024
(212) 873-6423

Zukay Salsa with LIVE Active Cultures

This is a long overdue post about Zukay live food salsa that I discovered at the Go Green Expo in New York. Zukay's tangy salsas contain live active cultures which means they are an excellent source of probiotics. Years ago, before refrigeration, preservatives and processing of food we had a lot more fermented foods. The fermentation process preserved the food and it also provided us with neccessary probiotics on which our bodies thrived. These days there are only a few sources of probiotics. For people who can't eat dairy, there are even fewer options for ways to get probiotics into their diets. For a long time, GI Flora, in capsules was the only way we could consume probiotics. I tried making coconut yogurt from dairy free starter, but I felt a tingling in the back of my head when I tried the "dairy free" yogurt. I even hired someone to come in to make me keffir tea--but that didn't work either. So I was thrilled to stumble upon these gluten free, casein free soy free salsas at the Go Green Expo that contain active live cultures.

A lot of food that is marketed as "healthy" is so far from healthy, but Zukay's salsa is truly a healthy product everyone can enjoy.

By the way, If my kids liked ketchup I would put the Zukay salsa in a blender and mix it into the ketchup gradually increasing the amount of salsa. Since no one eats ketchup here, it's more of a theoretical suggestion.By the way, they make the MOST delicious salad dressing. The Zukay salad dressings are a product in the works, but having tasted a sample, I can't wait to get my hands on it. (I had to interupt writing this post to order a 3 pack of mild salsa and a 4 pack sample of salad dressing AND I FOUND OUT THERE IS FREE SHIPPING.)

***I have to mention that my husband doesn't like the tanginess of the fermentation. It bubbles a little kind of like champagne. But for me, it made everything taste so extraordinary. I especially liked the hot salsa mixed in with black beans and rice. Maybe he will like the naturally fat free delicious salad dressings, though--which are even better than the salsas--if that is even possible.

website: no take out

no take out is a cool website whose slogan is "family dinners made easy." When you subscribe to no take out, they send you a menu, a shopping list and detailed seasonal recipes Monday through Friday which allow you to make a healthy, quick family dinner. They also have a Food For Thought section that has some interesting articles. The recipes seem a little sophisticated for my kids, but I love the idea of making vegetables a central part of dinner. Of course, not having to think about what to make is really the best part.