For those who have had good luck with these diets, please tell me how you got started and how long it took you to see results. My 2 year old drinks a ton of milk and lives on Mac and cheese. What will he eat?
Also, if the diet did not work, please tell me about it.

Thanks sooooo Much!

Stephanie
God could not be everywhere, therefore he created mothers.
Anon

Ugh! :} Come on over, let's pour a cup a coffee and chat for a few hours!! We're laughing at this response because we have had our son on this diet for 6 months and are finally starting to see a change. We have Aidan on this diet for 2 reasons. 1) because he has a leaky gut and 2) because he is in the spectrum - which the two go hand in hand.

Here is a clue on how to get started but honestly you will find yourself tweaking this diet from week to week to find out what works best for your child. How to get started:

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/Beginningthediet.htm

STAGE ONE REMOVE ALL DAIRY (CASEIN)
STAGE TWO REMOVE ALL GLUTEN
STAGE THREE Some children may be intolerant to soy, corn or other food. If necessary, continue with any other food restrictions.
STAGE FOUR FOOD DYES AND OTHER ADDITIVES: It has been found
(Dr. Feingold www.feingold.org , Dr. Stephen Lockey, and others) that food dyes and food additives were responsible for the hyperactivity in many of the hyperactive children they had seen in their practice. In particular red, orange, and green dyes were to worst offenders. Preservatives should also be eliminated, especially MSG, BHA and BHT.
STAGE FIVE ADDITIONAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
STAGE SIX PHENOLS or SALICYLATES: Although not all individuals may have problems, generally it is recommended to address foods high in phenols or salicylates, and additives about 2-6 months after you start a GFCF or other similar diet.

We have been following this diet for 6 months with a few oops here and there and finally decided 2 weeks ago that if the food came out of a package then Aidan could not have it. He has high levels of yeast and bacteria which are hidden is SO many GFCF packaged foods. Just this week, Aidan finally had his first formed BM since last October. Yes - one year and he finally "pooping" like he should. He is also staring to use some words and communicate with body language which makes his life and ours so less frustrating.

You have to be careful because GFCF products are safe but if your child has any bacteria or yeast in their system, then you are doomed. The bread has yeast, the pretzels have yeast, the crackers have soy which feeds off yeast, some of the pasta contains yeast and all juices contain natural flavorings which can sometimes not be as safe as they claim when they tell you they are 100% natural juice.

Trader Joes and the The Gluten Free Market have been good to us but I highly recommend sticking to all natural foods with this diet and you will see a more gratifying change than you would with processed foods. Aidan did not start eating properly until approx 2 weeks ago when we had no choice but to give him all natural. Eventually - he became so hungry that he finally started eating the foods that his body needed. It took 3 days but he finally starting eating. Please don't think we starved our child but know that we had to do this for his own health. High levels of bacteria will cause heart damage if not treated within time.

Join a Yahoo Group under GFCF diets or Autism and you will find a lot of helpful information.

Hope this helps and feel free to email us with any questions. WE feel like pro's at this point and time in our lives so we would more than happy to help.

We also have some nice recipes to help you make the transition. This diet will work if you stick to it but it so easy to fall off especially when you have one on the diet and your other children not on the diet. Slowly but surely we have been following the GFCF meal plan for all of us and have made some yummy recipes. It really helps because Aidan always wants what everyone else is having. When we are all eating the same thing, it's okay with him - understandable. You would be surprised at what you can do when forced to be creative.

Sorry so long. Hope this helps.

Bea and Mike, parents to:
Aidan, Connor, and Fiona

Aidan, Connor, and Fiona

Thanks for the response. I will join the Yahoo group too. I would love any recipes that you have. If it works for your two year old hopefully it will work for mine.

Stephanie
God could not be everywhere, therefore he created mothers.
Anon

I will post more recipes but here are our most current favorites.

GF Meatloaf (can also be made with ground turkey or ground chicken)

2 lbs ground beef, chicken or turkey
2 eggs or egg replacer
2 tbsp Worchesteshire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup (prefer organic)
1 tsp onion powder/ 1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients, form into a loaf and bake in a loaf pan for 1 hr at 375. Brush with ketchup and bake for another 10 minutes.


Beef Stew (can also be made with cubed chicken or turkey)
This is a crockpot recipe

2 lbs beef, stew or chicken
2 cups water
1 cup carrots
1 cup peas or green beans
2 stalk celery - chopped (for flavor)
2 potatoes - cut into bite size
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 onion (optional)

Place meat at bottom of crockpot - add all other ingredients in order listed and then add water. Cook on low for 8-9 hrs or high for 5-6 hrs.

Baked fruit (pears, bananas or apples) - great for snacks

slice fruit
Place in a glass baking dish
sprinkle with organic cinnamon
Bake at 350 until fruit hardens, browns or appears crispy.

Other food ideas we offer Aidan are ground chicken patties, hamburger patties and turkey patties flavored with ketchup.

Bananas sprinked with cinnamon are a great wholesome breakfast. We let the banana dry out a little before we give it to Aidan. This seems to help him with the texture of the banana.

Nuts are GFCF. We only buy nut that are still in the shell and have not been processed or run through a mill. Pistachios and good old peanuts are so safe.

Honey is an approved GFCF item. This is great for veggies if your child will not eat them. Also good for GF Bread (if your child does not have a yeast issue).

You can order Sugar Free Syrups online which are pricey but they arrive in a pretty large bottle. If your child does not have a sugar intolerance, he/she may have 100% maple syrup.

Stay away from bacon and hotdogs. They contain nitrate which is a big no, no. Found this out the hard way. Even organic turkey dogs contain nitrate. We buy bacon straight from the butcher.

Gosh, I could go on and on but I feel like I might be boring you.

Let me know if you have any questions. The best advice I can offer is be a label reader and when in doubt - throw it out.

Bea

P.S. I almost forgot - here is a GREAT website. Bless Dana!

http://www.danasview.net/recipe.htm

I also wanted to mention that we only use organic chicken or turkey. Chicken and Turkey sold in the grocery stores contain high levels of arsenic. Believe or not - the chicken feed they use contains arsenic. Scary!

Beatrice, mother to:
Aidan, Connor, and Fiona

Aidan, Connor, and Fiona