One thing you realize quickly when you eliminate something from your kid's diet is you're not exactly sure which foods you can trust. Gluten is hidden in many things. And you don't see the word "gluten" obviously written in the ingredient list. And just looking for wheat, rye, oats and barley would be too simple. Sometimes it's hidden in the simplest words like malt or powder. So I have been calling lots of 800 numbers lately. Everything the kids normally eat I have called --unless it already says "gluten free." If I don't see those words, I don't trust it.
Some other tricky gluten-filled words include: graham flour, kasha, wheat germ, bran, bulgar, tritcale, kamut, spelt or mir.
One company that has been very helpful has been Kraft. I called them about turkey and cottage cheese (believe it or not many of these have gluten) and they were helpful on the phone and sent me some information.
Kraft is making my life easier. For this I am surprised and thankful. On their ingredients list they actually always list things in an easier way. For instance, when they say "natural flavor" they may say "contains soy and barley" in parenthesis. As with many companies, they can't say "gluten-free" unless the product is manufactured in a gluten-free facility. I dont' mind gluten being in the facility because for us it's not like a life or death allergy. But I have had to make many calls to determine what is safe for my kids. And I write with a sharpie on everything. This makes it much easier if I am not home or a babysitter is here.
We are 10 days in. It's not easy and I have seen zero changes. But we're getting through it. And we'll continue until the first week of April.
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