Been a long time

Okay so I've really been slacking on this board. Kira is still gluten free though! It's been over 3 months. Kira is doing really well. Since I last posted she has learned to walk pretty well and loves to page through all of her books. We're hoping her language skills will pick up.

So I've been "tagged" to post 8 interesting things about myself. So here I go:

1) My first pet was a guinea pig named Nibbles. My parents gave him away while I was at school because they thought I wasn't taking good are of him. The truth is that I constantly fed him vegetables and unwittingly gave him a continuous case of diarrhea, making it very difficult to keep his cage clean. My parents actually went up to a boy and bribed him twenty dollars to take Nibbles! I was devastated and traumatized.

2) I grew up in Minnesota so I have these earthy roots. In seventh grade my entire grade was sent to a winter camp called Widjiwagen which is located way up north. We were forced to write contemplative essays in our journals while sitting outside in the freezing snow. I even slept on a tarp outside in the middle of a Minnesota winter night. I have never experienced such bone chilling cold. For "fun" we sat in a burning hot sauna and were then dunked into a frozen lake wearing nothing but wool socks. Yikes. I have plenty more stories about my experiences at the summer version of the camp.

3) I have played tennis since I was nine. I played competitively in highschool and in college. If you saw me now you wouldn't believe I was ever an athlete. I have worked out a total of two times since I had Kira. I nearly passed out when I tried to run a mile. I gained 40 lbs when I was pregnant with Kira. 15 months later I still haven't lost all of my pregnancy weight. Oh well. Guts are cute right?

5) My favorite movies are The Sound of Music, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, When Harry Met Sally, A Fish Called Wanda and My Own Private Idaho. Random assortment...

6) I was super scrawny growing up and insisted on wearing extra large men's T shirts when I was 4'10 and 78 lbs. On more than one occasion I was addressed as "sir".

7) I have been at the same job for 5.5 years, in finance. It totally doesn't suit my personality. I always hoped I would do something creative. Now I'm hoping to eventually switch careers and work with children.

8) My husband, daughter and I live together in an 800 sq foot apartment. We are cramped, but still love it. Where else can you order in from hundreds of restaurants? This city is amazingly diverse and filled with so many interesting people. yeah, I'm sure someday I'll want a yard and a place where Kira can ride her bike, but for now I'll settle for our little place and spartan lifestyle.

Kira's been in a great mood lately, very giggly and happy. No idea if its the diet or not, but I'll keep pressing on. This diet is getting a little easier with time. I realize that Kira will try new foods, but prefers that I mix them with rice. I feel strange mixing rice with a spinach pancake, but hey I'll do whatever it takes. Kira is a picky eater. I am excited to add two more dishes to her menu. She has tasted both of these and approves.

1) Macaroni and cheese with GF pasta. The recipe is simple and very tasty.

1/2 pound elbow GF macaroni (Bionare Brand is the best)
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

2) Baked potato with cheddar cheese and veggies

Just mash up a baked potato with a pinch of salt and steamed veggies of your choice and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Catching up

We have decided NOT to eliminate casein. Kira is only 13 months old and I felt really bad replacing her beloved bottle with rice milk (which she did not enjoy). My plan is to get Kira tested for a casein intolerance before I decide to remove dairy. She seems much happier drinking real milk. We have decided, however, to remain gluten free, which we have grown quite accustomed to. In fact, I notice that my husband and I have both been eating healthier ever since we started Kira on this diet. We make regular visits to Whole Foods and the organic section of Fairway.

This past weekend we had a private ABA therapist come take a look at Kira. She said that Kira could really benefit from some occupational therapy and special instruction. She is currently getting speech and physical therapy. It's pretty incredible that we could be working with four different therapists! But this isn't neccesarily a bad thing, we're happy as long as Kira gets the attention she needs. We love our both our physical and speech therapists, they are both so passionate and committed. The ABA therapist was also wonderful. We may be working with her in the future.

This has been such an interesting experience. While dealing with Kira's issues has certainly been a challenge, I've met so many friends and great people during this process.

Today Kira ate:

GF blueberry muffin with cream cheese
rice pasta with cheese and squash (invented by our nanny)
Rice with beef and veggies
Fruit

We're Feeding Kira Gruel

Man, I feel sorry for Kira. We're just not doing the best job with this diet. We've stopped feeding Kira casein (well we're almost there). So we have so few food options and haven't taken the time to really figure out a solid GFCF diet. I guess that'll be my job for the weekend.

Today Kira ate:
Van's GF waffle with syrup
Yo baby Yogurt (once we're finished with yo baby we're moving onto Silk)
Rice, spinach
Dr. Praegers sweet potato (kiddie food)
A few bites of GF pancake
Bartlett pear. cantelope
Organic Rice Milk

I didn't give enough veggies and meat. I swear, if eliminatin casein doesn't produce any noticeable results in two weeks Im adding dairy back in.

Midweek mistake

I messed up bigtime today and fed Kira shrimp, and totally forgot it was a big allergen. 15 minutes after eating the shrimp and rash broke out around her neck. It went away soon after. I'm so mad at myself! Poor child can't even eat wheat, I will feel terrible if she can't eat shellfish because of my mistake!

Today Kira ate:
Fried egg, EnerG potato bread, olivio spread
Cantelope, banana
Risotto with peas and shrimp :(
Yo baby yogurt (I'm going to switch to soy soon)
Pirate's booty
Bartlett Pear
Spinach pancake (Dr. Praegers)
One bite of an Amy's Mexican Bowl (Hope she finishes rest tomorrow)
Rice Milk Organic

Even if I am messing up with her food I cannot deny that she is growing. She is HUGE. She is almost 13mo and 2T shirts are tight on her. It's so strange. I was a small baby and my husband was pretty average.

I ordered the book "Special Diets for Special Kids". I'm desperate for easy recipes.

Monday's are never easy

okay so we're really struggling with going Casein Free. How do people do this?

Today for breakfast Kira had:
Scrambled eggs, GF energy C potato bread spread with Olivio
Rice Milk (organic)
Pirates booty
Fried rice again (This has become a staple)
Yogurt (so hard to cut out)
Cantelope
A few bites of the meatloaf I made with some veggies.

I just can't be supermom! I'm so exhausted when I get home from work. Going gluten free is a full time job, I swear. If I pick up groceries I won't have time to hang out with Kira before she goes to bed. I only get to see a bit of her in the morning and at night. I need to devote my weekend to planning meals for the week. I think Kira would enjoy a GF chicken pot pie. But the recipe looks a bit complicated. Ill take any suggestions! Ideally quick and easy.

We NEED variety!

Kira has consumed six pancakes in the past three days. This 22 pound, one year old girl may have a future in competitive food eating. I highly recommend the Red Mill Pancake Mix.. It's so easy to whip up a batch of pancakes. You would NEVER know they were GF. Unfortunately my husband and I tend to feed Kira the same things over and over again. So after the sixth pancake we were pretty much out of ideas. We're trying to go casein free as well, so that eliminates a lot of options.

Today Kira ate

leftover fried rice (GF soy sauce)
Red Mill pancake with syrup
bosc pear
Dr Praegers children's spinach potato cakes
Red Mill pancake with Olivio spread and syrup with bits of Hebrew National Hot Dog
Cantelope
Good Life cookie
Rice Milk (Organic)

Loads of carbs... I need to work on adding some more protein and veggies.

Tonight I baked a meatloaf using a recipe from www.glutenfreemommy.com. But Kira had already fell asleep. I'll save for tomorrow. I hope Kira will eat this in some form or another.