Autism diet - no gluten, no dairy, no soy

[grannyB]

I have twin granddaughters in kindergarten who were diagnosed with autism last spring. They cannot eat any gluten, dairy, or soy. We are going to visit them on Thursday. This will be our Christmas with them. I would like to take some Christmas treats, there is not anything I make that they can eat. Even chocolate chips have milk fat and soy in them.

Some of you know a lot about food. Can you help me find substitutes so that I could bake them some brownies or cookies or something. I believe it is the cassein in milk that is a problem. I know that I can substitute coconut milk and I can get gluten free flour, but what could I substitute for butter and get the same taste. I checked the margarine at my grocery and they all had soybean oil.

Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. We have no health food store in my small town, so will probably have to wait until we get to Kansas City to get the ingredients. Maybe Grandma can have a baking lesson with them.

What good is a Grandma that doesn't bring goodies for Christmas?

 

[freemotion]

Wow, that is a tough one. I can only comment on the fats. Use lard or tallow that you make yourself. Avoid any margarine, even if it is soy-free, as the hydrogenation is worse. Make your own lard unless you can find some that does not say "partially hydrogenated" on the label.

Lard is simply melted and strained leaf fat that you can get from a butcher. Tallow is beef suet that is melted and strained. Both are quite good for you.

ETA: And how could I forget coconut oil??? Yummy in sweet things.

 

[Dace]

Sometimes what we think is normal needs to be re-evaluated.

Perhaps Grandma could bring coloring books and crayons to use together while visiting instead of bringing treats?

Or a board game, or deck of cards, etc....just something that brings you together. Just a thought

 

[abifae]

*

 

[me&thegals]

Sometimes what we think is normal needs to be re-evaluated.

Perhaps Grandma could bring coloring books and crayons to use together while visiting instead of bringing treats?

Or a board game, or deck of cards, etc....just something that brings you together. Just a thought

Completely agree. My kids don't need special diets, as far as I know, but I've always preferred they eat little/no dessert. I think it's great when grandparents find nonfood ways to enjoy special time with the grandkids. Games, books, puzzles and outside time are all great ideas.

If the parents appreciate desserts, and that is something that feels very special to you, try Googling dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free recipes. There are lots of them! It's really nice that you are so respectful of their needs. Not all grandparents are!

 

[Wifezilla]

One of the things that goes hand in hand with autism is food issues AND vitamin D deficiency. You may want to suggest mom have the munchkins tested.

 

[Woodland Woman]

Can they handle peanuts?
A very simple cookie recipe is:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup (or less) sugar
1 egg
Mix and bake at 350 for 8 to 10 min.

 

[abifae]

*

 

[grannyB]

I am taking lots of non-food items, besides Christmas presents. I know they wouldn't miss the treats, but their parents would. My kids never got desserts and a lot of sweets, so Christmas was a special time. Old habits die hard. I don't have to take them food, but their diet is so limited. Their mother is not much of a cook. They pretty much live on various meats, eggs, fruit and the limited vegies they will eat. And most of the meat is processed and the fruit is store bought canned, except for bananas. Their diet is pretty boring. I just wanted to add something special.

abifae, there is no way I would jeopardize their health by giving them something they should not have. I remember their behavior before the diet change. It has made so much difference. When they were here in July it was the first time they ran to us and gave us hugs. Before when we came they would run in their room and hide. They have improved so much. Their mother told me today that after Christmas they can go into the regular kindergarten class full-time. No more special ed.

I've been to Elana's Pantry, but have none of the ingredients she mentions, so just bookmarked it for later study. I will look more thoroughly.

freemotion, I thought of coconut oil, and I have that, but did not know what it would do to the taste. I will have to experiment. After the holidays I am going to call the butcher in the next town and see if I can get some suet and pig fat. I have rendered lard in the past. I was not aware until recently (maybe it was one of your posts) that lard is partially hydrolyzed. You just can't buy anything processed in any way that is pure any more. A friend of mine had 3 pigs butchered before I knew about it and I could have had all that fat for FREE...

Thanks, everyone for the help.

 

[Woodland Woman]

I have some other recipes for treats that are gluten free, dairy free, and soy free like chocolate chip cookies using casin free chips and chocolate cake. I use coconut milk and a variety of gluten free flours. There is a soy free Earth Balance you can get from some health food stores but coconut oil subs well in most recipes.