Just wanted to share the good news: The Disney Princess chewable vitamins (Complete Multi-Vitamin and Mineral Supplement) are now gluten free. In the past, the princess vitamins we checked listed wheat starch in the ingredients, so we avoided them. But, when I saw them again last month, I decided to give it another try. Boy, was my daughter glad I checked them again! It says right on the label that there is no wheat and no gluten.

I took a picture of the label (posted below), in case there are other ingredients you avoid. But check out what isn’t in them: milk, lactose, gluten, wheat, yeast, shellfish, and sodium. That works for us! (Be sure to check the label before you buy them. There may still be some bottles on the shelves that contain wheat starch.)

My daughter loves to pick out the princess shape and color to have each morning with breakfast. She prefers the chewable vitamins over the gummie vitamins. However, if your child prefers the gummies, you can also purchase Disney Princess Gummies Vitamins. Last I checked, these were also gluten-free.

Notable Links:

• Celiac Family writes about Flintstones, Spider-Man Gummies, CVS brand, and more
• Celiac Family writes about Wegmans W-Kids chewables
• For information about the gluten content of other medications, check out www.glutenfreedrugs.com.

The teacher was able to find 9 different items at her local grocery store with no problems. I provided the 10th item, a bag of small pretzel twists for the class because I had a spare bag in the pantry. Glutino makes great pretzels that are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, casein-free. If you haven’t thought about making a trail mix for snack foods, here’s a list of items to get you started. Choose two, three or ten! items to create that perfect snack for you and your kids. Obviously, you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like. And, of course, check labels to make sure that the items you are buying are gluten-free (and egg-free if you need it to be egg-free as well).

This is a great activity for the kids. It certainly makes a good counting activity, but also encourages them to prepare their own nutritious snacks. Give them a choice of appropriate snacks to choose — maybe one of each of the categories below. Whatever works for you and your family, just have fun and enjoy eating gluten-free!

Cereals:

• Chex cereals (Rice, Corn, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Honey Nut)
• Envirokidz Panda Puffs
• Evirokidz Gorilla Munch
• Perky O’s
• Erewhon Crunchy Corn & Amaranth cereal

Dried Fruits:

• raisins
• cranberries/craisins
• blueberries
• yogurt covered raisins

Protein:

• Peanuts
• Cashews, almonds, or other tree nuts
• Sunflower Seeds

Snacks:

• Gluten-Free Pretzels
• Popcorn
• Corn Puffs

Sweets:

• Mini marshmallows
• chocolate chips
• M&Ms
• Skittles
• Fruit snacks
• Gummy bears

So, I’m sure I’ve missed some snack ideas. Do you have any to share? What do you put in a snack mix?

Notable Links:

• Don’t forget to check out this week’s Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. It’s all about raisins!
• Celebrate the 100th Day in 100 Ways at Education World
• Kids in the kitchen making fruit kabobs.

As a kid, we started with a bottle of ground cinnamon and just started mixing in the applesauce until we got the right consistency. Recently, I’ve had good luck using the recipe below from the McCormick website. (I may have slightly modified the wording.)

Last year, we made two batches of these and gave them to all of the kids’ teachers for Christmas. The kids loved being able to give all their teachers, aides, coaches, instructors, etc. something that they made.

Cinnamon Ornaments Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup applesauce
1 large bottle (4.12 ounces, or 1 cup + 2 TBSP) ground cinnamon

Equipment and Other Supplies Needed:

cookie cutters
drinking straw
oven and baking sheets, or wire drying rack
colorful ribbon
fabric paint or glitter glue to decorate

Directions:

1. Mix applesauce and cinnamon in a small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed. Adjust amount of applesauce and cinnamon as necessary to get a good firm consistency — not too crumbly nor too sticky.
2. Using about 1/3 of the dough at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap. Cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
3. Make a hole in the top of ornament with a drinking straw if making ornaments. Place ornaments on a baking sheet.
4. Bake 2 1/2 hours at 200° F. Large or thick ornaments may need a little longer to dry. Cool ornaments on wire rack. (Or, to dry ornaments at room temperature, carefully place them on wire rack. Let stand 1 to 2 days or until thoroughly dry (turning about every 12 hours).
5. For ornaments, insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang. Glitter glue is great for decorating them.

Additional Notes:

• Makes about 16 medium-sized ornaments.
• For my frugal friends, visit your local dollar store. You’ll find everything you need for this project, even the applesauce and ground cinnamon (which can be pricey).
• If you like the gingerbread smell, consider adding ground cloves, nutmeg, and ginger to the dough. Making gingerbread boys and girls to hang on the tree? Add some googly eyes and glitter glue to give them some dimension.
• You can also use these as air freshners — a bowl full of balls in the bathroom or some flat shapes to put at the bottom of the kitchen trash can or the ashtray in the car. The scent should last 3-6 months. You can add cinnamon oil to them later to extend the scent.

Timing was good, too. With the start of school and after school activities and sports, the kids need a little more sleep and a little more to eat. Sometimes an apple or banana just isn’t enough energy to get through soccer or swim practice.

My husband took some to work for sampling, while the kids and I had our own taste test at home. The bars come packaged in two small pieces, which is great for us because it’s easy to split between a 4-year-old and 6-year-old. At my son’s request, we tried the Can-illa Vanilla first. Being the chocoholic that I am, I assumed the chocolate flavors would be my favorite. Surprise! We all agreed that the Can-illa Vanilla had the best flavor.

The Can-illa Vanilla bar has a slightly chewy texture and is covered with a thin, smooth white chocolate coating. We were pleasantly surprised by the cinnamon flavor. I was expecting it to be a little bland, but I think it had more flavor than the chocolate varieties.

The other two varieties are both covered with a thin chocolate coating. The Chocolate Crunch is all chocolate with a little bit of soy crisps inside. It actually had the chewiest texture of the three bars – almost like a fudge. I actually thought that the Cookies and Cream variety had a little more crunch. The flavors of both of these were very mild. All three of the bars are made with soy, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with the taste of soy. If you have other allergies, you should know that they are also made with milk and peanuts.

The company says these bars were developed with active kids in mind. They are packed with protein (9 grams) — more than you would get from say a rice bar or granola bar (2 grams), but less than you might get from an adult, high-energy bar (20-30 grams). Each bar has 85 calories, or 170 calories for both in the package, and are low in sugar (no high fructose corn syrup). These bars are gluten-free, of course, and are made with natural, organic ingredients (70%).

We all liked these. Even my husband was looking for more to take to work. So now the problem is finding them. I looked for them at 7-Eleven and Whole Foods Market, but wasn’t able to  find them in our stores. After checking their store locator, I confirmed that they weren’t in the stores near me. Fortunately, you can order online at the Can Do Kid website or at Amazon. The price? Well, they aren’t cheap, but they’re about what you can expect to pay for other energy bars.

Back to School Week continues at Celiac Family.

Gluten-Free Snacks:

Fresh fruit – most fruit cups are gluten-free, too
Fresh vegetables
Cheese – sticks, shapes, string, etc.
Raisins – Sun-Maid
Applesauce – most brands without added flavorings are gluten-free
Chewy Fruit Snacks – most brands are gluten-free. Betty Crocker has even started printing “Gluten-Free” on the front of the box!
Juice – most brands (especially “100% juice”) are gluten-free
Yogurt – most brands without any added toppings; Stoneyfield’s, Yoplait Go-gurt, Trix, Dora
Rice Cakes
Corn Thins
Cereal – Make a trail mix with cereal, raisins, M&Ms, nuts, etc. Some Chex cereals are now gluten-free but to make sure, it should say “Gluten-Free” on the box: Rice Chex, Honey Nut Chex, Chocolate Chex, Cinnamon Chex; Erewhon Brown Rice Crisps; Koala Crisp; Panda Puffs; (Kellogg’s Rice Krispies is not gluten-free.)
Popcorn – most brands are gluten-free; Smat Pop Orville Redenbacher’s, Jiffy Pop, Act II (except extreme butter)
Kettle corn – LesserEvil Classic, Orville Redenbacher’s
Gelatin cups – Jell-o, Wegman’s brand
Pudding cups – Jell-o, Swiss Miss, Hunt’s, Wegman’s
Potato chips – most brands without added flavorings are gluten-free; Lays original, Lays Staxx, Wegman’s, Utz, Ruffles, French’s potato sticks; (Pringles are not gluten-free.)
Tortilla Chips – most brands without added flavorings are gluten-free; Tostitos, Mission, Wegman’s
Corn Chips – Fritos, Wegman’s
Other snacks – Cheetos, Original Tings, Pirate’s Booty, Cheddar Airs

I know that the list leaves room for error, but I was trying to make the point there is plenty of gluten-free food out there that doesn’t have to come from a specialty food mart. Please keep in mind, that I plan to check the ingredients of the daily snack everyday when I take my daughter to school. You, too, should check the food labels because manufacturers can change the ingredients at any time.

For specialty gluten-free snacks, check out some of our favorites at Celiac Family’s Amazon Store.

Not knowing the Kindergarten teacher or the school, I didn’t know what the typical day would be like or what kind of student activities might be an issue for us. So, I wrote a letter to the teacher to express my concerns. I also enclosed with the letter some more detailed information about Celiac Disease. (It never hurts to raise awareness about Celiac Disease, right?) We found out who my son’s teacher would be a day before Open House, so I hand delivered the letter to the teacher. We got to speak briefly about it, but she was busy meeting the other new students and parents. Even if you get a chance to speak to your child’s teacher at length, I think it’s a good idea to put your concerns in writing. That way there’s less chance of miscommunication. Plus, it gives the teacher something to refer to later. I also gave a copy of the letter to the school nurse.

I’ve copied my letter below for you to use for inspiration. When I sat down to write the letter, I did a quick search online to find some sample letters. I knew there were some out there, but couldn’t find one at the time. After I took the time to write the letter, I did find some other great resources to help prepare yourself and your child for the new school year.

• “GF Letter for School” at Gluten-Free is Life
• Form letters to schools/child care providers at Dallas R.O.C.K.
• “Back-to-school checklist for celiac families” at The Savvy Celiac
• “Back to school tips for gluten-free and food allergy kids” at Sure Foods Living
• “Navigating the School System” at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness – This addresses the issue of getting the school to accommodate the gluten-free diet. Be sure to scroll down the page for information about a 504 Plan, a letter to educators and a physician’s letter.

______________________________________________________________________

September 3, 2009

To: Teacher
CC: School Nurse

Re: Student’s name

Our son is so excited to start Kindergarten in your class at WS Elementary. We have completed all the required forms and paperwork.  You will notice in the health forms, that he has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease that is triggered by ingesting gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley (malt), rye and sometimes oats. Our son is actually very healthy, but he must manage Celiac Disease with a strict adherence to a gluten-free diet. It is very important to his health that he remains gluten free.

Since he has not yet started Kindergarten, we are not familiar with the procedures for activities and snack time in your class.  So, I am providing this information to you in order for our son to avoid any possible contact with gluten.

We will provide our son with a gluten-free snack everyday. He is aware of his condition, and has been instructed not to trade snacks or eat any other food without first confirming with an adult that it is gluten-free.  He should also avoid any contact with other classmates’ snacks, or crumbs of snacks, that contain gluten.

In addition to snacks, our son should also avoid contact with craft products that contain gluten.  Of most concern to me is play dough, pasta, hay/straw, fingerpaints and paper maché, since they are products that almost always contain wheat and/or are likely to get under his fingernails.  Other products that may contain wheat are glue, paint, and ink. To be clear, our son does not get a reaction just from touching gluten, however if it gets on his hands and fingers it could be transferred to his mouth. I would be happy to review the ingredients of any craft products in the classroom to determine if they do contain gluten. If they do, I will be happy to provide a suitable substitution.

If our son does accidentally come into contact with gluten at school, I ask that you immediately have him wash his hands thoroughly. He does not have an allergic response, such as anaphylaxis, so no medicine nor medical attention is required. I would simply request that you make me aware of the contact with the gluten (through a note sent home with him and/or a phone call/email) so that I can monitor his health. And, we can determine how to avoid it in the future.

If you allow students to bring in birthday treats to share, I ask that we be made aware of it a day or two in advance. Cupcakes and cookies, unless made with special alternative flours, are not gluten-free. If notified in advance of what will be brought in, our son can bring a gluten-free alternative in order to celebrate with the other students. If it works for you, I can also provide you with a box of safe, gluten-free treats to store for our son in cases of surprise treat occasions.

For your information, I have enclosed documents that provide detailed information about Celiac Disease. Please feel free to call or email me anytime with any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

[Be sure to provide your name and contact information here.]

Enclosures:
“What Is Celiac Disease?” (I copied several pages from Danna Korn’s “Kids with Celiac Disease“)
“Unsafe Gluten-Free List”
“Safe Gluten-Free List”
Quick list of gluten-free snacks

Fruit kabobs are a great activity for kids. You can use almost any fruit, they are in bite-size pieces, and the kids can put it together themselves (or with minimal help, depending on their ages). Melon is a perfect fruit to use on the kabobs because it is so easy to cut. I did the big cuts, and removed the rind from the fruit with the big, sharp knife. But then the kids could use a butter knife to easily cut the melon into bite-size pieces. They thought it was great. We had a cantaloupe, but watermelon and honey dew would be good additions. You can see from the picture that we used strawberries and grapes, too. Go ahead and use up whatever you have in the house. Of course, some fruit turns brown quickly, so if you’re making them in advance you’d probably want to avoid those.

Cutting the fruit. If your kids are older, consider letting them cut the fruit themselves with Rachael Ray’s Young Cooks Cutting Set. If they’re younger you could cut the fruit yourself, and just let the kids put the pieces on the sticks. If your kids are somewhere in between, consider letting them use butter knives or plastic knives.

The Sticks. You can use a variety of sticks for skewering the fruit: toothpicks, bamboo skewers, coffee stirs, small skinny straws, or even chopsticks. But my favorite is plastic swizzle sticks, or Drink Stirrers. They are just the right size, not too sharp, and colorful.

Good for kids and the family. This activity encourages kids to help out in the kitchen. Kids feel good about what they created. They get to pick the fruit they want, and then eat it! With the kids going back to school soon, I’m also thinking this activity is great for helping kids build fine motor skills.

Now that I got the kids back in the kitchen, I’m hoping to continue it more often. So, when I sit down to plan our meals for next week, I’m going to include one or two items that the kids can help prepare. Planning in advance will allow me to schedule around after-school activities and give us plenty of time to get it done. If you’re looking for some kid-friendly recipes, or maybe a little more inspiration, check out these online posts and articles:

Gluten-Free Kids in the Kitchen

Getting Your Children to Cook

Happy Kitchen Jam Tarts (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free)

Kids in the Kitchen: Spaghetti and (Gluten-Free) Meatballs

Stir Fry Kid Style

Other Online articles about Kids in the Kitchen:

Benefits of Cooking with Kids

Cooking with Kids Teaches About Simple Snacks

Dads and Kids Cooking Together

Why Invite Your Kids Into The Kitchen?

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Cantaloupe is the theme ingredient this week for Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. So check it out for more gluten-free recipes with cantaloupe.

School’s Out! Today is the last day of school for my kids  — at least until September. So, I’m trying to line up some craft projects to keep us busy, and not glued to the TV. Here’s an idea to get you inspired, too: Photo/note holders. The kids made these for their teachers for an end-of-the-year thank you. Originally, I thought I would let the kids paint flower pots, but found these boxes at the dollar store and thought I would use them instead.

Actually, I got all of the supplies at a local dollar store. I love to go to dollar stores to come up with crafty ideas for the kids. They also had some great educational and activity books, including practicing writing letters, phonetics, simple math, telling time and more. They’ll be great for road trips and for those days when I need a quick distraction for the kids.

Wire Photo and/or Note Holders

Supplies:

• 

  Box to hold the wire photo holders (Instead of a box, consider using flower pots, vases, coffee mugs, or get some clay and make your own base.)

• Paint and paintbrush (Decorate any way appropriate for you and your kids: markers, stickers, stamps, etc.)
• Glass beads to hold the photo holders in place and add weight to keep it all from tipping over. (You could use sand, pebbles, coins, or even floral foam if you don’t need extra weight.)
• Decorative floral wire to hold photos and/or notes. (Could also use 20 gauge wire. Forks would be cute to use for a recipe card holder.)
• Needle-nosed pliers and wire cutter
• We also used photos and cut flowers out of card stock paper for finishing the project.

Directions:

1. We started by having the kids paint the boxes with their choice of colors. At the same time, I had them paint some flowers drawn on card stock paper. Let them dry a couple hours or overnight.
2. Next, I shaped the floral wire. Start by pinching the wire on one end with the pliers and turning in a tight circle. Then continue to bend the wire around the circle leaving space between. You can even make different shapes, like stars, flowers, hearts, etc. Use wire cutters to cut the holders at a point a few inches longer than you need it.
3. Now bend the other end of the wire to help it stand up nicely on the bottom of the box. Place the photo holders in the box in the way you want them arranged.
4. Fill the box with glass beads or other weighted filling. As you’re filling the box, arrange the photo holders how you want them to stay.
5. Put notes, pictures, cards, etc. in the photo holders.

Additional Notes:

• This was a fun project for me and the kids (ages 4 and 5-1/2). They did all the painting. I did the actual bending of the photo holders. They helped put it all together, including a thank you note on which they drew pictures.
• Worried about gluten-free paint? Common-Allergen-Free Products available at Discount School Supply
• Great project for teacher gifts, mother’s day gift, father’s day gift, summer camp activity.

Other places to find more arts & crafts and printable activities for kids:

• Gluten-free play dough and Gak
• Printables 4 Kids – summer printables, printable coloring pages, mazes, word-searches, activities, educational
• Discount School Supply – Free Activities
• Family Fun – crafts by age, printables, games
• DLTK – crafts, printables
• AmazingMoms – crafts, holiday activities, playtime ideas

Well, here’s a recipe you can make at home that is just as good as you can get in a restaurant, or perhaps better! It does take some time to make it, but it isn’t difficult and it’s so worth it! My dad makes the original recipe and always gets rave reviews. I’ve modified it slightly to make it a little easier on me and adjust the flavor to my liking, but the original recipe comes from El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook.

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chiles
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. tomatillos (about 5 or 6 six large)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 fresh jalapenos, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Cup chicken broth (Make sure it’s gluten-free.)
2 TBSP olive oil
1  1/2 Cups corn oil
12, 6-inch corn tortillas
4 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (Try Slow-Cooked Mexican Chicken.)
12 oz. shredded cheese (about 3 Cups) Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or combination

Directions:

1. Cook tomatillos in a pot of salted (1 tsp) boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Don’t cook too long or the tomatillos may fall apart. Remove from the water and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, I cut out the stem.
2. In a blender, combine tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, garlic and 1-1/2 tsp salt. Blend until smooth. Add the green chilles and then enough chicken broth (about 1 Cup) to make sauce a total of 4 Cups.
3. In a large skillet warm olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the tomatillo sauce carefully (it may splatter). Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. In a deep skillet or large pot, heat 1/4″-1/2″ corn oil over medium heat. Using tongs, immerse the tortillas one at a time in the oil, turn them, and then transfer them to absorbent paper. The tortillas should be in the oil no more than a few seconds, and the oil should be hot enough to soften the tortillas but not so hot that the edges begin to crisp.
5. For each tortilla, spread a TBSP of sauce on it. Place about 1/3 cup chicken and about 1 TBSP of shredded cheese in the bottom center of the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place in a baking dish (I use a 9″x13″ pan.). Continue for the remaining 11 tortillas.
6. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F until heated through, cheese is melted, and sauce is bubbling – about 15 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• For the jalapenos, I chop the whole chile and discard only the stem. If you like your enchiladas a little more mild, be sure to remove the seeds before chopping.
• These make great leftovers. Just heat a couple enchiladas for 90 seconds in the microwave.

Diane at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang is doing a round-up of garlic recipes this week for Friday Foodie Fix. She has a lot of good information on different types of garlic. And, I’m sure there will be lots of garlic recipes to review. Although this recipe doesn’t have a lot of garlic in it, it wouldn’t be the same without it.

• Margaret Weiss Masiello, RD; Clinical Coordinator of Kogan Celiac Center

• Beckee Moreland, GREAT Guide Coach

• Nancy Baker, Director of Education – NFCA

This is a webinar, thus takes place online. Participants will log in to a specific website to watch the presentations and call a specific phone number to listen to it at the same time. The cost of the seminar is free, however you will be responsible for any phone charges you may incur.

Space is limited so be sure to register if you’re interested.