Today is the last day of 10 Days of Gluten Free. I have really enjoyed the 10 Days of Gluten Free Series and I hope you have also.

My final tip for this series is another simple one. It is to ask your child what they miss. I have found that with both gluten free and other food issues, what I miss is often not the same things that my kids miss.

The first year I was gluten free I went about trying to recreate, or find some of my favorite foods, but what I soon realized was that my family missed some totally different things than I missed.

It was not wrong of me to try to find the things that I wanted, but I often overlooked what they wanted. I now try to remember to ask them often if there is something that I can make or buy for them that they miss or would like to recreate.

Many kids have been gluten free from a young age and there is probably nothing that they really miss, because they either have never had it or don’t remember what it tastes like, but even kids that are gluten free from a young age will probably have items that they wish they could have that we overlook.

Now, I know not all things have a gluten free version that can be made or bought, but often times we can find something close that will work.

So ask your kids once in awhile what they would like to eat, it will probably mean a lot to them.

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! 

And here are the details for my giveaway. GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

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Today’s tip for 10 Days Gluten Free is an easy one. It is simply to teach your kids to ask questions.

Now I know kids usually love to ask questions. Sometimes they even drive parents a bit crazy with so many odd questions, but for gluten free eating it is important to teach them to ask the right questions.

Just like it is important to read labels, it is also very important to learn to ask for information. Teach them it is okay to ask from information when eating out. It is okay to make a phone call or send an email to a company asking for more information on a product.

Teach them not to be afraid or hesitant to do those things and teach them what questions to ask.

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

And here are the details for my giveaway.

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.

Did you know that play-doh contains gluten? My sister is guest posting today sharing her thoughts on dealing with the issue. She also shares the link to her favorite recipe for homemade gluten free playdough. 

My daughter had been gluten-free a couple of months when Christmas rolled around. And sure enough, one of her presents from a close relative was a Play-Doh set, complete with a giant monkey to shove the dough through.

Although she was thrilled at the sight of this gift, I was more than a bit annoyed. One of the main ingredients in Play-Doh is wheat, and when your small child is gluten-free, the last thing you really want to do is hand them a ball of wheat to play with. I realize they aren’t exactly supposed to eat the stuff, but seriously, when you spend a great deal of time and money (not to mention effort) creating a gluten-free kitchen, the last thing you really want to do is let you child roll wheat all over the table and their hands.

There are some gluten-free play doughs on the market, but they are pretty expensive. A great alternative, and my tip for today, is to make your own gluten-free play dough. If stored in a resealable plastic bag, it should last for quite a long time.

I already had a favorite play dough recipe I had been making for years, so I easily converted it to be gluten-free by simply replacing the wheat flour with rice flour. This recipe contains Kool-Aid which creates a dough with a vibrant color and pleasing scent.

Another simple gluten-free play dough recipe is here. It comes from the Celiac Sprue Association and has ingredients you probably have in the pantry.

Making play dough is super easy and inexpensive, not to mention a fun activity. If you have a gluten-free child in your life I am sure they would be thrilled to get in the kitchen and produce their very own batch of safe, homemade play dough.

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! 

And here are the details for my giveaway. GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.

Today’s Subject for 10 Days of Gluten Free is teaching your kids how to cook. I love this subject and think it is so important that I even wrote an ebook about it.

When you are dealing with gluten free eating, or really any food allergy or issue, you realize how important the skill of cooking is.

Most gluten free people cook the majority of their meals and food at home. Eating out is often difficult and risky. And although there is now quite a bit of gluten free packaged food available is it often hard to find or expensive. There are also some things that you just can’t find.

If you are like me you cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for yourself and your family everyday. That is 21 meals a week, plus snacks, desserts, etc.

Cooking at home is a way of life for those that eat gluten free, which means cooking is an important skill to know. And if your child is gluten free it is a valuable skill to teach them.

They will need to know how to cook when they are out on their own and navigating the gluten free world on their own. Take the time to teach them how to cook when they are young.

Start simple and work to harder things, but teach them how to cook.

My girls started by learning to make simple things and we have slowly worked our way up to harder things. Both my girls now know how to make homemade pudding on their own. We are slowly adding things like gluten free brownies and baked goods.

My tip for today is simply to take the time to teach your gluten free kids how to cook. It is a skill they will be very grateful to know. 

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

And here are the details for my giveaway.

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.

One of the most important things we all do when it comes to food issues and eating gluten free is reading labels.

We do it everyday. We do it every time we go shopping. When you eat gluten free you have to read labels basically every time you put something in your mouth.

It is a fact of life when you are gluten free or dealing with other serious food allergies. And because it is such an important part of the gluten free life it is very important to teach our kids how to read labels.

Now, this is not as easy as it seems because we all know how difficult and confusing reading labels can be, but there are some basic words and ingredients we can teach our kids to look for.

Once a child reaches an age where they can read well and understand more about food, I encourage you to take them shopping with you and show them the basics for making sure food is safe to eat before you buy it.

Teach them what to look out for and what to avoid. And teach them the ways to stay on guard.

For older kids it is easy to show them how to navigate gluten free eating using the internet. Show them company websites and how to search to find out if something is gluten free and safe to eat.

These are skills that kids will need to know as they grow up and go off on their own. Taking some time to teach your gluten free child about reading labels is a skill that they will be grateful for later in life. 

If you would like some more information on reading labels The Gluten Free Homemaker shared some helpful tips for reading labels last week.

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

And here are the details for my giveaway.

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.

I think we can all admit that it is difficult to be different. No one wants to be the person that everyone looks to as being odd or unusual, especially a child.

I know there are much worst things than eating gluten free, but to a child that is continually faced with challenges and questions about they way they eat, it can often times be overwhelming.

And as a parent it is hard to sit back and watch our children struggle with it. It is also hard to help them overcome that feeling, when we often struggle with it ourselves.

Yes, I will admit that I have struggled with the being different issue when it comes to gluten free eating, so I know my kids struggle with it on a much greater level.

So, how do we help them overcome and deal with this issue? Here are a few of my tips.

• Let them know that is it okay to be different. The world is filled with all kinds of people, with all kinds of needs, and we are all different in our own way. It would be a boring world if we were all the same.
• Try to help them understand that there are much worse things to deal with in life than having to eat gluten free. This is harder with really young children, but I have found that pointing out examples of people struggling with much worse difficulties often helps here.
• Help them understand that their health comes first and they have to remember that. It is just not worth eating that cookie or sandwich that someone is offering you if it means getting sick. It is okay to eat different than everyone else because it keeps them safe.
• Focus on the positive. Remind them of all the things that they can still have.

What tips do you have for helping our kids to understand that it is okay to be different when it comes to eating gluten free? 

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

And here are the details for my giveaway.

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.

Right now on my main site I am offering a few Ground Beef Recipes ebook to all subscribers. And the best part about this ebook is that the recipes in this ebook are all recipes that I serve my family and they are all gluten free.

Well, okay I will add that you do have to be sure to read labels, use gluten free pasta, etc, but all these recipes are everyday recipes containing everyday food. There are no special flours or ingredients beyond gluten free pasta.

These are recipes that your whole family will love and these are recipe that you could serve anyone without them even knowing they are eating gluten free food. I love recipes like that! 

You can find out more details here. 

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Today for 10 Days of Gluten Free, we have a guest post from my sister Flora, who has several family members that are gluten free. I hope you find her tips for preschoolers and gluten free helpful. 

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I have always dealt with food issues. It has not always been gluten, but growing up I had multiple issues with various foods that affected my family when I was a child.

Growing up my family ate a lot strange foods, and missed out on many foods, because of me. One of my sisters hated this fact and for years made known all the things that she missed out on because of me.

It was not really in a mean way, but a matter of fact way. She was not allowed some of her favorite foods because of me.

This made a big impact on me once my own family started dealing with gluten free and other food issues. I knew there would be changes in our family. I knew my son and husband would have to make sacrifices because my daughters and I were eating gluten free.

And to a point I think this is a good thing. Life is about sacrifices and giving to others.

My son has learned some great lessons in putting his sisters first when it comes to his wants versus their food needs, but at the same time I don’t want him growing up resenting the way we eat.

So, I have tried to find a balance, which I will admit is not always easy, but it is something I am trying hard to do.

For birthdays we let my son and husband choose foods they enjoy. Yes, they are not always gluten free foods, but just as we try to make birthday specials for the gluten free child, we also try to make birthdays special for the non gluten free child.

We also keep a gluten filled cupboard in our house and I often let my son choose what goes in it. Yes, he often picks something not so healthy like a sugar filled cereal or a package of cookies, but this is our way of allowing him some of his favorite treats to enjoy and it has worked well for us.

What tips do you have for dealing with gluten free and siblings?

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

And here are the details for my giveaway.

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.

Today for Day 2 of 10 Days of Gluten Free we are talking kids and birthdays.

Birthdays often bring up challenges when dealing with gluten free and other food issues. Whether is it your child’s birthday, or a party at a family member or friend’s house, birthdays can be challenging.

If your child is gluten free and it is their birthday, I think it is important to make them feel special, after all it is their day.

I like to keep the whole party, or day, full of foods they can eat. Ask them what they would like to eat and would like you to serve. Let them pick the foods and make it so that they can eat everything that is served.

This will help keep the day special for them.

If your gluten free child is attending a party, make sure that the host knows that your child is gluten free and offer to bring food that your child can eat. And I suggest taking food for the child that is close to what everyone else is eating.

Yes, I know this can be challenging and is not always possible, but if possible I think it is best to try.

One thing I recommend is to always keep gluten free cupcakes in the freezer ready to be used at anytime for parties and events. It is easy to take a cupcake out of the freezer to send with your child to a party.

If your family is not gluten free, but you have a family member or friend that is gluten free, please do not be afraid to invite them. It is no fun for a child, or even adult, to be that person or family member that no one wants to invite because of food issues.

The fact is that when you have food issues you are used to watching others eat what you can not have. You are used to bringing your own food. So please don’t be afraid to invite that friend or family member that is gluten free, they like parties as much as everyone else and would love to be invited too.

What tips do you have for dealing with birthdays and gluten free eating? 

For more great gluten free information and giveaways please visit the other bloggers joining in on the 10 Days of Gluten Free.

Getting Started – Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House

Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog

Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat

Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal

Cooking – Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free

Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva

Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

I hope you will join us for 10 Days of Gluten Free! GIVEAWAY OVER EMMA’S COMMENT ON THE PLAGHDOUGH POST WON. Winner chosen by Random.org

And here are the details for my giveaway.

I am giving away one $25 Bob’s Red Mill gift card that is good for their online store and one copy of my Cooking 101 For Kids ebook to one reader. 

Subscribe and get posts delivered to your inbox.

Follow me on Twitter.