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When we first started eating gluten free, I ran to the store and bought gluten free flour mix, bread, pasta, cookies, and cereal. Talk about sticker shock! I was determined to feed my family the best food I could, but I had no idea what to do about the last two weeks of the month. I had already spent the whole month’s budget on two weeks of food. I didn’t change how we ate, I just spent a fortune buying gluten free replacements. Definitely not a gluten free success story!
To say my kids were not excited about out new diet is a huge understatement. It didn’t matter how positively I talked about it, there weren’t convinced. Our first day was not encouraging. The kids normally devoured an entire box of cereal for breakfast. When the meal ended and half a box was left and the bowls were not empty, I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, thirty minutes later the snacking began.
Lunch wasn’t any better. No one finished their sandwiches. The “bread” was horrid – crumbly, dry, and tasteless. It was nothing at all like the fresh baked bread they were used to.
I was very optimistic about dinner. What could go wrong with spaghetti? I turns out, a lot can go wrong. The noodles were mushy and tasteless. The garlic butter didn’t hide the taste of the bread. I was left with three failed meals, hungry kids, and no money in the budget for food for the rest of the month.
After scouring the internet and lots of trial and error, I finally found recipes my family loved and I got the budget under control, but our health still wasn’t where I wanted it to be. My kids still got sick way too often, and I never felt good – just better.
If I had stopped to look at the labels, I could have figured out the problem easily.
Ingredients: Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Sorghum Flour, Arrowroot Starch, Guar Gum, Sweet Rice Flour, Rice Bran.
All we had done was substitute one high carb, high glycemic index food for another. The glycemic index of foods is measured against straight glucose. Glucose has a value of 100, white wheat bread has an index of 75, while gluten free white bread’s index is 90. The baking mix was no better. (White rice has a glycemic index rice flour is 89, tapioca is 85, potato starch is 95, and arrowroot is 85.)
Glycemic Indexes measure how a carb affects our blood sugar levels, namely, its potential for releasing a certain amount of sugar into our blood after each meal. Digestion breaks carbohydrates down into glucose and this causes blood sugar levels to rise. The pancreas, in turn, releases insulin to remove excess blood glucose. Unfortunately, the pancreas often releases too much insulin causing blood sugar levels to drop below fasting levels. When this happens we have Cranky Kid Syndrome. Case studies at our house have shown that adults are not immune to Cranky Kid Syndrome. Studies have also shown that the glycemic index was the strongest and most consistent independent predictor of glycemic stability and variability.
Cranky Kid Syndrome Symptoms
If you have already read my posts on and , you know that we still had a long way to go toward eating healthy. We had taken care of the symptoms of gluten intolerance but had added blood sugar issues. Kind of like two steps forward and one step back.
Once my husband’s doctor took him off of all carbs and sweeteners except whole fruit and veggies, I had to find a whole new way to cook. I started by looking for other flour substitutes and discovered the joy of cooking with almond and coconut flour. Almonds have a glycemic index of 15 and coconut flour’s index is 10. That alone is reason enough to switch. The best reason, however, is the taste and texture. Both coconut and almond flours produce moist, soft, incredibly wonderful tasting baked goods. introduced me to the cooking with coconut and almond flours. Her recipes are so yummy and easy to prepare.
I often am asked how to make gluten free work for families. Here are a few suggestions I hope make the transition easier for everyone.
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