Burger King and the pirate ship

My wife, kids and I took a very important outing yesterday. We stopped at Burger King on the way back from a doc visit. Why Burger King? Gluten-free fries, of course. If you missed my GFCF restaurant post, don't panic, I've put a permanent link down the right side of my blog. Or, just click here. This was the first in a very long time that the four of us actually sat and ate at a restaurant. The kids got a plain burger, no bun, that they put in a plastic salad plate. And, they got small french fries, which are cooked in a dedicated fryer. Water to drink. Heinz ketchup packets (gf). We got a window booth and the kids pretended they were on a pirate ship and the sea was out the window. They had a blast. It really is a test run for us. First, we want a fast food place that we know we can rely on when traveling or visiting out of town. I think Burger King is that place. Plus, we want to try other restaurants in our area that provide GFCF options. There are a few. Check out that previous blog post. But, those aren't really fast food and we need to be on our best behavior there. So, this was our test. They were well-behaved, until the end. They didn't want to leave. My oldest stuck her tongue out at mom. That didn't go over well. So, now she has to earn the restaurant outing back. And, she will. She's very determined. This was a big step for us after feeling nearly like hermits for the past six years. I hope it helps open a new chapter in our lives.

Autism and chiropractic help

You might find this interesting. It's a blog entry from a Colorado chiropractor about the use of chiropractic with autistic patients. We take our daughters to a progressive chiropractor for spinal adjustments using the Activator method, which uses less force to manipulate the spine. It's not necessarily the best, but it works for us and the kids don't object to it since it's not very intrusive. We believe this helps. We're also involved in some other treatments there, which I'll write more about later. They have helped (and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes). One treatment has helped my youngest daughter shed some of her food intolerances. Really. No "regular" docs were able to do that -- or even willing to try. The author of this is my brother, who you'll find is very informed. Enjoy.

Can Chiropractic Help Children With Autism?

(here's a paragraph - link to read the entire entry)

... A paper published in the March 2006 issue of Clinical Chiropractic reviewed past studies and found that children with Autism are helped with chiropractic care. Furthermore this study found that most children with Autism had problems with their upper cervical (neck) spine[10]. Another study found that 80% of children receive damage to their upper cervical spines due to birth trauma[11]. The upper cervical spine is so important that the two vertebrae located at t he top of the spine have their own names: Atlas and Axis. All the other 22 vertebrae just have numbers assigned to them such as the third thoracic vertebra and the fifth lumbar vertebra. The Atlas and Axis are so important that an entire chiropractic discipline, called Upper Cervical Chiropractic, was established by B.J. Palmer (the Developer of the Chiropractic Profession), simply to restore proper function to that area. Working with the Atlas and Axis directly effects the function of the nervous system. Autistic children have a neurological component to their disorder. It makes sense that Upper Cervical Chiropractic would help them...

Dairy-free, gluten-free ranch dressing in your grocery

That's right. You can buy this in your local grocery, or if not, online from anywhere at the Walden Farms site. It's pretty good stuff too. It's marked right on the label -- kosher and gluten free. I've sent the company an email with some questions. They assure me the ingredients listed are really what they are. Try it out.

Healthy GFCF pancakes

I'm going to post two recipes this week that are very similar -- one's for cookies and the other, pancakes. Today, it's the pancakes. It's a slight variation of my standard pancake recipe. I add applesauce and ground flax seed.

So, here it is:

2/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tbsp applesauce (I used Mott's)
Dash of cinnamon
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/3 cup CF milk or water (I used Darifree liquid)
2-3 tbsp more of Darifree, depending on consistancy

Mix dry stuff. Add liquids. Blend together. Heat a tsp of oil on a skillet. When hot, dump by the tbsp. Flip when browned on one side.

Allergen listing for Herr's products

Hey guys -- just came across this today on the web and thought I'd share. It's the allergen listing for Herr's snacks -- chips, etc. Herr's products are mostly sold in the eastern U.S. The allergen page, which you can link to by clicking here, is very useful. Until now, I've relied almost completely on Frito Lay products because Frito Lay is very good about listing allergens. It's good to have choices.

Here's the direct link: http://www.herrs.com/Recipes/AllergyInfo.html.

A handy store-bought soup broth -- free of everything

As you know by now, I like to point out products I come across that help make our lives easier and healthier. It's so difficult finding food that you trust is free of the allergens and ingredients that we, and our kids, are intolerant to. I found Kitchen Basics broths one day at our regular supermarket as I looked for a soup for my kids. Couldn't find one in the organic section that I really trusted was free of MSG, gluten and dairy. (Amazing, isn't it?) So, I glanced without much hope at the soups in the regular soup aisle. And there it was. Clearly marked on the box -- no MSG, no glutens, no dairy, no soy. Wow! I bought it.

I generally make my own broth at home and freeze it for later use. But, it's good to know I can grab this at the local store when I'm in a rush.

Burger King wins the gluten-free test

So, I plan to post my results for finding restaurants that really can provide -- safely -- gluten and casein free food, and even soy free. Consider this an interim report as I've found something surprising on the fast-food front. I checked Wendy's, McDonalds, Burger King and Arby's to see if I could buy a burger (no bun) and fries for my kids at any of them. I'd always heard that you couldn't. Well, you can. Burger King specifically fries its fries in a dedicated fryer -- or the restaurants are supposed to. However, the chain has a policy and it's detailed on its website - find it by going here and clicking on 'Allergens'. The allergen listing online even shows potential cross contamination risks. I spoke with the company's nutrition guru. They are organized. Still, she -- and I -- recommend calling the store manager to make sure they really are doing this. She also told me a plain burger is OK on the gfcf diet -- they're cooked on a broiler. So is the grilled chicken, plain. They have Mott's applesauce and soon, will sell apple slices shaped like fries. I visited my local BK last night to test this out. I spoke with the manager. He clearly knew the policy and said his restaurant followed that setup. I visited his restaurant and indeed they were. I bought some fries for the kids.

None of the others are suitable. McDonalds fries have gluten. We all know that story. Wendy's has dairy in its fries. Arby's meat is OK but not the fries. I'll post my complete restaurant findings next week.