Monkey Munchables: SPECIAL POST: Gluten-Free/Dairy Free Lunches.

Gluten Free & Dairy Free Lunches

Graphic by: Feeling a Little Lunchy

I consider myself pretty lucky to have a child that has no known allergies. I see many bloggers have children with very serious food allergies and have to be very aware what they are packing and hope that their allergies are taken seriously when they go to school and other places. I'll admit I was pretty ignorant overall to what these types of diets would look like and what planning lunches for food allergies would be like. When a friend of mine on Facebook commented, “You wanna make my lunches???” While I won't be making her lunch after a brief chat with her I learned something new about her, she has allergies to gluten and dairy! While I can't be certain if these lunches would be anything she'd love to pack, I wanted to learn a little more about these allergies and do an exercise of planning out lunches for Monkey as if she had these allergies.

First I decided to learn about Gluten. What IS Gluten? According to WebMD, “Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten also shows up in many whole grain foods related to wheat, including bulgur, farro, kamut, spelt, and triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye). Some celiac disease experts warn patients to steer clear of oats, as well.” Phew! That was a lot and at first seemed a bit daunting. I make a real effort to pack my daughter whole wheat breads and other whole wheat options as much as possible! So it took me a little poking around to figure out what I COULD pack. According to the Mayo Clinic Amaranth, Arrowroot, Buckwheat, Corn/Cornmeal, Flax, Gluten Free Flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean), Hominy (corn), Millet, Quinoa, Rice, Sorghum, Soy, Tapioca, and Teff are all A-Ok for consumption! This helps!

Then I had to consider the Dairy-Free option. This was also really hard for me. I pack a lot of cheeses, yogurt, milk based smoothies, Kefir, and even pudding on occasion! Since we already drink Almond Milk at home, packing a drink alternative for her individual organic milks wouldn't be any trouble at all . While my grocery store seems to not always have the individual almond milks in stock, I can easily pour some into her Funtainer or another container and pack it. So here is what a week of Gluten Free Dairy Free lunches would look like from Monkey Munchables!

Monday: GF Pumpkin Pancakes¹ w/ syrup, Orange Segments, and coconut milk yogurt w/ 100% Juice Pouch

Tuesday:
Corn Tortilla Chips, Black Bean Salad², Leftover chicken or turkey, Mango w/ Almond Milk

Wednesday: Rice Pasta w/ Garlic & Oil sauce³ w/ wilted spinach and salad shrimp.
Small Side Salad w/ dressing. 100% Juice Pouch

Thursday: Hummas w/ baby carrots, celery, broccoli. Hard Boiled Egg, Apple Slices, & Popcorn w/ Almond Milk

Friday: ''Treat Day''
Bacon/Lettuce/Turkey Meat Roll Ups,
Peas/Carrots
Applesauce w/ cinnamon
Peach Raspberry Smoothie

1. Pumpkin Pancake Recipe available at: http://childhood101.com/2013/07/pumpkin-pikelets-recipe-gluten-dairy-free/ [Uses

2. Black Bean Salad: Corn, Black Beans, Cut Tomatoes, Avocado, Parsley, Lime Juice.

3. Garlic & Oil Sauce: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/garlic-and-oil-sauce [Cook your favorite pasta, make the sauce, wilt some spinach down, can toss in rinsed salad shrimp (very small and fairly inexpensive). Mix altogether and put into a thermos to keep warm].

4. Peach Raspberry Smoothie: http://www.bluediamond.com/applications/recipes/?theView=recipeDetail&recipeid=99

OTHER GREAT IDEAS:

Paleo Taco Salad: http://www.ourpaleolife.com/2013/09/paleo-taco-salad/

MOMables Cinnamon Raisin Bread: http://www.momables.com/allergy-friendly-cinnamon-raisin-bread/

BBQ Chicken Pizza (sounds like great leftover idea to me): http://udisglutenfree.com/recipes/gluten-free-smoked-bbq-chicken-pizza/

Granola Bars: http://thecrohnsjourneyfoundation.org/recipes/chocolate-chip-chewy-bars-gluten-free-dairy-free/

Strawberry Banana Bite Cookies: http://www.asweetsimplelife.com/home/2012/1/12/strawberry-banana-bites.html

Use mushroom tops to make pizza! Can use soy cheese or even go cheeseless!

More Recipe Ideas:

I found that a lot of Paleo Recipes are very friendly for gluten free dairy free diets! Since the Paleo diet eliminates those foods anyway. Try google or pinterest ''Paleo Recipes'' and you'll be amazed how many delicious fantastic ideas you can find.

Paleo Blog: http://nomnompaleo.com/

ALLERGY FRIENDLY BLOGS:

Below there are some common food allergies so you can easily find and locate blogs that might write about your specific allergy.

Dye-Free:

Pink 'N Punchy Lunches - http://pinknpunchy.blogspot.com/

Veggie-Bento - http://www.veggie-bento.com/

Mamabelly's Lunches With Love -http://mamabelly-luncheswithlove.blogspot.com/

Biting the Hand That Feeds You - http://bitingmyhand.blogspot.com/search/label/dye-free

Organized Bites - http://OrganizedBites.com

Peanut-Free:

Keeley McGuire Blog - http://www.keeleymcguire.com

Creative Food - http://www.creativefunfood.com