You have read my plight, that my daughter had been so ill, and not able to really hold much in. We had been to every specialist, but it was not helping and I really stepped in and advocated, taking the reigns and getting her help, unlike what our hospital had been doing. There was no medicine that was going to fix the kind of illness that was harboring in her body and there were apparently no Dr.’s in Children’s that were able to figure this out, so I took my daughter and got help.
The help she need was a Gluten Free diet, a fairly simply fix for a very debilitating illness that could have been avoided. One of the easiest things to do, going Gluten Free, required no medications, however it was the most challenging as far as taste of food, so I began to create for her was Gluten Free Chicken Meals. This is my story of helping my daughter tackle Gluten Free dining.
At this point in time, we have been through the ringer, and I am not a fan of our Children’s Hospital. I wish that all Dr.’s treated children as well as adults but they don’t and it seems that the better selection of Dr.’s that you need won’t see you unless you have eliminated all the other tests and fails at prescribed meds. Our world is driving us into prescription hell and while that is another story, the truth of the matter is that not every medical problem has the need for prescription drugs.
This story is based on our real life situation, a three year battle to break out of a hospital that holds Children in sickness when they fail to diagnose and listen to parents. I don’t need a psych ward, nor did my child, we needed a Dr. who would listen! This is our story of survival, getting my daughter better and going Gluten Free!
Gluten Free Chicken
Trust me, I began reinventing the wheel, dinner became a bit hellish here, as I had one child with severe food allergies, myself who was a vegetarian and now my daughter who required other meal prep where NO Gluten had touched. NIGHTMARE. 5 meals, one mom and chaos. After trying out my own chicken recipes and not having enough time to get it all done every night, I was running short on patience. You know my feeling on buy pre-cooked foods — NEGATIVE, but I made an exception this one time.
Here is what we bought. You got that right, a bag of Gluten Free Chicken Strips!
As a mom, I was torn, wanting to make her get better and stay better was my job, but I knew that the GF Food was yucky and no matter what I did using my Mom Super Cooking Powers, it was just not food she was accustomed to at this point, it tasted different. I knew there were things I could do to make the transition to a Gluten Free Life easier for her and I began to study all the foods we needed to avoid and then I created a list of foods she could enjoy.
I visited the grocery stores, shopped the GF aisles, and had her taste test endless foods, until we finally stumbled upon items she liked. One lucky purchase was the purchase of these very versatile Gluten Free Chicken Strips. These actually resembled breaded chicken that I made, but with so much less effort it is just a no-brainer.
Gluten Free Chicken strips are super easy to prepare and I crisp them up for my daughter by tossing them in a bit of olive oil. As my daughter says, “um Mom, I thought you were feeding me something I was not supposed to have!” Success! I am glad I found these products because they make dinner preparation so much easier and I don’t have to worry about cross-contamination because I just place them in a clean pan and cook!
For variation, we sometimes get wild and crazy and make Hot Wings out of the Gluten Free Chicken Breast Strips, and then crunch on celery, and rice with beans. Other nights we go for the Italian flare and add tomato sauce and cheese creating a type of Parmesan.
A Few Facts To Know
When dinner time is rushed, or we are in a pinch for time, it is so much easier to just have the bags on hand and pop them into the oven because I know that her dietary constraints can be met and I don’t have to worry about cross contamination.
Additionally, when we are off to family parties, or gatherings, we just bring the bag along and prepare these there. The bags zipper shut and it makes it possible to tote along with ease.
Since these are just breaded, we can use them in so many recipes, chunked up, covered in sauce, slathered in BBQ, whatever she can have, we match the toppings and add it. These are so easy to prepare and you can find them in your grocer’s freezer, which is where we found ours.
Now, most of my daughter’s issues ended with the cleansing of her system and purging of Gluten, however, there is more to this story, You can read what was next for her and you won’t believe it. I can say that by the 3rd trip to our new Dr., all things were diagnosed, verified and all she ever has ever had to see him for was ONE revisit to check on the results of his last major find! Make sure to read more about my daughter’s health HERE & HERE.
The Gluten Free Factor cleared the way to find more of what was making my daughter sick and an amazing discovery. Stay tuned for this adventure of Living Gluten Free, Gluten Free Chicken and advocating for yourself and loved ones as medication is not always the way!
