A New Journey

Truhte, four months old - Photo by J.Stahl

Today, we are bringing home our very own Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Her name is Truhte and she is four months old. She comes from a town just a stone's throw away (or "Katzensprung") from where we live, and her mama and daddy are equally as gorgeous as she is. They are absolutely wonderful and sweet. I am very happy to have met them.


A little about Cavalier King Charles Spaniels:

I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with my diet-specific blog. Well, due to my dietary concerns and dermatitis herpetiformis, I require any pets we own to be gluten free. I've been doing a lot of research and trying to find the best toy breed for our family needs, to keep me company and also get me out the door daily to get my dose of sunshine. I found my baby!

Truhte will be joining us for some combination feeding - some cooked, some raw and some store-bought dog food that is gluten free.

Starting this month, I will be working with her on potty learning (the way we do it is more at Elimination Communication), basic commands and teaching her how to go on walks. (At this age, walking = mostly carrying and getting used to apartment life until she understands leashes and such.) She is still so very little that she is just now being old enough to learn some of these things. This may mean pulling back somewhat from my social media. However, it may bring some new great things to this blog.

Here are some photos from our "getting ready for baby"/"coming home day" preparations:

First things first - be absolutely sure that your preferred dog food is labeled properly.
Grain and gluten free! Check.

Pat yourself on the back for finding such great deals at
Kik Textilien, REWE and Fressnapf

Get an idea what you're working with and clean the kitchen before final set-up.

Remember: children will be tempted to feed between meals.
Find a place high up in the bathroom to put the food and extra bowl.

Receive a package with new gluten and grain free treats.
Place them high up as well.

Look at bed that came in the same package.
Place in kitchen, where you are 4 times a day.

Receive another package. Proceed to put the popup tent/carrier together.

Congratulate yourself for your taste in carriers and
that this fits perfectly in the room so your pet is included,
but allowed to retreat from involvement if she wants.

Take it all in. Enjoy the idea of this cool carrier.

Remember Kik Textilien has a sale on pet items.
You wanted a bag dispenser for potty trips. Go buy it!

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with what we have ordered and how pretty it all is. I hope that Truhte enjoys it all and that she feels at home with us.

One of my main questions and biggest apprehensions about our new baby is what kind of diet she had. I was so anxious. I know how careful we have to be adjusting to new foods and such as the environment changes for her. When I found out that her diet is almost exactly the same what it will be at our house!! I'm really excited. All we are changing is the kibble will be gluten free, and anything we cook will be as well. Otherwise, same diet, same foods.  This is a massive load off of my shoulders.

Part of my research has included finding out what gluten free dog food brands are out there, and also what kind of care items are out there now, as the last time I had a dog was almost a decade ago. I've found this to be a very positive and encouraging excursion to a couple of stores and also viewing online for those that are further away.  Another really cool option for a lot of owners is that many of your pet stores in Germany now have a freezer section with fresh meat so you can cook your own food for your pet if they have any dietary need for such.

Example Freezer Section at pet store - Photo by J. Stahl

In this freezer section, there is everything from Turkey and Chicken to Beef and there is even Ostrich, Fish and Kangaroo!  I was very impressed by the reasonable prices for the bulk and smaller packages of meat.

I have been researching how to safely transport our new puppy in the car, and for those who did not know, there are specific road rules here in Germany about that. Here is a helpful PDF that I found on the subject. I followed the links provided to check out various carriers for car use and camping from there, and then checked out a couple of pet stores online and in person, as well as cross-checking prices between them on Amazon.de

The most reliable and price effective websites I have found for our area are:

• Amazon.de
• Fressnapf 
• Schecker 
• Zooplus

I had been helping my sister who is training Charlie to be a service dog, and as such we've been collecting some cool recipes and training ideas. You can find some of this on my various dog-related Pinterest boards.

If you are in Germany and interested in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, I would recommend you check out these two links.


I would like to welcome you to follow along on our journey, and this year will be a fun year of experimentation, trying out some treat recipes to keep our costs down, and come October, a birthday party for Truhte!

Hopefully we can do some Google Plus cooking hangouts on air. Maybe she'll be like my favorite cooking celebrity, Francis, from Cooking with Dog one day. One can hope, right?

Protecting our Gluten and Allergen Free Kids

Today's post is about keeping your allergic/food intolerant children incident free.

“For the previous 250,000 years, man had evolved without having this very strange protein in his gut, ...And as a result, this is a really strange, different protein which the human intestine cannot fully digest. Many people did not adapt to these great environmental changes, so some adverse effects related to gluten ingestion developed around that time.”
...People with celiac have one or two genetic mutations that somehow, when pieces of gliadin course through the gut, cause the immune system to attack the walls of the intestine in a case of mistaken identity. That, in turn, causes fingerlike structures called villi that absorb nutrients on the inside of the intestines to atrophy, and the intestines can become leaky, wreaking havoc. Symptoms, which vary widely among people with the disease, can include vomiting, chronic diarrhea or constipation and diminished growth rates in children.
The vast majority of people who have celiac do not know it. And not everyone who has the genetic mutations develops celiac.
What worries doctors is that the problem seems to be growing.The New York Times: Gluten-Free, Whether You Need It or Not

1. ...Do things other kids do...
2. ...Create recipes that mimic troublesome foods... 
3. ...Take your child to meet other food allergy kids... 
4. ...Give your child an empowered voice...
   Yahoo Voices: 4 Tips to Keep Your Food Allergy Child Normal

You may enjoy this webinar: Raising a Well-Adjusted Child Who Takes Food Allergies in Stride

8 GREAT Ways to Recognize Gluten-Free Needs During National School Lunch Week

NFCA: Printable Guides and Tip Sheets and Navigating the School System


Celiac Sprue Association's Letter to the Teacher


As Play-Doh is NOT gluten free, and many other alternatives are also not gluten free, you might want to check out Soy-yer Dough. The original version does have soy, but they do have a soy free version. No, I was not paid to advertise for them, and I actually do not own any myself. I use Pelikan's modeling clay here at home IF I am in a mood to clean up after it.

This art supply ingredient list is two years old now, so you will need to call the companies and ask after their products.


Books and Magazines:
Free PDF Book (also available in Paperback) "The Trouble that Jack Had
Gluten Intolerance Group's Magazine for children and Summer Camp
Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-free Kids
Cilie Yack is Under Attack: A story about a boy with celiac disease
Adam's Gluten Free Surprise: Helping Others Understand Gluten Free
Gluten-Free Kids: Raising Happy, Healthy Children with Celiac Disease, Autism, and Other Conditions
Mommy, What Is Celiac Disease?: A look at the sunny side of being a gluten-free kid
Eating Gluten-Free with Emily: A Story for Children with Celiac Disease
No Cupcakes for Jason: A Child's Story about the Gluten-free Casein-free Diet With a Parents' Guide and a School Guide included
The GF Kid: A Celiac Disease Survival Guide
No More Cupcakes & Tummy Aches
Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults, Second Edition
Lunch With Quinn: The story of one child's diagnosis and management of Celiac Disease
Bagels, Buddy, and Me...A story about gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease
How I Eat Without Wheat
Gluten-Free Friends: An Activity Book for Kids
 
Out of all of these, the only one I currently have is "The trouble that Jack had". I netted a free copy a couple years ago when my mom and sister went to the Better Homes and Gardens show in Alabama. There was apparently a very large Gluten Free contingent there.  If you have any further book suggestions, please feel free to drop them in the comments box.



When it comes to packing food (Lunch box, brown bag, Bento or Tiffin) it is always best to follow food safety rules so that your child does not get food poisoning. You may find Lunch In A Box or other Bento-related blogs very helpful in this avenue. Some of her recipes are gluten free, or can easily be transformed to be GF. Some recipes or Bento fillers are Paleo, Primal, SCD or GAPS compliant. I do have a few wonderful Bento cookbooks I would be happy to share, but most of the recipes are not helpful for this diet. Perhaps later on I can include some of the recipes, as I become more confident with the GAPS Diet.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, perishable foods kept between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 60 degrees Celsius) for more than two hours are no longer safe to eat.
Although 45 percent of the packed lunches included an ice pack and 12 percent were kept in refrigerators, nearly all of the perishable foods were in the danger zone.
Yahoo News: August 8, 2001: Kids' packed lunches too warm to be safe: study

And when it comes to colleges, it appears there are relatively few colleges that cater to gluten free students. 

While there is still a long way to go in making the majority of schools safe and celiac-friendly, some colleges and universities are going above and beyond when it comes to providing gluten-free options. Here are just a few of the schools who are leading the way, though many, if not most, have programs to provide meals for students with any kind of dietary need.
14 Colleges That Cater to Gluten-Free Students and Gluten Free Reviews of College Dining Services

With more children going gluten-free in the past few years, according to Celiac Disease awareness organizations, parents are increasingly asking schools to accommodate these dietary needs the way they have for other allergies such as peanuts. And it’s not just banning gluten-containing products from lunchboxes. Some parents say they are requiring that arts & crafts go gluten-free too.
Market Watch: Even Toys are going Gluten Free

Please stay safe and happy out there in GAPS-y land! xoxo