Is corn starch safe for kids on the gluten-free casein-free diet?

I teach children with autism and a lot of them are on this diet. If we make Gak out of corn starch and water, some will probably put a little in their mouths. Is it gluten and casein free?

Corn starch is gluten free, but I would make sure to double check the labels. If you can find one that’s 100% corn starch then you’d be safe.

I can’t find anything about casein being in corn starch, so again you would have to look at the label.

Have any of you schizophrenics tried a dairy free and wheat gluten free diet and has it helped you?

There is supposed to be a link with wheat gluten, milk casein and schizophrenia

A very close friend is a schizophrenic, and during the 80s I came across some literature that said there was a link with gluten, so we tried him on a gluten free diet.

At that time, we weren’t aware of just how all-pervasive gluten was, and our stab at going gluten free basically just consisted of cutting out bread, pastry and so on. Even so, he found that the depression which is a big part of schizophrenia (linked to dopamine/serotonin levels) went away. The voices didn’t however, but this may well be because other foods which contained gluten were still in his diet without either of us realizing it.

The mechanism believed to be behind the mental problems which are often associated with gluten intolerance (eg. autism, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, amongst others) is the production in the intestine of opioid peptides, which leak into the bloodstream.

Opioid peptides are an intermediate stage in the digestion of gluten in everyone, but in those who are gluten intolerant, it seems that the second stage to render these harmless is missing or defective. The term opioid peptides contains a big clue as to the nature of these chemicals – they are very similar to opium. Imagine if every time you ate gluten, you ended up with the equivalent a hit of opium? It’s no wonder that these problems occur!

Please note: I am NOT advocating that anybody suffering from this terrible and debilitating illness should give up their medication in favor of a change in diet. My friend continued to take his medication during our experiment with a gluten free diet.

I Would Really Appreciate it If Someone Can Help Me With Recipes For A Gluten And Casein Free Diet?

My Son Has Autism… Ive Tried Everything Else And Dont Know Where To Start But Im Not Going To Give Up. Any Help is greatly Appreciated!

Hi Sheri

I found this site, the recipes below come from it. Have a look at it, there are many more recipes there. There’s a forum you could join on the blog, maybe get some more ideas & help from other parents in the same situation. I hope this helps as a starting point, hang in there & take care!

http://gfcfrecipes.blogspot.com/

GFCF Breakfast cereal bars
This recipe is so great. For one, I like these and will eat them for a quick breakfast on the go. And, the recipe really worked like I had hoped. I should’ve guessed thought, that only one of my kids would actually eat them. Oh well. That’s the way these things go.

This is a recipe for a cereal bar that’s very healthy. I found a basic recipe on the web, modified it for GFCF, and added a couple things of my own. Here’s how:

1/2 cup honey (or other syrup)
1/2 cup nut butter (I used Once Again Sunflower Seed Butter)
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 cups gluten free rice krispies cereal (I used Barbaras)
1/3 cup raisins (dates would work too)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
1-2 tbsp ground flax seed (I used golden flax)

Grease a 13×9 cake pan — I used organic Spectrum shortening.
Into a pan, heat honey, nut butter and sugar to boil. Stir on medium heat a couple of minutes.
Add the other ingredients and stir until combined.
Dump into the greased pan and use a spatula to press down.
Let cool. After 30 minutes, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into squares.

Bread recipes
• Breakfast recipes
• Cooking basics
• Main dishes
• Restaurant guide – GFCF
• Side dishes
• Sweets & desserts
• Veggies

Bread:
Preheat oven to 400.
Mix 1/2 cup of sorghum or brown rice flour, 2/3 cup tapioca flour, 2 tsp xanthan gum, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp oregano (or other spice), 1 tbsp sugar.

Then, add, 1/3 cup of oil, 1/3 cup of a dairy sub (like Darifree), and 1/2 cup of water.

Beat until well combined.

Now, use a ladle or 1/4 cup measure to dump into circular bun-sized pieces. Keep them apart as much as possible. You can make regular bun shapes or like mini-hoagie or hot dog bun shapes. They aren’t perfect and I’m sure you could buy forms to make them better. Anyway, then, I take a wet spatula and press down lightly on each and with one or two swoops, flatten each one out some. Then, bake for 20 minutes.

GFCF Scalloped potatoes
Ingredients

Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Dairy free margarine or ghee — I used Spectrum shortening
Sea salt
Black pepper
GF tapioca flour (I think potato starch, corn starch would work too)
GF chickpea flour (I think potato flour, rice flour, etc. would work too — anything that’s a fine flour and not grainy)
Garlic powder
Dairy free milk — I used Vance’s DariFree.
Water
Corn starch (I think tapioca or potato starch would work too)

I use a big crock pot, so adapt if yours is smaller. But, I started by peeling and slicing the potatoes. I did two average sized potatoes at a time. Then I layered the slices of those two potatoes on the bottom of the crok pot.
Then, I sprinkled a dash of salt and a pinch of pepper over top of the layer.
I then sprinkled 1 tbsp of the tapioca flour over the layer and then 1 tbsp of the chickpea flour over the layer.
Then, I plopped about 4 small dabs of the shortening (or margarine) in various places over the layer — they were about 1/2 tsp each.
Then, I repeated this process by adding another layer of potatoes over top — about two potatoes. Then, the seasoning, flours and shortening.
I did this with about 4-5 layers of potatoes.
When done, I poured 1 cup of DariFree milk over top and then 1 cup of water over top.
I turned the crock pot setting to high and let it go for four hours.
After 2 hours, I turned over the top layer of potatoes to ensure they didn’t dry out. I did this again after the 3rd hour.
After the 3rd hour, I test tasted. I found that the DariFree taste was coming thru too much and not enough of the seasoning I had put in. So, I added another dose of salt and pepper and a couple dashes of garlic powder. You can skip this if you don’t like garlic. It was enough to flavor but not overwhelm.