Hi Jessica
We have been gf/cf for several years and my son has shown a tremendous impovement. The diet is not easy but for us the immediate results were reward enough to continue. Is there a good milk substitue available at the comissary? In the begining of the diet just remember that you are doing the best you can, I have even heard of some parents that start slowly, introducing and substituting a little at a time, for us we didnt immediately go gf/cf- I switched to rice dream chocolate milk- easier to substitue because of the flavor- and rice crispies- neither product is perfect but both are low in in g/c. I also immediately eliminated processed meats and used only meats without addivitives. I planned our menus for the whole family based on rice, potatos, fresh or frozen meats and vegetables. My son no longer eats corn, but in the begining he did- so the first night it was tacos- not packaged seasoning, but just ground meat, tomato paste, garlic and chili(mcormicks are the only spices that tell if they contain glueten that I know of ) I used crunched up rice cakes instead of bread crumbs for meat loaf-find a margerine that says parve up in the right hand corner- its a corn based product. Hopoefully you can get some rice flour to make pancakes or waffles-I follow almost the same recipies- except I use a special baking powder- featherweight(blue label) is caisin free. Baking soda i believe is a safe product and if you use enough eggs what you make will rise any way. I wouldnt waste my time on a bread maker- it takes forever to perfect a product in there- quick breads are easier- follow a regular recipie- just a little more eggs usually works. Sometimes I even beat the egg whites stiff and gently fold them in before baking. The recipies in the book will be great too. We use rice cakes for a base for tuna, egg or peanutbutter(when he could eat it) - if you can get brown rice -hanson mill- it makes awesome fresh soft shell tortillas! Just mix a 1/4 c in a coffee cup with an egg and some water until it is thinner than pancake batter- the thinner the better- add salt or cinnamon- no sugar, heat up a griddle until very hot- and barely greased(it will smoke alot) pour on batter, immediatly flipp and there done- my whole family devours them!after they are cooked you can add what ever seasoning. Also you can cook a thick (rice)pancake base in the microwave - like a 1/2 inch thick in a coffee cup for a minute or so, then (dont burn your self on steam) cut in half and toast it- instant bun! If you have family who would be willing to, they could also mail stuff - the best product I have found here are cyber soychips- cinnamon and garlic are awesome snacks and affordable(we didp the cinnamon rice cakes in unsweetened applesauce), and at hannaford in with the asian foods is an affordable white rice pasta- 1.99! (Linguni and spaggehetti)At the Health Food store its $5-7 bucks for 10 oz! I also have eliminated table sugar and sweeten tons of foods with concentrated apple juice. Also a great summer snack is - frozen bananas on a stick then dipped in concentrated grape juice! In a pinch you can make your own rice milk or rice pudding or rice eggnog- just cook up like a cup of instant rice, throw it in the blender with it a cup of water, and pure, then run it through a strainer. Then I put it back on the stove sweeten and add a pinch of salt to taste, then boil- when it is boiling I stir the hot mixture into a beaten egg, and pour it back into the pot and simmer for just a few more seconds- never letting it boil to make sure that any semonila germs from the eggs are dead! Instead of a bread maker I would recomend a fry daddy. French fries go along way to appease "a cranky I hate this diet child" And you drop globs of that thick pancake batter in it with diced fruit for instant doughnut holes! I have even grated a whole potato over it - it forms a cute 'nest' to plop scrambled eggs on!-meme