Hot Dog Fries!

As many of you know, the boys are on a gluten (wheat), and casein (dairy) free diet. Well, I guess if you didn't know before, you know now. Anyway, that makes meal time a little tricky. We've been able to find gluten free and casein free (GFCF) alternatives for most items the kids like to eat. For example, the boys have brown rice spaghetti noodles when it's spaghetti night, and we just make sure the sauce is GFCF.

One of the other things we've tried to do is make dinner more fun. So if we're introducing a new food, I try to present it in a fun way, so it seems more appealing. You would think hotdogs wouldn't fall into the category of "things kids won't eat", but I think they do get boring. Especially if you can't eat it in a bun. I've cut up their hotdogs into 6 pieces and stacked them like a pyramid, or set them like bowling pins. The other day, I thought to cut them the long way, and called them hot dog fries! The kids took to them right away! Here are some pictures of the kids eating their hotdog fries with some In-N-Out fries. Yummy!

In-N-Out fries are awesome. You would think fries from anywhere would be ok. After all, they're just fried potatoes, right? Not so. Most fast food places now add coatings, and stuff to make them crispier, or to add flavor, and most of those contain wheat starch. Or, they fry their fries in the same oil as other breaded menu items, and that contaminates the oil with gluten. So, in order to eat out as a family, we have to find places that use fresh, or non treated potatoes or fries, and that also cook them in their own oil. In-N-Out is perfect! The potatoes are fresh, and the only thing cooked in the friers. As for restaurants, so far we know Red Robin is Ok, as well as Buffalo Wild Wings (at least the one in Bullhead City, AZ). We know there are others, but those are places the kids like.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Maybe next time we have "mexican meatballs", another creation of mine, I'll take some pics, and share that as well.