I'm A Gluten-Free Mom, And My Kids Eat Cake

One per cent of the gluten-free population is Celiac, and when they consume gluten they become violently sick. The other 99 per cent is either seriously or somewhat intolerant of gluten, while others still are either following a fad or altogether ill-informed.

Millions of people are giving up gluten, everyone for their own personal reasons, but I know that I can share with you why my family is gluten-free. It's not to lose weight. It's not because it's the trendy way to eat. Or because all my friends are doing it. It's because we have no choice.

For my family, gluten is a thing of the past and will never again (knowingly) enter my kids' mouths. I have two kids with Celiac disease, and any compromise in their diet risks their health. If our Celiac kids could live in a bubble, we would certainly be able to watch everything they ate.

But they go to school, and schools have kids with other kids who have birthday parties, and our kids want what their friends are having. And you know what? I want them to be able to celebrate birthday parties by eating cake and participating in the festivities like the other kids without food restrictions.

I don't profess to buy, cook or bake meals and snacks that contain only 100 per cent healthy ingredients 100 per cent of the time. Do you? Do you only buy fresh produce and whole grains when you go grocery shopping? When you go to your local bakery, do you ask for the calorie count in the baguette, bagel or French pastry?

If you indulge once in a while, it is NORMAL. Nobody is perfect and we must not teach perfection to our kids.

And just because my kids can become seriously unwell when they consume gluten certainly doesn't mean they stopped wanting their favourite treats. When we have special occasions that call for cake with thick, creamy icing or even on a Sunday brunch, we still want to be able to indulge in slice of cinnamon raisin French toast and bagels.

This is the very reason why it excites me to see delicious gluten-free products prominently line the shelves of grocery stores, and precisely why I want to teach my kids to make these choices for themselves.

It's important to go beyond teaching your kids what's safe for them by also teaching them to distinguish between what is good food, what is not so good food and what is pure crap. I don't believe it's important to never ever let them eat treats.

Striving for extreme inflexibility by denying your kid the occasional treat could actually backfire. PLEASE know that life is NOT absolute; let your kids know that sweet treats, unhealthy treats and less desirable foods are OK to indulge in once in a while.

Teach them the difference. To deny your child the occasional treat is unreasonable. And counter-productive. And shows inflexibility. I don't know one person in my world, adult or otherwise, who doesn't want a "treat" now and then.

I think it's important to mention this because the current literature is pointing to gluten as a "bad fad," or an "unhealthy diet" or that it even "causes weight gain"! These articles are disturbing to me.

Do people not realize that eating any cupcake, gluten-filled or gluten-free, has sugar and calories? Do people think if they eat gluten-free baked goods that it is reason to go all out? Do you really think you will lose weight because your cupcakes are gluten-free?

Let me set the record straight... fresh vegetables and fruits, meats, dairy, fish and many REAL FOODS are gluten-free already. It's the baked goods that are questionable.

If you are eating a gluten-free cupcake instead of a regular one, you are not consuming wheat. If you stay away from wheat for medical reasons or prefer not to eat it because it is highly modified and no longer a good choice for you, have a gluten-free cupcake.

You will not lose weight in either case. You will be indulging in a treat either way. And why not? Being informed and making informed decisions about what you decide to eat is a sweet and delicious thing to do for yourself!