Healthy Meals For Kids Allergic To Wheat

Wheat is one of the eight foods that make up about 90 percent of all American food allergies, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. If your child has a wheat allergy, there are ways you can work around it. With a little knowledge and some creative substitution, you can provide your child with many healthy wheat-free meal options.

Quesadillas

KidsHealth offers quesadillas made with corn tortillas. Mix together one diced tomato, half of a finely chopped onion, 1 tbsp. lime juice and 1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro. Cut a 3 oz. chicken breast into small pieces and sauté them until they are thoroughly cooked. Then sauté two minced garlic cloves and the other half of the onion, finely chopped, until browned. Grease a nonstick baking sheet and lay one corn tortilla on it. Put half of the tomato mixture, the sautéed onion and garlic and the chicken onto the tortilla. Add 2 oz. shredded cheese and put another corn tortilla on top. Bake the quesadilla for about 10 minutes and serve it with the rest of the tomato mixture.

Ham and Rice Skillet

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network lists a wheat-free recipe for "Ham and Rice Skillet Supper." To make this meal, mix the juice from a 20-oz. can of pineapple chunks with 2½ cups of chicken broth, 2 tsp. curry powder, a dash of ground red pepper and 1 cup white rice -- or change that to brown rice for a healthier meal. Quickly boil this mixture and then simmer for about 25 minutes. Take it off the heat, cover and leave it for five minutes. Add a half-pound of snow peas, a half-pound cooked ham cut into small pieces and the pineapple from the can. Cook everything for another two minutes and serve.

Gluten-Free Pizza

Give your child a wheat-free pizza with the "Gluten-Free Pizza" recipe from Epicurious. For the crust, mix together ¾ cup tapioca, ½ cup white rice flour, 1/3 cup each of chickpea and sorghum flours and 1 tsp. each of salt and xanthum gum. Heat ½ cup milk and ¼ cup water over medium heat for a minute and add 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast and 2 tsp. sugar. Add this mixture, two egg whites and 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil to the flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Stretch the dough into a pizza crust, let it rise for about 20 minutes and bake it for five minutes in a 400-degree F oven. Top the dough with tomato sauce, grated mozzarella cheese and any other toppings you desire. Broil the pizza for about four to eight minutes.

Banana-Oat Pancakes

You can substitute oat and other flours in many foods that traditionally include wheat flour. To make the banana-oat pancakes included in King Arthur Flour's "Whole Grain Baking" cookbook, mix 1 cup oat flour with 1/2 tsp. each of baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add a mixture of three small mashed bananas, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. each of lemon juice and sugar and two eggs. Cook the pancakes on a heated pan for about three minutes on one side and two minutes on the other.