celiac suggestions for birthday parties?

[Isabelle's Mom]

My daughter is having a birthday party this saturday. Her friend, also 3 years old with diabetes, also has celiac. Do you have any suggestions for some GF foods that I can offer? I know a little bit about it, and I can cook, but don't really know all the "rules". I was thinking about having some of these things in addition to some non-GF foods:

-GF brownies from a mix (Bob's Red Mill)
-berries and homemade whipped cream (whipping cream and sugar)
-GF hot dogs

Does anyone have any other or better ideas?

[WestinsMom]

Are the gf brownies to exchange for cake? There are great cake mixes in a box! What non gf things are you thinking as there might be gf alternatives?

[Isabelle's Mom]

My mom is making an non-GF cake. No substitution for that. I was just going to offer the brownies, berries, and other desserts at the same time.

As for the non-sweets, I can certainly substitute, and will firm up the menu based on the replies to this thread. Maybe a good macaroni and cheese dish with GF pasta? I'll have some veggie burgers (non-GF) for my vegetarian friends, but otherwise have not thought this through. My husband was in the hospital with pneumonia last week and this birthday just snuck up on us!

Some people have said that Trader Joe's has some good GF alternatives. There is one in my neighborhood. And a Whole Foods.

[MamaC]

Bless you for thinking of your daughter's friend's diet. There are ton's of mixes around, and TJ and WF are good places to start. That little girl's parents should thank you!

~~Becky~~

[WestinsMom]

For great mac and cheese buy kraft mac and cheese and just use the cheese sauce with gf noodles. We use Tinkyada (sp?). I boil the noodles for 15 minutes and drain. In the pan I melt the butter and warm the milk (as per the kraft box) get it all mixed up with the cheese sauce then add the noodles back in..you don't want to over stir them. We use two boxes of kraft to one bag of the gf noodles.

[Riley'sMom]

hello,

that is great that you are thinking about this!

we've had the bob's red mill brownies and they are really good. some of the other bob's stuff i haven't liked but the brownies were a hit.

fruit and whipped cream is a great idea.

maybe some raw veggies too?

tortilla chips are usually GF.

we get a lot of our GF stuff at whole foods. they have glutino pretzels sticks which taste almost normal that might be good if you are looking for other snack stuff.

we also use the tinkyada pasta. haven't tried to make mac and cheese with it but that sounds like a good idea.

whole foods also has some baked that that they make that are GF. we've had the muffins and they are good.

i made a GF cake a few week's ago for my brother's birthday and we all ate it, i didn't even make a non GF one. it was probably the best GF thing we've tried so far. very moist. i got the recipe from all recipes-
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gluten-Free-Yellow-Cake/Detail.aspx

we got the rice flour at an asian market, supposed to be more fine and it did seem so. i know you said you have a cake, just thought i would throw that out there for anyone else.

good luck, that is great you are doing that.
jessica

[hrermgr]

What a timely post! We're having a b-day party for T on Saturday, too! I decided not to serve a meal but to only have snacks. The kids invited (3-4 yrs old) will be able to decorate their own cupcakes (GF of course) with some frosting, jelly belly beans and other items (not so good for D). Then I thought I would have cut up fruit & veggies and some chips.

Good luck with your party! :)

[Isabelle's Mom]

Thank you thank you!! ...for the great suggestions! I won't make that allrecipes cake, but am printing it for my recipe drawer. It had great reviews, too.

I'm getting the Tinkyada pasta, and will be making

GF hot dogs
non-GF veggie burgers
tortilla chips
GF mac 'n cheese
bread
raw veggies & dip

fruit w/ whipped cream
GF brownies
my mom's non-GF cake

But mostly, as usual, we'll make it NOT about the food. More games and activities. The kids like that better anyway, and it cause me less heartburn!

[Isabelle's Mom]

I love this forum! Good luck with your party, too!!

What a timely post! We're having a b-day party for T on Saturday, too! I decided not to serve a meal but to only have snacks. The kids invited (3-4 yrs old) will be able to decorate their own cupcakes (GF of course) with some frosting, jelly belly beans and other items (not so good for D). Then I thought I would have cut up fruit & veggies and some chips.

Good luck with your party! :)

[hrermgr]

Our birthday party was a success! 2 other kids and their parents and our family--it was great. The cake mix I bought to make cupcakes was not my favorite--very heavy and not kid-friendly. It was from Cherrybrook Farms, I think. Something to do with Cherry and Farms. Kind of heavy.

On the flip side, the banana cake from a local GF bakery, Bittersweet, was FANTASTIC!!! Very yummy.

[Isabelle's Mom]

Thank you all SO MUCH for your suggestions. We ended up postponing Isabelle's birthday party twice because of stomach flu, but finally had it last Thursday. Since I had all that extra time to think about it, we made it all GF, except for the veggie burgers!!
We had BBQ: hot dogs, chicken, sweet potato slices, zucchini. I made the allrecipes.com cake that was suggested, and it turned out great! My friend's husband had TWO pieces! We also had strawberries, bread (wheat and GF) and veggies & dip.
Everyone especially liked the cake frosting, so I'll share it with you, too:

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 small package GF chocolate pudding (not instant)
2 T sugar

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Add pudding mix and sugar slowly.
Tastes great and adds only about 100 g carbs to the whole cake! You have to refrigerate the cake after it is frosted.