Barfing twice a week is just not right, nor are bright red ears.

Beware: this may gross you out a bit.

Zach has had GI issues since he was 10 months old. Basically, his GI issues consisted of totally out of the blue, without warning, full barfing of all that was eaten within the last 12 hours. These puking incidents averaged twice a week for well over a year. I wrote down the food he was eating to see if there was a correlation between what he ate an his barfing. There was no obvious correlation - he drank milk, ate cheese and yogurt every day - but he only barfed on average, twice a week. Didn't have an obivious milk correlation. The pediatrician told me that some kids were just barfers. Anyone who witnessed one of Zach's barfing episodes knew these were pretty tremendous. He literally erupted. I never accepted the fact that some kids just barfed and had begun researching getting him in to a pediatric GI.

My mother-in-law pointed out that Zach's ears were very red sometimes. Sometimes it was just one ear - on the outside and not on the inside. It didn't seem to bother him. I brought him in to the pediatrician and there was no ear infection. Of course, the ears would never stay red for very long. Hmm.

So a Google search produced a vast array of information about red ears. We read that children with red ears commonly have food sensitivities. We also read that there were instances of parents with kids on the spectrum reported having red ears. We also read that those with celiac's may have the same symptom.

Puking, red ears, autistic symptoms, we're going to try the GFCF diet we decided.

With a little help from Linda, a registered dietitian, a bunch of books and websites, and good ol' Wegman's and NaturTyme - we were off. GFCF stands for gluten free and casein free. Gluten is a protein commonly found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and kamut. Say goodbye to most cereals, breads, pastas, crackers, chips. Casein is a dairy protein; there goes milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. So what can you eat? Meat, fruit, vegetables. So - corn and rice are OK, chicken is OK, but not breaded with wheat flour, french fries OK, eggs are OK, and all the unprocessed fruits and veggies he likes.

Almost all procesed foods have some sort of gluten and casein in them. Aside from the obvious, ingredients like malt, modified food starch, and whey must also be avoided. Go read some labels and tell me how many times you find these - they are everywhere! We have to be careful with hotdogs and cold cuts - but have found brands that are safe - Hormel Natural meats are for the most part safe - I always still label check though. Applegate Farms are our source for hot dogs - and they have chicken, turkey, and beef ones so we are fairly lucky since Zach is so picky about eating meat, sometimes this is his only meat source.

So what are the replacements for milk? soy milk, rice milk, hemp milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk. Many of them are pretty good - but it took us a bit to find brands we thought tasted good. (I think 8th Continent soy milk tastes like playdoh for sure.) Wheat flour alternatives include potato flour, rice flour, almond flour cornmeal, buckwheat, quinoa flour, tapioca flour.

The diet may sound restrictive - but think of this - Zach can still eat a filet mignon, with baked potato, side salad and have a chocolate lava cake. He can also have chicken nuggets, french fries, and apple crisp for dessert. Or turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pumpkin pie. How about fried pork hops with onions, a side of rice and squash, with peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert. These are all viable options for him that we have prepared without gluten and casein. Just none of it is purchased - we must make it ourselves for the most part. It's not fast and it is not convenient. But most things in life that are worth it aren't.