Need tips for avoiding corn syrup (& food allergy update)

[one l michele]

My oldest (almost 8) had his annual allergy check up today. We are currently avoiding tree nuts, egg, milk (due to my youngest), peas, beans, and soy. Corn has been added to the list. We don't eat a ton of processed foods, but some items off the top of my head I'lll need alternatives for are: ketchup, maple syrup, wheat thins, and bread. Also, we eat a lot of mexican, what would I sub for taco shells and tortilla chips? Are there any links for avoiding corn? Places I wouldn't suspect corn?

[Emmy]

this website will be helpful: http://www.cornallergens.com/

Corn is a really tough one to avoid - it's in everything it seems. Even children's motrin and benedryl have high fructose corn syrup in them. One thing that will be helpful to figure out is if the child has an allergy to only primary sources of corn or if it's also a problem to eat derivative sources of corn - like HFCS in medicines, corn starch that is in cheerios and the like.

My youngest has severe allergies to egg, milk and peanuts. He also tested as being moderately allergic to corn - so we've been navigating this path ourselves this past year.

ETA: many organic or natural crackers are free from HFCS, baking your own bread helps too. Also - organic ketchup will be free from HFCS.

[Melinda in VT]

Just buy the real stuff. It's pricey, but you don't have to use a lot. (And it tastes better too!)

If that won't work, you can also just use all-fruit jam on top of pancakes, waffles, etc. Or a mix of powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Sorry about the new restrictions.

[abbeyej]

Ketchup -- most of the organic brands do *not* have any corn products in them. Read labels, of course, but it shouldn't be hard to find even at "regular" grocery stores as long as they have a few basic "health foods".

Maple syrup -- I assume you mean "pancake syrup", not maple syrup? Maple syrup has, by definition, only maple syrup in it. It costs slightly more than "pancake syrup", but you can use significantly less, so I find the price works out in favor of maple anyway. (I also think it tastes worlds better.)

Wheat thins -- um, I dunno. Just not on my radar.

Bread -- I find it a huge challenge to find *any* mass market bread that I'll eat at, say, Kroger. Most grocery store bread is just worthless (unless you have a really lovely grocery store!)... Trader Joe's has a number of great options, if you're lucky enough to live near one. Otherwise, try to find a decent health food store or bakery with decent bread or (sorry), make your own.

For Mexican... Chips are tough to replicate. There are a number of rice, potato and wheat-based chips and chip-like crackers that may work for you. Nothing will be exactly like corn chips, but if you're looking for a way to get salsa from the bowl to your mouth ;) they'll do. Use flour tortillas instead of taco shells...

[abbeyej]

Or a mix of powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Sorry, powdered sugar and baking powder are both "hidden" sources of corn starch. It's possible to find baking powder without corn starch ("Featherweight" is the brand, I believe), but corn-free powdered sugar usually has to be special ordered. Even if the front of the package says "100% cane sugar", it almost assuredly has corn starch (and will say so on the ingredients).

[Gailmegan]

Do you have a Trader Joe's Whole Foods or other health food store near you? These all carry pure maple syrup, ketchup without HFCS, crackers, flour tortillas and breads that do not contain corn.

[GailV]

, but some items off the top of my head I'lll need alternatives for are: ketchup, maple syrup, wheat thins, and bread. Also, we eat a lot of mexican, what would I sub for taco shells and tortilla chips? Are there any links for avoiding corn? Places I wouldn't suspect corn?

Ketchup -- Muir Glen, Trader Joe's (I think), many brands in the health food store will be sweetened with cane sugar or fruit juice

Maple Syrup -- pure maple syrup doesn't have corn syrup. We go through gallons of the stuff (dh doesn't do well with cane sugar, dd and I avoid corn syrup). Or are you actually thinking of "pancake syrup", which we avoid because it's, bingo, mostly corn syrup flavored with some maple. Get grade B maple syrup -- it has more flavor and is generally cheaper.

Bread -- we buy Trader Joe's. I used to get something from the regular grocery, but I forget what brand it was. My mom claimed that you can't buy bread without corn or corn syrup in it. She's wrong.

taco shells -- one dd uses soft wheat tortillas (but dh uses corn because he's gluten intolerant) (And, yes, we're a fun family to cook for, what with avoiding soy, gluten, milk, and corn syrup, not to mention a bunch of other stuff I won't get into here.)

chips -- there are hundreds on the market. It's a matter of trying them. There are rice chips of various textures and flavors.

We don't have to avoid all corn, as our issues aren't that severe. But perhaps these will give you some starting places. The first few shopping trips are the hardest.

[one l michele]

His skin test today came back "very high" to corn and soy. Soy I've been avoiding protein only as he gets an instant rash around his mouth. I haven't been able to pinpoint a clinical reaction to the soy lecithin/oil he's eating or corn. I'm still trying to process all the info I was given.

[one l michele]

Do you have a Trader Joe's Whole Foods or other health food store near you? These all carry pure maple syrup, ketchup without HFCS, crackers, flour tortillas and breads that do not contain corn.

They actually have a pretty good selection. I just need to go kid free so I can read labels and explore. I did check and my Heinz organic ketchup is fine, woo hoo!

[one l michele]

pancake syrup, I'll pick up some Maple.

They'll likely have sometype of organic crackers too.

I'll check Wegman's for bread and "tortilla" chips.

Abbey, WWYD with the corn in my situation. I'm not seeing a clinical reaction to corn (any form) or soy lecthin/oil (he does get a rash around his mouth from soy protein which we avoid). So I'm having a tough time understanding why I should avoid corn and soy in all forms based on "concerning skin test results", when there is no obvious clinical reaction.

As you know from experience you don't want to avoid ingredients you don't "have to". I'm leaning toward avoiding soy and corn in all forms for 4 weeks, then adding one back in at a time, probably the soy oil/lecthin first, waiting a week and seeing if any change is noted.

[Needleroozer]

My oldest (almost 8) had his annual allergy check up today. We are currently avoiding tree nuts, egg, milk (due to my youngest), peas, beans, and soy. Corn has been added to the list. We don't eat a ton of processed foods, but some items off the top of my head I'lll need alternatives for are: ketchup, maple syrup, wheat thins, and bread. Also, we eat a lot of mexican, what would I sub for taco shells and tortilla chips? Are there any links for avoiding corn? Places I wouldn't suspect corn?

First off, why avoid maple syrup? If you buy the real stuff, there isn't any corn in there is there?

Other sugar sources: Stevia, honey, brown rice syrup, fruit-sweet syrup, fruit-only jams, etc.

Ketchup: Here is the recipe I have been using for umpteen years now. To make it more palatable for a child, I add 1 to 2 tsp of an approved sugar, and either eliminate or reduce the herbs. You can also find corn syrup free ketchup in the health food section, but it is very pricey.

Ketchup:
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup cider vinegar (I prefer white wine or rice vinegar, but check for corn syrup in the rice vinegar)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp mustard powder (I use just a tad less)
a squeeze of garlic from a press
Mix all ingredients together, and put into a ziplock sandwich bag. Cut a corner off the bag, ans sqqeeze into an old empty ketchup bottle.

For bread, invest in a bread machine. For chips, we used rice cakes (careful not to get the ones with popcorn in them!), rye crackers, and I made our own crackers a couple of times. We just got used to being without them. For tacos, we just had taco salad, or used flour, rice, or spelt tortillas.

[Melinda in VT]

Sorry, powdered sugar and baking powder are both "hidden" sources of corn starch. It's possible to find baking powder without corn starch ("Featherweight" is the brand, I believe), but corn-free powdered sugar usually has to be special ordered. Even if the front of the package says "100% cane sugar", it almost assuredly has corn starch (and will say so on the ingredients).

Thanks for the correction! :001_smile:

[Needleroozer]

corn-free powdered sugar usually has to be special ordered.
Do you of a source for this?? I cannot tell you how much I miss powdered sugar frosting!!!

[Maria from IN]

Definitely check out the natural foods section of your grocery store. If you have no Trader Joe's around, check out Kroger.

I am allergic to corn, wheat, rye, barley, soy, oats, and mushrooms. I was told that if you are allergic to one grain that sometimes others will follow. For a long time I was just avoiding corn, but then wheat and soy started giving me a reaction.

We use a lot of rice cakes here, and if you're still on wheat I would try a local bakery that uses honey in their recipes. Farmers' markets usually have Amish jams and jellies around here only sweetened with sugar. Lunch meat is going to be hard to find...I usually get Oscar Mayer Smoked Ham and Sliced Roast Beef, and Hormel Naturals Ham, Beef, and Turkey lunchmeat. They generally don't have any corn syrup or dextrose.

We use a lot of Muir Glen ketchup around here, and we go for the organic section when we want frozen french fries--it's a white package with a green logo, and its name escapes me--but it has no dextrose.

For quick snacks I take Larabars to school--they have a date base with fruit and raw nuts and some spices. They're usually kept by the protein bars and such--if you're already avoiding soy you're probably avoiding that aisle, but you may find them there. We use Hain Pure Foods Canola Mayonnaise because there's no corn or soy.

Oh, and watch out for those flavored rice cakes--there's corn in those, too.

Those are just a few things off the top of me noggin...good luck to you all.

Maria:001_smile:

[Maria from IN]

Do you of a source for this?? I cannot tell you how much I miss powdered sugar frosting!!!

My mom and I have been using a coffee grinder to grind up granulated sugar. It's a bit tedious, as we can only do about 1/2 cup of sugar at a time, but it's worth it!:grouphug:

[BonAmy]

Hey,
I'm running out the door, don't have time to read the other posts right now.. but off the top of my head, here are some:

for mexican food: Ezekiel bread has some tortillas that are very tasty.
don't think there is any corn in them, but ck label.

for syrup: try Agave cactus syrup.. find it at health food stores.. very tasty, you won't miss regular syrup at all (... well, after about a week!).

I'll ck back later

mom to kids allergic to: gluten/caisen, all dairy, soy, eggs, perservatives, food coloring, peanuts, blueberries... etc etc etc.

[falwyn]

Sorry, powdered sugar and baking powder are both "hidden" sources of corn starch. It's possible to find baking powder without corn starch ("Featherweight" is the brand, I believe), but corn-free powdered sugar usually has to be special ordered. Even if the front of the package says "100% cane sugar", it almost assuredly has corn starch (and will say so on the ingredients).

Just a note -- hope it hasn't already been said -- my father in law has been known to make his own powdered sugar -- he just puts regular sugar in the blender. You could probably use a food processor for the same effect.

[abbeyej]

Abbey, WWYD with the corn in my situation. I'm not seeing a clinical reaction to corn (any form) or soy lecthin/oil (he does get a rash around his mouth from soy protein which we avoid). So I'm having a tough time understanding why I should avoid corn and soy in all forms based on "concerning skin test results", when there is no obvious clinical reaction.

As you know from experience you don't want to avoid ingredients you don't "have to". I'm leaning toward avoiding soy and corn in all forms for 4 weeks, then adding one back in at a time, probably the soy oil/lecthin first, waiting a week and seeing if any change is noted.

Michele,

Well, I would absolutely do what you suggest there -- avoid soy and corn 100%, even obsessively, for a minimum of 4-6 weeks, and then pick one and just load up on it like crazy for 3 days (unless he shows obvious signs more quickly than that), then cut them off again for at least a week. If you see absolutely no signs of a problem during any of that, then you can *probably* feel okay about adding the food back in...

My experience was that while my son was eating a number of foods to which he had a "lab" reaction, he showed few *obvious* reactions to individual foods. On the other hand, he had constant waxing and waning low-level reactions (skin, digestive, mood, occasional hives, etc, that we could never pinpoint. It was only rarely that he would have a reaction that was clearly tied to ingesting a particular food.

Once we got him off of *all* his major allergens (and yes, it was *tough* to do), then the individual reactions became clear and well-defined. His skin quit reacting to *everything*, so we could see when it was reacting to *something*. His tummy began to operate in a normal way for the first time in his life (he had had borderline diarrhea his entire life to the point that we had thought that *was* normal for him), etc, etc.

Before that, when we had just removed a few things, it was just as you say -- I knew something was going on and knew about the most immediately dangerous (anaphylactic) allergens -- but we couldn't pinpoint all of the lesser ones because they were just *always* there (at a lower, non-life threatening level).

So... My point is that, tough as it is (and believe, I truly sympathize!) it may be worth taking him off *everything* you suspect (either from observation *or* from lab work) for a period of time. Find out what "normal" *really* is for him. What his skin looks like, how his tummy works, what his moods are like, whether he has headaches, just plain how he feels without all those allergens in his system. Then when you put things back in one by one, you'll know if there's a *real* reaction or not.

I know this is really hard... I'm so sorry.

[abbeyej]

Just a note -- hope it hasn't already been said -- my father in law has been known to make his own powdered sugar -- he just puts regular sugar in the blender. You could probably use a food processor for the same effect.

I've tried this, and I was never able to make it have the same texture as "real" powdered sugar for making frosting, things like that. I wonder if the key is to add some starch (potato, tapioca, arrowroot) when grinding?

Needleroozer, I'm sorry... Ds has been able to have corn for a couple of years now, and I can't seem to find the place that I knew of years ago for corn-free powdered / confectioner's sugar.

[Cornerstone Classical]

I don't know if these two recommendations would help you because of other ingredients... But I do know that Hunt's brand ketchup and spaghetti sauce is one of the few that doesn't have High fructose corn syrup and Wal-Mart brand 100% whole wheat bread doesn't have it either.

Hope I've been helpful:001_smile:

[one l michele]

It is hard while keeping up with regular day to day stuff, add to it my youngest will get his results on Friday I know he is seriously allergic to milk, even through contact, and gets hives from peas & lentils This is the first he's been tested for anything other then milk which was just so we'd have a "baseline".

It's frustrating. My oldest had an anaphylactic reaction at age 2, that was obvious and easy to diagnose.

About a year after that his diet was down to apple, peach, strawberry, oats, rice, and milk because he randomly threw up 30-90 minutes after eating, his eczema was pretty bad, and he had hives often. Those were the only foods he tested negative to. We finally got his system calmed down and he was doing fine with just avoiding egg and treenuts.

Now his IgE's are rising and reactions increasing. Both of these times of "unstability" we had recently moved to another state, as I type I'm wondering if it isn't the new allergens throwing his body off and possibly cross reactions due to seasonal or getting used to different products being available? So here we are with a list of egg, milk, tree nuts, peas, beans, soy, and corn to avoid. Piece of cake, unless you are trying to bake one for his birthday, sigh.

I was hoping for more positive news.

[Needleroozer]

egg, milk, tree nuts, peas, beans, soy, and corn to avoid. Piece of cake, unless you are trying to bake one for his birthday, sigh.


There is a cake mix by Gluten Free pantry that is rice based. It baked up fairly well, and in my opinion was well worth the $4. a bag I paid for it. I skipped the frosting and just put fresh jam and fruit on top for her.

Our (if one of us can't have it, none of us do) list is wheat, dairy (similar to your kiddo- my dd cannot even touch it), soy , corn, peanut (not deathly, but I don't chance it, and we have done nuts in the past, but my ds's throat closed up the other day after eating almonds, so I think we are avoiding all nuts now), chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, shellfish, sulphites/phates and food colorings.

I will give some thought to some recipes for you. It seemed overwhelming at first, but we are used to it now.

[Anne]

I googled this, and saw a couple of places that appear to sell it. Also, I saw a recipe that recommended adding 1 T potato starch to 1 C sugar, and grinding, sometimes double grinding to achieve the right consistency.

Anne

[Needleroozer]

I googled this, and saw a couple of places that appear to sell it. Also, I saw a recipe that recommended adding 1 T potato starch to 1 C sugar, and grinding, sometimes double grinding to achieve the right consistency.

Anne

I have potato starch- I might try this. Do I just use my food processor to do the grinding?

[LlamaMama]

I think when you are grinding sugar, you are in fact making super-fine granulated sugar, the kind that you would put into a lemonade. With powdered sugar, you would actually have to pound it. I'm not certain how you would go about doing that without creating a big mess. As someone suggested, perhaps grinding it a couple of times would get the texture approximately enough.