My son often goes to birthday parties, family functions and restaurants with his own gluten-free food in tow. He watches other toddlers wolf down pizza and cut into desserts while he opens his own snack bag with a sigh. Although he puts on a brave front, I can see in his eyes he is disappointed.

So, when he turned 5 this week, we went all out. We invited all our family and friends to enjoy a feast fit for our gluten intolerant king. When others asked what they could bring, I told them to bring foods that are "safe," such as a tossed salad (no croutons, please) or fruit salad. We set out Kraft marshmallows and small boxes of raisins for the kids, and plugged in a few slow cookers for others to dig into.

Here is the menu we offered:
Porcupine Meatballs (see Hard Times, Easy Recipes entry)
Mini Cornbread Muffins (Bob's Red Mill mix)
Mini Biscuits (123 Gluten Free mix)
Fruit Salad
Private Selection (Kroger Brand) Organic Potato Chips
Salad
Kraft dressings

Desserts:
Chocolate Cake (Cherrybrook brand, which is also peanut-free)
Rice Krispies Treats (made with Koala Crisp cereal by EnviroKidz)
Mike and Ikes
Kraft Marshmallows

We sang him happy birthday, he blew out the candles and got to eat the same cake his buddies did. When it was over, we were all exhausted, happy and full of food that everyone could enjoy. And did!