Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Medication versus diet
After much deliberation, my DH and I decided to try a complete diet change for our DS(10yo) instead of continuing to medicate him for his ADHD-inattentive and allergies. We started weaning him off gluten and food dyes at the end of June. For the entire months of July and August, our family has been gluten free and dye free. We have seen an amazing change for our DS. His anxiety has decreased and his joyful, playful self has returned. In future posts, I'll share some recipes and strategies I am using to make life as normal and childlike as possible. I have recreated many of DS's favorite convenient dishes as Gluten Free and Dye Free.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
First Attempt at Restaurant Eating Gluten Free
Today on our way home from the Lake House, we decided to stop for some dinner. We usually stop along the 127 Highway in Jackson, Michigan, Michigan Avenue exit.
Our typical stop has always been fast food. Depending on our mood, McDonald's, Taco Bell or KFC are among our usually stops. We had successfully survived a weekend outing at the lake with my husband's family and stayed 100% Gluten Free. I didn't want to sabotage us now. We are still working on being 100% at home, so this weekend was a great accomplishment for our family. More on how we did a gluten free weekend in a later post.
We decided to stop at Bob Evans for dinner. Not necessarily the most budget friendly restaurant, but not too overpriced. Scanning the menu, my hubby was confused. He doesn't cook or understand much about food preparation. I basically reminded him that anything with gravy or bread was off the list of acceptable foods. Our son hasn't been eating much, but loves fruit so we ordered him a glass of water and a strawberry smoothie to start. This kept him satisfied until we could decided, order and be served.
My hubby wanted meatloaf. At first, I agreed as long as he didn't get gravy on the potatoes. Then I realized, duh! - meatloaf usually has bread crumbs or crackers in it. So off the list it went. He scanned the menu, naming foods as I reminded him of how they could have gluten. I suggested a burger - just bun less. He agreed. He ordered a Three Cheese Burger, without the bun, with fries and applesauce. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast dinner with Garlic Herb Sauce (concerned about possible gluten in the BBQ sauce), with a baked potato and glazed carrots.
When our meal arrived, we asked for an extra plate. I shared half of one of the chicken breasts with my son as well as half of my carrots. My hubby shared some of his applesauce. This made a very appetizing and economical dinner for our son. I even shared most of the second chicken breast with the hubby while I got to munch on his pickle slices and tomato slice from his burger.
We treated ourselves to a child size Smiley Face Hot Fudge Sundae. Delicious and just enough for 3 to share without too much guilt.
In retrospect ..... on the travels home I discussed our meal with my husband. He was wondering if there was gluten in the hot fudge sauce...I admitted that I would have to check on that. I also admitted that we should have asked if the fries were cooked in a dedicated fryer or not. Cross-contamination would have been possible as they serve many fried, breaded foods.
All in all, I think we had a great dinner, under $30 for 3 of us including soda (we try to order water to save the cost) and dessert. Another adventure in our Frugally Gluten Free Family. =)
Our typical stop has always been fast food. Depending on our mood, McDonald's, Taco Bell or KFC are among our usually stops. We had successfully survived a weekend outing at the lake with my husband's family and stayed 100% Gluten Free. I didn't want to sabotage us now. We are still working on being 100% at home, so this weekend was a great accomplishment for our family. More on how we did a gluten free weekend in a later post.
We decided to stop at Bob Evans for dinner. Not necessarily the most budget friendly restaurant, but not too overpriced. Scanning the menu, my hubby was confused. He doesn't cook or understand much about food preparation. I basically reminded him that anything with gravy or bread was off the list of acceptable foods. Our son hasn't been eating much, but loves fruit so we ordered him a glass of water and a strawberry smoothie to start. This kept him satisfied until we could decided, order and be served.
My hubby wanted meatloaf. At first, I agreed as long as he didn't get gravy on the potatoes. Then I realized, duh! - meatloaf usually has bread crumbs or crackers in it. So off the list it went. He scanned the menu, naming foods as I reminded him of how they could have gluten. I suggested a burger - just bun less. He agreed. He ordered a Three Cheese Burger, without the bun, with fries and applesauce. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast dinner with Garlic Herb Sauce (concerned about possible gluten in the BBQ sauce), with a baked potato and glazed carrots.
When our meal arrived, we asked for an extra plate. I shared half of one of the chicken breasts with my son as well as half of my carrots. My hubby shared some of his applesauce. This made a very appetizing and economical dinner for our son. I even shared most of the second chicken breast with the hubby while I got to munch on his pickle slices and tomato slice from his burger.
We treated ourselves to a child size Smiley Face Hot Fudge Sundae. Delicious and just enough for 3 to share without too much guilt.
In retrospect ..... on the travels home I discussed our meal with my husband. He was wondering if there was gluten in the hot fudge sauce...I admitted that I would have to check on that. I also admitted that we should have asked if the fries were cooked in a dedicated fryer or not. Cross-contamination would have been possible as they serve many fried, breaded foods.
All in all, I think we had a great dinner, under $30 for 3 of us including soda (we try to order water to save the cost) and dessert. Another adventure in our Frugally Gluten Free Family. =)
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Gluten Free Bread Recipe
I searched the internet for a recipe for homemade Gluten Free Bread. I had a few criteria. I wanted to stay within our general grocery budget to purchase all of the ingredients to make the bread. I didn't want to have to purchase lots of expensive flours or speciality ingredients. I even researched grinding my own flours - rice and oat. More on grinding in another blog post.
Here is the recipe that I found that works the best. I give all credit to the creator of the recipe. My family and many friends have taste tested the recipe and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even my stepdad who loves a good loaf of bread, enjoyed the freshly baked bread.
Found on the website: This recipe was printed from Lynn's Recipe Adventures: http://lynnskitchenadventures.com/lra
URL to recipe: http://lynnskitchenadventures.com/lra/gluten-free-bread-machine-bread/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2011 Lynn's Recipe Adventures. All rights reserved.
Combine liquid ingredients and pour carefully into bread machine baking pan. Mix together dry ingredients and add to baking pan. Carefully place pan in the bread machine. Select normal/white cycle and start machine. ( I use the gluten free setting on my bread machine). Remove pan from the machine when bake cycle is complete. Remove bread from pan. Cool upright on a rack before slicing.
Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill.
Here is the recipe that I found that works the best. I give all credit to the creator of the recipe. My family and many friends have taste tested the recipe and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even my stepdad who loves a good loaf of bread, enjoyed the freshly baked bread.
Found on the website: This recipe was printed from Lynn's Recipe Adventures: http://lynnskitchenadventures.com/lra
URL to recipe: http://lynnskitchenadventures.com/lra/gluten-free-bread-machine-bread/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2011 Lynn's Recipe Adventures. All rights reserved.
lynnskitchenadventures.com
Recipes, tips, and information about living and thriving with wheat, nut, and peanut allergies.
Gluten Free Bread Machine Bread
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Canola Oil
- 1-1/2 cups Water
- 2 cups White Rice Flour
- 1/2 cup Potato Starch
- 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour
- 1/3 cup Cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp. Xanthan Gum
- 3 Tbsp. Sugar
- 1-1/2 tsp. Salt ( I used 1 tsp and it was fine)
- 2/3 cup Milk Powder (Non-Fat Dry)
- 2-1/4 tsp. Yeast, Active Dry
Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill.
Gluten Free Bread
My hubby loves sandwiches. He has been known to eat 2-3 a day, including one at 11:00 p.m. We try very hard to be frugal with our grocery budget. I looked around at the few health food stores here around Lansing, Michigan. I was very disappointed in the prices for a loaf of GF bread. I used to shop at the Aunt Millie's outlet store and purchase a loaf of great quality Aunt Millie's whole grain bread for 89 cents a loaf. Changing to a GF diet does not mean that I am willing to spend $10 a loaf for bread.
I talked a little with other friends following a GF diet and they were discussing ordering bread and other GF products online. Since I love to cook and experiment, I decided to search the internet and look for recipes for GF bread that I could make at home. I did not own a bread machine, so I put the word out to family and friends that I was looking for one.
In the beginning of June, my hubby's stepdad found one at a second hand store. He paid on $7.99 for the machine. He gave it to us as a gift. No cost! =)
Check the next post for the recipe I use to make bread machine gluten free bread.
I talked a little with other friends following a GF diet and they were discussing ordering bread and other GF products online. Since I love to cook and experiment, I decided to search the internet and look for recipes for GF bread that I could make at home. I did not own a bread machine, so I put the word out to family and friends that I was looking for one.
In the beginning of June, my hubby's stepdad found one at a second hand store. He paid on $7.99 for the machine. He gave it to us as a gift. No cost! =)
Check the next post for the recipe I use to make bread machine gluten free bread.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Read the Book: The Autsim & ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg
During the Memorial Holiday weekend, I traveled out of town to work with my mom in her flea market sales business. I left my dear son with my hubby. I really desired to learn more about treating my son's ADHD-Inattentive without the use of medication. He had only recently began taking Adderall for his inattentive disorder.
I read the book The Autism & ADHD Diet: A step-by-step guide to hope and healing by living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and other interventions by Barrie Silberberg.
I read the book cover to cover over a period of 3 days. I thoroughly enjoy the reading and was challenged by the ideas, information, and inventions presented. I think this book is a great starting point for families looking at a dietary change to help them work through their child's particular set of needs.
More on what I found out in the book in additional posts.
I read the book The Autism & ADHD Diet: A step-by-step guide to hope and healing by living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and other interventions by Barrie Silberberg.
I read the book cover to cover over a period of 3 days. I thoroughly enjoy the reading and was challenged by the ideas, information, and inventions presented. I think this book is a great starting point for families looking at a dietary change to help them work through their child's particular set of needs.
More on what I found out in the book in additional posts.
ADD/ADHD Diagnosis & Beginning Medications
In the winter of 2010 my six year old son was struggling in school. He attends a Charter School with high expectations of behavior. He was excelling at the top of his first grade class, but he was disruptive, distracted, and talked way too much. He came home with a discipline card almost everyday. As a Child Development professional and as a parent, I desired to take a closer look at what was going on in the classroom.
I met almost daily with his teacher to discuss the reasons and background for the discipline cards and how my husband and I could help. After taking time to observe my dear son in class and discussing a few ideas with his awesome, understanding and patient first grade teacher, I felt it was important to discuss my considerations with my son's pediatrician. We were given the typical ADHD forms to fill out.
My son's teacher graciously completed the forms. My husband and I completed a set too. The pediatrician said it was likely that our son had ADD not ADHD, but since most problems were only seen at school it was hard to tell. Having been in the Child Development professional for over 15 years, I truly desired to look for alternatives to medication treatments for ADD/ADHD. Our family met with a Child Psychiatrist from Michigan State University. More forms to complete and books to read. I tried to read the suggested material but being introduced to them in my professional life, I was not really sold on their ability to help with the problem or the validity of the process. I will not name the two primary resources here that were suggested by the psychiatrist as they may work for others.
All through this process of diagnosis and behavior therapy (more consistent consequence & more communication), my dear son was still thriving in his class academically. How can you argue with an extremely articulate 6 year old that he needs to focus more when he is in the top of his class and school work comes easily. Then came spring standardized testing. The charter school my son attends completes computerized standardized testing on every student in every grade three times a year. A general achievement goal is set that the children are expected to be able to meet. Every segment of previous testing my son exceeded the goal. Yeah, Son! The spring testing was the exception. He did show growth from the winter scoring, but not where he should have been.
Another meeting with his teacher, mentally charting the behavior/discipline cards received, and the challenges at home, my husband and I decided it was time to reevaluate our coping strategy. Back to the Child Psychiatrist's office at MSU. This time we reviewed the above scenario with the doctor. We looked at a medication treatment for my son. He started out a a very, very low dose of 2.5 of quick release Adderall one time a day. A side note . . . . the doctor was concerned about the loss appetite side effect as my son was at that point 7 years old, 46 inches tall and weighed 47 pounds.
More on the results of the new medication therapy in my next post.
I met almost daily with his teacher to discuss the reasons and background for the discipline cards and how my husband and I could help. After taking time to observe my dear son in class and discussing a few ideas with his awesome, understanding and patient first grade teacher, I felt it was important to discuss my considerations with my son's pediatrician. We were given the typical ADHD forms to fill out.
My son's teacher graciously completed the forms. My husband and I completed a set too. The pediatrician said it was likely that our son had ADD not ADHD, but since most problems were only seen at school it was hard to tell. Having been in the Child Development professional for over 15 years, I truly desired to look for alternatives to medication treatments for ADD/ADHD. Our family met with a Child Psychiatrist from Michigan State University. More forms to complete and books to read. I tried to read the suggested material but being introduced to them in my professional life, I was not really sold on their ability to help with the problem or the validity of the process. I will not name the two primary resources here that were suggested by the psychiatrist as they may work for others.
All through this process of diagnosis and behavior therapy (more consistent consequence & more communication), my dear son was still thriving in his class academically. How can you argue with an extremely articulate 6 year old that he needs to focus more when he is in the top of his class and school work comes easily. Then came spring standardized testing. The charter school my son attends completes computerized standardized testing on every student in every grade three times a year. A general achievement goal is set that the children are expected to be able to meet. Every segment of previous testing my son exceeded the goal. Yeah, Son! The spring testing was the exception. He did show growth from the winter scoring, but not where he should have been.
Another meeting with his teacher, mentally charting the behavior/discipline cards received, and the challenges at home, my husband and I decided it was time to reevaluate our coping strategy. Back to the Child Psychiatrist's office at MSU. This time we reviewed the above scenario with the doctor. We looked at a medication treatment for my son. He started out a a very, very low dose of 2.5 of quick release Adderall one time a day. A side note . . . . the doctor was concerned about the loss appetite side effect as my son was at that point 7 years old, 46 inches tall and weighed 47 pounds.
More on the results of the new medication therapy in my next post.
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