I actually grew up eating food-allergy type foods, even though none
of us (in my mom's house) had any. I ate veggie cheese, soy milk, and
Amy's frozen entrees (back before they cost $10 a box). We also froze
our bread, so that's nothing new either. I even remembered the method I used to thaw it out well. That'll happen when you make 4 slices of toast every morning for your little siblings, year after year.
But even though I'm not
totally clueless as to what to feed Noah, it was still tricky trying to
figure out how to do it on a small grocery budget. Like I've said
before, there aren't many more places for us to cut back.
But it's going better than I expected.
I think it helps that we live in a time when specialized diets are becoming the norm (which should probably be a big indicator that something is very wrong with what's in our food and how it's processed). There are so many options out there. It also helps that Noah is already familiar with some of the brands I've used (like Annie's crackers) in the past. He recognizes the boxes, so he's not as skeptical. Instead of cheddar bunnies, we've switched to snickerdoodles, gingersnaps, and vanilla/chocolate bunny mix. Thanks to lots of great recommendations (my stepsister has celiac, along with lots of other friends), I've found great places to shop that won't kill our budget (thank the Lord for Trader Joe's). The only downer is the bread. Even though he's taken a couple of bites, he's just not used to it yet. It also costs $6 a loaf. And the loaf is teeny-weeny.
As for any changes, there's nothing earth-shattering to mention yet. He didn't wake up two days later speaking full sentences or anything. :) But his eye contact is much better. He's also willing to try new foods, which NEVER happens. He hasn't wanted a banana or grapes in months. Yesterday, he gobbled both up.
You should Brad and me, though. We sit around and stare at him, analyzing him. Waiting for something exciting to happen. It's totally ridiculous, and I'm sure obnoxious from Noah's point-of-view. We're trying not to get our hopes up too much, but after hearing about all of these other kids that make major improvements after changing their diet? We can't help but have hope.
3 comments:
Finger's crossed!! I think the hardest thing for Henry will be the bread too. That and goldfish crackers which he eats by the bagful.
Keep it up. I've heard that changing the diet can do wonders not just for autism put other things too. Good luck with everything!
Bread may be something worth a little bit of DIY exploration, maybe. Not only might it be cheaper (I don't know, I haven't priced it) but it may help get Noah on board with it if he can help make it/knead it/etc. There's a book I read once, I think it was called Cooking for Isaiah (or Baking for Isaiah, or Something Else for Isaiah) that had a really good GF flour recipe in it. I'd checked it out from the library.
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