Barrett has been a basket case the last two days. So much that I could hardly stand to be around him. He has been very whiny and has refused to eat much of anything. Today the reason was manifest in a full-blown diaper explosion. His diapers had been getting progressively greener and runnier, but this one required the bath tub. The only culprits I could think of were buckwheat hot cereal, Trix cereal, or fruit snacks. I'm still unsure about corn, I have suspected food dye, and the buckwheat could be cross-contaminated, or it could be the buckwheat itself. He's had buckwheat in his diaper but it has hard shells that are difficult to digest anyway. I assumed it would be that way for anyone, but perhaps I am wrong. It could also be the canola oil he's had the last couple of days.
ETA: I just remembered that we have been giving Barrett Prednisolone the past couple of days for his asthma. Some versions of it have some ingredients that contain some milk proteins, I discovered after looking it up. The particular one he took didn't appear to have it, but that is the only thing he has ingested that he doesn't usually eat.
ETA: Yesterday, Saturday, the contamination cleared. I still don't know what it was, but I'm glad it's gone. He had horrible diaper rash until yesterday afternoon. (It's great for potty training, by the way. I can actually get him to poop in the toilet when he is contaminated)!
Ok, don't roll your eyes at another one of my contrary suggestions. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHow about just serving "dinner" items for breakfast and avoiding the potential for contaminated packaged grains? In other words, think out side the "breakfast grain box".
Starting the day with protein is very healthy (actually much better than grains foods) and young kids aren't yet tainted by the cultural notion that breakfast has to be some sort of sweet grain concoction. Believe me, its easier to get this habit started at Barrett's age than change it later. Add a piece of fruit and/or if you think he must have some grain, warm rice in coconut milk with cinnamon is great (let it soak overnight and it becomes like pudding).
I don't necessarily mean cook a dinner from scratch in the morning. Leftover dinner food is easy to serve for breakfast, just make a little extra to hold over for breakfast. Your box of deboned Crockpot chicken would be fast and easy, too, cold or warm. Canned or leftover salmon is also a *great* morning start and full of healthy DHA (omega 3s) that growing brains really need and often don't get enough of. My son really loves salmon patties made with canned salmon, but without bread crumbs (omit or use almond meal); I always make extras for lunches and snacks. I leave the bones and skin in and mash them up so they disappear. My son thinks the little round bones are "good luck" if he finds any in his patties ;-). Those edible cooked bones are rich in bioavailable calcium, too. Shredded up beef pot roast is great for leftovers, too.
I can hardly get him to eat breakfast at all. He won't eat chicken or fish--or any meat for that matter. He chews it up and spits it out. It's really frustrating. I'm lucky if I can get him to eat a few peanuts or a spoonful of peanut butter for protein. For breakfast he usually has a banana or applesauce unless he asks for Rice Chex or buckwheat. His diet these days is mostly fruit and sometimes rice or potatoes. He's picky and he's two years old and I don't know what else to do about it.
ReplyDeleteYou have really good suggestions and I hope as he gets older he'll become less picky. I do think it's good to keep some grains in the diet though. Cutting them out completely seems a little extreme to me--unless you truly can't handle them. There are obvious exceptions. But I would like to keep some kind of balance and give him and myself a full variety of foods.
I know grain-free seems extreme in the context of the modern diet and all the diet "experts" recommending grains. But in the human diet timeline, it's the grains that are the "fad diet". Ever watch Survivorman? No cereals or grains out in the wild, out in nature. It's animals (land, air and water), berries & some puny fruits in season, nuts, leaves, shoots, perhaps tubers and roots. Honey now and then (with the hazards of obtaining it). And one has to watch out for all the toxic plants. Not too many toxic animal-based foods in comparison to plants.
ReplyDeleteBetween going grain-free during my last trimester of pregnancy to manage gestational diabetes, plus learning more about biochemistry and the human diet before the age of agriculture (last 10,000 or so years), plus my own experience with and without grains, it's harder for me to not see the "naked" part of grain issue, as in "the Emperor's New Clothes". And without grains, it certainly is easier to avoid gluten-contamination and confusion (though not entirely).
Back when I was pregnant, I looked up the most dense nutrients in grains and discovered they are readily available in other foods that didn't raise my blood glucose, so there were lots of alternatives besides grains. I couldn't find even one nutrient in a grain that I couldn't obtain from another non-grain food source. Even eating non-starchy vegetables, it's possible to bet plenty of carbohydrates (which aren't really essential anyway because the liver can make glucose from protein).
And our bodies actually are built to operate better burning fatty acids most of the time, not glucose. so when we run on glucose all the time, it sets us up for problems.
But granted, you won't hear much support for no-grain from the powers that be (though I'm finding a lot more similarly minded people in my local area lately and especially online), so I'm sure it's hard to accept or try grain-free when there is so much support for continually eating grains (and conversely, lack of support, even hostility to grain-free eating). Food culture is very, very strong, even for me (I haven't started eating bugs or eyeballs yet, even though I accept they are very nutritious). :-)
And as mom, it's hard to see our kids not eat much. I definitely think my way of nurturing is expressed very much through nourishing the family. I think that's hardwired as a survival strategy (just like picky eating for toddlers might be hardwired for survival in the "natural" world where much of the environment is toxic plants). But sometimes they just don't seem to need much food, and they only need a couple tablespoons of something that we might need a pile of. And a few mouthfuls of a dense protein food has more good in in than a bowl of cereal. I can go until mid afternoon on two eggs cooked in butter, but a bowl of oatmeal will caused hunger pangs before lunchtime (not to mention high BG).
Anyway, thanks for tolerating my grain rantings. I know you are working hard on feeding your son the best you know how.
Here are some links that might be interesting/helpful.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/going-gluten-free.html
health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFNN/
Going with the Grain: A Healing Protocol for Celiac Disease
http://www.westonaprice.org/bookreviews/recipes-for-life.html