I have been doing some reading lately about the effect of diet on kids with ADHD. Studies have shown that over half of kids with ADHD who went gluten and casein (dairy) free had a significant reduction of symptoms. In addition, I already know that Turner is sensitive to dairy and that it totally affects his mood and therefore his behavior (he hasn't been diagnosed as ADHD). Landon also was allergic to dairy until a couple of years ago. Dix was allergic to milk as a child and chances are that I was too. I had some serious skin problems and some (ahem) digestive issues that could easily have been caused by a milk allergy. So I decided to take Turner and Porter off dairy. And while I was at it, why not take gluten out of their diets, too?
Easier said than done.
Turner has been wanting only macaroni and cheese or graham crackers for every meal and snack. Porter wants milk and cheese and bread. It's very difficult to figure out how to feed these kids. I've got to figure it out, though because I will keep them on it for a couple of months--long enough to determine if it makes any difference.
Porter has tried a couple of different kinds of "gluten-free" breads. They gag him. He was able to manage one piece with a ton of peanut butter and jam on it yesterday, but today when I made him a sandwich on it for lunch, he totally rejected it. Luckily he really likes beans and lentils and rice, so we've had a lot of those types of meals. Both boys love fruit and Porter loves most vegetables. Turner's a little picky with his veggies, still, but will eat some. I still have no idea what I'm going to send in Porter's lunches next week. Maybe I can make a yummy muffin or something that would work. I'm glad I have this week of spring break to figure things out! He has been eating a lot of popcorn for snacks and tortilla chips. We also bought rice chex for breakfasts for him. He's being a really good sport about it. I actually told him that we would start the diet this summer when school gets out. He rejected that idea, asking me to start it now so that he can get the results sooner. He hates his behavior and wishes that he could change it. So I need to do everything I can to help him out!
I would welcome any recipes or ideas on foods that you love that are both dairy and gluten free! Tomorrow night's dinner: Tacos!
9 comments:
I wish I knew some great recipes. Good Luck though!
I'll bring my recipe books over today.
You have a lot of shopping to do ;)
I know that there are a lot of gluten-free snacks out on the market.
I love that he wants to do this, it probably makes it easier to choke things down.
Good luck.
Good luck! We currently live on whole wheat & oatmeal. It's got to be hard to cut out the wheat!
Weird coincidence! I was just on a blog yesterday that talked about this very thing. Go to the Hillbilly Housewife site (there's a link on my blog). The original owner of the site has started a new blog with gluten and casein-free recipes. There should be a link to it.
I found it! Go to http://frugalabundance.com
This gal sounds amazing. She's a homeschooler too!
Two books that have gotten really high marks are 'The kid friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook' and 'Getting your kid on a Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet.' Some websites that I have checked out before and liked are glutenfreemom.com, gfcf.com, glutengal.com. At glutensmart.com they actually sell a lot of gluten/casein free foods. Most of these sites have lots of casein free stuff as well, even though they are labeled mainly for gluten. Evan's doctor had him on a diet like this for awhile, but I didn't give it enough effort. Hope you have success. Pam
Wow, thanks for that link Audrey! That was exactly what I needed! Kathy, I'm with you. We live on whole wheat...literally. It's a very hard transition. Today I found Turner devouring a piece of wheat bread that he found. I guess we just trudge on!
Hey Lady, Rachael Thompson is doing that for her little guy. She has done it for a while. She said she has only found one bread that actually tastes like real bread. She orders the mix online. email me and I can give you her info. Later terri :)
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