First Paleo Morning #Paleo #grainfree

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Erika

First I ate everything, and I was fat.

Then I had weight-loss surgery, but I still ate everything (in small portions), and I was skinny. 

Then I noticed that certain things made me feel bad (pasta, milk) and I sometimes avoided them — but sometimes I didn’t avoid them, and my poor delicate ass paid the price. And I was still skinny, but after pregnancy with Cousin It, I was less skinny.

Then Miss Manners went Paleo, and she suggested I try Gluten-Free for Mineral, who has severe ADHD and some other mood disorder. At first I was all NO WAY NO HOW WE CAN’T POSSIBLY. But then I realized that most chocolate is gluten-free, and so I could do it. Mineral’s behavior improved slightly — and my stomach improved a LOT. I still wasn’t quite skinny. But gluten-free proved way easier than I thought. 

Then I started reading about Casein-Free (the protein in cow’s milk) because being BOTH gluten-free and casein-free is a common dietary change that helps kids who have ADHD. Several people suggested it but it really took a while for me to seriously consider it.

Then My Chemical Romance suggested we try Paleo. Wait, what? What’s Paleo? Paleo is can be summed up by this lovely graphic. (No grains, legumes, dairy.) Image

(colebradburn.com/multiplydelicious.com)

So, since Paleo is simply a step beyond gluten-free and casein-free, I’ve decided to try it — and by “I”, I mean the kids and I (and MCR for dinner. He’s still eating some grains to get them out of the house. I’m tossing what the kids try to sneak, because they’re a little freaked).

I’ve found a LOT of great Paleo recipes on Pinterest — plus tons of my friends on Facebook (mostly in Charlotte) are Paleo or Primal (which is Paleo + dairy). 

This is day one, and it seems okay. Mostly thanks to bacon.

Image

(imgur: bacon and eggs cupcakes!)

Questions about Paleo? Here are some answers.

Filed under: Daily Life | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

A Week of Gluten-Free Living

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Erika

I did not intend to go gluten-free. Mineral is gluten-free, and at first I was so freaked out about the idea — the idea being KEPT AWAY FROM GLUTEN — that I cooked separately for him. But after a while I realized that there’s plenty of gluten-free junk food (Kettle potato chips, Chex cereal, Hershey bars) as well as Bob’s Red Mill that makes gluten-free flour items.

And also, I feel AWESOME when I eat gluten-free.

I feel the OPPOSITE of this!

Last weekend I went to visit Miss Manners. She started a diet months ago: low-calorie and low-carb. Eventually she switched to paleo and then wheat-free, and she’s currently completely grain-free. She’s down about 50lbs! She looks amazing! Miss Manners has been suggesting for months that I go gluten-free; she thought it might be the source of some medical problems I’m having…

Also, it seems like half the people I know are either gluten-free or primal or paleo or sugar free or whatever. It’s like flour and simple carbs are the new Jeffrey Dahmer. 

So I decided to try it, because I knew that eating gluten-free would be easy at Miss Manners house. In fact, finding a glutenous substance would be more surprising than finding chickens up in trees.

Why? Just, why?

Gluten-free really isn’t that hard, other than the bread thing (which is a BIG other than). And I think you just can’t substitute — it tastes too fake and weird if you’ve eaten bread anytime in the last month or two. You just have to avoid it. I’m hoping any cravings for bread will soon go away.

Meanwhile, I just had some blood labs drawn, and my thyroid is a hot mess — and my iron is even mess-er. My ferritin level is FOUR, which means I’m about as alive as this lovely dead starfish

Need… more… iron…

Low ferritin is a sign of severe iron-deficiency, which is related to my weight-loss surgery. I just don’t absorb iron very well. I was severely iron-deficient while pregnant with Cousin It, and got iron infusions 3x/week for a couple months. I think I’m heading back in that direction. I’m waiting on some more lab results, and then I’ll see a local hematologist for this:

Getting iron two years ago in Charlotte.

Filed under: food, Daily Life | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

One Gluten Free Kid Update

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Erika

Mineral has been gluten-free (GF) for a few weeks now. At first it was really challenging, but then I found corn tortillas, and everything has been fine. No, really. He loves tacos.

Actually, what’s made it easier is that Mineral is really committed to being GF. As soon as I told him we were going to try it and that it might help him with his behavior, he was on board. After a few days, he told me he thought it helped him sleep better at night — which is a big issue for him. He tends to stay up later than all the other kids, playing with Legos or reading in bed. Since going GF, he’s been able to fall asleep earlier, and easier.

Mineral an Animal playing checkers at Marbles Museum

I’ve made it easier on myself by not insisting that all of us eat GF. This helps because eating GF can get expensive. In theory, if I were to avoid all flours and grains it might be less expensive, but since Mineral ate gluten for over nine years, I’ve been making substitutions and those items are expensive. GF pastas and breads cost more than regular items. GF cereal — there’s this one that’s really good but it’s $6/10oz! — is costly. Meanwhile, I’m trying to make sure that he has GF treats, like GF brownies and cookies, and GF pancakes on weekends.

At first it was really challenging, but now it’s easier. If I cook dinner for all of us I make sure it’s entirely GF, and he will eat leftovers the next day for lunch. Also, Mineral loves fruit, which is GF. If he hates dinner, his next day’s lunch is a hot dog with a GF bun or peanut butter and jelly on GF bread for lunch. There’s the delicious-yet-expensive GF cereal for breakfast, and Earth Fare has GF items for their weekly Kids Eat Free night.

Not insisting that we ALL eat GF has helped me, too. I think I was more traumatized by the idea of eating GF than Mineral ever was.

White flour makes me SMILE! (Mineral took this pic)

He’s also taking a new medication that is supposed to help with outbursts, along with his twice-daily ADHD medication. Recently I lost his prescription and he was out of the ADHD medicine for three days. That was NOT fun. (Maybe I need some too?)

Some other things I’m trying

  • I got him a pair of noise-canceling earmuffs. The kind that construction workers wear on a loud site. He was telling me that his sisters’ loudness bothers him (Hey, it’s not just you, Mineral) and I thought the earmuffs might help. Mineral LOVES wearing costumes and other weird stuff, and I knew that the earmuffs would be aesthetically pleasing. His only complaint is that he can’t hear the radio when we’re in the car and he’s wearing them.
  • We started a chart that includes daily expectations in hygiene, school and chores, as well as extras (which earn between 10c and 25c per chore). So now he knows what is expected of him and what is an extra.
  • He can take a five-minute break if he needs to. This is not a chance to get out of doing a chore or a way to completely avoid a responsibility (like his Occupational Therapy, which seems to cause a lot of stress), but an opportunity to take five minutes to stop what he’s doing and calm down before continuing.

Often it seems like two steps forward, one step back (or vice versa), but I can see improvements overall. Next week we’re going to Florida and I am hopeful that my parents will see a change in Mineral’s behavior from the last time she spent time with him. We no longer have to step on eggshells quite so much with him.

Filed under: attachment parenting, Daily Life, family, Mineral Monday | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Gluten Free Mineral

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Erika

Mineral has been very challenging lately — and I do not mean that he has been challenging all the time. Which actually makes him more challenging. He is intermittently behaving, which is the most effective way to reward someone drive me fvcking crazy.

I took him to the psychiatrist today and the doc was all, “I thought he was fine?!?!?” and I was all, “He was! He is! Sometimes! I don’t know! When the moon is new and mercury is in anterograde or something then he is MAYBE okay! But maybe totally not okay.”

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The psychiatrist gave a rx for another medication in addition to the ADHD medication, and I asked about trying gluten-free. Miss Manners recommended it. He said he doesn’t suggest it but I could try it. He also put a lot of stock in the therapy that Mineral receives twice a week — psychotherapy and occupational therapy.

I do not want to downplay the role of therapy, but they’re long-term prospects and he needs some help now. So I’m hoping the medication helps — and trying gluten-free for a couple weeks.

When you eat as ***relatively*** clean as we do — Cheetos notwithstanding — going gluten free isn’t that difficult. Plus, we shop at Whole Foods, so… there’s that. I’ve looked at gluten-free eating and it doesn’t seem that bad. They have bread and cookies and stuff and I’ve talked to Mineral about making some changes. I’ve promised him I will do my best to make sure he has good food that he likes. Taco seasoning appears to be gluten free unless wheat is an ingredient — and I’ve not seen that on a label — and we have corn tortillas. He eats rice, and cheese, and the plainest peanut butter you can make — no literally; My Chemical Romance and the kids made it at Whole Foods. Peanuts. That’s it.

So we’ll give it a try, because even though he behaves horribly sometimes — and I struggle with separating that horrible behavior from HIM — he is my baby and I love him. I will continue to try to help him heal, and if he can’t heal then I’ll continue to help him learn to live a positive peaceful life.

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Filed under: family, Mineral Monday | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

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