Day 1

January 1st and Day 1 pretty much go together.  However for us, this is the first day of the gluten/dairy free diet for Max.  After getting a progress report from his teacher about not being able to pay attention in class, Ron and I went on a mad search for possible reasons.  Does it have to automatically be ADD just because a child doesn't pay attention during Science class?  That is the questions we are facing.  We have been to the doctor, at the teacher's suggestion, and the doctor said nothing is physcially wrong.  but there are some great ADD medications available. 

Hmmm....  That isn't where we were expecting to go with this doctor visit. 

We went on a frantic search for reasons behind his staring off into space.  There are books available that can lead you down whatever path you most desire.  If you want to validate your reason for medication, there is a book for that.  If you want to avoid medication, but are willing to provide behavioral modificaitons, there is a book for that.  Being that Ron and I are from the midwest, a small town in Iowa, farming and food are all around us.  For now we have decided to look into the food we are eating.  Of course, there are books for that, too.  Organic farming, the effects of ingesting pesticides, the problems with food intolerances.  Is it possible to change from our way of eating to one of "limitations"?  We aren't McDonald's junkies, in fact, we rarely go out to eat.  We are a busy family, but we do sit down and eat together for almost every meal.  We eat spaghetti, home made chicken strips, hamburgers, and pizza.  We eat what is on sale, what I grow in my small garden, or the generic version of what ever food we can't grow or find on sale.  What does that mean?  That means, high fructose corn syrup, that means, added salt, and that means red dye #40, but that also means some fresh veggies in the summer and fall, home cooked meal almost every day, and a few extra dollars in our pocket.

So here we are now.  After looking through all the books, and comparing Max to other people's symptoms and stories, we find ourselves looking into dietary intolerances.  It just isn't that he gets spacey at school.  It is that he constantly has dark circles under his eyes, even though he just woke up.  It is that he complains of stomach aches a couple of times per week.  It is that he is congested all of the time, no matter what season or what allergy medicine we give him.

So this is Day 1.  The first day we removed gluten and dairy from his diet.  We have a goal of lasting 30 days and then evaluating how he is doing.  We will look at reintroducing dairy and gluten at the end of the 30 days and see if we can notice a difference in his health and behavior.

Day 1
breakfast: smoothie- frozen peaches, peach soy yogurt, almond milk, peanut butter
lunch: home made tomato soup with corn tortilla chips and half of a ham and soy cheese sandwich with catsup on it on gluten free bread.  almond milk to drink.
snack: peach applesauce to go
supper: shrimp stir fry: shrimp, stir fry veggies, white rice, soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic.  home canned pears in light syrup.  almond milk to drink
snack: kettle corn

Symptoms:
dark circles under his eyes.  no complaints of stomach aches. 

What have we learned?  home made tomato soup is not the same as Campbell's.  We won't be making that again.  Also, stirfry is not liked by the kids.  Maybe they will like it over time?

My hope is that if I keep track every day we will see changes.  What if we don't?  I am not sure yet.  I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there, with soy cheese and almond milk in our hands.