I have studied, and come to the conclusion that he is greatly affectd by food additives. I want to take him off all of them for a while 2 see what happens.
I need lots of different meals for him so he dont get to bored with the same thing over and over again.
If you know of good add. free meals, please tell me.
Thanks in advance. You can make anything additive free. I am very sensitive to lots of the flavor enhancers and additives, and found that the best way to be sure I wouldn't have problems was to make all my food from scratch. Its not hard, just get a couple of good cookbooks from the library on the types of foods that your family likes. I suggest the library over buying them, because there are thousands of cookbooks out there, and lots of them have only a few usable recipes in them. Find a couple that you love, and then buy.
Here are a couple of tricks....Don't buy things that have an ingredient list on them, like boxed stuff, frozen dinners, etc. Get your food from the perimeter of the grocery store, the fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats (not hot dogs, sausage, ham, but natural, raw, unseasoned chicken, beef, & pork. There are some things like cereal that are actually healthy in boxes, but the majority of the inside aisles of the grocery store are pretty full of preservatives and stuff.
Find a good, healthy bread like Sara Lee's Heart Healthy Plus Wheat bread, some good basic spices and spice blends that do not have msg or anti-caking agents (I recommend Penzeys spices, its the only company I use. www.penzeys.com), get organic milk, and plan your meals based on what is fresh and in season, so the chance of the produce being waxed or treated is less. Next summer, plant a garden with your child, and keep it all natural. Its amazing how many fresh peas, beans, corn, carrots, and potatoes a child will eat when they helped grow them!
It is sooooo worth making meals from scratch. Both for your family's health, and the real pleasure you will get from preparing and eating together. I became a very good cook out of necessity, and now teach my friends to cook. Once you get used to it, it will actually be cheaper, but SOO much healthier to eat this way.
If you have a super busy schedule, prepare several meals at once, on your day off, and put them in plastic containers in the fridge or freezer for later in the week, so you have the convenience of fast food when you need it. Also, making a larger quantity of soup, stew, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, or chili and freezing is an easy way to have quick meals later. Using a slow cooker is another way to be able to relax and enjoy dinner at the end of the day....just a little bit of prep in the morning, turn it on, and come home to homemade sloppy joes, beef stew, soup, etc.
If you live anywhere near Amish or Mennonites, see if you can buy your poultry from them directly. I cannot eat the chicken bought in stores, it is injected with stuff. You really have to read packages on chicken and turkey. I have an Amish woman raise me 25 chickens a year, and freeze them, and its cheaper and much better. There is nothing like a nice roasted chicken dinner to bring a family together!
Bless you for caring enough to do this for your child. There are so many parents who wouldn't take the time.
And just for his sake, keeping the other stuff out of the house is much nicer than having him see it and want it. If there is a bag of Doritoes in our house, it is SOOO hard for me to resist, even though I will be sick for two days after. If its not there, and everyone eats the same, healthy way, then not only will he feel better, you all will.
A couple of specific meals that are great for kids:
Homemade chicken fried rice. Super easy, fast, and they won't realize they are eating vegetables.
Spaghetti and meatballs. (Barefoot Contessa Family Style has the BEST recipe for this!)\
Slow cooker roast beef dinner with potatoes, carrots and gravy. (Use "Better Than Bouillon" paste for natural rich flavor. Its by the soup in the grocery store, top shelf, glass jar.)
Chicken soup with alphabet macaroni or stars.
(Again, Better than Bouillon makes a good quick broth)
Pork roast with applesauce. Making a roast instead of chops is a better flavor, easier, and lower in fat. Roasting little cubes of redskin potatoes tossed in olive oil and a spice mix (Penzeys Buttermilk Ranch Salad Dressing mix is great) and spread them on a cookie sheet. Cook about 45 minutes, stirring once after about a half hour. They are like little pillows of puffy potatoes.
Meatloaf. Everyones remembers their Moms meatloaf with fondness.
Once in awhile I can find sausage or hot dogs without preservatives or nitrates, and this is a wonderful treat. They are expensive, not ball park, but its nice to have something that looks like what other kids are having. Your best chance of finding these is in a gourmet upscale grocery store. Sausage without junk can be found at a small, local store that makes their own sausages. Ask them to make some for you. ADHD makes me laugh. :]
It's such a terrible excuse for poor etiquette. Just try keeping it simple like making more vegetables and simple proteins like chicken and fish. You are bound to notice a difference. Discipline your child to take care of the HD and cram some adderrol down his throat for the AD. ADHD is such a cop out. The problem probably lies with you. Anything in the produce section of your grocery stores, frozen vegetables, organic meats (No deli slices).
In general, the label on foods that are packaged should read very simply. If you get a can of green beans, the ingredients should be green beens, water and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). Whole wheat bread should be fine, but read the label. I go to a baker to get mine.
Also, leave out all refined sugar. I have ADHD, late diagnosis. Set a very strict schedule and stick to it. It's the absolute best thing you can do. Second to that, you have to be a little more strict about video game time being limited and study time is a must.
Hope this helps
And for all those people who think that it's a crock, I struggled throughout my school career even though I had good grades. Staying focussed was always a chore, and I wasn't a rowdy kid. I would get antsy and couldn't sit still, but I wasn't unruly.
I do think it's over diagnosed, but there are some of us who need treatment. foods that you feed your child doesnt give his ADHD, |
