moving through life with no sugar.

My Meg is 10 just about to turn 11 and she has endured a radical change in her diet. Why? Diagnosed with Crohn's. Before this happened she was a finicky eater, barely finishing her dinner and not a tryer of new foods. It was frustrating to say the least. My husband is a finicky eater and he told me many times that he survived on cereal growing up. So sometimes I would just serve her cereal for dinner. 

Fast forward to the now. She eats a solid 3 meals a day with 3 healthy snacks in between. It is unreal how much food she is eating. I am truly amazed at the amount of new things she has tried and surprised at some of the things she has eaten just because she knows its good for her.  How do you break your sugar habit for your kids? We went cold turkey because I felt we had to, based on the research I did. I only want her to eat healing foods to make the inflammation go down in her stomach. This means no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, no grains. I will say this is very time consuming and I have had to put my art business on the back burner for a bit, but it is so worth it when you see your child thriving and putting on weight!  I recommend if you are planning to kick the sugar habit to set aside an entire weekend to bake and cook.  Our favorite place to find recipes are in the links…Book mark them and scour them for yummy recipes. I will post more good ones as we find and eat them.  Also my very favorite place to find very useful information on why you should kick the gluten and the sugar is pinterest. Follow my healing foods board or smoothie board to see what I am talking about. I also think it is important to involve your kids on why you are eliminating things from their diet and have them get in the kitchen. Meg has loved baking and now says she is going to be a chef when she grows up!! 

So what in the world do we eat? I am keeping a food journal so we can keep track. Here is an example:

breakfast-

4 coconut flour crepes with homemade blueberry sauce( I make this by simmering on the stove with some water and honey)

3 scrambled eggs 

6 slices of Havarti cheese

2 cups of almond milk

snack- 

cup of cashews, slice of homemade banana bread.

lunch- 

homemade cheese pizza bread with side of guacamole to dip it in.

apple slices

1 cup of almond milk

snack- 

bowl of yogurt with strawberries cut up

dinner- 

pork chop with cup of applesauce

6 asparagus

salad 

1 cup of orange juice

snack-

vanilla cupcake

handful of cashews

1 cup of almond milk

She is not complaining about this diet and if we get a sweet tooth( cause I am following the exact same diet) we will whip something up…Last night we made coconut pudding! We ate the entire pan.

Until next time…

My life was busy…and then my daughter got diagnosed with Crohn's disease. a new journey.

Nothing will change your life faster than your child getting sick. Telltale signs may present themselves to you but you really don't think those signs are a disease…you have them in the back of your mind but aren't overly worried.

some signs to pay attention to… I'm no doctor (this is my personal experience) and pay more attention if all these signs present themselves at the same time.

-Diarrhea ( ask and tell your children diarrhea is not normal on a everyday basis) people don't necessarily talk about this, but it is VERY important to know this!

-energy levels- If your child is getting tired on a regular basis and it's out of character, take them to get their blood checked for iron levels and a poop sample to check for blood or parasites

-weight loss or overall skinny minnie- doctors can chart their weight and if they are off the charts their could be something wrong…key word "MIGHT"

My daughter is 10 almost 11 and she had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative Colitis. I can't tell you how many tears I shed, but that is over..It's time to whip this girl back into vibrant health and take a fast course in food.

This is a new journey. Let's back up just a bit..I have been buying organic food exclusively for at least 5 years, meaning no cheetos, goldfish, fast food, sodas, etc…I did however buy "organic" processed food and well I am learning those are no good either. Look at the sugar content!! It's unbelievable!

I've decided to follow the SCD diet…and let's say it is challenging and time consuming but as most mothers, I am up to the challenge for my child. And to be honest Meg is up to the challenge as well! She has taken to copying and pasting recipes, making grocery lists and helping make most of the food. Right now she is downstairs making her own pizza crust..AMAZING!!

I highly recommend you to take a look at this bookhttp://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info

and this sitehttp://comfybelly.com

I will start regularly posting recipes we have made together and have liked or loved. This picky eater is becoming a great eater in less than a week… She missed desserts the most so we have baked several. I love the fact that the ingredients are super foods (think coconut, almonds and honey)

A delicious apple piehttp://comfybelly.com/2008/12/apple-pie/#.VOIp-97fvHg


Vanilla cupcakes http://comfybelly.com/2011/06/very-vanilla-cupcakes-using-coconut-flour/#.VOIqud7fvH- the vanilla frosting was way too sweet(too much honey) so we are experimenting with that.


More to come…but until then please post comments with great foods/desserts that use no sugar, dairy or wheat! Or let me know about your journey…