GFCF Diet

2/23/12

First of all, I’m touched knowing so many of you out there read the blog!  Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement.

Since we can’t start Jackson’s medications until tomorrow when I pick up his B12 shots, I figure I’ll let you guys in on Jackson’s diet.  We began Jackson on a Gluten Free, Casein Free (GFCF) diet 12/23/11.  Taken from a website, “Gluten and gluten-like proteins are found in wheat and other grains, including oats, rye, barley, bulgar, durum, kamut and spelt, and foods made from those grains. They are also found in food starches, semolina, couscous, malt, some vinegars, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, flavorings, artificial colors and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins.  Casein is a protein found in milk and foods containing milk, such as cheese, cream, butter, yogurt, ice cream, whey and even some brands of margarine. It also may be added to non-milk products such as soy cheese and hot dogs in the form of caseinate.”

Not only must Jackson eliminate wheat and dairy, but also all sugar.  Yeast feeds on sugar, and Jackson has a yeast overgrowth in his stomach, so no sugar, honey, syrup, stevia,and also very limited fruit.  He’s only allowed two fists full of fruit…his size fist…2 strawberries and half a banana…per day!  No more GFCF cookies:(  He’s never been willing to try ice cream, cake, candy and other sweets, but he did enjoy his daily GFCF oreo cookie.  Sorry, buddy, mommy’s doing this for you!  Before beginning a GFCF diet, we spent an entire two hour therapy session trying to get Jackson to eat M&M’s.  He loved to hold them, but when we tried shoving the in his mouth, he was so quick to spit them out.

Jackson is a very picky eater and the only thing he drinks is water.  Here was his eating today:

Breakfast: plain GFCF waffle (I made with Gluten Free Bisquick), 1 strawberry, 1/4 of a banana, 1 hot dog, 3 little chicken nuggets

Lunch: inside of a burrito (chicken, rice, beans), little piece of salmon, tortilla chips

Snack (during therapy): Fritos

Dinner: hot dog, piece of meatloaf, 1/4 of a banana, 1 strawberry

I’m not good at getting Jack to eat his vegetables.  I have the Jessica Seinfeld book, Deceptively Delicious and have a freezer stocked with pureed vegetables: butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sweet potato, spinach.  Whenever I bake something, I sneak one of them in.  I’m hoping someday soon, Jackson will drink the green juice Misha makes us every morning.

The diet has definitely been an adjustment.  Whole Foods is awesome and has a ton of GFCF products.  I’ve switched to coconut milk (Jackson won’t drink it), and Sophie switched to chocolate almond milk, we only buy organic meats and I’ve started cooking more.  Although our grocery bill has gone way up, it’s worth it knowing Jackson is feeding his body what it needs.

There are lots of GFCF websites and yahoo support groups out there, so I know I’m not the only one going through this difficult diet.  Thankfully, Jackson doesn’t put up a fight and never got hooked on junk food, so he really doesn’t know anything else.