Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thick egg nog

Here's another version of egg nog, thick like at the store...

1 gallon whole milk
9 egg yolks, (you can save the whites for making meringue cookies)
3 cups white sugar
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 TBS real vanilla (approved or only alcohol and vanilla listed, no vanillin)

Mix the milk, egg yolks and sugar in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally. WATCH THE POT CLOSELY so it does not boil over. As soon as it reaches a rolling boil, remove from heat and add nutmeg and vanilla. Allow to cool to room temperature; then refrigerate in large jars or a crock.

I personally hate thick egg nog and like the other version I posted, or this kind watered down with 7-up. But, I know a lot of you love this slimy stuff so I'm posting it ;.)

Another Olive Garden trip

We went to the Olive Garden in Sugarhouse and had a different experience. They also had great food and great service but we found out that there they have plain pasta, no oil. They could do plain pasta with real butter and romano on top. mmmmmmmm.
Since it was a special occasion we also brought some homemade peanut butter bars and gave them to the waitress to put on a plate and bring out.
The kids were so excited to see that they had a special dessert.

Andrew's old medicine

I just found this on my computer...it was Andrew pre-Feingold. This was his daily routine of medicines, inhalers, homeopathic medicines, and naturapathic medicines. Now he's totally off of all of this.
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Sara's success story

Life has changed so much around here that I don't even know where to start!

My older son is happy and calm for the first time in his life. No joke. He has never been happy, not even as an infant or a toddler. 13 years of frustration, depression, misery, insomnia, stomach aches, crying jags, low self esteem and anxiety.

It has been almost 2 weeks now since his last difficult day. He finally stood up for himself to a "friend" who had been treating him poorly, he knows he deserves better now. He goes to sleep easily at night and sleeps all night without talking in his sleep, sleep walking or nightmares. He is affectionate and calm. His tolerance for pain and frustration have increased greatly. He has received compliments from his scout leaders and climbing coaches due to his vastly improved attitude, strength and stamina. I look at him now and feel hope and joy instead of sadness and despair for his future.

He is no longer scared of the world and has enrolled in school starting in February. This will be his first venture into school since his extreme social anxiety led to us homeschooling 3 years ago.

He has grown an inch and gained 10 pounds now that eating doesn't make him feel sick!

My 3 year old has been calmer too, he's not the target but we have seen some improvement in his behaviour. The biggest thing is that he is starting to eat more foods and his dairy allergy/intolerance is lessening.

He would normally refuse to eat anything other than a soy yogurt and juice for lunch. He just sat down and ate homemade bread with sharp white cheddar melted on top, some grapes and a glass of water. He is contemplating the orange pepper slices and I think he might just eat them.

We have started to introduce stage 2 foods and I am thrilled that the boys are both tolerating grapes well and we are trying tomatoes this week. I hope that goes well as it will open up a whole range of meals that we love.

My husband was extremely skeptical when we started this almost 8 weeks ago and this weekend he gave me a hug and thanked me. He is astounded by the change in the boys and completely convinced that this is the right thing for our family.

HOLY CRAP! Logan just ate the orange pepper slice, he's never eaten a vegetable in his life!!

I feel better too, I "cheated" the other day and got some Skittles to soothe a pregnancy craving. I ate half the package and felt sick for 3 hours.

Sorry it was so long, I just wanted to share our success.


If you want to read more about Sara and her successes see her blog at

http://www.supercrunchymama.blogspot.com/

It's official, we've adopted

This has nothing to do with Feingold but I just wanted to say that we finished adopting today. We've had Ana for almost a year now and it's finally official.

Time and money savers

A mom on the Feingold board was discouraged today because of the "extra cost" of Feingold so I'd like to post some of the great suggestions that were made. There may be an initial cost increase because of replacing things like condiments but after that most people save money because their kids aren't asking for all the yuckys at the store and many people (myself included) have reported major savings in doctor bills, medicine, and over the counter medicine.

Here are some extra ways to save money and time...

Once a month, make a huge batch of cookie dough, roll it into little balls and freeze on cookie sheets. Put the frozen dough balls into a big ziploc in the freezer and you can cook them from frozen whenever you want fresh cookies. I use a small ice cream scooper to make the balls and just plop them on the cookie sheet. It's ok if they're right next to each other. They'll come apart enough when you freeze them.

If your kids like instant oatmeal packets make your own for about 5-10 cents a packet

Google once a month cooking for ideas on freezing meals and soups.

Make a huge batch of bread or other baked goods, slice, package, and freeze

Don't try to have all the name brand already made stuff, homemade bulk mixes and snacks work great.

Order from Amazon or if you have an Azure Standard drop nearby order from them, they're great and you're supporting an organic family business.


Learn to stretch your meat farther, buy a whole chicken then use the carcass for chicken stock or chicken soup. Don't add the full amount of meat to a recipe.

Start to love homemade popcorn. A quadruple batch with a WHOLE CUBE of butter only costs 50 cents-a dollar depending on how much your butter costs. Compare that to the cost of a small bag of cookies.

Don't buy expensive lunchmeat, cook an extra chicken or turkey and cut the meat into thin slices and package in baggies. Use the bits of meat that nobody likes, process or cut into small pieces, mix with mayo for chicken salad with lettuce, a tortilla, or bread in a sandwich.

When you find a good deal add extra to your pantry for storage, then you don't have to run out and buy it at regular price.



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Restaurant Research-Applebees

Well, I contacted Applebees and they said they couldn't help me. They can only guarantee the safety of foods regarding the top 6 allergens...like wheat and nuts.
That is very frustrating.

jello and whipped cream


In searching for another recipe for whipped jello I came across this recipe and thought I'd post it. Just a note...if you're not using an approved juice you're best off with a frozen concentrate (100%) since lots of bottles have preservatives.
We make jello all the time and use the huge container of knox gelatin or the bulk bag at the local kitchen store.
I wanted to make cranberry jello for Thanksgiving and I know there's a method for whipping cream and jello together I think before it sets to make a foamy dessert.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/fresh-raspberry-gelatin-and-whipped-cream


BTW, this recipe is for fancy pretty cups...if you just want a big old load of jello use 2 qts of strong flavored juice, a cup of sugar if you want it sweeter, and 1/4 cup of gelatin. Bring it to a boil, pour it and set in the fridge.
If you are stage 1 you can use 100% pineapple juice that's frozen and a can of crushed pineapple, whipped cream on top..........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........a jello lover's delight.

Veggie Dip or Salad Dressing

I have a variety of dips and dressings I make with just a few ingredients...here's what I use

sour cream (I use Daisy, the only ingredient is cream)

mayo (I use Best Foods regular)

Use either sour cream or mayo, or a blend of 1/2 and 1/2 of both.

about 1/2 tsp salt per cup of dip

1 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)

1 clove of garlic, minced or squished

1/2 tsp of dill

1/4 cup of blue cheese (made with whole milk or just milk, not lowfat)

I mix all or a few of these together. To thin for a dressing just add a little whole milk.
This will taste much better the next day as the flavors meld together. Add more salt the 2nd day if it needs it. Be creative, add your favorite spice.

Restaurant research-Cracker Barrel

I've been doing some restaurant research here (besides what Feingold sends out) and got a letter back from the Cracker Barrel main office today. Thought I'd post it. I've heard rumors that their chicken and dumplings are ok as well as some plain veggies (I'm going to ask about those green and lima beans that have TBHQ, maybe it's in the sauce) or eggs fried in butter in a clean pan.
Supposedly their bacon is an ok brand (but we don't do nitrates, causes whineys in one daughter big time)
And, ask if their mashed potatoes are just fresh potatoes, whole milk, and butter-rumors are that they usually are.

Danika,

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with all of us here at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. We're always pleased to hear from our guests.

Thank you for your interest in dining with us. Our menu offers a wide variety of foods. Most of our menu offerings will meet your family’s dietary requirements as outlined by the Feingold Program. There are a few items, however, that do contain one or more of the additives you asked about. The information for these items is provided below:

Vanillin: Hot Fudge Topping – shakes, sundaes, chocolate cobbler

Aspartame: Diet Root Beer, Diet Orange & Cream Soda, Diet Coke, NSA Apple Pie

BHT: Country Fried Shrimp

TBHQ: Pancake Batter

BHA: Pastry Dough – NSA Apple Pie, Fruit Cobblers, Apple Dumpling, Chicken Pot Pie, Orange & Cream Soda, Cornbread & Cornbread Dressing, Green Beans, Lima Beans

Artificial Colors: Orange & Cream Soda, Peach Cobbler & Peach Fruit Topping, Cherry Cobbler & Cherry Fruit Topping, Strawberry Syrup Topping – shakes & sundaes, Pickles, Biscuit, Steak – marinade, Grilled Chicken Tenders – marinade, Honey Mustard Salad Dressing – regular & fat free, Italian Salad Dressing – reduced calorie & fat free

We look forward to seeing you in one of our locations again soon.

Sincerely,



Sylvia Harper
Guests Relations Representative
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Some Questions

We signed up over the weekend too. I still have questions though.


1 - did you start slow or dive right in?

We dove right in, definitely worth it to me, except we didn't do the stage 1 thing. Now I wish we had and we'll probably do it starting in January (It's only 6 weeks, I can live)

I hear a lot of frustration from people who try to just do it here and there because they can never tell if it's really working. Do yourself the favor of diving in.

If the holidays are a problem maybe you can start the stage 1 thing in January.


2 - what did you do with all of your non-approved foods? did you
slowly phase them out or just get them completely out of the house?

We gave them away or I snuck them (don't sneak ;.) or I put them in a separate box for food storage figuring that someone will be able to use them in an emergency. If you keep them around and just phase them out you'll probably still want to serve them and not see the benefits of the total.

3 - what's wrong with pumpkin pie spice? It's one of my favorites for
baking this time of year (and I just bought 2 jars, and I can't find
my receipt), and I noticed it was a NO on the list.

the general rule of thumb is that single spices are ok. A lot of mixed spices have other things included. You can get on the message board and ask if that particular brand has been researched or if anyone uses it without a reaction. A lot of things that aren't on the list just haven't been researched and would actually be ok. Just because it's not on the list doesn't mean it's a no.


I'm sure I'll have lots more questions, but those are the ones I've
been wondering about lately. Thanks so much for the class, Danika! and
thanks to everyone who is so willing to share the info!

You're welcome! Keep trucking, if you can get over the first month challenge you'll have it down pat.

Michelle H

Monday, November 24, 2008

Chemical Free Eating

http://chemical-free-eating.blogspot.com/

This is a blog I found that is from a Feingold safe mom. If you already have the foodlist feel free to follow her recipes, they look great.
If not please make sure the ingredients are on the always acceptable list.

Hootenannies

My Grandma used to make these and we loved watching them come out of the oven all poofed up.

Preheat a rectangle glass casserole dish with 1/2 cube of real butter to 425 degrees.
While this is preheating mix the following in your blender...

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt

When the butter is melted and the oven is preheated carefully pour the batter into the casserole dish and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup, fried apples, powdered sugar, or whatever you can think of.
In England this would be cooked with roast beef drippings and called Yorkshire pudding.

When we're being money or calorie frugal we just use 1 TBSP of butter in the bottom, when we have company we use a whole cube.

Fried apples

mmmmmmmmmmm, I had to put this recipe here for this cold day.

Fried Apples

We're eating these right now for dessert just plain but they'd also be good with milk or approved ice cream on top...maybe that caramel sauce that's posted below.
On top of hootenannies (hmm, I didn't post those yet) or as a side dish for dinner.
In the south I hear they're served with pork meals.

cut up apples (I used 4, tart and firm are best)
fry in 2 TBSP butter (I put the lid on till they were mostly done)
add your choice of 2 TBSP real honey, real maple syrup, cinnamon or other pie spices, or white sugar.

let cook a couple more minutes to thicken.

Eat em up!

Annalicia's experiment

And, just to show that this experiment was true here's another story from Annalicia.

Annalicia & her grandfather built a maze together. She taught the 4 mice how to run the maze. The mice were living in 2 separate living quarters. She made sure she fed them food that had no dyes. After several weeks when they had learned the maze, she began timing them each day with all 4 drinking plain water & recording the results for 6 days. The times were averaging in the teens & twenties (in seconds) for running the maze. Then she gave dye water (1/4 tsp per 6 oz. water) to 2 of the mice. She began timing all 4 again. The 2 mice with the dye water averaged well over 100 seconds for the 6 days that she timed them. They were incredibly lost & confused on the maze. Then she went back to giving all 4 plain water & timed them again. All 4 mice were averaging in the teens for all 6 days she timed them. She won first place on the project.
Last year she did the project where she sprouted plants from lima bean seeds. She then planted them & started giving each set (a set was 4 or 5 plants) a different color of dye water & also a set of plain water. They were all given the same amount of light for growth. She recorded the difference in the growth of the different sets. The plain water grew healthy & strong, but the different dye water plants all had different problems (no growth, or spindly vines, or misshapen leaves, etc.) She won first place on this project & the principal's award.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Taylor's fuzzy brained mice

http://www.feingold.org/pg-taylor.html


Taylor's fuzzy brained mice, the chart at the bottom didn't copy well but you can see the link above for the whole story.

by Lauri Pratt

Science fair projects are a "hands-on" way for children to learn about the effects of synthetic food additives.

After reading a magazine article about an experiment done by another sixth grader, Taylor wanted to do his own yellow dye #5 challenge on some mice. We were a little hesitant to agree to the experiment he titled "Fuzzy Brained Mice," because we were not sure how it would turn out. Nevertheless, we headed out to the pet store and purchased four mice.

Fortunately, we already had two cages, water bottles, and wheels for hamsters that we had previously owned. After researching maze design on line, mouse my husband decided to design one with Taylor, using graph paper. They built the maze with a plywood base. After drawing the plans onto the wood, they hot-glued the fiberboard walls into place. All the wood was cut by a very generous man at Home Depot. Once it was completed, Taylor chose to paint it his favorite color, orange. Together, father and son sprayed it a cool fluorescent orange and green, finishing the construction in one afternoon.

Taylor separated his mice into two groups of two, and initially fed and watered them equally while he trained them to run the maze. After about three weeks of training, all four mice were running the maze with similar times of about twenty seconds. Then, he gave one set of mice 1/4 tsp of liquid Yellow Dye #5 in their 6 oz bottle of water.

We waited anxiously the next morning to see what the results would be. Would there be a change in one day? After all, the amount of coloring in the water was barely visible. How could it do anything?

The results were dramatic. The two mice who received the dye in their water had increased their maze time from about 20 seconds to over 100 seconds! Their performance continued to deteriorate over the next three days until they reached a maze time of more than 200 seconds (see the chart below). Even though they had previously known the maze route as well as the Pure Water Mice, they were confused and took dead-ends continuously. Additionally, one Yellow Dye Mouse became aggressive and attacked its cage mate.

Average Daily Maze Time in Seconds
Here are the results for Taylor's mice.
* Yellow dye was added to water for mouse 1 and 2 beginning on 11/7
DATE MOUSE 1 MOUSE 2 MOUSE 3 MOUSE 4
11/1/2004 48 56 47 65
11/2/2004 34 39 39 52
11/3/2004 35 32 33 23
11/5/2004 21 34 25 20
11/6/2004 18 17 21 17
11/7/2004 * 109 105 20 16
11/8/2004 145 157 23 23
11/9/2004 129 123 23 18
11/10/2004 173 184 25 19
11/11/2004 205 205 20 16
11/12/2004 195 193 19 17

After documenting the poor performance of the "fuzzy brained mice," Taylor removed the dye from the water and gave the impaired mice pure water again for one week. He then retested all four mice, and the two Yellow Dye Mice's performance once again was about twenty seconds like the other two! Their brains had retained the information of how to run the maze, but the dye had so disabled their ability to think clearly that they could not do it.

NOTES:
  • The mice drank as much of the yellow water as they did of the pure water, so the difference in performance was not a result of dehydration.

  • The amount of coloring used was 1/4 tsp liquid yellow food coloring per 6 oz of water.

    • The colored water was so pale that Taylor did not think it could possibly make any difference, and he was surprised at the dramatic deterioration in performance ability he documented.

  • Why don't the scientific studies show the same results?

    • They do, when they use a maze.

    • In 1982, Shaywitz reported on a study of rat pups which were given food dyes at .5 mg/kg (only a tenth of the amount that Taylor used). Nevertheless, after eating the dye, the rats took more than twice as long to escape from a maze that they had already learned.
    • Most of the scientfic studies of the effects of coloring, however, measure weight change, swimming ability, wheel running, etc. Most of them do not use a maze or other learned behavior patterns to test the animal's ability to think and remember.
  • Saturday, November 22, 2008

    20 minutes of great video


    part 1 of Jane Hersey on The Feingold Association


    part 2 of Jane Hersey on The Feingold Association

    These are great! Remember that the items shown are examples and they are not necessarily on the food list.

    Thanks Jane!

    A great blog

    http://noadditives4us.blogspot.com/

    Check out this blog for some interesting handwriting samples of petroleum diet vs. no-petroleum diet.

    http://noadditives4us.blogspot.com/2008/02/before-and-after.html
    This is the link to the exact page of the pictures.

    Yay! for blogger moms on the quest for health.

    from ADHD to "off the charts I.Q."

    When my DS was eligable for Kindergarden he had pencil and paper issues as
    well as attention issues, but he was very sharp and knew all the
    answers. The school told me he's ADHD, gave me printouts on it and
    said to take him to his pediatrician and put him on a low dose med and
    he'd be fine. I started looking for answers and found diet and the
    junk in our food could affect behavior. We started removing
    additives from my children's diets just less than 2 years ago, at
    first I did it on my own and thought I was doing good. Then I found
    FG.

    I was overwhelmed, I got rid of 17 bags of groceries and went
    into it head first. Within the first 5 days my son could color in a
    square, and things got better from there. We've since added and
    played around with Stage 2 items and there seems to be much that I
    need to restrict in the way of silicates, but FG changed everything.

    This year when we took DS back for Kindergarden again, they said he
    was gifted and his IQ was off the charts. Sure he's still a 6 years old
    with lots of energy and some attitude issues, but he's manageable and
    succeeding in school.

    Since starting FG I see so many families that could benefit from
    this, I'm an advocate for it all the time. My nephews need this
    diet, but when the kids refused the food and they don't like aunt-
    michele's syrup, my SIL quit.

    A dear friend watched me do this for a
    year and just started herself, she's seeing results for both her
    children, it's amazing.

    Thanks,
    Michele

    Strawberry Syrup for milk, pancakes, or anything else

    2 c. sugar
    2 c. water
    about 25 fresh or frozen strawberries

    Combine all (if you want it smooth blend it first, if you want it extra smooth leave berries whole and strain when you're done) and bring to a boil. Simmer approximately 15 minutes.

    This should stay good in the refrigerator for at least a month.

    Use a couple of TBSP full in a glass of milk, on top of pancakes, or anything else you can think of.

    Friday, November 21, 2008

    "completely normal"

    A Feingold success story...


    In the Spring to Summer of 2007 my wonderful little boy started changing. He began to have severe and debilitating night terrors at about 13 months of age. At first they came 2-3 times a week and then began to come every single night. If you have ever witnessed one you know how terrifying they are and how helpless you feel. As the night terrors progressed I started to lose my sweet little boy. At 15 months of age we began what we thought were temper tantrums¨ but they were accompanied by head banging. Now my pediatrician (whom I do love) said these were completely normal and he would outgrow¨ it. As a mother, it is hard to see your child have night terrors every night and bang his head almost to the bleeding point every single day. His head was constantly full of bruises that I was afraid he would do permanent damage to his skull.

    His head banging was not what I would consider normal. As his head banging became worse, his aggression was starting to take over. It is hard to say now that my son would be in such a rage¨ that I would have scratch marks and even bruises from trying to restrain him not to hurt himself. Mind you he was roughly now only 18 months of age but had the temper of an older child. We were basically quarantined at home b/c we could not take him anywhere except home, babysitter and grandmas. I remember leaving him at the sitter sometimes and my lasting memory was of him pounding his head on the stairs as his first 15-20 min tantrum of the day would begin. His tantrums were fierce and could last 5-20 minutes of rage, rage, rage. It was so sad to see and my husband and I kept thinking what had gone wrong. Had we been too easy in his 1st year, was I not disciplining him enough? Our marriage began to crumble as our inability to help him took over. I will never forget last Jan. taking him to a neighborhood park and he did not want to leave, well my husband picked him up and took him to the car, well he managed to scratch my husband so hard that he looked like a cat had got to him and when I attempted to grab him he pulled my hair so hard that I lost chunks of it and we left there wondering why we had ever gone. He was 20 mths old. His tantrums were so common and severe that we would sometimes have to take the pillows off the couch and place them on the floor as we let him somewhat roll back and forth on them but not be able to hurt himself as he bashed his head on the ground. So many stories, so many tears until I found Feingold.

    As my son had one of his severe night terrors I began to cry and could not sleep. At 2 in the morning I googled head banging in toddler. I came up with a website on someone saying that they removed apples from her daughter's diet and how it improved her head banging and that the woman was doing the Feingold program. I had no idea what the Fiengold program was but one thing I did know was that my son LOVED apples in any form and had apple juice EVERY DAY. I told my husband about it and said I planned to remove apples for a week and would give it a try. I loaded up on baby pear juice and tried it on my vacation week (also am a school teacher). Well the last time he had the juice was on Sunday night and on Monday night for the first time in nearly a year we did not have a night terror. just like that. We had them every single night but we did not on M, T, W, Th, and then had a small one on Friday and one on Sunday. I started to keep a food diary and noticed on those days that he had one he also ate either a banana or banana product. Cut them out and the night terrors COMPLETELY went away. Just like that. I then knew I was onto something and HAD to order the packet. It was May and I tried to implement as much as I could until my summer vacation started. I began 100% in June and probably had 2-3 of FULL detox and it wasn't nice at all but it really hadn't been that nice since we started to cut things out in May but was REALLY bad when we went 100% . It was like seeing our darkest moments coming to life again but I began to get glimpses of some calmer behavior. We decided to remove HFCS in July(1-2 week detox-not nice at all) We actually visited Storyland in NH that week and he had such a severe and sooooooo embarrassing tantrum that I was praying that a helicopter could have picked me up. But the end result is like nothing I could have ever excepted and completely life altering.

    Some of things my son is very sensitive to is apples, bananas, grapes(really bad, especially raisins)chocolate(turns into an edgy, aggressive boy), food colorings, maple syrup (have small amounts) egg(tolerates organic though)tomato(can tolerate small amounts now), HFCS and CS and after trial and error the allergy med claritin. I began to give Claritin to him(the white tablets) in Sept. and he began to have night terrors again. I didn't make the connection right away as I didn't think it would bother him and was going crazy thinking what is he reacting to and then when I looked at the food diary I thought what the heck maybe it is the claritan and I took them out and night terrors went away. Really so amazing how sensitive he is and how different he is when he is reacting.

    Now our life is what I best sum up as calmer. He still has his quirks and likes to have things his way and does have a tantrum now and again but they are in the realm of what would be called normal. He is so happy now and really a fun loving boy. It is amazing how different he is when he is reacting that we pick up on it right away. I also give him omegabrite supplement and magnesium taurate supplement which has helped him a lot. **On a side note the magnesium supplement helped to almost cure his stuttering. He began to stutter in the Spring and then it stopped when I began the mag supplement and then I stopped in Sept and the stuttering returned and when gave him supplement it again went away after about a week. Very strange but true.

    I am sorry that this is so long but I see people posting daily who seem like I did not so long ago hopeless..PLEASE hang on b/c it is completely life altering. My son is in such a good place right now and our home life is at peace. I used to cry nightly thinking how can I help him b/c I love him so much(even though it was so hard to live with him). Hang on b/c once they are clear of all this junk they will be at a better place. Thank you to all of you who daily put little bits of your life here and things that have worked for you that have helped me put Antonio's life back together.

    Stephanie

    Scrounging in my cupboards...

    The other day I was scrounging in my cupboards to find SOMETHING bad to take to a demonstration. I found a bottle of snow cone syrup called "Lunatic Lime". I thought it was quite funny because I'm sure anyone who had some would feel like a lunatic. It's dark green, fake looking, and absolutely revolting. I can't believe we used to eat that kind of stuff.
    Now, when I taste something with colors that's all I can taste...chemical colors.

    Thursday, November 20, 2008

    Doubting Family

    This is a post that asked to copy here...


    I had put myself and my 18month at the time on the program(she is now 4)
    due to eczema and the my oldest (age 11-1/2 at the time now 15 ) was
    diagnosed with ADD and they wanted to put her on meds. I showed my husband
    the side effects of the meds so he gave me 2 months to change his
    mind.

    1st off we made 6 weeks worth of menu's
    that he approved.... lol. I made pretty much the same thing as always
    and our food budget changed by $4.00 a week.

    He never even noticed a difference in the food except he missed
    lasagna and spaghetti. I had not figure out how to do that yet.

    About 3 1/2 week into the program we noticed a wonderful difference
    and then about 4 1/2 weeks into it we had a slip up, someone gave her
    those fish crackers, boy was that a long 2 days. That was
    all it took to change his mind.

    I know that it is hard to convince some
    people of the problems that food can cause but once most people see
    the difference their eyes can be opened.

    Her behavior is as normal as it can be for a 15 year
    old teenage girl. I still have attitude.... LOL but it is normal
    attitude not disruptive or destructive. She actually likes
    herself...most of the time :). Her grade are good and her teachers
    comment on what a wonderful person she is turning into. What a
    difference from her elementary and middle school year. I wish we
    would have found this out sooner.

    As for my little one as long as
    she does not get anything she is able to have then no allergy
    problems but her dr. and I figure that if she was exposed to
    unapprove items she would probably be ADHD. When she had for example
    colored fish crackers(a teacher gave them as a snack even though I
    had provided approve snack for her....arghhhh. .....long story) she is
    literally climbing the walls. She actually tried to ride our dog and
    colored on the walls which she has never done before and her drawings
    changed from trying really hard to stay in the lines to who cares
    where the lines are.

    Rebecca S.

    Marshmallows

    I can tell you one major diappointment in my beginning petrol free days...marshmallows have blue food coloring and artificial flavoring! yuck! There are ready made brands on the list from health food stores but here's an easy recipe to use instead...Marshmallows

    Powdered sugar for dusting
    2 tablespoons boxed gelatin
    8 tablespoons cold water
    2 cups granulated sugar
    1/2 cup cold water
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    1. Dust an 8- or 9-inch square pan with powdered sugar. Set aside.
    2. In a small bowl, soak gelatin and 8 tablespoons of cold water. Set aside.
    3. Combine granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a large heavy saucepan.
    4. Cook and stir over medium heat until dissolved. Add gelatin and bring to a boil.
    5. Remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl and let stand until partially cool.
    6. Add salt and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer until soft and double in volume.
    7. Pour into the prepared pan to about 1/2 inch thick.
    8. Set to cool until it will not stick to the finger.
    9. Cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces and roll in powdered sugar.
    NOTE: Toasted coconut can be substituted for powdered sugar.

    Dangerous Single Serving Chocolate Cake

    This is a recipe sent to me by Jane Hershey, author of "Why can't my child behave" and a director of the Feingold program. She helped me with my presentation this morning and I thank her for it. I'll try to note where always acceptable items are used. I haven't tried this one yet because we don't have a microwave but I'm sure it's delicious and could really help that midnight craving.

    Here's a picture of the cake in action on another blog, remember to look at MY recipe to make it FG safe

    Coffee Mug Chocolate Cake
    1 coffee mug
    4 Tbsp flour (plain)
    4 Tbsp sugar
    2 Tbsp baking cocoa
    1 egg
    3 Tbsp whole milk
    3 Tbsp coconut oil, butter, or approved oil
    3 Tbsp approved chocolate chips (optional)
    small splash vanilla extract (just vanilla and alcohol)
    Add dry ingredients in mug and mix well.
    Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
    Pour in the milk and oil, mix well.
    Add the chocolate chips (if you are using them) and vanilla, and mix again.
    Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes.
    The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed.
    Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
    Eat! This can serve 2 if you really want to share!
    Why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake an any time of the day or night!

    HINT: I've made plenty of cakes before without oil and they always turn out great so if you're watching calories feel free to do so.

    Wednesday, November 19, 2008

    Spaghetti, Sauce, Meatballs, Applesauce, Frozen Veggies

    Today I looked at the 5 dollar dinner blog and noticed that it would easily make a Feingold safe meal so voila, here it is...

    Spaghetti Sauce, meatballs, spaghetti, meatballs, applesauce, and frozen veggies

    http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/09/homemade-spaghetti-sauce.html
    This sauce is safe if you make sure your Italian seasoning is just herbs. If you can't find a mix of just herbs try 1/2 tsp oregano and 1/2 tsp basil or even just oregano

    you can somewhat follow the rest of her recipe if you want meatballs, use safe breadcrumbs or omit the breadcrumbs. I've made meatballs without the crumbs and they're fine. Since we don't eat meat a lot we don't feel the need to extend the meatballs with more bread.
    http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/11/spaghetti-and-meatballs.html

    http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/10/works-for-me-wednesday-5-worth-of.html
    This is the applesauce to go with the meal

    Then you can use any spaghetti that's just wheat (or durum) and vitamins

    And, a package of frozen plain veggies (butter them up of course)

    Use safe, gf pasta if you want the meal to be gluten/casein free

    A really bad day?

    As I was reading on the Feingold board there was a mom who had a ranting child on day 10 of their diet. It reminded me of detox so I thought I'd post. This particular mom also said their child colored on himself all over with markers that day also, so I would assume it wasn't just detox but let's talk detox for the heck of it...
    You might have a day that you think all heck has broken loose and you don't know why. After you've gone through possible foods and/or causes you can think detox. Picture someone getting off morphine. Their body wants the drug so badly that they'll do anything to get it. They'll rage, rant, yell, and do everything they can. Then they'll feel sick. Then they'll finally fall asleep and not wake up for 2 days.
    Petroleum acts like a drug in the human body, especially for people who don't process it well. Their body will want it. That's why it's so much easier to diet when you're on Feingold. You don't crave the junk as much if you are past your detox time.
    So, just keep truckin' and wait it out. You can do it.

    A website for you

    http://www.allergygrocer.com/

    This is a website with a lot of food that will fit in a Feingold diet. It also has quite a few gluten/casein free items, no nuts items, and food to fit other allergies.

    You can go to the middle of the page where it says "Search products by allergen" and click on Feingold Stage 1 or Feingold Stage 2 to see the products that she carries. It seems like it only works if you click on stage 1 or stage 2, not both at the same time.

    Please realize that these products are mostly "health food" items and the Feingold list has many more name brand products that you can find at any store.

    Eggnog

    "Have any ideas on how to make deviled eggs or eggnog Feingold-worthy? Thanks!"

    Deviled eggs are very easy to make but you need to know brands of Mayo and Mustard and possibly pickles if you like pickle juice in your eggs so you'll need to see Feingold.org for those. There are popular brands of all of these items on the list.

    For eggnog there is actually an approved brand on the list but here's a homemade recipe, it will taste thinner but it's sooooooo good! I personally only use homemade organic eggs that were unwashed till I was ready to use them. That way the protective coating stays on to protect from any germs.

    12 eggs, separated
    1 1/2 cups sugar
    1 qt whole milk
    1 1/2 qts cream

    beat egg yolks and sugar together till they're creamy. Add milk and cream, whisk together till completely integrated.
    whip egg whites till stiff peaks form. Fold into the previous mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
    Remember to refrigerate this until you're ready to serve it. It's best if you can fold in the egg whites just before serving.

    Wednesday, November 12, 2008



    Just a little audio/visual treat to rest the mind. The Animaniacs know everything don't they?

    arroz con juevos y platinos fritos-or rice, eggs, and fried bananas

    Russ made lunch today. He served a mission in Peru for 2 years and learned quite a bit about Peruvian cooking there. #1 rule, serve a fried egg on everything!

    cooked rice
    eggs fried in butter (soft yolk)
    starchy greenish bananas


    Fry your eggs (if you don't know how to fry eggs you're in trouble but I'm not going to explain it)
    and when each egg is done place it on top of a mound of rice. Salt and pepper the whole thing.
    Next cut some starchy bananas (not quite ripe) in half lengthwise and fry in a pat of butter or coconut oil. Fry them till they're crispy on the outsides. Put them next to the rice and egg and if you want you can sprinkle some cinnamon sugar or salt on them.

    To eat, break the egg yolk over the rice and mix it all together. The egg yolk makes a sauce and there are little chunks of fried egg white mixed in.

    This is a great 5 minute (with rice cooked in the rice cooker) preparation dinner and our kids all love it.

    Tuesday, November 11, 2008

    Some recipes from my friend Leah

    This was an old post and I've modified it to fit here. My friend decided that she could eat well if she could just have 7 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to rotate. Here's some of her list. Some we've already discussed so I deleted those.

    BREAKFASTS
    Scrambled eggs and Cottage Potatoes
    Use raw cream, free range eggs and sea salt. Mix and scramble.
    Cut in cubes, organic potatoes and soak over night in whey, salt and water. Drain, dry, fry in butter, cover and cook until tender. Melt acceptable cheese on top, salt pepper and organic onion or ketchup is good on them too.
    Crepes
    Grind 2 cups fresh wheat, soak in two cups of raw milk with whey. In the morning add 4 eggs, 1/4 tsp on salt ,1/2 tsp real vanilla. Melt butter and add to the mix. Cook on medium low heat. Serve with lemon and powdered sugar or whipped cream.
    Pancakes
    Same as above except, omit 2eggs and add 1/2 tsp of baking soda.
    Sprouted wheat cereal
    Soak until spouts show [rinse and drain after first day of soaking]. Eat raw with milk or toast it and eat with milk.
    Kefir shakes
    Culture over night. Separate the kefir grains. Blend with sugar or honey and frozen fruit some vanilla and a banana or even spinach.
    LUNCHES
    Banana Bread
    Soak 3 cups wheat flour in 2 cups yogurt ,kefir or buttermilk, over night. Add 3 eggs, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup real maple syrup, 2tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup butter melted, 3 mashed bananas crispy pecans if desired [soak in salt water over night rinse and dry on 170] pour into a well buttered loaf pan and cook at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
    Cold Cucumber soup
    Blend 2 cucumbers, 1 cup butter milk, 1c. homemade or approved chicken stock, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp dill, salt and pepper, until smooth. chill and enjoy.
    Egg, Chicken Salad Sandwiches
    Mix the meat (remember to use minimally processed chicken) or eggs with milk, butter, onion, salt, pepper, garlic and dill.
    Spread on sour dough bread.
    Cheese sandwiches or better yet raw cheese and jam on sour dough.
    Egg and Cheese on organic salad and balsamic vineagar and olive oil.
    DINNERS
    Noodles an Tomato Marinara sauce
    Mix 3eggs, 1 c. wheat flour, 1 1/2 c. white flour. Set aside.
    Fry hamburger. Add homemade or approved beef stock, and 2 cans tomato paste [ "fry" them] and add pepper, salt, garlic, some honey and Italian type seasonings. Let simmer while rolling out the above noodle dough. Slice into thin strips and boil for 3 minutes.
    Chicken noodle soup
    Place minimally processed chicken, homemade or approved stock, carrots, celery, garlic, salt , pepper, and sugar or a sweet potato in the crock pot on high for 3 hours. mix 1 c. wheat flour, 1 1/2 c. white flour and 3 eggs. Roll out and cut with a pizza cutter [freeze half of the dough if your family is smaller] add the noodles half an hour before the crock pot is finished . remove chicken from the bone if needed.
    Tortillas
    Soak 1 c. water , whey, 3 c. wheat flour, 1/4 c. coconut oil and 1/2 tbsp salt over night. roll out in flour and cook on medium heat on skillet. Fill with fajitas or beans and cheese.
    Wild Alaskan salmon
    Fry in butter add dill and lemon serve with brown rice, butter and braggs's amino acids [soy sauce]
    Dal
    Cook brown rice. Cook lentils, 20 min. Fry onions in butter. Season lentils in curry. Layer rice, lentils, onions, daisy sour cream or raw cheese and parsley.
    Ratatouille
    Soak cubed eggplant in salt water for an hour. Fry zucchini, pell pepper, onion, tomato and garlic; all separately, in olive oil. Add all to casserole dish. Add thyme and bake for 1 hour at 350 uncovered. Top with acceptable cheese.
    Chili
    Brown meat, add acceptable stock, 2 onions, 2 mild peppers, 2 cans tomatos, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp basil, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, kidney beans 3 cups. Simmer 1 hour
    Beef, Chicken or Fish stock
    Add meat to cold water and cook on low in crock pot for 12 hours. Strain, and freeze in ice cube trays.[metal ones if available]
    Whey and Cheese
    Set raw milk on the counter for 4 days. Then strain through cheese cloth or close woven cloth, over jar to catch the whey. DO NOT SQUEEZE. let drain for 24 hours.
    Sour Dough
    Sart: 2 cups wheat flour, 2 cups water, 1 tsp yeast. Let set on counter, covered with a dish towel. Feed it 1 cup flour and water each day for a week.
    Remove 4 cups of start and add 6 to 7 cups wheat flour, 3/4 cups water, 1 tbsp salt. Shape and butter, slice 3 lines in the top and let rise for 12 hours. Bake 350 for an hour. Let cool before slicing.

    cross post recipes from my other blog

    I have a few recipes from my other blog that I'll post here. Most are about our traveling food.

    http://gifttobefree.blogspot.com/2008/09/our-yummy-bento-lunch.html

    http://gifttobefree.blogspot.com/2008/08/we-got-our-ichiban-kan-order-today.html

    http://gifttobefree.blogspot.com/2008/08/yummy-easy-dessert.html

    http://gifttobefree.blogspot.com/2008/08/oh-oh-ive-created-traveling-monster.html

    http://gifttobefree.blogspot.com/2008/08/our-japanese-day.html


    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LibertyAcademy/516952/

    Not just for kids-from my hubby

    Just for everyone's benefit, this diet is not just for kids. Harmful content is harmful to everyone. Sneaking things that are bad for us because we are "adults" is like watching "adult" entertainment. If it can damage a child, it can and does damage us. How many times have you watched an adult eat something and as they are eating it they are saying "I should stop" or "I don't know why I keep eating this." They can't stop because their brain is being controlled by the ingredients in what they eat.

    I believe that a lot of the issues in our current society-road rage, bad television, office and school violence, politics-are all caused by the decision making process being either shut down or delayed. The petroleum based products are made to increase appeal in the foods they are added to. That appeal makes you crave the food more so you buy more of it. If you could actually think about what you were getting you probably would not buy most of the food offered to consumers. Pour yellow or red food dye, caffeine, sugar and water into a can and you have an energy drink. Remove the caffeine and water, add wheat or corn by products and you have the average breakfast cereal. Add salt, cheese products and pepperoni and you get a hot pocket.

    People are now allergic to a lot of basic foods. I have a friend who is allergic to beef. His doctor told him he is probably reacting to all the chemicals injected into beef and his body is simply activating a "safety" by alerting to beef. Your body detects harmful chemicals or ingredients and it will target the common carrier of that chemical or ingredient. People who eat simple diets as part of their culture don't show the allergy issues that we do. But when they are introduced to "modern" diets to make them just like us and "improve" their lives, they become just like us, getting allergies, addictions, health problems and all the other benefits.

    From Russ

    All in the presentation

    I'm a quick cook, if it's not ready in 5 minutes prep I just don't do it...but there are a few things I think can be important and I'm willing to spend a bit more time on them. When we were on our cruise (we're not rich, just wanted to do a big family thing before we got our new baby, went in January for $120 per person for 5 nights-I have money spending guilt so I wanted to clear that up quickly.) I learned 2 things that were important for our family.
    One was that if it's already prepared we're more likely to eat it and the next was that presentation makes a big difference.
    As you can see in the sidebar pics the first one is just a cup of fruit. But, it was skinny cut fruit and it was in a pretty cup. It was funny watching the kids eat it up. They were so excited and talked about it all night long.
    One of our last meals was steak, potatoes, and veggies but it was on a nice plate with linens and stemmed glassware. Now there's no way I'm going to pull out all stops for every dinner but we did realize at home that the kids were more likely to try new things if we went "on a vacation" with our placemat maps and an ethnic food, or if we ate on the china. And ya know, if the china broke, well at least we got good use of it instead of keeping it in the cupboard all our lives.
    We also use our bento boxes and tiffin boxes a lot because the kids love bite sized things, fanned fruit, and fruit and veggies with little silly toothpics in them.
    The other thing, already prepared, is a big thing. If we can come home from shopping and immediately cut up fruit and veggies, cook up hamburger, and get things ready and bagged it just works better. We even do this with big bags of chips (put them right in serving sized baggies).
    We also bought some serving sized anchor hocking glass cups so we could do serving sizes of fruits, puddings, salads etc. I found that we ate healthier but also that we ate better portion sizes.

    My kid won't eat xxxxxx


    Here's a question from knk...

    Hi,
    We are just starting my son on Feingold due to hyperactivity. I am waiting for my materials now and have been reading Dr. Feingolds book.
    My concern for my son is that he eats NO vegetable (unless I sneak them in with something) and only eats fruits that are restricted in the first level (apples,grapes,peaches). I am wondering what am I going to give him besides meat and cheese for meals !! Plus I am concerned his lack of fiber in his diet (poor kid will never be able to go to the bathroom).
    Any advice?
    Thanks

    Sounds like he's nice and addicted, a repeat of my son pre-Feingold. It may be challenging at first but it will get better as he gets over his addictions. There are a few websites that have recipes for sneaking pureed veggies in food. You may want to check those out if you cook. Other than that I would honestly say to just go with the program and next month try a few new foods.

    I found that a lot of people just stick with bananas as a fruit since they're familiar with them but here are some other options. Try fresh, frozen in a smoothie, or dried. They may not like one way of preparation but love the other

    Pears, pineapple, grapefruit, lemon, lime, banana, melons, kiwi, coconut, dates, figs, mango, papaya

    When we started the program I tried lots of different non-sal fruits and came home with Kiwi. Andrew loved them and kept saying that he wanted more of the hairy skin balls!

    We shop at Azure Standard and they have really inexpensive dried pineapple and papaya that my kids love. They're perfectly satisfied to have a piece as dessert.
    Also, for the fiber issue if he'll try dried figs those are great (my kids didn't like them because of the seeds but they love them in cookies, Barbara's Bakery makes a great fig cookie) or try golden flax seed blended up in any baked goods or a smoothie.

    Sometimes for kids and veggies all you need is a good dip. You can make a yummy dip with a cup of approved sour cream (Daisy regular is not on the list but we buy it all the time with no reaction), 1 t onion powder, and 1 t salt.

    One of Andrew's favorite lunches now is salad. We whole milk that dip down into a dressing and he'll eat 3 plates full of salad. His body just craves greens. He just had to get over the addiction of the other foods in order to enjoy the good stuff.

    If they still won't do veggies bake some great cookies and add pureed pumpkin and flax seed.

    Oh, and one more tip...red plus green makes purple smoothies. And, ice covers up textures. My kids wouldn't drink anything green before we started so I learned to add red. I would blend spinach or wheat grass powder in with any sort of frozen 100% red juice. If you're doing stage 1 you can use beet root powder found in any health food store. Also, if you have fiber in your smoothie a cup of ice will help cover up the texture.
    hmmmmmmm let me think of a good sample recipe...

    whole milk or approved milk subsitute
    a pear, skin and all
    a 1/2 can of pineapple or fresh pineapple
    a handful of fresh coconut (freeze the rest for later and taste the coconut milk first to make sure it's not bitter)
    a cupfull of ice
    2 T of sugar or honey
    1 t or more of wheatgrass powder
    1/2 t of beetroot powder

    There you go, call it a purple cow. Go easy on the green taste, heavy on the sugar at first and once they like it then you can start to add more green, less sugar.

    Now that we're "clean" they love real juice with carrots, spinach, and beets run through my juicer. It's one of their favorite breakfasts and it turns out pretty purple.



    Monday, November 10, 2008

    Do I have to use your recipes?


    I got an interesting email today from someone who is diabetic and does not eat a lot of meat. She was concerned that the diet seemed to have a lot of sugar and meat. I laughed internally but it definitely seems like we're eating like that from my recipes doesn't it?

    The truth is we rarely eat meat and we don't eat a lot of sugar however, I know that when first starting many people are concerned about how to make petroleum free breads, meats, and sweets. Of course anyone can make a salad or cook a vegetable right? That's why I won't be posting a lot of fruits, veggies, and simple food like that. I'll try to get them in somewhere but I assume you know how to dump a baggie of frozen vegetables into a pan and heat them up.

    I do get questions about lunchmeats, hot dog subs, fast food subs, etc. Because unfortunately that's what a lot of people eat for dinner.
    Same thing with breads, most people pick up a few loaves at the grocery store.
    Sweets? Don't even go there Little Debbie freaks! Yeah, that's me on my cheating days. MMMMMMM red #40, so satisfying!

    Anyway, remember that this website is an introduction to Feingold, if you find that you need pre-prepared foods, fast foods, soy-substitutes that have a lot of ingredients, etc you should definitely join with Feingold.

    Don't be afraid to send me a recipe and I'll try to tweek it for you. Send me a normal menu, whatever.

    The point of Feingold safe eating isn't to change your diets, it's just changing some of your brands of ingredients. Go ahead and eat as normal, just minus the yucky chemicals.

    Baked, Caramelized Sweet Potatoes

    I learned the secret to the best Sweet Potatoes. Most people don't cook them long enough. If you leave them in a little longer than they need to be they'll develop this great natural caramelized coating just under the skin.
    So, scrub your sweet potatoes, heat oven to 450 degrees. Place sweet potatoes in something with a bit of an edge like a casserole pan or cookie sheet. Bake for about an hour (this will vary greatly with the size of your potatoes). You will start to smell a caramelized, almost burned smell. When you poke the sweet potato it's done but when you poke it and it oozes a little bit then it's really done! The outside skin will look dry and wrinkly like you really over baked it.
    Take out the sweet potatoes, break in half, and squish out all the good filling. You can serve it as is or whip it up. I like to top with butter, sugar, and a spice mixture of cinnamon, cardamom, and a tiny bit of ginger.

    NOTE: In The All of a Kind Family they talked about street vendors who sold small sweet potatoes out of their carts. We tried to duplicate this by breaking a sweet potato in half and wrapping up in a napkin. You eat it like an ice cream cone and kind of squish it up to the top of the cone as you go. My kids love sweet potato cones for a quick on the go lunch.

    Steamed veggies with butter and salt


    I have a memory of Grandma's carrots. I used to wonder why they tasted so good..veggies, yuck. But there was something special about her carrots. Never canned stuff, and always on the table with dinner. She's great at always serving a fresh veggie or two.
    Just chop your veggies into bite sized pieces, add a bit of water in the pot, and steam them over medium heat till they're soft enough. I like mine with a little crunch. Drain out the water and add a nice sized pat of butter and some salt to taste. Serve hot!

    Sometimes I like to add 2 TBSP of honey also. The kids don't like it that way but I do.

    Thanksgiving Dinner-Rolls


    This recipe is more rich than my everyday rolls but they're sure worth it for a holliday.


    Ingredients
    2 cups whole milk
    2 TBSP yeast
    2 tsp salt
    1 egg
    1/4 cup sugar
    1/3 cup butter
    5 or more cups flour

    Combine all ingredients and stir till mixture forms dough, dough should be soft but not sticky, add more flour if it's too sticky. Use dough hook or knead for a few minutes.
    Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise till double (if I'm in a hurry I skip this part).
    Punch down and turn out onto a floured counter. Hand knead just a few times then shape and let rise till double again. Remember to butter your pan so they don't stick.
    Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes

    A reader question from Hopefilled


    Here's a question from Hopefilled..."what was the hardest part about starting and how soon did you see results"

    I think I just didn't realize how much of a difference I'd see. In my mind I thought I just wouldn't have the time, I didn't want to cook from scratch, and honestly the biggest thing was probably that I didn't have a lot of hope that it would work. Every bit of the challenge was worth it once I saw the results. Once we got our Feingold book it was much easier also cause we could pick up packaged food also and know it was safe, we could also go out to eat.
    The changes were almost instantaneous for us. When we started, we really started. No infractions with food, no "just a little" here and there. The day after Andrew was petroleum free I remember looking at Russ and saying, what happened? Look, he's just sitting!

    After about 3 days later I said, "look at me so I can give you instructions." and he actually looked in my eyes. He hadn't looked in my eyes since he was a baby. He also remembered the 3 or 4 step instruction that I gave him. Remarkable!

    It just got better and better. That's when I started noticing the differences with my other kids and myself too. The time I spent on cooking was free time because I gained my sanity back.

    One of the great things is that picky kids stop being so picky. I've noticed it time and time again with so many kids. Kids that wouldn't try anything suddenly stop having food aversions. Andrew would actually throw up before when he had certain textures like squash or cooked onions. Now he'll try just about anything. The pic above is his first poori and garbanzo's in an eastern style. It was so easy to make and very different tasting. Cooked onions and everything. He scarfed it right down.

    You'll notice the biggest difference when your kid has petroleum AFTER they've been off of it. We had that experience a week afterwards. We found out later that the primary teacher was giving him candy at church. Sunday night he was wild, had night terrors and peed the bed, started doing the all 4's running, etc etc etc. There's nothing like a rebound to make you realize what you've been doing to your kid.

    Turkey-Thanksgiving Dinner


    Just start Turkey shopping early. Find a turkey that says minimally processed. We had good luck with the Archer Farms turkeys from Target last year. They had a solution of real butter and salt added. Yes, you might pay a little more but remember that you're paying for 18% weight of a "phosphate solution" normally so you're really getting a good deal for all your meat.
    We bought 6 turkeys last year and every other month I cooked one, packaged the meat into freezer bags, and used it for sandwiches for the month.
    The turkey carcass goes into the stewpot or gets broken up into the crockpot and simmers on low for 2 days, then gets strained and picked. It makes the best broth ever.
    I use the broth for a base for rice or soup. The gelatin that comes out from the long, slow cooking is amazing nutrition.

    Cranberry Sauce, Thanksgiving Dinner

    I was searching for a picture of cranberry sauce and found this blog entry that has a step by step tutorial. They add juice to their sauce and it sounds like a yummy addition. I'm all about simple but these shouldn't take too much more time or money. Remember to use 100% juice and the frozen kind and you should be safe.

    http://figswithbri.com/?p=76

    I usually just get a pot (bigger than you think in case of foaming) and dump in the bag of cranberries or about 4 cups if you have a large bag, add 2 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of water to get it going. Then turn it on medium and let it do it's thing for about 30 minutes. That's it.
    We buy 4 huge bags at the warehouse store when Thanksgiving comes along because I love to throw a handful of cranberries in my smoothies. They do wonders for the urinary system.
    My dd uses this cranberry sauce as jam on EVERYTHING.

    Thanksgiving Dinner

    OK, this is my first post about Thanksgiving Dinner. A friend requested holiday tips so here they are...when dealing with family in the beginning I sent out a letter that had the always acceptable list and an explanation of what we were doing and why. I'm sure many people threw it in the garbage but some wanted more info.
    Then, whenever we had a get together I would say, can I bring ______ because it's safe for my kids to eat. Eventually the nice members of our family saw a change in my kids and started remembering that _______ was safe for the kids so they would bring it. Then I could ask to bring another ______ and so on and so on.
    Even if someone normally brings a salad but they're willing to put the dressing on the side it helps so much!
    So, on to a few recipes. I will put these under the topic "thanksgiving" so you can look up a nice plan when you're ready.
    Here's a basic menu of what I'll be making or asking people to bring.

    Turkey (minimally processed)
    fresh cranberry sauce
    homemade rolls
    fresh steamed carrots with butter
    fresh steamed green beans with butter
    baked caramelized sweet potatoes
    pumpkin and apple pie
    sweetened whipped cream
    seltzer water mixed with 100% frozen apple cranberry juice

    It's a very simple menu and besides the turkey and pie it will take about 30 minutes of my time.
    If you have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe send it to me and I'll see if it's safe or can use some tweaking.

    Sunday, November 9, 2008

    It doesn't taste "right"

    Do you start out cooking and think, "but it doesn't taste right."? Let's remember that petroleum is addicting and we are probably well addicted. In addition to the petroleum most highly processed food includes tons of MSG which tricks our brains into thinking things taste good.
    When we cook from scratch somehow we want to make it all healthy so we also seem to cut down the salt, sugar, and fat. Of course it doesn't taste "right"!
    Don't be afraid when you're beginning to add more salt, add sugar to dinner, and keep all the fat. You can slowly take it out as you get used to the lack of food coloring and artificial flavoring.
    Most recipes have nowhere near the amount as processed food.
    Can you remember the taste of spaghetti o's? I remember that taste and it was sickeningly sweet. Jello? There's nothing in nature that tastes like cherry Jello. Cherries certainly do not. Plain gelatin and cherry juice are not going to taste like cherry Jello. If you want that taste you will need to add an extra cup or two of sugar to the juice.
    Go for it, get used to it for a while, give yourself permission and you're still eating much better than you were.
    As you detox your taste buds won't need it anymore. You will find that your taste buds simplify and you will be satisfied with much simpler tastes.

    Crock Pot Roast Dinner

    Now I'll address the packaged soup issue...I hear a lot of stress over what packaged thing people can pour over their meat to make it good. Besides the junk in that packaged stuff is probably corn starch or flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Possibly a tiny bit of parsley. Therefore, to make a good seasoning just experiment with those seasonings. If it still doesn't taste "right" to you you're probably missing the MSG in which you would deal with it and get used to it or use an approved bouillon cube.

    In a crock pot add

    a roast
    1/4 c flour
    1 tsp onion powder
    1 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)
    1 tsp salt
    1 tsp parsley or any other herb (optional)
    cubed or whole potatoes
    carrots to match the size of the potatoes
    water to cover

    Cook it all day then eat.

    Depending on the size of your crockpot you may need to check your salt content, just add more if it needs more. If it's too watery next time add less water or more flour. If you need to salvage today's stuff take out a cup or two of liquid, put it in a blender and start it running, then add a few TBSP of flour or cornstarch and add it back to the hot liquid.

    Russ's favorite dinner...

    I asked Russ what his very favorite Feingold safe dinner was and he said steak, potatoes, and a vegetable. How simple can it get?

    you need...
    steak
    russet potatoes
    butter
    salt
    fresh or frozen veggies

    Start baking the potatoes (I do about an hour in a 400 degree oven)
    Start cooking your steak with a salt, pepper, onion, and garlic rub (we cook it on a well seasoned cast iron griddle)
    Start cooking your veggies (I like the frozen, bagged stuff and I steam it in a pot)
    Serve with real butter for the veggies and potatoes. You're done.

    NOTE: when we serve meat we usually serve very little and we fill up on the veggies. We rarely buy steak and when we do it's very small servings.

    Stuff over Rice

    Do you like that title? I just finished making dinner and thought, what would I call this? Stuff over rice is it.

    Enough cooked rice to feed your family
    2 TBSP butter
    2 C whole milk
    4 TBSP flour (I use a whole grain mixture including bean flour, if you just use bean flour it's gluten free)
    1 tsp salt or 1/4 t salt plus 1 cube approved bouillion.
    leftover meat (our favorite is ground beef)

    Start the rice in the rice cooker or pot
    Melt butter in another pot, add milk, salt, and flour and whisk together well. Cook over medium heat about 1 minute or till it bubbles and thickens. Add the meat to the sauce and let it warm.
    Serve over rice with a veggie on the side.

    Fluffy Old Fashioned Pancakes

    • 1 1/2 cups flour
    • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon white sugar
    • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
    • 1 egg
    • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
    1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
    2. Heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
    This feeds our family of 6 but it's just as easy to double or triple and stick the extras in the fridge for later.

    Why buy a premade mix when this is so easy? If you want the convenience of a mix just get out a zipper baggie and combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Write the amount of milk, egg, and butter needed.

    NOTE: if I want a quick breakfast that's full of protein I'll add up to 8 eggs to this mixture and skip the eggs on the side. And, for me, flour is usually a whole grain mix including bean flour.

    Links from my hs blog about Feingold

    These are just 2 links about our Feingold vacations. The first is when we went to the Grand Canyon and the second was about our cruise.

    http://homeschoolblogger.com/LibertyAcademy/436142/

    http://homeschoolblogger.com/LibertyAcademy/455157/


    DISCLAIMER: SOME OF THE FOODS MENTIONED IN THE OLD BLOGS ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE. FOR ACCEPTABLE BRANDS PLEASE SEE FEINGOLD.ORG

    More about us...lack of knowledge

    I was just thinking...why didn't I do this sooner? I remember reading about colors and preservatives triggering asthma. But, that was at least 3 years before Feingold. I know I read several articles at different times about it. My son was in and out of the hospital quite frequently, on albuterol and steroids. You would think that I'd do anything possible to help him.

    Well, after thinking I decided that it was an issue of, "if it was really bad for you, wouldn't someone ban those things?" Wow! I've even been mostly natural for most of my life and if even I thought that I can imagine what the general public's view is. If food coloring really triggered asthma, someone would ban it.

    Guess what? Nobody has banned food coloring and it definitely triggered asthma in my son. He doesn't have an ounce of asthma if we are absolutely petroleum free.

    Saturday, November 8, 2008

    Ingrid's success story

    We began Feingold early this year. I think around May. So we've had about 6 months of mostly petro-free living!!! YIPPEE!!! We've had occasional slip-ups, but most have been accidents or unavoidable (we can't help it when we walk into somebody else's home and they've been burning a candle with artificial scents)! Here are the differences that we've noticed!

    When my first child was about 1 or 2, I began noticing some *differences* in her. She would hyper-focus on things and not really play nicely with friends. She would occasionally hurt them just for fun. It was difficult for me to take her to play dates. As she grew up, I continued to notice little things here and there that made her different from other children her age. It would take me at least 3 times of telling her to do something before she fully understood what I was asking her to do. And these were simple things, like put your shoes away. She used to pick at and poke at her siblings and not even notice when they sat there yelling that she was bothering them. She would get over-emotional about any little thing. She was also very selfish about silly things. For example, one *reaction day*, Hubby and I woke up to the wonderful sound of children fighting. After about an hour of trying to discuss the situation and get to the bottom of it, we finally figured out that child #4 was playing with a hair band that belonged to child #1. Now this was no special hair band. This was simply a glorified rubber band; one of a package of about 20 that she had recently been given. Child #1 was throwing a huge fit, screaming and crying and yelling "It's MINE!" over and over again. She had no other argument, just "It's MINE!". It reminded me of a 2 yo just learning the concept of possession! Now, it's very rare when we hear problems like that. She stills has times when she takes forever to figure out what she's being asked, but these are much less frequent! She gets her schoolwork and housework done fairly quickly and easily now!

    Our 9 year-old was diagnosed with psoriasis when she was barely 5. At one point, it covered what seemed like 80% of her body. Now, she has a couple of very small unnoticeable spots. She also had uncontrollable angry fits and would occasionally get physical with her siblings. Hardly anything now! She's helpful and kind and enjoyable now! It's so wonderful to see her clear beautiful skin!

    Our 6 year-old has Sensory Issues and was having night terrors about 3-5 times a week. She was whiny and cried over everything. Everything went in her mouth...even at the age of 6! Whenever we had adult friends over, she would get right in their face and climb on them and hug them and hold them and not let them go. This kind of behavior is normal when it lasts a few minutes. It goes overboard when it lasts longer than that. This child would do this for the entire time our friends were here...unless we specifically told her to leave the room. Now the only time she has night terrors is when she is exposed to chemical smells or if we aren't aware of a petroleum product in a food. When friends come over, she hugs and loves them, but isn't a cling-on during the entire visit! We still see sensory issues, but they aren't nearly as severe as they were.

    Our 4 year-old probably would've been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder if we took him in for testing. His ears would turn bright red, he got very loud, wouldn't obey or listen when somebody told him they don't like what he's doing, and he could be quite mean and selfish. No amount of disciplining techniques would change his behavior. I was ashamed and embarrassed to take him anywhere because he was always so horrible to be around. He now has control of himself and doesn’t throw fits over every little thing anymore. He's fun to be around and he's a sweet little boy. He is of course a boy, rowdy and gets into stuff, but it's now a normal amount and not uncontrollable!

    We have a 2 yo also, but I was extremely cautious with her food before we joined Feingold. Therefore, we haven’t noticed a difference in her. The difference I do notice is in comparison to the other kids at the same age. Most 2 yo's have this defiant, independent attitude that becomes a problem with parents. This little one is sweet and obedient! She does sometimes try to exert her independence in an inappropriate way, but she very quickly turns her attitude around! She's so much easier and more pleasant than any of my other children at this age!

    My husband and I have more energy and have clearer heads than we ever have before! I can think *before* I talk, and I can be rational and realize that things don't necessarily have to be *MY way*.

    Hubby is going to school after a brain injury. He is currently in the middle of his 4th semester. The previous 3 were horribly stressful for him. He couldn't handle the changes and the requirements that were put on him. This time around, his school load is no less difficult, but he's handling it so easily! The stresses aren't getting him down!

    I agree completely, it's like a drug! When I cheat, I find myself wanting more and more, unable to control myself with how much I'm eating!

    Ingrid