Why I Wanna Be a Granola Mama

I promise Granola Mama is a term of respect and awesomeness in my book

I'll start with I've been doing lots of research. Really. LOTS! Lots of studies. Lots of cruising the Internets. Lots of talking to other Granola Mama's...

Then I read What's Eating Your Child? by Kelly Dorfman. Seriously, amazing book. If you are wanting to learn about nutrition, read it. It has a good wealth of info in layman's terms [with some technical stuff for those of you whose eyes don't glaze over at that sort of thing...]



First, I have to consider these things [when addressed nutritional stuff]:

1. What are the facts of issues? [illnesses/ events that have led to the present situation]?
2. What symptoms worry me the MOST?
3. When did the symptoms start?
4. Do the symptoms come & go?
5. What else was happening in our lives when the symptoms started?
6. What was the diet like when the symptoms started?
7. Was there medicine involved w/ the situation? When did it start/ stop?

So here's a short summary of changes I would like to make for me & my family [and the reasons WHY- note that a couple of these we're already doing]:

• Eliminate dairy [at least in form of milk and ice cream] for my kids who are still on it. [Substitute almond milk.] The why: Lactose sensitivity runs in my family & can be manifested different ways. Usually milk & ice cream are the worst culprits for myself & my eldest.
• Eliminate gluten based foods [don't worry about "hidden" ingredients at first], and move over to a more paleo-friendly diet [this will add more veggies & fruits to our diets.] The why: Gluten sensitivity runs in both my family & my hubby's. There's been lots of tummy [pain] problems, skin issues, weight loss [for my eldest]; fatigue; anemia; moodiness problems, gassiness, & lots of craving that.
             Gluten free info: Celiac.org; Celiac.com; Living Without; Easy Paleo; Paleo OMG;
• Add at least one new food every 2 weeks [where every one has to try at least one bite of that food for that 2 weeks.] The why: So that we can broaden what we eat in a non-confrontational manner to acclimate to liking new, healthy foods!
• Extra zinc [800-1000 IU]. The why: helps expand palette of picky eaters, stay on growth curve [including developmental delays/ hypotonia], and appetite helper!
• Fiber up [slowly]! 19 g for 1-3 yr old's; 25 g for 4-8 yr old's; 30 g for 9 yr old and up. The why: Helps with muscle tone, and you know elimination ;)
• DHA & EPA [healthy fats]. Kids 3-5 get 500-1000 mg; kids 5 and up get at least 1000 mg. The why: helps with behavioral issues, attention span, speech articulation & comprehension
• More Greens! The why: Helps manage sugar [among other things.]
• Low [only natural source] sugar diet. Of course there'll be days/ times we have exceptions [especially for special occasions.] The why: Sugar is addictive; less sugar= less negative behaviors [in some instances]
• Probiotics. The why: happy digestive system, helps w/ behavior issues; auditory and expressive communication.
• Buy Organic! The why: Learning about the History of Pesticides was seriously shocking! [If you don't know it's basically a diluted poison that they made for WWII.] Do you REALLY want poison in your body, even if it IS diluted?] Pesticides can interfere w/ child development, cognitive ability, neurological problems, hormones dysfunction, & behavioral issues.
         The following are HIGHLY recommended to buy organic [at the very least]:
              Peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears,
              winter squash, spinach, grapes, lettuce, potatoes, green beans, hot peppers, cucumbers,
              mushrooms, cantaloupe
         The following are probably fine non-organic [wash as usual]:
              applesauce, raspberries, plums, grapefruit, tangerine, apple juice, honeydew melon,
              tomatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, cauliflower, broccoli, OJ, blueberries, papaya,
              cabbage, bananas, kiwi, canned tomatoes, sweet peas, asparagus, mango, canned pears,
              pineapple, sweet corn, avocado, onions
• Vitamin E & phophtidycholine (PC) [maybe.] The why: Good for helping picky eaters, Great for expressive & receptive communication, helpful for kids with sensory issues/ behavioral issues
• Multivitamin [we're already doing that b/c it just makes sense.]

Don't worry, I'm not going to tackle all of that all at once. Right now we're mostly concentrating on the vitamins/ being consistent on probiotics. Then onto the other stuff once I know that we're all on board [as we'll be doing it as a family to start on each thing.]