Shopping for Gold

The hardest part of any elimination diet is finding products that you can use to replace those that contain the compounds you are trying to eliminate.

Thankfully Doug's mom Grace has many years of experience with this, the Feingold Diet, and has been so very giving of her time that our transition has been easier than most.

In talking with her, I’ve benefited from her ‘Hard Knocks’ and won’t have to spend countless hours wandering from grocery store to grocery store trying to find breads, cereals, yogurts, snacks, lunch makings and other ingredients for dinner.

Also rendering this lifestyle change easier is the fact that we cook most of our dinners and nearly all of our weekend meals from scratch. Charles and I fell in love while cooking with each other for our friends, and we find it is a relaxing and satisfying way to catch up at the end of a long and busy day.

For the last two weeks, we've been following this diet and already we've seen some remarkable changes. This morning at breakfast BW remarked that last night was the first time in recent memory that he didn't wake up in the middle of the night and he felt rested.

We've all noticed that he's been agreeable, pleasant and a lot more gentle when it comes to playing with JB and the dog. So far BW has only mentioned once that he misses the bright flavors of cold cereal, but when offed the choice of eating that and feeling like he used to, or sticking with the diet, he quickly answers "Stay on the course Mama!"

Charles and I remain reserved about this diet as it eliminates so many fruits and vegetables that contain silicates (thought by some to result in hyperactivity and an 'allergic' reaction in some children) and one of the criticisms is that many of the fruits that are 'approved' of also contain high levels of the same compound. This is among many of the questions that I have and continue to research. For now, we have adopted the diet as a natural fact of life, that we are following it so that every member of the family is as healthy as they can be, and Charles and I try our best to not be either overly positive or negative about what this program can do.

For those of you who’ve ever heard of the Feingold Diet, who are curious about it, or are wondering if it might be an option for you, here is some of the information that Grace passed along to us about where we can get foods that do not contain artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and other ingredients to avoid when starting out on the diet.

At Wal-Mart (and some extent Sam’s Club)
Frozen Salmon
Raw Tortillas (which can be found by the string cheese section)
Natural Peanut Butter
Granola bars
Mom’s Naturals
Tyson’s Natural Chicken Nuggets

General Grocery Stores
Many Newman’s Own products
Breyer's Ice Cream
Tyson’s Natural Chicken Nuggets
Rudi's Organic Breads
Pear Juice (in the baby food aisle)

Whole Foods
Deli Meats
BBQ Sauce – Mustard Based as tomatoes are a significant source for an allergic reaction
365 Lemonade
Hot Chocolate
Ice Cream Cones
Cupcakes
Breads
Raw Pizza Dough
Pepperoni from the deli for Pizzas
365 Powdered mixes – gravy, sauces, etc.
gum drops
meringues
gummy star candies

Also, here in River City we are fortunate to have a little restaurant that imports foods from England, and they have the most delightful candies that BW and JB can enjoy freely. Outside of the United States, most European countries have outlawed the use of petroleum based chemicals in the food sources, be they raw or processed. Whenever we have the opportunity to purchase an import from those lands at a reasonable cost we take advantage of it.

If you are fortunate enough to have a Whole Foods within close proximity as well as the resources to shop there, the task is much easier since it means that a greater variety of choices in food is readily available. Without that store or another 'Natural Grocer' the job will be more difficult and you may need to rely more on mail order sources for durable goods.

I can say that of all I've learned in the last several weeks, one thing stands out the most. Charles makes amazing peppermint patties!