Adapting to a new way of eating

Next week will begin our Six Weeks to Chemical Free Challenge, and I’m getting pretty darn excited about it!  Every email, comment, or wall post I’ve gotten from parents who are as concerned about their child’s diet as I am makes me squeal just a little on the inside.  I’m looking forward to what’s ahead, and am so thrilled to have the chance to help you make a difference in your child’s behavior and the health of your family.

Before we start next week you may already be thinking about how you’re going to go about making these changes for your family.  If you’re anything like me you’re worried about how your child will react when they find out their favorite toaster pastries or cheese crackers aren’t in the pantry.  I was extremely nervous about how my severely picky eater would survive on water and cheese, because surely that’s all she would agree to eat.  So I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks that helped us make the switch with amazingly very little drama.

Before I started the slash and burn in my kitchen, I sat down with Sophie and had a heart to heart talk with her about her behavior and my suspicion that it was being caused by some of the food we were eating.  I chose my words carefully and tried very hard to keep the conversation on her level so she could understand.  I told her that I’d learned a lot about the foods we had been eating, and that many of them are filled with “junk”.  We still use the term “junk” when we talk about foods with chemicals in them.  It’s a word that she easily understands, and fits our purpose very nicely, if you ask me.  I explained that all those times she couldn’t stop what she was doing, even after getting multiple timeouts, might be because the junk made her brain get a little out of control.  I told her it happens a lot to children, and she definitely wasn’t the only child with this problem.  Sometimes we use the word “allergic” when we talk about a food she can’t have.  Again, it’s a word she understands and can easily process. 

After we talked about the changes we were making to our diet, I asked Sophie to play a game with me.  We called it appropriately enough “Junk or No Junk”.  It went a little something like this: I’d show her a box of crackers and ask the question, “What do you think, junk or no junk?”  She’d answer and we’d talk about why her answer was right or wrong.  I made sure to keep the mood light, and made plenty of silly jokes along the way.  The best part of the game came when something was indeed “junk”.  Sophie took much delight in throwing the food right into the trash herself.  I was stunned to see her actually tossing her very favorite snack crackers into the can without so much as a whimper.  She was completely on board with our changes, and told me several times that night that she couldn’t wait until she started thinking better.  You better believe I was one proud Mommy!  The trick here though is to watch your child for signs of fatigue during the game.  Once they lose interest just move on to something else and come back and finish the job alone a little later.  Believe it or not, Sophie still asks me if we can play “Junk or No Junk” from time to time.

The other coping mechanism I used for Sophie during the initial transition from junk to chemical free food was flat out bribery.  I don’t recommend doing this long term, but in the beginning it can come in very handy.  I stocked up on all natural ice cream (Breyers chocolate was our choice,  but there are many others as well), all natural jelly beans from Surf Sweets (you can find these on Amazon, or even at some grocery stores.  My local Publix just started carrying them!), and made batches of homemade fudge and chocolate chip cookies (using Ghiradelli chocolate chips).  When Sophie would complain about not being able to have something she used to eat, I’d pull out the big guns.  Somehow the words “You know, we can’t eat that stuff any more, but you can have a big bowl of ice cream” just made everything ok.  You want to focus on the positive – the things they can have – instead of the things that aren’t allowed any longer.  In the first week or two I think we ate ice cream every night after dinner.  After a few weeks I found that I didn’t need to use this trick as often, but I still keep things like that on hand in case of emergency.  A few other good choices for the transition period are Kozy Shack pudding, Luigi’s Italian Ice – lemon flavor, Lay’s potato chips, organic tortilla chips, and Yummy Earth candy and suckers (found on Amazon or Whole Foods stores).  I still keep lemon flavored Yummy Earth suckers in my bag at all times in case of emergency when we’re out and about.  Or of course any homemade version of a favorite treat, as long as you use all natural ingredients – like real vanilla instead of artificial vanilla flavor.

In the beginning don’t try to make your kids eat completely new foods for every single meal. even if you’ve been eating the worst chemical filled, artificial food, you should be able to find an all-natural version of it in some form.  Keep the focus on what they can have in the beginning.  In our case it was plain spaghetti with real Parmesan cheese, homemade mac and cheese, and cheese quesadillas.  These were all things she’s always loved and eaten without protest.  So I found 100% all natural cheese, flour tortillas, and bought tons of pasta (any plain, non-enriched pasta is ok) and let her eat to her heart’s content.  After a few weeks passed she was ready to move on to trying a new version of chicken nuggets, then homemade pizza, until finally she’s actually asking to try new things on her own.  I never thought I’d see that day… 

I hope that helps you approach the changes you’re making with a little bit of confidence.  If I can get my notoriously finicky, stubborn child through the transition I promise that you can do it.  Always remember that you’re making these changes because it’s absolutely best for your family.  I promise that the tantrum they may be having because their favorite treat is missing won’t last, but the benefits of a chemical free diet definitely will.

Now it’s your turn – do you have any ideas to share about helping your family adapt to the changes coming their way? 

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