Foodscout!

My amazing friend Diana has launched an outstanding resource website called foodscout. The list of food includes nutrients and health benefits and I personally love how easy it is to navigate this site and create my Sprouts shopping list. (Sprouts is the rockin' produce store in town) Make sure to dive in, look around, bookmark and pass it along if you love it.

Amid all of the buzz on autism and all of the possible things I could do to help my son, the gluten-free, casein-free diet is one that many parents try. For some children, there are significant gains in language and engagement. For others, the diet doesn't seem to make much improvement. I knew that Diana was allergic to gluten, so I turned to her for advice to see what to do. After her emails, I never felt so well-prepared to walk into a grocery store. She gave me products right down to specific brands and flavors. She also considered our busy lifestyle and gave me a few options of quick snacks and easy meals to find. I am indebted.

So, do I follow a completely gluten-free, casein-free diet? No. It is much, much harder than it looks. But I have made some changes in our meals, especially in the fruit and vegetables department. I always try to include a vegetable and/or a fruit. My boys are keen on fresh fruit-Connor's best word is "nana"-for banana. He also goes into the refrigerator for handfuls of fresh grapes that I keep on a shelf in his reach. Ian will eat green apples with peanut butter for lunch. Vegetables are harder to get by him, but I manage every so often with some tricks here and there.

The biggest change we are trying to do is keep the sugar low or out of their diet. That is easy at home, not easy at daycare. Ian loves the chocolate-strawberry milk that all the daycare kids get, but we are limiting what he can have. The effects of too much sugar on him are diabolical. He cannot do anything without frustration and crying if he is loaded on sugar. Now at home, he is enjoying Tofrutti ice pops as a treat and lately I have been making him unsweetened chocolate almond milk with agave syrup for his chocolate fix. He is a very agreeable and easy-going kid without all of the sugar. He still has some actual treats, but much fewer and far between. Connor actually prefers fruit over sweets, plus he really enjoys the brown rice crackers I found that are gluten-free. We haven't cooked much pasta-occasionally. We have pizza once a week. I make brown rice over white. It's just better eating for us, even if we don't follow the diet as strictly.

So, I really hope you will pop on over to foodscout and see all of the great things Diana has to share. She has really helped me tremendously, so definitely check it out!!!

Also-for those who haven't read in a bit......be sure to read the post before this and donate your few moments of time to watch a video for those adorable kids who happen to fall on the autism spectrum. They are people like all of us and the littlest ones need and deserve the best start they can get. Your time equals extra money donated to Autism Speaks. Do it now.