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AutismWeb.com Forum • View topic - Day 3 on the diet and he is rebelling
I am really not even doing the complete diet- I am just trying to eliminate casein right now which is basically half off the foods he ate (he only ate like 6 foods to begin with).
He won't even eat a gluten free cookie or cracker, he cries, screams, kicks, there is no way he will eat it unless I force it in his mouth, which I don't really want to do.
I can't even imagine him eating chicken nuggets or anything like that.
He hates meat. So basically he is eating half off what he used to with nothing added, and he is hungry and irritable.
I have mentioned before that he has major food aversions- even just to regular food, he gags by looking at different foods and even vomits when he gets really upset.
I just gave up the battle and so he continued to eat his 6 foods and every time I would try to introduce a new food, the battle began again.
He is supposed to start OT soon to address this issue.
BUT here is where I am confused- is part of the sensory problem an immune dysfunction which can be helped with supplements and the GF/CF diet or does he need to get over the food aversions and work with an OT before I even attempt this new diet with him.
It's like the chicken and the egg scenario....
Any thoughts on this?
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My son is also extremely picky.
He's been on the diet for 5 months.
He has very few foods he will eat.
None of the ready-made cookies, so I make them myself with a recipe from Special Diets for Special Kids.
He won't eat any meat, so I bake with protein powder.
His main staple is GFCF pizza made with kinnikinnick pizza crust and Enrico's pizza sauce.
I mix the protein powder into the pizza sauce too.
I also add calcium and magnesium to his cookies and muffins.
I also add protein powder into his pancakes which I make with a mix also from Kinnikinnick.
I asked Dr. N what I should do about his picky eating and he told me to keep doing what I'm doing.
Hide the nutrients in things he'll eat.
I hope that it will get better as he heals.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
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Heather,
I'm so sorry your having so much trouble.
I don't want to say give up on this because if you keep going, it will help him sooo much yet I know your frustrated.
Bobby is an extremely picky eater as well and it did get rough at times.
He had probably 5 or 6 things he would eat as well.
That's how I kept going.
I would remind myself how unhealthy he was eating before so this can't hurt.
I even thought of giving up but I'm so glad we kept going.
I didn't follow the GFCF step by step plan.
We took out what we could and worked on the rest one thing at a time.
I never put pressure to move quickly getting to 100% GFCF either.
We also used bribery.
He got a simple little reward/toy if he tried a new food.
Reward systems work great.
We didn't have to do this often though but I bet this would help for you.
What STILL works for us is using a food he is somewhat familair with along with another he doesn't know well.
Example: He tried brussle sprouts the other day.
He hated it, scrunched up his face, cried as I forced him to try it.
The next day I put brussle sprouts on the plate with baked beans (GFCF) and he almost puked.
I told him to eat whichever one HE wanted.
He ate ALL the brussle sprouts!
There you go... now he likes brussle sprouts (the lessor evil of the two in his eyes I'm sure).
Bobby often doesn't like foods he hasn't even tried but I found if you can get them to try it and then keep eating it a few more times, you've got them putting that food on the Ok list.
How old is your son?
DOes he like potato chips, peanut butter, chocolate milk?
You can give him all that on this diet no problem and there are great GFCF brands out there (some are regular grocery store items).
If he likes ketchup, you can hide a lot with that.
Bobby liked chicken but no other meat.
So we smothered pork one night in ketchup and he ate it no problem.
We even let him think it was chicken for a while.
Now he knows it's pork or chicken or steak, etc.
I'm so sorry your having so much trouble.
You may also be getting some withdrawal symptoms as well.
Bobby became VERY stubborn and cranky.
I wish I could do more to help.
audrey
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Heather,
This is great advise from about.com.
If I remember right, the author has an autistic child or family member.
-audrey
From Adelle Jameson Tilton,
Your Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorders.
FREE Newsletter.
Sign Up Now!
Make Meal Time Easier
When children are converted to a gluten free casein free diet, there can be some resistance and struggle.
The easiest way to transition a child is to do it gradually.
Begin by introducing the foods that will be used on the GFCF diet and slowly removing the foods which will not be eaten.
Eliminate all gluten sources and replace them with gluten-free alternatives.
Once that change has been accepted, repeat with casein free foods.
Remember that the older a child is, the more difficult and time consuming the transition will be.
Maintaining an identical diet for the rest of the family will make things easier.
Take things slowly and provide tasty and interesting substitutes.
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By the way, don't worry about which one you eliminate first, casein or gluten.
It really doesn't matter.
a.
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Thank you both for the ideas-
Al&Matt's mom: what kind of cheese do you put on the pizza and can I use a soy protein powder?
b's mom: What kind of chocolate milk can I use?
So far I have tried to give him almond milk and Pacific milk (rice)- he hated both of them.
Can I give him soy yogurt?
I like the idea of giving him choices, I hate to see him hungry and I hate that he has these sensory issues with food, it makes it so much more difficult.
So here's what I stocked up on: fruit, fritos, baked lays, sloppy joe, rice bread, peanut butter, jello, popcorn, fries, gluten free oatmeal, gluten free waffles, bananas, and apples.
They are not exactly all healthy, but I guess I will have to start with one food at a time.
My son is almost 4 and has been eating the same 6 foods for like 2 years so he is VERY resistant!
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The trick is trying to "trick" him.
Like my son loves applesauce, bananas, mashed potatoes, mostly smooth foods.
No meat! So I make smoothies that are primarily bananas or applesauce, then mix in some other heathy stuff- like blue berries, gerber sweet peas baby food, ect.
If you get the right mix, he'll never realize it's there.
Tonight my son ate his mashed potatoes with gerber green beans mixed in.
Also, I have found that a little catsup goes along way.
He'll dip just about anything into it.
Still, only you know what your son will eat, and he is older than mine;
Therefore, he's probably going to be harder to fool.
Keep in mind that the first week is the hardest.
My boys were hellcats for several days, but then they tapered off.
Can you give us an idea of what your son would consider a good meal?
If so, maybe we can suggest a few tried and true tricks.
my boys drink the almond milk.
They also hated it at first.
I didn't do the grduation method though.
I just basically said, "here it is, take it or leave it." After two days they took it.
Again, they are only two and had no choice.
The taper off method might work better for you.
Everything else just takes time to find brands that your son will like.
Sometimes other moms can suggest what tastes the best.
But don't loose hope.
It really just comes down to a battle of wills.
And little ones can be sooo stubborn.
Eventually they do get used to the food, and are unable to tell the difference.
Sort of like trying to drink diet coke for the first time.
It taste awful, but after awhile you start to prefer it over the regular stuff.
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Here's the only foods he ate:
bananas
cheese nips (gone)
chicken and stars soup (is still eating until I find a replacement)
chocolate pudding (gone)
yoplait yogurt (gone)
jello
applesauce
occasionally he would eat a grilled cheese, apples, or a nutrigrain bar
apple juice
milk (gone)
I don't know what to replace his chicken and stars soup with?
He ate it for both lunch and dinner peanut butter and jelly?
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HEather,
That is an easy one for me.
Gavin loves his chicken noodle soup.
We get Swanson's chicken broth from the store.
We heat it up, add in some grated carrots and celery and tiny noodles.
The health food store has gluten free noodles that are shaped like ducks.
Gavin loves them.
His second favorite food is soup rice.
I put that same Swanson's chicken broth in a pan, add a tomato sauce (Hunts), some more water, salt, cilantro and his rice.
It really is good stuff.
Hope this helps!!!
GOodluck!
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I don't use cheese anymore, but when I used to it was soymage mozzarella just grated on top because it doesn't melt.
I have heard that tofutti cheese melts but I can't find it at any of my local stores.
Matthew doesn't miss the cheese at all.
I use pea protein powder that I get from Kirkman's.
I was also thinking about trying egg protein powder (I've seen that at Whole Food's) because peas are high in phenol.
I avoid soy whenever I can because it can sometimes have the same effects as casein.
It is still in some of his prepared foods, but I just don't add it.
My son won't drink any of the replacement milks, but I do find that Almond Breeze tastes best.
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You can also order organic chocolate pudding from many of the websites.
I make it with almond milk and he loves it!
(Also another great place to hide calcium and protein powder).
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I use Road's End vegan cheese.
It melts real well when it is shredded and it works good for grilled cheese.
I don't know what to use as a replacement for the chicken and stars, except for what others have suggested.
But my boys have just started eating Barkot's Rice and Tomatoe pot meals from Miss Roben's.
It's very easy to make (just add hot water) and they eat it like it's the best thing invented.
You probably can puree some veggies into his applesuace.
As long as you go easy on them it won't change the taste or texture.
Also, there is a replacement yogurt that I have seen.
I haven't tried it as my boys aren't yogurt eaters, but I think it's called Better Than Yogurt.
(not sure about the name though)
Oh yeah!!!
One thing I haven't noticed anyone mentioning to you.
If you go to www.gfcfdiet.com and click on the directory, you can look up acceptable foods by item.
(Beverages, soups, breads, peanut butter, jelly, ect.) It will give you a list of brand names and even web sites where you can purchase them.
It has come in handy for me when I want to find a replacement for a specific item, such as yogurt, soup, ect.
When I first started the diet, I ordered one of everything that I thought might get eaten.
Alot of stuff got thrown away, but it allowed me to find out what works and what doesn't.
Hang in there! Once you are able to completely eliminate all the bad stuff, you may decide that it was all worth it.
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Al&Matt's Mom
What a great idea about the pudding.
Thank you.
Rachel-Tanner's mom
Thanks for telling us about the cheese.
Heather
Rachel-Tanner's mom uses the same as we do: Blue Diamond Almond Chocolate Milk.
It is awesome. My son's friends ask for it when they come over!!
You can get it at any health food store or even some grovery stores carry it.
It's very popular, in a blue milk box (like many of the other containers for milk subs).
I'm not so sure about your list of foods.
You never know if they have a trace of something from another product running in the same line.
I usually call the companies with just about everything and then try the product for a week (no other new introductions of products).
Bring your cell phone in the store and call from there!
Once you know the products that are Ok, it's so easy to shop.
The companies are all so used to the question: is your product gluten and casein free.
Sometimes your asked what is casein but they are all pretty good and VERY used to handling these questions.
audrey
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