Week 3

Tomorrow marks the beginning of week 3. So far I can tell that there has been a change in Tyler...I just can't put my finger on it. I was talking to DH about it today and we came to the conclusion that Tyler is communicating more about things that are more than just "nonsense" talking. What I mean is that his usual mode of communication involves things like, "Mommy, green light means go, red light means stop", or "Lady (our dog) is black. She's a girl". Those kinds of things. But in the last week or so it does seem like he has been having more meaningful conversations. Like I mentioned before, I think it is harder for me to pick up on the changes right now because of the 2 extra boys that I'm watching during the week. I'm trying to come up with ways to spend more time with him so I can observe him more.

This week we are reducing carbs and sugar. I also bought an acidophiles that I know was transported refrigerated, so we'll see if that makes a difference from what we were giving to him.

As far as the dairy goes, I found out that Tyler does like Almond Milk much better than Rice Milk. He was quite excited today when I let him get the Chocolate Almond Milk. I also got some ice cream that he can have next week for DH's birthday party. Oops....did I say that we are reducing sugar?

Week 2

This week Tyler is taking acidophiles and grapefruit see extract 3 times a day. He was sick over the weekend but seems to be doing better now. We're out of Rice Milk so we'll see how he does with the Almond Milk.

Next week we will be reducing carbs so this week I get to brainstorm on meals. I have found that lunches for everyone seem to be the most difficult. Cutting out mac & cheese and all the cream soups really cut back on our lunch menu! I've been considering making mac & cheese for the other kids and just giving Tyler something different. For the most part I've been trying to make the change without making a big deal about it. But maybe for my sanity I need to do something different. What do you think?

Fast Food

I just wanted to share a blog that I found this week! I was looking for information on fast food items that have casein in them and I found this! I has been very helpful in looking at what things Tyler can and can't have. One thing she doesn't mention is that if you are only casein free you can opt to keep the cheese off on many items. But it was nice to know that all the chicken nuggets out there contain casein in their breading. I also found the ingredient list for all of Taco Bell's items. Since we can order things without the cheese this may be the easiest place to eat at, especially when we go gluten free too!

Pizza Night

Pizza night was a success! I made a casein free crust, then pulled off a little from the main pizza to make a personal pizza for Tyler. I was pretty skeptical of the Vegan Gourmet cheese, but hubby said it did taste like mozzarella. We cooked Tyler's pizza in the toaster oven so we could keep an eye on it.

I had to switch it to broil to melt the cheese, but it did melt!

After a couple of bites I asked Tyler if he liked it and he said yes! He ate the whole pizza, so I assuming that he did!

Day 5

Tonight I get to try making pizza with Vegan Gourmet cheese. I'll be sure to add extra toppings so it may not be too bad. The cheese is so expensive that I'll only be making one for Tyler, then I'll do a regular pizza for the rest of us.

This week has been a bit challenging. The casein free meals haven't been that difficult, but I'm having a hard time knowing if anything is helping. I'm watching 2 extra boys this summer so the added craziness means that I'm not spending as much time with Tyler (or the others) as I would like. I'm hoping that I'll be able to spend some time with the kids tomorrow and that I will (hopefully) see something that has changed. We'll see. Some people don't see the difference by removing casein until it gets added back into the diet.

I have been wondering something though. For those of you that have a child on a special diet, how do you handle visiting family/friends? How about sending your child to something like VBS where they get snacks?

New Plan: Day 2

We made it through the first day! Last night I did our "big" shopping trip and it took a bit longer than normal since I was reading labels and such. I did manage to find a cheaper butter than I had found at the organic store, but the commissary still didn't have any Vegan cheese. They had Veggie Slices, but those still have casein in them. I did come home in time to catch hubby giving Tyler a cookie that had milk in it, but since it had been promised for cleaning his room I let it slide. I figured that since we were on the first day it probably wouldn't make that big of a difference.

Tyler hasn't complained about having to use rice milk on his cereal, but he didn't care for it this morning when I gave him a little to take with his acidophiles. I don't know if he'll get use to the flavor or if he just won't care to drink it straight. I also bought almond milk the other day so we'll see if he favors one over the other. The commissary does have rice milk for about $.30 cheaper than the organic store, so if he doesn't care for either one then I'll just buy the rice milk at the commissary. I might try soy but I'm a little hesitant of it. I've read a few things about soy that makes me shy away from using it in large quantities but now I don't remember what it was exactly that the article said. Does anyone know?

New Plan: Day 1

My goal is to record at least once a week with what we're doing and any progress that I see. Today is simple. This week he'll take 3 acidophiles capsules a day and he is going casein free. I went to an organic store yesterday and found some milk, butter and cheese for him. I won't let him use a lot of the cheese since it was quite pricey, but I'm hoping to at least be able to make him a personal pizza every week on pizza night. Today's menu is:

• Breakfast-Oatmeal w/ Rice Milk
• Snack-Applesauce
• Lunch-PB&J (I made casein free bread last week)
• Dinner-Sausage and Rice Casserole