Finding Alternatives

I’ve been finding some good alternatives for Zach who has some dietary issues. First issue is lactose intolerance. Thankfully it’s mild. He was on soy formula as a baby, and then soy milk since. Of course now research is out about how soy acts like estrogen and I wonder what I’ve done to my poor boy’s body in the meantime because I didn’t know and all the doctors said soy milk was good for him as an alternative to moo cow milk. So far in our search for substitutes he likes Almond Breeze chocolate milk. I thought we’d start with chocolate since kids tend to like chocolate milk more. I was amazed that he liked it right away. Zach is my pickiest of picky eaters and once we find a brand he likes, we HAVE to buy that exact brand each time.

Then we have the whole he can’t have red dye issue. It’s not so bad really because let’s face it, none of us should really ingest the crap anyway. Do you have any idea how many things that you shove in your face have red dye in them. Nacho flavored Doritos for one. They also have MSG. Double whammy in our house since I can’t have MSG. Keebler’s chocolate chip cereal of all things even has red #40 in it. That completely made me go WTF? I’m glad Zach read the label, because I automatically assumed that a chocolate cereal with no obvious signs of redness was OK. Just goes to show you have to read EVERY label. I’ve even learned you have to read the labels EVERY time you shop. Some brands change their ingredients on you.

For the red dye issue, we’ve found some things where Zach can still be like “normal” kids. Target’s Archer Farms has some great dye free fruit strips that took the place of his love of Fruit by the Foot. Annie’s organic fruit snacks in berry flavor are another favorite of his. Not the tropical fruit though. I even tasted those and they’re not so great. To take the place of Fruit Loops, Zach’s favorite is Wegman’s organic version in their store brand.

I even found an organic dye free Funfetti cake mix this weekend to make cupcakes for Zach. He likes it, but I’d like to tweak it a bit. The end result isn’t as sweet as traditional cupcakes, but we’re OK with that. I need to adjust the cooking time. I followed the box exactly and my cupcakes were a little well done.

For other candies and treats, I hit the international foods section. It amazes me at how much of their stuff is dye free, and yet our foods here are littered with dyes and artificial flavorings.

When I first started shopping the international foods aisle and organics much more often, I felt douchey like those gung ho crunchy people that are naziesque about their food. What I’ve found is that I’ve gotten over it. I’m doing what’s best for my child and his dietary needs (ok, so he doesn’t need the fruit snacks, but they’re a nice treat now and then). I’ve also found myself buying more organics like chicken, pork, and vegetables because they just taste better.

Related posts:

1. I Found Some!
2. Stuff of Life
3. Dear Hershey’s
4. Slow
5. Fiber One Yogurt Review

Category: food, health, life, parenting