I am getting so excited to get started! I do admit, it is overwhelming at this point, but I am confident I am going to master this new Feingold lifestyle.
Program Materials
I got my materials in the mail on Saturday. I have been spending every second of down time I have either pouring over the handbook and the shopping guide or lurking on the Feingold Members Support Board.
I am taking the total immersion approach to learning this, because I feel like I do not have any more time to waste getting started.
Henry's behavior is more out of control by the day. He is five this month, he should have a better grasp on appropriate behavior.
I was buckling him into his carseat over the weekend, and he was fighting me as he always does. He said, "I am going to slap you!" and then he actually did! I think he was more surprised by it than I was. That's what I mean when I say he is out of control. He does these things that he knows are wrong, and then instantly regrets it. I have no doubt that he loves me, but he has no impulse control AT ALL. Telling him not to do something means he has to do it RIGHT THEN.
The shopping guide that comes with the Feingold Program materials is a daunting 296 pages. But, it is separated into Stage 1 and Stage 2 foods, so I have been able to make it through the stage 1 foods in about 2 (broken) hours.
What I am doing to make my shopping go a little faster and help cement the approved foods in my head is this: I started at the very front, and highlighted everything listed that I am already familiar with and have already purchased. Doing this has been somewhat of a relief in and of itself - there are a lot more products that are approved that I already buy than I imagined!
Grocery shopping, returning unapproved foods
I have been staring in my pantry for days, looking at all of the unapproved food and sighing. I regularly donate to food banks, but money is tight right now and this new lifestyle is going to cost more, no doubt. So, I called Wal-Mart this morning and spoke with the Customer Service manager. I explained that I recently discovered my child has a severe food allergy, and I have all of this food that I cannot use. They said I could bring it back and get store credit! No receipt necessary, just bring it back, easy peasy! They will check the dates, but nothing is close to expiring, so I am excited to have some store credit to get started.
Bread
One food that I have had a hard time locating a familiar name in the food guide is bread. Just regular ol' sandwich bread. I have a lot of friends that make their own bread, so I started reading about bread makers. It sounds really EASY! I always thought I wasn't domestic enough to make our own bread. But, I have discovered, with modern bread makers there is really not much to it! Put your ingredients in the bread machine, turn it on, and voila! - fresh, home baked bread made with no petrolum based preservatives or vanillin (paper mill waste product that is frequently used to flavor foods because it is cheaper than pure vanillia).
I am taking my change to Coinstar this week to cash in for an Amazon gift card so I can buy a shiny new bread maker (Breadman, $59). I already have $50 in Amazon gift cards that I earned in December, thank you Swagbucks, so I am not going to spend any money out of budget to get started. Of course, I have to buy a bread knife (why do I not already own a bread knife?) and a bread box to keep the bread in. The savings from baking all of our own bread are not going to be realized immediately, but I am confident that the bread machine and accessories will pay for themselves over time. Haven't you noticed how loaf bread is steadily creeping up in price?!
Meals, lunch inspiration
I am anticipating breakfast and dinner to be easy, because I all I have to do is sub a few approved ingredients for those - we already eat pretty well for those meals.
Sweet snacks are easy, too - Breyers and Haggan-Das both make several approved varieties of ice cream, and then there are Walker's shortbread cookies I (yum!) and most variety of Giradehilli chocolate (and we have an outlet close by great prices and coupons).
What I am most nervous about is lunch. Henry is not big on leftovers for lunch, but I think he is going to have to change his attitude on that.
I had a brilliant idea last night to encourage him to eat better at lunch time and to encourage me to feed him a more well balanced lunch. Years ago, maybe when I was still pregnant with Henry, I bought a Laptop Lunch Box in a co-op. It has been sitting in that hard to reach cabinet above the refrigerator ever since.
I bought it because it made sense - children are more likely to eat [healthy things that you want them to eat] if you make it fun for them. Colorful bento boxes (there are several other brands, I just happen to have this one) with small compartments for varied foods make eating fun!
I can probably always get him to eat some carrot sticks with [home made, made with approved ingredients] ranch dressing if it is in the fun Bento box.
Tomatoes are hard. You don't realize how often you use tomatoes until you have to avoid them as if your life depends on it. They are in everything! Tomato soup (duh). Home made vegetable beef soup. Almost all of the pasta dishes my family enjoys - spaghetti, lasagna. Swanson beef broth. Ketchup! The list goes on.
Ketchup will probably prove to be the hardest. I am a big utilizer of ketcup. Typically, if Henry doesn't like a meat that I have cooked giving him ketcup will get him to eat it.
I am going to do my best to replace ketcup with either ranch dressing or honey. It worked great for the grilled chicken I cooked last night - I gave him a small ramekin of honey to dip in and he thought he was having dessert! And he has never, ever eaten so much grilled chicken.
Okay, my window of quiet to write has passed, the children need attention and I am sure something needs cleaning.
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