2nd grade hiccups - a gluten goof-up

it still amazes me how quickly abbie slides downhill when given any amount of gluten.

i bought some peanut butter corn puff cereal to mix in with our more expensive gf granola abbie loves. when i grabbed it off the shelf, i of course looked at the label, but my eyes just glossed right over the "whole oat flour".  my head was clearly up my arse.

we had such a bad morning after she ate her bowl of granola/cereal for the second day in a row.  we had major & ridiculous argument about wearing a coat (it was only 34 degrees outside) so i sent an email to her teacher warning her that we had a rough start before i connected the dots with her food. here is what her teacher had to say about her behavior on the gluten goof-up days.  it takes abbie about 2-3 days for the gluten effect to wear off.  

"Yesterday and today Abbie has been a little off.  It makes sense now that I read that she had a rough start to her day yesterday.  During school she was very focused during a few of our classroom activities, but not all.  She almost seems upset and would easily become frustrated.  There were a couple instances where she had trouble getting along with the other students at her table.  They are usually able to cooperate well.   I don't know if this is in relation to something she ate, or if it's a result to a sour start to her day yesterday.  We will see how her afternoon goes."

crazy isn't it?

whole oat flour (unless it specifically is labeled gluten free) is not to be trusted and i have learned my label lesson yet again.  i haven't bought cereal other than a good quality, gf granola in over a year and i won't be doing it again unless there is a clear gluten free label on it... the funny part is abbie didn't even like the cereal anyways!

abbie's back on track again and we have three great reasons to celebrate this mistake:

#1 abbie has yet another experience where she can directly understand how gluten effects her.
#2 her teacher now knows how gluten effects her both socially and behaviorally in the classroom so she can really help me pin point another food blunder.  just a week earlier she asked me how abbie acted before the food change!  though i hate that i goofed up, i love that her teacher now knows what symptoms to look for in abbie.
#3 abbie is starting to take the reigns: "mom, quit giving me gluten, ok!?"

yes, abbie, my bad.

whether you are in the process or simply thinking of making a real food change in your family, i have found another amazing resource for you.  i am so happy to find it cuz i don't have to write the post!
check out this 6-week ADHD clean eating guide by a fellow food revolution blog of the month, ourfamilyeats.com.  the only thing i would add is removing gluten week 4.  moreover, you can check out the salicylatic content of foods (case in point, abbie goes coo coo if she has too many strawberries which are high in salicylates) as you gain speed.  over the course of the past year, i too have slowly gone "clean" with our household products and beauty supplies and it sure has made a difference for all of us.  this is the make-up i use now and i'm seriously hooked.for.life.  

you can do anything for 6 weeks.  if it doesn't work, good riddance.  if it does work... well now that would be something to build your city on - no regrets, just rock and roll baby (i couldn't help myself with that song, the mullies kitchen is currently jammin to the 80's).

enjoy love bugs

xoxo

ps

happy halloweeeeeeenies - no need to buy a costume to be little orphan annie and daddy warbucks:)

that's how curly my hair is if i let it go cray cray.  i need my sis/bro/niece's red hair and i would have been PERFECT!!!!!