Oh, You Poor Thing

“Oh, you poor thing.” This is the typical response that I get when someone asks me what my son and daughter can or can’t have to eat. I get it. I understand their thoughts. I have had them too, but what if we switched that completely around.  I’m talking positive FLIPSIDE!  I hope through all of this I can help others see the importance of diet change, to build awareness, and to not see it as a burden, but rather a choice that others can feel empowered to make too.

Two things have been on my mind after yet another recent interaction with a mom. The first is: why is it that my son, really my family, eating healthier foods and not all the junk makes everyone automatically go to “oh you poor thing”? And two, how can this be changed?

Diving into the first thought: “Oh your poor boy” or “oh you poor thing” or “I feel sorry for you/him/her”.  Seriously, why do we automatically think this?  I have done it too. In our home we have delt with gut issues, food sensitivities, celiac disease, autoimmune diseases, ADHD, hell just trying to lose weight.  I felt sorry for my daughter when she had to go gluten free a full six years ago after her celiac diagnosis. I shouldn’t have.  She was relieved. She embraced it and never looked back.  She finally had an answer and was looking forward to not being in so much pain any longer. She was only in the second grade, and she “got it” better than adults.

Our health has been taken for granted. We have mindsets that make us believe that these things will never happen to us, or that it’s just a little bit of sugar, or my favorite (insert eye roll here) if it wasn’t safe, it would be in our foods. Barf.  The trust that we have in the things we cannot see makes me sick.  NEWS FLASH: The foods we eat (as in you and I) ARE MAKING US SICK! On this journey I have learned so much. Learning and putting into action are two different things and boy is it hard. It is hard on us as adults, even when we know better. It is hard on our children and their bodies. It is hard on outsiders to understand those that are doing things differently than the norm. It is hard to feel like an outsider. It is hard to not feel included at times or forgotten about and to not take it personally.  It is hard to not be invited to birthday parties, out to dinner or over to a friend’s house because of eating differently. All because we are trying to heal our bodies and do the right thing for our us.

How do we change that? I wish I knew.  I think awareness is a good place to start. I am going to end this blog post with an ever-growing list of foods that we can eat.  I recently read a pro tip post in our  private support group with the families that are completing the same program we are working through with bub to reduce ADHD symptoms and help him to thrive. The pro tip was to make a list of all the foods we can eat in our home. What a positive switch!  This post grabbed me. Maybe if I show you all what we can eat you won’t feel so sorry for us.  Maybe you won’t pity those on a special diet or who are different from you. Maybe you will feel comfortable inviting over a child that usually doesn’t get an invite. Maybe you will feel empowered to do something better for you and your family whether it is diet or something else you have been wanting to change. Maybe you will look at the list and think “Wow, that’s not so hard and if she can do this, so can I!”

This morning I woke up with these thoughts flooding my brain and realized I too had been looking at it all wrong. I miss regular breadsticks so much and have been feeling pity for myself. I hope that I remember that I shouldn’t feel sad for bub to not have his favorite fast-food chain anymore, for sis to have to be so careful around others and their food, but rather thankful to be living a healthier life and on the road to healing our bodies.  I should stive to do better than yesterday and embrace eating to live rather than living to eat.  

                                                                                                                                       ~Mel

Foods we can eat:

• Almond milk
• Apples
• Applesauce
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Beef – ground, roast, stew, tacos, steak
• Black beans
• Blueberries
• Breads (although not made with the typical ingredients)
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chicken
• Coconut
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• eggs
• Fish
• Garlic
• Grapes
• Green beans
• Green peppers
• Guacamole
• Hummus
• Kale
• Kidney beans
• Lettuce
• Mini peppers
• Nuts & Seeds
• Oat milk
• Oats
• Onions (man do I love onions)
• Oranges
• Pasta
• Peanuts
• Pickles
• Pineapple and peaches (cannot be had by bub, but sis and I can)
• Pinto beans
• Pomegranate
• Pork
• Potatoes – cooked all the ways!
• Pumpkin
• Quinoa
• Raisins
• Rice
• Salads
• Salsa
• Seasonings and spices
• Shrimp (well not me because I’m allergic, but the kids do)
• spinach
• Squash
• Strawberries
• Sweet potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Turkey
• Venison
• Zucchini

What does this look like for us as a meal?

• Baked potato bar with pulled pork
• Banana roll ups – gluten free tortilla with natural peanut butter and an banana rolled up in it
• Beef roast with carrots and potatoes
• BLT’s and watermelon or other fruits and veggies (in the summer is a weekly meal)
• Chicken & rice
• Chicken tortilla soup
• Chili (just watch the mixes, a lot have gluten in them) and homemade cornbread.
• Grilled cheese or grilled peanut butter and jelly with tomato soup
• Grilled chicken with roasted vegetables
• Grilled meats with rice or pasta on the side and veggies.
• Homemade chicken fried rice with veggies on the side or eggroll in a bowl.
• Homemade chicken nuggets
• Homemade chicken salad with gluten free crackers instead of bread
• Homemade crunch wraps
• Homemade meatballs to go with our gluten free pasta.
• Homemade pizzas
• Lots of fruits and veggies with every meal. 
• Meatloaf & mashed potatoes
• Oatmeal and homemade pumpkin bread for breakfast.
• Pancakes – just with a special practiced recipe
• Quesadilla burgers and gluten free pasta salad
• Rice bowls with beans and rice and other toppings.
• Sausage and rice
• Taquitos and chicken street tacos are our favorites.
• We can have sausage and eggs if we liked those, but none of us do.
• We eat a lot of Mexican foods with corn tortillas. I have worked on my refried beans and Mexican rice recipes.
• We eat nachos with all the toppings, minus cheese or add plant based cheese or limit the cheese.
• We like burgers and fries like any typical family, but sub gluten free buns.
• We make knock-off Chick-fil-la grilled nuggets.

*My children are not immune to not liking foods.  Most things they do not like and refuse to eat. I still have them try everything over and over.