So What Can You Eat?

This is the question I get all the time when I tell someone we're on a "food program".  And typically I answer, "We can eat everything you eat, we just have to know the right brands to buy".  That's a much easier answer than launching into information about Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Feingold.  But since I have you as a captive audience, I'll give you the long version.

The Feingold Program is based upon an elimination diet composed of two Stages:

In Stage One, we eliminate all of the following from our diets:

• Synthetic (Artificial) Colors - these dyes are made from petroleum and are usually listed as "food coloring", "color added", or by Food & Drug Administration number such as "FD&C Yellow No. 5".
• Synthetic Flavors - these may be listed as "flavoring" or "artificial flavoring".  Vanillian (artificial vanilla) is the only synthetic flavoring clearly labeled by its name.
• Three Preservatives - BHA, BHT and TBHQ
• Synthetic Sweeteners - such as Aspartame (also sold as NutraSweet, Equal, Saccharine, Sweet N Low, and Sucralose/Splenda)
• Natural Salicylates - these are like naturally occurring "pesticides" that many kids can't tolerate in large, or even small doses, and are found in several fruits, vegetables and nuts.
• Aspirin is also eliminated in Stage One.

In Stage Two, you carefully reintroduce the salicylate items listed above.  Many children respond favorably to these natural items, but many can never have them back into their diet at all.  Most children fall somewhere between the two, such as Ben, in that he can have Stage Two items sometimes, but not every day.  They actually can cause a "buildup reaction" that mirrors reactions from artificials and preservatives.

The Feingold Association issues a yearly Foodlist and Shopping Guide (which you can get as part of the Program Materials) that lists thousands of foods that have been researched and determined safe for Feingold (FG) families.  One thing I have learned is that you can't rely solely on food labels.  Things such as "natural flavors" can mean very unnatural things, food companies use preservatives in things like pan spray for bread (but since it's not an actual ingredient of the bread it doesn't have to be listed), or there are quantities of ingredients that are so small they don't have to be listed, but can cause reactions.  Every year a FG Team researches new foods and new brands (and current brands in case they change ingredients) to ever expand the shopping list.  They even customize it geographically since some brands may use different ingredients depending on where the product is sold. 

It is very overwhelming to start the FG program.  My first shopping trip at Whole Foods took me almost three hours.  I had to look up every single product on the list.  Over time, I have found most of our day to day foods in our local Bel Air, supplemented by trips to Henry's Market and my bimonthly visit to Whole Foods.  I have also started making many things from scratch to save money and trips to specialty stores.  Now I only find shopping overwhelming if I'm in a store that I don't usually shop in.  And I carry my Food List & Shopping Guide in my purse at all times - you never know when you might need to check a brand! 

These days there are all natural versions of everything we eat.  Crackers, cookies, candy, snacks, chicken nuggets, etc., can all be found in a safe brand.  The hardest things to eliminate for us have been the salicylate items.  Right now in Stage One we can't have apples, oranges, grapes, or any kind of berry.  But we can have pears, bananas, pineapple, any kind of melon, and more.

Once you are Stage One for at least 4 to 6 weeks, when you are sure detox is over (yes, detox, doesn't that make you feel good about artificial ingredients?!?), you start looking for items you can add back in or still need to take out.  We've found we can add back in tomatoes once in a while, but we had to take out several Stage One items that we call "triggers", such as:  nitrates (found in bacon and lunchmeat), annatto (the natural coloring that makes cheese orange), too much mango, and approved vanilla yogurt because it contains some salicylates.  No worries, we found if we buy bacon from a local butcher shop, it has no added nitrates.  And we can eat white cheese all the time, so I've found white cheddar and buy it in bulk.  I started making my own yogurt that doesn't have salicylates.  Like I said, there's an approved version of everything.

But the thing Ben misses most are his beloved fruit snacks.  The kid would eat two packs a day before FG.  Yes, there is an approved version, Annies Bunny Fruit Snacks, but they all contain Stage Two fruits, so we can't eat them very often.  On more than a few occasions, he's given in to the temptation of the contraband fruit snacks, usually given to him by a friend at school.  And we get to deal with the behavior reaction because of it.  No matter how hard I try to divert his attention with other tasty treats, I haven't yet found a substitute for those darn fruit snacks!

Today I actually tried making my own gummy fruit snacks.  They turned out the perfect consistency, but the flavor just isn't quite there yet.  I used pomegranate juice, lime juice, lemonade, and pear juice.  The lime was disgusting, the pear okay, the lemonade a little boring and the pomegranate was just weird.  I will have to experiment again to figure out how to sweeten them up.  Perhaps mixtures of approved Stage One juices?  Anyway, at least I also made Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Black Bottom Cupcakes (again from this cookbook), so the Kimbles won't suffer without our sweets!  Anybody want recipes?