Progress is well, Progress!

So, on Saturday we tried a new recipe for Duncan: Apple Cinnamon Bread.  This recipe, as we did it, was free of corn, gluten, egg, dairy, soy, yeast and gelatin!  :)  One of my friends from college started a Blog last fall called The Big Bread Theory, you should check it out, where she's trying to learn how to bake - well, bread.  

This was a huge hurdle for us to jump through because Duncan has been off of high phenol/sulphur foods for months now.  Lots of children with ADHD, Autism, Downs and Sensory Processing/Integration Disorder (as Duncan has) are very sensitive to phenol reactions.   Different foods cause different reactions for Duncan but we found that apples made him extremely fussy and disagreeable.  (Think one of the worst toddler melt-downs you could imagine but all the time over everything starting at about 16 months old.)  He CRAVED apples.  But, as it turns out, we usually crave things that either 1) We are deficient in or 2) Our body shouldn't have.  

He seemed to do well with the bread.  He LOVED it.  I loved it too!  It definitely was a wonderful baking feat to have a Duncan friendly bread that turned out so well.  By most people's standards the bread might still taste different or have a different texture.  But, when you're submerged in the world of allergy friendly cooking and eating your taste-buds and expectations change from expecting that standard American processed fare into having a taste-bud curiosity for things that are new and different.   

I have to say one of my 'favorite' parts about Duncan's allergies flipping our world upside down over a year and a half ago is that it has made us, especially me, be a truly healthy eater.  There are so many 'health food' items sold in the regular grocery stores that are definitely NOT healthy.  It's all marketing.  But, when you're cooking everything from scratch like June Cleaver and you are using the most simple, pure Organic ingredients you can find it really truly makes a big difference.  The big difference is not just in taste, but also in how your body feels and functions.  We weren't made to eat chemical compounds.  We were made to eat from nature.  

When I had to go corn-free literally cold turkey it was a very difficult feat.  Not because I didn't want to do it, but because corn is rampant in everything.  And I do mean everything.  How about 'pure' juice?  Well, it has Vitamin C generally which is ascorbic acid which is corn.  What about your seasonings in your cabinet that have potassium sorbate added as a 'natural preservativ?'  Well, potassium sorbate is corn.  The list could go on and on.  So, you get my drift.  But, when my taste-buds had to go cold turkey from typical American fare - even 'healthy' American fare - a miraculous change happens after about 3 weeks.  When you finally re-try the things you think you've been longing for, you realize that they really don't taste that great anyway!  

But, anyway, in my mind I'm rambling and I'm sure this post might seem jumbly.  But, it's what's flowing out right now.  So, I hope you've enjoyed this second post.  Please check out my friend Kristen's blog, "The Big Bread Theory."  She has some mighty tasting looking bread on there!

Best wishes,

Ashley