Our/My Diet

Okay, our diet... Some of you are going to think we are just plain crazy, some of you may think it sounds interesting. It's different, it's who we are, and it's good - for us.

To fully explain my "nursing diet" I must tell you what our regular diet looks like because they are so closely tied. Our diet sounds simple when you say it out loud or read it, as you are doing here. It is basically this: we choose not to eat any refined sugar or MSG, and avoid foods with preservatives or nitrates/nitrites in them. We also do mostly organic everything. This is because we want to give our kids the best start we can afford to. Sounds simple, but it becomes tricky at times. It has become like a game to me now though.

I know some of you are going to have questions so here we go....

Okay, what's refined sugar? Refined sugar is most commonly seen in the form of white table sugar. It is also known as (high fructose) corn syrup, organic sugar, cane sugar, evaporated cane sugar/syrup, and Florida crystals. Although I may have missed a few others. What we do eat is called Turbinado/Demerara sugar, also known as raw cane sugar. I can make pretty much anything anyone else can make with this sugar. I use it in the same ratio as white sugar. I think it has more flavor than white because of the molasses that has been left intact.

Now, what is MSG? MSG is monosodium glutamate. MSG is made from a glutamate (found in nearly every type of protein rich food) which is an amino acid. It is converted into a white, salty powder and added to foods to enhance the flavor. It hasn't been proven that MSG has any long term effects on your body but have been linked to short term effects that include headaches, fatigue, nausea, and most recently thought to cause eye damage. There are more or less effects depending on who you talk with. Wikipedia has a fairly good, non-biased article on MSG. Basically, all in all, it is an additive we choose to avoid. MSG is also known as autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein, yeast extract, seasoning, flavorings along with others. But those are the most common.

The preservatives and nitrates/nitrites are found mainly in processed meats like deli meat, beef jerky, and hotdogs, and pickles. I am sure there are more but I am trying to give you the general idea here.

So, sounds easy enough right? It's actually kind of tricky because an enormous amount of food in the grocery store - outside of the health food section - has something in it we choose not to eat. And I am totally okay with this. It is our choice; no one is making us eat this way. We happen to think it is a good way to live, and should it cost us a bit more money or perhaps some aggravation in eating out, then so be it. It is our choice and we understand the ramifications.

That is our overall diet - we try not to be too crazy but I guess to a lot of people we are. Normal is so overrated. (smile)

Now for my "nursing diet".... As I mentioned in an earlier post this is where I remove dairy products, chocolate and coffee. I remove chocolate and regular coffee because of the caffeine element, and dairy because of colic issues, gas for the baby, and spitting up.

I usually remove the dairy for the first few months, or until the baby's digestive system is a bit more mature. After about three to four months I slowly incorporate dairy back in, watching to see if their system can handle it or not. I have chosen not to give up butter this time because honestly, I love butter. My world is a much happier place when butter is in it!

I don't have any huge secrets to give you with the non-dairy diet. The biggest thing I do is use non-sweetened soymilk to cook and bake with in place of regular milk. Doing this allows me to make and eat most foods that I would normally prepare for my family. I just eat something completely different if there is cheese involved because, quite frankly, there is no good substitute for cheese.

I wish I had more help for you. I (we)eat simply, with lots of protein, fresh vegetables and fruit.

And look forward with great anticipation to the day when I can eat copious amounts of chocolate.

Uggg, I didn't want to write all of this. Our dietary decisions put some people on the defensive and I hate that. But, like I tell Eve all the time... everyone gets to make their own choices!

And aren't we all glad for that.