Preservative Free Foods?? Behaviour Issues with 3.5 year old....

[JDsMum]

Thanks for all the suggestions girls!! Will definitely get that book!

There are so many numbers on that list - how do I narrow it down?? What are the really bad ones??

So if I'm baking stuff from scratch but it contains a bit of sugar and oil etc is that OK?

It's quite overwhelming!!

[Rach75]

with us, when the behavior started we looked back at what he had had that was new, which was juice and cordial ... we then looked at the ingredients, then notcied the pres 223 was also in cheerios which the one time he had had them he had night mares for days and physo behaviour, so we put 2 and 2 together, it can be overwhelming but the best thing is to watch for the out of control behaviour and take note of what he has eaten etc then what colors preservatives are in them if that makes sense eventually you willl see a pattern

[LimeSlice]

Thanks for all the suggestions girls!! Will definitely get that book!

There are so many numbers on that list - how do I narrow it down?? What are the really bad ones??

So if I'm baking stuff from scratch but it contains a bit of sugar and oil etc is that OK?

It's quite overwhelming!!

They are ALL bad.
The way to avoid them is to avoid processed food altogether.
For example - no more jars for dinner - Chicken Tonights, Dolmio sauces, etc.
No more Maggi Packets, commercial breads, 2-minute noodles, crap cereals.

You have to make everything yourself, using whole ingredients.

There is a FAB thread about "breaking the jar habit and cooking from scratch" around - check it out - it is soo much easier than people realise and much cheaper too.
Use more veggies in all meals, no packet sides like those crap microwave pastas.
Make your own chicken muggets and fish fingers, your own pies, sausage rolls are good too.

With your baking, you can substitute some sugar for sweet potato - Christy has all sorts of recipes like this I think. Oils and fats are fine in moderation. ETA: And you can jut cut the sugar in half or reduce it too - I never use as much sugar as the recipe calls for when baking, and you can't taste the difference

Find some recipes for things like museli bars to make at home, and no more packet cakes, muffin bars, or whatever else.
No Le Snacks and their shyte "cheese"

Also, the colours are often the worst, and surprisingly, it is the yellows that cause most issues. Even things labelled as "natural flaour" or "natural colours" are just as bad.

Real food has NO number in it at all - it isn't processed, it doesn't require google or a book to look up the meaning of its ingredients.

Buy REAL yoghurt - like Jalna, not the crap with the cartoon characters on it.

HTH

It is really easy once you do it, just seems overwhelming at the beginning when you actually examine and see how much of your pantry and fridge are filled with preservatives and processed rubbish. Promise though, once you get going, it is the best and easist thing you will ever do.

[beckoes]

i would start by cutting out any fizzy soft drinks if he has those, they can be pretty bad, even the sugar free ones. things like sliced (processed) cheese and chips have quite a few numbers and i know DD reacts to them.

I think a small ammount of sugar is fine, if im making cakes/muffins etc i try to use half soft brown sugar and half honey instead of white/raw sugar. its so hard to read everything and remember so many numbers to avoid. WHat we did was just avoid ANYTHING that was processed, so no woolies cakes/biscuits etc as they all have things in them to keem them fresh onthe shelf for longer. ANything that isnt bassically a 'whole food' i.e fruit veg grains etc. get your bread from a bakery. try to make your own things which you would normally buy...ie, nuggets, burgers, fish bites etc. it can be quite time consuming but they great thing i found was that DD LOVED to help and will sit on the side and cook with me and eat stacks more cause she helped cook it!

then you can start adding things back in, like find a good cheese with no numbers, or a drink he can have which has no numbers, things like peanut butter and humous that your not going to make yourself, find a good brand and stick with that one, i found it easier that way.

anyway , thats just what we did and i found it alot less overwhelming! now i can tell withing 10-20 mins when DD has something i wouldnt normally give her, like chips or soft drink, cause she goes mental and its a good reminder of why we changed her diet! Good luck, i hope it makes a difference for you!

edit: just read the post above.....basically what i was trying to say