need info for basic healthy eating lots of ?'s

[smfeet2001]

Hello

Sorry I haven't been here for a while. Computer problems on my end and I didn't even know this website was down as well.

I am doing alot of researching on eating healthy and avoiding certain foods. We have been avoiding hydrogenated oils, food coloring esp. Red 40, blue whatever numbers as well as the yellows....I found out about MSG. I think it really affects my oldest son. We highly suspect him to have ADHD and Central Auditory processing disorder. We are not seeking a diagnoses for him as he doesn't want to be medicated and I agree.

I know about going with whole grains in bread, pastas and so on but they are very pricey. How far do you go in making your own pastas, breads, tortillas, flatbread so on it goes?

MSG is in everything. It is unbelievable. Is there anyway we can avoid MSG? It is hidden in other names that seem innocent enough.

I need the lowdown of healthy eating, whole food eating. I do not not much but I do know about hydro. oils, MSG and food coloring.

I also do not know much about grain. I have heard about Kumut, spelt, buckwheat and so on. I have no clue what they are good for in regards to cooking. Yes I know they are good for you but what do you do with it??

Also I have the Urban Homemaker catalog. I would like to know if these books are good (if you used them or have seen it and loved it):

*The Busy Woman's Guide to Healthy Eating by Emilie Barnes and Sue Gregg

*The New Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Pat Dailey

*Cooking with Grains by Coleen and Bob Simmons

*The Pasta Machine Cookbook by Donna R German

*Whole Foods for the Whole Family edited by Roberta Bishop Johnson (a La leche Book)

*Natural Meals in Minutes by Rita Bingham

*1-2-3 Smoothies by Rita Bingham

*Cooking and Baking with Fresh Ground Flour by Christine Downs

*The Best Pizza is Made at Home by Donna German

*ADD The Natural Approach by Anderson and Peiper

*The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy

*Cookin with Home STorage by Vicki Tate

*Mix a Meal cookbook by Deanna Bean and Lorna Shute

*How to Dry foods by Deanna DeLong

*Stocking Up by Carol Hupping

*Make a Mix cookbook bye Karine Eliason

*SAving Dinner by Leanne Ely

*Crockery Cook by Mable Hoffman



Thanks for bearing with me in reading. Thanks!!

Holly

[Mom2boys]

Hey Holly,
It looks like you have some great books. Are you planning to go gluten free? If not, hold off on that book for right now. With everything you are jumping into , you could get overwhelmed very easily.

I am a self proclaimed whole foodist and becoming a pretty decent raw foodist! This is how I started:

My son has ADD and he almost died when he was 5 because I allowed him to be put on a drug called Adderal. I decided that day that he would never take another drug. He is 12 today and reading at a college level drug free.

First I removed all MSG and white sugar from his diet. I avoided high fructose corn syrup at all costs. MSG is hard to spot, but you can do it. Once you start making your foods whole, it will be easy. We slip every once in a while and buy crackers or chips but only during times that I know he won't be pressed to think, because he won't be able to. That's a guarantee.

The next thing I did was start milling my own grain. This made whole foods a lot easier. I reccomend that you log onto www.breadbeckers.com and request their free bread of idleness cd. It is packed with good info. Forget spelt , kamut and all of the fancy grains for now. Stick with hard white wheat and soft white wheat. That's your bread and pastry flour. Sucanat and sucanat with honey are good sweeteners to wean from white sugar on. Then you will want to add more and more honey and only use the sucanats occasionally.

Rita Bingham's whole foods book is excellent. The pita pockets are great.

I have to get to church,but I can write more later if you have questions.

[smfeet2001]

First of all, I do not have these books but I am looking to buy them. Before buying I wanted to see if any have used these and loved it.

Can you recommend a book to me about removing MSG and Corn Syrup?

Can you tell me more? I feel there is more to tell.

When you have time of course.

How did you do with the hurricane coming to your area?

Holly

[Mom2boys]

SAving Dinner by Leanne Ely
*ADD The Natural Approach by Anderson and Peiper

*The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy
*Natural Meals in Minutes by Rita Bingham

The books I listed above are the ones I would start with if I were you.

You can get smoothie and pizza info right here on this board.

Do you have to have a recipe for everything you make or can you just guestimate? I know a lot of ladies that have to follow a recipe to the letter and there's nothing wrong with that but it's easier to cook with whole foods if you can guestimate. For instance, I can give you smoothie recipes, but they are a little bit of this , a little bit of that type of recipes.

We can talk you through pizzas here on the board as well.....Those are actually easy.

An easy place to start is by making your own cookies and muffins. Baking bread from whole grains can be very intimidating, but starting with snack foods will give you good results.

keep asking questions and I'll keep answering. I do have a lot to say ,but I don't know where to start!

[smfeet2001]

mom2boys said:
I do have a lot to say ,but I don't know where to start!>>

Start anywhere as I have no clue what to ask ;D

drumroll...start!

Ha Ha

I will keep thinking...and go ahead and say whatever you think will help me....

One thing you can do is tell me what you do in regards to corn syrup foods...what do you cook in place of those?

Holly

[Mom2boys]

How old is your son?

I hate to admit this , but it has been so long since I have bought foods with high fructose corn syrup, that I can't think of any off of the top of my head.

I do modify a lot of recipes and if I have one that calls for corn syrup, I will use brown rice syrup instead.

[smfeet2001]

My son is 10 years old. About everything has corn syrup... Are you just talking about high fructose corn syrup? or just any corn syrup because about everything you buy has corn syrup...

Have you heard about the ADD answer book promoted by Dr. Phil? I didn't watch his show on ADD but I read about it on his website. He is against medicating for ADD wihtout looking into the food issues.

Thanks~

Holly

[smfeet2001]

I saw the books you stated to start with. Thank you very much!! ;D

What about the Whole Foods for your Whole Family? I was wondering you didn't mention this...Do you have it? Do you feel that it would be too much for me?

Another list (homeschool list with alot of whole food mamas) told to look into Nourishing Traditions. Have you heard of this? Urban Homemaker has this book listed in their catalog.

Thanks!

Holly

[Carmen]

I think Nourishing Traditions is an excellent book. There are a few things in there that I'm not so sure about, but overall the nutritional info is great, IMO. There is also a website you can look at that may help you decide whether or not you want to buy the book. www.westonaprice.org

[blessed2Bmama]

I second Nourishing Traditions!!! It's an excellent book! I've also just recently started reading The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. It has been excellent so far!