EXPERT’S CORNER

freeing your family

When health crises prompt major diet changes, focus on the positive and patiently and persistently adopt new habits to move toward a therapeutic way of eating

Q: My 9-year-old son has just been diagnosed with the gluten-related autoimmune skin condition, dermatitis herpetiformis, and we recently found out that my 5-year-old daughter is severely allergic to milk products and experiences digestive distress from all grains. My husband has irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, and asthma; I have a lot of digestive bloating; and all of us are overweight and don’t eat enough vegetables. Going on a grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free diet seems like it would be best for all of us, but I am overwhelmed about how to go about that. Can you offer some pointers? —Tanya W., Madison, Wis.

It’s common for health crises to compel transformation in diet, and summer is the perfect time to make the switch so your family can become accustomed to this therapeutic way of eating before your kids go back to school. And, really, it’s a good idea for everyone to adopt at least a few of these healthier dietary practices.

“Changing your diet now can save you time, heartache, and money in the future,” says Leah Webb, MPH, author The Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Family Cookbook . Families who are not in crisis mode might favor a more moderate approach to their diet, but getting grain- sugar-, and dairy-based junk foods out of the diet can benefit everyone. “Don’t settle for mediocrity when it comes to diet when the alternative feels so much better,” Webb says.

A:

Basics of Making Changes as a Family

Start with yourself. Improve the way you eat and the effects will likely gradually cascade down to other family members.

Next, offer only one healthy meal each at breakfast, lunch, and dinner to the family. Don’t cook to order or offer alternative foods for individual kids. Try to pair new foods with something familiar that they like. But if your kids don’t want to eat the new foods, don’t get discouraged: Keep trying to offer them. Studies show that children won’t even try a new food until it’s been offered many times, according to Webb.

Also, encourage your children to get involved in the kitchen and participate in small tasks during the food preparation process. Kids are much more interested in trying new foods if they have a hand in fixing those foods. Plus, the more they learn to do in the kitchen when they’re young, the more prepared they will be to make their own nutritious meals in the future.

Simple jobs that kids can do in the kitchen include cracking eggs, stirring, adding measuring ingredients, chopping soft vegetables and fruit (with a nylon kitchen knife, for safety), and pushing buttons on blenders or food processors to blend ingredients. If you have a small herb or vegetable garden, teach your kids how to snip fresh herbs or pick vegetables when they’re ripe.

Practical Pointers

To put a clean diet into practice, it’s important to get organized and plan ahead. Try these guidelines from The Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Family Cookbook: * Stock your pantry and freezer with staples you regularly need for the meals you make. To turn your kitchen into a grainfree, sugar-free, dairy-free producing machine, you’ll need to have at least a few key items on hand, from dried unsweetened shredded coconut to applesauce to almond flour and coconut or avocado oil. Look for high-quality, preferably organic products, and save money whenever you can by buying in bulk and taking advantage of special discounts. * Make a weekly meal plan and only buy the items you need. Check out weekly sales before creating the week’s menu. But keep the plan flexible and subject to change if you unexpectedly see a vegetable you didn’t plan on serving being on sale that week. * Pick five meals to prepare for the week. Don’t plan to eat something new every single meal of every single day. Decide on meals that you’re willing to reheat or eat as leftovers, and plan those leftovers into your meal plan. Know which meals freeze well and make extra servings of those meals. Also include snacks in your meal plan. Healthy Tip!

Summer is the best time to make healthier changes to your family’s diet, so that everyone has a chance to get used to them before they go back to school.

* Mix and match leftovers. Meals don’t have to be fi xed combinations of food. Instead, creatively combine the meat entrée you had on Monday with a diff erent side dish or put it in a diff erent form (for example, in a salad) on Tuesday to create diff erent meals on diff erent days. * Get creative with snacks. For young kids, serve—or, better yet, have them assemble—fun-to-make snacks, such as banana snowmen (with banana slices, blueberries, strawberries, raisins, and seeds), apple slice monsters (apple wedges with sunfl ower butter and strawberries), and turkey cucumber rolls (with peeled cucumber slices, turkey slices, and hummus). * Invest in a good lunch box. Webb recommends buying and using bento-style boxes such as Yumbox Tapas or Bentgo Fresh: these boxes are leak-proof and they allow you to easily pack a variety of foods without those foods mixing together—the dry foods can be separated from the wet.

Grain-Free

Chicken Tenders Serves 4 If you’re looking for a perfectly golden chicken tender, you can transfer the pan to the top rack in the oven and broil the chicken for the last 2 minutes of the cooking time.

3 eggs 1½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut 1½ tsp. salt 2 lbs. chicken tenders

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Beat eggs together in wide, shallow bowl. Mix coconut and salt in another wide, shallow bowl. Dip each chicken tender in egg to cover completely, then dip into coconut, turning chicken until it’s completely and evenly coated. 2. Transfer chicken onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and bake 10 minutes. Flip, and cook 7–10 minutes more, until cooked through.

Chocolate Walnut Freezer Fudge Makes 24 pieces of fudge

Walnuts provide a distinct and delicious crunch to a thick and decadent dessert that satisfies the craving of the chocoholic. The fudge becomes too soft at room temperature, so you’ll need to put it on a plate positioned over an ice pack if you’re serving it at a party.

½ cup coconut oil, solid (not melted) ½ avocado ½ cup pitted

Medjool dates, packed ½ tsp. vanilla ½ cup cacao powder ½ cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine coconut oil, avocado, dates, and vanilla in high-powered blender. Blend mixture until creamy and very few date pieces remain. Try not to overblend, as this creates heat and will cause coconut oil to separate from rest of fudge. (You can’t avoid it entirely, but try to keep blending to a minimum.) 2. Add cacao powder, and blend about 10 seconds more, or until well combined. Stir in walnuts by hand, and spread mixture into a 1-inch-thick slab on parchment-lined baking sheet. 3. Freeze about 1 hour, remove from freezer, and slice into 24 equal-sized pieces. Serve immediately, or return to freezer.

PER SERVING: 80 cal; 1g prot; 7g total fat (4g sat fat); 6g carb; 0mg chol; 0mg sod; 1g fiber; 4g sugar