Toddler type safe foods

[Tammy]

Watch your Snyder's of Hanover pretzels. Different shapes have different ing. I think it's the little ones that have corn syrup in. So again, just check each bag. some are ok, and some are not.

Also, I'm curious, Matthews Golden White bread. doesn't this have corn syrup? I've never seen white bread or rolls, other than french rolls without it. If it doesn't I will send for some and give it a try.

[Tammy]

Thanks so much. I will get some to try. I know she will love it. She likes the harder breads that I get, and she loves the soft rolls I just recently found. So this will be a great surprise for her.

[jenferg]

Kristen- Thanks so much, this was just what I was looking for!!!!! Hopefully, as time goes on, I will be able to add to this list. Currently, One big hit with Bailey are McCain's smiles. Hope they are okay. Jen F.

[lisa]

Hi, I'm new to this whole HFI thing. Son Nate (20 mos.) was diagnosed last week. I have not found dextrose in the store yet (where do you buy it?) so I've been using stevia as a sweetener with very good luck (found in the vitamin section of whole foods and other natural markets). Where do you buy the McCain's smiles and the Mathew's Golden White? I've never heard of either - are they at Whole Foods?

A couple of things I've tried so far with good luck:
Plain yogurt flavored with vanilla and stevia
Cream of wheat made with milk, with 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, splash of vanilla, and stevia
Koolaid with stevia
Grilled cheese sandwiches on organic sourdough
Rice cakes with tuna salad (tuna, mayo, mustard, dill relish)
Rice cakes with peanut butter
Lots and lots of string cheese (Frigo brand)
He was eating eggs every morning, but he seems to be getting tired of them

Would be interested to hear if any of you has a vegetable recipe that a toddler will actually eat. My mom suggested making pumpkin custard with the stevia or dextrose, but I have not tried yet. So far all of my attempts at vegetables have been failures.

[Tammy]

Lisa,
Is your son HFI or DFI? If he is HFI, you need to start over at the beginning as you seem to have missed a few things. Have you seen a dietician or nutritionist yet? You'll need to.

First off, Stevia isn't something that I would be giving him. Mayo is definately a no, and peanut butter is not good. Pumpkin isn't ok either. And vegtables are a very limited item, what ones are you trying?

Start with the lists posted on the Boston Univ site.
www.bu.edu/aldolase/HFI/treatment/index.html
They are by no means complete, and somethings even contradict, but it is a starting point.

You need to get your son completely fructose free. That is more than just sugar, it is also all the foods that contain fructose naturally.
You also need to read ALL ingredient labels. Some people with HFI develop a taste for things that are ok and things that aren't, but not all people do. My daughter never acquired this feat. She'll eat anything I tell her she can have. So don't rely on the fact that if your son eats it, it must be ok.

Until you get the knack of this, Keep with meats, pasta and dairy. You'll be safer this way.

Your son will probably like things that aren't sweet. If there is something that you have to add sweetner to, go with Equal (nutrisweet) until you get some dextrose.

But, absolutely, see a nutritionist to get you started off in the right direction. Don't just try to do the best you can. You'll be surprised (and probably a little overwhelmed at first) at what all has fructose in.

Good luck and hope we can help somewhat.
Tammy

[lisa]

We did a 3 hour breath test on Monday last week and it came back that Nate is fructose intolerant. The doc said it is either HFI or DFI, but since he would recommend treating it the same way, he wouldn't put him through any more tests until he was 4 (a little more than 2 years from now). He also said we should do specific food allergy tests, but wait a bit and see what the fructose/sucrose free diet does for him before going there.

Figured since stevia is an herb, it should be OK. Not really sure since it is not on the yes or the no list.

I am reading labels which has reduced his diet considerably, but the naturally occuring is the harder information to come by - such as if whole grains contain bad items or if peanuts need to come off the shopping list. The list from Nate's doc is pretty close to Dr. Tolan's list (and both don't mention that).

The veggies I have tried are spinach, cauliflower and green beans. He won't touch any of them. As a wierd side effect, he is now refusing to eat meat of any sort. He used to be just fine with it.

The good news as far as I'm concerned is that today Nate had his first non-diarrhea BM in more than 8 months. It was a really wierd yellow color (which it has been since he started this diet), but fully formed nonetheless.

I am concerned, but encouraged, and look forward to hearing what you all have to say.

[Tammy]

HFI is a lot more restrictive than DFI, so it you want to be sure, HFI is the diet to follow.

There is a lot of questionable things that I still have trouble answering, after 20 yrs. Fred has HFI and has been on it forever.

My daughter is 23 now and she started on the HFI diet at 2.

The vegetables you tried are ok, but the big thing with this diet is to forget about what you think of as "healthy". Healthy to us is lethal to them. So don't even worry about veg. They really don't need them. And all fruits are bad. One list I have says "peanuts, and all nuts" are to be avoided. So that is what I do. Not all lists say this, but I live with the rule, if unknown, don't allow it. When it comes to grains, it is the "bran" that is the problem. That is why white rice, but not brown. For the same reason I only use white flour. But depending on the product, sometimes I allow things that say whole wheat on a label.

Diarhea is the first sign that my daughter has had too much of something. No matter what she eats, she doesn't have an immediate reaction. It always takes a couple of days.

If he doesn't want to eat meats, remember one thing, he is still a kid. Kids go through these things. And it's very likely that the more you get him fructose free, the better he will feel, the more he'll start to do more "kid" things.

Tammy

[Kerrynz]

Hi Tammy

I’m so glad for the dentists advise, hadn’t dawned on me to check products. I still have to think 3 dimensional when it comes to all oral intake.
Zanoah is fructose free and thriving for about 3-4 months now. Only when accidents happen do we have trouble, and after the ist day of preschool, I was able to see and describe each individual part of her patterns. So clearly it almost scared me. And I guess I’m fortunate in the fact I have proved with Zanoah we can cut out at least half of her reaction by administering / drinking milk, simple but very helpful. But being fructose free is the only way for her to live.
I’m glad you said Regina is instantly better, I wouldn’t have been game, but I have seen this too but thought I must be wrong.
Why no to pre-school. We don’t know but the undertones are quiet heavy, to the point, we feel lousy. But we know it’s good for her and us. Now she is stable there is something to be said for strengthening the bond that created this little darling in the first place. So we just ignore the large frowns.
Eating the same thing at school is a great tip, keep’em coming, thanks.
Is it normal to see different sized reactions eg, tomatoes compared to broccoli for example is this just due to the level of fructose?
Regards
Kerryn

[Tammy]

Most, but not all, HFI people has a slight amount of the enzyme needed to break the fructose down. So the amount of fructose one can safely handle is different for everyone. That is why some things may be ok, but only once in a while. I'm guessing that's the reason for the different severities of reaction, too.

If Regina eats too much broccoli, she gets diarrhea but that's about it. If she would eat a tomato (as in your example) she'd be vomiting and severe migraine.

The one thing that can't be seen is the liver. That has to be checked to make sure that even the small amounts are ok. In Regina's case, it seems to be that her body lets us know. When she gets the "poopies" we know she can't have any fructose at all for a bit. Then we just stick to meat, pasta, dairy and all the artificial stuff.

Since you now have a pattern for Zanoah, it'll probably get easier to know what signs to watch for.

And it just becomes habit to double check everything that goes in the mouth. I never trust the Drs. They don't really know. I always have to re-check any meds they give her. The dentist was the same way. They may know, but they don't realize what all has fructose in. And you really have to watch the emergency rooms and the hospitals. They don't have a clue.

And when (take notice I said "when" not "if") you miss something, don't beat yourself up over it. You'll just learn from it too. Even we "super-parents" are not perfect. ;D
Tammy

[lisa]

Went to Trader Joe's during lunch - I'm sure they thought I was strange going aisle by aisle and writing things down. Here is the list of things that I believe are OK. An asterisk is by everything that I've already bought and/or tried. I did find a few more items that I will try when I am closer to my refrigerator. Please check the ingredients and let me know if you find something on the list that should come off because I missed a bad ingredient

Bread Aisle:
*Trader Joe's (TJ) garlic cheese breadsticks
TJ garlic cheese foccacia

Refrigerated Section:
*TJ mild cheddar or string cheese sticks
Seasoned USDA Choice Roast Beef
Volpi traditional prosciutto
*Eggs
*TJ French Village Cream Line Plain Yogurt (they have several other kinds that are good too)
*TJ Heavy Cream

Freezer Section:
TJ Tandoori Naan
TJ Chicken drummettes
TJ Gnocci al gorgonzola
*Pilgrims Pride chicken breast strips
*TJ extra fine french green beans (he didn't like, but I'll try again sometime)
TJ asparagus cuts and tips
*TJ Crinkle Wedge potatoes (he only ate 1 or 2)

Dry goods:
Superior Source super stevia extract
*Annie's microwaveable mac & cheese
*TJ mac and cheese (any variety)
TJ Buttermilk pancake & All purpose baking mix
*TJ Peanut butter (bought but haven't tried yet)
*TJ Reduced fat cheese crunchies and cheese puffs (he loves the cheese crunchies)
*Roberts American Gourmet - Pirates Booty
*TJ Organic Mayonnaise (this does have lemon juice)
TJ Tartar Sauce (after checking again, this does have onion powder at the end of the ingredients list, but the rest looks OK)

Good luck and happy shopping.

[jenferg]

Kristen- I have been looking for some of the foods you listed, but haven't been able to find them. Where do yo do your food shopping? Jen F.

[lisa]

Recently found Sugar-Free Twizzlers for those that still can stand a fruity taste. They are sweetened with maltitol and were great to have as a substitution for Nate while his sister had cake for her birthday.

[Nancy Randall]

We eat the original Cheeze Its. They come in a nice sized snack size for taking places.

Thanks for the list. You have a few things we have not tried listed.

Nancy Randall

[Chelsea]

kristen said:

Edan Barley Malt Syrup

[/b][/u] I found this at whole foods!! in the sugar section.
[/quote]

Kristen,
I went exploring the Barley Malt Syrup so my sister could get me some, however, I went to the Eden website and it says the barley malt syrup is 6.3 % sucrose and 2.04 % fructose. I am wondering if you have used it and had any problem with it?

Here is where I found it www.edenfoods.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=104050 click on detailed description.

[azmary]

I have had some trouble finding some of the listed safe favorites in Arizona. We do have Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and Costco, but they must differ a bit in different regions...

Here a few more items I will add to my safe list:

~Tyson Breast Tenders (but other Tyson varieties do have some sugar, so beware!)

~Kroger brand :ready to bake pizza crust" in the refrigerator section.

~Alexia Yukon Gold Julienne Fries (whole foods). I read somewhere that yukon gold potatoes have less fructose...(?)

mary in az