Friday, June 18, 2010

Diets...

Not the kind that adults go on to lose weight... we don't believe in those here (LOL). But, rather, the kind that just refers to the type, quantity, and frequency of food going into the mouth :)

Here, at present, we have MANY different diets happening!

  • Mike does, in fact, like to watch his weight and eat healthy.
  • I, well, I don't mind and I do it because it's healthy, but I don't generally watch my weight.
  • Emma, she needs direct supervision and can't have the 'extra calorie' stuff that we might slide in there very often because she now gains weight very easily. In fact, she is almost 40 lbs now, and has gained 6 of those in just the past few months.
  • Kristopher, he does fine with weight and eating, but does need encouragement to eat things that he doesn't like. We stay away from too much sugar with him or he has difficulty with paying attention and impulse control. But that's really not all that difficult to deal with.
  • Brianna eats like a birdie and just recently has begun (again) to accept that dinner is dinner, and she needs to eat. She gets supplemental drinks because she eats so poorly, and we're happy to get one good meal in a day and two skimpy ones with a snack thrown in there. Her diet is modified to gain weight.
  • James is on primarily Pediasure and gets 4 cans of that over his 3 meals during the day. He's now eating 3-6 oz of babyfood with lunch and dinner (stage 3 whoot whoot!) but not much of anything that I cook for dinner. He'll also eat some cheerios or puffs when offered. He has difficulty with chewing and weight gain so his diet is modified to gain weight too.
  • Micah drinks soy milk mixed with rice cereal because of aspiration issues and is also eating 8-10 oz of babyfood with lunch and dinner (stage 3 too!). He has issues with aspirating when swallowing and with chewing, and his diet is modified to maintain weight and head off huge weight gains since he's on the upper-side of a healthy weight-for-frame.
  • Lynae is still breastfeeding primarily but now has about 3 oz of babyfood (stage 2 and 3) with lunch and dinner, and loves the little puffs, Ritz crackers, and often small bits of whatever we're having for dinner. Her intake has quickly increased and her diet changes weekly.
So... making dinner, I modify every meal! I make something for Mike and I, Emma, Kristopher, and Brianna. Then I modify it because Emma can't have bread and shouldn't have too high of calories. I add calories to Brianna's and often give her a smaller portion which we make her actually EAT, and then something else to supplement so we don't have to fight the entire meal with her. I make drinks for the boys, mix Brianna's supplement in her drink (AFTER dinner), and get babyfood going times 3.

This could make meal time pretty difficult. Or, it could make it just a little more creative :)

Do you modify meals? If so... how do you modify and for what purpose? Any good recipes or ideas to share??

4 comments:

  1. Every meal has some modification at our house. The only thing EVERY ONE will eat is spaghetti. Some with sauce. Some without. Anything else has to be modified. Hope some folks have good ideas, cause I too could use them.

    Jan

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  2. Wow! That is definitely some creative needing food making. We do have specialized diets in this house. All of the food is gluten free, Anna needs less calories and is allergic to berries, Tanner needs somewhat less calories and is a true celiac and cannot have noodles, Andy cannot have gluten but actually needs more calories. I do not use white sugar or artificial coloring. Thankfully they can all sit down and eat a well balanced meal, and are happy to have salads for lunch every day.

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  3. I forgot to add that beans are great here since they can be diversified for everyone, plus for us the cost is just right. They can be used in rice and beans with a dollop of avocado for low calorie needs and a handful of cheese for high calorie needs. I usually add ground turkey to my rice and beans with a salad on the side. All can be filling and low call or filling and heavy caloried.

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  4. We have to modify everything due to food allergies. And since 1/2 of the family has to be GF, everyone eats GF. It just makes life easier instead of making two (or more) separate meals/dishes. There are times when one of the kids will decide to make their own food that's not GF, but we don't do it all the time. One of my brothers is sensitive to A LOT of things (oats, lemon, wheat, etc), so we will modify recipes for him. Not use oats in a recipe. Reduce lemon extract in something. Things a long those lines.

    It's taken some adjusting for our family, but it hasn't been too difficult! I do blog about it on my blog :).

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