Food to Grow On

Dinner is served! Pasta with bean sauce, avocado and a mini muffin.

Inevitably, when people find out Landon is vegan, their response is, "Wow! What on Earth do you feed him?!" I completely understand it too. I never, ever thought I would have a child living a vegan lifestyle. Scott and I sure don't eat that way! Although, I am making changes and hope to at least be vegetarian at some point. 

The thing is, when we removed animal protein from Landon's diet, he made some really great strides in his healing process. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but it certainly does work for him. 

He is also gluten free, grain free (with the exception of rice) and food dye free. Basically, we feed him REAL food, not a bunch of processed stuff. 

Many people wonder what he eats and how he gets the proper amount of nutrition for his growing body. Lucky for you, that's exactly what I'm talking about today. 

First off, I want to say, removing animal protein from Landon's diet did not happen over night. It was a somewhat gradual process, where we removed beef first, followed by cheese and yogurt, followed by turkey and chicken. Each time we eliminated something, his body would shift and he would get a little better. We realized very quickly this was going to be a lasting thing for him.

In the beginning I was very concerned on how to get enough protein in him. Now, I don't even think twice about it. Did you know beans and rice together make up the perfect protein for human consumption? He has that at least once a day, most days twice. We are very fortunate to have a kid who isn't a picky eater. He will thrown down on pretty much any food we put in front of him.

I have learned to get creative in the kitchen and the reward has been a much healthier, happier kid.

Here's an example of what he eats in a normal day:

Breakfast:  1 Pumpkin muffin or waffle (made from almond and rice flours), rice cereal with applesauce, raw local honey and cinnamon and Almond Milk.

Lunch:  Rice pasta with bean sauce (I blend a variety of beans in the food processor to form a sauce) and squash.

Dinner:  Rice pasta with bean sauce, avocado and applesauce.  

Snacks:  Nut crackers with almond butter, pureed squash and pear pouches, rice crackers, applesauce, carrots.

Of course, there are other foods that I didn't list here but that gives you an idea. Lucky for us, his foods are expanding and his body is able to tolerate more as he continues to heal.

One thing we do religiously is give him supplements every day to make sure he's getting what he needs. He takes iron, calcium, zinc, B12, Vitamin D, cod liver oil and a chewable multi vitamin, as well as probiotics and saccharomyces boulardi every morning. That may sound like a lot to some of you, but it's what's necessary for him and it's working!  

Look at that face! This is a boy who loves life and loves his food!