the new food groups

(I am not a professional dietitian, nutritionist, doctor, or medical care worker of any kind.. I'm a mom, and I know my children's health, and any recommendations I have are geared towards my family's particular circumstances, we receive support from a dietitian, pediatrician, holistic nutritionist, friends on the spectrum, and ABA specialists.)

 I have been having some significant troubles getting into this gluten-free diet concept. To me, it doesn't seem to be the best idea for a growing kid. To truly be gluten free, I need to get rid of all processed foods, breads, potato products, grains, etc. That doesn't leave me much to work to ensure caloric intake. Frankly, 'A' hasn't taken well to alternative flours for his pizzas. Bread needs to have a certain texture and quality or he won't eat it.

I went back to the drawing board and spent a few nights of heavy google-searching and came up with these few facts. First of all, I need to throw out my food groups posters and material. Second of all, you can't remove a food from a diet without replacing it with something of equal or more value, both for nutrition and digestion; nor can you introduce something without ensuring it is tolerated.

Kids need these 5 things every day.

CALCIUM requirements
ANTIOXIDANTS sources
FIBER requirements
PROTEIN requirements
IRON requirements

What the sources are, depend on your child's overall diet, intolerances, and needs. To say you need dairy, is wrong, to say you can just eat a banana to supplement for calcium, is also wrong. Each food seems to need its partner in digestion. Individually they provide nutrients, but alone are usually wasted. I suppose the way it is appearing to me, is that there is a partner that fortifies, and another that provides back up support. Not only that, but most foods serve at least two functions.

Why is this matter so important to me? well, its not just the autism healing implications, and overall health and wellness, but it is because I have started out in a community who's food bank looks like this: