It is the sanest of times…during these insane 37+ days

• Wheat.
  
• Corn syrup.
  
• Sugar.
  
• Dairy.
  
• Soy.
  
• Egg.
  
• Chocolate.
  
• Food coloring.
  
• Peanut.
  

On the advice of a healthcare practitioner, for the past 37 days Veronica (7) has eliminated all of these items from her diet. Take a look at the ingredients in some of your favorite foods and then imagine going without for a week, much less five weeks.

A doctor asked Veronica not to eat any of these items to (hopefully) clear up a recurring issue. I joined her trial diet for solidarity reasons. (She's given me a "pass" though and I was able to enjoy some key lime pie one night.)

In any event, for a family that thought they were eating pretty healthy, it has added a new dimension onto our lives and in more ways than just: what can we fix for dinner tonight since we had rice and beans the previous 10 nights? It especially illuminated some interesting issues we chalked up to the parental costs of having a rather intelligent and oftentimes saucy seven-year old.

For the first week, Veronica did a fabulous job listening to what she could and could not eat. She was helpful, her memory improved, and she slept in (which is unheard of for her!) The first weekend was easy when we had a beach picnic with a family whose mother had to give up the same items…and has done so for several years (improving her health issues, as well).

During this time, Veronica hasn't always remembered that ice cream has dairy and sugar and sometimes eggs. (In that respect it has helped teach her what is and isn't in foods.) She has done a fabulous job at understanding that this diet would help her. Then I attended a short meeting and during the time I was gone, Veronica managed to get her hands on a medium-size neon blue icy drink.

The next four days were…. I can't really say in this post as we would like to keep this a family-friendly site. But, needless to say, if Veronica never has sugar or corn syrup, Philip and I will be overjoyed. (That is an understatement.)

Since then, she's balanced out again. But it really taught us a lesson that we thought we already knew about the connection between food and our bodies. I guess sometimes we need to re-adjust and fine tune to listen to our bodies.

In case you are curious:

• The easiest item to give up: corn syrup. Even though it is in a lot of processed foods already, it was one we had already consciously removed from our grocery cart. And peanuts, since I already have an allergy, we have a peanut-free house.
  
• The hardest to give up: wheat. Veronica loves toast…fortunately she also loves oatmeal.
  
• Biggest surprise: how healthy and unprocessed the Harris Teeter home brands are.
  

And the next challenge…keeping Veronica on this diet while at school until her next appointment when (hopefully) we'll get the green light to add some items back in. (Ice cream Fridays are going to be a bear…but we've already got an idea…I'll keep you posted!)