I am changing our families diet radically. How hard is it going to be, honestly!!!!

[Blossomhill]

We are off to Bibic next week to help my dd (5 and a half with sn) and part of it involves dietary change.
I will hold my hands up and say we do eat quite a bit of convenience food and that is going to and has to change.
I want to completely change the way I eat and cook and want to stop using processed foods for good. I have to say the recent Sudan1 and Jamie Oliver school dinners has confirmed that I need to do that for my whole family.
I am just so worried that I will need to go shopping everyday and that it will take lots of tim, although I am prepared to do it for the sake of my children's health and well being. Don't get me wrong they do eat lots of vegtables, fruit and I do cook some fresh meals. What I mean is they don't eat Turkey Twizzlers or things like that.
I am hoping to make my own bread as a very kind friend of mine gave me hers.
Any of you that know me know that I am not very organised, scatty even. I really need to do this to firstly help dd with ehr concentration and sn and obviously ds is just as important too.
So please tell me realistically what I should expect, if there are any time saving tips, recipies I may find useful.
Thank you, you are all so kind xxx

We get the large family box, which is about £20. It lasts the three of us all week. They have a section on the site where they help you work out what size box you need. You can then add on extras, as you need them. We get eggs every week and a rotating order of fish and some of their cheaper meat products, such as their Cumberland sausages.

I did planning ahead for the first time last week and couldn't believe how much easier it made life!

You also end up throwing far less food away.

I have freezer full of stuff that I am going to need to chuck

Hello
I've read all this with interest as am thinking of similar thing to help my son's concentration. Have ordered Jamie's book but would be grateful if anyone could pass on any websites/organisations to do with food/dyslexia. Am thinking of trying the Celandine Clinic in Canterbury but only had third hand feedback. Anyone any experience? Thanks.

Swedish mum - don't have the address to hand but HACSG (hyperactive children's support group) have lots of info on diet and improving concentration.

Mnny thanks Blossomhill - will check it out.

Just googled and found this:

Hyperactive Children?s Support Group 71 Whyke Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 2LD

Tel: 01903 725182 (10.00am-1.00pm most week days)

I know ds isn't hyper but they may be able to help improve concentration. Have you tried fish oils???

Cod - If you are still around. I would be so, so grateful if you could e-mail me. Won't put addy on here as when I did before I had some very strange people sign up to my msn

BH, I think the breadmaking is pretty...ambitious!
I love to cook, but even I draw the line at that (well I do make bread but for fun, rather than necessity)Just worried that it might be too much for you and instead of feeling encouraged to change, you might return to your old habits (which you obviously want to change.)

Maybe just think about actually cooking once a day? This is what I do. B/fast is porridge, Weetabix,muesli and/or yoghurt and fruit. Lunch is a good s/wich or something on toast.
Dinner is hot-pasta,stews,stirfrys and so on.

Snacks are fruit, and we drink water and/or good fruit juice.
Life is pretty hassle free and I make all my own food, but am not tied to the kitchen. Also usually make a big batch of something hot and freeze the other half which cuts down on the work even more.
Maybe you could have one meal a week as a take out/fast food/ready prepared type thingy?

Blossom, my freezer has become my best friend in the quest to say bye bye to convenience food. I've only got an ordinary size one at the moment, stuffed to the rafters with meals/sauces I have made, but I'm hoping to get a bigger one in the next couple of months.

Every couple of weeks I do a cooking marathon (can't say I enjoy doing it, but the results are worth it) then freeze everything in freezer bags or those foil containers. The children eat much earlier in the evening than me and dh, so I freeze portion sizes for them and us separately and label them with a date.

I probably cook from scratch 3 nights a week and then get something from the freezer for the other 4 - if it's a sauce for pasta, then I just have to boil some pasta, if it's a fish pie, it can just go straight in the oven.

Honestly Puff!!! Any chance to go on about your semi profesional culinary skills!

They're nowhere near even semi professional moondog!

Have just stumbled on this topic. 1st - Maisystar sorry to ask the obvious but are you and your lot all veggies? If so HURRAH I thought it was just my lot that were outcasts for not being carnivores! Am always looking for new recipe ideas. 2nd I have recently been far more aware of what I am giving my kids as I seemed to be relying far too much on packet veggie things. Am now trying to make dinners with fresh ingredients as much as possible and so far its going down a treat!

Last year my kids gave up on school dinners as the vegetarian options were CRAP - why is it veggie meals seem to be an afterthought in schools and in restaurants? Offering only pizza and pasta is insulting IMO.

Moondog, you and I must be cooking twins, that's exactly what I do, except will cook pasta at lunchtime, but no sauce that takes more than 10 mins.

Even inc the once a week take-away.

Hi everyone - great thread! DSs (6.5 and 3.5)both are on a preservative free etc diet and have been for a year or so in an effort to improve DS1's concentration and behaviour.
I did the breadmaker thing and for the first month or so it was a real hassle and I was always running out, but now I make a loaf a day (just put one on, but have had too much Merlot so will be wonky!) and have one in the freezer sliced for standby.
I make loads of veggie soup with pulses etc and the boys eat a bowlful of this 3 or 4 times a week.
Once a week I make muffins and at least once a week I do some other baking - biscuits, cakes etc.
I buy meat from the butcher on the way back from school drop off twice a week, so it is fresh. I make stews/casseroles in bulk and freeze small portions, and I also freeze pre-cooked chicken and meatballs for lunches/sandwiches/snacks.
We have pancakes or waffles once a week usually, and I freeze a couple for packed lunches (if they don't have any junk food, a few home-made treats are essential).
Playdates and parties are the hardest, and we operate a trading economy, whereby sweets and party food can be exchanged - at the moment, we are trading for Yugi-Oh! cards.
For those interested in dietary intervention, as well as HACSG, which supports the Feingold Diet, you could try this . Failsafe is more extreme than Feingold, but has made a massive difference to DS1. I could go on for hours - probably already have - but will happily provide more info if anyone's interested! Good luck at your sessions, Blossomhill!

Thank you so much for this thread. Have bought books from recommended hyperactivity website and done lots of googling. Wish I wasn't abroad as label reading is harder but will try my best. We should all be much healthier and if it helps ds to concentrate then so much the better. I look forward to hearing some success stories!

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Thanks cod you are so,so,so,so kind XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In "Fed up" by Sue Dengate she suggests first giving up all additive laden food, when I tried this it made buying any processed food so hard it was easier to cook!

whats bibic????

Blossomhill, I realise I didn't really answer your question in my rambling thread before. As I foolishly sweated tonight to make home made chicken nuggets (chicken breast, flour, egg and matzo meal), I realised that I forgot to say that sometimes it is tough. But I always try to make at least one extra portion of everything so that there are supplies in the freezer and I don't have to cook every night. Often I heat up soup and follow with scrambled egg and toast, for example. Have just made some hugely successful yoghurt ice lollies which have made me favoured Mummy once again. Huzzah!
Bobbybob, I also have the 'Fed Up' book and that's pretty much the diet we're on.

Trinityrocks - Bibic