There are a few classic foods that trigger sensitive kids. Maybe you’ve noticed a few? Perhaps it was at a kids’ birthday party, when your child went bananas after eating the blue birthday cake? Ran around screaming like a banshee, wouldn’t come home when it was time, then had a melt-down in the car about something trivial and was totally inconsolable? If that sounds familiar, read on, because artificial colours and flavours aren’t the only enemy here. If your kids react to these, they will most likely react to naturally occurring food chemicals too.
Choose fruit wisely for food-sensitive kids – enjoy pears, just-ripe bananas and red/golden delicious apples
1. Do your kids love their summer fruit? Maybe don’t give them that whole punnet of strawberries! Balance with pears, apples and bananas.
The number of people I know who have noticed this one! Strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, peaches, nectarines, plums… super tasty and really good for you too, so long as you don’t have an intolerance to salicylates. If you do, they might make you a little crazy, out of control and ridiculously defiant. So, go easy on the summer fruit, and mix in some red/golden delicious apples, pears, just-ripe bananas, a little mango and pawpaw once in a while too.
2. Look out for anything artificial in your packaged food and find a different brand
Basically, if you can’t pronounce the ingredient, then it’s not food and you shouldn’t buy it! Ingredients lists should be short and preferably contain no numbers. Whether it’s rice crackers, chips or biscuits, there are always plain alternatives with no artificial colours and flavours, for an occasional treat. (If it’s artificially orange or blue, forget it!) The ones you most need to avoid for food-sensitive kids are:
– 100s (artificial colours)
– 200s (preservatives)
– 600s (flavour enhancers)
3. Cut down on sausages and bacon, find preservative-free or use salty alternatives
Processed meats might be tasty, but research shows they are terrible for your gut health and particularly bad if you’re sensitive to amines. Try to find a butcher that sells sausages without preservatives or other additives (you won’t get preservative-free in the supermarket). And if you want that salty hit that bacon adds to dishes, try substituting with crumbled soft goat’s cheese at the end (it’s lower in amines than bacon or tasty cheese), or just season with good-quality salt. Commercial sausages rolls and meat pies are really high in amines, so try making your own using homemade stock as the base.
Canned pears, simmered and pureed make a tasty sauce alternative
4. Do your kids slather everything in tomato sauce? Try low chemical pear sauce instead.
This can be a killer for an intolerant kid, and barbecue sauce is even worse. You can make your own sweet and tart sauce by boiling up some canned pears in sugar syrup until the liquid has halved, then adding a dash of vinegar and a pinch of salt, and blitzing with a hand-held blender or food processor. Won’t be the same colour, but will be just as tasty! Use malt vinegar if really sensitive, otherwise apple cider vinegar is tasty and really good for you.
5. Still love your soft drinks? This one’s not much fun, but switch to water! Or make your own.
Your kids really don’t need the extra sugar – it’s been shown to lead to insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes – or the phosphorus, which leaches minerals out of your bones and can lead to osteoporosis. So, consider yourself lucky that your kids can’t tolerate all those nasty artificial chemicals in soft drink. If you really need that sweet, fizzy hit once in a while, try a small amount of really good quality cordial with no additives, mixed with soda water.
If you’d like to know more and get some tasty recipes for food-sensitive kids, sign up for Kt’s Nutrition Kitchen newsletter.
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