deciding between grainfree vs traditional foods prep (sourdough, fermented milk, etc)

[cyclamen]

Pros and cons... talk me through this.  How do you know what is right for your family?

TF really resonates with me because alot of the foods and preparation style is exactly what I grew up with.

And I'm pretty sure my daughter has some kind of issue digesting dairy and/or wheat, because she was getting constipated drinking regular milk and eating regular pasta.  We cut out that stuff and her poops got very healthy looking and regular.  She also had a very mild rash (almost seemed like dry skin) that went away.  (I also had really awful eczema as a kid and those allergy shiners under my eyes... I'm pretty sure I have the same problem.)

My BF is a bread guy though, and has a really hard time with the idea of never eating cheese or grains again.  He's been a champ about it though, and cut out wheat and dairy with us for the last month and a half.

So I've been experimenting with sourdough and kefir.  Both wheat and dairy I noticed give me a stomachache and constipation now that I've been off of them, but I have been having good results with sourdough and kefir.  No tummyaches, feeling good.  (Although I think I still can't have too much of them or I feel tired.  That could totally be in my head though.)  I'm hoping that if we start small, my DD could also digest these foods.

I know no one can tell me what to do beyond, "Try it and see," but I'd love to hear stories, advice, about how y'all made your decisions.

TIA!

Edited by cyclamen - 11/17/10 at 8:06pm

[cristeen]

Theyre not completely mutually exclusive.

Fermenting dairy definitely makes it more digestable. Trial it and see how she does. My little guy doesnt tolerate milk, but can handle yogurt.

As for grain-free, id try properly preparing them and reintroducing them slowly. It may be she can handle some and not others, it might be a gluten problem and not grain, etc.

[CherryBomb]

Well, I LOVE bread (and pasta!) so totally grain free just doesn't appeal to me.  I'm trying to drastically reduce the amount of grains we eat, though, and amping up sprouted grains and sourdoughs.  The fermentation process allows most people with reactions to commercial grains and dairy to consume it without trouble, so I'd definitely try introducing those.

[crunchy_mama]

We are grainfree, hard to remember exactly how we got here!  However, we just feel better this way.  I do let the kids eat some gluten-free grains, not daily but sometimes they will have gf oats or such.  I say just try things out and see how you feel.

[Arduinna]

Personally, I don't think grain free is a traditional diet. If you have a dx of wheat allergy that is a whole other matter, I have allergies but no food ones, but I do take allergy seriously. But I don't see grain free as an ideal or traditional diet in general.

[Mom2Kayla]

I just started buying and eating Ezekial bread, its amazing and is gluton free/wheat free. 

[cyclamen]

Well I think I do want to limit the amount of grains we eat because I definitely feel better when I eat few or no grains, but I think we'll have better luck limiting vs eliminating grains in the long term.

I did eat exekiel bread growing up.... a little.. I don't really like bread that much, but maybe my bf will like it.

[rhianna813]

I come from a family of carb addicts so I welcomed TF because it supports whole grains, not processed flours. But when I look at the prep time for grains it seems like a lot of extra work for something that is still really high calorie/carb.

I found myself thinking do I want to reprogram my evenings (I WOH) to soak, grind and ferment grains just for pancakes and muffins? And learn to make bread from scratch just for sandwiches? I was not sure.

DH and I both tried 2 weeks of grain free and he immediately noticed less joint pain. He probably has a gluten issue, like his mom. I noticed I had no headaches for once. During the grain free weeks we ate SO much more veggies. Now we love eating more veggies with dinner instead of pasta, rice and bread.

I still eat a serving of grains a day and usually something totally naughty like cake or cookies. I am such a sugar fiend and that is hard to break.

Rhianna

[TheRobinsons]

I aim for grain free for myself - for a few reasons.  I lost all of my excess weight by eliminating grains, I have more energy, I think it makes sense from an ecological/environmental perspective, and I don't have time to properly prepare grains.

I do still use some well prepared grains for my children - they have spelt sourdough bread and some soaked granola.  They also love pasta and so I will still let them have pasta about once a week.  We also only apply our eating priniciples at home, so if we are at someone's house or at a party, I don't limit what the kids eat.

However, we still have dairy.  I love, love love cheese, and can't see myself giving it up any time soon (although I do have a sinus problem at the moment, so perhaps I should try it).  We have raw guernsey milk (which is A2).  The kids would drink about 500ml of this raw milk every day, as well as eating yoghurt.  We have eaten kefir in the past, but I don't bother with it now.  I use yoghurt and sauerkraut to fulfill my "fermented foods" requirement.

I found TF to be too time consuming for me.  My husband is in the army and I am on my own most of the time with 3 little kids.  Ditching the grains has freed up my time and I think it is better all round.  As for my advice to you - I don't think it has to be all or nothing.  While grain free is my aim, I still might have some sourdough toast with my bacon and eggs on the weekend, or some well prepared brown rice with a stir fry (mainly if I am having people over).  I just don't make grain (either well prepared or not) the basis of my diet.

Hope that helps

Sharon

[rhiandmoi]

I am not grain free, at all. I probably eat more grains than any other food item.

I like to say - look at the traditional foods of your people and see what your ancestors were eating. Did they eat grains? Did they only eat certain grains? What was their method of preparation? I try to do TF according to how my ancestors would have eaten food which is not always in line with WAP TF.

[newcastlemama]

I personally do grain free because it helps me with a health issue I have but I feed them to my family because they like them and do well on them. I would eat them too if I could! They generally get brown rice pastas, oats, storebought sprouted bread (Trader Joe's), brown rice,... (If I make whole grain cookies or muffins here and there I don't worry about soaking ect. but that is just me)

I make blender batter for them which is easy. (You can use GF grains and no dairy to make these too) I am starting the brown rice/oat waffles tonight for tomorrow..I have made different combos of grains and they always turn out right.

http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breakfasts/blenderbatterwaffles/blenderbatterwafflesA.htm 

http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breads/cornbread/cornbreadA.htm 

I would keep up what is working for your dd now and then try the offending foods later on. After you do some TF stuff (fermented foods, broths ect) she may have a healthier digestive system and tolerate those foods better. Oh and you might want to try goat milk if you have access to it..both my children have issues with cow's milk but do great on goat's.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Arduinna 

Personally, I don't think grain free is a traditional diet. If you have a dx of wheat allergy that is a whole other matter, I have allergies but no food ones, but I do take allergy seriously. But I don't see grain free as an ideal or traditional diet in general.

Grain-free is the original traditional diet... before farming, grains just weren't available but in very small quantities, and even then only in certain areas.

[Arduinna]

Yes I'm well aware that hunter gatherers were grain free. Not to sound snarky but so....That doesn't change the fact that humans have been eating grains for many thousands of years.

[rhiandmoi]

Grain was being processed and consumed during the Paleo era. So, I'm completely comfortable eating grain as a regular part of my diet.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6126777,00.html

[greenmama66]

Originally Posted by Mom2Kayla 

I just started buying and eating Ezekial bread, its amazing and is gluton free/wheat free. 

Not gluten free at all. Please look at the label. Also sprouting doesn't minimize gluten content.

I went gluten free years ago after a celiac DX and then switched to grain free. Feel so much better being grainfree but my family doesn't agree with this and they still eat grains/gluten.

[CherryBomb]

Ezekial has a number of gluten free products- http://www.foodforlife.com/product-catalog/gluten-free-wheat-free-breads/gluten-free

[greenmama66]

Originally Posted by CherryBomb 

Ezekial has a number of gluten free products- http://www.foodforlife.com/product-catalog/gluten-free-wheat-free-breads/gluten-free

Yes, they do. However most people don't want GF food made in the same place as gluten containing food. Many are very careful with cross contamination etc; makes life harder but not worth the risk if one has serious health issues. Not trying to be snarky here, just saying many are serious they want bakes goods out of a dedicated gluten free space. Not sure about Food For Life's setup but I'd want the GF stuff made in a separate building.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by greenmama66 

Originally Posted by CherryBomb 

Ezekial has a number of gluten free products- http://www.foodforlife.com/product-catalog/gluten-free-wheat-free-breads/gluten-free

Yes, they do. However most people don't want GF food made in the same place as gluten containing food. Many are very careful with cross contamination etc; makes life harder but not worth the risk if one has serious health issues. Not trying to be snarky here, just saying many are serious they want bakes goods out of a dedicated gluten free space. Not sure about Food For Life's setup but I'd want the GF stuff made in a separate building.

You don't sound snarky!  I'm not disagreeing, just saying that they do have products made without gluten.  I have no idea how they set up is, though!