Yesterday our son decided to try the school lunches in his new school. The menu appears to have healthy options. However, I don't like to take chances because eating or drinking foods with the artificial colors would mean drastically altering my son's behavior from good to dye-induced ugliness. Therefore, our son has a doctor's note explaining that he is not to have any artificial food colors in his food or drink beverage. I was then given the lunch menu for each day of the week and instructed to circle which foods he would like to eat. Next, I would be given the ingredients for each item for my son's doctor to look over. The food dietitian would then make an alternative if needed for each item that our son is not allowed to eat. As more and more people are becoming aware of harmful dyes and food additives, some schools are choosing healthier options. If the word gets out that I was allowed to do this then others might follow suit. It might just be easier to make foods this way to begin with. Don't we all want our children to eat real foods instead of foods that look real?
There is a school in San Juan Island School District that has chosen to stay away from artificial dyes and preservatives. The link is below:
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/jsj/news/59256037.html
My son's teacher gives out Smarties as prizes (obvious play on the candy name) and I was looking for a dye-free version. My online search has been unsuccessful (albeit interesting). Any thoughts? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Teri,
ReplyDeletePlease see the post before this one. I hope you have a Whole Foods Market close by because they sell SparX candy and they taste a bit like smarties to me. I wish you luck! You can also order candies online (check out some of the sites listed under Candies without artificial dyes). Good luck!