06. Enjoying Special Events & Holidays
Special events almost always revolve around food and they're often feel good foods like cake, candy, and ice cream. While these taste delicious, they're not necessarily foods that aren't going to improve your nutrition or help your child feel their best, which is what I'm all about. Helping your kids feel their best so that they can reach their full potential. Let’s explore preparing for the holidays and finding alternatives that your kids enjoy and are more nutritious!
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IN THIS EPISODE
Exploring the balancing act of food and experience at special events and holidays
A few different options to consider for upcoming events to set you up for success
Ideas for “better” candy and other ideas for non-candy and non-food treats your child can enjoy
Communicating with your child’s team and setting expectations
LINKS
Join the Autism Nutrition Library
Follow @AutismDietitian on Instagram
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the Nourishing Autism Podcast where you take a deep dive into the research on autism and dietary changes, nutrition supplements, and lifestyle modifications. Every week, we break down nutrition topics and an easy-to-understand way for you to feel less overwhelmed and feel confident on your nutrition journey with autism.
Welcome welcome everybody to a new episode of Nourishing Autism. I'm your host Brittyn Coleman, the Autism Dietitian. And this week we are talking about how we can still enjoy special events and holidays while being on a special diet, or while we are embarking on your nutrition journey. I thought this was the perfect time to bring up this topic as Halloween is right around the corner, if you're listening to this in real time, but this will always be applicable to other holidays and events that involve food, like birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's day, Easter, you name it.
This is an important topic to cover because special events almost always revolve around food and they're often feel good foods like cake, candy, ice cream, et cetera. And while these taste delicious, they're not necessarily foods that aren't going to improve your nutrition or help your child feel their best, which is what I'm all about. Helping your kids feel their best so that they can reach their full potential
that being said, we must remember that special events are not just about food. They're an opportunity to work on social skills, which is so important for kids with autism. And honestly, all of us after this past year, we could all work on some social skills and get to enjoy those around us, those close to us, and be able to celebrate a special event .So what's special is that holidays and these events can also create an opportunity for inclusion, sharing, a fun experience and building relationships with friends and family and socializing with your peers. So we want to put this all together because there's certainly a balancing act between the food and the experience.
So on one hand, we want that social experience. This is so great for kids again, to participate with their peers and work on the social skills and enjoy themselves. They deserve to enjoy these special events, just like anybody else. On the other hand, we want to be mindful about the ingredients in the food at these events as these foods are often full of artificial ingredients like dyes and sweeteners refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and often feature ingredients that kids with autism are commonly sensitive to, including dairy wheat, corn, and soy, and all these together in one food that is just mostly sugar is definitely not the recipe to help your kid feel their best and it sets them up for chaotic blood sugars as well, which I talked about in the last episode, if you haven't gotten the chance to listen.
So you have a few different options to approach the situation. You have the option to avoid the event completely, or to decide on a better alternative. And I'll elaborate a little bit. So you could avoid the event completely. And that means that they don't even get the temptation of these foods, but they also miss out on the experience and the development of social skills. Another idea is having them present, but not having an alternative food and they can participate in another way, like handing out candy or participate in a non-food activity.
Actually had a client reach out to me saying that at this point, their child does not respond well to sugar and that their child just really enjoys counting and sorting and handing out the candy. And that's their way of being involved in getting that social piece. And important to think, what does your child enjoy? How can they be involved? What is one way that they really excel?
Another option might be having cake or candy, but it's an alternative with better ingredients or it can mean finding a non-candy food alternative could also be a non-food treat altogether. I love this option as a whole. Because they get the most engagement with other kids. They get to have a fun treat.
Even if it is a non-food or non candy reward. I love helping people find better alternatives for the conventional foods they love.
In fact, this week in the Autism Nutrition Library, I posted a round up of over 30 of my favorite Halloween candy alternatives that don't include artificial dyes or sweeteners or any of those other yucky ingredients that we don't want in our foods. There's a few really great brands. I love yum earth. I also love smart sweets.
There are a lot of other options and I've listed all of those individual items. I did a lot of research on this and looked up all of the favorite Halloween candies, like candy, corn, Skittles, Swedish fish, sour patch, and found better alternatives for all of them.
So you can find that on the Autism Nutrition Library under that Roundup. And then we also just released 20 non-candy options that include non-food rewards as well.
So if you're avoiding sugar or candy altogether, that can be a really helpful resource for you. And these ideas can be really simple. It can be something that your child already loves. Something that they've been really wanting or is on their wish. It can also be something so easy, like a fidget spinner or something that can provide them some sensory input. It can be fun arts and crafts supplies could be even some fruits and fruit leather. It can be something really easy and cheap. We don't have to go all out. You know, sometimes the smallest things kids enjoy the most.
But if you know, your child doesn't respond well to sugar altogether, or has issues with blood sugar control, you might consider one of the non-candy or non-food treats that we have in the library. You can find both of these roundups in the Roundup section or search Halloween in the search bar, and they will both pop up for.
It's also a good idea to talk to your child's teachers and therapists and prepare for the holidays and maybe even have some of your child's favorite treats stocked up for when there are school events and set the expectations for which foods they can and cannot have. And if they have food allergies or sensitivities, be sure to talk to your child's team, to get it written into their IEP, to make sure that there are no slip ups during the holidays.
And just setting the expectations all the way. So as of now, there's still time to get prepared for Halloween to ensure your child has the best experience possible and to reduce stress on you. If you have any other ideas and treats that we haven't listed in the Autism Nutrition Library, I would love for you to share them with us on Instagram and tag @autismdietitian
I can share them with other families. I'm wishing you all happy and healthy Halloween and a holiday season, and I will see you next week.
This podcast is brought to you by the Autism Nutrition Library, a one-stop hub and community for all things autism nutrition created to help you explore evidence-based nutrition approaches that have proved to be effective to help individuals with autism feel their best, do their best, and be their best.
Join now by clicking Autism Nutrition Library or by stopping by my Instagram @AutismDietitian. See you next week.
Transcribed by Descript
ABOUT Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD, CLT
I’m a Registered Dietitian, Autism Nutrition Expert, and the Creator of the Autism Nutrition Library.
I work with parents of children with autism to optimize their child’s diet, supplements, and lifestyle based on their unique needs. I help expand accepted foods for picky eaters, improve digestion and gut health, find the root causes of many symptoms, and ultimately help them feel their best so that they can do their best and be their best.
Not only do I relate to families on a professional level, but also on a personal level. I have been a part of the autism community for over 20 years, as my younger brother was diagnosed on the spectrum at a young age.
I look forward to working with you to uncover the root cause of your child’s symptoms and help your child be the best version of themselves!
