I just checked my hot chocolate ingredients, not sure why I had not looked previously. Thanks to a follower who sent me an email and mentioned it. Doesn't it just figure, yet another product where you would not think there would be food dye ingredients. My kids love the mini marshmallows, but low and behold...you guessed it...there's blue #1 in the marshmallows.
Our solution: buy the mix without the marshmallows and get the Great Value brand small marshmallows from Walmart (they are dye free). Not quite the same as the little tiny marshmallows that come in the mixes, but good enough to still enjoy it without all the behaviors of adding food dyes to the diet.
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We've been on to the hot cocoa/marshmallow thing (sorry for not alerting you...), but do watch the cocoa itself. Sometimes it has "red" to make it more brown, or artificial flavors. We've found marshmallows at the local organic store, online and at Whole Foods in the big and mini size. They get sticky if not kept at dry cool temps, but they seem to be as white as the nasty ones without using "blue".
It's funny how you think you have all the bases covered and then a new product comes up on the radar. Mayonnaise was another recent one. Why do we need yellow 6 in the mayo!!? It certainly pays to keep reading those ingredients all the time.
My family has just started our "dye free" diet this year. I never realized how hard it is do so. I'm not sure if we've seen any improvement in behaviors yet. I keep hoping. However, so far, all I've eliminated is "yellow", "red" and "blue". I thought it would be good to start with that so it is easier to tell friends, school, grandparents, etc. what to avoid, but it sounds like from all of the posts that we need to avoid all "artificial colors" and "artificial flavors". That eliminates so many more items. :( I guess we'll keep taking it one step at a time. How soon do you think I should see some improvement?
Usually it takes 3 full days for all the chemical effects to be out of a child's system. Then it may be obvious that you have a calmer child, or you may not notice until the next food dye sneaks in and suddenly you are faced with behavior you have not seen for a while. If you don't see any difference at all, double check your food ingredients, you may be missing a source of food dye that is still there. You may also want to check Feingold for other dietary factors that can also trigger behaviors. (link to the right)
HI, Its Kathy again.I'm so grateful to have this source for advice, so thank you.I wanted to put out there ,Does anyone know if Annatto is actually artifical,I see it on labels and it says it a vegetable color.I thought I read on this blog that someone was having an issue with it like it was an artifical flavor?
Thanks Kathy
As far as I know, Annatto is natural and my children have not reacted to it, but some of the natural colors can also cause allergic reactions.
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