Sometimes I just get so frustrated

I've been writing and blogging about trying to keep my family free of artificial dyes for about 6 months now. I talk to people all the time about the effects dyes can have on behavior. Every single family I know that has tried going dye free has seen a big difference. I've saved countless links and research articles on the topic. But sometimes I still wonder what else can be done.

I find it appalling that the chemicals in food contribute to problems not just in my kids but in the whole population of children out there. Why can't they get more conclusive research done to show people what a big deal this is?! Why won't the FDA even acknowledge the research that has been done on the topic? How did our country turn into a place where corporate profits are more important than the health and well being of our children?

picture of what NOT to buy

I've been looking for an update on the Maryland food dye bill and finally found another CSPI article. Check out the nice picture of all the products I no longer buy since they contain food dyes that make my kids crazy. I wish more people would take this issue seriously. We do fine avoiding dyes most of the time, but I know lots of other families simply do not have the perseverance or the supportive family, daycare, teachers, etc. that help us be successful. It helps me more than anything that my husband is devoted to the cause. He understands how much the dyes affect the kids and works hard to make sure they stay off them. Valentines Day gave me a good opportunity to appreciate the good man I'm married to.

Urge Congress to ban artificial food dyes

I just found this. You can sign a petition to encourage banning food dyes. It was sponsored by CPSI Please encourage all your friends and family to do the same.

Nice pile of red candy

Well, the parties seem to have gone well and the kids all loved their cupcakes. Now I've got a big pile of candy they brought home. Ben was pretty disappointed that he couldn't have any of it. He got over it when I pulled out the candy I keep at home and let him have his choice of several things after dinner. I used to eat some of the contraband dye myself, but I learned my lesson the last time I ate the red licorice (VERY GRUMPY RESULTS) Sometimes I just throw it out and don't think twice. Today I think I'll have Ed take it to work and let his co-workers have whatever they want.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to see if there is any news about the food dye bill being discussed in Maryland. While looking for that, I came across the site for The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. It has a lot of information about the food dye issue as well as the mercury found in the HFCS and the specific amounts.

Bring on the red, we're all set

We are ready for 3 different dye-free Valentine's Day Parties. I baked cup cakes for 2 of my kids' parties. Since Alex needs to stay off wheat, I baked his cupcakes too and froze a bunch for later. I'll just send in his own cupcake and the rest of the class can have whatever overload of color some other parent sends in. I still remember his kindergarten party with the florescent pink and dark red inches of frosting on the cup cakes. It stained everything from their teeth to their fingernails and every item of clothing in between. It was pretty gross.

Here is what I used to make my cupcakes.

So far Alex loved the wheat free cupcake from the Pamela's mix. I cup up the red licorice and put it on top for decoration. It does have wheat, so it's still not ideal for the gluten free crowd. But it gave the cup cakes a nice bit of strawberry flavor. I'm thinking of sending in extra candy in their lunch boxes so they won't be as tempted to eat the candy hearts. Does anyone actually like those anyway?

Sometimes dye free is a hassle

It seems so often that little things come up that should be easy but somehow seem harder when you try to stay dye-free. This week it was that party at day care. I really do have to say I am blessed by the wonderful daycare for my kids. My kids only go 2 days a week since I work part time. And luckily my kids can go year round for summer camp, and for preschool and after school too. That way I only have one place to train the staff about keeping all 3 of my kids dye free. Well, school is another story.

But this week it was the party for my boys who played piano and cello in the day care talent show. The director let me know last Thursday that they would be having ice cream sundaes for a special snack today. I was appreciative of the notice. That let me pack rice ice cream for my GFCF boy. I also supplied dye free sprinkles (look for the clown bottle, I think it's called Mr. Sprinkles). I obsessively checked the ice cream and chocolate sauce myself to make sure there there were no dyes in either product. So it was extra planning and stress to make sure I remembered the extra items early this morning. I had to spend a few minutes looking over the ingredient labels in the day care kitchen. But all in all it worked out great. My boys had a treat like everyone else, but one that meets our family's food requirements. I'm sharing this so you can get ideas on how communicating with others helps you keep things normal for the kids, but without the draw-backs of dye induced behavior.

Tomorrow I'll embark on another dye-free baking frenzy to get ready for Valentine's Day parties.

more articles on food dye legislation

I'm interested to see what happens in Maryland this Wednesday, Feb 11 when they begin to discuss proposed bills to put warning labels on products with food dyes and to ban them from schools and day cares by 2012. How come it's not at all surprising that the giants of the food industry are against further food labeling and that it sounds like they're in the pockets of the politicians? Here are some links I found:

Maryland considers ban on food dyes
Foes of food labeling
Food dye is worry for 1 in 3