Never say never

I know I am not alone in the many things throughout my life that I have said that I will never do….the clear bottom line is I should never say never.

My most recent never say never revolves around food and cooking. I always said that I would never be that mom that cooked different types of meals. We would have one meal and the kids and adults would eat it. From the beginning, I rarely altered spice levels and I would refuse to allow the kids to not eat something. Standing rule was all food had to be tried at least 3 times before you could say that you didn’t like it. This worked very well for some time even though our Princess has food allergies. Last December, hubby called from his business trip in Arizona at approximately 2 in the morning and scared me witless because he said he was in pain, felt like he was dying and was going to the hospital. He went to the Mayo Clinic and it was determined that he had a kidney stone. After a healthy dose of pain meds and the like he was able to fly home and see a local urologist and they recommended a diet that is low in oxalate.

I must admit that when he came home with the chart, I just felt like it was a death sentence. Most of the foods that we are told are good for us where now on this chart of forbidden foods. Of course having just went through the worst pain that he had ever gone through in his life, he took the chart very literal in that he swore off of all of the high oxalate food items no questions asked. Here’s an example, thanks to GICare.com:

Foods High in Oxalate
(More than 10 mg per 1/2 cup serving)
Beans
string, wax
Legume types (including baked beans
canned in tomato sauce)
Beets
Blackberries
Carob powder
Celery
Chocolate/cocoa other chocolate drink mixes
Dark leafy greens
Spinach
Swiss chard
Beet greens
Endive, escarole
Parsley
Draft beer
Fruit cake
Eggplant
Gooseberries
Grits (white corn)
Instant coffee (more than 8 oz/d)
Leeks
Nuts, nut butter
Okra
Peel: lemon, lime, orange
Raspberries (black)
Red currants
Rhubarb
Soy products (tofu)
Spinach
Strawberries
Summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Tea
Wheat bran
Wheat germ

Now that we have been living with this list for several months, my husband is not so literal with the list and has accepted that some of these foods in moderation while still drinking lots of fluid will be okay. Of course, if I am making any of these items for the rest of the family, I will make him something to replace that item. For example, if I make sweet potatoes, I will cook him regular potatoes. Gasp, I did say I would never do this..LOL!!!

Our dinners are starting to look like buffets in that there are certain items that are okay for all and then there are other items that are just for a select few. I don’t like to eat chicken (long story) so if I make it for the rest of the family, I add another vegetable dish to our meal or a soup that is for me. Despite having said I would never do these things, I am finding that for everyone in the family to be well fed and nourished that this is a necessity. The key is finding the joy in the details!

Do you have your own never say never?