If you want to be a grump, eat an egg.

Her new favorite: "No-oat Oatmeal" - Delish!

For those of you fortunate enough to avoid time watching the Nick Jr. channel (lucky), you may be unfamiliar with the song lyrics in this post's title. But basically, the song talks about if you are feeling grumpy, that's okay, but do it further away from the singer.

However, I may have stumbled on another solution. If your kid is grumpy, feed them some protein. My youngest child - bless her little heart - has what would be socially correctly described as a "big personality." Look up "handful" in the dictionary and you'll see her cute little face. Opinions, commands, defiance, testing, etc. etc. She's got it down to a science.  She's 1.5 and owns her age well. But it's more than normal toddler stuff with her. She's really got some frustrating behavior and challenging moods - definitely more so than any of her other 3 siblings did at her age. Sometimes Jon and I really scratch our heads about how different she is at this age than her siblings were.

But since we started our Paleo mornings (i.e. no grains, no sugars), she is a different child.

She used to have oatmeal, applesauce, and some cheerios each morning. Maybe a banana, too. Healthy, right? But within in an hour she was asking for a snack...which I'd concede on because she was relentless. I'd give her a TLC nutragrain or goldfish or something along those lines. An hour later she was looking for more food. And she was cranky and demanding.  Many mornings I found myself counting down to nap time just to get a reprieve. How terrible is that?  That's not the way I want any of us to live - her grouchy and me exhausted.

Now....there is none of that behavior on either of our parts. She's more content. She is more pleasant. She is more cheerful. She's not asking for a snack just minutes after breakfast is over like normal. She plays so much more nicely. She seems peaceful. She doesn't get frustrated or work herself up into a meltdown. There is an absence of whining. Very un-grumpy behavior.

I'm the first to admit, this may be all coincidental  - maybe developmentally she pushed passed a stage which happened to coincide with our start on Paleo? And my observations are of course unscientific. But I'm not exaggerating when I tell you it's CONSISTENT. Like a light switch flipped. She's happy.

Physically, she tolerates grains just fine and up until recently, that's all I've ever really watched out for when introducing new foods - a physical reaction. It's the only thing pediatricians ask about, too. I've never been asked, "So how is her behavior after she eats bagels or cereal?" For all four of my kids, their doctors have only ever asked about any physical reactions to foods: hives, vomiting, eczema, or other allergic reactions. But why isn't negative behavior considered an allergic reaction??  Because I gotta say, it's a really remarkable difference.

The change in my 23 lb. firecracker (who is peacefully singing songs to her stuffed animals right now) is pretty dramatic. In the other kids, its harder to quantify. But I will say, while our days are hectic and busy, they are smoother. It's hard to describe, but the relentless asking for snacks has ceased. Behavior seems to be calmer all around. I can only guess that it is because their blood sugar levels are kept constant on this diet. No insulin spikes. No highs and lows. No chemicals, preservatives, or refined flours/sugars. Their little bodies don't have to fight their food. Non-grain based breakfasts have the benefits of: Feeling full all morning, maintaining consistent energy, getting some serious micronutrients, and avoiding insulin spikes and gut irritating gluten (not to mention preservatives and GMO grains). Except me having to actually prepare something (either in the morning or in advance) vs. open up a cereal box, it is a win-win-win-win.

It's worth a try anyway, right? I'm really interested to see how school goes with the older guys with no-grain breakfasts. Still have another month though.

If you are interested in a recipe, let me know and I'll post. I can't make eggs every morning - especially during the school year. And you get sick of them eventually. We've experimented with some variety like the No-oat Oatmeal in the picture above. Really tasty. It will probably be better in the winter (as opposed to our 100 degree weather!), but it's a nice alternative. We've also had almond pancakes this week. Labor intensive, but super yummy. Going to try coconut pancakes next as well as no-grain banana bread as a side to some protein. Will keep you posted!