01/11/2026
2019. He was 7. This day was a celebration.
A turkey sandwich in one hand. An egg in the other.
And yet people would have never guessed how hard getting here actually was. If he even tasted a sliver of meat, eggs or seafood, the food would be tossed across the room. A meltdown would follow.
What you see now is a child who eats real food. What you don’t see is the years of work it took to get here.
My son was once the kid who refused protein.
No meat. No eggs. No fish. Only beans and lentils, which for a child with newly diagnosed celiac, created even more inflammation. I was trying to heal him when all he ate made it worse.
And here’s what most people don’t understand about “picky eaters” on the spectrum:
Sometimes it’s not behavior.
Sometimes it’s not texture.
Sometimes it’s not stubbornness.
Oftentimes it’s digestion
…it’s mineral imbalances.
…it’s a stressed detox system.
…it’s a gut and liver that can’t break protein down properly yet.
Protein is critical for brain development.
Choline is essential for speech, memory, and nervous system growth. Amino acids build neurotransmitters. Protein is essential.
When we finally supported his gut, minerals and more importantly, his liver….
his appetite changed.
his growth changed.
his speech changed.
his regulation changed.
This didn’t happen overnight.
It took years. It took patience.
It took learning *why* his body was saying no.
So when you see a child eating well today
remember, you’re seeing the result… not the road.
Healing is never just about the food.
It’s about what’s happening on the inside.
💛