For the Love of Peas, Pomegranates, and Pineapples

Max has been having an increased focus on food lately.  Every day I am fielding questions concerning what foods are on his diet. I feel bad always telling him that what he is asking for is not on his diet.  I have started to answer him with, I don't know.  To which he replies, please look it up, look it up PLEASE, in a very earnest voice.  When I asked him what he wanted to get for his teachers, for their end of the year gift, he was very firm.  Lettuce, yes Lettuce, and then he added cupcakes.  I told him that lettuce and cupcakes were a wonderful idea, but perhaps we should look at some flowering plants as well.  When he found a purple plant, he agreed, thankfully.  But I was about five minutes from bringing in a giant salad for the teachers with cupcakes for dessert.  Which actually is not that bad of an idea!


A few nights ago I set Max's usual cheese burger, sans bun, in front of him for dinner.  Some how one small pea had gotten stuck to the side of the burger.  His face brightened and he pointed at it, gleefully asking if it was for him.  I told him how sorry I was, but the pea was there by mistake.  His sweet little face just crumpled and I could see tears forming.  We have been very good at following the diet to the letter since his ketone dip last month, but when I saw his face I caved.  It was just one pea after all.  I let him have the pea.  The tiny little pea.  He ate it and told us all how much he loved it.


The next day I was dusting a book shelf and I took a stack of books out and placed them on the floor.  Max started to examine the front of an art history book, which showed a painting of a woman holding a pomegranate.  He wanted to know all about the pomegranate and if it was on his diet.  He was fascinated by it.  When I said it was not on his diet he sighed and wistfully said that he would really like to know what a pomegranate tastes like and could I please look it up.


This morning another question was fielded as I drove him to school.  Pineapples, he wanted to know if half of a pineapple was on his diet.  I don't know why he asked for a half, perhaps he thought if he asked for what he thought was a smaller amount, he might get a yes out of me.  Once again I was met with please look up pineapples to check their carb count.


I am not sure what to do with this.  I am toying with the idea of food experiment days.  We could keep his carb count very low on those days and then allow him tiny tastes of the foods he desires, very much like how we handled National Twinkie Day last summer.   I wonder if this is the right way to handle it, or if he just needs to get used to the fact that most foods are sadly not on his diet.


There has been a lot of buzz lately in the Glut 1 community about the C7 oil trials.  The oil could be a new treatment for Glut 1 patients, allowing them to eat a normal diet if 30% of their diet is the oil.  The other 70% could be what ever food they want!  The trials for the oil started recently, but it will still be a few years before it is an option, if it proves to work and gets approved.  I hold out hope that one day Max can eat other foods.  I try not to think about it too often, one day at a time is a much healthier approach and we have never mentioned the oil or its hopes to Max.  However, when I see articles about the oil it is hard not to take a moment and imagine the future.


I wonder, some day, if he can....what food would Max choose first?