PKU Essentials

     I thought that I'd share a page from out PKU Protein book.  I look at this book on a daily basis.  It is so easy to read and gives me everything I need to know about "regular" and "low protein" food.  The book is divided into sections:  Baby Foods, Fruits& Veggies, Free Foods (this section is AWEsome- it lists a bunch of food that has NO phe in it!), Very High Protein, and several more.  This book is essential to managing PKU.  Without it, PKU is like a guessing game.  You would have no idea just how much phe/protein you were taking it.  It also helps to break down recipes.

     For those of you who follow this blog, but don't really know anyone with PKU, this book might not mean that much.  But I take this book with me to the grocery store, to restaurants, and just about everywhere.  It reminds me just how many McDonald's french fries that Lily can eat and still stay within her daily intake level.  Just in case you're wondering~  a small order of fries(68g) is 88 phe.  You still need to weigh the fries to get an accurate exchange.  So my digital scale goes with us everywhere also!

     When figuring out the phe, I locate the brand in the binder.  Like I said, everything is in tabbed sections, which makes locating the food item pretty easy.  Unfortunately, there are quite a few things that are not in the book.  I have had to call Gerber and ask to speak to a dietition regarding some baby food items.  Gerber is really good about locating the information and calling back with results.  Not all food companies are this helpful. 
     After I find the food item, I look for the category "Mg Phe/Gm Food."  This tells me the information that I really need.  It tells me how much phe is in 1 gram of food.  I then weigh my food and use my handy dandy calculator.  If Lily doesn't eat all that I measured out, then I need to measure what is left over and figure out just how much phe she took in.  This is when my math skills come to play.  I really didn't believe my math teachers when they said someday I really will use algebra!  Boy were they right!
                                    
                                             25 gm of food  =  18gm of food      
                                                  6 phe                       X                 

     I would multiply 18 times 6, then divide by 25 to figure out how much phe was consumed.  Did I tell you how much I love my calculator?

Section	Category	Brand	Food	Measure	Weight (gm)	Phe (gm)	No. of Exch.	Mg Phe/ Gm Food	Pro (gm)	Calories (Kcal)
Baking Ingredients	Flour & Baking Mixes	Namaste	Cookie Mix	1/24 pkg.	23	41	2.73	1.78	0.8	80
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Pirate's Booty	Baked Rice & Corn Puffs, Aged White Cheddar	1 oz.	28	120	8.00	4.29	2.0	130
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Pirate's Booty, Caramel	1 oz.	28	60	4.00	2.14	1.0	120
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Tings	1 oz.	28	118	7.87	4.21	2.0	150
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Tubes, Veggie & Original	1 oz.	28	64	4.27	2.29	2.0	130
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Veggie Booty	1 oz.	28	66	4.40	2.36	1.0	130
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Veggie Booty, Barbecue	1 oz.	28	75	5.00	2.68	2.0	130
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Veggie Booty, Spinach & Kale	1 oz.	28	66	4.40	2.36	1.0	130
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Veggie Chips	1 oz.	28	66	4.40	2.36	1.0	120
Crackers & Snacks	Snacks	Roberts American	Simply Booty Vegan	1 oz.	28	39	2.60	1.39	0.8	120