We eat right. We're not fanatics about it, but we rarely eat at Burger King or McDonald's, almost every meal I serve includes a dark green salad, and the boys sometimes eat soup for breakfast. We also eat later than most families, trying to get the stress of homework and chores behind us.

I learned to cook twice. The first time was when my mother was juggling parenting, teaching, and acquiring a master's degree, and I cooked Hamburger Helper, hot dogs, and Ravioli. I really didn't learn to cook until I got married. My husband and I lived in Lebanon at the time, and my cooking today is infused with the fresh salads, vegetables, and low fat entrees that make Lebanese cuisine so appealing. My husband's parents both died very young of heart or kidney problems, and I decided I was going to cook to keep my husband around for a long time.

Lebanese women sort of frown on pre-packaged food, and they taught me to cook from scratch. When we moved to America, I couldn't afford what my kids now refer to as "fake food". I nursed the boys until they were at least a year old, and made the baby food for our first two sons. When they were small, we had a two sugars a day rule; they could have two sweet snacks, but as much fruit and vegetables as they wanted.

A typical breakfast in our home is anything but typical. The boys are own their own for this meal. After years of playing short order cook to grouchy customers, I resigned. So the boys might make cheese toast, cornflakes, oatmeal or an egg. Just as often, however, they eat a burrito, a can of soup, or popcorn. I want them to eat something, but Pop-Tarts and Cocoa Puffs are not a morning option.

The boys eat school lunches; they prefer a hot meal. Our schools have decent lunch choices, but they also have a pizza and French fries option that is available every day. The boys are supposed to have this only once a week, but I'm afraid they don't always comply with this rule. I do not give extra money for them to spend in the vending machines, and not just because of the cost. If the boys want a snack, they can take one from home.

As the guys have grown we've abandoned the two sugar rule. I still buy lots of fruit and fresh vegetables, and our boys snack on these foods a lot. But snacks are my pre-packaged downfall. Occasionally, I buy sugar cereal for snack. Sometimes I buy Oreos or cookies. (We have to divide them into six labeled zip bags so the person who opens them won't eat them all!) The boys love to make brownies and cookies from a mix. They also think macaroni and cheese or Ravioli is a terrific snack. Ice Cream is another house favorite; we sometimes eat six ½ gallons in a week.

We eat dinner late, hopefully after homework is finished. I often review schoolwork while I cook; my husband cooks when the going gets horrible. Dinner is most often a small cut of meat, a vegetable, and a wonderful salad. Our salad bowl holds 2 ½ gallons, I fill it, and what they don't eat for dinner they graze on until it is gone. We use Lebanese salad dressings made fresh. If you're interested, email me at and I'll send you some of our favorite salad recipes. Our meals rarely include bread, unless it's pita bread. Since I'm a rotten baker, I don't do desserts, but I can cut a great slice of watermelon.

Lately I've been looking into dietary supplements. There's a lot of information on vitamins and mineral supplements, and wading through it has taken me a long time. I found a lot that smacked of quackery, and other programs and diets were impossible to initiate with three teenagers in the house. Our July newsletter addresses some of the options I discovered, and in it I mentioned that our family will soon be following some of the recommendations found in The LCP Solution. We've also been supplementing our diets with a terrific (and affordable) Omega 3 product we found at Supplements 101.

No diet, no program, no plan will work for every family. If there were any thing that were a panacea for ADHD, we'd all know. We've tried to take a balanced approach that works for us. Some families may need to be more aggressive in monitoring their diets, and some people would not survive on the foods we eat. Only you can discover what works for your family. Maybe Burger King was right after all, and you really can have it your way.