Search This Blog
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Beware of Strep
On the upside, the school was receptive to changing Maxwell's disciplinary action to an "at home recovery" day rather than a suspension. So, he won't look like demon child on his permanent file...ahhh...a productive day, I'd say!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Wrong Wall
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Vanilla Almond Muffins (or Cupcakes)
Vanilla Almond Muffins
4 Eggs
½ cup sugar
1 cup Almond Meal
1 Cup Tapioca Flour (aka Tapioca Starch)
1 Tbsp Vanilla
¼ tsp salt
½ Tbsp Baking Powder
½ Cup non-dairy milk
Mix it all together on medium and bake in lined muffin pans at 350 for 15-17 minutes. You can frost these and pass them off as cupcakes or leave them plain and make them muffins. I sprinkled chocolate chips on top of ½ of these to please my chocolate lover and kept the other ½ plain for my vanilla lover. All were happy and I have won yet another battle in the war of getting more protein in my children without their knowledge. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
More from Lambert
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Voice of Autism?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sandwich "Cakies"
Cakies
1 box gluten free cake mix (I used vanilla Betty Crocker - they were on sale...you can use chocolate or whatever kind floats your kids boat)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp melted Earth's Balance (or your favorite dairy free margarine or shortening, or coconut oil, whatever you like to use)
Enough rice flour to make the dough the consistency of moist play-doh
Preheat oven to 350. Mix it all together (add rice flour as necessary) and drop in teaspoon size balls onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover the balls with a layer of plastic wrap. Press them down into flat circles with the bottom of a juice glass. Remove plastic wrap. Bake for 11-12 minutes, until the edges get a little golden. Let them cool.
Filling:
1/2 cup melted Earth's Balance margarine
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups of powdered sugar (I buy the corn free version at Whole Foods - 365 brand - you can get a case discount on this if you have a place to store it...)
1 tsp vanilla
Enough non-dairy milk to get desired consistency
Mix the filling ingredients together, adding milk as necessary to get it to the proper frosting consistency. Use to spread on the bottom of 1 cakie, make a sandwich out of it with another one and there you go - happy, happy yummy stuff!
Chocolate Sauce
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix the water, sugar, and cocoa and whisk over heat until everything is blended - boil 3 minutes to make sure the sugar dissolves. Let it cool and pour into a clean glass bottle. Store in the fridge.
I use this to make chocolate milk with rice or almond milk and, of course, as ice cream topping :) Use as you would those expensive, artificial ingredient containing store bought syrups!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Birthday Parties
Follow Up: So, after thinking about this overnight and getting over my frustration, I realized I missed a teachable moment. Instead of getting angry, I could have spoken to the parents responsible for the party and explained what was frustrating Lambert. I spend so much time in my own head that I just assume other people should just know how to deal with a child with ASD. And, well, Lambert is tricky. He is not detectable until he is...if that makes any sense. Anyway, I could have suggested the following: Put the balloons away until the appropriate time, set a time for the game and stick to it, volunteer to manage the game myself, at the very least, explained what was going on. I got frustrated and embarrassed and that only made things worse. When my world is about my children, it's hard for me to function at events that are about other people's children, especially when they are so contrary to the world in which my son can thrive. So, live and learn, and keep on growing...like a vicious and fierce weed ;)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cranberry Pumpkin Pie Upside Down Cake
Cake Part
1 ½ cups almond meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
2 large eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin - canned or fresh, up to you
Crust Part
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 tbsp canola oil
Run the crust ingredients through your food processor until mixed and nicely chopped. Line the bottom of an 11x7" parchment lined baking pan. Press the crust on top of the parchment paper until evenly distributed. Mix the cake ingredients thoroughly and pour on top. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until sides pull away and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes away clean. Let cake cool in the pan. Once cool, run a knife along the sides to loosen it and turn your pan over onto a storage container or serving plate. This cake may not look exactly beautiful but it tastes like autumn in Heaven. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/4 cups white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
3/4 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 cup c/f margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
2 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 package of dairy free chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or Guittard semi sweet chips are, at time of posting, dairy free)
I know there is maybe meant to be an order to mixing this stuff but, frankly, I just throw it all in the bowl of the stand mixer and set it to go. Preheat your oven to 375, bake cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. Hide some from the kids and/or your spouse or they will be mostly gone by the time you finish baking these!
Happy baking!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Why GF/CF?
Monday, September 13, 2010
Educate yourself!
http://www.thearcoftexas.org/resources/families/inclusionresources.asp
Print, highlight, and refer to the publication "It's A New IDEA" frequently. This is a must have if you are an educator or parent of a special needs child. Since it's not published by the TEA, the school district will not allow teachers to distribute it. It is a wonderful publication and you NEED to have it.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/guidance/special_dietary_needs.pdf#xml=http://65.216.150.153/texis/search/pdfhi.txt?query=guidance+for+special+needs+children&pr=FNS&prox=page&rorder=500&rprox=500&rdfreq=500&rwfreq=500&rlead=500&rdepth=0&sufs=0&order=r&cq=&id=4bc7808f7
This publication is the USDA law requiring public schools to provide appropriate substitutes in the school lunch program, if your child is on a special diet for his/her special need. You must have a letter of medical necessity from your child's pediatrician. This publication outlines how that must read. The school district can NOT turn you down for this service if you have the appropriate documentation - it is a federal law.
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/pdf/ED.25.pdf
This is the law that requires the school district to excuse absences for recognized therapy for autism. This is a good one if you're doing a lot of private therapy and run into attendance issues.
http://wrightslaw.com/
You just MUST subscribe to this site - it has everything you need to know. Check it out but make sure you have some time to browse.
OK, I may be done with my rant for the day. I just cannot stress enough how important it is that you become educated. This is one of the most important things you will do for your child through this whole journey of special needs.
Good luck and be brave!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Almond Bread
1 1/2 cups almond meal or almond flour (if using meal, you may want to run it through the food processor for a few seconds to grind it a little finer)
3/4 cup tapioca flour/starch (you can also use arrowroot or potato if that's what you have on hand)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tbsp. honey or agave nectar
4 eggs
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Beat the eggs in your mixer until frothy. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except the vinegar, and mix thoroughly, then add the vinegar and finish mixing. Grease a standard size loaf pan, pour your mix in and pop into an oven preheated to 350. Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
Ice Cream!
Here you go:
Amy's Awesome Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
4 cups of Rice Dream (this is a whole aseptic box)
1 cup of Vance's DariFree (this is great stuff and worth getting)
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract (natural)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 package non-dairy chocolate chips (ghirardelli or guittard semi sweet are currently dairy free)
Mix everything but the chocolate chips in a blender until well blended and smooth. Pour into your designated ice cream container and stick it in the freezer. Stir it every hour to two hours to blend the frozen parts with the non-frozen parts. When it gets to be about the consistency of pudding, add the chocolate chips and stir to disperse. Let it freeze the rest of the way and then chow down. This is pretty much an all day process so do it on a day when you're hanging around the house.
Now, you may not be as enamored with mint chocolate chip as I am. If so, you can play with this recipe. For chocolate ice cream, omit the peppermint and add 4 tbsp cocoa powder. For vanilla, omit the peppermint and play with adding more vanilla. Add peaches or strawberries or blueberries, replace some of the dari free with instant coffee...you get the point, make it your own! Have fun and enjoy!
Sneaky Nutritious Energy Bars
Energy Bars
1 cup raw walnuts
1.5 cups almond meal
½ cup flax meal
½ cup unsalted creamy almond butter
½ teaspoon salt (I like sea salt)
½ cup oil (I used canola but you could use your favorite)
4 drops liquid
2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup dairy free chocolate chips (try Ghirardelli semi sweet or Guittard semi sweet)
- Place walnuts, almond meal, flax meal, almond butter and salt in a food processor
- Pulse until it nuts are chopped
- Mix stevia, agave/honey, and vanilla in your oil
- Add oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste
- Press mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish
- Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens
- In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously
- Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens
- Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve
Local resources if you're buying on the cheap
Flour: Katy Grocers on Mason Rd is an excellent place to buy flour. I use a lot of sorghum (called jowar there), brown, and white rice flours. Do NOT buy Bob's at a bazillion dollars a pound, try your local Indo/Pak grocery and get a deal! Also check out Country Life Natural Foods - they are located in Pullman, MI. Even with shipping, prices on things like Almond Meal cannot be beat.
Noodles: You can get excellent gf noodles in the asian section of your local grocery. I like Fiesta the best in Katy. I get all kinds of noodles for a fraction of the cost and my kids think they're eating fettucini or angel hair pasta. Try the rice noodles and the mung bean vermicelli - they are excellent!
Cheese: So, while I can't handle cow milk stuff, I find the sheep or goat milk cheeses are no issue for my body. While, yes, they do contain casein, they are a shorter chain protein and, therefore, do not have the opioid effect on kids with ASD like cow casein does. And, they don't start any digestive and/or asthma problems in my body. Try Phoenicia on Westheimer for all your goat and sheep cheeses - rice and olive oil are good buys there as well. Their prices are sooooo much lower than any other store in this area. I like Haloumi and Pecorino Romano cheeses for my pizzas - and so does everyone else!
Non-Dairy Milk and other organic type stuff: Get thee to a Costco! The cases of Rice Dream are about $18.00 - a much better deal than anywhere else. Also, I buy organic evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, organic juice boxes, organic frozen vegetables, honey, pistachios, raw nuts, organic vanilla, organic peanut butter, uncured hot dogs,Lara Bars, all natural fruit snacks, almond butter, and all kinds of other goodies there. It's worth the drive and more than worth the $50/year for a membership.
Bread: I buy Udi's bread and bagels by the case at a 10% discount at Whole Foods. I buy them once a month and store them in a freezer in the garage. It's a hike to WF so the discount and the bulk buy are worth it.
Amazon.com: Yep, they have a subscription service that not only saves you money, but saves you time ordering. I get cases of Annie's G/F Mac and Cheese, cases of g/f pretzels, cases of Pizza Crust Mix (OK, so that's Bob's but it's saving me time and money so what the heck) and other g/f items that strike my fancy. If you sign up for the subscription service, you not only get more of a discount and free shipping on orders over $25, but also don't have to think about getting more when you're getting low. It just shows up on your doorstep like the fairy grocery godmother was there. I like that.
Ranch Creek Natural Foods (Memorial near Wilcrest): This place deserves an honorable mention. Their items can be pricey (they don't offer case discounts because they're small and can't afford to). However, Ron will work with you to order what you want if you can't find it anywhere else. He also said he can order bulk amounts of Vance's DariFree, which I haven't taken him up on yet but plan to. The man knows his stuff and is passionate about what he does!
Supplements: I get these from Catherine Masha in Katy - she is extremely knowledgeable, kind, and helpful. She only carries the good stuff and even offers consultations. Here's her web site: http://www.catherinescauses.com/