Reintroducing Dairy

We are almost at 3 weeks in our reintroduction of casein/ dairy.  Our son was never into drinking milk directly, but he LOVED yogurt.  Cheese was also very popular.  We figured we'd bring back dairy in cheese form, since cheese is the stuff dreams are made of.  Also, he used to eat grilled cheese sandwiches with rice cheese (meh) and Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks, so slipping regular cheese into his gluten-free bread wouldn't be as conspicuous.  If necessary, returning to non-dairy may have not been as obvious.

I'll admit we I was extremely wishy-washy about bringing back the dairy.  My apologies to both sets of grandparents.  They politely asked if dairy was okay, and both sides heard no which places many limitations on food options if you aren't accustomed to that diet.

What are we looking to happen?  If all goes well, nothing will change.  However, one of the most discouraging aspects of this journey are the many, many variables we encounter that have an impact on our son.  For instance, he caught a little stomach bug the week dairy came back.  Nothing major, but enough to disrupt his bowels for a few days.  Not helpful, especially since we were checking them to see if that would have an effect (it was a bug though; I got a touch of it myself).  Then a week off of school, which throws the routine off a bit.

What have we noticed... His language is pretty much where it was, and his interactions are slowly improving every day.  I thought his emotions were quicker to change; he became upset quicker a few times, and that felt "off" to me (though he may have been affected by the stomach bug).  I did notice some exaggerated hand-flapping from him.  He hadn't done it in a while, so not only did that make it more noticeable, but the time he used it was odd to me.  It seemed more stereotypical autistic hand-flapping.  Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of all this.  He did have a BM today (sorry for the TMI) and the consistency was good, so I was pleased to see that (Wow.  Never thought I'd be here.).

Basically, I'm still not sure how I'm feeling about the dairy.  I'll be revisiting this post over the next few weeks to see if I can make a decision on whether to keep the dairy or not.  I can't believe how time flies with all this.

For anyone wondering if they should try a gfcf diet for any health-related reason, I say go for it, but know it can take up to 3 weeks to get the casein out of your system, and up to 6 months to get the gluten out.  It can be challenging at times, but absolutely doable with proper preparation and information.  We consulted a dietitian and discussed the diet with our son's pediatrician.  I would recommend finding a similar professional who believes in the diet and seeing what recommendations they have for you.

Where'd It Go?

My daughter loves this activity! I made this when she was 11 months old, and she brings it to me (the lid is a little daunting for her 1-year-old fingers) almost every day. She smiles each time she successfully slips block through the little square hole. I love those triumphant smiles!

The bin is an old Domino sugar bin, but a shoe box would work fine. I cut a hole in the lid to be just big enough to fit a block, so she really has to concentrate in order to fit it in. I wanted to make sure it wasn't too difficult, but still challenging enough to give her some determination.

The blocks are the small pieces of our Twig blocks set (which is awesome, btw).  

The first time she did this, she definitely had to work at it, but now she does it with much improved dexterity.  I'm glad it still holds her attention, but now I need to figure out what to make for her next!

Toothpicks

My understanding (you have been warned) is that at 3 years old, a child is still building the proper muscles for writing.  I think we take our hand strength and dexterity for granted.  Frankly, I'm so used to typing that when I'm writing with a pencil, it's exhausting!  Anyway, weak hand muscles don't stop me from writing (thank you, keyboard!), and it shouldn't stop my son from writing either.  One of our many means to encourage him to write is using toothpicks!  I love to bake, so the toothpicks are plentiful.  

My son makes numbers (his fav), shapes (second fav), and letters, and together we make objects as well.  I highly recommend!

0... 1... 2... "More toothpicks, please!"

Rainy Day Fishing

Pretty lousy weather today, but that doesn't mean a lousy time! I've wanted to make this for a while, but finally did it after watching my son recreate a fishing game he did in occupational therapy recently.

The OT version involved more gross motor skills, and I wasn't sure how well he'd do with my version. All in all it went over fairly well! I mean, he asked to play it 4 times, with each session lasting 20-40 minutes. Not bad!

The recent fishing games he'd done involved the alphabet, so I continued the trend and printed a moveable alphabet from MontessoriMaterials.org. After cutting out the letters, I taped a paper clip to the back of each piece of paper. Next, I took a round magnet (the kind you buy in a craft store that is super strong), tied and taped a piece of string to it, then wrapped it in paper and taped that up as well. I attached the other end of the string to a length of 1/2" diameter dowel I had laying around (I KNEW keeping that was a good idea! You can never have too many lengths of dowel rods laying around the house!). I stocked a laundry basket/ "lake" with our "fish," and in typical fashion, my son fished for each letter alphabetically.

Now, of course, I have big plans for laminated letters with a picture of fish somehow and with paper clips hidden inside (oh, I have a plan to do that!). Just another task to put on the list!

Green Smoothies

"We're a smoothie family!" -Husband

Specifically, we're a green smoothie family, but whatevs!

Here's my daughter holding her green smoothie in a shot glass. We're hard green smoothie drinkers, I guess. Okay, not really.

What's a green smoothie? Think of your run-of-the-mill smoothie with some sort of greens added. Usually the greens are leafy, but you can also use greens like broccoli. I haven't done that yet, but eventually.

There are websites and books dedicated to green smoothies, so I won't try to steal their thunder here. This is what we do:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of water
• 1.5 cups freshly cut pineapple
• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 - 2 oranges (peeled and seeded)
• 1 - 2 cups leafy greens

Directions:
Blend until smooth. Serve. Enjoy.



It's important to rotate greens for a few reasons, so we use a variety of greens. Spinach, kale, romaine, etc.

My kids ask for their green smoothies. Even my daughter who recently turned 1, points and vocalizes when she sees the blender full of green smoothie goodness! I gotta say, this has been the easiest way to get delicious vitamins, minerals, and fiber in my darling kiddos. My son sees me packing greens in the blender, so he knows they're there. Would he eat a spinach salad or cooked kale ? Hmmm... Probably not as likely as he would down this yummy drink!  Hopefully one day on the salad and cooked kale, though. :D

Cheers!

GF Pizza Crust

We have been slowly re-introducing casein to our son, mostly in the form of cheese (grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza). I'm trying not to become too attached should we need to remove it again. Cheese and our family are like star-crossed lovers. Well, maybe not. That sounds weird.

Gluten-free dough is very different than wheat dough. I used to bake bread once a week and switching to gluten-free was quite the education. On the whole, I have found gluten-free dough to be challenging. It's usually extremely sticky or too wet. "Too wet" turned out to be a positive for this pizza crust, though.

I found this gluten-free pizza crust recipe on Food.com and I think the real appeal was that there was no kneading or rising. I only needed to toss everything into a bowl, mix, then dump that into a baking pan. Yes!

Yeast-Free Pizza Crust (Gluten-Free) from Food.com

Sorry, no pictures. It was gone before I could find my camera!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup rice flour
2/3 cup 2% low-fat milk (I used rice milk)
2 eggs (I only used 1 after reading comments)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Italian spices (I threw in some basil and oregano without measuring)
1 dash garlic powder (or salt) (I used no-salt Spike garlic seasoning)

Directions:
1. Mix gently. Do not over-beat (batter will be runny). (It's like pancake batter.)
2. Pour batter into greased pizza pan. (I used a 9 x 13 baking dish that doesn't ever need greasing.)
3. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes. (I baked it for 15.)
4. Remove from oven. Add sauce and your favorite toppings and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly brown. (Yup, did that.)

This recipe was easy, quick, and both my son and I enjoyed it! I particularly loved the addition of spices in the dough. It was a very nice touch! If I were to do something like a chicken bbq pizza, I'd omit or replace the spices. The texture was what one can expect from a gluten-free yeast-free recipe. Hard to tell if that's a compliment or not, but it is. It's nice to have pizza back!!

Beloved Laminator!

Figured I'd list the beloved laminator I mentioned in the previous post. The Scotch TL901 Laminator! Stay tuned for other ways I've used this wonderful machine.

Easy Counter Activity: Part 1

This is an activity that can be made quickly, easily, and inexpensively. I've done a few versions of this, but this is the one I ended up laminating. And at the time, "laminating" involved an iron. I have since upgraded to an actual laminating machine. Oh... I love it so much...

Take 10 index cards, cheap circle stickers, and 0 - 9 number stickers (though you could write the numbers and draw the circles with a marker). You'll also need counters. In our case, we used a gf/cf equivalent to Cheerios. Count out 45 O's and place them in a container.

We did this a year ago or so. While Matthew understood the basic concept then, I was really impressed with how he did this time. To see if he could do it, I asked him to take 3 O's from the bowl (random example), and sure enough, he counted out exactly 3. We did this with a few of the other numbers and he did those correctly. At one point, I think it was for number 5, I watched him pick out 3 O's, and when he reached back in, he knew to get exactly 2 O's. He did this with a few other numbers as well. Addition!

In writing this post, I remembered how displeased I was/am with his cards. I'll make some new ones in hopefully the near future so that the cards have two columns for counters to better reveal the difference between odd and even numbers. That will be Part 2.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is a little late, but moving away from candy-centered gifts, I had to come up with an alternate Valentine worthy of my son. Lately, he's been writing every time he has a chance, so Husband and I decided to go with a Valentine Notebook. He writes in it almost every day!! Success!

I bought a composition book, cut a heart and piece of red card stock to size, and taped it all to the outside front cover. Inside I wrote a simple note, and we signed it. Voila!

Since receiving it, he has written/drawn in it every day. He seems to find comfort in it. I'm not sure if it's relaxing to be able to draw or to have ownership of his own notebook, but I hope he loves it as much as we love seeing him use it. Happy belated Valentine's Day!

For the record, I love candy. I do not love Red 40. Plus, my son being on a gluten-free casein-free diet means no chocolate either. None of this was missed. :)