My Top Gluten Free Kid Friendly Products

Here is my handy dandy list of kid friendly gluten free products. Want to know how to replace Kraft dinner? How about pancakes? All those favourite foods that you think your child will have to give up are actually replaceable with gluten free options. So here are my favourites, and where in Vancouver to buy them!

1. Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix. My all time favourite product. I use this for everything. It makes gorgeous gravy, banana bread, cookies, and of course, pancakes. It does contain butter milk powder so it is not suitable for dairy free diets. The cookie recipe on the back of the package is fool proof. I have found this product at Choices in the pancake section. It is expensive so I often buy it in bulk from Amazon for a few dollars cheaper.

2. Gluten Free Pantry Favourite Sandwich Bread Mix. I make most of Matthew's bread from this mix. It is as easy as making cake from a box. However you will need a high powered mixer, like a Kitchen Aid, because the doe is very thick and sticky. I add extra flax seed meal to this for an Omega 3 punch. It yields a nice big loaf and is fractionally cheaper then buying GF bread. It tastes far better then the frozen varieties. It is worth the little bit of effort. I buy mine at Famous Foods. Some times I buy it in bulk from Amazon.

3. Pamela's Brownie Mix. Great brownies! No one will know the difference! Buy it at Choices.

4. Glutino crackers. These are a great replacement for Ritz crackers. They don't taste the same, but they are the closest to a regular cracker that is out there. I buy them from Price Smart, and sometimes London Drugs has them.

5. Slim Down Rice Crackers from Want Want. These are the best rice crackers. They are super tasty! I buy them from London Drugs, Choices, Famous Foods and Whole Foods.

6. Mi-Del Arrowroot Animal Cookies. These cookies replace animal crackers. They are pretty tasty. They do contain butter so they are not dairy free. I buy these at Choices, Price Smart and Wholefoods.

7. Waffles. There are Natures Path frozen waffles in several varieties and Vans waffles. I recommend trying them out until you find the ones your child likes. I go for the Mesa Sunrise ones from Natures Path because they are a little healthier. But they can be a little dry. You can buy them from Price Smart, Whole Foods, Choices, and Famous Foods.

8. Mrs, Leepers pastas. This pasta is made from corn so it is yellow in colour. It cooks up with out getting mushy. It tastes like tortilla chips. It is high in fibre and protein. The elbow macaroni closely resembles Kraft dinner. You can buy the Kraft dinner packets for the sauce and throw away the pasta. Your child will hardly notice the difference. I buy this at Price Smart.
Just a side note; Annies makes a GF mac and cheese product. I am not a huge fan of it. It is expensive, the pasta is made from white rice which makes it void of any fibre or taste.

9. EnviroKids Crispy Rice bars. My kid loves these! They are a good replacement for rice crispy bars.
You will find these at Price Smart, Whole Foods, and Choices.

10. Natures Path Whole O's are a great replacement for Cheerio's. They are the healthier choice as many gluten free kids cereals are packed with sugar. You will find them at Price Smart, Whole Foods, London Drugs, and Choices.

11. Kinnikinik makes a wide variety of products including breads, English muffins, bagels, and mixes. You can find ready made frozen products in the freezer of the bakery at Safeway. They can also be found in the frozen foods of Price Smart, Whole Foods, Choices and Famous Foods. I keep these breads on hand for convenience, in case I don't get around to making bread. The bagels are tasty and kids love them with jam.

12. Panne Rizzo on Cornwall in Kits makes the nicest rice buns. If I am in the area I always pick some up to keep in the freezer. They make great hamburger buns or garlic bread. I cut them in half because they are pretty big. You can call Panne Rizzo and order these in advance.

13. Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix. I use this to make cupcakes for special occasions. One packet can make about 24 small cupcakes, so it is good value compared to other mixes. GF cake mixes are tricky. It is hard to get good cake. This is by far the best one I have tried. I always add an extra egg and I add a half cup of vegetable puree, like spinach or sweet potato to add fibre and improve the texture. I always get compliments! In fact, I have made a cake that looks like McQueen out of it!

You could spend a lot of money and time, like I did, trying to find the right products. I hope this list helps to make it a little easier!

Halloween Candy

It's that chilly and spooky time of year again!! Halloween! For most of us this is a fun time of year filled with parties, dress up and treats.
It can also be a stressful time for those of us with kids on special diets. How do we allow our kids to have a carefree Halloween experience, and keep them safe at the same time?
Firstly, too much sugar for any kid is a bad idea, let alone for children with various brain development issues. Then there are the allergies to contend with.


Here are my ideas on a fun time Halloween without deprivation for any child!


1. Set the ground rules. If your child is old enough, or cognitive enough to understand, explain what foods they are, and are not, allowed to eat. Explain that any candy or treats must be examined by Mom, Dad or teacher first.
If they are not able to make these distinctions themselves then make sure you, or any adult involved in the moment, examines the candy before giving it to your child.


2. Take control. If your child is attending a party where there will be home made foods, as well as packaged candy, then it is important to check the food out yourself. Make a plate up for your child that he is allowed to eat from. Offer to make treats for the party that are safe for every one to enjoy.


3. Get others involved. By this point all child care workers, teachers, friends and family should be aware of your child's diet restrictions. Make a list of safe candy for day care, school, grandparents and others who may be involved in the Halloween experience. And always provide safe alternatives for your child to enjoy.


4. Enjoy the Trick or Treat! It is a lot to ask a small child to not eat candy when they are being handed scads of it at every door! Bring a special treat along for your child to enjoy while trick or treating, so they are not tempted to dip into the pillow case for a fix.


5. Don't trick or treat on an empty stomach. Make sure your child has eaten a healthy, warm meal before hitting the streets. This will lessen the temptation to raid the sack!


6. Place more emphasis on the fun of Halloween, rather then the food. Build up the excitement of dressing up. Get dressed up yourself! Carve pumpkins, hang up spiders and webs, get together with friends and family for a fun time!


7. Do a swap. When your child comes home with their monstrous sack of goodies, go through it with them. Pick out the bad ones and replace them with your own stash of your child's favourite safe candy. Or if you can get your child to agree with it, trade in candy for small toys or money to spend on a bigger toy. 


8. Be prepared. Give yourself time to read labels while shopping for candy. Purchase candy to have on hand for day care and school events, so your child does not miss out.


Remember you are not the only family restricted by food. There are so many kids allergic to nuts, eggs, soy, gluten, milk and other foods. They all have to go through the same process to keep their kids safe. Find a friend going through the same thing and make a plan together.


There are numerous lists of safe candy on sites all over the web. I have yet to find one that is specific to Canada, and or to a GFCF diet. Your best bet is to take some time and read all labels. Some tricky candies are Smarties. Smarties seem like they should be GF but they are not. 


Some GF candy that I know is GF are:
M&Ms, except Crispy M&Ms
Maynard's Gummies
Hersey's chocolate
Aero
Cadbury's chocolate


Here is a recipe I took from Clean Eating Magazine for Cocoa Coconut fudge, that I modified slightly. This is an easy, no bake, gluten free, dairy free and sugar free (optional) treat! My kids love it and I am addicted to it!


Cocoa Coconut Fudge


1/2 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup or 1/4 cup and 1 tblsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder


Soften the coconut butter so it is easier to work with. Mix the syrup or honey in to it, along with the vanilla. Sift the cocoa to remove any lumps and stir into the mix. Pour into an 8x8 pan. You can now decorate the top with anything you want. Nuts, candy, sprinkles. Put into the fridge to set, about 20min. 
Makes 16 servings. Must be refrigerated to avoid a messy melted blob.


You can buy coconut butter at Choices, Famous Foods or WholeFoods, along with Agave nectar. These are expensive ingredients but well worth the cost!


Happy Halloween!!

10 Steps to going Gluten Free

If there was one thing I wish I had when I set out to switch Matthew's diet to gluten free it would be the following lists that I will post over the next week. There is so much information out there on the internet, but despite that, I still didn't know what I needed to know to get the job done without a whole lot of trial and error, and not to mention, money!
It can sometimes be weeks or months before one can get in to see the dietician and acquire the correct information. Even then you may not get the insider info that can be so helpful when changing the diet for a child. Being gluten free for an adult can be challenging, but when you are doing if for a child who is a picky eater, it can be daunting.

 The following advise is NOT for a child with a Celiac Disease diagnosis. In this case you must eliminate gluten from your child's diet entirely and immediately. If your child has autism, ADHD, FAS, or other developmental disabilities, and you do not have a celiac diagnosis or testing for celiac disease pending,  then you must begin your journey with an investigation.

1. Talk with your child's paediatrician. You might be surprised by the response you get! The paediatrician has a list in your child's file of different issues that may improve with a diet change. If you do not get a favourable response to your inquiry then you have a choice to make. You can go it alone and work to change the doc's mind, or you can look for a new doc. It does help to have the support of the paediatrician to make these changes. He can help you collect the appropriate information to assess whether the diet is making a difference.

2. Start keeping a food journal. If you have not already started a journal for your child, start now. I started keeping journals on and off since Matthew was a baby. Feeding charts, sleep charts and behaviour issues. I admit that I am not the best a keeping this practice up. I have numerous note books around the house with little notes jotted down about various issues we were having. They can be a great resource for you and your child's health care team. Make notes about what your child eats, how much, when, and any behaviours you notice associated with the foods. Personally I think it is important to start keeping this journal about one month before eliminating wheat entirely.

3. Start making a list of your child's favourite wheat foods. This list will be handy to keep in on hand when you go to the grocery store looking for replacements for those foods.

4. Start introducing your child to new gluten free foods. If your child is really picky about food you may want to start with foods that are easy for him to accept, like crackers. Once your child accepts a new GF food, eliminate its wheaty counterpart entirely. You don't want your child remembering how good the old stuff was!

5. Start reading food labels. Next time you go shopping read the labels on your favourite foods. You may be surprised what is in there! If you can find a GF alternative then try it. Watch out for malt, MSG, barley, and barley malt colouring. All these ingredients are wheat based.

6. Start collecting recipes. There are a number of great GF web sites and cook books that offer great child friendly recipes. One of my favourites is the Kid Friendly Autism ADHD Cook Book. This is a great resource for information and some wonderful easy recipes.

7. Do a trial period. Now that you have a number of GF foods your child is eating under your belt you can begin a trial of the diet. A trial period can be anywhere from two weeks to a month. I do not recommend going longer then a month with out making a solid decision. During this time it is really important that you make sure your child is completely gluten free. By the end of two weeks you should have a good idea of any changes that have occurred with your child.

8. Reintroduce the offender. After about two weeks reintroduce wheat for a day. Give your child a wheat serving at every meal. Take notes on your child's reaction. Your child might have a large reaction, or no reaction at all. You may feel you do not need to do this if you have already noticed a reduction in your child's symptoms. We did not do this for Matthew, as we suspected he may have celiac. We noticed his language increased and he was a much happier child. Again I stress, do NOT do this if your child has a Celiac diagnosis!

9. Get educated. If you have decided that you want to continue with a gluten free diet for your child after a trial it is time to really educate yourself about the gluten free lifestyle. It is a lifestyle for sure! Visit www.celiac.ca and www.talkaboutcuringautism.org for advice on what foods to avoid and other food options. You will need to make some changes in your kitchen too. You will need a new GF toaster, baking tins, cutting boards, bread knife, etc., and learn how to keep your child safe from contamination. The TACA site is full of great information on the GFCF diet and how to work it. It also has a great section on picky eaters. Personally,  I don't believe autism is curable. I do believe that it can be managed and diet is just one way to make things better for a suffering child.

10. Get your favourite grocery store on board! We are very lucky here in Vancouver to have a great selection of GF options. However not every store will carry every thing you need. I found myself shopping from 5 different stores to get all the little bits! It was a full time job just shopping for Matthew's food, not to mention, expensive. Now I have it down to one main store, and I occasionally visit alternatives if I need some one off item. Save on Foods and Price Smart are the big name chain stores that carry the best selection of GF items. They are very good at bringing in requested items too! I am so pleased with how responsive they have been to my requests.

Here are a few hints for GF grocery shopping:
1. Most GF baked products, including bread, are kept in the frozen foods sections. Ask a manager, rather then a staffer, where you can find these items.
2. Check you labels!
3. Cheerio's, Rice Crispies and Corn Flakes are all coloured and flavoured with barley malt. They are not GF.
4. Watch out for soy sauce,jar sauces, and vinegar's. These often contain wheat.


In a later post I will get more detailed about what items can be found at what stores.

The above advice also can apply to eliminating dairy or any other food that may be causing a problem.

Soccer Dogs

Soccer Dogs

There have been many times that Matty’s physiotherapist from CFA has insisted that Matthew needs to be involved in some kind of team sport. Every time she says it I think in my mind, “ how is Matt going to play in team sports???” Sure, he loves to kick a ball, he loves to run around, he loves running after other kids…for about 5 minutes. Then his attention span drops off and he starts looking for ways to escape. He might wander off or start spinning around in circles. Or he will get the idea to distract the adults by running off and doing the exact opposite of what they want him to do. I just could not see any kind of team activity going well.

So she sent me some information for Soccer Dogs, and organization for kids with special needs. She told me she has another child on her caseload that just loves it. I had a quick look thru the information and passed some emails back and forth with a woman named Barbara and we were signed up.

So Saturday morning we turned up to the field were we were told to go, at John Oliver School.  As we drove up we saw various kids and parents in bright uniforms heading to the meeting spot. Matthew was immediately nervous and overwhelmed and started pulling me back to the car. So I assured him it would be all right and picked him up so he would feel safer. The first person I spoke to as I approached was your typical soccer mom type. Abby was bright and inviting which immediately put me at ease. She pointed me in the direction of Barbara, who was getting every one organized with their uniforms and such. Once we got Matthew into a uniform, which was surprisingly easy, we were introduced to Barry, Matty’s one on one volunteer for the hour. Barry immediately got Matthew engaged with the ball and attempted to take him out to the field for a warm up.  Matthew stuck to Paul’s side like glue, so Paul spent the hour on the field with the kids. Future soccer coach, I think! Even though Simon is too young to play he was out there kicking the balls around. There was no way to get him off the field! Soccer Dogs takes kids from age 4 on, but Barbara saw the talent in Simon and said he could play in the spring! 

We even ran into some friends!

Once I got my own bearings I was able to take a good look around and see what was going on. There were at least 80 children of various sizes and various abilities, with about 40 volunteers. And every single child was happy and smiling, including Matthew. Not only were the kids smiling, but the parents were relaxed and smiling too. I felt like I had been transported to a world full of angels and that Matthew’s disabilities were immaterial!

There was a game going on between the older kids in the far field, while the younger kids kicked the balls around with the volunteers.  There were nets, balls, uniforms, and cleats, all supplied to the kids. All the kids got a snack at the end of the hour and there was coffee for the parents with a small donation. The whole thing was so well organized and much larger then I expected. All we have to do is give a deposit of $50, which we get back at the end of the season.

So now on a lazy Sunday afternoon I am at my computer steeling a few moments away from my family. I have had a chance to go thru the Soccer Dogs web site, which is very well organized and professional looking. I realize as I read about the mom that started it all that ‘typical soccer mom’ is THE mom! Reading Abby’s story of how she came to start Soccer Dogs sent me into tears! I will let you all read if for yourselves. It is a heroic story of how one mom can change things so profoundly while advocating for her own child.  

http://soccerdogs.ca/about

So sorry for the poor pictures! But once Matthew sees the camera its all over! So we had to focus on game play, rather then taking good pictures!

Studies that blame mothers

So, I am watching the news the other night and Kevin Newman from Global is talking about some study done that children of women who work indulge in too much TV and eat too much junk food. This made me feel wild inside! He didn’t elaborate much. The whole piece was all but a minute long. No information about how most families can hardly make due on a double salary income. Or about how kids are unsafe walking on their own in any given neighborhood, so they get picked up in cars rather then walking or taking the bus. Or how about the government has made so many cuts to education the parents have to pick up the slack some how at home…or not, because, after all, mom works.

So lets get down to it. Why not just say moms are making their kids fat and lazy? And when we are looking 20 years down the road and all these kids are obese and hanging out in mom’s basement playing video games, or doing drugs, we can blame it on her again.

I know of plenty of kids who eat too much junk food and watch too much TV and their mom’s don’t work. How about doing that study? How about studying how no matter what moms do their kids are being programmed to want junk food by marketing companies that see obesity as dollars in their pockets? And how every time kids turn on the TV to watch yet another show with emaciated teen-age girls who are made up to look like Pamela Anderson, they are bombarded with food commercials like Pizza Pops and fried chicken? How about doing the study about how the government is not helping mom’s to stay at home with their kids, if they want to, or making quality after school care affordable, or implementing healthy eating initiatives in the schools? How about doing a study on the levels of sugar, fat and salt that have crept their way into the food products we all eat? (Actually I think those studies have been done, but I regress to drama when I am upset)

I grew up in a house with a working mom. I can tell you that I watched very minimal TV and I ate apples and crackers for snacks. There was no pop and there were no bags of chips found in our home. We also did not have Hanna Montana and the Gossip Girls. I walked myself to and from school, as did my siblings. Having a working mom taught me independence and taught me that being a woman is never a good excuse for not accomplishing things in life. It was not all rosy either, but problems are problems regardless of whether a mother works or not. 

My parents made a choice every time they went to the grocery store about what food would be available to us for snacks. They made the choice to put the TV in a very small sitting room with only enough room for two people to watch at any given time. They made the choice to not put TV’s in our bedrooms. These are choices based on their priorities as parents. These choices had nothing to do with my mother working.  It comes down to family priorities. If health is a priority then mom, AND DAD, will make conscientious choices about the activity levels and foods that their kids eat.

Can we please stop blaming moms for everything? How about supporting women in the work place, and at home, to be the best they can be, rather then grinding them into the ground with studies that blame.

My Autism Disclaimer

This is a difficult post to write. Not that it is emotional for me, but rather…confusing. There is a lot of talk out there about autism, what causes it, who gets it, and that it is on the rise. There are also those out there that claim autistic children are ‘indigo children’ sent here from the aliens’, or God, to teach us how to really communicate and to prepare us for the end of times. I almost feel like I need a whoopee cushion to read back what I just wrote, for appropriate sound effects.

There is also a large group of people who believe that autism is curable and there are many studies to back the claims for special diets, supplements and detoxing chelating therapies.  This same group believes that vaccines cause autism and that mercury is still a key ingredient in the vaccines given to our children, and that mercury poisoning is causing autism.

I want to make it really clear here, that I am not on any side of these issues. I am on Matthew’s side and I am on the side of any parent that feels they need to do whatever they can do the help their child.

I don’t know what causes autism. What I do know is that I have not ever met two autistic children that are the same. What this tells me is that autism may have many causes, many symptoms, and many different outcomes. It occurs to me that maybe what we call autism today is really something else presenting as autism symptoms. I don’t know, I just feel it.

What I do know for sure is that the medical community needs to open their minds to exploring alternatives for children presenting with autistic symptoms. At the time of diagnosis the child needs a plan created specifically to that child that may include biomedical interventions, as well as behavioral interventions. If we discount what the ‘Jenny McCarthy’ group is saying, then we may be missing a key component to helping these children. At the same time it is important for parents to realize that not all children are the same, and they will not all react the same way to biomedical intervention. Therefore it can also be said that they will not all react the same to behavioral intervention either, which is why there are several different approaches on the market to try.

That being said I have included a link for the Talk About Curing Autism web site to my blog. http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.htm
I decided to include this link because I think this is an excellent recourse for parents wanting to try the GFCF (gluten free dairy free) diet intervention for their child. It is full of great recipes; product lists, and advises on how to work this diet.

Anyone whose child has been diagnosed in Vancouver at Sunny Hill would have been told what we were told. These diets don’t work. Don’t waist your energy, money or time. Personally I think that is terrible advice to give a parent. The better advice to give would be to try the diet; if you feel you need to, for a time. If you see no significant change then go back to they way things were. If you see changes that matter then stick to it religiously. It is just food, not drugs. The worst that can happen is that your kid will like gluten free waffles and you will be stuck buying them until he is on to something else!

When we were given that terrible advice it did stick in my head that there was an alternative. Because to say that these treatments don’t work they had to be mentioned. How silly of Dr. Narrow Mind! Don’t tell a desperate parent that they can’t do something!! I got on the Internet and researched the alternative treatments. In the back of my mind I stored the information, bookmarked what I felt might be relevant to us, and discarded the indigo theory out right! I was keeping mental notes on what Matthew ate, and starting to associate foods with behaviors.  But I was afraid. I was afraid of what people would say if I did anything alternative without a significant medical reason.

So it was almost a year later when Matthew was skinnier then a post and heading into an invasive heart surgery, vomiting regularly, and on a wait list to see the gastroentronologist, that I called the pediatrician in a panic. What are we going to do? He will only eat toast and drink milk.

Thankfully our ped is educating himself, to an extent. He gave us the go ahead to try a gluten free diet. The changes we saw in Matt were remarkable. Within 24hrs he was eating more food then he had eaten in a week! He was happier, calmer, less reactive and his language nearly doubled.  We have not looked back since. He is not cured, by any means. But he is better.

There have been times when Matthew has grabbed some wheat toast when my back was turned, and I did not see any adverse reactions, other then maybe some unusual stools. But I am not going to experiment with something that made such a remarkable difference to him. Maybe when he is older and can communicate more efficiently we might try putting him on a regualar diet. Life might be easier then. But until such time I am sticking to this gluten free thing.

We did not try the dairy free route because, to be perfectly honest, I just cannot imagine having to manage that when I have a perfectly normal typical child who drinks milk by the gallon. How do I say no to one child, and not the other? How would I balance their specific needs? It is already such a challenge with them being so close developmentally. It is much like having twins, even though they are two years apart. If I could imagine a way to do it, I would certainly try.

This leads me to my conclusion on this subject. Every child, family, and situation is different. Parents should be encouraged to do what they can and not discouraged from trying something that might make a difference. If trying an alternative does not work then you have just narrowed down the list of causes for your child’s condition. And that can only be a good thing.

I feel like there is so much more to write on this topic. I have really only touched the surface.

When I think of what I would like this blog to be and how I can make that happen I feel totally inadequate, overwhelmed and humbled. Because, even though we have been through so many horrible and scary experiences with our son, Matthew, it is so small compared to what so many other parents struggle with daily. Here are some sobering words from a poem sent to me through the Moms on the Move network.
Some of the content is American based, which just helps me to count my blessings, and be thankful that we have a medical system that does is best to take care of our children, despite cut backs and a lack of medical professionals to go around. I am grateful that I have never had to argue with an insurance company or make a choice between groceries or medical care. I am grateful that I live in a place that understands that our health is more important then national security. And I am grateful that my child continues to improve under watchful care of community workers, health care professionals and government agencies. Some might say that our Canadian systems are not perfect and the government needs to do better. I say lets keep working at that, and at the same time, thank God we live in Canada. Let's pray for a better future for our American neighbours.
I didn't intend to get political in this post...it just happened.

Where are the Parents?

By Sue Stuyvesant

They are on the phone to doctors and hospitals and fighting with insurance companies, wading through the red tape in order that their child's medical needs can be properly addressed.

They are buried under a mountain of paperwork and medical bills, trying to make sense of a system that seems designed to confuse and intimidate all but the very savvy.

Where are the parents?

They are at home, diapering their 15 year old son, or trying to lift their 100 lb. daughter onto the toilet.

They are spending an hour at each meal to feed a child who cannot chew, or laboriously and carefully feeding their child through a g-tube.

They are administering medications, changing catheters and switching oxygen tanks.

Where are the parents?

They are sitting, bleary eyed and exhausted, in hospital emergency rooms, waiting for tests results to come back and wondering: is this the time when my child doesn't pull through?

They are sitting patiently, in hospital rooms as their child recovers from yet another surgery to lengthen hamstrings or straighten backs or repair a faulty internal organ.

They are waiting in long lines in county clinics because no insurance company will touch their child.

Where are the parents?

They are sleeping in shifts because their child won't sleep more than 2 or 3 hours a night, and must constantly be watched, lest he do himself, or another member of the family, harm.

They are sitting at home with their child because family and friends are either too intimidated or too unwilling to help with child care and the state agencies that are designed to help are suffering cut backs of there own.

Where are the parents?

They are trying to spend time with their non-disabled children, as they try to make up for the extra time and effort that is critical to keeping their disabled child alive.

They are struggling to keep a marriage together, because adversity does not always bring you closer.

They are working 2 and sometime 3 jobs in order to keep up with the extra expenses. And sometimes they are a single parent struggling to do it all by themselves.

Where are the parents?

They are trying to survive in a society that pays lip service to helping those in need, as long as it doesn't cost them anything.

They are trying to patch their broken dreams together so that they might have some sort of normal life for their children and their families.

They are busy, trying to survive.

Ahhh! The farmer’s market! A place brimming with hope and vitality! I just love the idea of sustainable, organic, locally grown food. The sights and sounds of the market are a soothing balm for my overly crowded mind. A place full of possibility, interesting people and interesting food.

However, a farmer’s market can be an absolute nightmere for an autistic child, and his parents. Today was our third attempt in a year to take Matty and Simon to the Trout Lake Farmer’s Market. The last two attempts ended in screaming fits, tears and frustration for all. The only reason today was any different from the other attempts was that we did not take Matty into the market at all. Paul, my dutiful husband,  and the boys spent their time in the adjacent playground. After fetching a steaming organic latte for my hubby, I peacefully strolled thru the market soaking up the atmosphere and picked up some organic apples to make a gluten free apple crumble for dessert. All so blissfully domestic and old worldly.

So, what is it about a farmer’s market that is so scary? Well, the dogs for one. Matthew can barely pass a dog with out trying to climb up to the top of one’s body to sit on one’s head to get as far away from the dog as possible.

The unpredicabilty of people weaving from one stall to another, baby strollers breaking from the crowd unexpectedly, loud guitar music from the busker, and the busy energy of the place is all just too much for a child suffering from sensory disorders.

For typical families a morning at the farmer’s market is just par for the course. Nibbling on fresh baked organic cookies, and sipping organic lattes while picking up fresh produce for the evening meal while their sweet young babies snooze in their prams is an experience I have never been able to enjoy.

Any time we have tried to do anything remotely similar is usually ended abruptly by a temper tantrum so intense that people start looking at us wondering if they need to call Child Protective Services!  Ok, I am being overly dramatic again, but certainly our first market experience was much like this!

We have made huge progress though! We now know better then to take Matty into the market at all and we head straight for the play ground first. This way he doesn’t have to get overwhelmed. Last year Matthew was not able to visit an unfamiliar playground. He would get worried, cry and want to go home. Now he sees the swings and practically jumps the fence to get in there!

So there is hope that one day he will be able to enter the market and fully enjoy an  organic family outing! Can you imagine taking him to the PNE??

So I offer you here a recipe for gluten free apple crumble. This recipe is modified from my mother-inlaw’s version made with wheat flour. I have simply swapped the wheat flour for the gluten free pancake mix. This is NOT a dairy free recipe. To make it dairy free simply replace the butter with dairy free margerine, and use a dairy free gluten free flour mix.

Ruth’s Apple Crumble

Topping

6 tablespoons butter or margerine

6 tablespoons shredded coconut

6 tablespoons brown sugar

2/3 cup gluten free pancake mix (Pamela’s)

Place all above ingredients in a small mixing bowl and with clean hands rub the butter into the mix until it is evenly distributed and crumbly.

Stewed apples

Peel 5-6 med apples

½ cup water

Cook until soft in a small saucepan aprx. 5 to 10 min. Most of the water should be boiled off.

Tip: if using very tart apples add a tablespoon of sugar while cooking apples

Grease an 8X8 baking pan. Pour stewed apples into baking pan. Make sure they are evenly distributed.

Top the apples with the topping mixture making sure to completely cover apples evenly. Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-45 min, or until the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla icecream, or dairy free frozen dessert.

Serves 6.

 What is in a name?

A little side bar to this post...I heard somewhere that giving food fun names makes eating that food more enticing for children. So, just to prove this point I placed slices of black bell peppers, that I had purchased at the market, on the boy's dinner plates and told them it was 'chocolate peppers'. Simon examined his and decided to feed them to me. Matthew gobbled his up like they were cookies!!

I have made this apple crumble for the boys many times only to have them eat the ice cream off the top and leave the dessert at the bottom of the dish, looking at it like it was a slimey blob of spinach or something. Last night I told them it was 'apple cookie crumble', and with out hesitation, they gobbled it up! The high light of my day!!

Beauty is more then skin deep

I was going to write my second post on how to introduce your child to a gluten free diet, but then I turned my TV on to the new Dr. Oz show and immediately changed my mind. I have been looking forward to this show since he first announced he was going to do it. I just love Dr. Oz. I love all the gross details about our bodies that he is willing to discuss on television!

His guest today is Tim Gun, the host of Project Runway, and an educator for FIT in NY. Dr. Oz introduced him by saying that how women feel about themselves is so closely linked to how they feel they look. That beauty can make a woman feel better about herself and therefore impact her overall health. I could not agree more! This is what I am all about! Tim was helping women who have gone thru chemotherapy for breast cancer to update their look and get some of their groove back after such an assault on their health.

I spent many years working in the cosmetics industry. What I loved most about the job was getting a women in my chair, teaching her something about how to enhance her beauty, and actually seeing the spark in her eye when she was pleased with what she saw looking back at her in the mirror. I think I actually would get high off this some times. To know that I positively impacted someone’s day and made her feel great about her self was a real trip!

I myself have been trying to give myself a makeover, from the inside out! There have been so many days when I dropped my kids off at pre school after a no sleep night, with bags under my eyes, no makeup, greasy hair and clothes that I pulled from a pile on the floor.  I was staying up too late at night watching some frivolous TV, thinking I was having my ‘me’ time. I would lay around during the day thinking I was resting because I didn’t get enough sleep the night before. I would do the bare minimum to get thru the day on survival mode. My hair looked bad, my skin looked bad and I felt bad.

I gave myself permission to give up on myself because looking after my children took so much time and energy.  What took me a while to realize is just how intensely my poor care of my self was related to the care of my family. I used to think if I could become more self-sacrificing that I would benefit my family.  If I don’t spend money, don’t spend time, don’t spend energy, that there would be more for them.

What I know now is that this is just a big lie. It is time to really understand what ‘looking after yourself ‘ really means. I used to think it meant buying new clothes, wearing make up and getting a massage. But what it should mean is eating right, getting as much sleep as possible (in some other universe, right?), exercise, and most importantly, indulging in something you are passionate about.  Wearing a little make up and a new dress doesn’t hurt either! How you treat yourself will teach your children how to treat you, and essentially, how they will treat themselves when they grow up.

My First Post

Welcome to my new blog! This is the very first post for Bumps and Bruises. In this blog you will find a place full of useful, and maybe not so useful, information.

This is a blog for moms. If you have a child with special needs, or allergies, or maybe just typical children in not so typical situations, you may find something here to interest you.

I might not know much about much, but I do know a little about a little! I don’t fancy myself a writer, as many in my family are. The mere thought of writing a blog used to send me into a spiral of self doubt. I come from a line of smarty pants siblings who themselves write blogs, and read really big books with really big words. I have always been more of a practical girl. I like to indulge in hand crafts and I once had aspirations of being a fashion designer. Sometimes I still do and I have fantasies of competing on Project Runway! I am a mom of two little boys. My older boy, Matthew 4 1/2, has many health issues and suffers from ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).  His birth sent me on this new journey of learning things I never thought I would know, that most mothers never know. And my younger son, Simon 2 ½ yrs, is as typical as they get.  Together they form a formidable team focused on driving their parents insane! And I must say, they are doing a fantastic job of it!

A year ago Matthew had open heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect. This was a difficult time, but it sparked a fire inside me to reach out and support motherhood. Before this time, and even now on not so good days, I find myself wondering what I was thinking, having children. Why did I sign up up for this constant sacrifice of self? I look in the mirror and see my aging, tired face and barely a flicker of the girl I once was. I have been trying to lose the same 30 pounds for two years. It is rare to get a full night sleep. I am surrounded by clutter and toys, laundry, dishes and a list of ‘to do’s’ as long as my arm.

On good days I remember that little fire inside me, the one that tells me that motherhood is the single most important thing that women can do to change the world. Raising happy, confidant, loving, healthy children ensures a brighter future for the world.  So in the spirit of the later, I write this blog to remind myself to stay positive, to focus on what I am good at, giving unsolicited advice, and to leave the the rest by the wayside.

My lofty goal for this blog is to be a place full of information to help moms be moms, and to give encouragement, and sometimes just a little distraction from the every day. My hope is to collect guest writers along the way and to create a community of support for mothers who are stretched thin and feeling weary. There may be recipes, diet tips for children, medical information and thoughts on raising children in difficult circumstances.  There may even be some make up tips and ‘find time for yourself’ tips!