Let's call it a milk shake!

I followed through on my plan to talk nutritional supplements with my ND. I also needed her to look at the growing list of vaccinations Shea has missed. I haven't done any since his 3rd year check up. The school nurse "reminded" me and sent me a list. It was another good reason to go talk with her. We have planned a schedule to update them gradually.

So on to my Mr. picky eater!

Because Shea won't eat much fruit or veggies, she is concerned about B vitamins. She did say that him eating cheese was fine. And, she was literally thrilled that he was getting Hemp Milk every day.

She suggested smoothies. Well, as you may know, I am the smoothy queen and have tried. Oh believe me, I have tried but to no avail.

If it looks like fruit, he won't eat it. I know, very weird.

So a light bulb went off over my head while I was there.

"What if I call it a milkshake? And poor chocolate syrup all over it?"

"Sure. Whatever it takes!" She also said if I could get him to do some sort of berry that would be great. They are full of all sorts of Bioflavonoids.

So, I got some vanilla ice cream, some berries and made a milkshake to great success.

What did I put in it?

Shea's Magic Milkshake

1 cup Hemp or Rice Milk
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 banana
Handful of berries (strawberries, Raspberries or Blackberries)
1 drop Vit. D emulsion (2000 IU)
1 chewable B12 (crushed up)
1 tsp. liquid Zinc

Place in blender. Block the view of blender as berries, banana, yogurt and supplements are put in. Blend very, very well. Berries need to be completely pulverized or suspicion sets in.

Does he drink it all? No. But makes a good dent and then I pour the rest into those "make your own Popsicle" holders and they make surprisingly good fudge pops! Even Molly likes them.

He doesn't quite get why he is so lucky to be able to have milk shakes all the time now. As an after school snack is a good time for it.

Wish us luck!

Treatment strategies for curing autism nutritionally

There are a lot of theories out there on how to treat autistic spectrum kids. Unfortunately, a lot of them sound a little too out there or the results are just not conclusive. There is a lot of snake oil out there and I recommend a good healthy dose of skepticism for parents. But don't let it shut out good, new studies, information and different strategies to try for your own child.

I recently ran across this article by Dr. Mark Hyman in The Huffington Post, titled Why Current Thinking About Autism is Completely Wrong.

His take on autism treatment is interesting.

"The real reason we are seeing increasing rates of autism is simply this: Autism is a systemic body disorder that affects the brain. A toxic environment triggers certain genes in people susceptible to this condition. And research supports this position."

"Dramatic scientific discoveries have taken place during the last 10 to 20 years that reveal the true causes of autism -- and turn conventional thinking on its head. For example, Martha Herbert, MD, a pediatric neurologist from Harvard Medical School has painted a picture of autism that shows how core abnormalities in body systems like immunity, gut function, and detoxification play a central role in causing the behavioral and mood symptoms of autism."

Food allergies, gluten intolerance, toxicity, vitamin and mineral deficiencies; these are the causes of autism according to Dr. Hyman and others. Strategies for treatment were predominantly nutritional; taking gluten out of the diet, reducing the toxins and inflammation in the gut or what he calls the 7 keys to wellness.

In brief, here is Dr. Hyman's strategy to treat autism: Improve nutrition, reduce inflammation, heal the gut, detoxify

Step 1: Fix the Gut and Cool the Inflammation There

This step included a number of different tactics including:

• Taking away gluten and other food allergens

• Getting rid of his yeast with anti-fungals

• Killing off the toxic bacteria in his small intestine with special antibiotics

• Replenishing healthy bacteria with probiotics

• Helping him digest his food with enzymes

Step 2: Replace the Missing Nutrients to Help the Genes Work Better

• Added back zinc, magnesium, folate, and vitamins A, B6, B12, and D

• Supported his brain with omega-3 fats

Step 3: Detoxify and Reduce Oxidative Stress

• Once biochemistry and nutrition is tuned up, we detoxify and reduce oxidative stress.

Study confirms increase in wheat gluten disorder

When we discovered that Shea was allergic to wheat/gluten and a whole host of other things, I was quite literally floored.

But, as this study confirms, it is pretty common these days. Although Shea is not a celiac, we can certainly benefit from all the amazing products out there these days due to just how common it is.

And, by the way, Shea - off wheat - is like a different kid; cognitively, behaviorally and, of course, verbally.

From the Startribune.com:

A Minnesota study using frozen blood samples taken from Air Force recruits 50 years ago has found that intolerance of wheat gluten, a debilitating digestive condition, is four times more common today than it was in the 1950s.

The findings contradict the prevailing belief that a sharp increase in diagnoses of wheat gluten intolerance has come about because of greater awareness and detection, and raises questions about whether dramatic changes in the American diet have played a role.

"It's become much more common," said Dr. Joseph Murray, the Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist who led the study. No one knows why, he said, but one reason might be rapid changes in eating habits and food processing over the last half century.

"Fifty years is way too fast for human genetics to have changed," Murray said. "Which tells us it has to be a pervasive environmental influence."

Gluten-free Donuts!!!????

Do you hear the celestial choir singing? No? Well, that is probably because you haven't tried Kinnikinnick Foods Gluten Free, Wheat free, Dairy free, Soy free Donuts yet?

I had heard rumors of these but had never spotted them in my local grocery store until today. Shea happened to be with me so I made the case to him.

Me: Hey look, Shea! Donuts! Do you want to try them?

Shea: Yeah!!! Donuts!!!

Me: Ok then.

He insisted on carrying the box around during the rest of our shopping and kept say, "I love donuts." So, I figured we might as well try these babies out right away.

Sure enough. They are something else! In a very good way.

We got the Cinnamon Sugar today but they had vanilla glazed as well. I have heard additional rumors of a chocolate glazed but they did not have those today.

They come frozen, 6 to a box. Simply pop one into the microwave for about 20 seconds and eat. I always try the Gluten Free products myself just so I have an idea of what I am dishing up for Shea. And, I have got to tell you these donuts are serious yum. They are light with good texture and excellent taste. I would give them a solid "A".

Shea polished off two, boom -boom, in one sitting. They do have eggs in them so we will have to see how that effects Shea.

I am always delighted when I find a new food Shea can eat, that he wants to eat.

Kinnikinnick Donuts, welcome home.

What do your kids like about you?

I always find this humorous.

I wish it was something like my humor or the fun conversations. Or even the fact that Molly and I read together still most nights snuggled into our big bed just us girls. Or the fact, that I will pick her up from school most days because the bus ride is so long, even though we only live about a mile away, and there are boys on her bus that are bugging her. Or that we go to the movies together and eat too much popcorn and candy. You know, those things.

No.

It is my french toast. At least is was this morning. I used to whip out french toast quite a lot. We had laying hens back then, a glut of eggs and both kids loved it. But, now that we know that Shea is allergic to wheat, eggs and milk, french toast has been relegated to the occasional or when Shea is at Gramma's.

I feel bad making something that he can't eat. At least, right in front of him but he is not feeling well this morning, not really eating much and relaxing in front of a movie.

This morning, Molly said, "Can I have french toast, please?" Hopefully, earnestly. How can anyone resist that?

So, I whipped up a batch. The fasted french toast milk batter in the west, bright yellow due to the fabulous fresh eggs from GGF's Stop Sign Farm. I still got it!

"Oh, thank you, thank you, mom!" she says, daintily soaking up every dollop of real maple syrup. "I have missed it so much."

I try to imagine her remembering how she loved my french toast when she is an adult, perhaps making it for her kids. I had heard once that a parent's job is to give their kids happy memories of their childhood.

Does good french toast count? Can't hurt.

Birthday season and the joy of cupcakes

Must be a popular time of the year to born! Birthdays, birthdays, everywhere birthdays these days.

Because my kid is allergic to pretty much everything birthday treat related except chocolate (thank god!), we are spending a lot of time these days trying to run interference.

Cupcakes at school are common. And, who could blame them! It is so fun to bring treats for all your school buddies but, of course, Shea is allergic to cupcakes. To be specific wheat, gluten, eggs, soy, whey, rye, barley, peanuts. It has to be a pretty creative cupcake to not have any of those things in it.

Alas.

We have had a few slip ups where the teacher forgot to warn us and he ate the contraband cupcake. Sure enough, that weird swoony, head rolling, keening, distracted Shea swims back to us out of the gluten fog. It only takes a day or two for him to normalize but it sure does remind us why we go through the enormous hassle of his wheat/gluten free diet.

But, the teachers, bless their hearts, are well trained now. Tomorrow; another cupcake fest will happen. I will supply a special "sanctioned" treat for Shea to eat. I doubt if it will bother him too much although it might. If I was a fly on the wall I would be able to find out for sure. Tempting. He loves these WOW cookies that I have profiled before and he'll get a whole one to himself. So, I hope he will not complain too much or feel left out.

So, obviously no cupcakes for his birthday which is barreling right down on us. What is it about kids birthdays? Man, we pile on the goodies. Why? Because it is fun, that is why!

We have decided to rent the Vashon Theatre for the party. We can invite 30 pals who will get a popcorn/candy/drink combination as we watch the movie "Cars". Where else would you feel brave enough to invite 30 4 and 5 year olds? Needless to say, no cupcakes. After the movie, I will give all the kids a little gift bag or maybe a balloon tied to some bubbles soap and then Adios!

We will come back to our house and have a gluten free cake of my making, sing the famous song, blow out 5 candles, play with the haul of new toys that he doesn't need and remember back to exactly 5 years ago this very minute.

It will be fun. There will be chocolate. And, there will be memories.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Food diary

I started another food diary for Shea today. We did this before, when we found out about the allergies. For 3 days, you write down everything he eats, any comments and what the...um...output is like.

He has been on the Gluten, etc. free diet for about 6 months now and over all things have been going very well. His attention span and focus is much better and he is attempting to talk more but still has articulation issues.

We are over the initial shock and have actually gotten used to this new life. But, he just doesn't seem to be able to regulate. He is constipated one day and then has exploding diapers the next.

How is the poor little chap going to figure out potting training with that sort of upheaval?

I want to go in and see our Naturopath again, give her the food diary and see if she has any input or suggestions.

What are we missing?

Food allergy update: what's Shea eating?

Just a reminder; Shea is allergic to Wheat/Gluten, soy, spelt, rye, barley, eggs, dairy/whey, peanuts. When we did the food allergy test we received back a printout that showed low, med and high sensitivity depicted on a bar graph. For example eggs, milk and wheat were literally off the chart. But, I noticed something interesting; because he was allergic to whey, cheeses were showing low reaction due to most of the whey being removed in the cheese making process

Hmm... Interesting and a real blessing for us. Cheese is one of Shea's main protein sources and it was nearly impossible for us to completely exclude it from his diet. So, Shea eats cheese, in all forms, but mainly just by the slice. The same goes for cottage cheese and yogurt which both fallow on the reaction graph.

I expect he is still having some reaction to the dairy but since he seems so much better than before I really don't care. Although, we do need to deal with constipation concerns on occasion because of all the cheese.

We counter it with lots and lots of apple sauce and apple juice. Unfortunately he won't even think of trying any other kind of juice or fruit so that is pretty limiting. We also regularly have Hemp Milk which is really high in fiber, protein and Omega 3 & 6. Shea really likes the chocolate and it really helps.

Lately he has been branching out. Not always and not usually for me. But, Jake can get him to try pretty much anything that is on his plate. He has spent mealtime eyeing it but if I ask him he won't even think about it but if Jake holds the spoon he usually will.

We manage to get him to chow through pretty respectable piles of mashed or baked potatoes. Tonight he had some white rice. He likes corn chips and will eat corn bread. My kingdom for a good gluten free corn bread recipe.

Breakfast is a lot easier. He loves EnviroKidz Organic Koala Crisp and no one would blame him. It is lite and crispy choco-rice cereal. Pretty darn good, I've tried them. He can work through 3 or 4 bowls on a good morning.

And, we found these excellent muffins: Flax4Life Flax Muffins - Chunky Chocolate Chip made here locally in Belling ham, WA. I know, I know, do you see a chocolate theme reoccurring? Well, it is my kid, after all. Not only are these darn good muffins but they are packed with 3200 mg. Omega 3 per muffin and have 10 grams of fiber. They also have 104 mg of Lignen which I have never heard about before but apparently supports both breast and prostate health! These muffins are such a winner that Molly even likes them and I have begun to ration them. But, when I visited the Flax4Life website, I noticed they do mailorder with free shipping! So, I think I may just get that case of 24 and see how long they last.

One of the hardest things was finding a real good pancake recipe. Not just an ok one, he just won't eat it. But, a real good one where he clears his plate, asks for another (with words even) and chows that one down too. Pancakes mean "the weekend" around our house and it was going to be a bummer if I couldn't find one that we all liked.

Well, I found it. Tip of the hat goes to the Naturopath who did the allergy test and delivered the staggering news. While I was still stunned and barely coherent, she pushed a cook book into my hands called The Whole Life Nutrituion Cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre, MS. CN. I know it doesn't sound very appetizing but it is a very good cookbook with over 200 gluten free, dairy free and egg free recipes.

Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup hemp, rice, almond or soy milk
1 organic egg (we use Ener G egg replacement)
2 Tbls. melted virgin coconut oil, melted
1 Tbls. maple syrup or Agave nectar

Whip it all up and make pancakes. Somehow these cakes are light and fluffy, have a wonderful slight coconut taste but are not too sweet. The texture is the excellent thing. Most gluten free baked goods seem very flat (to me) so the fluffiness of these is a real hit. Add butter and real maple syrup and you got yourself a weekend morning to be proud of.

Treats; what works for Shea?

I am not a militant anti-candy mom. I think that moderation is the key. I did enough rebelling as a kid to know that taboos only sparkle all the brighter. I have tried the "alternatives" or the clean candies. Some are better than others and they may work for the little kids but I have found it backfiring for the bigger kids.

So, do I let my kids eat all the candy they want? No. I monitor, and monitor closely. But, I do believe that sugar is a big part of the culture of American childhood and that a parent needs to walk a delicate line. And, all that is before we introduce the complication of food allergies.

So, here we are at Halloween. What will work for Shea? Thank goodness chocolate is ok. Peanuts aren't. So that nixes many, many, many personal favorites. Bye-bye Snickers, Baby Ruth, Peanut M&Ms. There is also a lot of wheat in candy too. Anything with any kind of cookie or wafer is out. Usually lollypops, Starbursts and fruit based candies are ok.

As we dig through the loot; I view myself as an editor. Unfortunately, when I edit it lands into Mommy's pile. So, much for my self monitoring.

I encourage my kids to sort the candy and then barter. Not only does this build good negotiating skills but you get a lot of entertainment before the candy is even unwrapped. True; the 10 year old usually gets the better end of the deal but Shea doesn't take it quietly. And, considering his speech delay, that it ok.

Usually after the first sugar frenzy, they both loose interest. They eat all their favorites and sort of forget about it. I throw the rest away.

Of course, after I eat anything I want.

Potty training

This is one of the posts that I have been writing in my head for a very long time. It's a tough one to start. This is one of the those posts that Shea will be mad at me about in 10 years.

Potty training was one of my concerns I brought up when we took Shea to UW CHDD last spring. I was looking for any ideas, support, tips, direction on helping with this. Because, you see, Shea still has very little interest and he is 4 1/2. He isn't inspired by "big boy pants" and doesn't find sitting on the potty all that life affirming. He seems fine with mom or dad taking care of the mess, thank you very much.

Due to his language difficulties, he never really had a word for potty and has never expressed himself when potty was happening. Sure, he hunkers down when he is working on the business of poo but that is a "during" sort of thing. Probably too late at that point.

And, then the food allergy issue comes up again. Because we have been struggling with his allergies and food issues, he isn't necessarily very "regular". So, there is that difficulty too. Although, we have been known to bribe with M&Ms. At least he can eat chocolate.

All the specialists say, "Oh...boys...he isn't ready...don't push too hard." Good advise, so we don't but he sure seems happy to continue on as we are. Meanwhile, we are REALLY ready to let it go.

CHDD did hook us up with some direction the TEACH method for potty training used for autistic children. Even though, nobody seems to think Shea is autistic because of his non-verbal language issues, they suggested this method as a good one to try. It breaks down the process into many little steps where direction, support and reward can happen at each step.

The Developmental Preschool is helping and we have included potty training in Shea's IEP. I didn't even realize we could do that but Bubble lady suggested it. She said she has had several kids include it in their IEP therefore the school must work on it with the child. Although, Shea's at school only a few hours a week, it did make us feel more supported and that we weren't all on our own on this one. Although, we are still have a long way to go.

So, I wish I had more supportive suggestions but I don't. In fact, I hope someone has suggestions for me.

How is that new diet going?

Oh, you mean the one with no wheat, gluten, soy, rye, barley, eggs, dairy (whey) or peanuts?

Amazingly well, actually. Right away we started seeing real differences. First, his complexion and pallor normalized, skin tone now has a nice pink healthy color. Then we noticed he was able to pay attention and focus like he had never been able to before. Concentration was better and for much longer durations. He was attempting to say things that he wouldn't even try just a few days earlier. He was trying to say everything, any word we asked him to say. This was very new and different. Literally, we saw a difference in just a couple days. By the time we made it to the 3 week mark where all the allergens are supposed to be out of the system, we were sold. No going back. We saw amazing results right away, his teachers and specialists noticed too. This wasn't just us parents wishful thinking.

So, now we just needed to gather and expand the food options. Remember Shea has always been a super picky eater. So, finding foods that he could eat, that we could make was a big challenge. Seriously, at the beginning with all his "taboo foods" we were wondering what he could eat; potatoes, corn, oats, rice were all safe.

To start, we promptly changed to Rice Dream milk. No problem; Shea didn't even seem to notice any difference. I even found that they sell the the original flavor at Costco by the case. Easy to cook with, tastes good, affordable; basically that was a home run right out of the gate.

We have tried the Rice Cream (ice cream alternative) with less happy results. My daughter says it has a weird after taste, Shea is pretty luke warm about it. And, that is never good when dealing with ice cream. But, we found a Rice Dream Vanilla bar dipped in chocolate. Those get a big, sticky thumbs up from the little man.

Cliff Bar makes a kids energy bar called Z Bar which Shea loves. He could eat 10 a day if I let him. They are gluten free, 3 g. fiber and 3 g. protein and have all sorts of vitamins and minerals in them. These are a no-brainer for school snack times and easy access, on the go snacks. We go through a lot of them so I found a place I can buy them by the case for a lot less money, even with shipping included (Gotbody.com)


We discovered a great little company here in the Northwest, Wow Baking Company. They make a wide selection of cookies and brownies all wheat and gluten-free. You can find them individually at grocery stores or purchase by the dozen through their website. I also just found out that they will be selling cookie dough so you can bake them at home. Now, that will make holiday cookie time a little funner for Shea.

I am finding and trying new products all the time and will continue to share the good, the bad and the ugly.

Food allergies? Anyone?

Shea has always been a picky eater.

Actually, I didn't think much of it because Jake is too, sort of. I mean, Shea always had his little food quirks. For example, he doesn't like fruit. Weird, I know, what kid doesn't like fruit? He will ONLY eat apple sauce. But, you know how it is, you get used to it. You conform to your kid's tastes.

After I went through the whole UW CHDD experience, the Pediatrician had suggested a Nutritional evaluation in the final report. Good idea, why hadn't I thought of that? I had been concerned about his pallor. He seemed pale; seemed to consistently have a wan complexion. Sometimes he would get these bright red "apple" cheeks and I had wondered if it was due to food allergies.

So, I took Shea to an on island Naturapath that I knew and liked. I gave her the history; told her about the recent diagnosis, our visits to both Children's and UW CHDD and gave her Shea's vaccination records.

I haven't brought up vaccinations before now but both my kids had the full schedule starting as early as 4 months. I thought about it but I trusted my doctor and felt that the risks of not vaccinating far outweighed the risks of getting the shots. Since then I have met and heard of many stories of children regressing back after vaccinations but honestly I never noticed anything like that with Shea.

But, like the Naturapath said, "How would you really know when they start at 4 months?" True.

We got direction on how to do a 5 day food diary and talked about an allergy test. It was easy enough to do; pin prick on his finger, blood samples on little strips mailed off to a lab, we would hear results in 2 weeks. While I was there, I asked about heavy metals testing. Nothing really worried me except our polluted arsenic soil here on this island. Oy! Come to find out, a heavy metals test is even easier to get; just a little hair sample. So, she took that too, just in case nothing showed up with the food allergies.

Then I waited. Actually I was expecting to hear something. Perhaps Shea was allergic to dairy. I mean I figured there was something going on but nothing prepared me for what I finally did find out.

I like to say that Shea got the Allergy triple crown. He showed strong allergic reaction to wheat, gluten, barley, soy, rye, eggs, dairy (whey) and peanuts. I sort of sat there in shock.

"You have got to be kidding?" I mumbled, barely coherent. Poor Kelly, what could she say? I just remember her nodding sympathetically and steering me toward a good cook book.

Cook!!?? Me!!?? My kids don't eat what I cook. Oh, they eat my Annie's cheesy noodles but that is not really cooking. And, NOW even those were verboten! What the heck was I going to do?

That's when I hit the internet and found The Gluten Free Girl. A Northwest girl who had literally been through hell before she realized she had celiac desease. Her book is a real good read. It tells her absolutely harrowing tale, has some wonderful recipes and includes a generous helping of optimism. True, she is married to a chef which has got to help but her book was just what I needed at a pretty crucial time.

I started to recover from the shock. This was not the end of the world; this was just another bump on the road. Hope is always just around the corner, if you just look for it. I picked myself up and started again.