First Day of First Grade

It's hard to believe but Doodle started First Grade last Monday! That morning she bounded in our room at 5:50 AM to tell us she was super excited for school to start - you've gotta love the enthusiasm of a First Grader. We're fortunate that her school continues to support us in Doodle's restricted diet. They allow Doodle to heat her lunch up in the microwave at school and I send snack/juice for their afternoon snack break. It makes our school lunch fairly simple. They have offered to cook for her, but she now has 4 different restrictions and I fear they may not be able to keep them all straight, so I continue to send lunch with her.

First Day of First Grade

Last year, we had such difficulty getting our doctor to sign a form that states she needs a restricted diet. I was so frustrated and living in a small town doesn't give you a lot of doctoring options. This year, a new pediatrician has come to town and we decided to give him a try. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with how thorough he was. He clearly had done his homework on Doodle and spent over an hour just talking to me about Doodle's developmental delay, autism symptoms, and inability to focus. He was also great with Doodle - showing her pictures of his dogs and talking to her on her level. He had no hesitation about signing a doctors order restricting her diet from gluten, dairy, and eggs. What a relief - if he doesn't work out, I will need to drive 90 miles or 120 miles just to visit a doctor for Doodle. Ugh!

For snacks, I've modified my Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe once again to remove the eggs from them - since Doodle can no longer tolerate eggs. Here's the new recipe:

1 1/3 Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1 Cup Sorghum Flour
1 Cup Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1 T Vanilla
1 T Egg Replacer
1/4 Cup warm water


1/2 Package Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (I use Ghiradelli Semi Sweet)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine Flours, Baking Soda, and Xanthan Gum in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine Shortening, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Vanilla. Cream together on high speed.
4. Whisk together egg replacer and warm water until frothy. Add to Shortening mixture and mix on high speed.
5. Add to mixture dry ingredients and mix on high speed. With a spatula, stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
6. Prepare a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Drop cookies by the spoonful onto baking sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 1 minute. Remove cookies from pan and place on cooling rack.