Hot Dish # 2

Winter has definitely settled in at our house. I find us craving warm cozy food that warms the soul after coming in from the frigid temperatures outside. While January has been milder this year, than last, it is still colder than I typically like a winter to be. To help take the chill off after a long day at work and school, I find myself looking to old favorites like chili, spaghetti, and hotdish in disguise. Remember, my family doesn't know what a real hotdish looks like!  While Doodle claims she doesn't like this hotdish, I made it last week and she ate every last bite...maybe she does like hotdish after all!

Chicken & Pasta Hot Dish with Sundried Tomatoes

1/2 Package Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals
8 oz Prosciutto
4 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided
1/2 Cup Sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
2 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 2 inch strips
1 Clove Garlic
Red Pepper Flakes to taste
1/2 cup white wine
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Package Rich's Dairy Free Creamer
1 Package Rich Whip
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1/8 Cup Chicken Broth
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cook Pasta according to package directions just until it is slightly al dente (still a bit firm).
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute Chicken in Tbsp Olive Oil until fully cooked. Remove from skillet.
3. Add remaining Olive Oil and saute Prosciutto. Once slightly crispy, add in Sun Dried Tomates and cook 1 minute longer.
4. Deglaze pan with White Wine. Add in Chicken Broth, Dairy Free Creamer and Rich Whip. Bring to a simmer.
5. In a small bowl, place corn starch. Mix with 1/8 Cup Chicken Broth, stir until smooth. Add to skillet and simmer until sauce is thickened.
6. Add back in chicken. Drain pasta and add to hot dish. Season with Salt & Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste. Serve immediately.

On a positive note, Doodle received her first report card for Kindergarten. She ranks in the top of her class for both reading and math! Great progress as she learns to read and recognize words. She received encouraging comments from her teacher, however she continues to struggle with focus. If anyone has some great ideas on how to help my child focus, I would love to hear what has worked for you! I'm resistant to putting her on medication and would love to work on ways to control through diet and supplements.

The Power of Probiotics

I'm going to start the New Year off by talking about supplements again. Supplements were a key ingredient in helping Doodle recover from Autism and her developmental delays. Over the past two years, I have tried different supplements - one at a time - and monitored their affect on Doodle's behavior. Did she seem to improve? Was there any difference in her verbal skills? When taken off of the supplement, did she regress? Was her school noticing any differences? (Rule of thumb - never tell the school or daycare when you have made a change in the diet. Wait and see if they mention any differences to confirm what you are seeing is true.)

This past fall, I took Doodle off of Probiotics. Mostly because the brand we buy is fairly expensive and I wasn't sure they were really doing any good. So, we went for a period of several months without taking any Probiotics. I didn't think much of it, until we went Trick-or-Treating for Halloween. I watched as Doodle repeatedly stumbled, fell, and lost her balance (and it wasn't because she had on a tricky costume). She couldn't seem to run like the other little girl we were with - like her limbs weren't coordinated at all. She also didn't have this problem during the school year prior - when she was completely on Probiotics.  I told Doodle that she seemed "trippy" that night and we placed an order for Probiotics the very next day. Since being back on the Probiotics her "trippy" behavior has been eliminated and she is much more in control of her limbs. Lesson learned for me - keep up the Probiotic supplementation!

Doodle in her Halloween Costume

There have been some studies to support the use of Probiotics for Autistic children. Some Autistic children suffer from an imbalance of bad bacteria in their gut and the Probiotics help to bring stability back.  I read this article recently about how a study on Probiotics in Autistic children was so successful, it failed. Parents of Autistic children who were given the Probiotic noticed such a difference, that when it was time for the two groups to switch (and go onto a placebo), the parents in the initial group dropped out - they didn't want to take their children off of the Probiotics!

For my Doodle, I've found the use of Probiotics with a daily supplement of Zinc also helps with her ability to focus. I had also been lax about giving Doodle her zinc every day and her teachers have been complaining about her ability to focus in class. Saying she needs to be re-directed many times during an activity. I decided to be diligent about giving Doodle zinc every day (I use a zinc lotion for this). After only one week, her teacher sent home a note saying that her ability to focus had greatly improved that week. Another note to self - be diligent about zinc!

Both the Probiotics and Zinc I order from Kirkman Labs. You can find them here, if you are interested.

Zinc - http://kirkmanlabs.com/ViewProductDetails@Product_ID@217@Product_Group_ID@1.aspx
Probiotics -  http://kirkmanlabs.com/ViewProductDetails@Product_ID@184@Product_Group_ID@1.aspx



I offer this advice based on my own experience. I am not a medical professional, so please consult your doctor before applying to your own circumstances.

Happy Holidays!

December has been a crazy, hectic, snow filled month here in MN. Hard to believe Christmas is just 4 days away (as Doodle reminds me every morning!) It's been a crazy month in our house this year and I've had little time to post. Doodle heads to have an umbilical hernia repaired the day after Christmas and I am frantically studying for a major certification test in my field - throw Christmas on top of all of that - and I'm darn near a melt down.

Here's wishing you all a Merry, Peaceful, Bright Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2011!

Gluten Free Cake Balls

Have you heard of Cake Balls? Their delightful! I recently made my first batch, completely by accident. I had no intention of making cake balls, but found that the cake mix I had mixed up was too crumbly when I pulled it out of the pan. There was no saving it! So, when life gives you crumbly cake....make cake balls! The recipe is simple and the results are delicious. Try some this holiday season to delight your co-workers, party guests, or just as an every day treat.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Cake Balls

1 Package Gluten Free Cake Mix - mixed up dairy free
3/4 Can Dairy Free Frosting - I use Pillsbury brand
1 Package Dairy Free Chocolate Chips

1. Bake cake mix according to the diary free instructions - it doesn't matter what size pan you choose.
2. Cool cake. Remove cake from pan and crumble into a large bowl.
3. Add packaged frosting and stir until cake and frosting are mixed thoroughly. Form cake batter into small balls using a melon baller.
4. Place cake balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Place in freezer for several hours.
5. Prior to taking cake out of freezer, melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or in a double broiler. If using the microwave, melt for 30 seconds and stir. Melt in 15 second increments, stirring frequently, until all chocolate is incorporated. I usually stop microwaving when the majority of chocolate is melted and stir the remaining chocolate mixture until all chips are melted. This ensures you don't over cook the chocolate.
6. Drop the cake ball into the chocolate mixture. Lift out with a fork. Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate over the remainder of the ball until completely covered. Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet to cool. Repeat until all balls are covered.
7. Allow the balls to cool and enjoy!

These are a great holiday treat and very addicting - you can't eat just one!

Gluten Free Pizza

Our family LOVES pizza! One of the hardest things for Doodle to give up when she went Gluten and Dairy Free was my home-made pizza. Some say (mostly my nephew) that I make the best pizza around. It's an old recipe I inherited from my mother. The pizza has a perfect thin crust, delicious sauce, and I pile on the pepperoni - since you can never have too much pepperoni on a pizza. When we have pizza night, Doodle usually has to settle for pepperoni kabobs or pizza made from GF biscuit dough with tomato sauce and pepperoni, since we lack any casein free cheese in the area. Not anymore!

GFCFMom introduced me to Daiya Cheese. It's a GFCFSF cheese substitute that is pizza worthy. It melts similar to regular cheese and tastes pretty decent too. On a recent trip to civilization, I picked some up at Whole Foods Market - both the Mozzarella and Cheddar varieties. I couldn't wait to try it out on a GF DF pizza for Doodle!

For the pizza dough recipe, I found a reasonable recipe online that I tried out. Making GF dough is a bit different than my normal variety of pizza dough. For one, you don't knead the dough. It also doesn't roll out the same, but the end result was pretty tasty. Here's the recipe that I used:
http://www.examiner.com/gluten-free-food-in-san-francisco/gluten-free-pizza-dough-recipe

The Pizza Sauce I make is very similar to the spaghetti sauce I make. It's actually just about the same exact recipe - minus one can of tomatoes. Here it is:

1/2 Cup Onion - diced
1-2 Cloves Garlic - diced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Can Italian Style Tomatoes
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Basil
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1. Heat Olive Oil in a medium sized sauce pan over high heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic for 1 minute.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
4. Top pizza crust with sauce and pile on your favorite toppings. Finish off with Daiya Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese.
5. Cook pizza in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes - or until crust is brown and cheese is melted.

For Doodle, I made an entire pizza while the rest of the family ate regular pizza. I cut the pizza in 10 slices and froze the slices she did not eat. Now, when we make pizza, I grab a slice or two of Doodle's pizza from the freezer, heat it up in the oven, and she enjoys her pizza right along with the rest of us!

Fall Conferences

Last week Doodle had her first ever parent teacher conferences as a Kindergartner. I was nervous as to what to expect. I wasn't sure how she would keep up with the other Kindergartners. Worry wort mom should have had more faith in her child because she is doing great!

First up were her test scores...I was so amazed to see that she was in the top of her class for language and math scores - in the 95 to 100 percent range! She was also the ONLY child to recognize all of her capital and lower case letters in the whole class! I told her teachers if only they knew how far she had come, they would realize what a great accomplishment this was for her.  Two years ago she couldn't look someone in the eye, she could barely write a letter, and she would repeat everything you said (termed echolalia). 

They also listed several concerns, which I will work harder on this year. Doodle definitely still has attention issues. She needs quite a bit of redirection during class. I thought we had this licked last year - she worked with an Occupational Therapist last year, but seemed to be doing much better when I put her back on Zinc. I haven't been giving her probiotics lately, in addition to the Zinc, so note to self that I better get back on the program. It seems to help. I'll have to be more regimented about her vitamins, as last year they really seemed to help conquer the attention issue. All in all, though, her special ed teacher agreed that Doodle no longer would qualify for an autism label - which is a wonderful affirmation for all of our hard work over the past two years!

You're My Sweet Potato Pie

When Doodle was a baby, before she ever became known as Doodle, I used to love to call her My Sweet Potato Pie. Sweet potatoes were one of her favorite baby foods to eat and we would listen to Ray Charles and James Taylor sing Sweet Potato Pie from the Genius Loves Company CD. Now that Doodle is older, we all enjoy sweet potatoes with dinner. Our favorite is roasted sweet potatoes. Using Organic sweet potatoes makes for the most flavorful dish - if we don't have the organic variety in the store, I don't bother buying sweet potatoes, as the conventional version can't even compare in taste.  This recipe is simple - but takes about 45 minutes to bake - so leave enough time when preparing dinner.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2-3 Organic Sweet Potatoes, washed and peeled.
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut sweet potatoes into small cubes (no bigger than 1")
3. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place sweet potatoes on cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil and kosher salt. Toss thoroughly with your hands.
4. Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes.
5. Change oven to broil and broil the sweet potatoes for 10 minutes - stirring once or twice. Remove from oven and serve as a side dish. 

These sweet potatoes are also wonderful on a spinach salad. I like to use any leftovers (which is rare) to add to a salad the following day for lunch.

On another note, Doodle has been enjoying playing Webkinz on the computer these days. I've been impressed by how much she can do by herself now. I used to have to navigate for her and play the games for her. Now, she does almost everything by herself. She's got down how to drag and drop items all by herself. Another great site for reading development is Starfall.com - we've been using this to help Doodle with phonics and learning new words. She can do this site all on her own.