Beans!!

Did you know that you can substitute oil/ butter in recipes with beans. You can use black beans, great northern white beans, garbanzo beans, any kind. They say to use a color you can hide or you food might be a funny color but you can tell no difference. I will tell you I was very skeptical but I have tried numerous recipes, they all work!! You use the exact amount as a substitute. If your recipe calls for 1 cup butter, you use 1 cup pureed beans. 1/2 cup veggie oil, 1/2 pureed beans. Add a little protein to your muffins/cookies, I say okay!

X-Agave Nectar

Xagave is the sweet, satisfying and sensible choice to replace sugar in your diet. It is a delicious, all-natural, healthy alternative to sugar because it is low on the Glycemic index. This stuff is amazing. I have just starting using it. It's exchange rate is about 1/2. This lets you use 1/2 the amount of sugar in your recipes. I have been trying to limit my son's sugar and this a very easy way for me to do that. I have only tried one recipe so far, ( I am a rookie.) but it turned out almost identical. I think I will even be able to reduce the sugar more and they will turn out better. I am in love with this product. (I bought it at Costo)

Good Source

I have recently purchased the Living Without Magazine... My doctor gave me my first edition. I love it. There is so much helpful information in here. It is all GFCF stuff and I am super excited to try some of the recipes. GFCF Creamy Cheesecake? Who would have thought and the picture looks so delicious! The other thing I found in there that I am really excited to get is a new cookbook 'Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids by Leslie Hammond and Lynne Marie Rominger. We shall see.

My Morning

I rolled over this morning and it was 6:15...wow...it has been so long since I have slept that long. My 4 year old is ever waking in the night, sometimes multiple time a night. Today I was lucky. My favorite part of the day begins. My 4 year old runs into my bed and we get a little moment to talk. He seems really clear headed in the morning, I get to hear about the things that go on inside his head. Today he dreamed about colors, and he remember today was Tuesday all on is own. "Today is preschool day" he has really loved school and his teachers. Next we get up and change his diaper (not potty trained), another challenge. My other kids are not up yet so we sat on the couch to read. I love snuggle time with this little guy. Now things are picking up speed. 2 year old awake and very happy to see her brother they are so loud that now 3 month old is awake too. Yikes. Now it is 7:15 and we need to hurry. I get breakfast started. Big kids are eating. 4 year old take one bite, gets down and runs around, I help him back to his chair, bite, he gets down. This is how breakfast goes every morning. No matter what I try it takes forever to feed this kid. Next is time to get him dressed, it is like running a marathon. Ready, go. This chase begins. It takes 10 minutes to accomplish this and I didn't even ask him to help because we are running late. I get the other two kids dressed and I throw on a sweat shirt and out the door we go. It is amazing how tired I can be by 9:00 am. I love the many challenges of my day. As I think about the morning I reflect and realize that if I hadn't ran the marathon, I would probably be at a boring job and I get to do my favorite thing everyday. Be with my kids. I am truly blessed.

May 10, 2010

This weekend I attended a Healthy Child Intensive workshop. It was very interesting and gave me a lot to think about. Do we know how to be healthy? I have come to the conclusion that, NO, I don't. I also decided that I need to do better for me and for my kids. Starting today I am going to try to do something to better my health every day.

I love smoothies so today I had a smoothie. It had 100% apple cherry juice, 6 strawberries, 2 cups spinach, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 cups blueberries, and a little lemonade concentrate to add a kick, and 2 Tbsp flax seed. It was very yummy and I got 3 veggie and 3 fruits in one shot. You can't beat that.

I am also trying to add 1/2 tsp EFA, 1000 mg Vitamin C, and a pro biotic daily. Cheers to being healthy. My kids are getting all this too. Hopefully it makes a difference.

We also are getting our son started in Occupational Therapy and had his eval today. I am very excited to get help in areas such as dressing, grooming, potty training, but I also believe that they are going to diagnose him with Sensory Processing Disorder. It is very common for kids on the spectrum to have sensory difficulties. I read a great book called Sensational Kids, by Lucy Jane Miller, OTR. It was a great read, and it is always nice to have something give you prospective.

Steps we have taken

1. Know that you are the most knowledgeable about your child. Don't take no for an answer.

2. READ, READ, READ.

3. Jenny McCarthy's book inspired me.

4. The Kid-Friendly ADHD & AUTISM Cookbook...by Pamela J. Compart, M.D, and Dana Laake, R.D.H.,M.S,. L.D.N. Made my life easier. (LOTS OF GREAT RECIPES)

5. GFCF diet. I started seeing improvements within weeks!!

6. Supplementation...stressful but good

7. Preschool...so amazing. We have had great teachers. My son has friends and I have found there mom's that understand what I going through.

8. Family...I am so grateful for the support my family gives me. Some are so skeptical of all the things I try but my family encourage all my efforts to make my family whole.

I know my son is different but everyone is different. I want him to be the best he can be, to learn, grow, and be happy. We are achieving great things!!

Our Story

We have been told by many doctors that our son is on the autism spectrum, as having Asperger Syndrome. What a crazy life this set of challenges brings into my home. There are so many wonderful, silly, and quite delightful moments and experiences that we share as a family. As I am sure you are aware (those with similar challenges). There are also moments of stress, tears, and pure frustration.

At this time in my life I am so grateful for my love of learning and my mind. I have been on a journey to help my family and as I begin this blog I will share my thoughts and feelings and the things that I find helpful to me and my family. Today's motto: Enjoy the little things and acknowledge the small success for they bring about such great gains.

I have been reflecting on our journey thus far. We found out about 2 years ago why our son struggled in public, noisey places. Why he liked to watch the same movie over and over. Why he could quote movies and sing the ABC's by the time he was 15 months old but had few other words.
So much has happened since then.