When life hands you lemons…make lemonade (or take shots of tequila, or make margaritas)…but for me, I am going to try and make my own version of Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade, one of my favorite drinks! 

Since beginning my GFCF diet, I have found that many of my favorite foods and drinks are off limits.  I kind of knew this going into the diet, but you do what you have to for your children.  In fact, I have been asked by a couple people “why don’t you just put him on formula”?  Well, I don’t want to start a war on my own blog, so just say, “no thank you, not until I try everything possible to give him the what I feel is best”…and let it go at that.  After all, it is a mother’s choice as to what to feed her child.  I’m sure there are formula’s out there that are a great choice for some children, but I still feel that breast milk is what is best for Owen, especially with his digestive problems. 

In the wee hours of the morning I have found a few items that I am happy to say are GFCF and are on my list of food to try (some have already been tried).  I will let you know as I come across more and more tasty allergy free items! 

Please continue to pass along recipes and your favorite tasty treats, GFCF, of course.

Wolgang Puck Organic Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Wolfgang Puck Organic Tomato Bisque Soup
Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Bell and Evans Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
Chex Vanilla Cereal
Glutino Pretzel Sticks
Corn Tortilla's With Homemade Salsa

**As always, don't forget to check your labels, ingredients and allergens can change at any time**

I’m sure it was inevitable that this day would come.  My entire family has had digestive issues and food intolerances so why would I be any different.  I scheduled an appointment with our biomedical doctor in hopes of finding the perfect digestive enzyme for Owen so that his “spitting” would come to an end.  Well, the news wasn’t good…not only was he not digesting dairy, he is also not properly digesting gluten.  Ok, ok, “can we take an enzyme for that”…”um, no, well, sort of…you can take an enzyme for the gluten intolerance but you must completely eliminate dairy from your diet!” EEEKKK, I am a HUGE dairy person! 

The doctor decided to go ahead and check my digestion while we were set up on the computer, just to see if anything unusual was going on….holy smokes batman… do we have a problem.  My digestive system is working even less than Owens, no wonder the little guy is spitting up so much!  There aren’t any digestive enzymes that will balance out gluten OR dairy in my system so I am actually eliminating BOTH.  I know I can do it, I have to do it…It has been a few years since we did the gluten and dairy free diet with Jaxon, but a little research and I’m sure I will be back on track! 

So, my question to y’all…what are some of your favorite GFCF recipes or website…PLEASE share!!

Oh, and the WORST part...I have to throw out another 500 OUNCES of breastmilk...this is going to break my heart, so much hard work wasted :(

Do you ever feel like you just don’t have enough “choices”when it comes to buying frozen snacks for your children?  The last few times I’ve been at the grocery store (other than Whole Foods) I have found only one brand of “acceptable”popsicles and they only offer three flavors. The boys enjoy them, but they get tired of the same thing over and over again. 

If you search “Google” for homemade popsicles you will come across so many different recipes that you will have to make a “favorites folder”just to keep track of them all.  I started simple…strawberry popsicles made with honey instead of sugar, they boys loved them!  I ordered my Popsicle molds on Amazon and had all the ingredients on hand. 
    

Strawberry Popsicle Recipe...I added a little water and ice to mine because I wasn't sure if they would be too sweet, next time I think I will leave that out.

I was so impressed by how easy it was to make popsicles and how better I felt about giving those to the boys instead of the store bought ones that I ordered a second set of green star molds (and a set of blue rocket molds).  I made orange creamsicle pops yesterday and am eager for the boys to try them tonight!

Today I Carter helped me make another batch of strawberry popsicles…we made up our own recipe so I can’t wait to see how the boys like them!  

Strawberry Pineapple Popsicles
2 cups strawberries
1 cup fresh pineapple
1 cup juice (we used Apple and Eve’s Organic Peach Mango juice)
1 cup ice
3 Tbs honey

Blend all of the ingredients in your blender and then pour into Popsicle molds.  Freeze overnight and enjoy!

I'm sure we will be trying a thousand different recipes throughout the summer, I will keep y'all updated!  All of the Popsicles I have made a gluten free!  It is nice that you can chose to use all organic ingredients if you like. 

One day last week when I dropped Jaxon off at school his teacher approached me and asked if I had changed anything with his medication/supplements, etc.  I immediately knew where she was going with this conversation without even hearing the words come out of her mouth.  Two weeks ago when we took our “family trip” to Orlando we committed the ultimate“no-no” with Jaxon.  We decided to give him the “weekend off” from his fairly strict diet.  Before you think I am a horrible parent, please know this…Jaxon is on a gluten free diet because like a lot of children with autism, gluten causes both physical and emotional problems for him…all emotional for Jaxon.  He hasn’t been diagnosed with celiac disease and gluten no longer causes him physical problems.  Actually, the last time we saw his biomedical doctor she tested him for a gluten sensitivity and the computer/instrument led us to believe that he was now able to process gluten without any issues.  

Anyway, I think we took his little “food vacation” too far.  The weekend included processed foods, artificial colors, gluten, and probably a lot of other things that I would prefer not to think about.  Well, lesson learned, as of yesterday we are completely back on track and I am hopeing to see a dramatic change in his mood and behavior in the next few days.  I don’t regret giving him a little“vacation”, it was nice to see him enjoying some of the things we get to enjoy once in a while, and now he actually knows why it is so important for him to follow his gluten free diet because he doesn’t like feeling the way he does right now.  

Lately, my mind keeps wandering back to Jaxon and his gluten problem…apparently I am not the only one, when I googled “gluten sensitivity and autism” I got 1,300,000 hits, I know some of them are junk articles and some of them are advertisements, but there are A LOT of other parents and researchers who KNOW that there is a link here and are interested in figuring out how to fix it.  I found a really good article published from the University of Florida; that was derived from a study conducted by Swain, Soutter, Loblay, & Truswell (1985) and shows a picture of how “it is believed” that gluten affects children with autism. 

I will try to convert their educated language into everyday terms…children with autism do not have the ability to properly break down and process the protein found in gluten. Some children (like mine) convert gluten to ethanol (or opioids) and have very negative effects from it.  The study included 140 children who participated in a modified elimination diet.  Out of these 140 children, 8showed significant improvements in their behavior when following their individual diets.  According to the study, there was a high reaction in the child’s behavior when they were exposed to preservatives, azo-dyes, antioxidants, brewer’s yeast, amines, and monosodium glutamate.   (Swain, Soutter, Loblay, & Truswell, 1985).

When Jaxon is exposed to gluten he usually starts off with small emotional problems, crying about little things, getting angry very easily, and not having patience with anyone…including himself.  Occasionally, gluten will cause him to have more gas than a normal person would have, and even more rarely he will complain that his stomach hurts (although he hasn’t experienced this in over a year).  

In order to get him “back on track” I gave him 1 activated charcoal and 1 aloe capsule in the afternoon for two days and took away all gluten and heavy carbohydrates. 
He had a little bit of withdrawl, but not bad.  I filled him with healthy proteins, fresh fruits, and hidden vegetables.  

Has anyone else taken a “gluten free vacation”?  How did it turn out?  How did you get back on track?

References
Swain, A., Soutter, V., Loblay, R., Truswell, AS.  (1985).  Salicylates, oligoantigenic diets and behavior.  The Lancet, 2(8445), 41-42.

What is everyone doing this weekend?  Brent and I have a bit of house cleaning to do and then I will be BAKING!!  I am so happy to be feeling better and able to cook and bake again.  Today my new Babycakes cookbook came in the mail and I am SO excited to use it!  I am headed to the store today to find silicone donut pans and the rest of the ingredients I need for a few of the amazing recipes in this book!

Stay tuned for pictures, results, and feedback from my little gluten free man!

Here we go again! Another Tschikof family weekend out! Today I spent the morning making a “pile” of all the things that need to go into the suitcase.  I’m sure I don’t have everything gathered up yet, but we are headed in the right direction.  

This weekend, we are taking the kids to a “new edition” to the Marriott family (our choice of hotel when traveling) the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.  I am super excited, maybe more excited than the kids!  I am going to relax by the pool (sipping non-alcoholic beverages) while my hubby and kids play and splash in the resort style pool all day!  

The resort has multiple restaurants to choose from, they even have one poolside so we don’t have to worry about getting dried off and changing to eat lunch!  I have also done a little research (yes, it wouldn’t be a Tschikof blog post, or vacation, without a little research) and there are quite a few places that deliver to the area if we decided to call it a day and eat dinner in our room while watching a family movie on pay per view!

Sunday we are headed to Epcot to enjoy the newly opened Test Track ride!  Carter is finally tall enough to enjoy all of the rides at Epcot so we are going to open his eyes to what we are used to experiencing!  We will finish off the day with dinner at the Rose Crown & Pub (with gluten free offering, of course), outside on the patio where we can see and enjoy the Illuminations show!

The resort is located less than 2 miles from Disney World, so if you are looking for a Disney friendly hotel without the Disney friendly cost :) this just might be your hotel!

Stayed tuned for pictures and updates when we return!

Morning can be a little tough around our house.  Some days we get up extra early to take Brent to the bus and some days Brent drives back and forth to work and we get to sleep a little longer.  On the mornings when we get up early I am much better at making homemade (or mostly homemade) meals, sometimes I make things in advance and put them in the freezer, and sometimes I rely on quick ideas. 

Carter loves to have cereal, probably because it is one of the only foods I loved when I was pregnant with him.  I am fairly picky about his cereal, or at least I try to be. On occasion I buy a box of “junk” and we all (except Jaxon) enjoy it while it lasts.  Most of the time I stick to organic cereal that is stripped of colors, artificial flavors, and HFCS and Carter is just fine with that.

Jaxon on the other hand, doesn’t like cereal.  He prefers things like cinnamon rolls, donuts, waffles, yogurt, smoothies, pancakes…anything with sugar, fruit, and flavor.  I try to swap things around as often as I can so that he doesn’t eat the same thing over and over.  It is my goal to get him converted to a healthier breakfast soon, but with this terrible morning sickness I have been having it just doesn’t work. 

Udi’s, Kinnikinnick, and Vans are our normal “go to” brands of breakfast items.  However, I did get some delicious Katz donuts at Whole Foods the last time I was there.  For yogurt, I only buy Stonyfield Farm  brand, for both he kids and myself.  The kids like the yogurt in a tube and I keep them in the freezer and they eat them just like that.  When I make smoothies I add whatever fresh or frozen (fresh then frozen) fruit, a banana if we have one, some vanilla yogurt, some honey, and a little juice, either apple or orange, ice, and blend it up.  Jaxon will usually drink a glass full and then I pour the left over’s into my smoothie tubes and put them in the freezer for lunches or breakfast in the mornings to come.  Breakfast doesn’t have to be hard, and it can be healthy if you make it.  Here are a few of our typical breakfast items in case you are looking to change things up a bit in your home.  

*Udi’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread (add butter, cinnamon and a hint of sugar)
*Udi’s Muffins (Jaxon likes the chocolate or blueberry, I like the lemon)
 *Udi’s Cinnamon Rolls (I make my own frosting with a little powdered sugar, almond milk, and vanilla)
 *Udi’s Bagels (I mix some cream cheese with fresh strawberries and honey, put in little containers and freeze what I don’t use)
*Van’s Gluten Free Waffles and Pancakes (Jaxon doesn’t care for the cereal or French toast sticks, he LOVED the mini waffles but those aren’t available anymore…make sure to add peanut butter,    almond butter or cashew butter for protein, our favorite is Peanut Butter Company).
*Katz Donuts (We have only tried the sugar donuts but want to try more).
*Kinnikinnick Donuts (We buy the chocolate, vanilla, and sugar).

I try to fix a piece of bacon or two from time to time and I also serve him Canadian bacon when I remember to buy it at Whole Foods (NITRATE FREE on both of those).

I always serve some fruit on the side, grapes, banana, strawberries, oranges, or apple, and I always serve organic orange juice with breakfast.  I hope this gives you some good ideas!  Oh, and breakfast items make great lunches for school too!

I didn't have as many pictures of our breakfast items as I thought I did, I will have to add some later.

Jaxon woke up to heart shaped pancakes, oranges, yogurt, and juice! He will open his lunch to heart shaped quesadilla's, a heart shaped brownie, strawberries, corn chips, and juice. Heart over kill...maybe, but it's not often that a mother gets to go overboard with her 7 year old and not completely embarrass him.

Carter and I are off to pick up a cold stone cake for my dear husband, some strawberries and organichocolate to dip for the boys, a few balloons and any fun coloring books that are Valentine themed, and few odds and ends of things we need for the house. We will also stop by starbucks and have a little "date"!

Brent is picking up some take out from PF changs and I rented a movie on ITunes for us to watch tonight after the kids get in bed! We are looking forward to a relaxing Valentine's Day! What is everyone else doing?

A few weeks ago we took a small family trip down to Orlando to enjoy some time at the Magic Kingdom. As annual pass holders last year we got the scoop on some of the new additions in Fantasyland and took advantage. We made reservations to dine at the Beast’s Castle (Be Our Guest) for a random day in January (when the crowds are lower and the weather is nice) and that day had finally come!

The boys were very excited as we walked in and saw the beautiful ballroom, the snow out the back doors, and the Beast’s very own “Rose Room”.  It is always neat to eat somewhere (especially at Disney) for the first time and just take in the atmosphere.  We looked through the menu, talked with the Chef (regarding Jaxon’s gluten intolerance) and then placed our order.  I took the kids for a much desired tour while my husband waited at the table. 

I have to say, they did a wonderful job decorating the restaurant and making you feel like you are really dining in the movie itself.  There were a few different choices for both adults and children (at lunch it is quick service and sit down service for dinner) and the prices followed along what you would expect at Disney.  The Beast made an appearance a few times throughout our dinner experience and he would greet guests in his library after you were done with your dinner. 

Overall, we definitely enjoyed our time at the Beast’s Castle.  Just an opinion (of course) but our family still prefers Cinderella’s Castle (which would be very similar in price but offers characters) followed by the Liberty Tree Tavern which offers a family style all you can eat dinner at a slightly smaller price. 

Of course I forgot to take a picture of my cupcake because I ordered it "to go" and ate it the next day...it was delicious!  You can see a picture of some of the cupcake options HERE.

Man, finding “healthy” candy is hard to do!  Today I was searching and searching for soft peppermint candy that doesn’t contain any dye in it….never did find any.  I am going to try getting Jaxon some organic hard peppermint candy to suck on during the day (if his teacher will let him) to see if that will help him with his concentration in school.  I wrote a blog a while back about the benefits of peppermint, I even told his teacher about my findings but it never went any further than that.  Lately, I have noticed that if Jaxon has a little peppermint while doing his homework he has an easier time with his math problems. 

Well, in my search for peppermint I did come across a few interesting websites that I thought I would share with y’all.  

Pure Fun is a company that sells candy that ISN’T full
of all the stuff I am trying to avoid! Finally a site where I can look for candy that doesn’t contain artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, gluten, dairy, casein, etc.! 

Natural Candy Store is a website that also sells a “healthier”option of candy.  You can find gluten free, dye free, Vegan, Kosher, Feingold, and other sorts of diet options here.


P.S. If you know of a company that makes dye-free soft peppermints, please send me the info!!

You can read more about my Focus/concentration blog here.