You aware yet?

Well it’s World Autism Awareness Day again. It’s that time of year when folks are lighting it up blue, getting tattoos, and bragging about their children. It’s hard for me to believe that everyone isn’t already “aware” of autism, but I still find that we struggle to impart wisdom and knowledge to people who interact with our child – and it’s often the people you wouldn’t expect to be so in the dark about things. It’s the teacher who gave up on our son the day his diagnosis was official. It’s the new psychologist we saw last month who likened autism to fetal alcohol syndrome (I’m not even kidding). It’s the rude ladies in the supermarket that give you the dirty looks because your rather tall nine-year-old is dissolving into tears because the faces on the cereal boxes are looking at him…..

Whatever. You’re here, and you’re reading this – so I know you’re aware. Or at the very least, I know you’re trying, and that speaks volumes about you. I thought I’d share a few links today to resources and sites that we’ve found helpful over the last couple of years.

Autism Speaks

The organization that started it all. Maybe. I don’t know. But most everyone is familiar with Autism Speaks. Their website abounds with resources for families living with autism, and is a great jumping-off point if you’re just getting started. It seems there’s a bit of controversy concerning the way Autism Speaks manages their money, but you know what? I don’t really care. I don’t donate money. I don’t have any money to donate, and such criticisms mean little to me. At the end of the day, that big blue puzzle piece has gone a long way towards raising awareness and understanding, and that’s what’s important to me.

Generation Rescue

Generation Rescue is the rather controversial organization associated with Jenny McCarthy, and has served as sort of a counter to Autism Speaks. Look, I don’t play favorites, and Generation Rescue offers some great resources as well. They make a few recommendations that I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole, but I think it’s important to acquire as much knowledge as possible in order to make informed decisions. It is your responsibility – to your child, to yourself. You’re all captains of your own ships, people.

Autism Society

The nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, the Autism Society has chapters all over the country, with various events and ways to get involved and get connected. Can’t find a chapter in your area? Find out how to start one!

Autism Science Foundation

I don’t spend too much time here, but when feel like checking up on the latest in autism research, it’s a pretty good site to visit.

AutismWeb

This is a pretty simple little website, good if you’re just getting started. Somewhat less intimidating than the bigger sites, and links out to other resources related to therapies, diet, etc.

My Autism Team

I want to love this site. And I kind of do, but I think the usefulness of My Autism Team depends largely upon where you live. It’s sort of a matchmaking site for families living with autism. You sign up (for free, of  course!), create a profile, and start looking for people to connect with. It’s a fantastic resource, assuming that you don’t live in an area where other members haven’t logged in in several months. Which I do. *sniff*

AutismWow

Hey that’s me! You’re reading the blog, now join us on Facebook. Don’t face the autism journey alone. Come “Like” us. We’ll talk.

 

 

We’ve also been messing around with food lately, which is a lot of fun. We are totally gluten-free, and about 90% casein-free. While I’m coming up with some of my own recipe (to be shared at a later date!), here are some food pages to inspire you. You will spend a bit more time cooking, but I have to say that going gluten-free has not been nearly as bad as it sounds. In fact, it’s been pretty awesome. And yummy. It hasn’t been long enough yet for me to speak to its effects on Javier’s autism symptoms – but since we’ve stopped eating wheat, my husband is sleeping through the night again, and I’ve lost a few pounds. Certainly doesn’t hurt to give it a try! So get cookin’.

PaleOMG                                                      Gluten Free Goddess

Against All Grain                                       All Natural Mom

PaleoKids                                                    Paleo Plan

Gluten Free Girl                                        Cooking With Autism

Okay everyone – that’s it for me today! Hug your little ones (or your big kids!), and have a very happy World Autism Awareness Day…..

Talkin’ about food. Again.

Seriously, I promise I’m not turning this into a food blog – but lately we’ve really been putting a lot of effort into eating gluten-free (and mostly casein-free, but that has admittedly been more circumstantial than intentional), so for the time being, that’s what autism looks like at our house. Plus we’ve gone from struggling to find Javier social opportunities, to having something for him to do almost every day of the week, in a pretty short amount of time – which is awesome! But tiring. Leaving me little energy left over for blogging. And so here I am, feeling the need to stay current, but not wanting to whine too much….So I’m sharing a few more recipes, sites, and resources we’ve been loving lately. I hope you’ll find something you can use here – and love! – so please enjoy.

So I think when you’ve made the decision to go GFCF, you spend a lot of time thinking about all the things you can’t have. I know I did. And this is wrong. Like most people, we started out eating pretty similarly to how we were eating before, but with substitutions. Swapping out regular pasta for gluten-free pasta, regular bread for gluten-free stuff, and…well you get the idea. Basically you’re still stuck on the same packaged crap from the supermarket that none of us should be eating anyway – only now it comes with a bigger price tag. So I decided to take it a step further, and announced that we would be giving up all grains. I know, it may sounds drastic – and it’s a big commitment, so don’t do it all at once – but since taking the plunge, I really feel like we’re on to something. I have been spending a bit more at the store, but since we’ve given up beer (made from grains!), the expense has kind of evened out.

This weekend, I made this delicious Apple Spice Coffee Cake from Against All Grain. Baked with almond flour, it was a huge success – which was encouraging, since only a few weeks ago we tried baking with coconut flour and weren’t “thrilled” with the results. Still plan to experiment in the future, but at this point – almond flour is definitely the way to go! For sweets, anyway. And you need your sweets.

Against All Grain - Apple Spice Coffee Cake

Speaking of sweets, last week saw our first batch of sweet potato brownies. Yep, that’s what I said. Sweet Potato Brownies, recipe courtesy of PaleOMG, which happens to be one of my new favorite sites. Don’t be intimidated – the woman who writes this blog is exceptionally fit! But the blog is written with a very laid-back style. No preachiness here. Highly recommend. This recipe calls for only a few tablespoons of coconut flour – but don’t worry, this is not the recipe with the “questionable” outcome that I mentioned before.

PaleOMG's Sweet Potato Brownies. Yum!

Got a crock pot? Because we also tried this recipe from PaleOMG – Honey Ginger Apple Shredded Pork. To be honest, I don’t love pork. Bacon, of course – but I just have no real appreciation for pork roast, pork loin. Well except for those spiral cut flame crafted hams that they put out around Easter. You know, with that crunchy brown sugar glaze that’s all crunchy and sticky and oh my god……well, you know what I’m talking about. I love those. But other pork, not so much. But the family did love this recipe – and it makes your house smell wonderful!

Honey Ginger Apple Shredded Pork - PaleOMG

So those are the big three that we really enjoyed this week. Other than that, it’s been a lot of experimentation and tinkering in the kitchen. I’m trying to pick out vegetables that I’ve let intimidate me in the past. Giant leafy chard-like greens are a new favorite. And we’ve discovered that if you’re not sure what to do with something, a little lemon juice and chopped-up bacon never seems to hurt.

Do you follow a gluten-free and/or casein-free diet? What foods are you loving lately?

Do you think St. Patrick was gluten-free?

Okay – so I’m not Irish. Not even a little. But I did attend catholic school, and grew up around lots of Irish people – so I know the basic plot. Still, I was surprised last year at age 35 when someone pinched me for the first time because I wasn’t wearing green. Who thought of that??

I’m from the east coast. We didn’t pinch each other on holidays. Instead, someone’s mother would invariably prepare a box full of sugary “Irish Potatoes” and send them to school to be shared with the class. True, they’re probably not even Irish – but hey! A tradition’s a tradition. They are all I really remember about St. Patrick’s Day as a kid, and they’re the only thing I usually get around to making these days. My coworkers certainly seem to appreciate the effort.

Irish potatoes! Photo not mine - it's late, and I'm tired.

You can Google this wonderful little confection and turn up a handful of variations, but if you want to make them my way, here’s how:

You’ll need

8oz of cream cheese (one package)

about 1/2 cup butter

two tablespoons of vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner’s sugar (I just use the whole bag)

3-ish cups of shredded coconut (again, I just use the whole bag)

a few tablespoons of cinnamon for rolling

Cream together your butter and cream cheese. A stand mixer is wonderful for this recipe, but not necessary. Add in vanilla extract, then beat in sugar. Finally, stir in your coconut until well combined. This stuff is sticky, so I would stick it in the fridge and let it chill for at least 30 minutes. You’ll then roll the mixture into little balls (they’re quite rich, so a little goes along way); again, chill after rolling. After they’ve firmed up a bit, roll them in cinnamon and you’re done! Take some to work with you – you don’t want to keep too many of these around the house.

Just in case you’re feeling more festive than I am, I wanted to share some recipes that I’ve come across this week. Most are gluten-free, since that’s how we’ve been eating lately. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The beautiful dish pictured above is a Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Pesto, Butternut Squash, and Spinach. Ohmigosh – seriously? Who ever thought of making a pizza crust out of cauliflower? Danielle at Against All Grain, that’s who! This is one of the entries in her St. Patty’s Day Recipe Roundup – and it’s definitely worth a look.

Gluten-free Irish Soda Bread from Gluten-Free Goddess.

I hear people talk a lot about Irish Soda Bread around this time of year. Are you one of those people? Then check out the recipe for a gluten-free version at Gluten-Free Goddess. She has a number of other delicious-looking recipes “inspired by Celtic tastes”…

PaleOMG Southwest Turkey Sliders over Spicy Avocado Slaw.

Okay so these aren’t “Irish” – but the slaw is green, and I’m currently obsessed with this blog. PaleOMG. If you’re not into the idea of “Paleo” eating – then just think of it as “extreme gluten-free”. Really great stuff to be found here.

Vegan Colcannon. Don't let the "vegan" fool you - you can totally add some sausage to this.

Finally, from Choosing Raw – this Colcannon dish looks pretty delicious! Potatoes, kale – what’s not to love? I may be inspired to get cooking this weekend after all…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!