Savory lentil muffins

If you or your kids have a restricted diet and breads are a thing of the past, you have to try these simple-ingredient muffins!  These are a staple in our home.

Let me start by telling you what is NOT in them before we get to the ingredients.   No gluten, no casein, no eggs, this is a lower oxalate and Failsafe bread!!  

What IS in them?
-1 cup of red lentils (soak overnight, they will be more than one cup once soaked) 
-1 tsp sea salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp cream of tartar
-spice(s) of choice (I chose chives)

Put all of the ingredients into a blender, add water so that it is at about halfway up to the height of the lentils.   Blend, fill cupcake cups about 3/4 full and bake on 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Makes 8 muffins. Voila!

Is it enough to eat "healthy"?

What does eating healthy mean to you?  For most, it means avoiding too many sugars and refined foods, eating more home cooked meals, but does that always equate to healthier options?  We trust our grocery stores to provide us with high quality foods, but what is really lurking in your grocery isles will surprise you.  Check out this gruesome article from the Rodale Institute.

The 9 Nastiest Things in Your Supermarket Think pink slime is gross? Wait 'til you see what other unappetizing secrets lurk within your grocery store.

And while we are on the topic of eating healthy, I would love to share a fabulously simple and direct excerpt from Kerri Rivera's upcoming book, "Healing an Epidemic".  If you know anyone with a child even remotely on the spectrum (even ADHD), please share this with them.  It is probably one of the simplest, yet most thorough explanations of the GFCFSF diet I've seen. Kerri Rivera is a fabulous autism mom who is also the co-founder/director of a not-for-profit autism clinic in Mexico known as AutismO2. I can't speak highly enough of Kerri's knowledge and go-get-em attitude.  She dedicates all of her waking hours to healing kids on the spectrum. 

If I could choose the one part of my protocol that would be the single most important piece of the autism recovery puzzle it would be The diet. By The diet I am referring to the dietary plan that I recommend to all of the families that I work with. It is a combination of the classic Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free, with the elimination of sugar, corn syrup, coloring, preservatives and other “harmful foods.” The diet is the basis to the rest of my protocol, similar to laying the foundation of a house that the rest of the structure will rest on. It is critical to the effectiveness of the rest of the protocol. When a family with a child recently diagnosed with autism comes to see me, the first thing they want to know is: What can I do to fix this? I always, always start with The diet. In fact, I send them away after that first meeting with hope that they will be able to recover their child, but only if they have the dedication to commit to the diet 100%. I explain to my families that they must think about food how their great grandparents thought about food. In generations past food was derived from the Earth, with little processing. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats were dietary staples for our great grandparents and they will be for our children as well. We must think whole foods, not processed foods. It is of little help to go from junk food to gluten free, casein free junk food.

After my first meeting with a family they leave with the list of permitted foods and I tell them to email me when they have a week straight with zero exceptions or “errors” on The diet. That is where the parents who are truly hungry for recovery are separated from those who are interested in having someone else recover their child for them.

One of two things generally happen during that first week. First scenario: I get an email from an ecstatic Mother or Father…”I can barely believe it, Johnny slept through the night for the first time in months, or Johnny had a normal bowel movement, or Johnny said 2 new words yesterday! “ That’s what I hope for, the second scenario is I never hear from the family again, there may have been tantrums, or an adjustment period related to the diet that proved too much for them, and they decide to pursue another avenue. That’s not to say that everyone sees a miracle, or there’s no middle ground, as some of the results are less obvious, such as more eye contact or less redness in face, but generally speaking, we see positive changes. But in reality, any change is a good sign. The diet is only the first piece of the puzzle. It is the welcome mat to autism recovery. We must continue from there. We don´t just do the diet. We do the diet and then keep adding and subtracting till we get the desired, end result.

That said, your child’s Dr may have not heard of the diet, of may be misinformed on it’s benefits. We will include a list of links to various studies and articles published on the benefits of The diet for children and adults on the Autism Spectrum. It is important to only consult with people who are familiar with autism and the recovery of autism. If your current physician is unfamiliar with autism recovery, it is important for the health of your child that you find someone who is. Surrounding ourselves with people who are immersed in biomed and healing children is of the utmost importance.

For starters, a researcher at the New Jersey Medical School’s Autism Center found that children with autism were more likely to have abnormal immune responses to milk, soy and wheat than typically-developing children, according to Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012. Also, there is growing interest in the link between autism and gastrointestinal (GI) ailments. A study by the University of California Davis Health System found that children with autism born in the 1990s were more likely to have gastrointestinal problems, including constipation, diarrhea and vomiting, than children with autism who were born in the early 1980s.

Simply because your Dr is uninformed or tells you there is no evidence to prove that The diet will help your child, do the research for yourself, as only you are in charge of your child’s diet. Heck, do The diet. It doesn´t cost you any money and it just might save your child. Whether he eats Cheesey puffs or fruits and vegetables will ultimately come down to you. The only way to know for sure if your child is going to be one of the cases who recovers with diet, is to try. It can take gluten 6 months or more to be removed from the micro villi or “shag carpeting” of the small intestine. As I mentioned previously some children have monumental changes in 2-3 days, but even if your child’s evolution is taking a little longer than most, DO NOT GIVE UP! At the writing of this book I have worked with over 2,500 families of children with autism, and all of the recovered children as well as the children about to come through the door have used varied protocols depending on their symptoms. What is the one thing that they all unequivocally have in common? The diet.

In my opinion, it makes little difference what other interventions you apply to your child if you can’t manage The diet 24/7/365. Hyperbarics, chelation, music therapy, ABA, etc simply cannot have the desired effects if we are still feeding drugs to our children. Why drugs? Because that is what gluten and casein become in the bodies of our children on the spectrum. More specifically, gluteomorphin and casomorphin. Yes, similar to morphine. These substances are produced in the gut due to improper digestion of peptides (as we will explain more in detail later) and the existence of leaky gut syndrome allows them to cross the blood brain barrier where they act exactly like morphine or heroin. Would you purposely give your child heroin, or any other illicit drugs? NO! So now that you have read these words, and understand the severity of this issue, do not give your child another piece of pizza, Cheesy puffs, bread or flour tortillas. Tell your family and your child’s school that they can no longer give your child these items, and if they do it’s like giving them a dose of morphine. If it sounds drastic, that’s because it is. Researchers have found an abnormal amount of these undigested peptides in the urine of children with autism, therefore proving their existence in the body. Dr. Reichelt in Norway, Dr. Cade at the University of Florida, and others found that urine samples from people with autism, PDD, celiac disease, and schizophrenia contained high amounts of the casomorphin peptide in the urine, similarly Gliadorphin (gluteomorphin) has been verified by mass spectrometry techniques to be present in unusual quantities in urine samples of children with autism, (excerpted from gfcfdiet.com)

Do the diet! There are still plenty of food options that are permitted, I promise you your child won’t starve. There are some recipes that will be included later in the chapter to get you started. I truly mean when I say that The diet is absolutely the most important piece of the puzzle. If we can’t remove what is directly linked to brain and gut inflammation as well as immune allergic reactions to offending foods, it is nearly impossible to heal a child on the spectrum. I have personally never seen a family recover a child without dietary intervention, that’s not to say it hasn’t happened, but I can’t say I’ve seen it nor heard of it.

In the case of my own son, his acidic diarrhea and sleepless nights stopped the week we started The diet. From that moment I was hooked, not only on The diet but on Biomedical treatments for curing Autism, and I have never looked back. I strongly encourage you to experience the diet for your child and even as a family it is a good thing.

Some other tips include:

Keep a journal. What foods have you taken out? Are you adding something in? Reactions: rash, more/less hyper, more/less stimmy, sleep patterns, bowel movements: how many, consistency, tantrums, acceptance of new foods, eye contact, language, etc. Write it all down, then you know what’s going on, and when something is working for you, and when it’s not. Doing the ATEC at www.autism.com is an excellent way to see how you are doing. Everytime that you begin a new intervention it is a good idea to do and ATEC and then repeat every month or so and see how your child is evolving. Sometimes our children are recovering right before our very eyes and we don’t even know it.

Using the ATEC helps a great deal to measure improvements. Many of us are tired or burned out and don’t have as good as a memory as we would like to, so a formal questionnaire can help us to discern when an intervention is working or not.

Always read labels. Read the label on the back. Not just the one on the front that says “gluten free”. Many times they have sugar, yeast or other items that are not allowed. We must know what we are putting into our children’s bodies. If you can’t pronounce it, you don’t really want to put it into your child. Be careful of hidden offenders like malta, natural flavors, artificial flavors, whey, numbers (red 40), etc.

Have a support system. It doesn’t matter whether it is a friend, family member, rescue angel or neighbor. Have a shoulder to lean on, autism recovery is a marathon not a sprint, and no one should have to go it alone.

Take it one day at a time. Defeatist thinking will only harm your resolve to help your child. “I Can’t do this for the rest of Johnny’s life” or “How will I get through this year” are defeatist thoughts. Go hour by hour or minute by minute if you have to, and know there are victories every day in the world of autism, and we must draw strength from those victories, even when they aren’t our own. My website has a section called Milagros, which are real emails that I receive from parents describing the advances of their children on my protocol. Take some time to read them, and know that children are recovering every day and believe your child can be next.

So here it is…The Diet

Permitted Foods List

Proteins:

Beef
Pork
Chicken
Turkey
Fish: small not large
Eggs
Organic is better, but not required
No processed meats or cold cuts (hot dogs, bologna, etc)
No shellfish (full of toxins)

Fruit:

All fruit is acceptable
Homemade juice and fruit waters are acceptable
Frozen fruit without cream or sugar is acceptable
NO canned fruit
Be careful of dried fruit, as it may contain sugar

Note: Fruit should not be consumed after a meal as a dessert. Due to it’s rapid digestion, if it is eater after other slower foods (meat, grains, etc) it will ferment in the stomach, causing bloating, gas, or discomfort. Fruit is best eaten before a meal, or separate from meals.

Vegetables:

All Vegetables!!!
This includes french fries…however, not frozen fries nor fries from fast food chains, these are often coated in flour.

Nuts:

Cashews
Walnuts
Almond
Hazelnut
Coconut
All of them!

Grains:

Corn
Rice
Amaranth
Quinoa
Millet
Tapioca
Xanthan Gum
Sorghum
Buckwheat

Beans:

All beans – EXCEPT Soy
Garbanzo
Lentils
Navy
Peanuts
Cacao

Sweetners:

Xylitol
Stevia
Honey
Agave syrup
Maple syrup (without sugar added)
NO Piloncillo
NO Sugar


Prohibited Foods:

Corn Syrup
Sodas – Cokes, etc.
V8 Splash
Chocolate milk
Natural Flavoring
MSG
ADES
Soy sauce
Microwave popcorn
Pasta
Candies
Oatmeal
Sugar
Splenda
Cow’s milk in any form, even lactose free
Noodle soup
Ketchup
Mayonaise
Knorr suiza (boullion cubes)
Corn flakes
Soy milk
Processed meats (hotdogs, ham, sausage, cold cuts)
Play-doh (contains gluten)
Bread
Flour Tortillas
Coloring
Jell-o or gelatin
Preservatives
Margarine
Yeast
Carrageenan
Numbers (E260)
Preservatives
Coloring
Cane
Malt
Artificial flavoring


NO Cow’s Milk

NOT CASEIN FREE
NOT LACTOSE FREE
NOT ORGANIC
NOT EVAPORATED
NO NO NO COW’S MILK
ALL COW’S MILK, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS REMOVED FROM IT, CAUSES MUCOUS AND INFLAMMATION. (which are responsible for maintaining pathogens)

Common Error:

The food allergy panel says he’s not allergic to gluten or casein…so my child can continue to eat those ingredients.

It doesn’t matter…if your child has autism or is on the spectrum he must avoid gluten, casein and soy. The network formerly known as DAN! Also says to observe your child carefully after adding a new food or a food he hasn’t eaten in a while. In one particular case, even though the child didn’t test positive for an orange allergy, he produces symptoms of an allergic reaction whenever he eats one. We must remember that the body is changing constantly and that any test is only good for a couple of months, if at all.

Some sample recipes:

Almond Milk

1.5 cups of almonds
3 cups of water
Honey to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender for 2-5 minutes and strain. Serve cold or warm. Almonds should soaked in hot water and then peeled beforehand. A Vitamix works best, but is not necessary.


Coconut Milk

The flesh of one coconut
Enough water to cover the coconut in the blender.
Honey to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender for 2-5 minutes and strain. Serve cold or warm.


Cookies

300 grams rice flour
300 grams corn flour
One egg yolk
200 grams agave syrup
250 grams coconut oil
Bake 20 minutes at approx 325 degrees

FAQ’s

Until we have this section organized, there is a very complete list of FAQ’s about the diet at

www.gfcfdiet.com

Have you been wondering, if the diet really works?

Ok, so maybe you have been an avid reader, and maybe you have a child who could benefit from something, you just don't know what yet, and maybe you have even considered going GFCF at minimum...but don't have enough evidence that it will work and just the thought of the intense changes in diet make you sick to your stomach.

Now, if I could just briefly hit on my biggest hot button in all of this?  A child does NOT have to be completely autistic to have these deficiencies, in fact, neither does an adult.  Dr. Kenneth Bock has made it VERY clear in his book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics that people with allergies, asthma, ADHD and even autoimmune diseases have their roots in the same soil as autism.  Autism is just one facet of this "illness" on the rise.  It takes the shape of many faces and does not have to go by any one label.  

Well, let me enlighten you!  It may not be enough for little old me to tell you the diet works (I have seen it, like night and day, especially during an infraction that changes my children practically overnight, turning them into a sensory snowball), but what if a well-known National autism nutritionist was able to tell you this, and what if she even had a double blind study to further prove it?  Would it be worth it then?

Feast your eyes on THIS!

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism

September 22, 2011 Categories: Autism News by Julie Matthews

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism
By Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant
As a nutritionist working with children with autism for ten years, I was particularly excited to read the most recent research findings. For those who continue to say, “There is no science behind diet and nutrition for autism” or “there is nothing you can do about autism,” you’re about to finally be convinced.

A study entitled, “Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism vs Neurotypical Children and the Association with Autism Severity,” conducted by Jim Adams, was recently published in the journal of Nutrition and Metabolism in June 2011. It provides an excellent framework for consideration of dietary intervention and supplementation for children with autism.

This study validates what many clinicians have observed in their practices for years—that children with autism have biomedical imbalances that are strong factors in their autistic symptoms, and that diet and supplementation play a role in helping children to heal, even lose their autism diagnosis. In my clinical experience, I’ve witnessed hundreds of children improve through specialized attention to diet and nutrition.

A fairly large number of children (99) were included in the research that measured a wide range of nutritional and metabolic markers—i.e. scientific, quantitative indicators of children with autism’s unique biochemical status.  In the “Background and Significance” and “Discussion” sections of the published paper, Adams, et al. provides a straightforward interpretation of the results that were measured, and explains functional testing, interpretations, and makes comparisons to previous study results (both consistent and contrary).  I believe it’s an excellent analysis of the current biomedical understanding of autism and supports clinical findings reported worldwide. And, it presents fresh new data to guide the use of supplementation and diet.

The study compared 55 children with autism diagnoses with 44 controls (neurotypical children of similar ages ranging from 5-16 years old).  Neither group had taken nutritional supplementation for two months prior to the testing conducted in the study.

The research indicated that for the children with autism, their levels of vitamins, minerals, and most amino acids were within published reference ranges; however many of their biomarkers were significant different from the control group.  Biomarkers are a way of discovering the functional insufficiency of a nutrient by measuring markers in biochemical pathways that indicate a deficiency, and comparing that to the actual amount of the nutrient in the body (as measured in blood, etc).
This is an interesting finding—nutrient levels appear “normal” but functional testing shows that they are not normal in children with autism. Functional testing (that identifies these biomarkers) are not used in most traditional medical settings.  If the medical community is looking for nutrient deficiencies through standard testing of nutrient levels (as an underlying factor and course of treatment), they most likely will not find it – even though biochemical/nutritional insufficiencies are common and supplementation is necessary.

In this study, biomarkers for increased oxidative stress, decreased sulfation and detoxification, vitamin and glutathione insufficiency, and reduced energy transport were also found. And, several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with the severity of autism.

Again, this parallels what autism clinicians routinely report —that children with autism have decreased detoxification, energy disregulation, and increased oxidative stress.

The authors conclude, “These nutritional and metabolic differences are generally in agreement with other published results and are likely amenable to nutritional supplementation.”
I absolutely concur.

Here are some of the specific areas measured and details of the study’s findings, and my discussion of the results.

Vitamins
Biotin was the only vitamin with a significant difference in the children – it was 20% lower in the children with autism.  B5, vitamin E and total carotenoids levels showed “possibly significant” lower levels in children with autism.

The functional need for certain vitamins (folate and niacin) was assessed using FIGLU and n-methyl-nicotinamide, and were somewhat higher and possibly significant in autism.  This suggests and an increased need for folate and niacin in children with autism.

Minerals
While most mineral levels tested within neurotypical reference ranges, the study found a statistical significance with lower levels of WB (whole blood) lithium, but higher levels of iron in the autism group. Twenty-five percent of the autism group was below the reference range for iodine and calcium.

Sulfation
Free and total sulfate in plasma (necessary for adequate sulfation) were very significantly lower in children with autism – 28% and 65%.

Sulfate is necessary for proper sulfation. Sulfation comprises varied processes that use sulfate (sulfur) in the body, such as in forming sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) in the gut for intestinal integrity, or detoxifying compounds in phase II liver detoxification. Sulfate is used in many biological processes, and adequate sulfur is required both from consumption of sulfur rich foods and recycling sulfate in the kidneys.  The results of this study are consistent with the findings of Dr. Rosemary Waring who found children with autism (and adults with autoimmune conditions) to have low sulfate levels.

Methylation
SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) was also significantly lower in children with autism – very much so. Uridine in plasma was very significantly higher in children with autism +93%. Uridine is believed to be a marker of methylation status, with high levels indicating poor methylation.  For SAM, SAH and SAM/SAH ratio 25-39% of the autism group had low levels.

SAM is the primary methyl donor in methylation reactions (more than forty in the body).  Methylation is important for the methylation of neurotransmitters, proteins, and DNA methylation (gene expression).  Methylation affects fatty acid metabolism, allergic responses, myelination, cellular energy, and more.  Proper methylation is also necessary for the body to produce adequate levels of glutathione.

ATP
ATP is the primary energy source for the brain and the body.  SAM is converted from methionine with methionine adenyosyl transferase, which requires ATP.  Methionine was at normal levels but ATP was very significantly lower in the autism group. The authors suggest, “low levels of ATP are at least part of the reason for decreased levels of SAM.”ATP is required by the kidney to resorb sulfate and “recycle” it. The authors believe that decreased ATP is a significant contributor to decreased sulfate levels in children with autism.

I believe that oxalates could be a factor.  When sulfate is insufficient, oxalate (instead of sulfate) can be shuttled into the cell on the sulfate transporter and “gum up” the works of the mitochondria, affecting ATP and energy metabolism.  Could there be a “vicious cycle” at work, where adequate sulfate is needed to produce ATP and ATP is needed for recycling sulfate?  Given the benefits I’ve observed with the low oxalate diet, I’d welcome more research and discussion of this possibility.

Oxidative Stress
Reduced plasma glutathione (GSH) was very significantly lower in children with autism. All three markers for oxidative stress were very significantly higher in children with autism; oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSSG/GSH ratio, and plasma nitrotyrosine.  NADPH, a precursor to ATP, is needed to recycle GSSG to GSH.  NADPH was found to be substantially lower in the autism group.  These results were also consistent with the work of Dr. Jill James, who found low levels of glutathione in children with autism (as well as positive benefit of certain forms of folate).

Glutathione is imperative for preventing oxidative stress.  In addition to being an antioxidant, it supports proper detoxification, inflammation, pathogen fighting, and more.

Amino Acids in Plasma
Two amino acids used in building neurotransmitters were significantly different from controls. Tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin was significantly lower in the autism group, and glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, was significantly higher.  Low tryptophan can play a role in depression and poor sleep, and glutamate is a factor in hyperactivity. Other differences were possibly significant such as slightly decreased tyrosine and phenylalanine and slightly higher serine.

Dietary Intervention and Supplementation
This study supports the use dietary intervention for autism (individualized to the child). There is much valuable data we can gather from this study on how to apply and adjust diet and supplementation for autism.

Adequate protein intake is crucial for children with autism.  Decreased levels of amino acids such as tryptophan, phenylalanine, and taurine most likely indicate a need for increased protein intake or proper digestion of protein (possibly through the use of digestive enzymes).  Supplementation with individual amino acids, particularly those consistent with signs of deficiency, may be warranted.  For example, tryptophan or 5-HTP supplementation may be helpful with a low tryptophan level and depression.

This study highlights the need for foods rich in antioxidants and antioxidant supplementation for children with autism.  Foods rich in antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E, as well as zinc and selenium are important.  Berries, beans, spices like turmeric and rosemary, nuts, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry are good sources of antioxidants. Foods rich in glutathione and glutathione precursors to include in your child’s diet consist of: broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, garlic, kale, cumin and cinnamon, eggs, and avocado.

Supplementation with biotin, folate, vitamin B12, liposomal glutathione, SAM, lithium, sulfate, and many other nutrients are important (on an individual basis) for children with autism.
The Feingold and Failsafe diets remove salicylates, amines, and glutamates, substances that require proper sulfation (and methylation) for proper breakdown.  For the children with these biochemical insufficiencies, these diets can be very helpful.  I was glad to see further research that supports what I am finding clinically.

The low oxalate diet has been very helpful for many of my clients with autism. More discussion is needed about the role of oxalate in the oxidative stress and low ATP found in this study in children with autism.  For these children, the low oxalate diet may prove particularly helpful.

Benefit to Autism
I greatly appreciate scientists and researchers like Dr. Jim Adams, whose dedication has helped thousands of parents and clinicians to gain useful information about addressing autism.
I’ve spent more than 5 years compiling research and presenting the case for diet and supplement intervention in my book “Nourishing Hope for Autism,” which has nearly 200 scientific references regarding the biochemistry of autism and the use of food, nutrition, and supplementation to ameliorate symptoms. Dr. Adams’ earlier research was instrumental in guiding my query.

The current study by Adams, et al greatly advances our understanding of these factors and further solidifies the case for “Autism is treatable.” It solidifies a foundational understanding of how diet and nutrition intervention benefits autism and helps nutritionists like me address the diet naysayers who deny Hippocrates dictum “let food be they medicine” by asking “is there a double-blind study to support diet changes?”

Yes, there is!

Adams JB, Audhya T, McDonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E, Loresto M, Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W. Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity. Nutrition & Metabolism 2011 Jun 8;8(1):34.

Here is the link for this article.

GFCFSFEF and low oxalate pancakes!!

These rock!  Going on the LOD and being free of every baking ingredient known to man-kind makes it a challenge to find a good pancake recipe.  I am big on avoiding rice whenever possible too, so these are actually rice-free too!!  I have been tweaking this recipe to make it hold up to good old fluffy boxed pancakes.  Sorry, these aren't quite as easy to make though.

We like a lot of flavor in our pancakes. These are hearty and flavorful and they fluff right up when cooking even without eggs or gluten!  We like the flavor enough to just grab one in our hand and eat it up.

They are nice and fluffy and they even cook just like boxed pancakes, if you leave the batter thicker.  No uncooked gluten-free goo here!

When I am batch-cooking pancakes, I like to make my batter a little on the thin side, because I like our pancakes thinner, to stretch further.  I usually will triple this recipe and freeze enough for three to four more breakfasts!  I just toss them in the toaster and voila, done in seconds.

Wisk the dry ingredients into a medium bowl
-1/2 C. black eyed pea flour (grind dry beans on grain grind setting in blender or food processor)
-1/2 C. pumpkin seed flour (grind in blender or coffee grinder)
-1/4 C. water chestnut flour (you can get this at Asian markets very cheap, it's a must for volume)
-2 Tbs chestnut flour (this gives an awesome hearty flavor to the pancakes)
-2 Tbs coconut sugar (or swap and add coconut nectar into wet ingredients)
-1 Tb garbanzo bean flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp cream of tartar (I rotate this out by swapping it with apple cider vinegar occasionally, but I prefer the cream of tartar)
-1/2 tsp salt

In a smaller bowl, wisk the wet ingredients together
-1 C. water (I usually start a little less and add more as I need it so I have a desired consistency)
-1 Tbs vanilla
-2 Tbs oil of choice (we like macadamia nut)
-Add any substitute liquids (ie - coconut nectar or apple cider vinegar)

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and wisk until smooth.  Let this sit for a good 15-30 minutes until the consistency thickens up enough, it WILL thicken over time!  This is usually when I turn the griddle on and let it slowly heat up to temp so it's good and hot when I start.  You will have flat flabby pancakes, if you try to cook them on a less then hot griddle.  I should have taken THOSE pictures so you can see how many times I have rushed and ruined the whole first batch, lol.

This is the finished product without doctoring, thick and hearty!  They can be used as bread, topped with ghee and/or VCO and fruit or even eaten just like they are.  My kids have had them each of those ways and they NEVER get bored of them.  With a diet so restricted, that says a lot.  We have only three breakfast options that we rotate and they always look forward to their pancake days!  They love to make sandwiches out of mango slices and their pancakes.

Quick or right?

The question here is, do you want to heal yourself and/or your children quickly or properly?  I see a lot of biomed moms reaching at straws, looking for the magic bullet to heal their kids TODAY.  This is some sort of a mesh between biomedicine and our brainwashed alopathic medicine way of thinking, isn't it?  We are so trained to think we can pop a pill and cure a disease overnight.  The key word there is cure....we aren't curing ANYTHING by popping a pharmaceutical pill.  What are you doing?  You are suppressing symptoms and making things worse.  If you don't get to the root of the reason for the symptom in the first place, you aren't healing or curing anything.  But this isn't the purpose of this entry, actually so I will try not to get sidetracked.  Darn hot-buttons!!

My point here is that even us biomed moms can get caught up in wanting to try anything that will heal our kids even faster.  Well, I have news for you moms, it took years for this sort of genetic mutation and environmental damage to do it's work on you (your mom, your kids) and it's going to take just a teeny weeny bit more time to heal your children from this passed on type of toxicity.

I am certainly not suggesting that anyone stop looking for ways to think outside of the box or to help your child heal faster, BUT with that said, also be prepared to just settle for the tried and true to get you through.  I spend just about every day reading, learning and researching, as well as connecting directly with other moms who are going through this very same life. The recurrent theme I see developing is that those who heal most thoroughly follow a very strict diet, they work on nutritional deficiencies and they get the metals out.....for years.  When the metals are removed, all the rest will fall into place, it's that simple really, but patience is the key, because it is going to take time.

When we first decided on low frequent dose oral chelation we were convinced that we would be doing this for a year tops and we would have our perfectly recovered healthy child at the end of the tunnel.  So.....it's been two years  (3 with biomed) and although we have come a LONG way in recovery, we still have such a very long road ahead of us.  Our children are virtually indistinguishable from their peers, but this doesn't come easily.  They are still on hoards of supplements, require special diets, and will probably require years of slow, safe detoxing.  The part to come to grips with is that this is ok.  It is going to take a lot of dedication, sacrifices, perseverance and time, but that is ok, isn't it?

A lot of people question who they should trust when it comes to chelation, DAN! doctors or Andy Cutler and here is my take on this....Andy Cutler is a biochemist, meaning he is specifically trained to know what these chemicals do in our bodies.  He understands their half-lives and how they work, not to mention the fact that he recovered himself from being horribly ill, using this very same method of chelation. How many doctors out there do you know who are chemists? None.

So next time you get the inkling to try IV chelation, because you think bigger is better or a glutathione push, because well, glutathione is low so that MUST be the problem, right?.....or you hear about some new trendy supplement that claims to cure it all, don't get caught up in the glory, just take a deep breath and remember that recovery is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

More camel milk GAINS

Normally when you see the word "gain" in my blog, it refers to progress being made with skills or behaviors.  Not this time.  This time, the gaining I am referring to is quite literal!

Just a few months ago, both boys were severely underweight and extremely low on the growth chart.  Gavin had been labeled "failure to thrive" on a few occasions and Grayson was even more recently given this same title, because he crossed over two percentage thresholds on the growth chart, in the wrong direction.  And these boys could EAT.

I started noticing that Grayson, who was always ahead by a few clothing sizes as an infant, was suddenly falling behind in his clothing sizes.  He wasn't growing and as he aged, the gap increased.  He was still able to wear 4T pants up until he was 5 1/2 years old!  Gavin on the other hand was born small and grew slow, right from the beginning.  When we took him to an allergist regarding his sensitivities to dairy and soy, the paperwork I was handed clearly spelled it out in black and white, he was failure to thrive, not even 3% on the growth chart!  So when I share the changes we have seen, keep these little details in mind.

If you have been reading my blog, you know that we started the camel milk at the beginning of May, the 2nd to be exact (gotta love my journal!).  Unfortunately, the last time I personally documented Gavin's growth chart was in March, but I can tell you that his growth was at a standstill for close to a year, and I had been weighing him just about daily right up until we started the camel milk and he was STILL the same weight, at minimum.  On March 25th, he was just under 34 inches tall and 27 pounds, a number that is etched into my mind, because of how long he remained there, with no fluctuation whatsoever.  And if I could tell you how much this child would eat, he was NEVER satisfied.  It was disturbing really.  He would get down from having two full bowls (adult sized) of oatmeal and blueberries with coconut oil and nectar on top just to run around the table and tell me he was still hungry.  Before we stopped giving him eggs, he could eat 4 eggs, numerous pieces of bacon and still ask for more, at TWO years old.  He had numerous snacks between meals and I was even adding oils to just about every meal to increase his calories by 300 per meal.  I couldn't understand how a child could eat SO much and gain nothing.  When we learned of his parasitic infection, that had us believing it could be related, and perhaps it was, we haven't retested recently.

So here is what we saw when we added the camel milk.

Gavin at a standstill of 27 lbs for ages, almost 34 inches tall last documented in March.  He was actually finally up at a whole 10% for weight and 2.2% for height.  Still failure to thrive in terms of height.  The doctor even talked to us a bit about short stature at his last appointment.

Grayson's growth had noticeably slowed, he was floating around 39-40 lbs for a while and his height didn't seem to change for over a year, just based on his clothing.  He didn't need anything new for SO long, and we actually found ourselves reusing clothes from the previous year in the last few seasons, that was the ultimate shocker!

On May 2nd, Gavin was still 27 lbs, I know, because I was weighing him nightly as part of our bedtime routine.  On May 4th, he felt incredibly heavy to me suddenly so I plopped him on the scale out of curiosity and the number glaring back at me was 30 lbs!  THIRTY POUNDS!  He gained 3 pounds in just days!  I was sure he would lose it, that it was temporary and would retreat.  It never did!

Grayson didn't grow in the first weeks of the milk, at least in weight, we never thought to check his height, but I started noticing that both boys were growing out of their pants suddenly, and I mean like highwaters.  And their shoes were suddenly too tight to wear.

On May 23rd Gavin weighed in at 31 lbs and 34.5 inches tall!

On May 29th he was still 31 pounds, but was now measuring at 35 inches!  His percentages on the growth chart went from, are you ready for this....10% for weight to 46%!!!  His height went from 2.2% to 7%!!  He quadrupled his weight percentage and tripled his height percentage!!  That is all in less than a month. 

On May 29th I also measured Grayson since I was noticing his clothing shrinking on him by the day and he was 43 inches tall and 41.5 lbs, which means he had started also gaining weight.  We were so shocked by Gavin's gains we were all focused on him, meanwhile, Grayson was growing in the shadows now too!  It was more steadily, but it was definitely happening!  He was now 10% for height and 23% for weight.  Still on the lower side of the scale, but obviously better than he had to have been before his gains.

Today I measured them both again and in about a week, Grayson has jumped from 10% for height to 13% (43.5 inches) and from 23% in weight to 33% (43.5 lbs)!  Oh and I should clarify that I always use the same website for these calculations so I am comparing apples to apples.

Gavin has slowed down in his growth, but is still growing steadily.  Today he was 31.5 lbs and 35.5 inches!  The new percentages are 47% for weight and 8% for height!  His eating has significantly slowed since starting the camel milk and this is what I am in awe of....he went from eating like a man and still not growing, to barely finishing any of his meals or snacks, skipping snacks and GROWING rapidly!!

So to recap, in just over two months, two boys who were at a complete standstill in growth, jumped significant growth chart percentages and with nothing to blame except camel milk!  Just take a look at those dates and numbers highlighted above, I am nothing short of amazed.  Do I think it's worth the cost and the drive to obtain the milk?  What do you think?

Want to see the vitamin cabinet?

So here it is, our FULL vitamin cabinet.  Grayson said it looks like store shelves, ha ha ha.  He must enjoy organization as much as I do, because he thinks this "looks nice".  Only another organizing nut could appreciate the beauty of this cabinet, hahaha.

I'm slightly anal, I think the proper technical term for it is OCD, hehehe.  I like to have multiples of everything so that as we run out, I just grab another from the cabinet.  Considering there are three of us on this regimine now, we go through some of these bottles pretty fast.  For instance, the zinc picolinate which is 60 22mg capsules per bottle.  The kids use 5 a day between them and I use 6 a day!  I am opening a new bottle every couple of days!  The biotin too, we go through those really fast, but at least I can get 120 count bottles of that.

Within this organization, there is even more organization, the lazy susan is the kid's daily supplements, the step organizer to the left is full of my daily supplements, plus I use the kid's stuff, our Bach Flower Essences are in the middle, with some things that we all use behind them.  The second shelf has our illness supplements to the left and all of our unopened back-up bottles on the rest of the shelf.  The third shelf is all things that are used much less frequently, but always manage to come back to for some reason.

If you could see the inside of the doors, you would see pages and pages of notes, lol.  I type up lists of what supplements we use and where we buy them, lists of what to use for what and when.

I stocked up on three back-up bottles of Lugol's iodine recently, because of the risk of not being able to get it, due to the radiation exposure in the US from Fukushima.  People are scrambling to get their hands on it to help prevent radiation damage.  The problem is that prevention is the key, you can't erase radiation damage and considering radioactive iodine - 131 has already been found in the drinking water in PA among many other states and in foods in CA, it's probably a bit too late to be trying to prevent.  Perhaps it will help with all of the domino effects though, like how the rain water will feed the plants, how the grasses will feed the animals, and the half life of radioactive iodine in humans is 100 days, whereas it's half-life outside of a person is 8 days.

Sorry to get off track, I have a habit of doing that!

Contemplating the future ahead

I typically have a very positive outlook on things, especially the health of my children.  I am always completely convinced that they will be well, even healthier than most NT people, when we are through with their detox program.

For the first time, I am scared about raising children who eat differently in this harsh world.  We have recently found out that Grayson has been eating gluten and casein, and who knows what else, while on the bus.  A friend is giving it to him almost daily and no efforts to remove tv privileges or play dates with friends is even making him hesitate in taking another bite....or half a sandwich, or a bagel with cream cheese....not even the tummy and head aches that result!

We have lengthy conversations about the reason gluten and casein, among other foods, aren't good for him.  He just isn't capable of self-control, so no conversation results in compliance.  I know that one factor is that he is five, and five year olds developmentally experiment with truth and lies anyway.  But the fact that a gluten infraction will stay with him for 6+ months in the form of gut and brain inflammation as well as immune disruption makes this a very serious topic for us.  We can't continue to trust a five year old to control himself, especially after having had an infraction with an opiate-like food.  It causes a craving beyond our comprehension.  Only a drug addict would get it.  He is addicted to the opiates, so when a well-meaning friend opens his lunch bag up to Grayson, he is going to take the offer, no matter how many warnings, threats or days grounded he gets.

Since this is the first time this is coming up with him, probably because it's really the first time he's had independence and freedom, we need to be sure we set the story straight and make an impact regarding how serious this is.  He needs to understand that we aren't bending, this isn't optional, it's his health, period.  So until we find out, if there are options available through the bus company or school, we will be driving him every day, grrrrr!  It means getting Gavin up and dressed in the morning to have breakfast with Grayson so we can run out the door and it means having to wake Gavin from his nap an hour early every day that I have to pick Grayson up.  It's definitely disruptive, but what can we do, it's his health.  I haven't budged on any particular part of his healing program in the past, nor will I start now.  I've even considered home schooling, which may become a hot topic, if the school or bus company doesn't do something to assist us in providing a safe environment for our child.  For now, we only have a few months of school left, so even if we had to drive him daily for the rest of this year, we will make do, but next year, Gavin will also be in school three days a week, and he will require driving to and from school.  It just won't be possible for us to handle both.

I also fear the idea that Grayson won't take responsibility for his health.  What if he really just doesn't care about what we are doing for him, if he truly doesn't grasp it, ever?  The idea that his gluten sensitivity causes health consequences for 6 months from each infraction means that everything I am doing in that 6 months feels like a waste of time!  I'm feeling very doomed right about now.

I think it's time for some Bach Sweet Chestnut and Cherry Plum flower essences:

Sweet Chestnut: For extreme anguish, the feeling that one has reached the limits of one's endurance. Teaches one to believe that change is possible, to trust oneself and the benevolence of the universe.

Cherry Plum is one of the five flowers in the rescue remedy formula. It addresses emotions of desperation and loss of control. This remedy helps one re-connect with a higher power when the tensions and pressures of life are overwhelming. It brings calm and emotional encouragement, allowing stresses and fears to be overcome. 

Infraction of the worst kind

I had been warned multiple times that this day would come.  As good as Grayson is about knowing which foods he can't have, he IS still just a 5 year old exposed to a lot of different people and foods when he leaves our four walls for school every day.  I was thrilled with our arrangement at his green charter school, because as of right now, everyone brings their own lunch, so I still have complete control of everything he eats while there.  I plan to retain complete control of his food for at least the next few years too, but little did I know where the loop holes could be....and Grayson promptly found them.

Let me go back a few days to some things I began noticing.  In one day, two of his teachers contacted me about "incidents" at school.  There was nothing horrible, but it was obvious that his focus was suffering for some reason.  I also noticed that he wasn't eating all of his lunch, something very rare for Grayson, even when he isn't fond of a food, he will always eat what we send for him.  He may just leave a small morsel behind.  Two days ago, his ENTIRE lunch came home untouched.  He said his stomach hurt.  Hmmm.  He has just gotten over an awful cold and before that, he was sick with the stomach bug, and before that...well, you get the picture, he's been sick a lot, so I immediately thought, "OH NO, not again!!"  That night, same thing, he didn't want to eat, because his stomach felt sick.  He did eventually eat though. The next morning, the eggs he normally loves made his stomach turn and he said he felt like vomiting.  I was sure he was getting sick yet again.  Then something in the universe pointed us in a completely different direction.  My husband had filled his backpack for school and forgot to include his lunch box.  In an attempt to catch the bus, he grabbed the lunch box and ran off after it.  Luckily, in many ways, he did catch it, because when he got onto the bus to give Grayson his lunch box, he was greeted by a nice little surprised Grayson.  He was in the process of eating his friend's lunch.....a BAGEL, probably with butter on it and who knows what else!  Meanwhile, his friend was gobbling down his Redenbacher popcorn, which I am sure he also shared ever so generously.

Suddenly the past muddy months have begun to look VERY clear!  He had been doing SO well for so long and then this sudden Jekyll and Hyde behavior, new sleep problems including bed wetting and nightmares, lack of focus at school, some hyperactivity randomly....but a clean stool test, all had us baffled.  I was reaching at straws and aiming at things in the dark.

Unfortunately for Grayson, we are now forced to tighten the noose.  He was given a lot of trust and freedom, but he has promptly lost that, and indefinitely.  He will now have to ride in the very first seat on the bus and is not allowed to eat anything at all.  In fact, the day we told the bus driver about our new plans, he told us Grayson accepted a bag of popcorn from a girl on the bus.  UGH!  He learned very fast where he could manipulate the situation.  He befriended a generous child, he found where he could sit on the bus to hide and eat....yes, this was calculated, but I do believe it may have started innocently enough with the boy offering him a bite of his snack/food and Grayson accepting then realizing no one noticed or said anything.  Rules?!  What rules?

This is a huge scare, because gluten can take many months (even from a trace encounter) to get out of the system.  We can't afford mistakes like this, his health has been severely deteriorating over the past weeks and months.  In the past, he would catch a cold or a stomach bug and be over it in a day, but more recently, he can't seem to fight anything.  Even now, he still has this awful deep cough (his brother has been over it for days) that was from a cold they caught two weekends ago!  Not like him at all.  But suddenly crystal clear!

I still want to pursue the additional testing and see, if viral issues may still be at play, weakening his immune system, but even more importantly, the updated food sensitivity panel could be very telling, now that he has been exposed to potential allergens.  When a child is avoiding a food, it doesn't show up as a sensitivity, because lack of exposure removes the antibody reaction.  Now that he has been exposed to gluten at minimum and possibly even dairy, if he is still sensitive to them, it should show up on this next test.  So we are going to take advantage of this little blunder and use it to educate ourselves. I have always believed in learning from mistakes and making the best of the situation, what better way to use this to our advantage?  Looks like the boys will be having their IgG food panel testing ASAP!  In fact, I think I will go call now, lol....

"This is the BEST play doh in the WORLD!"

Those were the words of my five year old after playing with his first home made "play doh" today.  Then he said, "You should put this in a store!"  They are both playing creatively in their own little worlds now, making "pizzas" and "cookies".

I never knew that I could make a play doh as good (better actually) as the real deal!  It's soft, fluffy, and pliable.  I didn't color mine, but I did scent it with pumpkin pie spice and vanilla though!  They don't seem concerned with colors, their creativity is running wild as it is.  Maybe the scent is bringing out the bakers in them.  And our two year old tried to take a big bite, ha ha ha.  You can color it with food color, or using something like peppermint extract will color and scent it at the same time.

The recipe
1 cup flour (I chose 50/50 garbanzo bean flour and white rice flour)
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 cup water

1. Stir ingredients together well in the pot you will use to cook the dough, but mix well before heating the pan.
2. Over medium heat, cook the dough, stirring constantly until it forms a ball. When it starts to pull away from the sides somewhat  and clump together and most of the wet looking parts look dry, it's ready to remove from the pan.
3. Knead the dough very smooth, but WAIT UNTIL IT COOLS!!  I made this mistake and it sticks to your hands, scalding the skin until you pull it off every finger!!
4. If it's sticky, continue adding flour and kneading until it's less sticky.  It will be less sticky once it's completely cooled off.  I don't know if it was the flour combination I chose or if it was because I mistakenly didn't add enough salt, but it took a LOT of flour to get rid of major stick.
5. Store in an air tight container or zip lock baggie.

I made a double batch, thinking my two boys would need more to play together and it was not necessary so I want to save you the trouble of making the same mistake I did.  One batch is more than enough.

It also was very hard to manage in such a large ball of dough, so I found it easier to break it into palm-sized balls while kneading it, I would just dip it into the flour and knead, repeat, until it was a good consistency. 

Since I just made it today, I don't know how long it will last, but I will report back when it has gotten too hard to play with. 

Enjoy the peace and quiet you get while they play endlessly!

UPDATE - Since the day we made this "play doh" it seems like keeping it in the closed container holds moisture and allows it to get very sticky.  You can probably add more flour and mix it in before playing, but leaving it to air out a bit before playing helps a little too.  I'm not sure, if my blunder of not adding enough salt caused this, since salt would absorb moisture, so carry on and I hope those who have tried it can give me some feedback on whether their recipe lasted after the first day or so.

How many hats do YOU wear?

Mothers across the globe have worn multiple hats for centuries, each culture holding it's own special and unique roles.  If you asked me ten years ago where I pictured myself in ten years, biomedical mother would have been the furthest words from my lips.

I always knew I wanted to be a stay at home mother, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.  I expected to wear the hats of caregiver, lover, homemaker, peace keeper and role model, for sure, but my current list of "hats" far exceeds my wildest dreams.

My personal role as biomedical mother includes many hats of distinction that are often acquired by education, but I have earned mine the hard way, good old experience and old fashioned learning by reading.  To add to the list a mother typically carries, a biomedical mother is also an educator, spokes person, scientist, doctor, chef, nutritionist, pharmacist, homeopath, researcher, politician, frontline-man, chemist, master herbalist, psychologist, psychiatrist, writer (wink) and the list goes on!  We've been forced to break into the medical realm by necessity and it opens more doors than we even knew existed before our children were born.  We often learn more about ourselves in this process than we ever dreamed imaginable. 

I wear my hats with pride.  I'm a better person, because of them, not just in terms of being wise, but also because my own health was brought under scrutiny in the process of identifying our children's deficiencies.  I'd like to think I share the wealth too.  I look forward to guiding other parents who are new in their journeys.  Some just want a little direction and they hit the road running of their own accord, others prefer more hand holding and still others just bounce back to me occasionally looking for reassurance.

Thinking back to my first days of this journey, while I wish I had a person to hold my hand and walk me along the path I am on, I think I am also the kind of person who needs to feel the road under her, regardless of how bumpy it might be.  I believe that experience develops character and it solidifies my choices. 

I am who I am, because of where I have been.  My shoes may be a little big some days, but I walk in them proudly.

Pumpkin seed milk

Being faced with the fact that the low oxalate diet (LOD) is probably a good step for us has forced me to rethink "healthy" foods.  Who doesn't think eating a salad full of spinach, carrots, strawberries and beets topped with nuts is healthy?  (raises hand)  In my past life, this would be high on our list, in fact, there were many spinach and strawberry salads garnished with nuts, doled out to my kids.  But when it is determined that a food, any food, is hurting the body, the previous conception of healthy goes out the window.  It was so hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that spinach and nuts can be harmful!  To a child like Grayson, who tested as having triple the safe amount of oxalates, that is so.

So what does this chatter about oxalates have to do with my heading you ask...pumpkin seed milk.  Well, hemp seeds and almonds are very high in oxalates, SO....out they go.  No more hemp or almond milk for the kids.  This leaves us with nothing but rice milk and BLECH, no thank you!  Rice is a high carb, feeds yeast and is super sweet.  What to do, what to do....we compromise!  And in the end, we have a healthy milk option available at the press of a button, my Blendtec button, that is!  Home made pumpkin seed milk, which is just as easy to make as the hemp seed milk we were making.


Why pumpkin seeds?  For one, it's safe for us LODers and two, it packs a nutritious punch!  With the added benefit of being an anti-parasitic.  How many foods do you know that are high in Magnesium, tryptophan, iron and zinc?  These among other nutrients like manganese, phosphorous, vitamin K, copper, and protein (over 9mg per 1/4 cup serving!) combined with it's omega anti-inflammatory properties make pumpkin seeds a powerhouse food.

I try to remember to sprout the seeds before making a milk out of them, it increases the bio-availability of the nutrients and enzymes and makes them easier to digest, so as long as I just think ahead and toss a handful in a jar of water at night, we are good to go for easy healthy milk!  This step is not necessary though.

I have been using a tablespoon of seeds to every 8 ounces of water, but you can increase or decrease depending on the flavor and/or creaminess you prefer.  Blend, strain, bottle and refrigerate!

The kids both had their home made granola cereal with pumpkin seed milk today and I got the thumbs up!  I tried some in my coffee and I think I even like it better than the hemp milk I have been using which makes it easier, because that means I don't have to make multiple batches of milks in the mornings.  We do also still use coconut milk, but I have been using so much coconut in the form of flour, shreds, oil and sweetener (coconut nectar), that I don't want to over do it, so that is reserved for recipes that have other coconut ingredients in them already. 

So there you have it, another "milk" alternative!

Make your own granola - does this make me "crunchy"?

Nothing could be easier or healthier!  Have you ever glanced at the side panel of a box of breakfast cereal?  Blech!  Sugar, sugar and more sugar, plus all sorts of other allergens like milk, nuts, soy and wheat.  You can make a variety of different cereals for every day of the week!  Put your base together, then add your favorite flavors to make all kinds of granola and not just to eat as cereal, top your favorite home made ice cream or eat right out of the jar as a healthy on the go snack!

Granola has a long shelf life, so this batch is a large one.  It will fill 3 - 2 quart Ball jars, as seen above. I will separate the ingredients below so you can make the base cereal, then you can separate the base into as many flavors as you want to experiment with.  Have fun, try anything! This could be a great activity for little hands....create your own cereal bar!

Ingredients for the cereal base

• 6 cups regular rolled oats (feel free to add depth by swapping some oats for rice crispy cereal)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup coconut nectar or honey (coconut nectar is low on the glycemic index, meaning it's safe for diabetics and doesn't feed yeast, not to mention TASTY!)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Add about a 1/4-1/2 cup of any of these add-ins, if you add more than this, you may need to increase your wet ingredients above so it's not too dry, just play with it.  The freeze dried fruits will hydrate with milk, just like the boxed commercial cereals.

• chopped nuts (high oxalate)
• dried cherries (one of my favorites)
• dried cranberries
• freeze dried apples and cinnamon
• raisins
• freeze dried strawberries
• freeze dried mango
• freeze dried blueberries
• cinnamon (high oxalate)
• and if you want to really go all out, dehydrate shreds of pumpkin or anything else for that matter!

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Combine oats, add-ins and coconut in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine coconut nectar/honey, water and salt in a small saucepan.
Heat, stirring frequently, until ingredients are all melted together.
Remove from heat and stir in coconut oil and vanilla.
Pour over oat mixture and stir well.
Place granola into 2 greased 13x9x2-inch pans or 1-2 greased cookie sheets. If you made more than two flavors, you can separate them more.
Bake in a preheated oven for about one hour, until golden.
Stir/turn over using a wide metal spatula about every 20 minutes.
The granola will get crunchier as it cools. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe - low oxalate pumpkin blueberry muffins

I have been experimenting with flour mixes to make a tasty blend that works for muffins, since this is always something I can sneak veggie puree into!  Going low oxalate turned my world upside down and took my kitchen by storm, literally!!  I am in experiment mode which is always messy, my poor husband!

So I took a bunch of different recipe ideas and created this one tasty muffin with my own flour mix...I'm sure it's not the first time this mix has been formulated, so when I say that I created it, I mean that I am just using our needs to tailor the flour mix so that it works for us.  I am not a fan of using too much white rice so this flour mix was created with that in mind, although no low oxalate, GFCF flour mix is complete without some rice flour, lol.  I also think that garbanzo bean flour (moderate oxalate) is a bit strong.  So I blended it's competitor, the lower oxalate black eyed pea, into a flour using my baby, uh, I mean...my blendtec!  Talk about an appliance that does it all!

Ok, back to the muffins, here is a picture and you will find the recipe below it.  It is light and fluffy and doesn't have that I'm-not-made-with-wheat taste! 

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1 cup eyed pea flour (I used my blendtec to make this flour from dried beans)
1 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup white rice flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon guar gum

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Put the following into a blender and whip for a few seconds until nice and fluffy:

1 cup sweetener of choice (I chose 1/2 cup coconut nectar and 1/2 xylitol)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
2 eggs 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
 
Mix the ingredients together and if it requires more liquid, add up to 1/2 cup of coconut milk.

 

Fold in 1/2 cup of your choice of blueberries, banana chunks, apple chunks or dried cherries.

 

Fill 12 lined cupcake tins almost full and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the muffin clean. 

Recipe, you won't believe it - ENGLISH MUFFINS!!

I experimented with a recipe I found for GFCF english muffins, but they weren't yeast-free (which means the kids couldn't have them) so I tried something different.  I wasn't perfect with this recipe, because I was just experimenting and really didn't expect it to work, silly me!  So in the pictures, you will notice that the tops are a bit puffy (picture below of them cooling on a wire rack), because I didn't smooth them flat, lol.  Unfortunately, they aren't egg-free, but you could use egg-replacer instead of the eggs.

Whisk dry ingredients together

1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup potato starch or tapioca starch (arrowroot is not appropriate for the flavor of this recipe)

1/2 cup millet flour

2 teaspoons guar gum or xanthan gum
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt

In a blender mix the wet ingredients

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup plain hemp milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1/3 cup water kefir grains

4 tablespoons oil

2 tablespons raw honey

2 eggs

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Mix thoroughly. It should be more like a thick muffin batter than a bread dough.  

Spoon the batter into 8 english muffin tins, which works out to about 3-4 tablespoons each, then smooth them over with a wet finger.  You will see from my picture below, that I don't have english muffin tins, so I folded aluminum foil into strips about 1-2 inches tall (again, I was not precise with this either, lol) and then used a round container about the size of english muffins to make them perfectly round.  Place these on a silpat liner or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Recipe - can you guess?

What does every GFCF soy-free individual miss and crave?  The one meal completely engulfed in gluten and casein.  Oh wait, it's no secret, there is a picture right there...

We loaded this baby up with Daiya mozzarella cheese, spinach, mushrooms and Applegate Farms pepperoni.  The crust is made from almond flour and is VERY easy to make!  It was out of this world!

You can even make the crust mix in advance and bag it up for easy access then add the liquid ingredients last minute, roll it out and dress it up.  We chose to make our own sauce, because again, it's a very easy recipe from Elana's Pantry and tastes just like the pizza parlor sauces, rich and tomato-y...that isn't a word, is it?

Crust
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 large egg

Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately then combine.
Place the dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper and roll the dough 1/8 inch thick, this will make about a ten inch pizza. Bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes while you make your sauce.

Sauce  (makes 1 cup of sauce)
7 ounces of tomato paste
1/4 cup of water
1 Tbsp Italian herbs
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Bring ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan (must be where the word sauce pan came from, hehehe, ok sorry) then decrease the heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes until it thickens.  Spread sauce over your crust.

Add your toppings and heat until the cheese melts.

Chef Grayson shares some of his favorite foods with you

The fun part about raw foods is that the kids can make it!  Two of Grayson's favorite foods are salads with home made dressings and veggie wraps made with collard greens as the wraps.

This cool mint salad is made with cucumbers (which are soothing natural gut healers), tomatoes, fresh mint and parsley (natural cleanser), lemon (alkalizes the blood) and olive oil is so refreshing.  I also like to add a sprouted grain, in this case we chose quinoa.  As Grayson says, "Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

 

 

For the wraps, you can essentially fill them with anything!  We chose celery, cucumber, carrots, red cabbage, purple onion and fresh basil.  All you do is cut a large collard green leaf in half, removing the stem, line the inside of the wrap half with a dressing or sauce of choice, we used our raw GFCF ranch dressing (recipe in an earlier post) then lay sliced veggies and herbs along the center of the collard green, with the curved side at the bottom, take that curved edge and pull it slightly up over the veggies and start rolling it from one side until it looks like like a mini burrito.

More on the BioVeda BAX3000 - reintroduction of corn

The two foods Grayson reacted most severely and obviously to, were egg and corn. If you read about our early days with treatment, you know that we have very successfully reintroduced eggs into Grayson's diet, although we do still rotate all of his foods, so we don't end up with new sensitivities, and now....CORN!! Woooot woooot!! I have given him blue corn chips two days in a row so far. And this time I started much slower, a bite, then a full chip....he's doing perfectly fine with them. My next test will be pop corn, I can't wait to give him popcorn with virgin coconut oil on his coconut days!! What a treat!! In addition to the major foods, we have also treated for some interesting things like alkaline, stomach acids, digestive enzymes, etc. These are all things I suspect are issues for Grayson, considering they are all rooted in the GI problems he was having. Not to get too graphic, but I must add that since his treatments, his bowel movements have been beautiful!! I know, beautiful probably isn't a word you would use in the same sentence as bowel movement, but if you saw some of the things we have seen....they truly ARE beautiful now! He always had undigested foods and some form of either looseness or even the strangest fluffy diarrhea and some would start out looking constipated and shift to loose all in the same movement, but I will stop there, just in case you are eating lunch. You get my point though, right? Perfect, perfect poop! Something to be proud of, because I have to believe that to some degree, this is a sign that things are moving in the right direction, no pun intended, he he he. Perhaps the leaky gut is healing, he is most definitely digesting foods more appropriately and the consistency and color indicate sufficient bile, even through chelation rounds which, in the past, have resulted in very pale tones in the beige family.....not enough bile.

So moving on, I just wanted to share yet another absolutely amazing sign that the BAX3000 is a necessity to the autism community. A woman contacted me through Generation Rescue, where I am a Rescue Angel, about her son who was recently diagnosed as autistic. He doesn't speak, doesn't make eye contact, plays alone and of course, has a multitude of sensitivities. Since she was local, I mentioned this treatment to her and she wasted no time, she had an appointment the very next day, impressive!! After only three treatments so far, he went from being irritated, crying and fighting during treatments to calm, happy and get this, he has not only made eye contact and smiled at various people in the office, but he has spoken!! He even said "bye-bye" while looking directly in the doctor's eyes. Three treatments, THREE!! This is not to say that he is done, he has a long road of treatments ahead of him and I believe this technology can do wonders, but I also believe in the big picture. This mother is also watching his diet very closely, he is GFCF, he is being properly supplemented with vitamins and minerals, she is removing toxins in their home and he is being treated naturally for any other pathogenic infections when they are present. Have you ever wondered why the logo for Autism is a piece of a puzzle?