Sometimes it just seems that you need a little chocolate to get through the day - my DW is often quoted as saying “there isn’t enough chocolate in the whole world” after an especially trying day with Dorthy. When first going GFCF, chocolate was one of the things I missed the most - which is why these chocolate chips were truly a find. They are, of course loaded with sugar, and contain soy - so they are a sometimes treat for me and not an everyday staple. (GFCF soy free chips are available and I’ll review them soon, but they are a bit waxy compared to tropical Source). Sunspire has made Christmas and my birthday just a little bit nicer, with a GFCF chip that tastes even better than Hershey’s. They make candy bars as well, but I’ve only found them online by the dozen, and I don’t think I have enough willpower to ration them, so I haven’t tried them yet - once a bag of chips is opened it never lasts more than a day - even if the recipe only calls for 1/2 a cup…

We have enjoyed so many other Enjoy Life products that I thought I’d give their “granola” cereal a shot.My first surprise was that the cereal was black - they looked very much like crumbled asphalt. I didn’t expect that at all, but it wasn’t enough to throw me off my mission. (this may bee enough to make them a no-go for a child who judges food more by look than by taste).

After adding ricemilk, I took a bite. It felt as if I was eating crumbled asphalt - they were as hard as rocks. No problem, I thought - I’ll just let them soak a couple of minutes. Five minutes later I tried again. It was like eating crumbled asphalt with an 1/8″ layer of soggy cereal on it. The box could definitely claim “Stays crunchy in milk!”.

You might think from what I have written so far that these were a dud in my book. Quite the contrary - they were actually very tasty once you got over the hard texture! We ate the whole box in one sitting. After trying the Cranapple Crunch (it was much more like traditional granola), I decided that we just got a batch where the ‘clusters’ were way too big (each one was 1/2 - 3/4″ in diameter) their crusherator must have been on the fritz.

Dorothy had a big, overnight, school trip out of state recently, and one of the big challenges to her going was the food (of course!). She is on a strict GFCF diet, and is allergic to 40 other foods - making her ability to eat at the buffet or fast food non-existant. In order to allow her to go on the trip, we provoided all of her food for her. The lunch below is a great example of what we packed for her:

Everything was packed in small ziplock bags (we normally use Reynolds Cut-Rite Sandwich Bags as they are waxed paper and Dorothy is allergic to plastic - but for the sake of not spilling went with plastic bags for the trip).

Here you can see the contents:

We packed rice cakes (as our local store was out of GFCF bread…) with GFCF mayo in a squeeze, lunchmeat, and some lettuce for an instant sandwitch (that isn’t soggy), carrots, pumpkin seeds, a pear, and some chips. Not the paragon of nutrition, but way better than McRonad’s…..

This is how we get our kids to eat hard boiled eggs, even though they ‘hate’ them! Check out our GFCF Lunchbox Ideas page for more great ideas.

According to this research, heavy TV indulgence before the age of three is associated with an increase in autism. The paper suggests that TV could be a trigger for those with a genetic predisposition toward the condition.

My guess would be that this is a chicken and the egg equation - do the kids watch a lot of TV because they are autistic, or does watching the TV trigger the autism.  My guess would be the former.

Ozma has been suggesting that I should post about my experiences to being on the GFCF diet for a while. I have been GFCF for just over two years, and I can honestly say that it has been one of the best decisions of my entire life (it falls just after deciding to ask Ozma to marry me!)

About two or three years after Dorothy started the diet, Ozma started pointing out the physiological symptoms that were gone in her that I still had (horrible bloating, migraines, ‘foggy’ days, and more). After several years of gentle suggestions, I decided to try the diet. I decided to give it a try for six months, and planned on having a pizza, cake & ice cream party for my birthday to see if the diet really made a difference for me. I went totally GFCFSF (Gluten Free, Casein/Dairy Free, and Sugar Free) (Read on …)

I think this is such a cool idea! Anyone who has dragged a bewildered autistic child through the security at an airport will appreciate the beauty of this idea. If you are planning a roadtrip with the holidays approaching, I have some ideas for GFCF snacks/meals on the run that you might be interested in here.