SUCCESS

so, j-bob ate FIVE big bites of his karina's mulligatawny soup at school today!!! this is a landmark moment in this house! of course, he got a toy...but that boy earned it! he requested that we not do soup again...but he liked it...so i suggested that we only have soup once a week...every thursday...he obliged...so...soup on thursdays...it is!

tonight i made: gfcfsf vegan (egg free) nut free karina's pizza...and it was FANTASTIC! OA was here to serve it up...we added galaxy's gfcfsf "cheese" which was actually quite tasty on the pizza...he said that j-bob was asking for another piece with the first bite in his mouth...AND...he promptly requested it for his lunch tomorrow...sigh...what a wonderful feeling...to see him so excited about food again!

i have to say that his willingness to try new foods always expands with consistency AND supplements. low zinc (which is seen frequently in ASD) is said to affect the taste of foods...very interesting! he is up to eating 2 carrot sticks a day in his lunch. we shall see what tomorrow holds...today...i am thankful.

the gluten free goddess wins again!

ok...confession time...i have begun to LOATHE cooking...could it be that i love cheese and wheat so much that not cooking with these very items depress me? could it be that i am tired of measuring 100 different ingredients out in an effort to have a normal pancake? could it be that...i have grown lazy? gotten uncreative? bored with life?

hmmmm...maybe...but maybe it's just apart of my a-typical-mom-role that i constantly battle. i think it may be time to finally admit it: ...i am not the typical mom, and i do not mother typical children, and my husband is far from the typical man...SO...my quirky little family shall just have to learn to co-exist with the normal people in our own quirky little way...

which leads me to: THE gluten free goddess

she rocks it for all meals hypoallergenic...and...i do not wish food allergies upon anyone...but...as "luck" would have it...she cannot have EXACTLY what j-bob cannot have...so i almost never have to substitute! AND...she is a true vegan at heart...BUT...due to an injury a while back she had to add meat back into her diet...WHICH...i respect as i have had to do the same for myself if i want to continue running...UNTIL...i heal my body enough to do without all things carcass.

so...tonight...i made: Vegetarian Mulligatawny

it did not disappoint...by far...one of THE BEST soups i have ever had...i am so thankful for the gluten free goddess...my entire week's menus are planned around her recipes...i will attempt to post each night...tomorrow we shall have apricot glazed meatloaf...and she just posted a vegan version...wonder if i can fool OA??

baby steps granola...baby steps!

gfcfsf, egg free and nut free...some vegan to boot...menu

well...i am a bit late...and will try and get recipes for any interested...but this has been a very successful week of cooking. we got j-bob back on his supplements thanks to christmas money gifts! and the biggest change is his eating...or willingness to try new foods again!

Monday: vegan lasagna (rice noodles, ragu, baby portabellas, spinach, red onion, olive oil, and lots of garlic) with rice bread toasted and brushed with olive oil and garlic salt, and banana bread (modified from veganomicon).
*j's side didn't have the veggies...but HE ATE A PIECE OF LASAGNA!!??*and OA said if all vegan food tasted this good...he'd never eat meat again!!??

Tuesday: baked chicken and rice (chicken breast, pureed bottle of roasted red bell peps, ban peps, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, dijon must) put brown rice in dish, poured puree over, added chicken (saved some puree to spoon on top of breasts and sprinkled with curry powder), added extra broth for rice...covered...baked 325 for hour and half...til rice was tender.

for j-bob i cut up the breasts, marinated them in dijon mustard and rice milk, coated them with brown rice, tapioca starch, and curry powder...fried...HE ATE THEM!!

i had veggies and the rice...

for dessert we had karina's vegan pumpkin pie...it was freaking amazing...we had to use coconut milk as j reacts to hemp for some reason...HE ATE THAT TOO!!?? note...it's even better the next day chilled!!

Wednesday: karina's maple apricot glazed meatloaf and smashed potatoes with rice milk...we had left over pumpkin pie for dessert...note OA says this meat loaf was AMAZING!

i had huge plate of smashed pots! and pumpkin pie...(i had eaten stir fry ((bok choy, baby ports, zuchini, red onion, ginger, olive oil, and garlic)) earlier)

for j-bob i took 1/4 of the meat mixture from above...added more ground turkey, some brown rice, and a bit of broth...pureed...scooped with cookie scooper into little balls and baked for about 30 mins on my stone. HE ATE THREE OF THEM!!??

Thursday: (my plan anyway)...nachos (chopped up leftover chicken, black beans, lettuce, guac, salsa, hmmm...hoping no one notices the lack of cheese)...and vegan cheese dip. veganonicon has a recipe for a delish looking "casserole" bread type thingy...will post more on this later. hoping j-bob will eat the "cheese" dip and at least try a nacho...will probably have to keep his pretty plain...but i am also going to make a muffin from karina's site...just not sure which one yet...again...will post more tomorrow...

Friday: LEFTOVERS!!

so basically, i am cooking for a meat loving husband, veggie loving daughter, sensory defensive son, and i am shying away from meat again...OH...and everyone has some sort of food sensitivity...so all of my menus will for sure be gluten, casein, soy, nut, and egg free...with a vegan twist or option!

i will try to start posting pics...and it really hasn't been hard modifying the meal for myself or j-bob! it's just one more step...and it's a step worth taking!! the biggest part is pre-planning...

did i mention my amazing husband is speaking of the VALUE of me being home...something along the lines of it being worth the sacrifice of financial gain...WOW...he really never ceases to amaze me...it's one thing to support me staying home...another thing to think it's a good idea...but it's a GOD thing when an OA sees the value (and speaks of it). our son has eaten something new everyday and our daughter is waking up with a smile on her face...

sigh...is this what it feels like to be normal??

OH...silly me...normal people eat mcdonalds...!

*grin*sigh*grin