Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Remind me that rice wine vinegar is evil...please ?


Day one went pretty well for the most part. For reasons of health I have decided to put Nick on exactly the same program as I am ( I use the word program because I have no other word to call it). To date he has made the most marked improvements in regards to autism with essential fatty acid supplements and simply getting a wide range of vegetables, so this will benefit more than just weight for him. Unfortunately, ANY change for him is still problematic, and he kept going back to the previous pattern of life , and got very frustrated trying to understand that things are different. I think I spent most of my day explaining the new way to him. Good thing was that in doing so I did not even consider missing anything ! Nick will recite the TV schedule, the events of our days for a week, the menus, the order in which we do school and a million other routines out loud about a thousand times every day. It's a neurological "stim" that helps him to stay present, so to speak. It can be extremely frustrating to listen to , and when things change for any reason it takes a million reminders to help him grasp the new pattern. For those of you who wath the Big Bang Theroy, it's a little like trying to get Sheldon to break with his weekly routine. Only a thousand times worse !

I chose to make 3 of the recipes in the book for this day, and with the exception of dinner for my son( explanation later), they were very tasty and well received. We got in 40 minutes of Wii sports cycling before breakfast and did 20 minutes of Yoga in the afternoon as far as exercise. It's rare we exercise before breakfast, but it just fell into place. Then we had a bowl of Cinnamon fruit oatmeal


Cinnamon fruit oatmeal- serves 2

1 c water
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c blueberries
2 chopped apples
1/4 c raisins
2 T walnuts, chopped
1 T ground flax

Place water, spices, fruits and nuts in a saucepan and bring to a boil- cover and simmer 5 minutes . Add oats and flax, stir and cook till thickened to desired consistency

Very tasty and extremely satisfying ! This one is definitely going to become a regular dish in this house! Then we got on with the business of school and I had to make an evaluation of how much more produce we would need for the week with this new program. The say we are going o get hit with a foot of snow, so best to be prepared and all that jazz. We broke for lunch a little later than usual and I made some Sweet Potato stew- another winner that will definitely be made again !


Sweet Potato Stew- serve 2

1T olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 sweet potato, cubed
1/2 c garbanzo beans, washed
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 t rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

sweat onions and garlic in olive oil till they are slightly tender. Add remaining ingredients,
bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 minutes, serve.

The program recommends having a big salad with lunch and dinner, so this followed along

Simple ice burg lettuce with red pepper, tomato and black sesame seeds sprayed with fig balsamic vinegar.

We finished school and when Bob came home we ran out to our produce store to stock up. He was concerned that there was not going to be room in the fridge for more , but I assured him all would be fine( and crossed my fingers I was right). When we got home I put together this steak salad for dinner. Bob and I thought it was DELICIOUS, but Nick disliked it. It seems he has a problem with any vinegar other than balsamic vinegar ( a fact that cracks me up, as our last name is Balsamo). It's not just an unpleasant taste, but his tongue turns fiery red and burns him for a while afterwords. Bad mommy that I am at times, I forget this detail, but get reminded the minute he eats it. Poor kid LOVED the look and smell of it, was really hungry and pushed through most of it and when he reached his limit I gave him some milk and a sugar free cookie we had in the cabinet to counteract the acid. I will make this again, but will change the dressing recipe.

Steak Salad with roast vegetables - serves 3

1 lb steak of your choice
1 zucchini
1 bulb fennel
1 red pepper
1 red onion
1/2 lb mushrooms
6 cups assorted salad greens

Vegetable seasonings
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 t garlic powder
1 t rosemary
1/8 t pepper

Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 c water
2 T olive oil
3 T rice wine vinegar
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T raisins
2 cloves garlic
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t basil
1/2 t onion flakes

Prepare veggies- cut zucchini in wedges, slice fennel, red pepper and cut mushrooms in quarters.
Pour balsamic vinegar on cookie sheet, spread veggies on it and sprinkle with seasonings. Place
in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.Meanwhile, place dressing ingredients in blender and blend on high for 3 minutes. Season steak as you desire and grill to desired done-ness.
Divide salad greens on 3 plates. Top with roast veggies and dressing . Slice steak into strips and
divide equally.


The snow has started here. Bob left for work but will probably leave early if it gets as bad as they say. Meanwhile, with these new recipes, a house full of produce and a brimming sense of optimism, I look forward to another day on this program. If nothing else, it sure tastes good !


6 comments:

Enz said...

That stew looks and sounds delicious. I'm stealing this recipe from you . Glad that day 1 was a success for you.

Kristina said...

all of the food looks yummy. it sounds to me like your off to a good start......

Marisa @Loser for Life said...

Everything looks great so far - yum!

AUTISMOMMA said...

I am just getting caught up on your blog after being away for awhile. So am I understanding correctly that you are now doing a gluten-free, casein-free diet with your son? If so, KUDOS to you! This is one of the things we implemented with our own children and it has proven to be quite effective, as well as simultaneous use of supplements with the diet.

Just a note - and forgive me if I'm telling you something you already know (I wasn't aware of it when we first began GFCF) - but you'll want to be certain your oats are certified gluten free. Oatmeal itself does not have gluten in it but often times oats and wheat are grown in the same field interchangeably each year and the oats invariably end up containing gluten in them from the wheat crops.

Best,
Pam

Di said...

Hi again Pam ! Just to clarify- we are NOT going a gluten free -casein free diet, but rather an approach of eating heavy on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and low fat dairy and animal protein recommended by Dr Joel Fuhrman.It has nothing to do with Autism specifically, but instead addresses numerous other health concerns as well as weight loss. We tried the gluten and casein free diet on our son and I had NO impact. What did was supplements of essential fatty acids and a wide range of fruits and vegetables- macro nutrients. He does not have the digestive issues that so many children with autism deal with- not all of them do. I think this might be the reason the GFCF approach did nothing for him. He is rare in that department- that approach has helped a great many autistic child.

And incidentally, this is the reason I do not use Spark People. They have come out and said that the gluten free diet is basically nonsense. I think someone needs to do their homework there !

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