A Summer Soirre: Fruit Water (gluten, egg, dairy, nut, other things free. Refined sugar free)

So, this is one of those recipes that just SHOUTS "Summer"!  Unfortunately for a lot of us this year, summer doesn't want to SEEM to get here!  I feel for those in the Lower 48 who got snow last week because so did we.  And today, unfortunately, the clouds are once again rolling in and making me yearn for my grill (which I've been able to use a total of three times so far this year *grumble*).  The smell of cooking food on the grill, sunglasses sitting on your nose and a lovely beverage in your hand.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Now mind you, this recipe is also well suited for any get together you have this summer if you want to serve something other than cola, iced tea or some type of home made punch.  It is delicious, fresh tasting and the best part?  Easy as all get out to make!

One of the exchange students from Brazil (if I remember the region she came from correctly) in college taught me this during "Spring Break Tiki Week" that we had for the commuters (I was secretary of the Commuter Council for three years).  Part of that week was a mock tail "tiki party" in the Commuter Center and Juanita taught me how to make "fruit water" (as close as she could translate to English).  She said that vendors in her country actually would sell drinks like this on the street during the summer with whatever seasonal fruit was freshest at that time.  And seeing the watermelon at the store today, I decided to dig out that old recipe and make a lovely summer beverage...hoping that the weather will follow suit!

Note, this is a recipe that just shouts, "Play fast and loose with me".  It really is NOT an exact science.  You can make a little fruit stretch far, or you can make this really thick with fruit and make it into almost a fruit smoothie texture.  It all depends on your tastes.

Fruit Water (gluten, egg, dairy, nut, other things free.  Refined Sugar Free Option)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (or more or less if desired) diced, fresh, seasonal Fruit (I like watermelon best, but papaya and mango are good too)
• 1 2/3 cups water (plus more if needed/wanted)
  
• Simple syrup or refined sugar free syrup (recipes below) to taste 

Puree fruit in a blender with water.  Add simple syrup to taste and chill until ready to use.  

When ready to serve, fill cups with ice and pour fruit water over ice.  Garnish with a slice of fruit of choice (I think watermelon looks the coolest if you're going for the coolness factor ;) and enjoy said lovely beverage. 

Simple Syrup/Refined Sugar Free Syrup Instructions:

You can either use simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled in a pan until syrupy.  I usually mix up 1 cup sugar to 1/2 cup water if I'm going to use it and go from there) or if you are looking for a refined sugar free option, I've had equally good luck with honey and maple syrup to sweeten this drink. Just mix about 1/3 of a cup of honey or maple syrup with about 1 cup of water to make your "new and cool" syrup.

Tomato and Onion Salad Avocado Bites (gluten, dairy, nut free. Garlic free option. Vegan)

On a less depressing note than my last post (this week got to me hard.  Between the IEP meeting on Monday, my husband working out of town, the weather being less than ideal and the children and I being sicker than sick with colds this week, I just succumbing finally the last couple of days...it wasn't a lot of fun) I came up with this recipe this week.

See, some women eat guilty pleasure foods when their husbands are out of town or they eat Ramen noodles or something super easy (which I used to fall into that camp before realizing what eating like that was doing to my health).  Now a days, I find that when my husband goes out of town I end up eating vegetarian more.  Why?  I have no idea.  But, it leads to coming up with some cool recipes.  Like this one.

This would be a GREAT appetizer/first course if you are entertaining, or you could serve two of these bites to yourself as a salad for dinner like I did.  Either way, this salad is really yummy and really easy to make.

Tomato and Onion Salad Avocado Bites (gluten, dairy, nut, other things free.  Garlic free option. Vegan)

• 1/2 a small onion, diced fine
• 3 small tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used tomatoes on the vine for this)
  
• 5 large leaves fresh basil, diced or torn fine (if you don't trust your knife to be sharp, tear)
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil (approx.)
• 1 Clove garlic, smashed, peeled and diced fine (can omit easily if allergic to garlic.  You can also dice up a little shallot and add to the mix instead)
• 2 medium to large avocados
• salt and pepper
• 1 lemon

Mix onion, garlic, tomato, basil and drizzle with olive oil until well coated.  Let sit about 10 to 15 minutes to marinate and let the flavors blend together.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut avocados in half and remove seed, but do not remove avocado from outer peel.  Cut lemon in  half and squeeze a little lemon juice on exposed avocado to stop browning of avocado from occurring.  Take any remaining lemon juice and add it to the tomato mixture and mix well.

Spoon tomato mixture into the middle of each avocado half making a cute little "natural salad bowl".  Serve avocados with a spoon so people can scoop through the avocado into the salad and enjoy all the deliciousness!

Makes 4 avocado bites, which will serve four as a side dish or two as a main dish (depending on preference).

Enjoy!

The Cost of Silence: Autism's Toll

Last night I sat huddled in my covers on my bed, curled into the fetal position, in a crying huddled mass.  The yearly IEP review, obviously, had not gone well.

It wasn't so much that my son hasn't done well this year in preschool.  Far from it.  All I've heard all year is glowing reviews about how well he's doing in school.

"He's making such strides," they'd say enthusiastically, "We can't wait to see where he goes from here!"

It wasn't so much that he hadn't made progress this year that had me crying my eyeballs out.  It was the fact that the goals for next year were pretty much giving up any hope that Alvah would ever talk.  His speech therapist so much as said that because he wasn't using words with her (which, mind you, at most right now he's got a five word vocab that he doesn't use consistently) that she could only consider him at about a six month communication level and therefore she was giving up on him talking.  Ever.

Historically, my family hasn't given much credit to what "professionals" tell us.  My father was told when my sister was five years old that she had a 50 IQ and would never be able to read, hold down a job, or talk.  My sister remembers the incident well as it was the only time in her life she'd heard my father yell and swear at another human being.  My father immediately took my sister home, opened a book and started to read to her and teach her himself.  To this day my sister says that if my father had listened to the professionals at school that day she, odds are, would never have learned to read and would be lucky to be speaking today.

My sister was later diagnosed with Verbal Dyspraxia (today referred to as Childhood Apraxia) and she was very lucky to get a talented speech therapist who was able to diagnose her and teach her to talk.  After she was able to understand words and taking tests better my sister tested out as an above average IQ and was able to finish a four year degree in Computer Technology. 

At age ten my half-sister, who had been diagnosed with autism when she was three, was still not talking.  She had been abused by her mother and had other issues going on.  When her mother passed away, the social workers told my father that my half-sister was never going to amount to anything, would never talk and would have to be put into a group home. My father snorted in their general direction, sat my half sister down and slowly taught her to talk.  My new step mom (my dad's third wife) came into the picture a little while after that and has worked with my sister on syntax and annunciation of words.  Today my half-sister, while still sporadic in her language (she has a low IQ, which can be attributed to the abuse we fear), she can be understood.

So, when traditional studies told me that if your child wasn't talking by age five that they never would talk, I didn't put much store in it.  And a study published in March of this year (2013) supported my theory.  Turns out that 40% of the children they followed in the study that had not been talking by age four were talking fluently by age eight.  But, when your speech therapist listens to traditional ideologies...how in the world do you get your child to communicate?

I am, by nature, an eternal optimist about my children to the point that I think I really start to annoy people.  Part of that is because I KNOW my kids are smart.  It's not even a matter of parental pride, although mind you I have that, I know they are smart because they prove it every day.  Even though my son isn't talking, his OT at school has been working with him all year with the I-Pad and word puzzles, for instance, and she feels that his letter recognition is advanced enough to start reading next year.  At least his OT's (independent and his school OT) realize his potential and keep pushing him.  But, I just wish I could get his speech therapist on board.

Times like last night  that darned voice of doubt sits on my shoulder and whispers things in my ear.

"Maybe he'll never talk."

"Maybe he'll never have a normal life."

"Maybe he'll never have a wife and family."

"Maybe he'll never hold down a job or drive a car."

And I just curl into a ball and cry.  And then, I get up in the morning, put on my super mom hat and come up with a new plan of attack.  This time it was to order text books on speech development so that I can train myself to be as much of a speech therapist as I can and doing what I call, "Operation Hard@&&" in which non-verbal communication is out, verbal communication is in.  I am not ignoring my son's non-verbal cues, but if he wants the thing he wants (such as handing me a toy to turn on, or his sippy cup to refill), I make him ask with sounds to get the item back.  Sure he's not saying words, but it's a first step.  Mind you, right now I'm sort of glad I DON'T understand what he's saying, as I'm sure he's cussing me out a lot today, but at least he's making noise.  It's something.

Keep on carrying on, parents of autistic kiddos.  Remember, you're not alone.  And here's my motto, which I'm actually making into a sign to hang up over my desk at home...

"You can open any door...as long as you have the key."  Jonathan Brisbee from "The Rats of Nimh"

Because, if there is one thing we're all fighting for is to find that key to communication that will open the door for our children to succeed.  To live their lives.  To be free.

DIY Autism Therapy: Autism Chewy

 As anyone who has read this blog for any length of time can tell you, or heck anyone who is around my son for more than five seconds can tell you...my son has oral motor issues.  He sticks everything in his mouth, chews cardboard like it's bubble gum (and he'll find paper if he can't find cardboard...our poor books can attest to that), eats dirt (which still makes me shudder when I can't catch him in time), etc.  So, it seems like we're constantly coming up with new chewy ideas for him. 

Here's one we came up with that was inspired by his old OT at school.  Laurie was a great OT (she moved out of state at the end of last school year) and she came up with all kinds of different home made chewy ideas to try.  This one works pretty well, but it's definitely one that I'd try and keep at home as it's ends up being pretty large, although with the varying textures on it, it does keep my son busy for quite a while, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Enjoy!

DIY Autism Chewy

You Will Need:

• 1 length of refrigerator water tubing sized so it'll easily slip over your kiddos head (get this at Home Depot, Lowes, or you can find it at A.I.H. locally in Alaska as well.  It's inexpensive and has to be food rated for you to be able to drink water that's gone through it)
• 1 Nylon dish scrubby (I've found these in packs of two at our local Kroger affiliate super cheap).  Be sure to find the ones that are made in a circle with a hole in the middle.  You'll need it).
• 1 Plastic Shower Curtain Ring (your shower curtain won't miss it anyway.  Kidding you can get packs of these cheap if you don't want to raid your shower curtain for one).

To assemble:

Take the shower curtain ring and thread it through the middle of the nylon scrubby.  If you picked up the ones that have the hole in the middle like I told you to this will take two minutes tops while if you picked up another type...you're on your own *laugh*.  Lock the shower curtain ring once you have it all threaded through the scrubby.

Take the refrigerator tubing and thread through your new "pendant" and then tie a knot in the tubing so it'll easily fit over your kiddos head.  You can also, if you're feeling crafty, go down to your local crafting store and get a length of cord and some lanyard ends and thread the cord through the refrigerator tubing, attach your lanyard ends and you have a more traditional looking necklace (and if you remove the scrubby when you leave the house you now have your own home made Chewlery...beat that ;).

Enjoy!

The Return of the Bulb: Garlic and Herb Rubbed Steak (gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, other things free)

 I know it's been sort of a lapse in posting here the last couple of weeks.  I've been busy with different things (I won't bore you with the details), but one thing has remained constant.  I am LOVING on garlic so much right now it's almost sad.  Almost.

So, I thought I'd share one of my tried, true and so simple it'll astound you recipes to rub on your next steak.  This also goes good with chicken and lamb.  If you can't do garlic, I'd try this with shallot, but I'd add maybe a teeny weeny bit of red pepper flake to the mix to get that slight background heat in there if you want it.

So, here you go.  Enjoy folks!

Garlic and Herb Rubbed Steaks (gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, other things free)

• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled (just give them a good whack with a meat tenderizer and then then peel will fall right off...I actually use a piece of marble to peel my garlic.  Super easy)
• About 2 Cups fresh herbs of choice (I usually use a combo of parsley, basil and thyme for this). 
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Place the garlic and herbs in food processor and pulse a few times then slowly add olive oil until mixture turns into a paste (it won't take very long).  If using basil be sure to add it last and then pulse minimally so you don't overwork it (I'll even just add dried basil a lot to avoid over bruising the tender fresh herb). You can also mince the herbs fine with a knife and then mash the garlic and use some salt to smear the garlic into a paste with the side of your knife, but I try to use the food processor to cut down on the sodium.

Rub paste on your steaks on both sides and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Broil for about 3 minutes per side or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees.  Let meat rest for five to ten minutes before serving.

Feel free to add more garlic for a more "garlicky" flavor.  I've been trying to not go too crazy with heavy garlic yet as we haven't had it in so long.  Makes enough to cover 2 to 4 steaks, depending on size of steak and how thick you put it on. 

Enjoy!

It's Dead Jim: The Loss of an Allergy (and All It Entails)

 As people on Facebook were first to find out (sorry) last Wednesday was our yearly follow up with the allergist.   I'd been looking forward to the appointment for weeks, sick I know, because I was excited to find out how my son was doing.  You see, for the last six months Alvah's skin had been clear; beautifully, wonderfully so.  And so I was hoping that maybe, JUST MAYBE, Alvah would have lost at least one of his mega bady food allergies (as in the life threatening ones);  peanuts or garlic.

Well, the allergist was willing to do the prick test for the peanuts and garlic after seeing his clear skin.  The peanut allergy was scary as all get out to watch welt up on his back and watching the allergist standing by with an epi-pen ready just in case, especially after him being peanut free for a year.  Sort of made my husband and I sick to see it.  But the dot for the garlic didn't welt.  At all.  It was actually darned near impossible to tell where the garlic dot had BEEN once the 20 minute wait was up.

The allergist studied the negative reaction on the test and the fact that we'd, in desperation to my son's continued quest to purposefully lose weight (or so it seemed to us), introduced some processed garlic back into Alvah's diet without any type of bad reaction and came to a decision. Alvah is now approved to eat garlic again.  Raw, processed, the whole kit n kaboodle.

I kept expecting to feel this thrilled feeling at the thought that we'd gained the garlic back, and I tried to feel excited...I really did.  And don't get me wrong.  I am through the roof elated that I can once again buy garlic cloves and have them in my kitchen without worry and that I can actually EAT garlic again without worrying about hurting my son through second hand exposure.  That I can buy some cheaper options at the store when it comes to tomato products and such.  That, instead of having to buy two different types of ketchup for the kids that now I can just worry about getting Heinz organic ketchup for my daughter's corn allergy.

Yet, the idea of feeding my son actual raw garlic, cooked or otherwise out and out terrifies me.  I have battled the eczema battle for so long that a part of me is actually mourning the loss of the garlic allergy.  Why?  Because that means Alvah CAN eat garlic again.  And that means that the garlic allergy might come back. 

I mean look at that skin.  Would you want to mess with skin this clear?  Yeah, I didn't think so.   This time last year my son's hand would be a mass of cracked and bleeding skin with little clear skin to be had (his hands always got the eczema the worst).  His nails didn't grow right because his hands were always so cracked from the eczema and he held his hands in a semi-curled position, which his OT at the time had compared to someone who had suffered a stroke and was in constant pain from it.  I had to slather skin cream on him constantly just to keep his joints from bleeding whenever he'd have to use his hands for anything and he had to wear gloves at school because of the blood exposure to other students.  Yes, it was that bad.

But, Alvah can have garlic again.  The prick test proves it.  Shouldn't I be happy instead of feeling paranoid?

I'm still baffled that I feel this way.  I mean I have worked really hard the last year and a half to keep garlic and other allergens out of this house.  To make sure my child was safe from the allergies that could make his skin crack.  And kept hoping that if I did a good enough job that maybe he'd be able to regain some of the foods he'd lost and be able to enjoy them again.  And yet now that the garlic allergy is gone I'm scared of reintroducing Alvah to foods he used to love with garlic in them.  Roasted garlic mashed potatoes.  Chili, the way he liked it.  Tunafish and crackers with seasoned mayonnaise.  The list goes on.

When you realize you have food allergies to battle it changes your life dramatically.  People often ask me what it's like to suddenly have your child diagnosed with a type A categorized food allergy or other life threatening food allergy (which peanut was type A for us and garlic was in the potentially life threatening category too, although not epi-pen severe).  I liken having your child diagnosed with any food allergy to getting hit in the face hard with a board.  It's shocking.  It hurts and it really throws you through a loop.  But, you recover, pick yourself up off the ground and start to work on healing and getting on with life.

And then, it seems, when you lose a food allergy, it's like getting hit in the face with a different type of board.  It's shocking.  It's exciting.  It's worrisome.  And it's just as big of a change as getting the allergy in the first place.  Ever tried to think, in reverse, of what foods have garlic in them?  Yeah, I'm still trying to figure it all out.  I had the breakthrough this morning that I could actually buy nitrate free sausage and it would be safe for all of us to eat now.  Yet, the idea of making prepared sausage is so alien to me at the moment that it's almost like learning to cook all over again.  It's somewhat overwhelming.

I have read a lot of articles throughout the years that it is possible to mourn the loss of a food, such as Celiacs when they find out they have to give up gluten for good.  I know that it's true as I have mourned the loss of more than one food on the allergy roller coaster.  Yet, is it possible to actually mourn the loss of an allergy once it's gone?  I'm starting to wonder.

Saving Money While Living Well Part II: Buy Local

 People who know me from my couponing days will often stop me to ask me questions.  One of the funnest ones to answer is when they ask me how can they live somewhat healthy while also saving money.  This is usually because they don't have time to coupon.  One of my favorite answers is to say, "buy local" and watch the confused look cross their faces.

And no, I don't mean buying from your locally owned stores, although I really do believe in that as well because it helps to support your local economy.  I mean buying locally grown products.

How will this benefit you?  Allow me to explain.

When you buy locally grown items, you know you are getting FRESH items, or as close as you can get next to growing them yourself.  In Alaska that means a lot in the way of what your shelf life of an item will be.  For instance, I can buy chard at the store and I have the choice of locally grown or chard that comes from outside sources, probably California.  Now the chard is about the same price, but the chard from California has traveled roughly four or more days to get here.  That doesn't count the amount of time it took to process it at the processing plant, etc.  So, that means that usually produce that is picked out of state is picked before it's truly READY to be picked so as to give it that much more time before it succumbs to the effects of decay and gives it that much more time to be transported and bought.

The chard that is grown locally here has traveled a lot less distance, has seen less time on the road and thus, in my mind anyway, is way more trustworthy in the "good flavor" department.  And while I can only get four or five days tops (and that's pushing it) out of a bunch of chard I get from outside sources up here (if I can find some that isn't wilted and nasty looking) I can get two weeks out of chard I buy from locally produced sources if I store it correctly.

There is also the flavor to consider.  Anyone from my local area who has tried Palmer grown carrots would never want to buy the nasty "tastes like nothing" carrots from the store again that come from outside sources because they are sweeter, cheaper, and stay fresh a LOT longer in the fridge than outside grown carrots.  The same thing with cabbage, or potatoes, or other items that are grown locally.

Sometimes the items involved aren't cheaper monetarily, but still worth the benefit to some people.  A good example is that while I don't usually make a lot of voluntary purchases that cost more than the cheapest option you can get at the store (considering how much necessary groceries cost me with our allergy list), I do go in to a local store in Palmer and buy locally sourced eggs.  Why?  Because I just out and out think they taste better than the ones that have been sitting at the store for a while.  But, that's a personal choice.  It is not the cheapest option available, but for me it is worth the added cost for the added freshness.  We used to buy locally produced milk for the same reason.

How does buying locally benefit your grocery budget?  In a way you might not realize right away.  Consider this:  Is buying an item for say .50 more than the produce that is on sale worth getting if you can get another week's worth of life out of it in your fridge with your busy lifestyle?  And if you DO eat it right away the item has been sitting on the shelf less time and has more nutrients, not to mention flavor, left in it than the one for .50 cheaper.  Is it worth it?  With how busy my lifestyle is and how hectic things can become, I answer with a resounding, "Yes!"  Added time in the fridge to consider my options for said produce is a great benefit and any added nutrition that I can pump into my family is worth it's weight in gold to me.

I'm enough of a realist to know that I can't buy everything locally and some things produced locally would just cost WAY too much to buy (for instance, locally produced beef is a nice dream of mine, but one that isn't going to happen anytime soon due to the tremendous cost involved).   But, I buy locally produced when I can because I believe that it is better for my budget with the added lifespan on items and the added nutrition and flavor.  The more local items I buy as time goes on, the better my cooking becomes and I believe a lot of that is due to the addition of the flavor from locally grown produce and locally sourced eggs.

I urge you to give locally grown items in your area a try.  See if it improves the flavor of your cooking.  See how it feels and looks fresher and see if it tastes just out and out better.  Is locally grown produce and locally sourced items worth it?  You be the judge.