A Hopefully GFCF Lunch

So it's no secret that I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the GFCF adventure. It doesn't help that the whole family has been sick (allergies, most likely) for the past week.

Last night we were feeling well enough to get some grocery items. We forgot cough drops, unfortunately. But I digress. The other day my lovely daughter (now 7 yrs old and very proud of herself!) informed me that she didn't really like PB&J for lunch, even if it was on Ezekiel bread and even if it was using Laura Scudder's natural PB. So last night I bought:
Rice Cakes
sliced sandwich meat
baby carrots
Envirokids PB Bumpers cereal

I think I need to investigate what other sort of names gluten goes by. If it's as prolific as MSG, it can be under seemingly innocuous names like "natural flavor."

But at least we're off to an ok start. It's taking forever for me to jump on the GFCF bandwagon. It's a little difficult to get started w/ all the different flours and stuff that we need for baking. I don't bake a whole lot, but I did promise my girl that I'd make her some GFCF chocolate chip cookies. :)

Holidays and Kids That Don't Celebrate

We don't celebrate holidays. We're Jehovah's Witnesses and we do our best to live our lives in line with Bible teachings and by following in Christ's footsteps as well as humanly possible. We do ok. There's always room for improvement, but we try.

Holidays are coming up and that poses some challenges. I know my kids have a sense of being different. I know I did. So we try our best to teach them our ways as well as respect the beliefs of other people. So far, so good.

Some holidays are a little harder to avoid having a part in. Thanksgiving, really, is the only one. I say that because it's a historical event, not something rooted in Pagan customs. I think people SHOULD learn about historical events and I support that. But they don't have to say Happy Thanksgiving.

When my oldest was in First Grade he did the Handprint Turkey with the accompanying poem:
This isn't just a handprint
As you can plainly see
I made it with my hand
Which is a part of me!
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say
Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Now, since we give thanks to God EVERY day and do not choose just one day to focus on, we don't take part in Thankgiving Day celebrations.

I have decided that my kids can use the following, modified, poem:
This isn't just a handprint
As you can plainly see
I made it with my hand
Which is a part of me!
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say
Have a very happy day!

I hope that will solve the Thanksgiving issue. My daughter is her teacher's very first Witness student. I hope we are a good example and don't overwhelm her. :)

Bullies and clothes: A Ramble

So we've had some busy stuff lately. I don't have a particular subject in mind today, so this might be a bit rambly.

I'm feeling kind of bleh lately. I guess that's the "malaise" part of my diagnosis. I also have been feeling very worn out - the "fatigue" part. :P

We've been more active, as a family, and it's going well. We try to walk every other night and we really enjoy it. We leave about 6PM and get home around 9. We go to Barnes & Noble, maybe pick up a few grocery items, and head home. The kids enjoy it, but our daughter gets tired easily. I've considered bringing both strollers so she can ride in one. I know it seems weird since she's almost 7 yrs old, but I think she just needs time to get used to it. Also, she tends to wear bad shoes. Flip flops and sandals have been her choice the last 2 times. I think tonight we'll have her wear sneakers and see if it helps.

Speaking of my almost 7 yr old daughter, she's been getting picked on by a girl in the neighborhood. I'm not sure how to handle it. I talk to the girl doing the bullying and I talk to my girl, but I don't often see the kid's mom and haven't had a chance to talk with her. I plan to, but I want to say it in a non-confrontational way. The mom has far more on her plate right now than most single moms do, so I want to be gentle, but also stand up for my daughter.

I think I'll also speak with the school counselor.

Today I need to go through my daughter's laundry. She has more clothes than she knows what to do with! I'm not kidding. So I intend to pick out a handful of outfits and put the rest away for next winter. She's petite, so she'll wear this same size for quite some time.

Headed to Crazy Town on the GFCF Train

I'm on a mission. I didn't think I baked a whole lot, so taking the steps to become a GF family wasn't a big deal. I figured that I baked about 3 or 4 times a year. We wouldn't miss flour at all!

Or so I thought.

I've found that I: make fried chicken (in coconut oil, thank you), bake cupcakes, bake loaves of bread in my bread machine, bake zucchini bread, make pancakes (ok, so Dear Husband does that) and bake banana bread often enough to actually need an all-purpose flour on hand. I also have the motivation to make some pumpkin muffins.

But I don't have the right flour. *bangs head into wall*

So I've been scouring the internet for a recipe for an all-purpose flour that I can mix up here at home. I *thought* I bought the right ingredients, but alas, I was wrong. One thing I found out, though, is that potato flour (not potato starch, the 2 are not the same) would be really tasty for fried chicken. I'm actually looking forward to trying that.

I have Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Potato Flour, and Tapioca Flour. And Cornstarch.

So, dear readers, what do you suggest as an at-home recipe for all-purpose flour?

Also, is Rice Milk a fine sub for cow's milk or soy milk?

Autism X Six

I just watched the program on Discovery Health called "Autism X Six" and I have to say, it was really interesting. The family has 6 children, all of them fall somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. Their older 3 all have Asperger's, like my son and I, while another 2 have classic Autism, and the youngest has PDD-NOS.

Watching their 9 yr old Aspie was not unlike watching my own 8.5 yr old Aspie.

I've set my DVR to record each new episode. I do wish I could figure out when it will be on; I've been unsuccessful in that regard. I'll keep looking, but for now my DVR will do it for me. :)

The family's websites can be found here:
Autism Bites
Autism Bites Blog

Did anyone else see this program? Please share your thoughts!

*ETA: Apparently it was only a single episode. Bummer! Although I did wonder how well those kids would have handled being on camera constantly.