Halloween Treats for Children with Autism!

The CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network released data in 2007 that found about 1 in 150 (8-year-old) children in multiple areas of the United States had an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The number of diagnosed cases of autism is on the rise; the reason(s) for this is unclear. Autism knows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not appear to affect the chance of occurrence.

Fortunately, dietary changes can make a significant change in people with autism. Research is profound on the positive impact that a gluten and casein free diet can make on children with autism. Gluten and/or casein free diet has been implemented to reduce autistic behavior, in addition to special education, since the early eighties {Autism, Vol. 3, No. 1, 45-65 (1999)}. The scientific studies include both groups of participants as well as individuals, and beneficial results are reported; “reduction of autistic behavior, increased social and communicative skills, and reappearance of autistic traits after the diet has been broken, {Autism, Vol. 3, No. 1, 45-65 (1999)}. Researchers have found that psychoactive peptides from improperly digested casein (milk) or gluten-based (wheat) foods affect brain function in some individuals with autism. Many children who have problems with cow’s milk also react to soy protein, so try rice milk or almond milk in cooking, cereals, etc.

To increase the variety of foods a child with autism can consume, you need to know what foods that child is allergic or intolerant to, so that dietary restrictions are not made unnecessarily. Testing for food allergies by a doctor who specializes in that area and assessment of food intolerances by a Registered Dietitian through food records and denoted symptoms should be considered as part of medical testing. The lack of ability to detect hunger, food allergies, and/or food intolerance can impact eating issues and ultimately the child’s health.

According to occupational therapists who specialize in autism, strong flavors are essential to increase sensory arousal. Wake up the child's oral motor skills through mint, ginger, cayenne, chili powder, black pepper, lemon. Try adding mint extract to chocolate chip gluten free cookies, cook beans with some chili powder, make quinoa/corn/rice noodle based macaroni and cheese with a dash of cayenne pepper.

For Halloween put some strong flavors in with some ginger candy: Here's some gluten and casein free grocery items that are great for the trick or treat bag:

• "Let’s Do…Organic" Classic Gummi Bears Organic Candy- pre-packaged, great for giving away to the treaters
  
• The ginger People” Ginger Chews Original sweet-hot soft ginger candy.


• Crystallized Ginger Reed’s All Natural Ginger Candy.


• Stretch Island Fruit Co. The Original Fruit Leathers.


• “Yummy Earth” Organic Lollipops.
• Real Foods Organic Corn Thins Multigrain Gluten Free.
  
• Ian’s Cookie Buttons Crunchy Cinnamon (individual pouches).
  
  Whole Foods Kid-Friendly Gluten and Casein Free Grocery List:
  
  Beverages:
  Select Organic Green Tea/Ginger Root/Rose Hips, Traditional Medicinals – Organic Chamomile/Organic Golden Green Tea/Organic Peppermint/Organic Echinacea Elder, Inko’s White Tea Unsweetened Hint O’Mint, 100% Natural White Iced Tea, 365 Italian Sparkling Mineral Water, Organic 100% Pomegranate Juice not from concentrate, Metro Mint unsweetened peppermint water.
  
  Breads:
  Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse Muffins, Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Banana Bread, Sandwich Bread Food for Life Ezekiel Sprouted Corn Tortillas.
  
  Bulk Foods:
  Rice, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Dried Beans.
  
  Produce/Juices:
  Any fruit or vegetable, “Follow the Rainbow”, vary weekly and choose organic as much as possible (definitely choose organic for items that you’ll eat the skin or ones that have a large surface area, e.g., strawberries, apples, celery, grapes, peaches, potatoes, spinach, bell peppers, cherries, nectarines, pears, red raspberries, strawberries).
  Edamame (Soybeans) Ready to Eat In the Shell or Shelled (*When buying soy products select products with soy beans rather than soy protein concentrate or isolated soy protein).
  Juices in moderation, mix juices with 50% water, choose 100% juice, rather than sugar added. Ceres Juice, 365 Organic Apple Juice, Hansen’s Natural Multi-Vitamin Juice Awesome Apple, Naked Probiotic 100% Juice Smoothie (have half the bottle, 5 oz.).
  
  Whole Body:
  Barlean’s Forti-Flax Organic Cold-Milled Select Flaxseed, Spectrum Essentials Ground Flaxseed.
  
  Seasonings/Sweeteners/Spreads:
  The Spice Hunter Seasonings (Choose organic), Simply Organic Seasonings and extracts, Whole Pantry Organic Spices, 365 Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Frontier Natural Flavors Alcohol Free Mint Flavor, Sweet Cactus Farms Organic Agave Nectar, Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave, Shady Maple Farms Organic Pure Maple Syrup, 365 Organic Maple Syrup, Rapadura Organic Whole Cane Sugar, Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter, Fiordifrutta 100% Organic Fruit Spread, 365/Maranatha Organic Almond Butter, Eden Organic Apple Butter Spread.
  
  Baking Products:
  Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, 365 Gluten Free Products: Cake Mix, Pizza Crust Mix, Pancake and Waffle Mix, All-Purpose Baking Mix, Corn Bread and Muffin Mix, Sandwich Bread Mix, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Mixes, Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free Mixes, Bob’s Red Mill Xanthan Gum (great gluten free zucchini bread recipe on the back), Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder (*Cocoa increases immunity!), 365 Chocolate Chips, Bob’s Red Mill brand powdered egg whites.
  
  Cereals: (Choose >5 gram fiber and <30>5 years)}:, Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Peanuts (common allergen: test if allergic to peanuts), Flavor Tree Snack Foods Deluxe Roasted Salted Mixed Nuts (No peanuts), Raw Sunflower Seeds, Raw Pistachio Nutmeats Halves and Pieces, Raw Pumpkin Seeds, Raw Almonds
  Raw Walnuts Halves and Pieces, Health Best All Raw Nuts & Seeds (except Brazil nuts, Cashews, and Macadamia – are too high in saturated fat), Health Best Dried Fruits (Choose unsulphered, and no sugar added), “Dr. Soy” Soy Nuts
  Pavich Organic Raisins, Whole Kids Organic Thompson Seedless Raisins
  Organic Dried Fruit Cranberries, Harvest Organic Hunza Dried Pomegranates
  Dried Blueberries Sweetened with Apple Juice, Stretch Island Fruit Leather 100% Fruit Snack.
  
  Recipes:
  
  ENERGIZER SHAKE!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  Powdered egg whites (available at Whole Foods, in the baking section, Bob’s Red Mill brand)
  1 small banana
  ½ cup strawberries
  1 cup frozen blueberries
  ½ cup fruit of your choice (e.g. frozen peaches, mixed berries, or cherries)
  ½ cup of rice yogurt
  4 cups of organic enriched rice milk
  Optional –for added fiber and omega-3 essential fatty acids, stir in a Tablespoon of ground flaxseed (try Spectrum Essentials organic ground flaxseed) to the cup you drink, so it doesn’t get rancid, you need to drink it right away.
  Directions: In a blender, put all ingredients together. If you like a thinner shake, add water and use less milk. Put the top on the blender, chop, blend, and whip. You’re all set for an energizing breakfast or snack. Add a small bowl of cereal {e.g., Puffins or Gluten Free Oats (Bob’s Red Mill)} with the shake for even more sustainable energy. Make this shake the night before, keep it in the blender and store it in the refrigerator. The next morning, just press whip, and you’ve got a quick and easy “on-the-go” energizer.
  
  Serving size: 1.5 cups
  Total servings: ~4
  Nutrition Analysis per serving:
  239 Calories, 31 grams Carbohydrates, 16 grams Protein, 6 grams Fat
  
  
  
  MAC AND CHEESE IN A BREEZE!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 package of macaroni (quinoa/corn based), cooked
  2 Tablespoons “Earth Balance” margarine (no hydrogenated oils)
  1 ½ Tablespoons organic rice/quinoa flour
  2 cups plain, unsweetened rice milk
  Salt - pinch
  Freshly ground pepper - pinch
  Cayenne pepper – pinch (optional)
  ½ cup grated mozzarella rice cheese (casein and lactose free)
  ½ cup grated sharp cheddar rice cheese (casein and lactose free)
  
  Directions: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Melt the margarine in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit (it will be a medium thickness), don’t let it brown-about 2 minutes. Add the rice milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil. (Trick: If the sauce doesn’t thicken, then in a cup make a mixture of a ½ tablespoon of flour and 2 tablespoons of cold water that is thin liquid, no bumps, then slowly add to your sauce until the sauce is just the thickness you want). Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste, and stir in grated rice cheese, lower the heat, and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat, stir in cooked macaroni (To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper).
  Another option: Add a 6-ounce can of skinless, boneless, Wild Alaskan salmon for more protein.
  Total servings: ~4
  Nutrition Analysis per serving:
  231 Calories, 20 grams Carbohydrates, 15 grams Protein, 9 grams Fat
  
  BALANCED BLACK BEANS AND RICE!
  Ingredients:
  
  1 (15 ounce) can of organic black beans, rinsed and drained
  1 (14.5 ounce) can of Mexican-style or Italian-style (your choice) stewed tomatoes
  1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
  1 clove garlic, minced
  1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
  1 teaspoon expeller pressed safflower oil (for high heat)
  1 ounce rice cheese (lactose and casein free)
  
  Directions: In a medium saucepan, sauté ½ cup onion and garlic in oil until the onions are translucent and the garlic in tender not brown. Stir in the drained beans and undrained stewed tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer. Cover pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in rice cheese into mixture to melt. To serve, mound rice on individual plates; make a well in the centers. Spoon black bean mixture into centers. Add steamed vegetables on the side to make an optimally balanced meal. Serves: 4
  
  * Another option is to make a pasta primavera with beans by mixing beans (Italian white kidney beans or small white beans) with Italian Style stewed tomatoes and steamed vegetables of your choice, e.g., zucchini, spinach, yellow squash, red bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. over quinoa or rice pasta (rotelle or penne), and melt shredded rice cheese on top.
  
  References for more recipes and ideas for autism:
  
  The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet (Hardcover)by Pamela Compart (Author), Dana Laake (Author)
  
  The Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook: More Than 150 Recipes That Are Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Egg-Free, and Low in Sugar by Leslie Hammond
  
  http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/gfcf-diet/recipes.htm
  http://www.gfcfdiet.com/
  
  Int'l Fdtn for Functional Gastrointestinal DisordersP.O. Box 170864Milwaukee, WI 53217414-964-1799http://www.iffgd.org/
  
  Gluten Intolerance Group of North America31214 124th Ave. SEAuburn, WA 98092 info@gluten.net
  
  American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology555 East Wells StreetMilwaukee, WI 53202800-822-2762http://www.aaai.org/
  
  Living Without is a lifestyle guide for people with allergies and foodsensitivities. It discusses a variety of health-related issues, and providessupport, encouragement, guidance and resources.
  http://www.livingwithout.com/welcome.htm
  
  Allergy Grocer Fully Stocked Kosher Parve & Gluten Free Certified
  http://www.allergygrocer.com/
  
• www.glutenfreeworks.com