Allergaroo GFCF Pasta Kids Meals - Quick, Easy, Tasty

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• All Natural
• Gluten Free
• Milk Free
• Soy Free
• Microwave Ready
  

I won three bags of Allergaroo meals at the Gluten Free Twitter Party in April and was excited for Alex to try them. At the time, I'd yet to see this "fun" kids quick meal in my local stores but have since seen them sold at Whole Foods, Wegmans and the local health food store. They are pricey at around $6 a bag, or you can purchase them on the Allergaroo site in a 2pk/$8.58 or 6pk/$24.45. There is a handling fee of $2.50 and shipping is based on the actual weight of your order. I've not ordered from the website, but it says that they ship via FedEx. I was really pleased to see Allergaroo on Amazon, at even better prices!


They are also available from The Gluten-Free Mall for Gluten-Free Foods:

Allergy Friendly Foods Allergaroo Gluten-Free Chili Mac with Tomato Sauce & Chicken
Allergy Friendly Foods Allergaroo Gluten-Free Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
Allergy Friendly Foods Allergaroo Gluten-Free Spyglass Noodles with Tomato Sauce & Chicken

Allergaroo was founded by a mother of two children with multiple food allergies who longed for a convenient and delicious meal alternative that her kids could safely eat without worries. All Allergaroo dishes are made on dedicated equipment in an allergen-free dedicated space. Allergaroo products are formulated to be free of the 8 most common food allergens (wheat (gluten), milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish and shellfish). They are delicious and all natural too. Just heat and eat!

The meals are individually packaged in 8 oz pouches that are a "generous" single serving (supposedly). The pouches are shelf-stable and do not require refrigeration. You can either cook them in the microwave or pour the pouch out and cook it on the stovetop. Preparation is quick and lunch can be served in minutes. I am not a huge fan of cooking in the microwave but for test purposes I did cook one of the meals that way (chili) and the other 2 I prepared on the stovetop.

The 3 dishes that we tried are
Spaghetti - Rice Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce. Ingredients Info.
Spyglass Noodles - Penne Rice Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Ground Chicken. Ingredients info.
Chili Mac - Elbow Rice Pasta with Mild Chili Sauce, Pinto Beans and Ground Chicken. Ingredients info

Of the three, I figured the spaghetti was a "sure bet", the spyglass noodles were a "probably" and the Chili Mac was a "doubtful". I figured we'd try them in that order and see what happened.

Since my son is a big fan of rice spaghetti and so it was no surprise he gobbled up the Allergaroo spaghetti in a blink. For him, 8 oz of spaghetti is barely enough and left him wanting more! At several dollars per pouch it is definitely cheaper (and not difficult) to boil up my own rice spaghetti - we enjoy the Tinkyada brand.

With the Spyglass noodles, I figured since it was like Penne pasta that he also enjoys he would most likely eat it. I wasn't sure about the mention of ground chicken. Alex loves chicken nuggets or strips and will reject cooked chicken if it doesn't look right. He doesn't like ground beef, so I figured ground chicken would also be picked out microscopically - heavens forbid it "taint" his dish. I made no mention of it and fed him the Spyglass noodles with chicken and he ate it all - he didn't pick the chicken out or proclaim "yuck! meat!". Another success. Looking back I don't remember really seeing too much chicken in it.

The final test was the Chili Mac. I held off on this one because I was sure I'd heat it up and he would turn it down. He's never eaten chili before and the thought of the beans and meat are not in his repertoire. I did the Chili Mac in the microwave over the weekend and it smelled just like 'regular' chili. Alex was sniffing the air and making a face like he'd just smelled something really bad. I didn't make a big deal and just put it in his dish and served it to him. He immediately started picking out the meat and the beans and told me it was yucky. He hadn't tried it yet, so I told him to try it. He told me that he wanted me to eat it and gave me a spoon of it. I ate it, and it tasted like penne pasta with very mild chili sauce on it. I commented to my husband that perhaps I should have cooked it a little longer so the noodles were a bit less al-dente. So, here's where I was a bit 'naughty' but I told him if he ate the beans that it would make him 'fart'. Since he is an 8 year old boy who enjoys doing that, he tried the beans. The meat went down with the beans too. He ate it slowly and left the table a few times each time he came back for more. He managed to polish off the whole bowl of it. I write this with certainty that if I did buy this he would eat it again with much less hesitation.

Since trying all 3 meals and seeing that my son did eat and mostly enjoy them - I would purchase these again to have on hand. There are definitely times that we need a quick meal or something easy to send into school, to the grandparents etc. Because of the price, I wouldn't buy them for frequent consumption but for convenience purposes -- heck yeah!






For more info: http://www.allergaroo.com/

Wall-E and Friends Go Surfing

Alex made another movie of Wall-E going surfing. He worked with Chris on tracing character's so you can see, his Wall-E is pretty realistic this time. His "own" Wall-E's are more organic looking but I really love this movie!!! I get a real kick out of Wall-E's "friends" all loaded onto the same surfboard including a cat, and "Clip" - the Microsoft Paperclip.

Related posts:
Wall-E goes Surfing
Alex's movie on the big screen - Small Factory Flick Fest
Alex's movie of Wall-E Bowling
Autism Friendly Computer Lessons at My Small Factory
Alex's take on The Small Factory
All Bon Bon Gazette posts on Autism & Surfing

Gluten Casein Free Dining Review: Bella Vita Cafe - Freehold, NJ

On this lazy Sunday night my husband and I were texting each other about going out to dinner (so as not to get the kids hopes up while we decided) and I suggested going to find Gluten Free Pizza. We had heard about a few places not too far away that had GF pizza. So before making the trek and being disappointed I started calling around. And I'm glad I did because the place we originally were going to had gluten free pizza but the dough mix they use contained dry milk - so that got scratched off our list. They were listed as serving Still Riding Pizza but they apparently rotate it with another brand. Since I had checked out the ingredients for Still Riding, I knew it was "safe" for Alex with no gluten and no milk. I went onto the Still Riding Pizza website and did a search to find other locations somewhat nearby and found Bella Vita Cafe in Freehold, NJ. (Even closer than where I was originally going to go!)

I called them ahead and they assured me that they were able to do a gluten free pizza and the toppings could be anything we chose. They didn't have gluten free or dairy free cheese, but since my son doesn't really care for cheese anyways - we could get him a cheeseless pizza. We packed the kids in the car, set the GPS and off we went. Its really only about 25 minutes or so away, so it was pretty convenient and actually the closest of the 3 places that I was looking into that were 40-45 minutes each way.

When we got to Bella Vita, it looked like your "typical" Jersey pizza takeout joint. It is deceiving because they have a nice sit down area in the back. The restaurant is dimly lit, well decorated and met my son's seal of approval quickly with its big screen flat panel wall-mount TV. The server let us pick our seat and then offered to switch the channel to Disney from ESPN to entertain the kids. Alex decided to sit next to us in his own 2-seater table (so he could have the best view of the TV - of course).

Alex ordered the gluten free pizza plain (just sauce). They are a 12" pie, and we figured we'd just bring him home the rest and pop in the freezer. We ordered my daughter a personal plain pizza and I got a caeser salad. My husband and I ordered a shrimp and garlic gourmet pie. We let our server know that the kids food could come out whenever it was ready. In just a few minutes, he had my son's gluten free pizza ready and on the table. Alex was very happy and ready to dig in. It actually worked out well with him sitting next to us as his pizza took up the whole table.

Alex started in on his pizza while the rest of the food was getting prepared. Our super friendly server didn't even need to ask (but he did anyways) if Alex was enjoying his pizza because when he came out to refill drinks he had already eaten half of it! He just kept eating and eating. I kept reminding him that if he was full we could pack it up and take it home with us. He said he wasn't full and he was still hungry. He did slow down towards the end and left about 2 bitefuls (as well as the crusts) uneaten. His pizza was $13.50 and worth every cent of it. Next time we go back we are ordering a second pie "to go" so we can tuck away some slices in the freezer.

This is what Alex thought of his Gluten Free pizza from Bella Vita Cafe: He ate 8 slices!


It was really a treat to be able to go into a restaurant with Alex and order a dish just for him without having to tote along food or fret about what he would eat. Pizza, especially. The staff at Bella Vita Cafe was friendly, the environment was cozy, and the prices are fair. Best of all, we all were able to enjoy pizza together. I didn't get to taste the GF pizza, but the one who it mattered to clearly gave it thumbs up! When we got home, Alex told his dad "Thank You for the pizza". We'll definitely go back here again.

Restaurant info:
Bella Vita Cafe:
3585 Route 9 North Freehold, NJ 07728
732.866.8484

website: http://www.bellavitacafe.com/
Twitter: @BellaVitaCafe

Why the Chicken Pox Vaccine Should NOT Be Mandated

How do you feel about Chicken Pox Parties?
Did you have Chicken Pox as a kid?

This childhood rite of passage illness is getting obliterated, or at a minimum "put on hold" - by the push to give children yet another childhood vaccination.

I've gone on record with Juice Box Jungle and weighed in how I feel about Vaccines and Chicken Pox parties. I want my kids to get chicken pox the good old fashioned way and not from a vaccine that doesn't work, hasn't been tested, and contains toxic questionable ingredients.

More parenting videos on JuiceBoxJungle

My Stance:

I believe in vaccination choice. I am not against vaccination or all vaccines but rather firmly stand for education about vaccines - known risks, and the truth about side effects and ingredients. I do not agree with the number of vaccines that are mandated for children in the US today - 36 vaccines that are given rapidly and in combination cocktails to children carte blanche. Studies claim that "vaccines do not cause Autism" but the truth is that only 2 shots and a 1 single ingredient (Thimersol) have been vindicated. My son's story is one that many mothers of children with Autism will relate to. A child who was developing typically until receiving multiple shots at a well-visit who then became ill - stopped hitting milestones, lost speech and later regressed into Autism. When it came time for my second child to receive shots, I took a different approach. I vaccinated her cautiously - never more than a single shot per visit - and have declined some shots like the thimersol containing flu shot.

One shot that I do not agree with is the chicken pox vaccine. I'm almost 37 years old and I remember as a child having the chicken pox. At the time my older brother and sister had them too. I was a preschooler and one of my older siblings "brought it home" from school. We all got the chicken pox, and we were done with it. We didn't get vaccinated for the chicken pox, we built up natural immunity.

The push today is for children to receive 2 doses of the chicken pox shot. Here in New Jersey (Welcome to NJ: Got shots?) at least one dose is mandated before beginning Kindergarten - unless you can provide proof that your child has had the chicken pox. This vaccine is one that is being given for convenience sake. It was designed so kids get the jab and instead of the pox and parents don't have to take off from work and lose wages, kids won't miss school.

Oops - but the shot doesn't always work as planned. In some vaccinated children they end of developing a mild case of chicken pox from the shot alone. The bigger problem with the chicken pox vaccine is that the immunity doesn't last the way that natural immunity from having the actual virus normally does. Immunity from the vax, wears off and down the road your child (or maybe then teen or young adult) will get the chicken pox. Getting the chicken pox at a later age is far more dangerous and complicated. This most likely could have been avoided by having the chicken pox as a child. Instead, we are creating a culture of vaccination. And vaccination does not come without risk. Risk from the chicken pox vaccine includes fever and seizure. As a result of trying to "wipe out" the chicken pox virus, we are now creating more incidences of the very painful Shingles virus. In addition there have been no long term studies done on the chicken pox vaccine - not surprising.

Some questionable ingredients in the chicken pox vaccine include:

varicella live virus neomycin phosphate
sucrose
monosodium glutamate (MSG) processed gelatin
fetal bovine serum
guinea pig embryo cells
albumin from human blood
human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue

EDTA - ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid

So, given the choice of my children receiving the vaccination or gaining immunity the natural way. I'd much rather they got chicken pox the good old fashioned way. If anyone knows of chicken pox parties taking place on the Jersey Shore, drop me a line!

Related Reading:
Why the Chicken Pox Virus is Nuts?
Chickenpox Party: Developing Natural Varicella Immunity

In honor of school nurses

May 08, 2009

Nurses Day and Week is more than a Hallmark Holiday

May 6th was National Nurses Day and marked the opening of National Nurses Week which ends on May 12th (Florence Nightingale's birthday). Another hallmark holiday? Or, maybe not. I vote for not.

I was talking to my daughter that it was Nurses day and we talked about the difference between nurses and doctors. I asked her what nurses she knows and the only nurse she mentioned knowing is the school nurse. Fair enough. I shared with her that her grandmother, and my grandmother, and my brother (her Uncle) are nurses. I suddenly felt ridden with guilt that I'd done nothing for all the nurses in my life when I got to thinking how much nurses really do. In particular how much nurses have done and continue to do for my children.

For several years now I've believed that the school nurse was out to get me. I began cursing out the school nurse in 2007 after a stint of sending my son home repeatedly when she claimed he had pink eye but he didn't. He later went home almost weekly for vomiting or diarrhea and I believed the school nurse was out to get me. Until, we switched him to a gluten and casein free diet and his tummy troubles all but disappeared. My conspiracy theory was that since he tends to be one of the more "difficult" children in his self contained autism class, they were trying to "ditch" the kid with behaviors and send him home. I know other moms have shared with me how their more severely autistic children conveniently were getting sent home from school on days where there was a field trip. We blame the nurse. For those of us who have children with religious and/or medical exemptions for vaccines, we become paranoid and think that every phone call from the nurse is because we are being put under a microscope.

Somewhere along the way, I seem to have lost perspective that the school nurse is just doing her; very inglorious, under-appreciated, and most definitely underpaid, job.

I'm sorry, School nurse. While I don't agree with sending a child home for "farting", or calling a mom of a child with Autism to tell them that they had diarrhea (its often an every day thing) - you aren't the archenemy. In fact, this year dear nurse, I owe you one. I want to give you a great big hug and a sloppy kiss, even... Ok, maybe that is going overboard.

I have mad love for my school nurse, yes - the same one who I have cursed out for 3 years. You see this year, the school nurse saved my daughter's vision. The New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually impaired in conjunction with the school nurses conducted vision screening on all children in my daughter's school and she failed. I was baffled because she had passed routine vision screens done at her pediatrician and showed no signs of having vision troubles. I found out that she had little to no vision in one eye and was only using one eye to see. This condition, amblyopia, is actually very common but if left untreated it will ultimately lead to blindness in the amblyopic eye. My daughter's eye was already considered "legally blind" without corrective lenses.

That day, I stopped thinking of the school nurse like an enemy and sent her a thank you note. I realized that the nurse is on my side and most of all, she is on my child's side.

I'm going on record that I'm indeed sorry for cursing out the school nurse.

New Jersey Moms Blog post by MaryTara. MT blogs her adventures in parenting two beautiful children on the Jersey Shore, life with autism & without it, the gluten & casein free diet, and vaccination choice issues at The Bon Bon Gazette and raising a child with amblyopia at Adventures in Amblyopia.

On Grossisms & becoming more age appropriate

Alex, as usual, is full of surprises. Just when I think I've figured him out - he comes out with something new. Lately, I've seen some pretty significant changes in him. He's 8 years old now, and though he definitely is a "young" 8 - I've often put him more on par with say a 5 year old in terms of his emotional level.. I see him making leaps and bounds and narrowing that gap. These days, he is gaining ground and becoming so much closer to eight.

All of a sudden the kid who used to LOVE watching Noggin & PBS Sprout has moved on - now he is into Disney Channel shows like The Suite Life (Zach & Cody) and Disney XD. We sat together and watched Monster Busters Club and laughed and laughed some more because they have an alien on there named Gluten. And he got it. He even tried to get a rise out of me by saying that he liked Gluten!

....
Over the weekend - Isabelle had a KidzBop Music CD and he was excited about it. He got out of his chair and grabbed her by the hand and asked her to dance with him.. and he did - he danced. The last time I saw him dance he was around 2 years old and danced to The Wiggles.

....
Then, there is the 'gross' stuff. Like - he figured out how to make those armpit "fart" sounds. He was doing it over and over and over. Yeah - it is rude. But, sorry, I just can't be mad at him. He is first and foremost an eight year old boy. Yes, he does have Autism but it doesn't have him.

....
So then, there was what happened at dinner tonight. I made him his favored GFCF macaroni and cheese and I used different noodles this time. I went with the Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals with Vegetables - you know, the noodles where some are reddish and some are greenish. I just kind of grabbed the bag at a whim the other day when I was at Wegmans. I figured, why not try them because hey - any way to get some vegs in can't hurt. So, I serve them to him and he immediately announces "YUCK"! Without even trying it. We asked him what was yucky and he launched into telling me how the green noodles "WERE GROSS". My husband and I really tried not to laugh. But, I was proud of him for telling me how he felt without any meltdown or losing it. There have been many days in the past where I've served something and he has thrown it away or put the full plate in the fridge announcing he isn't eating it. I thought to myself 'oh boy - here we go again'. Yet, I realized he wasn't angry or upset in any way. He was eating around the green noodles when I told him that the green noodles were Monster noodles (kind of like the Monster pudding Omega supplement trick). Guess what? He made some crazy monster noise and then he ate 3 helpings - green noodles and all.

Really, I don't think I've ever been happier to hear my kid tell me he thinks the food I cooked him was gross!

Engaging Autism with The Floortime Approach

When my son was in early intervention they used a real umbrella approach when it came to his therapies he had ABA and Floortime. Looking back, I would say he got off to a pretty darn good start. We moved to New Jersey in 2004 the school district we landed in is known for having an excellent Autism program using the Verbal Behavior approach. Doing well in the VB program and receiving a battery of therapies (Speech, OT, PT, social skills, etc) we later decided to explore biomedical options including the Gluten and Casein Free Diet.

It wasn't until recently that I started thinking that maybe there is more we could and should be doing. DIR/Floortime? RDI? What's the difference? Would these be feasible for Alex? In March we participated in an Autism study and the psychologist who did some testing on Alex suggested that DIR/Floortime could be very beneficial to him.

In early March I received the new paperback release of Engaging Autism: Using the Floortime Approach to Help Children Relate, Communicate, and Think . Stanley Greenspan authors this book which was published in hardcover version in 2006. The paperback is now available by DaCapo/Lifelong books priced at $18. So, it is now early May. Yes, I've been remiss in posting because it actually took me 2 full months to get through this weighty book. OK, I also stopped and read a few other books along the way (Jenny McCarthy's and LeeAnn's books to name a few). Engaging Autism, while interesting - is a lot to read. At 400+ large pages in small font and 28 chapters - this one took some time.

Worth it? You betcha.

If you are unfamiliar with Greenspan's DIR/Floortime approach - in a nutshell it is following your child's lead - entering into "their world" and fostering a connection and building on that. I think that people hear "floortime" and that conjurs up an image of Circle-time or playtime at pre-school and will think that this is an approach only for the youngest of children. However, know that it is not and there are actually 2 dedicated chapters in this book specifically on using Floortime with older children, adolescents, and adults.

An observation that I made repeatedly while reading this is that my husband using Floortime methods with both of the kids (my autistic son and my neurotypical daughter) when playing with them all the time. Now, he knows nothing about floortime (that I know of) this is just the way he is - he gets onto their level and he plays really crazy games with them that elicit such remarkable amounts of laughter and joy that I can't help but be a little jealous. It was when reading this book that I put a bunch of pieces together and connected that what he is doing is Floortime and that I could do it too (probably not as crazy and fun though).

Engaging Autism shares the ins and outs of Floortime. Why it works, how it works, how to do it, and specific strategies. The book focuses on using a strict floortime approach, which would not be really feasible in our case as it is not something normally paid for by the school district (unless you sue them for it) and any expenses of hiring someone to teach and work with us on this would come out of pocket. Still, the book teaches strategies that families and caregivers can use to employ "the Floortime approach" on their own. I like that this really is a child-centered approach, very positive, and the whole family can be involved.

The last third (Part V) of Engaging Autism was actually the most helpful and interesting to me. This portion of the book deals specifically with "overcoming difficult symptoms". It is in this area that I feel we have the most to gain from Floortime and where the schools Verbal Behavior and ABA methods are not meeting our needs. Greenspan addresses scripting, echolalia, behavior problems, meltdowns, regressions, stimming, social skills, coping with feelings & new challenges, among other "biggies" as I'd call them (like toilet training and autism). I look forward to employing some of the techniques that I learned in this book with Alex and will report back on progress!

I'd recommend this book to parents who are seeking additional strategies to work with their child with autism, particularly if they find that a strict ABA approach isn't cutting it. And, I'd love to hear from my readers here if you have had an experience with Floortime - good or bad, your thoughts on this approach... share!

Jenny McCarthy's Giving it Up Before Summer

You might think - this is former playmate Jenny McCarthy.... she gives it up all the time! Well, get your mind out of the gutter. Jenny's giving up Sugar with a 30 day challenge and blogging about it.

Jenny McCarthy has launched a new blog on Oprah's website called Jenny's Give it Up Before Summer Blog. The blog launch coincides with a big announcement that Jenny McCarthy will have her own talk show, produced by HARPO. At her blog she is so far talking about giving up chocolate, sugar, and eating after 7pm. The posts are short and if you've read any of Jenny's books you'll know her writing style is easy to read - to the point. I look forward to reading more of it to see what she has to say, if she is censored or uses her 'potty mouth', and if she'll talk about autism at all.


Jenny's Give it Up Before Summer Blog:
http://www.oprah.com/bi/jenny-mccarthy




Related Blog Posts:
Book Review: Healing & Preventing Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorders Bella Online: A Book Review of Mother Warriors
Are You a Mother Warrior?
Meet My Child Warrior
Epinions Review: Mother Warriors
Epinions Review: Louder Than Words

Wall-E Goes Surfing

And now... Alex's latest movie from the Small Factory. He just keeps getting better and better.

Wall-E goes Surfing. (He didn't do the sound yet!)



Related posts:
Alex's movie on the big screen - Small Factory Flick Fest
Alex's movie of Wall-E Bowling
Autism Friendly Computer Lessons at My Small Factory
Alex's take on The Small Factory
All Bon Bon Gazette posts on Autism & Surfing