I have no real excuse for not posting in so long other than I've been busy and a bit lazy. As many of you know, we've put Jackson on a gluten-free/casein-free diet. Many people with autism apparently have an allergy to these two proteins, and sure enough, allergy testing showed Jackson to have them as well.
So what does this diet entail? Gluten is in wheat, barley, rye, and oats, along with a few other things. Casein is in milk. So we've had to search for alternative foods. Fortunately, there is quite a variety available, if you can find it. I've spent my time driving to Whole Foods, Central Market, Kroger's, and Target to peruse their offerings. Each place had some foods. Whole Foods is about a 20 minute drive from here, and Central Market is about 25 minutes away, so not a fun drive. But what are you going to do?
The thing about Jackson is he's a picky eater. No surprise there. But not only is he picky about what he eats, he won't eat something if it doesn't look right. He'll eat nuggets but not tenders. He'll only eat three kinds of crackers. He'll eat macaroni and cheese, but not penne and cheese. Get the picture?
Anyway, I tried making some nuggets for Jackson out of some gluten-free flour and cornmeal. I thought they were really good. Jackson sort of ate them. I don't think he liked the cornmeal, so I'll skip them next time. He also liked reading the alphabet fries more than he liked eating them.
Finally, I got a great tip about a store 45 minutes north of here, in Southlake called Sprouts. It had a ton of stuff. It's a long drive, though, so I stocked up. The chicken bites he sort of likes. He's warming up to them.
The bread takes some work. We keep it in the fridge to soak up some moisture, then microwave it to get it soft. On the plus side, he's started eating peanut butter sandwiches again for the first time in 3 years! The crackers he will eat sometimes. I wish I could find a gluten-free version of Triscuits or saltines.
He loves the pretzels. I need to find some more popcorn for him. Do you know how hard it is to find microwave popcorn without any kind of butter flavoring? Maybe I should just pop it on the stove.
The best buy were these cookies. Oreos are the only cookie he'll eat, and these look and taste just like them! I say they look just like them, but the first time I gave one to Jackson, he inspected it very carefully before taking a bite.
So we're slowly easing into it all. He's not eating much these days. Nuggets and fries. Pizza made from gluten-free crusts and vegan soy cheese. Sausage. Bacon. Corn and potato chips. Rice Spaghetti. Gluten-free waffles. And he started eating rice again! He used to love rice, but hasn't eaten any in a couple of years.
I haven't found any cereal he'll eat, yet, but I did find a Corn Chex substitute online. The closest store to me that carries it is a Kroger in Houston! So I'll pick up a few boxes when I'm down visiting my mom next week. And I haven't figured out a mac and cheese he'll eat. He used to love the Kraft stuff. I tried making a box of Mac and Chreese I got at Central Market. It's pretty crappy. I tried making my own cheese sauce out of soy cheese and rice butter and goat milk. It was even worse. I guess he'll just have to give that up.
Anyway, Brad came home with a new laptop yesterday, and Noah was so excited, he ran and got his laptop as well. Btw, that's the Thomas laptop that Grandma gave Jackson for his birthday last month. Noah, though, won't let Jackson near it. He's always talking about "MY computer!"
Don't worry about Jackson, though. He spends a good deal of time on our computer, which is the reason for the new laptop. He has his own user account, and can open up the internet browser and start his own Nick Jr. games. I also bought him a kindergarten readiness game that he loves. He asks to play computer first thing in the morning, as soon as I pick him up from school, and several other times during the day. We're having to set the timer and kick him off on a regular basis. Then he wants to play his V-smile game in his room.
This isn't a very good picture, but he also likes to be on his head!
Anyway, we've got some big weekends coming up this month. We're going down to Rosenberg to see my family next weekend. Then we'll be hitting the Texas State Fair! Then the boys will have a big birthday party at the park. Finally, Halloween! Whew! Let's hope I remember to take my camera!
So what does this diet entail? Gluten is in wheat, barley, rye, and oats, along with a few other things. Casein is in milk. So we've had to search for alternative foods. Fortunately, there is quite a variety available, if you can find it. I've spent my time driving to Whole Foods, Central Market, Kroger's, and Target to peruse their offerings. Each place had some foods. Whole Foods is about a 20 minute drive from here, and Central Market is about 25 minutes away, so not a fun drive. But what are you going to do?
The thing about Jackson is he's a picky eater. No surprise there. But not only is he picky about what he eats, he won't eat something if it doesn't look right. He'll eat nuggets but not tenders. He'll only eat three kinds of crackers. He'll eat macaroni and cheese, but not penne and cheese. Get the picture?
Anyway, I tried making some nuggets for Jackson out of some gluten-free flour and cornmeal. I thought they were really good. Jackson sort of ate them. I don't think he liked the cornmeal, so I'll skip them next time. He also liked reading the alphabet fries more than he liked eating them.
Finally, I got a great tip about a store 45 minutes north of here, in Southlake called Sprouts. It had a ton of stuff. It's a long drive, though, so I stocked up. The chicken bites he sort of likes. He's warming up to them.
The bread takes some work. We keep it in the fridge to soak up some moisture, then microwave it to get it soft. On the plus side, he's started eating peanut butter sandwiches again for the first time in 3 years! The crackers he will eat sometimes. I wish I could find a gluten-free version of Triscuits or saltines. 
He loves the pretzels. I need to find some more popcorn for him. Do you know how hard it is to find microwave popcorn without any kind of butter flavoring? Maybe I should just pop it on the stove.
The best buy were these cookies. Oreos are the only cookie he'll eat, and these look and taste just like them! I say they look just like them, but the first time I gave one to Jackson, he inspected it very carefully before taking a bite. 
So we're slowly easing into it all. He's not eating much these days. Nuggets and fries. Pizza made from gluten-free crusts and vegan soy cheese. Sausage. Bacon. Corn and potato chips. Rice Spaghetti. Gluten-free waffles. And he started eating rice again! He used to love rice, but hasn't eaten any in a couple of years. I haven't found any cereal he'll eat, yet, but I did find a Corn Chex substitute online. The closest store to me that carries it is a Kroger in Houston! So I'll pick up a few boxes when I'm down visiting my mom next week. And I haven't figured out a mac and cheese he'll eat. He used to love the Kraft stuff. I tried making a box of Mac and Chreese I got at Central Market. It's pretty crappy. I tried making my own cheese sauce out of soy cheese and rice butter and goat milk. It was even worse. I guess he'll just have to give that up.
Anyway, Brad came home with a new laptop yesterday, and Noah was so excited, he ran and got his laptop as well. Btw, that's the Thomas laptop that Grandma gave Jackson for his birthday last month. Noah, though, won't let Jackson near it. He's always talking about "MY computer!"
Don't worry about Jackson, though. He spends a good deal of time on our computer, which is the reason for the new laptop. He has his own user account, and can open up the internet browser and start his own Nick Jr. games. I also bought him a kindergarten readiness game that he loves. He asks to play computer first thing in the morning, as soon as I pick him up from school, and several other times during the day. We're having to set the timer and kick him off on a regular basis. Then he wants to play his V-smile game in his room. This isn't a very good picture, but he also likes to be on his head!
Anyway, we've got some big weekends coming up this month. We're going down to Rosenberg to see my family next weekend. Then we'll be hitting the Texas State Fair! Then the boys will have a big birthday party at the park. Finally, Halloween! Whew! Let's hope I remember to take my camera!
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