Tales of Eating Out...Rice Edition

One of the great changes we've noticed in Jackson is his willingness to try new foods. Even though we've had to take so much away, we've found new things for him to eat. We've even gotten him to eat green veggies on occasion, without having to dice them up and hide them. It's progress!
One of the foods he used to like and then stopped eating and is eating again is rice. Since he can't have wheat, this is great for us. I've gotten quite adept at chicken and rice casseroles. I start with brown rice since white rice is mostly empty carbs. I use organic chicken stock instead of water to add extra flavor. I add in some all natural free range chicken pieces, toss in some diced veggies (I like broccoli, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and zucchini), cover with foil, and toss it in the oven. He loves it. Then I use the leftovers to make fried rice later on...sans egg and soy sauce, of course.
Yesterday I was in the mood for some Chinese, so we headed to a restaurant in Mansfield. Here's Noah, staring at the Poo Poo platter where Brad is heating up a beef skewer. This is why we go to this particular restaurant..FIRE...right at your table!

I tried to order a plate of chicken fried rice for Jackson...with no butter, egg, garlic, or soy sauce. The waitress went and checked with the kitchen, and sadly, it wasn't possible. Apparently the rice already had the egg and soy sauce mixed in it. We were fairly disappointed. Noah had chicken nuggets and fries, so Jackson had fries and steamed rice for dinner. Oh, and I had brought along a bag of beef jerky, so he had some jerky as well. (I'm so glad my kids love jerky. Protein and iron with no fat. It's great to have on hand for just these occasions).

Incidently, when the waitress put Noah's plate down in front of him, he asked, "Do you have any chocolate cake?" Monkey.

We've also had much success getting Jackson to eat hamburger patties. So we can do fast food, if need be. Oh, but not Mc Donald's. They use wheat as a flavor enhancer on their fries. I guess that's why they taste so good!