Pizza Recipe

This is our favorite pizza recipe. It is gluten free and yeast free, which is important for Eli's special diet. I am also gluten intolerant, but unlike Eli I do eat some dairy products. Usually I will cut one third of the pizza off after the first bake, before I put the toppings on. Eli gets the third with no cheese and Jason and I eat the rest.

Modified from "Pizza with Easy Tomato Sauce," page 153 of The Kid Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook by Pamela J Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.

1 1/3 cups garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/3 cups water

Blend all ingredients thoroughly, beating for two minutes. Cover pizza pan with parchment paper. Spread out the dough using a wet spoon back. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Take it out and add sauce and toppings. I use Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce. (It is sooo yummy!) Bake for another 15-20 minutes. It will brown very well around the edges.

Little Lifesaver in a Jar

I'm not talking about the candy. I'm talking about the little jar of stuff pictured above--- Ghee! This great stuff has been a lifesaver for me with my son's GF/CF diet.

I went to my local Good Earth store one day looking for this because it was the mysterious ingredient in some of the recipes in this book. One of the managers knew what and where it was... it ended up being clarified butter. I almost passed it up... butter is not ok on my son's diet. She explained that clarified means that all proteins are removed... meaning no casein is in it.

Why is this so great? Well, on top of GF/CF my son limits his own diet quite a bit. Margarine, even canola marg is out of the question. No one should eat hydrogenated fats. Bottom line is that this Ghee stuff helps my son accept some foods he normally wouldn't. I stir a teaspoon of it in his GF noodles with some steamed veggies and some salt. He won't eat spaghetti, but he will eat this. (I love it that I can get some veggies down him this way!) At $8 a jar it sure is not cheap, but this little jar has lasted a long time and has flavored many meals of pasta and vegetables and some of brown rice. :)

Yet Another Book I'd Rather Not Live Without

It's about time I updated that book list of the books I have found helpful. So far I have posted them in the order that I acquired them.

To keep a running total of my book list, the first was Changing The Course of Autism, by Dr. Bryan Jepson. Read my post here.

The second book I blogged about was Life Tastes Good Again, by Kristi Kirkland and Betsy Thomas. Read my post here.

The third book I got my hands on was The Kid Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet, by Pamela J Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.



I found this one day while browsing Amazon.com and decided I had to have it. I have been very pleased! Only half of this book has actual recipes. The first half of the book contains these chapters:
Chapter one: Food Reactions: What they are and how to test for them
Chapter two: The Culprits: Glutens, Casein, Soy, and others
Chapter three: More Culprits (this chapter explains diets and who they help)
Chapter four: Eater Beware! Improving your nutritional IQ and shooting down myths
Chaper five: Yes-there is plenty left to eat!
Chapter six: Getting started and bumps along the way
Chapter seven: Dealing with the diet and common concerns

The second half of the book covers the practical side of the diet... what and how to get the right nutrition down our kids! It features ideas, strategies, and recipes straight from parents. I have found it very useful.

I'd have to say that my favorite part of this book are the "blue boxes," the little tidbits here and there that are quotes from the parents, or the children themselves. From those I learned that for some kids there is dramatic, almost instantaneous improvement, and those are the ones I often hear about in many sources. That has not happened in my house, however. But from those parent quotes I learned that many parents also see steady improvements that happen over time... that is what I have been seeing! It has been very encouraging to see others having the same challenges but seeing results as they stuck to it.

My son started on the diet in July of last year. Now he is starting to say 2-3 words together... functionally!

Praise for Another Book I'd Rather Not live Without

To keep a running total of my book list, the first was
Changing The Course of Autism, by Dr. Bryan Jepson.

Here is the number two book that I acquired and found very useful:


Life Tastes Good Again, by Kristi Kirkland and Betsy Thomas.

These women are actually locals to the place I was living when I found this book at my neighborhood natural food store. These women have family members with celiac disease. They not only have developed some great recipes, but they also give some practical tips on how to get started, where to try eating out, etc. Because the book is written for celiacs and not those with autism, you really do need to be on your guard for things like milk products. Many of the recipes do work well with non dairy substitutes. Rice or apple cider vinegar needs to be used when the ingredient is "vinegar." I have also substituted a smaller amount of honey for sugar in some of the recipes that are naturally sweetened with fruit with good results. My son loves the chicken nugget recipe that I changed slightly to meet his diet needs.

You can get this book or some of their recipes free here:
www.eatingglutenfree.com