WALL-E: A Love Story

If you are a regular here, you know that Pixar is an important part our life (us, and every other household with small children) and the source for many “Echolaliac Pearls of Wisdom.” So it won’t surprise you that we took The Prince to see WALL-E this weekend. I was pretty sure he would enjoy it. It has so many things he loves, machines, space, funny noises. Not to mention the genius visuals of Pixar animation.

You should also know that going to the movies, that is, the in-theater experience (not just watching DVD’s at home) is a relatively new experience for us. The Prince has only been able to handle the high-intensity SURROUND-SOUND noise level and larger-than-life visuals for about a year now. We still bring along headphones to muffle the noise, but now he is able to enjoy the experience, something I thought impossible until recently. When we do enjoy time out together sort of like “a normal family,” I confess, I still marvel and count my blessings.

So, as usual, I snuck our GFCF snacks and The Prince’s headphones in my huge oversized purse (SHHH! Don’t tell!) and waited until the lights dimmed to bring out the edible goods, and we settled in for the movie.

I had read about WALL-E, but even-so, I was not prepared for what I experienced. It is a complex movie, rich with themes, and incredibly relevant to our time, both apocalyptic and nevertheless hopeful at the same time. For adults, the references to 2001: A Space Odyssey, are meaningful and enjoyable. It is Oscar-worthy. And I wondered if The Prince really understood all of this, or any of the kids there, for that matter. But the peanut gallery was pretty silent. Not a peep out of them, so I assumed they were enthralled by the film.

But what struck me most, watching the love story of Wall-E and Eva, was the fact that there is virtually no dialogue for the first hour of the movie. I know I tend to view everything through the lens of my autism mom glasses, but the power of non-verbal communication and that desire that all beings have to connect to each other--robot or not, ASD or neurotypical--and to share, truly touched me. When the Prince was younger, I think I felt a little like Wall-E feeling pure unadulterated love for Eva, but not knowing how to connect. But Wall-E figured out a way to reach-out to his beloved Eva and The Professor and I found the way to The Prince’s heart too. And it doesn’t always involve words, and it sometimes means doing unconventional things that no one else understands, but that’s ok. Love conquers all.

As for the larger message, I thought it was wonderful and apparently, so did The Prince. Spoiler warning: if you have not seen the film and intend to go, stop reading here. When we left the theater, I asked The Prince if he liked it. He said, “it was great.” I asked, “what was your favorite part?” and he scowled, “I told you it was great didn’t I? I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Which could mean talking is too hard right now, and he said “great” to get off the hook of having a conversation, so to speak. Or, as is more usually the case, he meant exactly what he said, being the literalist he is, that he thought it was “great” and that he just didn’t want to talk anymore.

But being the annoying neurotypical parent that I am, when the Prince was in a better mood, I asked again. This time he revealed quite a lot. He said he thought we should buy it on DVD when it comes out. The Prince focused not on the love story, but on WALL-E “saving the world” and how someone who was “slow” could still be “smart” and “win.” He also really understood the environmental message, that “if we do not take care of the plants then our world will become a mountain of trash.” I wish I could say I had taught him that, though we have discussed gardening and recycling. But I was so proud, and amazed that he understood the message. Sure, he liked the space-stuff and he really didn’t get the love story that so captivated me, but he understood that we need to take care of the earth. Thank you, Pixar, for making a movie with such meaning. Love can conquer all, both love for each other, and love for the planet. And they are truly connected.

Quick and Easy Red, White, and Blue Desserts

With the 4th of July coming, I started to think about some quick and easy, kid-friendly desserts. We are doing the easiest thing of all, watermelon. But I recently thought of a GFCF version of Strawberry Shortcake that the Prince likes and I thought I'd also provide one of our favorite fruit salad recipes. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

GFCF Strawberry Shortcake

Van's waffles (or GFCF waffle of choice)
Strawberries, washed and sliced
Soy-a-too whipped topping (available at health food stores) or Tofutti "better than sour cream" sweetened with a little sugar. (But the Soy-a-too is more fun! If you can have soy.)
Sugar to taste
Optional: Blueberries and Enjoy Life Chocolate chips

Prepare Van's waffles as directed. Place one waffle on a plate. Spray the whipped topping on the waffle. Top with strawberries, and if desired, blueberries and/or chocolate chips. Top with more whipped topping and cover with another waffle. Easy!


Red, White, and Blue Berry Salad

Combine your favorite red and blue berries of choice: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. Toss with a little sugar to taste, or agave nectar, if you have some on hand. And you're done. For the kids, add a pouf of the Soy-a-too whipped topping. For more adult tastes, add a splash of Grand Marnier. Yum!

Wordless Wednesday (well, a few words!)

I don't know if I can do this every week, but Wordless Wednesday is a nice blog tradition. I will participate when I can. Today I saw the story on the ABC news about the little toddler with autism and his mom who got kicked off an American Airlines plane and the little boy reminded me so much of the Prince at that age, I felt nostalgic and took a trip through memory lane with photos.

These are some pictures from when the Prince was about 18 months old and we were just beginning to suspect something was up. (Also, it is before I knew that Spaghettios are evil! Still, the red dye number whatever induced smile is priceless!) When I look at these photos, I can see how far the Prince has come. Funny thing, though it was upsetting at the time, the spinning is somehow endearing to me now.

Princess Barbie Rates GFCF Kid-Friendly Products

Last week we hosted the Prince’s cousin, The Princess, while her family was out of town. The Princess looks just like Cindy Lou Hoo, but she is 4, not 2. She is the quintessential girly-girl; complete with a sparkling pink and purple wardrobe, right down to her bejeweled socks. The Prince and the Princess are fond of each other and have always gotten along well. She is the baby of her big family, and as such, has a relaxed manner yet knows how to speak up for herself! She has great social skills too, as a consequence. And though The Prince is older, they are at about the same emotional, developmental level, which makes them good playmates.

For the first time, however, we had a bit of squabbling over what to play. She wanted to play Princess games and he wanted to play cars, trucks, astronauts. But if I could get them interested in something gender-neutral, all was well. Legos, blocks, computer games, and surprisingly, Thomas trains turned out to be mutually acceptable to the Royals. Unfortunately, it rained all week, which called for more parental creativity in the entertainment department!

The Princess is not a picky eater, though she apparently shares the Prince’s disdain for vegetables. She is dairy-free by choice, not for any particular medical reason, but because she just doesn’t like the taste of milk products. And she also belongs to the tribe of “none of my food can touch each other on the plate,” but other than that, it is a joy to feed her, because she actually EATS and is a bit adventuresome in the food department. She is not on the GFCF diet, of course, and I pondered how to handle that. I did buy her a few “comfort” items that her mom said she liked and that we do not normally have on hand. I felt that was important since she was here without her family for a week. But knowing she was willing to try new things, I fed her some of The Prince’s GFCF favorites.

So I thought the reactions of the Princess to some common GFCF convenience foods might be helpful to those of you who are new to the GFCF Diet and who have older children or to those of you with both ASD children and NT children who are trying to simplify things and buy the same foods for everyone. The Prince has been on this diet since he was 2, so it is all he knows. I realize the older your children, the harder this diet can be.

So here are the picks and pans from the Princess:

Thumbs Up:
Wellshire Kids Dinosaur Chicken Bites, two thumbs WAY UP. She loved these!
Perky-O’s, just like Cheerios, didn’t mind a bit!
Envirokidz granola bars were big hit.
Earth Balance Buttery Spread passed for real butter
Tinkyada spaghetti
Cupcakes made with Gluten-Free Pantry mix with CherryBrook Farms icing mix and India Tree Nature’s Colors Sprinkles
Plain popcorn with Earth Balance butter and salt
Plain potato chips

Thumbs Down:
MiDel cookies and Kinnitoo cookies (“These smell funny!”)

Glutino crackers ("These are not Ritz.")
Robert’s American Tings (“Well, they look like Cheetos, but they don’t taste like them.”)
Robert’s American Veggie Booty (“Gross! They are green.” Ironically, the grossness factor is partly the appeal for the Prince!)

I also came to the conclusion that a little OT is good for any child, even if they are not on the spectrum. We have a mini-tramp in the middle of our family room. While, it is not the most attractive item when it comes to home decorating, but it is helpful for the Prince to take a few jumps before or after school, or if he is a bit stimmy, or if he decides to jump on the furniture, I can redirect him to the mini-tramp. The Princess adored the mini-tramp and told me to tell her parents to get her one! One of my favorite moments from the Royal visit was the two of them taking turns on the trampoline. He would do a “Power Jump” and she would do a “Princess Jump.”

The Joy of Cooking Moo-less!

If you like to cook, there is a silver-lining to being dairy-free; and that is a whole new world of dairy-substitute ingredients which can add delicious flavors and depth to your cooking. Surprised? It’s true!

Oh, I admit, there is nothing like real cheese. I love cheese. Cheddar, Fontina, Gorgonzola, Brie, I love it all! Soy-based cheeses just are not the same for me. The Prince doesn’t seem to miss cheese. He loves his Tofutti fine. The Professor never did care much for dairy in any form, though he too likes cheese. Cheese is the only part of being GFCF that I miss.

But I have found that “necessity is the mother of invention” with regard to dairy substitutes, and I find that you can choose the kind of milk that best suits your recipe. So here is my unofficial list of milk substitutes and how they can be used, depending on your needs!

Rice Milk: tends to be a bit sweeter, lighter, thinner, and has a pretty bright, white color. It is kind of refreshing. The Prince likes it best on cereal. He used to drink rice milk exclusively, since it was white, like cow’s milk, and the beige color of soy milk turned him off. But now he actually prefers soy milk to drink. Some brands to consider: Pacific, Eden, Eden has a rice-soy blend too. (Note: Rice Dream, which uses barley in processing, recently claimed to be gluten-free, but now has removed that phrase from their packaging. Although they no longer list barley on their ingredients, they have been so inconsistent in their labeling that until they can provide assurance that the barley is gone, we are not using it, though it is delicious. I actually thought it tasted the best of all the rice milks.)

Soy Milk: closest in composition to cow’s milk, so unfortunately many who have trouble with cow’s milk are also soy intolerant. But if you can enjoy soy, it has the benefit of adding a little extra protein to your diet. I think it is the most versatile of the milk substitutes. I never liked cow’s milk just to drink cold, even as a child, but I actually like the taste of soy milk. Some people like it, others do not. I prefer it in my coffee and to cook with when baking. It is thicker than rice milk and does well in batters. (Many brands to choose from, too many to list, try a few from your local grocery until you see what your family likes. We like Silk. You can get flavored varieties too.)

Hemp Milk: this is my newest discovery, thanks to Karina, the Gluten-Free Goddess. Hemp milk is thicker and creamier than soy or rice milk. Like soy milk, it has a beige color. It has lots of omegas, which is an added nutritional benefit. When whipped, it thickens almost like cream. It is YUMMY in fruit smoothies. Karina has a few smoothie recipes that are great for summer. Basically, just take a cup of your favorite fresh fruit, a cup of hemp milk, and about 2 teaspoons of your favorite sweetener (honey, agave nectar), pop them in the blender, zap, and enjoy. Because of its thickening properties, hemp milk also works really well in faux un-cheese recipes that use nutritional yeast to create a cheesy flavor. You can also buy hazelnut-flavored hemp milk, which is also a nice addition to coffee, and especially tasty in iced coffee. Brand suggestions: again, many choices at your health-food store, we like Living Harvest.

Almond Milk: another pleasantly sweet milk and a bit on the thin side. Many younger children seem to like almond milk to drink, though it is a little sweet for our taste. Almond milk is nice in certain baked recipes, like cookies. I have not used it as much as the others, if you have, chime in here in the comments! Brand suggestions: Blue-Diamond Almond Breeze seems to be the most readily available. It comes sweetened, unsweetened, and in chocolate and vanilla flavors.

Coconut Milk: not for drinking, but works well as a substitute for condensed milk, in dessert recipes. It is wonderful in pumpkin pie, for example. Be sure to shake it, as it tends to separate. Brand suggestion: we like Taste of Thai, most regular groceries carry it.

CF Substitutions: if you need substitutions for things like sour cream, whipped cream, cream cheese, or buttermilk, Thomas at The GFCF Diet Experience has a whole list of substitutions here. For all you southerners who love biscuits, his buttermilk substitution is indispensable! Experience the Joy of Moo-less cooking! It's more exciting than you might think!

Alex Barton Card Campaign Update

Barbara at Mommy Life sent all the cards and gifts to Alex Barton. She has a great photo of him opening the box as well as an update on the situation. The smile on his face says it all!

GFCF Start-Up Kits

For those of you who are just getting started on the GFCF diet, I thought you might be interested in two GFCF “Start-Up” kits that you can order online. If you live in a large metropolitan area and have access to a big health food store chain like Whole Foods, with the help of GFCF Mommies and Daddies both online and in your real life, you can usually find most of the basic items. But it still takes some trial and error to find out what your family likes.

If you live in a rural area, as I know some of my readers do, you may have to depend more on mail order for special gluten-free staples. Or you may just want the ease and convenience of ordering online. If you have small Aspies and Auties running about, that is often easier! I admit to doing it quite often!

Although I have not ordered these kits myself, I have used many of the products that are included. If you like to bake from scratch or use mixes, Bob’s Red Mill is a terrific company, a dedicated facility, and very trustworthy when it comes to gluten-free baking ingredients. You can read about and purchase their Gluten Free Starter Kit. It contains samples of GF All-Purpose Baking Flour, GF Pancake Mix, GF Wonderful Bread Mix, GF Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal, Xanthan Gum, Recipe Packet, and Carol Fenster’s book, Gluten Free 101.” All for $44.95 plus tax and shipping. Bob’s website also has many recipes, which you can access here.

If you are more of an instant-gratification, pre-packaged kind of shopper, and if your children are big snackers (whose aren’t!), and if you are willing to pay a bit more, you can order the GFCF Yummi Snack Pak here from the OFFICIAL GFCF DIET WEBSITE which includes 30 different products and 10 pounds of food for $79.90 plus tax and shipping. Items included are: Kinnitoo cookies (like Oreos), Ener-G pretzels, Tings (like Cheetos), Kinnikritters (like animal crackers), several kinds of Enjoy Life cookies, several cake and brownie mixes as well as snack bars, and more. It’s quite a haul of goods! And you can sample from the different companies, most of which you can find in a large health food store, and see which brands your children enjoy.

Happy Baking and Happy Snacking!

(Photo courtesy of The Official GFCF Diet Website)