Five years seizure free with diet alone!!!

Today is the five year mark. 

Five years Seizure Free!!! 

Yippie!!!

Atty continues to grow and thrive. He turned eight in February. He's wrapping up second grade and looking forward to the summer. We still follow the GAPS protocol, but have loosened up a bit. He now eats some rice and other non-gluten grains. We've added in potatoes, sweet potatoes, and all types of beans with no problems. He occasionally has a treat with sugar in it, but this is still very limited. We generally don't eat refined sugar as a family, sticking mainly to honey or maple syrup as sweeteners, but it's nice to have the freedom to ALL indulge in an occasional treat. For example we recently found a bubble gum at our local co-op that didn't have any soy or food coloring or other nasty things in it, but it was sweetened with sugar. We bought it, and have a wonderful time trying to blow bubbles, something my kids have never done before. I didn't regret it for a moment and plan on going back and buying more because there was no negative reaction from any of the kids and we had a blast chomping away on it. ;)  He also recently tried a bread called Happy Camper, made out of different seeds, all non-gluten, soy and dairy free. So far he hasn't had a bad reaction, so fingers crossed! :)

Just this past weekend he figured out how to ride his bike! Last year we turned his bike into a balance bike by taking off the training wheels and pedals. He struggled with it and wasn't very happy about it but he finally started learning how to balance. This year we put the pedals back on but he wasn't very motivated to learn how to ride. Over the weekend I suggested going on a family bike ride (first one ever!) and off we went. It was bliss. There is this amazing paved trail that goes on for miles and miles and miles, and I can't wait to continue to explore it with the kids. Anyway we told Atty he could push himself along with his feet, or learn how to ride his bike. After some very slow going, where Ryder and I took turns supporting and encouraging him (and practicing a bit of tough love)  he started to ride! At one point when he was getting really frustrated and had a lot of negative talk I told him he was a, "Can Do" kid and if he could overcome seizures he could do anything! I talked about how our words affect us and how he needed to tell himself he could, instead of he couldn't. Then I  traded with Ryder and rode off with the other kids. A little bit later I heard Ryder singing to Atty. He was singing a sweet song about Atty being a bike rider now. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough there was Atty just riding along like nothing. It was the best! Big ol' smile on his face! The whole rest of the time he kept at it and made sure to keep him dialog positive, even when he was struggling. I was really proud of him! This type of coordination is really hard for him and he's come a long way to be able to do it. :)

To see him jumping and running and playing makes my heart so glad.

I'm proud of this whole bunch and all they have done, changed, or given up, to help keep Atty successful and supported and thriving. 

What a team!!!

Here's to another amazing seizure free year!

Cashew nut waffles!

So we have a Christmas Tradition of waffles for breakfast. For the first couple years Atty had his type of grain free pancakes while we had waffles. Last year I stumbled upon a grain free waffle recipe! We loved it and made it again this year. I unfortunately don't know the source of this recipe or I would give credit for it. I just scribbled down the recipe, as I so often do, and now I've since forgotten where it came from. Regardless it must be shared because oh my goodness, yum! And it's really surprisingly easy!

Yield: 6 large belgain waffles
Because we have a large family and usually have a couple guest at Christmas I always triple the recipe, but I make one batch at a time.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup almond milk (or any milk you prefer)
3 TBS honey or maple syrup
3 TBS coconut oil, melted
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 TBS coconut flour

Instructions

Preheat your waffle iron.
Combine the eggs, cashews, milk, honey, and melted coconut oil in a blender. A high-speed blender isn't necessary, although it will make the process easier. Blend until very smooth and creamy. You may need to stop the blender and push the mixture down the sides a few times to get it all to blend really well.
Add the salt, baking soda, and coconut flour, then blend again for about a minute until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet.
If your iron requires oil, spread a little coconut oil on both sides. Pour the batter into the waffle iron so it just covers the bottom portion of the iron. (I pour a scoop into each of the four squares as I have a large waffle iron.) Be careful not to over fill it as these do rise quite a bit and will spill over.
Cook the waffles for about a minute, more or less depending on the heat of your waffle iron. If they release easily with a fork when you open the lid, they are probably done.
Repeat until the batter has been used up. Enjoy!

We like to top them with homemade berry sauce. This year we used frozen blueberries and frozen raspberries that we pick in the summer time. I just add honey to taste and simmer until the juices are a bit thicker and bubbly. You can thicken with tapioca starch, or some other starch is you are using any in your diet. I thickened berry sauce with chia seeds, which is also delicious, but you have to be okay with a tiny bit of crunch. ;) Don't really notice it in a raspberry or strawberry sauce, but it's a little more noticeable in a blueberry sauce. I also make whipped coconut cream using canned organic coconut milk. You put it in the fridge for a couple days, then skim the solid stuff off the top and whip it up with a little sugar free vanilla and honey to taste. We paired this with sausage, but be careful of the ingredients in your sausage if you are on a restricted diet. :)

The whole family enjoys these, special diet or not. It will be the only waffles we make at Christmas time now, and I might even be talked into making non-Christmas waffles. ;)