This blog is a way of sharing the information and resources that have helped me to recover my son Roo from an Autism Spectrum Disorder. What I have learned is to view our symptoms as the results of underlying biological cause, which can be identified and healed. I say "our symptoms" because I also have a neuro-immune disorder called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

And, of course, I am not a doctor (although I have been known to impersonate one while doing imaginative play with my son)- this is just our story and information that has been helpful or interesting to us. I hope it is helpful and interesting to you!


Sunday, November 25, 2018

Exploring New Ingredients for Cooking

These days many adults have grown up eating instant food such as canned soups, processed packaged foods such as rice mixes and seasoning packets, or if they have learned cooking "from scratch" it involves processed ingredients such as canned broth and pre-made dough.  It seems that not many people regularly cook from actual scratch and for many people this may be a very functional allocation of their time.  While this may (or may not) work well for some people it can make it difficult or expensive to try making dietary changes, as specialized processed foods may be prohibitively expensive, unpleasant to eat, or may be very hard or impossible to get.  Sometimes learning to make an ingredient from scratch (such as broth, mayonnaise, or salad dressing) is a good solution to this dilemma.  Another solution that can actually be quite fun is to learn to use ingredients that you have not worked with before and to learn to cook new types of dishes.  While this can be fun and exciting and very rewarding to do, it can take a lot of learning and adjustment as you get used to new ingredients and cooking methods.  Below is a collection of links that can help make this transition easier.  Or course what is new to one person is the comfort food that someone else grew up with, and will depend on where a person grew up, where their family and friends and neighbors are from, what restaurants and food stores they have had access to, their income, and many other factors.

Fruits and Vegetables:
Fruity Fruits (YouTuber Emmy learns about and eats unusual fruits)
How To Cut Pineapple Without Waste
Buddha's Hand (a type of citrus)
What is Jackfruit and how to eat it
ASIAN VEGETABLES: BEANS, MELONS, MUSHROOMS, AND ROOT VEGETABLES

Grains, Flours, and Their Replacements:
The Many Possibilities of Potato Starch