"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"

I will say it again, it’s a great time to be Gluten Free Casein Free Egg Free. I’ve been overwhelmed by all the new awesome products we have been trying lately. I hope these companies are hearing all the great feed back because it encourages them to get back to the recipe board and come up with new ideas and more things for me to try!

Amy’s Kitchen was nice enough to send me food for the family to taste after I mentioned them in my blog about Daiya cheese. So on Saturday we took their new Gluten Free- Non Dairy Chocolate Cake (also egg free) with us to a party. We shared it with our friend Paige. Her and Austin devoured it!!! Quite a few PITAs taste tested a bite also. Everyone gave it rave reviews. To date the only Gluten Free Casein Free Egg Free cake I have had that was better then this is the ones the Lundy family makes and so far those are not on the market and you have to be a family friend to be privileged enough to have one made for you. !!! Another PITA pointed out that if you put 3 of these cakes together and frosted that it would be a regular cake pan size cake and could easily be decorated by the creative type. As I type this up Austin is finishing off the cake! Yum!!!! I can tell you from now on Austin will not be having to have GFCFEF brownies for his birthday cake!!! I’m betting Paige’s mom will not be paying $200 for GFCFEF cake and having to drive to LA to get it! Very very exciting stuff here in the Primer world!!!

This cake is very moist, a bit on the crumbly side, but that might have been my fault. The directions clearly state to thaw for 2.5 hours in the refrigerator, ours left the freezer and sat in the trunk of the car in the heat for 4 hours before we got to the party, oops!!! No matter how it is thawed I can promise you anyone who likes chocolate cake will enjoy this product! You can serve this and never bother to mention its GFCFEF, because no one will be asking until they see your GFCF family member eating it!!!

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche", or as we say in English "Let them eat cake!"

If you try these new products I hope you take the time to come back and tell me what you think of them!!!

Until next time, PITAup and make the world a better place for someone with Autism!!!

Old Favorites

Since I have some new parents who follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and read the blog, I thought I would review an old favorite since they recently introduced some new flavors. These products are all GFCFEF, not soy free. The have an awesome Allergy Alert for those who worry about cross contamination. I love companies that do not make you search for answers like this! They have this alert on several of their web pages.

Kinnikinnick animal cookies, for once this is a GFCFEF product that got it 100% right the first time!!!! Kinnikinnick animal cookies are just as disgusting as the original animal cookie and that is a GREAT thing! There purpose and usefulness are awesome from a parent's perception! Kid’s first and foremost love them. Animal cookies are a great teething cooking for smaller children. The mush up properly causing very little chance for choking and get all over toddler hands and then all over your clothes and you look like you rolled in a vat of talc or chalk. Ok the last part might not be awesome, but it’s a right of passage in parenting. These disgusting little cookies are winning big raves with all the PITA kids even the not GFCFEF kids! The kids that hang out in our smaller sub PITA group (our group that hangs out together every weekend, kids ages range from 13 months to 10 years old). Everyone will eat these puppies, I mean animal cookies!!!

They have also just come up with two equally unappealing versions Graham Style and Chocolate, which all the children love as well. As a parent I'm all for these disgusting treats if all the kids are, I just wish they were soy free. I think in my world sf and ef are not compatible but companies who cater to our community need to realize GFCFEFSF is where it is at! When we started the diet 6 years ago GFCF was recommended today by our local support group Talk About Curing Autism now, but today the tacanow.org website recommends everyone start GFCFSF. In my experience on this journey there is at least 25% of us that add in egg free due to allergies or IgG tests that recommend it. Egg allergies are huge now days due to many vaccines that have been grown on eggs and IMHO cause allergies to eggs! I think in a few years the majority of parents and support groups will be suggesting starting with GFCFEFSF.

Until my next time, PITAup and make the world a better place for all our kids, but especially those with Autism

Autism Speaks and Sprouts: Are they meant for each other?

To me, the simple answer is no. Sprouts supports things like healthy living, alternative medicine, vitamins, minerals, gluten free diets and many other things. Yet for some reason they are fund raising for an organization that has some big corporate pharmaceutical, vaccine, prescription pushing companies as sponsors.

Why is this?

Well rumor has it (from the Sprouts employees who are willing to talk when PITA parents have inquired about why it is corporate fund raising for Autism Speaks) is that some one at corporate has a child with Autism.

I am hoping that this means that this high up person in Sprouts is a parent that is new to the diagnoses. Since Autism Speaks is known nation wide, they are trying to give back and do not understand what they are doing. I also hope and pray that they are in a corporation that stands for very different values than those of Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks does not speak for the Sprouts consumer and they definitely do not speak for 90% of the people I know who have children with Autism.

In my humble opinion Autism Speaks is anti anything and everything Sprouts stands for and maybe Sprouts just needs to be educated that one of their core consumer bases is not happy with their choice of charities. Since I know most of my friends who are PITA’s are doing this locally, I think maybe we need to do this nationally; politely at the corporate level. I think it is time to mount a campaign for them to stop sponsoring Autism Speaks. So please ask everyone you know who does not think “Autism Speaks” speaks for them to tell Sprouts which Autism organizations actually speak for them. It is also good to include why Autism Speaks and Sprouts policies are completely diametrically opposed. Sprouts, in my opinion, as a corporation should not support a charity like Autism Speaks that is anti homeopathic remedies, local grown produce, natural cures, alternative diets, biomedical, and supplements,

If you agree can you please contact Sprouts via there “Contact us Form” or by phone at 888-5SPROUT and tell them you read my blog at pitaup.com, as always be polite.

BUT tell Sprouts why they should speak in support for Autism Charities that support parents of children with Autism and natural, biomedical choices and not for a group like Autism Speaks.

Until next time PITAup!!!

Gluten Free

Every where I turn lately there are articles lately on how women should be gluten free. Gluten is a protein found in many grains, such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and triticale. Gluten is often associated with oats due to wheat and oats being grown on the same fields. According to a 2008, USA Today article, “In 2003, just 40,000 Americans had been diagnosed with celiac disease; today, it's 110,000 — and, if everyone with the disease were diagnosed, it would be 3 million, says Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore”.

I am thinking about going Gluten Free myself and have a friend that is trying it right now.

Which leads me back to my new favorite things…

Imagine Natural Creations Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup is absolutely amazing.
At Christmas & Easter I used it to recreate French’s Green Bean Casserole minus the French Fried Onions. If anyone has found Gluten free Casein Free fried onions please send it my way.
I am going to using the soup to try and recreate the Coke Pot Roast Recipe, well I will if I can find a high corn fructose syrup free cola (oh and do not suggest Pepsi Natural because it has Apple Juice in it).

My most favorite item I have found recently is something my child can’t have, because he can not have eggs, but it is by far my most favorite thing I have ever tasted that was Gluten free Honestly if I can find a good tasting Gluten free beer I will be Gluten free immediately, because I think I could do it with this product and beer and that says a lot!!!

Udi’s Gluten free Foods White Sandwich bread tastes wonderful, it is also casein free, soy free, and nut free. It is soft and flavorful; to me it tastes like Italian bread. I am eating it right now will oil and vinegar like you would at an Italian restaurant. It is simply divine and only 140 calories for 2 slices!!! I can’t wait to try their whole grain bread, muffins, pizza crusts, and granola.

If you the readers have any new gluten free products to suggest please send them my way.

Until next time PITA up and have a great Monday evening.