Late last year I had the good fortune to meet a lovely mum – Veronica. We had a fantastic chat and she shared some great recipes with me:
- Banana Flour Pancakes
- Lemon Balls (Photo and recipe from Whole Food Simply)
- Banana Bread
- Tuna Bake
- Mum’s Green Eggs and Ham
Veronica is choosing to follow a Gluten Free Casein Free Diet (basically paleo – which is vegetables, seeds, protein from meat) for her children that are living with Autism. She has chosen this after doing reading and by all accounts she said while it is a little more effort (but not much more) they FEEL better! So in my book – that is Brilliant!!!
From what I’ve read, and as part of my studies, it seems that for children living with Autism, the reason diet may assist is because certain enzymes are NOT present in the gut, so the protein components of food (in this case gluten, found in wheat, rye and barley and casein found in animal milk) aren’t properly metabolised. When this happens the improperly digested proteins/ peptides go into the blood stream and deliver opiate like substances. This is why these children crave foods with gluten and casein. To read more about eating for ASD, ADHD check out US Based nutritionist Julie Matthew’s website: Nourishing Hope.
Research is suggesting having some protein for breakfast is important to improve concentration, for kids and adults, in the general population people, and those with ADHD!
I hope you enjoy some of Veronica’s favourites as much as I have!
Banana Flour Pancakes
Veronica’s kids LOVE these! She has tried these in school lunch boxes and while they were okay they were not as nice as when made fresh.
Ingredients
1 cup banana flour
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
130ml milk (e.g. coconut or almond or what works for you)
2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Optional: 1 Cup berries (add last).
Method
- Combine all ingredients (except berries) and mix well.
- Fry at medium to high heat using coconut oil (or olive oil/ butter if you prefer). They cook much faster than “regular pancakes” and are best consumed fresh.
Lemon Balls
These ones from Whole Food Simply (and in the picture above) are in Veronica’s her words … “O-M-G!!!” With three children Verionca likes to spoil the special ed teachers every now and again, so she made these up Lemon Balls for those amazing teachers.
Checkout the recipe here: https://wholefoodsimply.com/lemon-balls/
Banana Bread
Veronica says this one came from Civilised Caveman Cooking. The good news is her kids don’t know the different between this banana bread recipe and a non paleo banana loaf!
Ingredients
4 mashed bananas
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond* butter (* could use any nut butter: coconut, sunflower seed, macadamia)
4 Tablespoons coconut oil (or butter if you prefer)
1/2 cup coconut flour (this quantity is specific for coconut flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 pinch of salt
Method
- Heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius
- Line baking tin
- Mix bananas, eggs, nut* butter, coconut oil in a blender.
- Add coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and salt.
- Pour mixture into lined baking tin.
- Bake for 35 – 40 mins @ 200 degrees Celsius.
Tuna Bake
Ingredients
Large tin of tuna (e.g. spring water variety)
Variety of grated vegetables, about 2-3 cups (e.g. pumpkin, zucchini, carrot, sweet potato)
2 to 3 eggs (depending on their size)
1/4 cup coconut flour (this quantity is specific for coconut flour)
Method
Heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius
Line baking dish.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well.
Put into a lined baking dish (I use a loaf tin).
Bake for approximately 30 mins at 200 degrees celcius.
Mum’s Green Eggs and Ham
Veronica says: “Something I recently did for my kids for afternoon tea was Mum’s Green Eggs and Ham! Having a 7 yr old who LOVES Dr Seuss it was a real hit, though his 11 yr old ASD brother had an issue with them not being “REAL” like in the book!”
Ingredients
4 hard boiled eggs
1 avocado
1 teaspoon lemon juice or oil
sea salt
Method
Peel eggs and cut lengthways.
Remove yolk.
Mash yolk with avo, juice (or oil) and season with salt.
Refill egg whites.
Serve with grilled (nitrate free) bacon strips.
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