Fever - to be feared or revered?

The topic of fever can be a touchy one. You know those parents who automatically grab for the Tylenol or Motrin at the slightest hint of fever? Yeah, I kinda was that parent. But then quite honestly Autism changed that. Just as Autism changed my outlook on health and wellness in general. I no longer grab for a fever reducer, it has been years since either of my children have had them. Fevers should be respected and treated only when necessary in my opinion. And my children have no history of seizures so let's get that on the table. There are circumstances where treating a fever is appropriate but for most of us, the best course is to let it do its job. That's right, fever is a defense mechanism to make the host (your child) less hospitable to a bug. It is one of the earliest defenses until the immune system is fully developed. And really the number on the thermometer is less of a worry (or should be) when in reality it is how fast the fever gets from zero to 60 that is the issue. Fast rising fevers are typically the ones that cause concern. I just recently posted this article on the New Beginnings Facebook page.

Our school is seeing kiddos dropping like flies (like most around the country I am sure). In our school we are seeing headache, sore throat and fever. So when my daughter was less than her normal energetic self yesterday I knew something was up. She just wanted to lay on the couch. All day. She even napped a couple of times. When I took her temp out of curiosity, sure enough it was elevated. Good. Her body is doing what it needs to. A few doses of elderberry, extra D3, a few drops of garlic, a few chewable vitamin C's, a couple of homemade cough drops that I blogged about last year (click here for that blog) and some rest was on tap. She had just a slight cough but every time I asked her she said she felt fine. I vary my treatment options based on what's going on and frankly my intuition. If you watch your child and understand how the body responds to illness you can figure out the best treatment. So what I did above is what I needed for THIS round.

When she woke up this morning she had just a slight sore throat. A day home from school and more rest is on tap. My son also woke with a slight fever but nothing more (he was a tad grouchy and out of it this weekend which could have been my cue something was brewing). Both fevers have dropped already so as long as they don't spike again today they will be 24 hour fever free and will go back to school tomorrow. More immune boosting treatment like elderberry tea with some cherry bark for throat support, supplements and homemade soup will carry us through today. I will probably pull out the essential oils like black cumin (add to their tea) and put some thyme oil topically on their throat as a rub and do some internal cajeput for any sore throat issues and then we'll go from there. I believe that the body does have the capability to heal, give it some support, don't shut it down with synthetic drugs that actually block healing and just suppress symptoms, nourish it with good, healthy foods and make sure rest and water is in abundance. We CAN get through cold and flu season calmly, without the fear and hype and with minimal pain and suffering! ;) Be well!

The road of recovery

This afternoon my son was in his room "kicking his ball around". This is one of those solitary things he likes to do to decompress. Well, I heard him doing some verbal stims. He loves all things truck. He likes to make diesel truck sounds sometimes, typically when we are dealing with yeast. I called to him and said he needed to stop. He came to me and was upset about that. He said that one day he wants a diesel truck, he likes to pretend that he has one now and if he made these sounds at school people may make fun of him. I pulled him onto my lap and we talked. Yes indeed, people may make fun of him because sometimes people make fun of behaviors they don't understand. I asked him if he did that at school. He quickly said he does not do that at school. Home needs to be his soft place to land. I told him that he was safe at home, no one would make fun of him here and he can do what he needs to do.

So does Autism recovery mean no stims? Nope, not always. Does recovery mean no more supplements or diet? Nope, not here. But our recovery includes a child who understands his brain works differently and he needs an outlet that may mean some teasing. So he realizes that and only does it at home. Wow. How far he's come. His ability to understand that whole concept and to be able to tell me about it is huge and a testament to his recovery.

Recovery takes time and is as individual as each child. There is no finish line. I see it as a continual work in progress. And each step should be celebrated!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Vegan Chickpea Pot Pie

 I love pot pies, I really do. And it has been a while since I have had one. I got the idea for a vegan version using chickpeas since they do really sub well (see my older post on chickpea nuggets here) for chicken in various forms. So let's start with the crust. I did use grains for this version and look for a paleo version coming soon.

Crust:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup of nut milk or water - added by the tablespoon, mixing well after each tablespoon

Start by greasing a 9 inch pie plate. Mix your dry ingredients together. Cut in the coconut oil (you will have chunks, that is OK). Once it is crumbly then begin mixing in the milk/water. I used coconut milk but you can use whatever nut milk you want or even water. Add one tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together and can be rolled out. Divide the dough in half, roll out. Put the first crust in the bottom of the pie plate. Save the other for the top.

Filling:
3 tbsp coconut oil
6 tbsp rice flour
4 cups water
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups veggies (use what your family likes, I chose organic corn and organic green beans)
2 cups chickpeas soaked

Start a roux by melting the coconut oil in a pan (I used my cast iron). Sprinkle in the rice flour and mix until absorbed and crumbly. I planned poorly and did not pull my stock from the freezer so I just used water. If you use your stock then you may want to adjust your seasonings to compensate. You don't want it overly salty. Add in the water and whisk. Remove from heat when thick and bubbly.

 

Now, I was using frozen veggies so I threw them into the hot, bubbly gravy to thaw. Then I added the chickpeas. Once again, I did not pre-plan this meal so instead of using dried chickpeas that I soaked I used canned. If you use canned, make sure you drain and rinse them. And one can was perfect for this recipe.

Pour everything into the crust. Lay the top crust on top, cut slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together. Don't judge mine, I was in a hurry, lol. Bake for 10 mins at 400 degrees then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 mins. There was nothing left, no left overs to saver, I felt like the dad on Christmas Story with the turkey. I had hoped for something the next day. This was so good it was gobbled right up. Next time I will make two.

Like I said, a grain free version is next on my list but if you want a hearty, flexible meal without meat (or with, you could just add in the 2 cups chicken instead), this one is for you. And if you do make it, please leave me a comment with how it turned out and whether it was a hit at your house too!

Zinc Deficiency and Autism?

Could zinc play a role in Autism? THIS article from Psychology Today suggests that this be another area studied. I know from experience how prevalent zinc deficiency can be. While working a conference for New Beginnings we would often do our zinc challenge. You have a solution with zinc and a little water. The person takes it into their mouths and usually you can tell instantly if they are adequate on their zinc. The taste is pretty bad, very metallic/sour and it can be hard to get that taste out of your mouth. Those we are zinc deficient however have no such reaction and remark that it tastes just like water. I can tell you from a quick counting standpoint, there were more who thought it tasted like water than those who tasted the zinc. And this was adults, not children. When I give my son his liquid ionic zinc from New Beginnings he also reports no taste.

As the article states, zinc is incredibly important to many functions, including immune function. So why couldn't it be involved in some way with Autism. The story has yet to fully unravel and yet for every individual impacted by Autism there will be unique circumstances to look at. But, looking at a zinc supplement (or making sure your child's multi-vitamin/multi-mineral has adequate zinc levels) can be a wise move in many cases.


Credits:

Psychology Today
Evolutionary Psychiatry

The hunt for evolutionary solutions to contemporary mental health problems.

by Emily Deans, M.D. 

Gluten free, dairy free, soy free chocolate crinkle cookies

Well, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Season's Greetings and all that fine stuff. We are rolling into the new year and I am way behind on blogging. So, although the holidays are over, these cookies are great for just about any time you want a cookie. They taste like little mini chocolate cakes, who doesn't love that?!? They should be eaten within a few days of baking (they get hard over time) and they are best right from the oven.

I adapted this recipe from the Betty Crocker's Cookie Book a few years ago. I can't believe I haven't blogged this before.

1/2 cup coconut oil
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (each ounce consists of 1 tbsp melted coconut oil mixed with 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder)
2 cups crystallized coconut sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups gluten free flour blend
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Powdered sugar for rolling cookies in

Mix oil, chocolate and sugar together in a mixer. Add one egg at a time until each is thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder and salt into mixture. Chill overnight. Heat oven to 350 degrees, roll by the teaspoonful into balls. Drop into a small bowl with powdered sugar, roll to coat, place on baking sheet with parchment. Place about 2" apart and bake 10 - 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Makes about 6 dozen.

Congressional Hearing on Autism

In case you missed it today, here is the video of the Congressional Hearing about Autism from today. It is totally worth the watch. For my Autism friends, it will leave you cheering, yelling, mad, elated that some in our government DO get it (a few because their grandchildren, nephews were diagnosed with Autism), sad at hearing the reality (especially the "aging out" part) and many other emotions.



And maybe if you don't (yet) have a child/grandchild/niece/nephew/friend's child with Autism, you will soon. And I don't say that to be mean, I say that in sadness and all honesty. With the numbers 1 in 88 and for boys that means 1 in 54, your odds are pretty good (or bad depending on how you look at it). And I know people like that. People who have NO CLUE what it is like to raise a child with Autism. Who cannot perceive the sacrifices we make because, what choice do we have? This is our CHILD. We would sacrifice anything to help them.

I don't normally post pictures of my family on this blog but I decided to break those rules to stand with my fellow Autism Moms/Dads in our "Not born with it" campaign to raise more awareness. My son was NOT born with it. Here are 3 photos, before Autism, during Autism and AFTER Autism. Autism is NOT purely genetic, it is treatable, kids can get better and my son is proof. He will probably ALWAYS be affected by this disorder called Autism. But it is my job to make sure I get those roadblocks out of his way the best way I can.

Before Autism

During Autism

After Autism!

The Importance of Probiotics

Not convinced that probiotics are critical to maintain your health? Then read THIS informative website and get a glimpse at just why these little critters are so powerful in helping us stay healthy.

Clostridia, a holistic treatment approach

A lot has been going on and when I say "a lot" I mean "like a million zillion times more things than normally go on in this uber busy household". Hence the lack of blog posts. Although, you can always read new and exciting stuff on the New Beginnings Facebook page, hint, hint.

A few months back we ran an Organic Acid Test (OAT). Holy Clostridia batman! Reference range is 220 for the "high" category. His test showed almost 1800!!! Yowza. Now, anyone in the biomedical Autism world knows this is bad stuff and it really impacts neurological functioning. We had to treat with Vancomycin, 10 days on, 7 days off, 10 more days on. Drumroll please......each 10 day course cost $1700! That is another rant for another day. We ran yet another OAT after treating. Clostridia still high, in 750's. It came down 1000 points but GEEZ!

Clostridia - 1
Us - 0

So, I'm sick of the thought of yet ANOTHER course of antibiotics. I also had a chance to attend the recent ARI conference to work the New Beginnings booth. So of course I took that opportunity to brainstorm where I could. I came home and began to formulate a plan.

1 tsp Manuka honey + 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar daily
Rotation of herbs (Oregano, Thyme, Turmeric, Cumin), 3 days on, 3 days off
Rotation of natural antifungals 3 days on, 3 days off, opposite days as other herbs

Rather than dried herbs in some cases, I chose to work with very potent essences. These aren't your foofy "put in a diffuser to make your house smell good" types of oils. These are oils of the highest quality designed even for internal use. Potent stuff, another post for another time since their Cajeput is the bomb diggety for any sort of throat issues with colds/flus. I get them at a place called Wisdom of the Earth. Great place, great people and I HIGHLY recommend them. PS - I don't work for them or get paid in any way, shape or form, this is just my own opinion after years of using essential oils.

So, I am using during our 3 days on:

New Beginnings Turmeric - 1 capsule in the morning in his normal supps
Oreganol with the P73 - 2 drops in the morning in his normal supps
5 drops Black Cumin essential oil on the bottom of his feet in the morning
5 drops Thyme essential oil on the bottom of his feet in the morning

3 days off I am using the Yeast Control Package from New Beginnings

Day 1 - Saturday. Applied the oils and within 1 hour I began to see our "Clostridia behaviors", falling apart emotionally, crying, screaming, angry, sad, just a volatile mess. Scrapped plans to attend bday party with his sister to stay home with Dad. No way we were going into public.

Day 2 - Sunday. Same thing but not quite as intense.

Day 3 - Monday. - Moody, irritable and emotional.

Day 4 - Tuesday - No oils or supps besides the normal ones and yeast control package. More back to normal. Started Manuka honey/ACV. No noticeable change with that. Went down well despite the AVC. He's a trooper.

Day 5 - Wednesday - Crazy busy day with back to back parent teacher conferences and then I had an additional PTA meeting. But it was not an oils day anyways but no honey/ACV was given since Dad was flying solo tonight.

I believe we were really seeing a healing crisis/flare with the oils. I take that as a fabulous sign things are working. I plan to work this for a month or two and retest. It is my hope that I can pinpoint a plan that can help others in this battle as well. We all know how hard the gut is to heal in these kiddos and these bugs are tenacious. But I know there is a solution out there that does not involved constant antibiotics. So I will keep the blog updated as much as possible as to our progress. I am really looking forward to the next OAT. But I will say that other than this gut bug issue, his OAT was pretty much PERFECT! So, yes although this issue is a biggie, I am so proud of how far he has come biomedically and that has translated so beautifully behaviorally as well. Our gut is our second brain and as we've nailed these things down his whole body and brain has healed. So there you have it. I look forward to sharing this exciting new plan with you as we go!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 6 - Thursday - Status cue, normal supps with yeast protocol on board as well as the honey/ACV combo. But, I did decide to give him a dose of his constitutional homeopathic remedy. On one of our consults with Pierre Fontaine he mentioned that giving a dose of the remedy while sick could help the body heal faster. Since we are undertaking a distinct "stirring" of things, I figure it could not hurt.

Day 7 - Friday - Started back with the two oils on his feet at breakfast time. Added back in Turmeric and Oreganol with normal supps as well. No yeast package today. Behaviors not as bad as the first day with the oils. So far.

Baby monkeys given vaccines develop Autism-like symptoms

Have you read this yet? If not you need to. Baby monkeys given the suggested schedule of vaccines developed Autism-like symptoms and unvaccinated monkeys did not. I think we need more safety research on vaccines!!!! Read the article below. Think they have been properly safety tested before they are injected into your child?? WRONG!!! Think research has been done on how vaccines react in combination? WRONG!!!

To read the full article, click here.

Stress

This blog on the Thinking Mom's Revolution really got me today. It is very true. As an Autism mom there has been a lot of stress that just comes with the territory. Whether you are talking chronic lack of sleep because your child does not sleep, stress over how you will pay for what truly helps your child (and is never covered by insurance if you even have insurance), stress of handling multiple behaviors (whether it is aggression, OCD, anxiety, meltdowns, etc) and we haven't even touched anything beyond Autism yet. Then there are the everyday stressors, family illness, job loss, or just pain in the ass people who seem to have nothing better to do than to be jerks. It adds up. But this blog is right, it encourages us to focus on the good rather than all of the bad. Now, putting this into practice is a little bit easier said than done, I'm a far cry from some Zen master to be sure. But, we are Autism moms, we are strong. We have done what our mainstream pediatricians could not in many, many cases. We have taken our kids to a place where some thought they would never be. I don't know about you but I will be damned if I am going to be dragged down by the BS. So this is your reminder Autism Moms, take YOUR vitamins, maybe throw in some extra B-12 for good measure. Sneak a little of your child's Glutathione, take your antioxidants and try and get some sleep. Our kids are counting on us to be there for a long time! And above all, don't buy into the drama and BS that even runs rampant in our own community, let alone the stuff people on the outside throw at us. If they don't know, they better ask somebody, we're Autism tough, and it doesn't get much tougher!

One decade later.....

Wow, 10 years of marriage. This time exactly 10 years ago I was sitting in a hotel room, anxious for the day to start, sharing the morning with 3 of my best friends. Giggling like school girls, nervous anticipation, wondering what the next chapter of my life would be like.

10 years has brought all that one might expect, joy, fun, excitement, sorrow, heart break, loss. And through it all my husband has been strong and true by my side. Our life has been like a roller coaster. Lots of ups and downs, especially facing Autism and healing our son. But he and I have a bond that is unbreakable. We take whatever is thrown at us and turn it into something good and something that makes us stronger. We work as a team, we always have. And yes, we have had some pretty big adversity. But the people who want to tear you down usually do so because they are lacking that relationship in their lives. So we use whatever is thrown at us to give us more motivation and purpose to the life and family we have created. Period. End of story.

The vows we took 10 years ago still hold true. But, there is so much more to them than what we said 10 years ago. Our marriage is so much deeper now. There is much more meaning to our lives and what we created with the words "I do". Today I vow to not only to love, honor and cherish my husband but to be the one to build him up when this world tries to tear him down. I vow to always look at his side of things even when I don't really want to. I vow to remember that the past is the past and that's where it should stay even when parts of it rear its ugly head. I vow to never let the past in any way impact our marriage. I vow to protect him and my family with every ounce of strength I have and Lord knows I have a lot. I vow to always remember exactly why I fell in love with him, his caring nature, his intelligence, his sense of humor, his ability as a father and his depth of love for me to name just a few. He shows me every day how much he loves me. Not in flowery words or flowers delivered but in the little things that keep our love alive. It is in the way he knows what I am thinking just by a look, the way we can say just 1 word and communicate much more, the way we have our own special language that many times others don't get, or just knowing when I need to have a break and he lets me, no questions asked or resentment. He is my partner in all areas of life.

10 years ago we said "I do" but it really was "I will". I will grow and change with each day but that growth is with you, not away from you. "I will" let our marriage and love be the example for our children to strive for when their time comes to find their soul mate. "I will" enjoy all the ways you are special and add so much to my life. "I will" respect you and your opinions (even though we know I am always right! :)). And "I will" love you forever!

10 years, not a bad way to start a lifetime together. Happy Anniversary Eric!!

Bloggers beware of those photos you post!

Bloggers, please read this blog HERE and heed her warning. If you didn't take the picture, don't post it. Yeah, I know, hours of work ahead removing photos.....better safe than sorry!

Food combining and Autism recovery

OK so I am going to need you to hang in there with me on this one. I first heard about food combining from a co-worker back in the 90's and I thought she was crazy to be honest (sorry Brandy!). Fast forward to now and my friend (aka my food guru) was talking about this topic recently. I thought SHE was crazy too. But being the OCD type-A person I am, I started researching it more when we were lamenting about the various food issues in our two houses (and between the 5 kids and 4 adults we probably hit almost every single food and that may not even be an exaggeration!). And listen, I am sure there will be people who refute this whole concept and explain away all the theories. And that's fine because I am the first to say you have to go with what works FOR YOU.

So here goes. The basic principles are that certain foods take more/less time to digest. So when you combine foods that are on different time frames you create a slowing of digestion which allows for fermentation/dysbiosis growth. Given my own personal fascination of what feeds gut bugs, this made sense to me. It also cleared up why I was seeing certain food reactions in some very healthy foods I was preparing for my son. For example, I have a few recipes for raw pancakes that I would do in the morning. Usually they consisted of a blend of sprouted buckwheat, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, sunbutter, maybe some coconut and some maple syrup. I would then top them with sliced bananas. Super healthy and very tasty and yet after there were meltdowns, irritability, etc, etc. that I was connecting clearly to the meal. Well now it makes sense. The buckwheat is a grain and it was being combined with a protein (sunflower seeds/butter) and then fruit was added in to make matters worse. Proteins and starches should not be combined and fruit should be eaten alone or with greens. The protein takes longest to digest so the fruit and starch were sitting there left to feed the undesirables in the gut in the meantime. So we were seeing some irritable behaviors as a result.

I will say that this diet has been kicking my BUTT!!! I am pretty familiar with special diets by now but this was HARD. But here's what I am seeing. NO meltdowns after meals, no "food frenzy" eating. Do you know what I mean?? Can you look at your child eat and know that their gut bugs are controlling their appetite? Do your kids ever get that frenzied "I want more, I want MORE" quality when they eat certain things? My son did and that was a sure clue that the food was not welcome at our table again. That is gone. His eyes are crystal clear. I hope you Autism moms know what I mean. The sparkle is there, no food fog, he is very, very present.

So what do typical meals look like??

Everyday starts with fruit. And I am talking ALL fruit!!! Not all at once but you know what I mean. I *try* and work around the acid, sub acid, sweet thing (acid and sub acid can be combined and sub acid and sweet can be combined) but it doesn't always work. But, I can give peaches, plums, bananas and even grapes with no flare in yeast, at all, whatsoever!! (Cue the trumpets) We were stuck with just berries and pears for the longest time. There are caveats. Melons should be eaten alone with nothing else and on a completely empty stomach. So, we start with some fruit and then a green smoothie.

My green smoothie is: Water, greens (kale, lettuce, chard, spinach, beet greens, perslane, etc.). I choose a couple of greens. Add in some stevia and blend. Add in some frozen fruit (usually berries). Viola! Now, wait at least 20 minutes.

Then we can have our normal buckwheat cereal but I leave out any nuts/seeds so we are not combining proteins and starches. Coconut is a neutral/fat so it is ok. Or maybe I will do a gluten free english muffin with some coconut oil and a sprinkle of chia seeds. Or I can make some pancakes. Now you want to give yourself at least 2 hours until you are eating again (longer if there is protein involved). Snacks are usually veggies. A nice big veggie tray for the day works well, they can eat all the veggies they want. Lunch can be either a starch/veggie combo OR a protein/veggie combo. So here's where if they want some organic corn chips or organic potato chips then we need to stick with veggies and a starch. And for our purposes today, things like quinoa and beans are considered starches (yeah, that threw me because I consider them more on the protein side). So tacos with black beans or quinoa salad or rice pasta and sauce are all options here. If they want nut butter then I use a paleo bread recipe. I converted it to an almond/sunflower seed recipe and use sunbutter, no jelly because that's a fruit! Sauerkraut is also a staple on our plates to aid with digestion as well. Dinner has the same options. We've been doing some great omelets for dinner with our fresh, organic eggs from our beautiful ladies in the yard. I fill them with tomatoes and Daiya cheese and serve up some grilled veggies or raw veggies. Hamburgers and french fries are out unless I do a homemade veggie burger. The book I read "The Beauty Detox Solution" by Kimberly Snyder has some great recipes. And don't let the name of the book fool you. This isn't about beauty for us, it is about putting the body into a state of healthy normal detox where the body is not clogged with foods in such a way that they cannot be digested properly. But she also advocates things I also believe in like probiotics and digestive enzymes. And the basic premise is eating light to heavy. You want the easier to digest stuff in the beginning and that sets the tone for the day and the harder to digest stuff (especially proteins) are more towards dinner which gives your body all night to digest if needed.

When I did more digging, this is basically the Body Ecology Diet in a sense. I will be honest, I have been very frustrated at times with the combinations and what I felt like were lack of options. But, we are settling in (it was 3 weeks on Friday) and it is certainly getting easier. And there is such an even keel especially around meal times. So I like what I am seeing. Everyone is growing (seems like especially now) and thriving and the clarity in my son's eyes is something I really love to see. So while this may not be for everyone (heck, I didn't think it was going to be for us!!) I think it is a great option for our life. If you ask my son he would say I need to throw that book out. There have been occasions where he says "I don't like that book!! What good is a sandwich if you can't have nutbutter?!?!?!". I had to laugh. So creativity has been a must (especially since you are not even supposed to combine more than one protein source except for nuts/seeds, they are OK to combine). I was thinking of going Paleo because of these food reactions I was seeing and a desire to reduce the starches in his diet. After we started food combining I realized that maybe why Paleo works for so many people is that you really ARE removing the protein/grain combination. Paleo does combine fruits/proteins which is still a no-no in this realm. But, for us this is successful and there are no negative reactions with grains now that they are not paired with proteins. I will keep you posted going forward. And if anyone wants any ideas on meals/snacks, let me know. That could be a follow up post. Bon Apetit!

Fourth of July healthy treats

Are you looking for some cute, healthy, quick and easy treats for the July 4th holiday? Well check these ideas out.

Flag Fruit Skewers

 We made a flag out of blueberries, strawberries and bananas. This has been going around the internet for a while, super cute and easy. I had some little helpers who did quite a bit of the work. They sliced the strawberries and bananas for me and even helped put them on the skewers. Tasty, patriotic and healthy!

Star Skewers

The next idea is also super easy and looks totally cute. I remembered that I had some American Flag ribbon so I wrapped it around an empty jar and put a little hot glue to hold it. Then we started cutting 2 sizes of stars out of watermelon slices. Again, kids LOVE helping with this and it was so simple yet delish! Simple cookie cutters work wonderfully here and then you just angle the stars a bit, each one a little offset of the previous and viola! Cute treat ready for any party or gathering!

Whatever you may be doing today, from my family to yours, have a happy and healthy 4th of July!!

Chickpea chocolate chip cookies

Photos courtesy of my 14 year old aspiring photographer ;)

Say what?? I read the recipe and I was all in. A healthier cookie?!? Yeah baby!! The 14 year old gave me a look like "What you talkin' bout mom??". The 8 and 6 year olds are used to my wacky recipes, they tuned everything out except chocolate so I had their buy in. 14 year old made me read the comments, "Well they all say these LOOK really good, no one says what they taste like". Hmmmm, scroll some more "Here's one!! They say they taste delicious". Tentative buy in, because after all, it does have chocolate in it.

I got the recipe from Texanerin. I made just a few mods.

• 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons natural sunbutter
• 1/4 cup combo of part coconut nectar and part coconut sugar (low on honey)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup mini Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined. Put in the chocolate chips and stir it. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. With wet hands, form into 1 1/2" balls. Place onto a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. Yields about 32 1 1/2" cookie dough balls. The original recipe said 14, ours didn't look a lot smaller than hers but we sure got a lot more than 14!

Enjoy and either divulge that these are healthier (or not)! Now off to grab another before they are all gone....