Category: Food

Advice/Tips, Family, Food, Opinion

Autism: Dairy Free Diet

cloepottorff

Since we have gotten the autism diagnosis, we have researched every option to help with Leo’s symptoms and behaviors. The one that seemed like a simple change that could have a big impact was switching off of dairy completely. 


It was a little more difficult than expected because I didn’t realize that the only foods my son liked to eat was all dairy products. Milk, string cheese, mac&cheese, quesadillas, yogurt, ice cream and chocolate. 

The first two days were rough, he was extra fussy and didn’t want anything. I had substituted milk with almond and coconut milk. No cheese at all or yogurt. There is coconut milk ice cream and carob chips (similar to chocolate), so he wasn’t completely cut from everything. 

By day three, we started to see a difference in Leo’s behavior. 

  • He had better attention
  • Willingness to try new things
  • More vocal
  • Fewer tantrums
  • More responsive 


With the results we saw, we were going to stick to a dairy free diet. So we all have been dairy free since October and I can’t go back. I tried having milk and I got stomach aches. It has helped all of our health, not just Leo’s. 

I would highly suggest anyone and everyone to try removing dairy from their diet and see what results they notice. The time it takes to see results vary from person to person. We were lucky to have some results within the first week but it can take up to a month to start seeing a change. And for some, it may not help at all but it is worth a shot. 

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I hope this was informational and helpful. If you have more questions or comments, feel free to send me a message!

Love, Cloe ๐Ÿ’™

Food

๏ปฟSimple Homemade Orange Chicken

cloepottorff

As a mom, anything I can make that is quick, easy and not too unhealthy is a win for me. For when you are craving some orange chicken, this one hits the spot!

You only need 4 simple ingredients:

  • Boneless chicken breast
  • Bbq sauce
  • Orange marmalade
  • Soy sauce

This recipe serves 3-5 people. In one sauce pan, mix 1 cup bbq sauce, 1 cup sweet orange marmalade and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce together and let simmer. 

Then chop chicken breast to desired size and grill. Optional: you can coat with flour and water mixture to have a bit more breaded texture. 

Once all chopped, toss into simmering sauce and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes. 


Once it is done, you can serve as is or with a side of fried rice. 

Let me know if you enjoy this or have another recipe I should try! ๐Ÿ˜Š

Family, Food

Flashback Friday #1 – 90’s Toys & Candy

cloepottorff

Today, my family and I were all reminiscing our memories of the 90’s and it really made me feel old. Our main talk was of the toys and candy that we don’t see around much now. I was born in 1990 so I lived through all the 90’s but I was still young. A lot happened in the 90s, way too much for me to write about it all; so I narrowed the topic down to toys I think represent the 90s and candy you don’t see too much anymore. Hope y’all enjoy the memories!
Here are my top 5 toys from the 90s:

1. View Master – I loved getting the small reels with Disney characters on them and just scanning through them as we drove to visit family. 


2. Super Nintendo- I was homeschooled so we played this all the time, my mom even played with us. Some of my favorite games were Donkey Kong of course, Aladdin, Star Fox, Space Invaders, Zelda and Super Mario World.


3. Nintendo 64 – This was the newest Nintendo system and my family really got into this with family night being teams battling against each other in whichever game we chose. Just to name a few we played: Donkey Kong, Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Golden Eye 007 and Mario Party. 


4. Tamagotchi or Giga Pets – If you didn’t have one of these growing up in the 90s, you missed out. Everyone I knew had one and we had them linked up with our backpacks. I personally had a gigapet and I loved it. Eventually I got tired of cleaning up the digital dog poop and giving him a bath. Now my gigapet sits in a save box in storage as a fond memory. 


5. Pogs – Everyone collected these and traded them when I was a kid. They have tons of different images on them. I mainly had Disney or cartoon ones. I collected so many until they banned them in schools and all my friends stopped playing. 

I definitely have a longer list of my top favorite candies but I’ll try and keep it short for you ๐Ÿ˜‹ I also included some snacks because they are too good to forget.

1. Dunkaroos – These were every kids’ favorite snack. Graham crackers with frosting to dip them in, it could get any better than that! Unfortunately, a whole generation had to grow up without these amazing treats in their lunchbox since they were discontinued. 


2. Ring Pops – If you didn’t use a Ring Pop in a mock wedding ceremony, you weren’t doing it right. 


3. Fruit Stripe Gum – Not only did Fruit Stripe Gum step it up in the food-coloring department, but each stick also came with a temporary tattoo. 


4. Ouch Bubble Gum – Candy in the โ€™90s just seemed so much more fun. Like gum that looked like fun band-aids.


5. Those powder filled plastic fruit – I was obsessed with these and would eat these when I was watching Dexters Lab


6. Bubble Jug – This was good but you never seemed to have enough and would eat the whole thing in one sitting. 


7. Candy Lipstick – My sister and I would always use these during pretend but we couldn’t resist and they would be gone by the end. 
I know I missed a bunch of other good ones but I don’t want this post to be rediculously long so I could only do some of my top favorites. I hope y’all enjoyed taking a stroll down memory lane!

Comment below with your favorites ๐Ÿ˜œ

Until next time, Cloe ๐Ÿ’œ