Hello there! I'm sharing a recipe today that was from Paleo Parents, who shared if from Julie Bauer's cookbook "Paleo Cookbook" So much sharing! I like to do a syrup based breakfast for the kids on Saturday mornings - wait, what? You don't know what a "syrup based breakfast", is? Well, it's a food item that gives you an excuse to eat maple syrup!!! :) I am truly Canadian. Anyway, making great paleo pancakes can be difficult, but I've made a few that I liked a lot (like these Chocolate Monkey Pancakes), but I was wanting to try something new, and also something I could make ahead. Well, I found this little dream of a recipe, and we loved it! I made the mini pancakes on Friday night (and wanted to eat them right then!), then I simply stuck 'em into an airtight container overnight, and got the rest whipped up in no time in the morning! This is so good! If you make the mini pancakes and think "why can't I just eat these like this?". Well, you can if you want to! But, making them into a delightful little pancake bake just makes it seem more like a cozy bread pudding. It seems more filling and satisfying somehow. I also changed the recipe slightly, and swapped out the coconut milk for applesauce in the mixture you make that gets poured over the mini pancakes before being baked. It made these a wonderful, apple cinnamon pancake bake! Anywho, it's the bees knees, and I think you should give it a whirl! Mini Cinnamon Pancake Bake From Paleo Parents, with some adjustments of my own The Mini Pancakes Ingredients:
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The Mini Cinnamon Pancake Bake Ingredients
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I have a very (VERY!) wiggly 6 year old on my lap while I'm writing this and when she saw the pictures she said, "Oooooohhhh! I looooove these french toasts!!!" : ) So, I think that sums this up nicely! Have a wonderful weekend!
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Hello there! Until a few years ago I would not - nay - COULD not eat shrimp. Originally, this started from a place of growing up not eating a lot of shrimp, but also knowing that shrimp were bottom dwellers (garbage eaters!), made my stomach turn. This does not seem like a great intro to this post....hold on, it get's worse! Hahaha! So, after I got over that and tried shrimp again randomly as an adult (I just tried the cold shrimp with the classic seafood sauce), I came to realize that shrimp was pretty tasty and I actually liked it. And then, a set back. We showed up for an Easter meal at my in-laws, and my brother-in-law had something smelling so good on the BBQ. I asked what it was and he said he had been marinating jumbo shrimp for a few hours and was now grilling them. Well, yum-diddly! I had only really eaten "party shrimp", as mentioned, but this smelled so good, and I was willing to try! Well, didn't he just bring me one when they were ready.....and it was a large, frightening, unpeeled shrimp! I literally went, "OH NO! No, no, no, no, I can't eat that....". Like a baby. Like a giant baby. My father-in-law came to the rescue and offered to peel it for me (where I couldn't see him doing it!), and then I ate that shrimp. It was tasty. But I knew my shrimp limits then and there. If the shrimp is naked, I'm good. If it's got eyes, and creepy little legs. Good golly, keep it away from me!!! For this post I wanted to find some useful links to help with the peeling and deveining process, and literally, out loud at my computer sat going, "Bleeeeh! Eeeewwwwwww!!" while making faces of disgust. I still can't handle shrimp that look like little sea creatures. Here's a link for those of you who can handle it though! If all of this made you question eating shrimp at all....I'm sorry. Seriously, so sorry. This coconut shrimp is so good though....you may want to reconsider your feelings. I shan't ever change my feelings about shrimp I'd need to peel and devein, but shrimp that's ready for fried coconutty goodness? That's a no brainer! These tasty morsels come together easily and relatively quickly. They are great on a salad, served with sauce, eaten alone, and even eaten cold the next day! I usually eat mine next to a mountain of Moo-shu (I just make a meat free version). Paleo Coconut Shrimp From Wiked Spatula Ingredients:
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Looks good, eh? It is. It so is. Well, that's all for today! I didn't get a chance to post anything last Friday because it just turned into a day of busyness (not business), and then last minute my husband and I decided to go out for a late anniversary dinner, and well, the day just vanished. Poof! Anywho, how do you feel about shrimp? I want to know! So, feel free to share with me your truest feelings about the little sea creature. : ) My sister sent me this, and I literally laughed out loud! So, enjoy a good laugh this Monday on me (via my sister)! On my Health & Fitness page I share a new workout that I'm loving lately. It's a Body By Simone workout created for Sweaty Betty's GetFit4Free campaign. Happy Monday! Hello! Over on my Health & Fitness space I talk about helping to keep kids active! Go and check it out! Aww, go on, just go. : ) For a little Monday laugh, I wanted to share one of my all time favourite YouTube videos of a dear wee lass trying her darndest to get into first position in her ballet class. She's a freakin' hoot! I hope everyone had a great Monday!
Is it true?! Is it really real?!? Is spring finally, finally here?!?!?! : ) Our spring here has been warm...and then snowing! And then warm....and then snowing!!!! And then all the kids got sun-burnt one Saturday.....then we had an ice storm! I mean, good golly. Anywho, I'm washing the snow pants and winter coats for the third time to put away for the warmer months, and am hoping it'll stick this time! Well, when the winter won't end, more and more cookies get made! These super simple gems are made using a cake mix, and we added some super fun mini candy covered chocolate chip thingies.....I honestly can't remember what they are really called...? Anyway, enjoy! Cosmic Cake Mix Brownie Cookies I get approx. 22 cookies using a 2 Tbsp sized scoop from one batch Ingredients:
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I made this particular batch o' cookies with a President's Choice Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix. Someone at church gave it to me because their son who used to eat gluten free wasn't anymore, so she kindly gave us a bag of random gluten-free goodies! I basically never need a gluten-free cake though except for Caleb's birthday, and my homemade recipe is so darn good, so using the mix for cookies was definitely more up my alley. I was able to pack away a bunch of the cookies in the freezer and have them ready to take-along for my gluten-free Caleb if we went somewhere I knew there would be some treats he couldn't partake in. Well, that's it, I guess. My mind feels like bleh....yesterday I was filling out a form for a police check, and I wrote my birthday year as 1893. Then I put a 5 instead of an S at one spot, and I also wrote my address one line above each line I was actually supposed to write it on. Golly gee willikers. Hopefully my brain is taking some sort of rest to get ready for some sort of awesomeness....? Yes? Fingers crossed? Have a great weekend - and a great Mother's Day! Be sure to show some love to some motherly figure in your life! Well, I usually post about autism on a Thursday....and I missed the last Thursday in April (April being Autism Awareness Month) because last week turned into a week of unexpected things and being away from home, and then iMovie being a complete and utter jerk to me! : ) Well, maybe it wasn't as personal as it felt, but the video I had made was ready, and I was just going to post it on Friday, but gee golly, I couldn't get anything to co-operate for me! So, it was a huge lesson in patience, and also in letting things go - like posting on the correct day and in the correct month......let it go, Amy-Lyn....let it go.....deep breathing....ok, I think I'm ok now. Anyway, here's the video for this years Autism Awareness Month! Caleb picked the song again ("Feel It" by TobyMac), and it's a collection of photos from last April to this April! A year of funny faces, wonderful singing, and a back to school interview too! I hope you enjoy it! I can't seem to get a good nights sleep lately!!! Blah!!! Ok, sorry, I'm just feeling pooped and cranky. The End. So, eating healthy food can start to feel boring because often times we get stuck in a rut of making the same things over and over. When this happens, I've found the best way to kick the food boredom in the butt is to inject some culturally diverse and intense flavours into my life! Seriously, it makes me look forward to dinner, it feels so satisfying, and it's rarely boring adding some Chinese, Thai, Curry dishes, or Mexican cuisine into a weekly meal plan. And this recipe is really simple, and you can add other things you love or take-away things that may not quite appeal to you. You could add more heat with the additions of dried hot chilies, or swap out the almond butter for peanut butter. You could throw shrimp into it if you're not vegan, or spiralize some carrots or a handful of bean sprouts into it if you want some more veggies! I had mine with a big heap of kimchi (I use this recipe, but I omit the fish sauce), and a soft boiled egg. Perfection. Stir-Fry with Spicy Almond Sauce Ingredients for stir fry:
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Sometimes when it comes to a "closing" on a post, I have all sorts of things to say. Other times my brain is an empty shell, and I can't get any thoughts or quips together. Today is more of the latter.
Having shared this, I shall simply say goodbye, and I hope you have a lovely weekend! As a Mom of a young man with autism, I am always trying to understand how Caleb is feeling. It's a mystery a lot of the times - even things that may seem obvious (like a big angry outburst) may actually be less about feeling angry at something initially, and more about how he's not being understood. Sometimes I can tell what he's feeling (he's getting a lot better at sharing his feelings with us), and sometimes I just can't. Recently there was a story from the National Autism Association (I saw it in The Mighty) about a 10-year-old boy named Benjamin, who’s on the autism spectrum. This boy wrote a poem titled "I Am", and it opened my eyes and broke my heart to the feelings of kids with autism. I realize not every child will feel the same way as the child who wrote this poem, but getting a chance to peek into the mind and feelings of someone with autism is enlightening. His mom sent the poem in saying “he was given the first 2 words of every sentence. This is what he wrote...…" I Am I am odd, I am new I wonder if you are too I hear voices in the air I see you don’t, and that’s not fair I want to not feel blue I am odd, I am new I pretend that you are too I feel like a boy in outer space I touch the stars and feel out of place I worry what others might think I cry when people laugh, it makes me shrink I am odd, I am new I understand now that so are you I say I “feel like a castaway” I dream of a day that that’s okay I try to fit in I hope that someday I do I am odd, I am new. Lately I've been listening to the soundtrack for "Matilda The Musical". It's such a wonderful and funny soundtrack, but there is one song that when I heard it for the first time, I just started to cry. In order to understand Caleb better I often try to put myself in his shoes. I imagine what colours & sights, sounds, lights, touch & taste must be like for a young man with sensory processing problems. I wonder how it feels to know you're about to unravel and have a "meltdown", and if it's possible to stop once you're heading down that track? I feel like this one song, titled "Quiet" from Matilda The Musical, gathers up some random thoughts that I think could describe people with autism and what it feels like to become overwhelmed with what is going on around around them. But, more importantly, how it feels when they block it all out: whether by those characteristic, quiet, "zoned out" moments kids with autism have, or by covering the ears and shutting the eyes up tight. Or perhaps physically having a big fit, with kicking, screaming, etc.? I know that last one doesn't seem "quiet", but I imagine having all the things that can't be said trapped inside. All the things that pile onto a person with autism, who is trying to process this crazy world as best they can, and how maybe having this big, physical outburst is like draining all the noise, the smells, the sights, and the mountain of everyday stressors out of the body, and being left quiet, and feeling tired, but better? I've included a video of one of the Matilda's singing this song because the emotion behind the acting and the music help to fully capture what a child with autism might be feeling. **Disclaimer: this song (as far as I know) wasn't written with autism in mind, it's just what I've heard in the song that sounds like autism to me* Quiet By: Tim Minchin From Matilda The Musical Have you ever wondered, well I have. About how when I say, say red, for example. There's no way of knowing if red Means the same thing in your head As red means in my head. When someone says red It's as if we are traveling at, almost the speed of light And we're holding a light That light will still travel away from us At the full speed of light, which seems right in a way What I'm trying to say, I'm not sure But I wonder if inside my head I'm not just a bit different from some of my friends These answers that come into my mind unbidden These stories delivered to me fully written! And when everyone shouts like they seem to like shouting The noise in my head is incredibly loud! And I just wish they'd stop, my Dad and my Mum. And the telly and stories would stop just for once! And I'm sorry, I'm not quite explaining it right. But this noise becomes anger, and the anger is light And its burning inside me would usually fade. But it isn't today! And the heat and the shouting. And my heart is pounding. And my eyes are burning And suddenly everything, everything is....... Quiet Like silence, but not really silent. Just that still sort of quiet. Like the sound of a page being turned in a book. Or a pause in a walk in the woods. Quiet Like silence, but not really silent. Just that nice kind of quiet. Like the sound when you lie upside down in your bed. Just the sound of your heart in your head. And though the people around me. Their mouths are still moving. The words they are forming, Cannot reach me anymore! And it is quiet. And I am warm. Like I've sailed. Into the eye of the storm. It can be hard to grasp what a person with autism may be feeling, but it's important to try to understand, and to help the individual with autism learn how to express those feelings in a way that helps them feel understood, accepted and loved. Stop right now and imagine you are at an event. It's just really familiar people, so the conversation is easy, food is great, weather is perfect. How are you feeling? Could you express your feelings exactly and perfectly to someone else at the party? Would they fully understand? The answers to those questions may all be yes. Now, you're at that same party, but you have autism. The faces here are all of friends, but they are all talking at once, and even though someone is speaking directly to you (which is stressful), you still hear every other conversation around you. The food is unfamiliar....it seems like everyone else is enjoying it, but you take a bite of something and it makes you want to gag. It doesn't taste bad, it just feels strange in your mouth. You see each colour around you 10x brighter now, maybe so bright they're blurring. Your nice party clothes feel like they have tiny little claws and they are digging into your skin to stay on. How are you feeling now? Could you express your feelings exactly to someone else at the party? Would they understand? Oh, I forgot to mention that your expressive language skills are extremely lacking. How one must feel when the world appears completely different to them is beyond me. I try to understand, I try to have empathy, but can I ever really know? Finding things like the poem or song mentioned above help me stop and re-consider what I know about how my son feels. It gives me more insight, more words to use to help him when he's lost for ways to express himself. It keeps my empathy warmed. Feelings are so confusing in general, right? They are subjective, abstract, and complicated. So, add in some of the usual things people with autism are dealing with like trying to understand social cues, expressive language (saying what's in your head), and processing what you're physically feeling from the excessive sensory input, and trying to separate that from what your feelings are....? Geepers. Show some extra grace to those who need it. Offer a word or two to help the person express the feelings that are present, and above all, remember that individuals on the autism spectrum have feelings, whether or not they appear as you'd expect them to. Hello there! Today I bring to you a guy who makes me laugh (and laughing makes me feel better, and feeling better motivates me to get stuff done!!!), Zach Anner! This guy is so hilarious, you'll just love him. I've shared another one of his videos before, but in case you don't know who he is, his YouTube description goes like this: "Hi! I'm Zach Anner and I make videos for your enjoyment and my embarrassment." You have to love someone who has such a great sense of humour! On his official website you will be greeted with this : "Comedian Zach Anner opens his frank and devilishly funny book, If at Birth You Don’t Succeed, with an admission: he botched his own birth, entering the world with cerebral palsy and an uncertain future. So how did a kid who almost failed kindergarten blossom into a viral internet sensation who’s hosted two travel shows, impressed Oprah, driven the Mars Rover, and inspired a John Mayer song? (It wasn’t “Your Body Is a Wonderland.”) If at Birth You Don’t Succeed is a hilariously irreverent and heartfelt memoir about finding your passion and your path—even when it’s paved with epic misadventure." I'm sharing some of Zach's high fives today! Enjoy! High Five!!! I've been married and cooking for myself for nearly 12 years, and until recently, I had never bought pork tenderloin. Except for bacon, I don't buy pork. It's never been my favourite. Whenever I think of pork, I think of dried out pork chops. Bleh. No thanks! My brother once brought a tenderloin to my house (among many other groceries) because he used to stop by to visit and fancied himself to be Jamie Oliver and would whip up some of the most delicious meals I've ever had!!! But, in that instance he decided to prepare another meat he had brought, and the tenderloin got tossed into the freezer, only to be pulled out later and turned into pulled pork. Oh yeah, I'll eat pulled pork, but, c'mon, it's shredded meat covered in a yummy sauce and eaten with coleslaw! Tasty! Anywhooooo, when scrimping and saving on groceries, beggars can't be choosers! Pork tenderloin was on sale, a sale so good I actually did a double take and went back to the cooler to investigate. Per kg, pork tenderloin was cheaper that week than any of the other regular meats we would get. So, I thought, "well, I might as well see what I can do!", and grabbed a few. My husband thought I was having a stroke because I was buying pork. Ok, he didn't think that, but he was like, "huh....?" Once home I Googled and pondered the potential of this meat. It seemed stuffing it was a must for a more guaranteed finished product. I had spinach which I knew would be nice, and having bacon inside seemed like a great way to keep the tenderloin moist from the inside out while roasting. Lemon and rosemary are a favourite flavour combo of mine, and knew that they'd taste great with bacon and spinach. Lemme say that this roast was goo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ood (read that with a slight Southern drawl and it'll make sense) : ) Spinach & Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin (with lemon & rosemary) Ingredients:
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What we had for dinner that night I sliced into approximately 1 inch pieces, and we ate it with a side of mashed cauliflower, and the rest I tried to cut thinner so my husband could use it in a sandwich to take to work. Best sandwich ever! Happy Friday one and all. I'll meet you here again next week! |
Hi, I'm Amy-Lyn! I am the lady behind this here blog! I live in the sticks with my animals, my super handsome husband, and my
3 amazing kids! Here you'll find things from recipes (gluten-free, paleo, and strait up junk food!), DIY ideas, thoughts on raising a son with autism, and whatever else pops into my brain! : ) Read more about me by clicking here! Want to Stay Connected?
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