Of Birthday Cake and Monster Cookies

Mar 17, 2008 -

Autism/Special Needs, Daily Life, My Little Guy, Therapies

Of Birthday Cake and Monster Cookies

Well, the birthday celebration week has come to an end at last!! (Actually, I have really enjoyed it despite the extra craziness involved. We spread things out this year and think it was a much better choice than trying to have one large party.)

A few months ago, we discovered Gluten-Free Oats and ordered some to try out. We have not seen any negative reaction to them, although admittedly the Little Guy does not consume them very often due to his texture preferences (pretty much only things that are crunchy or chewy, which does not include cooked oatmeal).

Anyway, their recipe for Monster Cookies has become one of his favorite special treats. We sent them to daycare on Monday for a birthday snack to share with the class, and we also made some for the family party/sleepover this weekend. They were a big hit with everyone.

I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone, whether on a special diet or not (unless you are allergic to any of the other ingredients, of course). They are even easier if you don’t have dietary restrictions, because then you don’t have to worry about having gluten-free oats, vanilla and chocolate chips. As it is, we use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, which I do believe have a small amount of soy, and Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. Enjoy Life products are awesome because they are all free of the top 8 allergens, plus are GFCF.

I did also make a regular birthday cake for this weekend. The Little Guy requested it so he could blow out the candles, but he did not want me to make one he could eat because, in his words, “Cake is yucky to me!”

(In the interest of full disclosure, I have to confess that we used M&M’s in place of chocolate chips this weekend. While I am not recommending it, three years into the diet we are occasionally allowing small infractions with digestive enzymes.)