Recipe idea for that 'terrible' time of year

We don't really like scary things in our house.  But we can still have some fun making things.  The Gruffalo has been very big in our house since last Christmas and I know we'll be watching it again plenty this year.   Jane even got the Gruffalo Crumble and other recipes cookbook and it's perfect for this time of year to make Gruffalo terrible tusk fruit kebabs.

Burrowing bunny Easter cupcakes learning activity

There's always plenty of food involved in Easter.  The kids love the Easter egg hunt in the garden and then there are the hundreds of hot cross buns consumed (one of Anthony's favourite snacks that are not available all year round).  This year we're making super easy burrowing bunny cupcakes that will help with their spatial reasoning, motor skills development and include Oreos as a special treat.

Learning motor-skills with Gruffalo Terrible Tusks fruit kebabs

The Gruffalo has been very big in our house since last Christmas and I know we'll be watching it again plenty this year.   Jane even got the Gruffalo Crumble and other recipes cookbook and it's been out a few times, most recently to make Gruffalo tusk fruit kebabs.

Searching for ways to expand their diets & our butternut squash lasagne success

If you've read my blog you will know Italian food is the best all rounder for our family.  True it doesn't contain chicken nuggets but David does also eat garlic bread.   David will never be conned into eating anything different - and that's pretty common for kids with autism.  As he's pre-verbal there's not even much chance of us being able to tell why he will eat one chicken nugget brand and not another.  

Easter Rabbit Toast activity recipe & printable

Make an Easter breakfast or lunch even more fun and get your kids practising their language and motor skills with this recipe activity and printable to make an Easter Rabbit in your toast.  This recipe activity contains egg.

Gruffalo's Child Mini Pancakes

The Gruffalo has been very big in our house since last year.   Jane even got the Gruffalo Crumble and other recipes cookbook for Christmas.  Here is a recipe for Gruffalo's Child Mini Pancakes that we've adapted from some of the ideas in the book. It uses raspberries as the Gruffalo's Child's pink prickles, icing sugar as snow and mint leaves as some of the deep dark wood.

Valentines red velvet cake motor skills fun

Making cakes is a great way for kids to develop their motor skills and explore their senses.  We had fun making this valentines day themed red velvet cake with the kids.  We used a cake mix which made it easy and cutters so the kids could be as hands on or off as their senses dictated.

Having fun motor skills practice making penguin cupcakes

"There hasn't been much snow!" Jane moaned.  With all the Christmas films and cards having snow everywhere it's hardly surprising she and the other kids have been disappointed with the lack of white stuff.  A few flakes over the weekend went down well so I tried to capitalise on it by making penguin cupcakes using a recipe kit.  Kit's are great for as as they give instant access to baking and that's good when your autistic boys either get upset when waiting or will lose interest in an activity before it's begun. And we can talk about where it does snow and some penguin facts too.

Three meal mumma

The hilarity of our mealtimes is something to behold, reminiscent of feeding time at the zoo. My kids eating habits are so different and so without even including my hubby and I in the dinner rota, I seem to be required to concoct three meals at most sittings. It's not all the kids 'faults' that they are fussy eaters, but there is little denying their differences.

WonderfulWednesday: It's Play Day 2016

I had no idea when I woke up this morning that today is 'Play Day 2016'.  A tweet from Scope that highlighted inclusive play caught my eye and I discovered a day to highlight for my wonderful Wednesday share.

Pinchy fingers with Apple & Pear Crumble helps learning to write

Cooking is a great way to develop listening and motor skills for all kids, not just those with autism.  Anthony made this Apple and Pear Crumble at his Kiddie Cook after school club.  It's an easy recipe that got him working without knowing it.

Sensory Banana Bread recipe

Anthony did this delicious banana bread recipe at Kiddy Cook a few weeks ago.  This is a great recipe if your kids are a bit fussy about getting their fingers messy, whilst introducing them to the idea of being near wet textures.

Many kids with SPD or autism can find different textures uncomfortable. This can be a simple 'wet bowl' recipe where all the ingredients get stirred together and then go into a tin to bake in the ovens there is no need to get wet hands.

Kids can either practice their cutting skills with the parchment and you can help with the greasing or we can find it easier to use a pastry brush with a bit of oil to 'paint' the inside of the tin instead. Stirring is also a great way of using bilateral motor skills (using both hands together) as you need to hold the bowl with one hand and stir with the other.

Anthony loved making the banana bread.  We cut the finished bread into fingers once it was cooked and that made it easy for the kids to eat too.

Kiddy Cooks: Using our memory skills with Pink Pizza recipe

I'm often impressed by Anthony's memory. Having a good memory is not uncommon in some people with autism and is a characteristic that both my autistic kids share.

I've used baking and cooking as an excuse for the kids to practice their motor skills before.  This lovely one from Kiddy Cooks for example requires grating and that needs bilateral motor skills (using both hands in a coordinated way by holding the grater in one and moving the cheese and courgette with the other.

But it's also a great way of practising memory recall too. Anthony was able to completed recite and make another lovely pink pizza for several days. Great for his memory and for his tastes as pizza is one of his favourite foods. This lovely recipe adds vegetables into the pizza which is great and uses beetroot to give the dough a pink colour.  Why not give it a try? Search 'cooking' to find other recipes on this site.

Sensory Banana Flapjack recipe

This recipe from Jane's latest trip to Cookie Tots club can easily be adapted for either the sensory seekers or sensory adverse whilst providing a great healthy, sweet delicious pudding or snack.

Anthony has autism and ADHD and is a big sensory seeker desperate to get in and hardly notices if his hands are a mess.  If your kids are sensory seekers, then get stuck in. Allow your little one to mush together the banana and rest of the ingredients my hand. It'll make a lovely mess on their hands but then they can have the joy of washing them really well too.  Washing sticky messy hands will also help develop a good pincer grip to pick off all the sticky bits. 

David is also autistic but doesn't like mess on his hands at all.  He will reach for a towel or cloth to clean his hands or clothes if they get food on them.  For the sensory adverse, make the flapjack mixture in a large bowl. Provide melted butter to make stirring in the bowl easy and then mash the banana with a fork on a board before adding to the mixture.

As for the recipe, our Kiddy Cook instructor suggested a teaspoon of poppy seeds as an extra and we didn't use the honey or apricots pieces as the flapjack was plenty sweet with the banana.  Once cooked it was sweet and very soft - like a flapjacky banana bread.

Our kids are big flapjack fans and this was a complete hit with them. 

Links

Our blog - Apple strudel that is ample for motor skills development

External links
National Autistic Society - Sensory system

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