Evolving Pizza

I live with pizza fanatics. The youngest has eaten pizza daily for a couple years, and is moving on again into a new world of food. I refuse to give up eating pizzas and preparing them for him! imagine a picky child who will eat almost anything so long as it was on a pizza crust with a good sauce.

Here's a recipe I am working on for my homemade pizza sauce.

1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 tbsp of golden sugar (organic)
1 can of tomato paste
1 dash of sea salt
1 dash of basil (dried)

Here's a recipe I am working on for my homemade crust.

2 cups of all purpose flour (blanched wheat in this case)
1 packet of active dry yeast
1 and 1/2 cups of warm water
1/4 tsp of salt
4 tbsp of oil (I use whatever is on hand)

For 'A' my best results have been to make it as close to store bought pizza as possible. Attempting to duplicate delivery pizza has been a failure every time. A great idea is to use round cake pans for your pizza crust to give it that authentic looking processed food feel, but you know its completely homemade!

If your child is obsessed over eating any particular dish, I recommend trying many different varieties (if it is a processed or store bought food, this shouldn't be hard, just switch brands routinely), and establish what he likes and doesn't like, and his responses to different flavours. This little munschkin likes things a little sweet, a little acidic, fresh-tasting, and energizing. He has a strong aversion to many chemically-derived flavours, and common artificial ingredients.

Letting Go

Kung Fu Panda

'D' has made it to the level of trying new foods but not chewing them. Eureka! We tried to follow a regimen set out by the ABA services, but frankly, without a thorough investigation into his sensory issues, communication methods, and involving him directly in the planning of the new strategy, it was pointless and actually harmful. Instead we talked about the milestone of trying new foods, and what it could mean for him in the future if he succeeded. Material rewards just don't work for us, and its almost traumatic to insist on. I find the best results with serious and mature understanding, as opposed to frivolous temptations that really don't make sense in the greater scheme of things.

'A' has found more of his voice when he really needs it, and we have found an ipad app set up that works comfortably for him, to break through those meltdowns and resolve his problems with him. We have succeeded a great deal in making transitions from point A to B, with gradually increasing how independent each step he takes is. He has been sick lately, so we have been focusing on breathing techniques and more effective communication strategies. Using oral motor training and sound repetition, we are improving his conscious breathing habits, and I constantly model an exaggerated version of deep breathing exercises with him. In turn he has become more intricately expressive with his gestures and pronunciation.

A little bit of give and take!