Finger Lickin' Good!

I may have already mentioned this....and if I'm starting to repeat myself I apologize - but a momentous occasion has taken place.  My son has expanded his food options to include....drum sticks!

No.  Not the ice cream Drumstick thing.  Dairy impacts his mood (trust me on that).

Drumsticks.  As in the legs of formerly upright chickens who now reside in my fridge (they were on sale - so we'll be eating these things for awhile).  And these aren't just any plain ole drumsticks.  These are customized with a special homemade Shake n' Bake knockoff recipe.  I could tell you how I make it...but I'm not going to.  If you want that - you're going to have to ask in the comment section.

Oh - you have no idea how freakin' excited I am about this!  Not the sale part...although that's pretty sweet too - the actual consumption of something new.

Now for the those of who have neural typical children....I'm sure you've had challenges getting your kid(s) to eat different foods.  For those of us who have kids who are on the spectrum - it can be downright impossible.

Nicholas' diet has always been somewhat limited (when he was a baby - he'd eat whatever we shoveled into his face...he didn't care - he ate it all) since he was about the age of 3.  For the most part - I'm pretty sure if we fed him nothing but pizza (Little Caesars being his favorite) or bacon (chicken bacon....we switched over from the 'good' stuff - we don't want an obese kid) he'd be happy as a pig in feces.

Here's an overview of what he will eat - for those that are interested:

• Pizza.  Pizza.  And more pizza.  Like I said Little Caesars is his favorite...but he'll eat other pizza as well (even the ones we make him).  The last blood test revealed that his red blood cells had been fully replaced by little pepperonis.  Nicholas is fine with this.

• Crazy Bread.

• Waffles.  With peanut butter.

• Bacon.  The chicken kind seems to go over well....but he would prefer the pork variety (who wouldn't?)

• Lasagna.  Home made too.

• Chicken fingers.  We make those too.

• Pasta.  Just about any kind of pasta.  Has to have a mixture of tomato sauce and cheese (some soy based cheese mind you.  Dairy is problematic).

• Zookies.  Those are some type of animal cracker thing.  They go down well with Nutella to dip them in.  This has become a favorite of mine as well.

• Chips.  Any kind - but preferable Sour Cream n' Onion.  These are typically purchased for me....but then he finds them and eats them.

• Popcorn

• Pears (sliced into quarters please and thank you).

• Strawberries (if Mommy hasn't eaten them all)

• The occasional blueberry.  

• Ketchup (or catsup for those who like to call it something other than what it should actually be called).  It can either be on food....or just on a plate.  He doesn't care.  Ketchup is a food group unto itself.

Notice a pattern here?  With the exception of a few fruits - its mostly carbs and some protein.  Any green stuff we are able to get in him has been hidden in pizza sauce.  It's amazing what you can do with a high end blender and food processor.

So last night - drumsticks were made.  They were cooking in the oven (350 for about an hour or so)....and the kitchen was smelling really good - then its gets interesting.

"Hey!  What's that smell?"

"Drumsticks man."

"Hmmmm....smells pretty good.  I want one!"

"And the magic word is what exactly?"

"Now!"

"Try again."

"Please?"

"Much better.   Now try it again with the magic word in a sentence."

"Ahem.  I would like a drumstick please!"

"Awesome!  So would I.  And as luck would have it - they're done."

"Good!"

Parental eyeballs rolling....

So I take them out of the oven, and check to ensure that they are done.  These are drumsticks....not actual chicken.  Sounds strange doesn't it?  We don't really tell him that something came from an animal....he's an animal lover.....and that just might cause problems.  We keep things vague to ensure some sanity is maintained in the house.

"Here little man.  Here's one.  Be careful - it's really hot.:

"Okay.  I will.".  And he grabs his plate and heads off to his computer.  Some kids watch tv while eating.  Ours watches YouTube (which in part explains why 65 gig a month is still not enough bandwidth.).

I grab a few drumsticks as well (yes.  It was lazy chef night...I didn't make anything else - just drumsticks) and head off to my computer to watch Mad Men.

A few minutes later I heard some foraging sounds up in the kitchen.  I don't bother to investigate.  The elusive and wily child is on the prowl....and he's hunting drumsticks.

Upon investigation - I discover that he scored himself 3 more.  This is great news!  Another food item has been added to his repertoire!  And it was homemade stuff too!

Take that Colonial Sanders!  My stuff is finger lickin' good too!