Health Food

I bet I did something yesterday that you've never done before. I awoke to greet a new day, dragged myself out from between two spoiled dogs snoring in my bed and stood, just catching sight of a pretty red thing as it flew. Out of my belly button. It was a low moment in my sick Ambien sleepwalking history, because the pretty red thing was not a bellybutton charm...it was a Terra beet chip. And then I saw the empty bag on the floor. I had eaten the entire thing. A 5 ounce bag of Mediterranean Terra Chips, delicious vegetable chips lightly seasoned with lemon, olive oil, sea salt and a hint of oregano. And the truth is, there is another identical empty bag under my bed from a week ago when I did the same thing. It now has some dust bunnies about it, and I've been ignoring it, trying to pretend it never happened. But this bag was right out in the middle of the floor, where anyone could see my dirty little secret. I've said it before, but I must get off the Ambien. But just try it. What is worse than sitting up all night, night after night after night? While I'm confessing, and my excuse is that I've been stressed out, and always sleepwalk more when stressed, some vegan chocolate mousse was involved in last night's foray to the kitchen. (Don't knock it till you've tried it.) I've been trying no lactose, no sugar, and no gluten - and I feel better. Sweets, especially chocolate, are a necessity, so I run to Strawberry Fields in Urbana to buy several containers of Dylan's chocolate puddin'. Or I make my own. If you do not find health food completely abhorrent, you should try it. Here's how...




VEGAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE


Melt a 16 ounce bag of good chocolate chips over double boiler. (Use vegan or real, whatever...)
Add two boxes of Silken Tofu. It will look awful, like curdled chocolate baby puke.
Use a hand mixer on it, or throw the mess into a processor, and it smooths right out.
Sweeten with Stevia or better...maple syrup. (If you like extra dark chocolate add a couple teaspoons of cocoa as well, and if you want to get really fancy add 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee granules.) Add a bit of vanilla, pinch of salt and refrigerate. The colder the better. It sets up just like ganache. Great texture and flavor. Really. And it's healthy, right? Lots of protein. Just like my bag of Terra Chips was healthy. It says so right on the bag under my bed and the one beside my bed. 5 whole servings of vegetables in every ounce. See??? That's 25 whole servings of vegetables I had all in a sitting. Now I can skip the veggies and eat vegan chocolate mousse all week!

I went to one of my favorite bead stores with my friend Pat today. La Bead Oh in Springfield, Illinois has a gorgeous selection of all things jewelry, and they offer great classes as well. I highly recommend a trip to La Bead Oh.

I've been making leather wrap bracelets. Can't stop.

2 Days left for Valentine's. How about these?

Autism...and Everyone Else

I've been thinking about learning styles for a very long time. Actually this issue is what lead me to Montessori education. As a Montessori educator we are constantly observing each child in order to discover how they learn best, and what it is that they are called to learn. Each one of us has special abilities and interests, and in order to serve each developing human to an optimum level, education must address this fact. I recently watched the film "Temple Grandin."  It is a transcendent and triumphant film that I think everyone should see. Families should watch this together, so that children can be reminded that no one person can do everything, but each of us is good at something. Everyone has their own learning style! Good Montessori schools teach this principle and model this idea every day. Hopefully, one fine day, Montessori education will be free for all children! Help to promote Montessori-visit, learn, volunteer, share...

But in the meantime...the increase in special needs individuals is staggering. I've been witness to the changes in children and families over my thirty years in the classroom. "ADHD" - "Behavioral Opposition Disorder" and Autism (and Asperger's) are on the rise. You could call this an epidemic: 1 in 110 children are now diagnosed with Autism.

On a positive note--there are many, many people out there who do more than their part to help solve the puzzle of Autism. Which brings me to a couple of sisters whom I've had the good fortune of knowing through Etsy: Betty and Rose Refour. Betty produces and sells art online to benefit a number of good causes, including cancer and Autism.

 Rose, who is Betty's autistic sister, also has an artist's site on Etsy. 

Here is a more complete story about Rose and Betty written by Lois of Foxy Knits.

I am going to continue to bug all  of my friends and family to buy handmade goods. You can bring the joy back to gift-giving by selecting items because they are handmade and the money goes to an artisan instead of a corporation, and better still you can choose items that actually help with important research that will benefit another human.

More about autism from Temple Grandin, PhD.