Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Love From Amy's Kitchen

Years ago when we realized that Noah would have a continual struggle with being  able to eat solid foods we searched out ways that we could make his diet the healthiest that we could to give his brain all the best we could to aid in his continued recovery.  Doctors, dietitians and nutritionists recommended we avoid foods that had artificial dyes, colors, preservatives and ingredients and focus on whole foods that were organic and minimally processed, rich in high naturally occurring fats like whole coconut milk and avocados.  Noah's diet isn't cheap.  His dietary supplements and foods range from Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin, Nutritional Yeast, Whole Fat Coconut Milk, organic drinks like Organic Valley Fuel, Orgain and Enu - and products insurance won't fund like Real Food Blend's Coconut Calorie Booster.  And these are in addition to the organic baby food pouches that we're still forced to buy when we don't have access to Noah's Vitamix blender - when traveling or at a outdoor summer event during the day - like the zoo.


But we have benefited greatly from a organic line called Amy's Kitchen.  In a pinch if I didn't have time to cook Noah an organic, wholesome meal - I could rely on a frozen Amy's meal or product to blend for Noah.  It's what we blend for him if we are dinning out at a restaurant as a family because restaurants don't blend foods for Noah.  So we have to blend them from home and take his food in a thermos to our destination.  When we heard that Amy's opened up the very first organic drive thru restaurant in California this summer we were so excited because we have great hopes that Amy's will spread like wildfire and that we'll have them here in Colorado soon too.  I'm rather dependent on drive thrus - especially during winter months when unloading a wheelchair in bad weather isn't favorable, and Noah if he gets out of the car at any food establishment he expects to eat - I can't just go in pick it up and load him back up - he'd pitch a huge screaming fit.  So a organic drive thru sounds like music to my ears.

I had inquired with Amy's on the intent for their drive thru restaurant plans in our state, and explained Noah's great love of Amy's, and they sent him the sweetest little food care package in the mail.  Goodies of all kinds, a shirt that is so adorable, candy bars (that I didn't even know they had!), cute magnets and pins, and some canned soups which will be wonderful for fall and winter meals for him, and some coupons for frozen meals - which will be so super as he could eat the Pesto Tortillini all day long and never get bored.  And Luke always must have a stock of Amy's Cheese Pizza Snacks (his primary lunch request.)  And Amy's makes the very best macaroni and cheese! It was the sweetest gift for Noah ever.  And he's been enjoying all his goodies.


I was even lucky enough to run into a representative at Vitamin Cottage who gave Luke a magnet and said they hope to put in an Amy's drive thru in a few years.  Unfortunately it sounds like they'll build it in Boulder first, which would be a 25-30 minute drive from us one way, but I still have my fingers and toes crossed that Amy's will be everywhere with a little time.  I have a feeling it's going to gain in popularity by leaps and bounds. 

Amy's is such a lovely company that is really true to their values and commitment to customers.  We got to sample some new products in Noah's gift basket - they have the very best Biscotti I have ever tasted.  Sometimes Biscotti can be super hard and crunchy.  So much so it requires a cup of coffee to dip it in just to even chew it.  But Amy's is flaky and light and has just the right amount of orange in it and is perfectly paired with a nice cup of tea and will be great for the cool fall days ahead.  They also make a chocolate version which I can't wait to find.  And bonus they are also gluten free!  Which we are experimenting with for Noah and have found reducing gluten for Noah has made a little bit of difference with skin rashes and overall moods.  Metabolizing peptides found in gluten can cause problems for medically fragile children and those with Autism because these proteins fail to break down properly for their particular brain chemistry. 

Amy's also is now making a line of organic non-dairy frozen deserts using coconut milks.  Which I hope to also be able to find in stores soon for Noah.  He is a child that certainly enjoys his sweet treats several times a day.  You'd think the child would be overweight with the volume he eats, but he moves so frequently he burns it off faster than he can pack it on.  We hope to put grocery store gift cards on Noah's wishlist so he can stock up on Amy's for the winter!

There are lots of children like Noah that are forced to be on specialized diets to give their brain the optimum potential to thrive, recover and build new pathways.  Diet is a big neurological consideration and component when you have a child with special needs.  And everything about Amy's is simply a superb recipe for good health and good food.  A big thanks to Amy's for caring so much, and sending Noah love.  

Love,



Noah's Miracle by Stacy Warden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.