Evan came down with a cold over the weekend. Thankfully no seizure as a result...and we were throwing everything at it to help his body. Vitamins, rest, humidifier, naturopathic remedies, extra fats, etc. This time it worked...but there are no guarantees. The feeling isn't so much that we won...but that we got lucky this time.
I sent him to school on Monday as he seemed to be on the upswing of his cold and doing relatively well. When I was nearly to work, I got a call from the school that he was extremely tired and fell asleep on the bus on the way to school. So, I flipped around to go pick him up. On my way I got to thinking about how epilepsy changes sick days for me. My older son is at the point where if he has to stay home from school sick (not high fever sick, but "just-not-well-enough-for-school" sick), I could go in to work for a while, or run an errand or two if needed. He is old enough and quite capable of being left home alone for a while. I got to thinking, that when Evan is that age, that will not likely be an option. It is very possible I will always feel the need to be home with him when he is sick and more prone to seizures. At the moment I thought this, it was a moment I felt yet another loss. Partly for me, but mainly for him. Being old enough to stay home alone has been a rite of passage for my older son. Something Evan will likely not experience until he is much older. I know there are potential devices and safety plans and work arounds that will likely allow him more freedom than what I was thinking at that moment, but in that moment I simply felt more loss.
The thoughts didn't last too long before I had a self-talk and reminded myself that we take what comes when it comes and we do our best. We cannot predict what will happen in the future, so it is silly to spend too much time there dwelling and worrying. We will adapt and figure it out.
Thankfully Evan's little body just needed a little extra rest as about an hour after he was home he was asking to go play outside.
That same day I had been craving a good, homemade baked mac n' cheese (oh so sinful!!)...so guess what was for dinner Monday? Yup....nummy baked mac n' cheese. Evan found out what I was planning and decided he wanted to participate...so I had to come up with a M.A.D.-friendly option on the fly. I had decided to give cauliflower mac & cheese another shot. The first time I tried this was years ago. I followed some recipe and it did not go over well. Honestly, I tasted it and couldn't blame him. We haven't tried since. I was glad I decided to give it another whirl as this one turned out much different. I made it and served it, and he devoured it. Success!! We all had a taste...really not bad!! I think we all could adapt and eat it as a healthier option to the recipe I had made for the rest of the family (which was the ooey, gooey carby noodley sinful one).
The recipe for the M.A.D. version is below. Its really is pretty simple as well as fluid (so easy to tweak if ya want - get creative!!). With some things it was "add a little of this" and "add a little of that". If you tweak it more and find other yummy ways to prepare it, please let me know. I'm always open to trying new things. I did fail to take pics of the process as I really wasn't sure how it would turn out, and only got a quick snapshot of the end result. Sorry, its all I got, folks.
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Evan's M.A.D. Baked Mac n' Cheese:
- 1/2 c. steamed cauliflower (I used frozen florets thawed in the microwave)
- 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese (shredded...can also use whatever you have)
- heavy cream
- 1 T to 1/4 c. Alfredo sauce to taste (jar...I used Bertolli. This is *OPTIONAL but helps flavor)
- mustard powder
- paprika
- turmeric
- crushed pork rinds
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the cheese into the heavy cream. I simplified this and put them into a glass liquid measuring cup and heated it to melting in the microwave.
3. Add in the Alfredo sauce, mustard powder, paprika, and turmeric into the melty cheese and stir well to mix. Taste and adjust balances as needed.
4. Crush, smash, or "rice" the cauliflower. Be sure its well steamed before you do this. Mine was a bit under done and it made this process more difficult than necessary.
5. Mix cheesy sauce into cauliflower and pour into a small ramekin or other oven-safe dish. Sprinkle crushed pork rinds on top and bake for 20 minutes.
Recipe makes 1 serving.
Net Carbs: 4g with the 1/4c Alfredo sauce. If you use less sauce, or a different brand, this could change. Bertolli is 2g/net carbs for the 1/4c.
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