BECKLEY — Kids with autism are just like other kids when it comes to many of their favorite foods. Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets and pizza are all-time favorites.

However, there seems to be a good deal of research to indicate many children with autism have trouble digesting the gluten in wheat products and the casein in dairy products. Fortunately, there are both enzymes available to aid digestion of these ingredients and a good assortment of gluten-free and casein-free products.

Dr. Janet Lintala, founder of the Autism Recovery Resource Center in Beckley, hopes to create greater awareness about the benefits of a gluten-free, casein-free diet by helping to promote a GFCF pizza cookoff in conjunction with the 2010 Autism Walk.

“We were looking for a fun way to educate the public more about the GFCF diet and to raise awareness about autism and encourage participation in the walk that raises money for autism resources,” Lintala said.

The GFCF diet is part of a whole bio-medical approach to helping children with autism, Lintala said. “It’s part of a combination of the diet, supplements, anti-fungal treatments, methyl B-12 therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and chelation that recover function in the children. People who deal with autism know there’s no pill that’s going to solve the problem, and there’s no quick fix out there. These are interventions that have been shown to help.”

Since the ARRC opened in November, numerous families near and far have taken advantage of the resource available there.

“We’ve had an overwhelming response, not only from area families and physicians, but from people outside the state. Families dealing with autism are eager to find out ways to help their child recover to the level he or she can reach,” Lintala said.

Many families have seen good results from cooking with products that do not contain gluten, found in breads and starches, and casein, found in dairy products.

Initially, it can be hard to learn to prepare kid-friendly foods, but with some encouragement and help from others who’ve learned some tricks along the way, gluten-free, casein-free cooking can become a way of life, said Kelli Weeks, who’s seen good results with her daughter Maggie.

“It’s like any other kind of cooking. You learn to make substitutions and to alter recipes to fit your family’s taste preferences,” Weeks said. “There are also more products available now to make it easier.”

Certain enzymes now available at the ARRC and at stores that carry health food lines, make digesting things such as macaroni and cheese and other kids’ favorites easier. However, more moms are learning to make an altered version of chicken nuggets and pizzas from scratch.

In preparation for the Southern West Virginia Autism Walk and Expo 2010, which falls on April 24, Lintala is helping to sponsor a gluten-free, casein-free pizza cookoff April 17 at a site yet to be announced.

Divisions include Community, Student and Professional.

Contestants should submit a written recipe for an original, gluten-free/casein-free pizza, from crust to toppings, will full baking instructions. Even though the pizza creation itself would be original, entrants may still use a mix or frozen prepared crust as part of the creation. They must, however, give credit to the brand name of the product. Organizers encourage creative crusts, such as original GFCF flour and herb blends, or even hash browns, polenta, cornmeal, etc.  For the Community and Student Divisions, ingredients should be easily available locally, so that local families could make the recipes at home, in a home oven. The Professional Division is free to dazzle the judges. Each recipe should have a name or title. Specific gluten-free or casein-free ingredients should include a brand.

 On April 17, beginning at 1 p.m., eight finalists in each category will be invited to take their prepared dish the conference room at the Beckley Crossing Kroger, where the pizzas can be warmed before being served to the judges.

“We wanted to do the cookoff a week before the Autism Walk, which is April 24,” Lintala said. “It’s a fun way to draw attention to some of the many positive things that can be done to help children with autism recover. We hope a lot of people will come out and participate in this. It will also be a good learning experience.”

For more information, call 304-255-2550.



Here is a sample recipe:



Gluten-free pizza crust



1 tablespoon yeast

1 1/3 cups milk (soy, cow, or rice)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/3 cups brown rice flour

1 cup corn starch

2 teaspoons xanthum gum

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano



2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Pizza sauce



One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings

1/2 of a 6-ounce can of tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

6 fresh basil leaves, minced



Place all the ingredients for the pizza sauce, except for the basil, into a saucepan and heat over medium low. Let the sauce simmer while you make the crust and prepare the toppings.

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat  milk in the microwave so that it is warm (not so hot that it would burn your finger, just warm). Combine the milk with the sugar and yeast in a small mixing bowl. If you stir the mixture while you slowly pour the milk, then it should all dissolve well. Let this sit while you proceed to the next step — it needs to have time to get bubbly.

 Combine the brown rice flour, corn starch, xanthum gum and spices in a larger mixing bowl. If the rosemary is not crushed, chop it up a bit with a knife before adding it to the bowl.

Add the oil and vinegar to the yeast mixture, which should have some air bubbles by now. Then pour all of that into the flour mixture and stir well. Once you’ve done this, the dough will be somewhat sticky, and now is a good time to sprinkle some extra rice flour on it. Now that the rice flour is cutting down on the stickiness, form the dough into a ball and let it sit while you get your pans ready.

Grease pans or a cookie sheet for cooking the crusts, so the pizza crust does not stick. Spread butter, olive oil, shortening, or cooking spray on the pan and then sprinkle a bit of rice flour on top of that.

Split the ball of dough into two pieces — one for each pan. Starting from the middle of the dough, use your fingers to press down on the dough and spread it out towards the edges of the pan. Work from the center to the edges in a circular pattern. When you get the dough to the edges, continue to push the dough up onto the side of the pan, so that you will have a nice crust.

Pop the crusts into the hot oven for 8 minutes. While they are cooking, add the basil to the sauce and prep your pizza toppings. Suggested toppings are diced onion, diced bell pepper, mushrooms and black olives.

Take the crusts out of the oven. While they cool for a second, use a stick blender to puree the pizza sauce if you do not want it to be chunky.

Drizzle some olive oil onto your crusts and spread it over them evenly. (This will keep the pizza sauce from making your crust soggy.). Now add the toppings starting with the pizza sauce and ending with the cheese.

Pop the pizza back into the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown. Pull the pizzas out, cut and serve.

Makes enough for two adults.

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com

Gluten-free, casein-free pizza cookoff rules

1. There are three categories:

a. Professional — open to restaurants, caterers, professional chefs, etc.

b. Community — open to anyone who does not fall into the professional or student categories.

c. Student — for students or classrooms in grades K-12. All schools in Raleigh and Fayette counties are being contacted as part of the School Partnership Program. College students would enter the community division, as would a homemaker or a business owner.

2. Contestants should submit a written recipe for an original, gluten-free/casein-free pizza, from crust to toppings, will full baking instructions. Even though the pizza creation itself would be original, entrants may still use a mix or frozen prepared crust as part of the creation. They must, however, give credit to the brand name of the product. Organizers encourage creative crusts, such as original GFCF flour and herb blends, or even hash browns, polenta, cornmeal, etc.  For the Community and Student Divisions, ingredients should be easily available locally, so that local families could make the recipes at home, in a home oven. The Professional Division is free to dazzle the judges. Each recipe should have a name or title. Specific gluten-free or casein-free ingredients should include a brand.

3. Entrants need to include their name, or the name of their business, or their classroom, (for example, a fifth grade class at a particular school), address, phone number for day and evening, and e-mail address, and state clearly which division they are entering. A school classroom would put the name of the school and class, and then the teacher’s name and contact information, not the student’s.  Recipes should be typed and double-spaced. They can be submitted by e-mail to:  Arrc@suddenlink.net,  and putting GFCF Cook-Off in the Subject field. Contestants should send in their recipes so that they are postmarked or e-mailed  no later than March 20 to: The ARRC, 2401 S. Kanawha St., Suite 101, Beckley, WV  25801 to the attention of chef Devin

Recipes postmarked or e-mailed March 21 will not be part of the contest.

4. On April 17, beginning at 1 p.m., eight finalists in each category will take in their prepared creations to the conference room in the Beckley Crossing Kroger, where the pizzas can be warmed before being tasted by the judges.

For more information, call 304-255-2550.