A Surrey mother is working hard on her baking skills, now that a commercial waffle maker has given her the recipe to help feed her very discerning son.

Jenna Roman was thrilled when Richmond-based Nature乌鸦传媒檚 Path Foods sent precise details about how to make their discontinued Maple Cinnamon Waffles, which is the only food eaten by her son, Jerico, other than vitamin-packed smoothies. The nine-year-old has autism, and struggles with extreme oral aversion and complex eating challenges.

In recent months , and now she乌鸦传媒檚 making them herself.

乌鸦传媒淭he waffle recipe isn乌鸦传媒檛 easy to make 乌鸦传媒� it乌鸦传媒檚 actually very complex,乌鸦传媒� Roman explained. 乌鸦传媒淭he next step in this journey is to replicate this recipe and tweak it until it乌鸦传媒檚 accepted (by Jerico). Hopefully it乌鸦传媒檚 an easy switch-over but the people in the R&D department let me know it乌鸦传媒檚 not an exact copy, taste-wise and smell-wise, so we乌鸦传媒檒l have to tweak it as we go here.乌鸦传媒�

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The Guildford-area family乌鸦传媒檚 story has made headlines across North America in recent weeks.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been amazing, and it乌鸦传媒檚 good for the awareness around this subject,乌鸦传媒� Roman said about all the media attention. 乌鸦传媒淭here are tons of families with children and adults dealing with similar challenges, so I乌鸦传媒檓 glad it乌鸦传媒檚 being talked about to kind of give a voice to people dealing with it.乌鸦传媒�

People with oral aversion, like Jerico, strongly dislike or are afraid of anything touching their mouth, which can lead to a refusal to eat, drink, be touched or an overactive gag reflex.

Roman started and accounts to document the ordeal, and a has raised more than $5,000 for her to buy more of the waffles and two freezers to store them for Jerico, who turns 10 in April.

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The raves about Nature乌鸦传媒檚 Path Organic Foods as an 乌鸦传媒渁mazing company that has gone above and beyond to help Jerico. Without them, I would have no direction or plan on what to do when my stock runs out. This is Jerico乌鸦传媒檚 lifeline at this point in his life.乌鸦传媒�

The waffle recipe is , along with an explanation that some of the original commercial ingredients are not available at the grocery store. 乌鸦传媒淲e wanted to be sure Jenna could easily find everything she needed for the recipe,乌鸦传媒� the company says. 乌鸦传媒淭hen the amounts had to be adjusted, but the (research & development) team was determined to get just right! Over several weeks, they repeatedly tested and tweaked the recipe and now feel they have developed a home recipe that tastes just like our commercial Cinnamon Maple Waffles.乌鸦传媒�

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PICTURED: Jenna Roman (submitted photo)

A single mother of three, Roman has had her hands full searching for a waffle solution.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 trying to make them without Jerico knowing, at night, because he has no idea about everything that乌鸦传媒檚 happening at this point,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 want to create more anxiety around eating and everything about the waffles.乌鸦传媒�

(Story continues below video about ARFID, or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)

On social media, Roman said she乌鸦传媒檚 had to deal with some scornful people who can乌鸦传媒檛 understand why Jerico won乌鸦传媒檛 eat other things.

乌鸦传媒淚 try not to respond,乌鸦传媒� she said, 乌鸦传媒渂ut people don乌鸦传媒檛 understand, or are even open to understanding. It乌鸦传媒檚 a severe challenge, and back in the day, kids who had these challenges were institutionalized and just put away, because nobody knew how to deal with it. Some kids will starve themselves, to the point of hospitalization and needing a feeding tube.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 an extreme situation that many kids, parents, adults have to struggle with,乌鸦传媒� Roman added, 乌鸦传媒渁nd I乌鸦传媒檝e been in a situation two times where Jerico almost had to be put on a feeding tube, and that乌鸦传媒檚 very hard to take as a parent. He乌鸦传媒檚 been through tons of therapy and therapists, and I乌鸦传媒檓 hoping that with all this attention, maybe a specialist would want to jump on board and work with Jerico on this situation. He also deals with migraines triggered by anxiety that go with feeding as well.乌鸦传媒�

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Great news and outstanding team effort! Special thanks to and our R&D Team for making this possible. 馃挌

乌鸦传媒� Nature's Path Foods (@NaturesPath)

Waffle recipe in hand, Roman went to work making them at home.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 tricky because replicating a commercial, boxed waffle like that is so much different than making waffles at home with an iron,乌鸦传媒� she elaborated. 乌鸦传媒淵ou have to have right temperature 乌鸦传媒� cool it but not too much because it乌鸦传媒檒l go soggy when you freeze it, so the timing is key too. They actually gave me two (recipes), and they said I might have to bake them as well before freezing. It乌鸦传媒檚 all quite a process.乌鸦传媒�

Ultimately, she乌鸦传媒檇 love for Nature乌鸦传媒檚 Path to start making her son乌鸦传媒檚 favourite waffles again.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 hoping for that, because they乌鸦传媒檙e very good waffles,乌鸦传媒� Roman said. 乌鸦传媒淧eople don乌鸦传媒檛 realize they乌鸦传媒檙e not making them anymore, so hopefully the company will consider making them again. I don乌鸦传媒檛 quite understand why they乌鸦传媒檙e gone. It would save a lot of time and energy for me to create them, that乌鸦传媒檚 for sure, and I乌鸦传媒檓 just thankful they were able to go through everything and recreate the recipe because it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 easy, not easy at all.乌鸦传媒�

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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