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鈥檚 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鈥檚 making them herself.

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

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The Guildford-area family鈥檚 story has made headlines across North America in recent weeks.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing, and it鈥檚 good for the awareness around this subject,鈥� Roman said about all the media attention. 鈥淭here are tons of families with children and adults dealing with similar challenges, so I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 being talked about to kind of give a voice to people dealing with it.鈥�

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鈥檚 Path Organic Foods as an 鈥渁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鈥檚 lifeline at this point in his life.鈥�

The waffle recipe is , along with an explanation that some of the original commercial ingredients are not available at the grocery store. 鈥淲e wanted to be sure Jenna could easily find everything she needed for the recipe,鈥� the company says. 鈥淭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.鈥�

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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.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to make them without Jerico knowing, at night, because he has no idea about everything that鈥檚 happening at this point,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to create more anxiety around eating and everything about the waffles.鈥�

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

On social media, Roman said she鈥檚 had to deal with some scornful people who can鈥檛 understand why Jerico won鈥檛 eat other things.

鈥淚 try not to respond,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut people don鈥檛 understand, or are even open to understanding. It鈥檚 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.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an extreme situation that many kids, parents, adults have to struggle with,鈥� Roman added, 鈥渁nd I鈥檝e been in a situation two times where Jerico almost had to be put on a feeding tube, and that鈥檚 very hard to take as a parent. He鈥檚 been through tons of therapy and therapists, and I鈥檓 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.鈥�

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

鈥� Nature's Path Foods (@NaturesPath)

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

鈥淚t鈥檚 tricky because replicating a commercial, boxed waffle like that is so much different than making waffles at home with an iron,鈥� she elaborated. 鈥淵ou have to have right temperature 鈥� cool it but not too much because it鈥檒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鈥檚 all quite a process.鈥�

Ultimately, she鈥檇 love for Nature鈥檚 Path to start making her son鈥檚 favourite waffles again.

鈥淚鈥檓 hoping for that, because they鈥檙e very good waffles,鈥� Roman said. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize they鈥檙e not making them anymore, so hopefully the company will consider making them again. I don鈥檛 quite understand why they鈥檙e gone. It would save a lot of time and energy for me to create them, that鈥檚 for sure, and I鈥檓 just thankful they were able to go through everything and recreate the recipe because it wasn鈥檛 easy, not easy at all.鈥�

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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