No Bake Sunbutter Energy squares.

Elizabeth Goldenberg at OneSpot Allergy http://blog.onespotallergy.com/ posted this No Bake Energy Bites recipe on her blog. http://blog.onespotallergy.com/2012/02/sunbutter-peanut-free-gluten-free-and-delicous/


No Bake Energy Bites (Nut-free version of Smashed Peas and Carrots recipe)
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup SunButter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or hemp seeds
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Working with wet hands, press into balls. These are so delicious, consider doubling the recipe. Enjoy!

When I made them, Alexa complained they made her mouth itchy.  I could not figure WHAT was causing this.  I later realized the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed I used had a "same facility as tree nuts" warning on it (dummy!!).  I really wanted to make the kids some kind of granola bars.  Since I had not yet tracked down any safe Flaxseed, I made another granola type bar from a recipe I found on Pinterest. (at least I think that's were I found it).  It contained oats, Sunbutter, honey, oil, vanilla, and 1 cup total of whatever mix-ins you wanted.  I chose coconut flakes, raisins, craisins, and chocolate chips.  You have to melt the honey, Sunbutter and oil before adding your oats and mix-ins so when I added the chocolate chips, they melted and the bars came out like chocolate granola bars.  The kids LOVED them!  Yippee!  I finally had a way to get some fiber and fruit into the boy who eats nothing healthy!  So, anyhoo, I still wanted to try the no bake recipe from Elizabeth.  Today (even though I'm STILL out of flaxseed) I tried this combo:  

1 Cup Oats (Quaker old fashion)

1/2 Cup Sunbutter spread (I used creamy)

1/3 Cup Honey (from the farmers market-YUM!)

1 Cup Coconut Flakes 

1/2 Cup golden raisins

1/2 Cup No Nuts Dark Chocolate bits -not pictured (or use Enjoy Life Chocolate chips)

1 tsp vanilla

I mixed all the ingredients together using gloved hands to incorporate the Sunbutter and honey.  The raisins didn't want to stay in the mix so I microwaved the mix for 15 seconds.  I mixed again until it was all together and then spread it evenly into the bottom of a large plastic storage container lined with wax (or parchment) paper. (see photo)  I chilled it for 1 hour and cut them into squares.  YUM! They are a bit chewy from all the coconut but are delish for a quick bite. 

The kids haven't tried them yet-I'll let you know the final verdict.  I have GERB brand sunflower, pumpkin and flaxseeds from PeanutFreePlanet on the way- when they arrive I will experiment with all kinds of homemade granola bars and granola for the kids.  Who says living Peanut/Nut free is boring?? Not me!!! Hope you try these out and enjoy them!! 

Reference: http://blog.onespotallergy.com/2012/02/sunbutter-peanut-free-gluten-free-and-delicous/

Easy Egg, soy, nut free Donuts

While searching for the Mini donut recipe I posted earlier, I came across an easy donut recipe and decided to give it a try this morning.  They are best eaten warm so I recommend making them in small batches.  My kids really enjoyed them.  Also, be sure you cook the donut "holes" until they are deep brown, otherwise the middle is raw.  Hope you like this easy, quick alternative.

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury buttermilk flakey biscuits
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (or to your liking)
oil for frying (I use safflower oil)

Directions:
Take out the biscuits and lay a few out on a cutting board or pastry mat.  I used 4 biscuits.  Using a biscuit cutter or small glass, cut a hole from the middle of the biscuits.  Save the middle for donut holes.  Alternatively, you could have the children use their thumbs to push through to make a hole.

In a deep sided pan, heat enough oil to cover half way up the donut.  I used about 2 inches.  Heat oil until just shimmering.  Drop in donuts, brown on one side, flip. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels for a moment (to removed excess grease) then dip the donuts in the sugar cinnamon mixture.  You could also do this in a paper bag, shake donuts to coat but a shallow bowl works too.  You could also use powdered sugar.

Enjoy!! 

Egg, soy, nut free mini donuts

When Alexa was a little over 1 year old I bought her a donut at Dunkin Donuts.  She spit it out.  I didn't know at the time she was allergic to Peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy and all legumes.  It probably made her mouth itch.  But I just thought "what kid doesn't like donuts?". Since then, I have been meaning to try to make some egg free donuts but just never got around to it.  I came across a mini donut pan the other day and decided it was time to give them a try.  I found this recipe at Vegan Yum Yum http://veganyumyum.com/2007/02/mini-donut-test-kitchen/ and decided to give it a try today.  The photos are the end result.  Used real milk and real butter (because we're not vegan) and they came out delish.  I overfilled the tins so the first batch looks more like muffins with holes than donuts but the taste was yummy.  Not too sweet, not too "cake" like or too "muffin" like in texture and they were a BIG hit with the kids.  I think they each had at least 4 and I'm embarrassed to say I probably ate at least 4 as well. (I hope my Jenny Craig consultant isn't reading this!).  Anyway-I give this recipe a thumbs up.  I may attempt an egg free fried version at some point but for now these were YUM YUM ;-)

Pumpkin, cinnamon, streusel Muffins. Egg Free, peanut & tree nut free

 It's fall (or is it winter? I'm confused) but this time of year Alexa and I crave pumpkin muffins.  A friend posted on FaceBook that she was making pumpkin muffins and I decided to jump on the bandwagon. The recipe she sent me called for 2 eggs so I needed to adapt our muffins to eliminate them.  While shopping for some canned pumpkin I came across a box of Pillsbury Cinnamon Streusel muffins.  The recipe called for eggs but otherwise the contents were safe for Alexa so I grabbed a box and decided to experiment.  The result was a moist yummy muffin that the kids loved and is filled with fiber (if you can get past the sugar topping-which I can).  Here is the basic recipe.  Fun, easy and tasty.  I hope you enjoy them!

Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Cinnamon Streusel muffin mix
1/4 cup oil (we used Safflower)
3/4 cup milk (you can also use Rice Milk)
Energy Egg Replacer made to replace 1 egg (1 1/2 tsp replacer + 3 Tbs water well mixed)
1 Cup canned Pumpkin

Instructions:
Follow instructions on box except omit egg and add in prepared Energy Egg Replacer.  Add in 1 cup canned Pumpkin. (or more if desired-we actually used 1 1/2 cups but they were a little too moist so I cut it back here.) Fill muffin tins 3/4 way, cover with included streusel topping, bake according to directions on the box and enjoy them while they are still warm.

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Candy Corn, Candy Corn, wherefore art thou Candy Corn??!!

Finding safe Candy Corn for Alexa has been impossible!! I've looked all over the internet and talked to many people in the allergy community but alas that tricky Candy Corn has alluded us.  I heard A&J's Bakery in Rhode Island had some peanut free! Yippee!! They ship it and they still have inventory-YES! then... No.  They contain egg white.  Why? Who knows...it's not a required ingredient as far as I can tell but they use it so it's out for us.  Next, I heard Jelly Belly has peanut safe Candy Corn-YES! then....no.  Not tree nut safe and it contains modified soy protein..not for us. BOOO and I mean BOO! This is starting to bug me.  I then heard about Candy Corn Flavored Dots.  We bought them, we tried them, we didn't like them.  Alexa and Nick ate them but they're not REAL Candy Corn so to me it's no substitute.  I'm on a mission and in my typical Average Allergy Mom style, if I can't find it-I make it.  I have no idea what I'm doing or if they will even taste like Candy Corn but I'm going to give it the old "college try".  I also found out I can make them "fondant style" or candy maker style (very involved process!) so I haven't decided which I will do yet.  I may try both. I'll post my results when I'm done.  This could get interesting.  Hopefully I'll figure it out BEFORE Halloween. Stay tuned!

Willfulness, testing boundaries or Oral Allergy Syndrome?

An article I saw today in Scientific America gave me pause and a bit of guilt.  Alexa told Jason and I recently that ALL raw fruits and veggies make her throat itch.  We were very surprised by this and questioned her "even watermelon? you love watermelon? what about strawberries? blueberries too?" She held firm, "yes, even watermelon, but I didn't tell you because I really like it."  I know about Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) and I'm aware that some raw fruits and veggies make her throat itchy (carrots, celery, apples, pineapple) but I didn't know items she had been eating for years (strawberries, blueberries, bananas, watermelon) bother her.  When she began complaining she didn't want to eat these regular staples, we questioned whether or not it was true.  We wondered if she was testing us.  I'm not proud of this fact but it is honest.  Initially, I said "ok hon, don't eat them" and discussed it with Jason.  He also wondered if she was testing us.  This event lead to our first discussion about how to give our allergic girl more power over what she eats.  Initially, Jason thought we should push her to continue eating foods she has been eating safely for years.  He was sure she was just using her allergy as an excuse not to eat "healthy food".  I disagreed.  In my opinion, even if she is testing us, she needs to have the power to say no.  She needs to feel safe and comfortable eating.  I can't imagine being afraid something would make me sick and having someone push me to eat it anyway.  My goal is to decrease or eliminate her anxiety about food.  In my opinion we need to give her the power to choose what she does and does not eat (within reason and without exposure to her ANA foods).  Jason and I agreed not to push the issue until we met with her allergist.  The allergist agreed it was most likely OAS and gave us an updated handout.  Alexa is very allergic to birch which is part of this OAS issue.   So now we put the fruit/veggie on the table and let her decide if wants it.  If she eats it, great and if not no big deal.  She has started eating watermelon and strawberries again on occasion but is still avoiding all others.  I attached the article I mentioned as it's very interesting.   I still have some Mommy guilt about not trusting her up front but in my defense, I'm still learning.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/oscillator/2011/09/18/allergy-recapitulates-phylogeny/