Food Allergy Reflections

Dairy-Free French Fries

2011-06-21T08:08:00.000-05:00

Hop over to my other blog and check out this French Fries recipe. It's free of most allergens (except soy) and quite possibly the French Fries I've ever made!

Update on Milk

2011-06-21T08:05:00.000-05:00

I recently posted that our daughter's milk allergy appears to be gone. She has been eating pretty much everything now. It's such a strange feeling not washing my hands 50 times in an hour period because I have milk or cheese or butter or anything. She's been out to eat quite a few times, too. I still get nervous, very nervous. But overall she isn't having any problems with milk. We'll be going to the allergist later this summer. I really don't know what we will discuss, but follow-up is good.

FYI- more posts on my other blog

2011-06-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

I finally am back up and running more on my other blog -- Reflections from a Mother's Soul. You might just want to check it out!

I'll be posting more posts on both blogs this summer.

Milk Allergy -- Gone!

2011-05-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

As far as we can tell, our 3-year-old daughter's milk allergy is gone. She has been eating yogurt every day --I used yogurt as a control to know how much was going in her each day. After the first initial days of dairy eating she had a mild eczema breakout on her arms. It went away within a day. We have gradually been increasing her yogurt intake every three days. She's now eating 4 oz of yogurt a day. No skin rashes to be found. She even ate pizza at preschool last week. Her teachers looked at me nervously when I told them to let her try it. Thankfully, I work in the same school so they weren't so worried knowing I was in the building. It's been so exciting to watch her eat new foods. Goldfish crackers were on her list to try right away. Crazy how the simplest thing as a goldfish cracker was so dangerous. Now it's not a problem.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding our journey with the milk allergy!

Update on Milk Allergy

2011-05-14T19:00:00.001-05:00

During spring break, we ventured on the airlines for a trip to visit grandparents. Our daughter will be 4 in a couple months and has allergies to milk, egg, tree nuts and peanuts.

I was so nervous -- would they take away the Epi-Pen when going through security? How will I make sure the airline seat is clean of allergens? Don't even talk to me about all the public restrooms I knew we would have to use.

I can confidentially say that for the entire trip -- two airplanes down, two airplanes back, airport public areas, grandparent's house, multiple restaurants, and too many bathrooms to count-- there was not one (repeat not one) incidence of rash on her face. Even during her normal days at preschool we occasionally see her all rashy with no direct reason. It sure doesn't help that she still put everything in her mouth.

Well, our daughter was plagued with a cough after the vacation and ended up with an ear infection. The antiboitics are finally out of her system and I could hardly wait to test her for milk at home. NOTE: DO NOT DO ALLERGY CHALLENGE TESTING AT HOME UNLESS ADVISED BY A DOCTOR.

For morning snack I gave her some icing made from milk, powdered sugar and vanilla. The same icing she has had for many of her at-home milk testing. I kept the Benadryl close at hand. She ate it. We waited. Normally 10 minutes is the wait time before we see hives all over face. Guess what? Nothing!

For lunch I daringly gave her a third of a piece of string cheese. She ate a couple bites, then we made her wait 10 minutes. No rash. We let her finish the rest of the string cheese (still just the third of a regular size). Nothing. No hives. No cough.

We didn't get too excited. I think we have just had to deal with her milk allergy for so long that her possibly not having it any longer isn't as big of a deal as it would have been two years ago. Don't get me wrong there is nothing that would make our lives easier. But we really have adapted.

We waited to check her bowel movement before trying anything else -- just in case her tummy couldn't handle it. All was normal on that front. After dinner we gave her Cool Whip that recently changed it's formula to more creamy and gave her a terrible reaction several months ago. She ate the creamy Cool Whip with some strawberries. We set the timer for the third time today and waited 10 minutes. No reaction. Hooray! I think I'm numb.

Next on the menu is yogurt and then toast with butter. Wow! I never thought we would see the day. We are going to continue to take it slow, and I'll get a call into the allergist next week. I just wanted to share to give those you out there hope!!!

Read some of my other at-home testing posts showing our slow journey that led us to were we are today!

$3/1 Children's Claritin Coupon

2011-04-20T15:38:00.001-05:00

Here's an online $3/1 coupon for Children's Claritin.

Also as a Bzzz Agent, I have many manufacturer $3/1 coupons for Children's Claritin (that are not printed online coupons). If you are interested leave a comment or e-mail and I'll send one out to you!

Trader Joe's

2011-04-18T07:05:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well. I have searched high and low and lower to find a granola bar that I like sans peanuts. About a year ago I realized I had a reaction to peanuts and tested positive for a peanut allergy. Several other tree nuts were positive, as well. I used to love eating a granola bar for a quick on-the-go snack or even as a low calorie breakfast. Well, guess what? ~~Many~~ Most granola bars are processed in facilities or on equipment with tree nuts and peanuts. My 3-year-old loves Glutino breakfast bars and Enjoy Life Snack Bars, which are free of many allergens including wheat. Well, I just like wheat and haven't been satisfied with the flavor for myself (plus the cost is pretty high -- almost a dollar a bar and that is with my savings tricks).

I've talked about going to Trader Joe's for almost two years, but just haven't found my way there. It's only about a half hour away, but I always like to go in that direction when I have something else to do. I finally found myself there a couple weeks ago. Now, just like every other store there are allergy-free products and products made in facilities with allergies or shared equipment with allergies. I was disappointed as I picked up animal crackers and other items that weren't safe for my multi-food allergic child. I finally arrived at the granola bar isle with a pretty empty cart. I found not one, but two different types of granola bars that would be safe for me to eat (only one is safe for my daughter who has a milk allergy). Okay, I thought -- I better like these. I kinda felt like this is my last shot (I swear I've read every granola bar label out there).

The first granola bar I came across was these. The disclaimer on the back says : "Our vendors follow good manufacturing practices to segregate ingredients to avoid cross contact with allergens. Made on equipment shared with milk, peanuts and tree nuts." I read this several times in the store and wondered if I should trust that or not. I decided to give them a try.

The verdict: Our daughter ate it, loved it, and no reactions. Hooray! These bars were about $2 for 12 bars (note: they come in two bars in a pack). I didn't mind the taste of these at all. Not my preferred taste, but I could eat and enjoy them. No reaction for me, either.

I walked down the isle and saw these. Oh, my god. No way. Chocolate granola bars -- my absolute favorite idea for a granola bar. I have big love of chocolate, which is hard to fulfill with a peanut allergy. I read the label. Same disclaimer: "Our vendors follow good manufacturing practices to segregate ingredients to avoid cross contact with allergens. Made on equipment shared with milk, peanuts and tree nuts." A little skeptical still, I bought the bars. The price was around $2 for 6.

The verdict: I ate one the next day and absolutely loved every bite. Yum. Then I waited and waited for a reaction. Nothing. Could it be, my search is over? A granola bar that met three criteria: I like it, It's allergy-free for me, and cost effective. I'm making another trip this weekend to Trader Joe's.

Welcome new readers

2011-04-17T14:07:00.003-05:00

I've recently noticed an incline of readers to this blog. Welcome! I have been slow to post lately because of other events in my life -- mainly working as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher and balancing family life. But I have great plans for more posts for this blog coming soon. I welcome any questions or ideas you may have. Comments are always welcomed!

Thanks for your support!

Product Review - Annie's Homegrown Gluten-Free Bunnies

2011-02-25T14:15:00.000-06:00

I made a quick run to a locally owned grocery store yesterday. They carry a lot of items I can't find anywhere else (not just allergy-free, either). I was scanning the shelf in the organic area and came across Annie's Homegrown Gluten-Free Bunnies hidden toward the bottom. I was ecstatic when I read "Made in a peanut-free, tree-nut free facility." Our daughter is elated. I can't even count how many times she has asked for bunny or goldfish crackers. Her question usually is "Can we find some without food allergies?" So when I read the label to her she clapped excitedly. Sometimes it's just fun to have fun treats (like everyone else).

Valentine's Day and Food Allergies

2011-02-01T13:51:00.000-06:00

It's now been a couple years since our 3-year-old has been celebrating holidays with her food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, milk and eggs. Quite honestly, I don't really think too hard about what to do anymore. I treat Valentine's Day very similar to Halloween, Just insert hearts and cupids instead of pumpkins and ghosts.

Here are a few other ideas for treats for Valentine's Day:

Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Chocolate Shortbread cut-out cookies
Dairy-Free Heart Rice Krispies Treats
Dairy-Free S'mores
Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dairy-Free Banana Boats
2010 Top 10 Valentine's Day Recipes (mine is number 5)
Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Puppy Chow
Dairy-Free No Bake Crunchies
Banana Muffins (use dairy-free margarine)
Other Non-baking ideas: Fruit snacks, Enjoy Life Chocolate Bars, Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom Bars, Fruit Crisps, Chocolate chips, Dum Dum Suckers, and Smarties

Remember it's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. Also, if your children are young just baking something together is more important than the end result. Valentine's Day is a holiday to show love and friendship -- not just to eat a lot of treats.

Hershey Kisses -- Follow up

2011-01-29T13:59:00.000-06:00

A while back I realized that many Hershey Kisses flavors are in fact peanut-free and nut-free. I honestly couldn't believe it when I read the package. I have eliminated all nuts and peanuts from my diet since learning that I have an allergy, even though it's a pretty mild reaction.

I know have been eating Hershey Dark Kisses for about two months. And I am happy to say I haven't had any reactions (as far as I can tell). I am so happy. I am a chocoholic and buying Enjoy Life bars was really getting expensive. While I still enjoy Enjoy life chocolate and value their dedication to allergy-free products. I am extra happy at Hershey for providing me with a sweet treat that I can get a really good deal on after the holidays!

Smore's in a Jar

2011-01-04T19:27:00.000-06:00

I made this Smore's in a Jar recipe for our daughter for Christmas! It was really yummy. I used crushed Teddy Grahams, Earth's Balance Margarine and Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips for substitutions. It woudl be a great recipe to pass at a gathering! Really easy and fun!

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies

2010-12-15T20:20:00.000-06:00

I was really excited when I found this recipe in an old cookbook. The original recipe calls for butter, but I substitute dairy-free margarine. There are only five ingredients. The dough isn't very sticky. You can roll it out right away and you don't need much flour. I was extra excited about it being egg-free, which meant our 3-year-old could roll out the dough and help with the cookie cutters. Overall, the taste is okay, but with frosting -- yummy!!

Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies
(Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free)

1 cup dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cup flour

1. Mix margarine, powdered sugar and vanilla together.
2. Add cocoa.
3. Then add flour. Mix until smooth.
4. Roll out dough -- don't need much flour.
5. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch them carefully because they are so dark, it's hard to see if they are burnt.

Super easy and fun to make with the food allergic child!!

No More Rack

2010-12-15T13:29:00.000-06:00

I don't normally post non-allergy related items here. But this looks really interesting. The site is called No More Rack. When you sign up you get a $10 credit -- shipping is rumored at $2. Most items are listed around or just above the $10 mark. I think it might have some potential to get something really cheap. Check it out and let me know if you get anything interesting.

Food Allergies and Preschool

2010-12-13T18:39:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been about 2 1/2 months since our little food allergic daughter has been in preschool. She is allergic to milk, egg, peanuts and tree nuts. Her little bubble of safe food and never being around a potential hazard has been altered. And I can honestly say all is going very well. She eats snack and lunch at school. Her teachers know to read the labels and have a stash of snack bars (Enjoy Life and Glutino) and some snack size Teddy Grahams and Oreos that I stocked up on after Halloween.

Lunch is a little different story. It took a couple months to get the ingredient lists for the items from the school district. And some of those are even a year old. But if I don't think it will be safe, she eats something else. She really likes soybutter and jelly sandwiches. Typically there is fresh fruit and veggies (way to go!) from the school district lunch, so we just make up the rest later in the day if need be. She's a typical 3-year-old who eats when she wants to eat. Lucky for us, I work in the same building that she attends preschool. That's a load off my worried shoulders (and for her teachers, too). Her teachers have told me that she knows about her food allergies and doesn't mind eating something else.

On a side note; we were eating a chips and salsa at a restaurant last week. Our daughter asked if she could have a tortilla chip. I handed it to her and told I wasn't sure if it had food allergies, but it's probably okay (I carry Benadryl everywhere we go just in case). She pulled back and said "no" and decided not to eat because it could have food allergies. What a smart little 3-year-old!

While her reactions thus far are fairly mild (as far as we have seen), you never really know what may happen if another child spills milk or touches her after eating peanut butter. There are days I pick her up and her face is rashy. But she's a rashy kid. She could have rubbed her face on a toy that was cleaned with soap that made her rash up. She sometimes is rashy while eating a completely allergy free meal at home. There just is no rhyme or reason. But I wanted to share our slow transition to the real world and dangers for a food allergic child. And to those of you just starting out on this journey, it does get easier. It does.

You never know what might work

2010-12-05T09:16:00.000-06:00

We normally make a pancakes from a box (Aunt Jemima). It's what I knew when I first started feeding my allergic child. And when you find something that works, you just stick with it. Our daughter is able to tolerate milk and eggs in most baked goods, such as pancakes.

The other morning I woke up and we had no milk (cow's milk) in the house, but I had already promised pancakes. I decided to substitute rice milk in the pancake mix and the outcome was great. I added just a little extra mix to the batch because the rice milk thins it out a little. But other than that, they turned out the same. You never know until you try!

A conversation with Silk (an e-mail, too)

2010-11-26T13:14:00.000-06:00

Have you noticed? Silk Soymilk now contains an allergy statement that states: Contains Soy, May contain almond and coconut. I freaked out when I read that. Words ran through my head-- almond, tree nut, cross contamination, tummy ache, reactions, how dare they...

I sent an e-mail to WhiteWave Food the company that distributes Silk Soymilk. I also made a phone call. Below is the e-mail response.

Thank you for your recent e-mail to Silk®. We appreciate your interest in our products.

We can assure you that we take allergenic food concerns seriously, and have instituted allergen control programs at each facility manufacturing the Silk Pure Almond and Soymilk products. Our allergen control programs consist of several components, designed to comprehensively address allergenic food concerns at multiple points of production. Examples of this program include the following:

· Supplier control – each ingredient used in production goes through steps to ensure quality and purity.

· Cleaning procedures – validated procedures to ensure effective clean and rinse is accomplished after each production run.

· Allergen-free product testing – testing in-process and finished product at frequent intervals to ensure safety.

· Storage/warehouse – allergen status labeling and isolation of ingredients to ensure no cross-contamination occurs.

· Production scheduling - scheduling of product runs are done in a manner that ensures allergen-containing products are run only after non-allergen containing products, protecting the immediate subsequent product from contamination risk.

Food safety is our highest priority and as part of our commitment to quality, all employees involved in the manufacturing of Silk have a comprehensive awareness of food allergen concerns.

Please contact us if you have any additional concerns or questions.

Thanks again for contacting the Consumer Affairs Department.

In the phone conversation that I had with the company, the representative also said to me that her company is aware that many of their customers have other food allergies besides dairy and take that very seriously. I was happy to hear her say that. I made me feel like I was listened to. So many people don't believe food allergies even exist. For her to say we know that's why you drink our product is because you trust us, made me feel confident they are doing the best they can.

So my conclusion is that they take food allergies seriously. They need to put that it may contain almond or coconut because there is a chance that it could be on the equipment even though they practice good cleaning procedures. I conclude that at least I know they are doing their best to keep cross contaminations from happening and that is lot more than I can say for other companies. It's as risky as consuming anything when you have food allergies, but at least I know. I honestly worry more about companies that don't have statements at all on products.

Let me also remind you this is a lesson to re-read labels even on products you use regularly. Our daughter has been drinking Silk Soymilk for 2 years and this new allergy statement just appeared on our carton in the last week here in Wisconsin.

New Blog Title

2010-11-25T13:33:00.000-06:00

Yes, you're at the same place. I recently changed my blog from "Life with a Dairy-Free Toddler" to "Food Allergy Reflections." My toddler is no longer a toddler and I anticipate that this blog will be around for a while. Same content, same web address, new name. Thanks for reading!!

Dairy-Free Thanksgiving recipes

2010-11-20T08:57:00.002-06:00

Okay, I know many families worry that holiday meals just won't be the same if it isn't slathered in butter. But you know what? It's actually very simple to adapt a big fancy Thanksgiving meal to your allergy needs.

Here are some recipes and suggestions that work for us.

Turkey
12 lb turkey
Olive oil
2 Tbsp salt (I actually use a little less)
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp paprika

1. Mix seasonings together.
2. Rub olive oil and seasonings on turkey.
3. Stuff with stuffing (recipe below) if you want.
4. Bake per directions on packaging. (18 minutes per pound at 325 degrees)

Sausage Stuffing
3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
2 medium onions
2 cloves of garlic
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of stuffing crumbs (I like Brownberry Herbed Seasoned Stuffing)
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 pound pork sausage, browned and drained
2 cups chicken stock (homemade recipe here)

1. Heat olive oil and margarine in large skillet.
2. Add onions, celery, carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds before removing from heat.
3. Combine stuffing crumbs, poultry seasoning, sage and pork sausage in large bowl.
4. Stir in chicken stock and cooked vegetables.
5. Stuff in turkey or bake in casserole dish at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. I highly reccommend stuffing the turkey -- so good!

Mashed Potatoes
6 potatoes, diced
5 cups chicken stock (and more water if needed)
Pepper
Garlic, keep whole

1. Boil potatoes and garlic in chicken stock for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Drain potatoes, but save a couple cups of the stock in separate bowl.
3. Slowly add chicken stock to potatoes as you mash them.

**You can add soy or rice milk, but you don't need to to have some good flavor.**

Gravy
Brown bits from turkey
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme (optional)

1. Take brown bits from turkey and heat in skillet. Add flour and mix together.
2. Slowly add chicken stock and cook on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until desired consitency.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 cups cranberries

1. Boil water with sugar.
2. Add cranberries and cook on medium heat until thickens. About 10 minutes.

**Canned cranberries are dairy-free, too.**

Corn

I always save corn from the summer and freeze it for a simple dish. I just heat it up and add a little dairy-free margarine and salt.

**Personally, I don't see anything wrong with just heating up corn or green beans (either frozen or canned). Why not have an easy dish?**

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie (sorry, not egg-free)
Last year I made two pumpkin pies. This one and the recipe from on the back of the pumpkin can. I had never made pumpkin pie before. While the taste was a little different, we concluded that the dairy-free version was very, very good.

Crust
I cheat and buy Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust -- no dairy or soy

Pumpkin filling
16 oz can pumpkin
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 slightly beaten eggs (not sure if egg substitute works here, sorry)
2/3 cup rice milk

1. Bake pie crust at 375 degrees in pie plate for 10 minutes before adding filling.
2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add eggs.
3. Beat until just combined and stir in rice milk.
4. Pour filling into pie crust.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes
5. Cool on wire rack.

Cool Whip Light

2010-11-17T20:21:00.000-06:00

About a year ago we realized that our daughter was able to eat Cool Whip, but this summer we discovered that they changed the ingredients. The change caused a big rashy mess. I've been searching for a dairy-free whip cream with no luck. Soyatoo -- made in a facilty with nuts.

So, today while at the store we saw the Cool Whip Light. I ran through the list of ingredients and it looked just like the old Cool Whip recipe. We tried it tonight with our daughter and success. No allergic reaction. Cool Whip light only has sodium caesinate (from milk), but no other milk products. Let's just say there was a very happy girl eating her Cool Whip covered blueberries tonight!

Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Chex Mix

2010-11-14T08:07:00.000-06:00

Do you ever just avoid certain foods all together because you're certain your little one won't be able to eat it? I do this often. The other day I came across the original Chex Mix recipe and was pleasantly surprised that I could easily eliminate and substitute for her without compromising too much. Chex cereal is on sale everywhere right now and if you can get coupons (search on www.coupons.com), too.

Here's what I did for Chex Mix that was dairy-free and peanut-free.

Chex Mix
3 Tbsp dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp seasoned salt (see copycat recipe here)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup corn chex
1 1/2 cup rice chex
1 1/2 cup wheat chex (omit if gluten free and add more corn and rice)
1 cup bite-size pretzels (We eat Rold Gold)

1. Melt margarine in large roaster or pan in oven at 250 degrees.
2. Add spices and Worcestershire sauce. Mix together.
3. Add in cereal and pretzels.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

** So basically I skipped the peanuts and bagel chips, and substituted dairy-free margarine.**

Food Labeling and Allergies

2010-11-08T20:18:00.001-06:00

Here's some interesting information about food labeling from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. Most of it was review for me, but for those of you new to this allergy-free complexity it may be helpful!

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/FoodLabelingGuide/ucm064880.htm#major

Baked Cod -- Dairy-Free

2010-11-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

Okay, so when it comes to fish I normally make the dish with (milk-based) butter for my husband and myself -- there's just something about fish and butter. And then I make a separate dish for our daughter that is dairy-free. Normally it's not that much work, and I do this for many meals. However the other night I came across this recipe and tried it dairy-free for all of us. It was so good!

Dairy-Free Baked Cod
adapted from cooks.com

1 lb fish (I used wild caught Alaskan cod)
1/4 cup melted dairy-free butter (I used Earth's Balance)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lime juice (see my tip for having lemon and lime juice on hand)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Cut fish into single portion sizes or keep whole. Place in baking dish.
2. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over fish.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for half hour. Baste once our twice while baking.

Halloween and Food Allergies

2010-10-29T08:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my tips to dealing with holidays and food allergies.

1. No big deal. Yep, that's right. I take the approach of it's no big deal. Yes food allergies are a big, big deal. But how you approach the situation is what makes everything easier. For example, we plan on going trick-or-treating with our 3-year-old. However, I'm not going to stress that all the candy she gets she can't eat. I'm not going to feel bad that she can't eat all this candy because of food allergies. I'm just going to switch out the candy out of her bucket to candy and fruit snacks that she can eat when we get home. It's really no big deal.

2. Nobody really ~~cares~~ understands, so I'll take charge. I know that really sounds kinda harsh. But I've found that nobody really cares or understands that our daughter can't eat certain foods at holiday functions. I always come equip with foods she can eat and treats that she normally doesn't get very often. It's much easier to handle the situation myself than worry if someone else truly made something allergy-free. I'll normally make enough to share with the rest of the guests. And I can talk until I'm blue in the face about how our child can't have milk and someone will still offer her a chocolate chip cookie or cream cheese frosted cake.

3. It just is what it is. I've dealt with food allergies since I was young. I just eat what I can. It just is what it is. Nothing more or nothing less.

4. Just make if fun in your own way. We've been making treats and candy at home for a couple weeks now. Her Halloween experience has been expanded to more than trick-or-treating alone. We also read a ton of books about Halloween and fall. Trick-or-treat is just a small part for us (although a very exciting part).

Be sure to check out my cheap Halloween treat suggestions!

Dairy-free, Egg-free Cut-out Cookies (plus frosting!)

2010-10-23T13:10:00.001-05:00

I don't know where I found this recipe originally. But it works out great for cut-out cookies. I just couldn't wait to make them again until Christmas, so we made Halloween cookies. I think I'm just craving cut-out cookies because they look so good in the grocery store bakeries. I just don't trust those cookies for our little one. The best part of these cookies is being able to let our daughter help.

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Cut-out Cookies
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1/2 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce
2 1/2 cup flour

1. Mix all ingredients except flour together.
2. Slowly add flour.
3. Once mixed well, then wrap in cling wrap. Refrigerate for a couple hours.
4. Roll out dough and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

This frosting is amazing!

Dairy-Free Frosting
1 Tbsp melted dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp shortening (I use Crisco)
2 tsp vanilla soy milk
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Mix wet ingredients (all but powdered sugar) in mixer. I like to use my Kitchenaid Mixer.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar.
3. Mix for 5 minutes on medium speed.

Halloween Treat -- Chocolate Pumpkins

2010-10-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

I try to buy Wilton Candy molds (usually $2.50 at Michaels or Joann Fabric) for every season. You can't use the candy melts because they have dairy in them. But I just use Enjoy Life Chocolate chips. Then save the mold for next year.

I also buy those ice cube trays for each season and they work great for making chocolate candy.

Chocolate Pumpkins
1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1 Tbsp Dairy-Free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
Pumpkin mold

1. Melt chocolate and margarine in microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute.
2. Stir and pour in mold. You can use lollipop sticks, but you don't have to.
3. Place in freezer for one hour.
4. Store in refrigerator in air tight container.

**You can add mint extract, 1Tbsp Sunbutter or Soybutter or another type of extract to change the flavor.**

Halloween Treat -- Peeps

2010-10-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Our daughter just loves these and we buy them for every holiday. They cost around a dollar and they usually last us a month or more. We'll probably still have these pumpkins around Thanksgiving. Easy. Cheap. Allergy-Free.

Halloween Treat -- Halloween Oreos

2010-10-18T10:22:00.000-05:00

Am I a bad mother because our daughter didn't eat her first Oreo until last month? I held off on Oreos and chips for as long as I could. She now really likes both, really likes them. That's what I thought would happen. It's great though because Oreos are a really cheap treat (search for coupons) and we can offer one as a special treat. So today's Halloween treat is Halloween Oreos. Yes, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free and Nut-Free. Believe or not. Sugar-Free, uh no. Fat-Free, uh no. But fun!

Halloween treats -- Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free

2010-10-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

I've read a lot of "Allergy-Free" blogs and see that many are posting online stores that sell allergy-free Halloween treats. Well. I look at the price and think it's just not worth when you tack on shipping (and the fact that a child might not like it or eat it all). I get it's about providing fun treats for kids with food allergies and I greatly appreciate the effort and hope someday that we will just find these treats next to the bags of candy in the aisles full of dangerous candy. Maybe we'll get out own aisle someday. But for now, I choose to find what is available and safe to eat and work with.

All this week I will be sharing Halloween treat ideas that don't take a lot of time, are cost effective and lots of fun to eat. Hold on to your seats but many of the items I will share will be (big sigh) processed foods. Guess what I think it's okay in moderation, especially during the holidays.

Today's Fun Halloween Treat is:

Halloween Trail Mix
(You can use any variation of cereal, dried fruit, pretzels, etc. -- make it your own)

1/4 cup Cheerios
1/4 cup Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal
1/4 cup Kashi Honey Sunshine
1/4 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch (I sent my husband to the grocery store to get a General Mills deal and he brought this home for snacks)
1/2 cup Craisins
2 Tbsp Enjoy Life chocoalate chips
leftover Teddy Grahams (I think there were five left and a few arms and leg pieces)
2/3 cup Ghost Marshmallows

1. Simply mix all ingredients together. I always let my daughter pour them in a large bowl and stir with wooden spoon.
2. Store in zip lock bag or air tight container.

**My daughter told me that the Craisins were spiders and the teddy grahams were puppies (dressed in costumes I presume). It doesn't take much to turn something into something else. Plus when you're 3 years old everything is a great idea. **

Sneeze much?

2010-10-10T16:01:00.000-05:00

This fall has just been terrible for our 3-year-old in terms of seasonal allergies. While I wish I had a magical way to teach her to blow her nose, I don't. She's been pretty sneezy and coughy the last couple months. For a while I was using a saline spray with her, but it was a battle that upset her too much. Although I truly believe that would be very helpful.

Today I was shopping and found a different type of saline spray that doesn't require laying down or tilting a head back. It's call Kid's Mist SinuCleanse. I showed it to our daughter and got her excited about it. I told her she would be able to do it herself (within it time) and she was very interested in using it. So far we've used it twice and have had no tears (or screaming). I highly recommend you try it for allergy season or even for cold season.

Nut-Free (not dairy-free) Chocolate

2010-10-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

Every since I have realized I have a peanut allergy, I have really struggled to find chocolate that isn't processed with nuts. Guess what I just learned? Hershey's kisses may just be my answer to nut-free chocolate. They claim on their website that all chocolate is clearly labeled with allergens. And I picked up some kisses last week at the store that didn't list peanuts or tree nuts anywhere. Could it be? I am still hopeful our daughter will outgrow this milk allergy, but outgrowing the peanut allergy is pretty unlikely. I post this here because I try to help all of those out there with food allergies because it's the only way we can help each other.

Anyone have any experience with Hershey Kisses being peanut free and tree nut free?

Dairy-Free Taco Salad

2010-10-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

I had this awesome taco salad at a function recently. I searched for a couple different recipes and adapted it to my own tastes (and what I had in my freezer). Turned out really tasty. While I haven't made the dairy-free version for our 3-year-old, here's what I plan to make.

Taco Salad

(original recipe)

1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 cups black beans
1 (16 ounce) bottle French dressing (I used Kraft Catalina)
1 head iceberg lettuce (I used spinach)
1 (14.5 ounce) package tortilla chips
2 cups shredded soy cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons dairy-free sour cream (optional)
1/2 cup prepared salsa (optional)

Directions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and drain.
Stir in the taco seasoning, beans and French-style dressing.
Fill the dressing bottle 2/3 full of water and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Crush the bag of chips, open the bag, and toss the broken chips into a large bowl with the lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. When the meat mixture is done, combine it with the lettuce, tomatoes, chips and mix well. Then, add salsa and sour cream.

**Note this needs to be mixed together right before eating otherwise the chips get soggy. I actually made this as a lunch/snack for a couple days and just kept all ingredients separate until right before eating. Then I just added how much I wanted to eat for that meal. This would be very helpful if you are just making a small portion dairy-free. The recipe can easily be halved.**

In search of...

2010-10-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

A dairy-free whipped topping. For the last two years our daughter has had no problem eating the "regular" Cool Whip. I gave her a spoon to lick the day before her birthday and she was a big old rashy mess. I looked at the container and sure enough it said it was "now creamier." Now that pumpkin pie season is around the corner we need to find a whipped topping that is safe. To be continued...

If you have any good alternative suggestions, I would love to hear them.

PS Sorry for being absent from posting lately. I started a new job (a different one than a couple months ago) and I am focusing on family when at home. I hope to get back to regular blogging soon. I have so much to share with all of you.

Cheerio Snack Bars

2010-09-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

Oh my, it's been a long time. So sorry to my loyal readers. I will try to get some more posts up this weekend and date them for next week. In the meantime I must share this really good snack.

Cheerio Snack Bars
I took the original recipe from here. However, I changed the quantity, substituted Sunbutter and used the stove.

1/2 bag marshmallows (about 5 oz)
1 1/2 tsp dairy-free margarine (I used Earth's Balance)
1/4 cup Sunbutter (or Soybutter or Peanut Butter)
1/2 tsp cocoa
2 1/2 cups Cheerios (more if needed)

1. Melt margarine and marshmallows on low on stovetop.
2. Stir in Sunbutter and cocoa to melted marshmallows.
3. Add Cheerios to mixture and stir carefully.
4. Pour into an 8 x 8 pan. Smooth out and cut.

Download Now -- Free Dairy-Free Cookbook (Linking Working Now)

2010-09-01T08:06:00.002-05:00

Alisa over at One Frugal Foodie has just compiled an amazing list of 125 dairy-free recipes for her e-cookbook: Smart School Time Recipes: Breakfast, Snack and Lunchbox Cookbook for Healthy Kids and Adults. It is FREE and you will find lots of great ideas.

Omit, Adjust, Substitute, Invest

2010-08-31T07:45:00.000-05:00

In my journey with food allergies and our daughter (who is now 3), I have come to several conclustions that I would like to share. I remember how lost I was in the beginning and felt no one could help me. Well, actually no really did. The doctors just said give her soy. Okay, that doesn't help when you look at the big picture of feeding three meals a day along with two to three snacks. But I slowly started doing following and became much more comfortable with feeding our daughter. Now it seems easy, but it hardly is. Hope these words of advice can help some.

Omit-- Take dairy or other allergens out of a recipe. If a recipe calls for cream soup, just omit it. I did this with a creamy rice with broccoli and chicken recipe. I just made broccoli, ricc and chicken and mixed it together our daughter.

Adjust your thinking - Don't think how am I going to do this. Instead think this is what we have to do and people all over the country deal with this too. Finding resources can be very helpful so you as a parent don't feel so alone. Try to stay positive and optomistic.

Substitute-- Somwtimes it's very simple to substitute a soy or rice milk in place of regular milk. Sometimes it's not that easy. Here are some good resources for substituting for food allergies. Plus any blogs on my sidebar give great ideas, too.

Go Dairy Free Substitution list
E-Cookbook Substitution list (many more than just food allergies)
About.com Substitution article

Invest - No doubt about it, trying to figure out how cook allergy-free takes a lot of time and energy. Be willing to invest your wholeself. If you do it half-hearted it will be much harder overall. Educate yourself with blogs, cookbooks and other great resources out there. Many listed on my blog.

Deconstruct -- Instead of following a recipe exactly, I now look at it as separate pieces. First I find the allergens we can't eat in the recipe. Then I look at every other ingredient. I decide then if I can just omit the allergen (usually dairy, such as cheese or milk-based sauce) or if I can substitute a soy or rice based product. I can now take just about any recipe and make it work for us and taste pretty good, too.

Experiment -- try new ways of cooking, it's okay if it fails(and many attempts will). You must try new ingredients and see how they work in different recipes before you really understand how to cook and bake with these substituting ingredients. Sometimes it feels like waste but some of my experiments have turned out to be absolute favorites.

Embrace -- realize this is just what it is and it's okay. Your purpose is to keep your child safe and healthy. We just get a little extra practice at it. And guess what you're child will embrace you and be very thankful.

Anyone have any other tips?

Cookbook Recommendation

2010-08-28T15:24:00.001-05:00

I have just found the most amazing recipe in "The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious!" I made chocolate zucchini bread with encouragement of our 3-year-old. She loves my other zucchini bread recipe (which does have egg), but chocolate was appealing to her. The chocolate zucchini bread was just absolutely the most amazing thing I've made or put in my mouth in months. Even my husband who isn't really much of a chocolate eater, told me it was "awesome." I feel it not right to post the recipe since the cookbook is new and I couldn't find it posted anywhere else online. But check the book out from the library or snag you own copy. It will be worth it. I can't wait to make some more recipes from this book.

Cookbook Recommendation

2010-08-28T15:23:00.001-05:00

Cookbook Recommendation

2010-08-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

Great Resource

2010-08-23T18:57:00.000-05:00

One of my all-time favorite blogs is $5 Dinners. She just recently redesigned her website design with a very awesome feature. You can now search her recipes (cheap ones at that) that are dairy-free. She also has an option for gluten-free recipes and gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free recipes. Wow!

Quick update

2010-08-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

So far lunch has been going really well for our 3-year-old at preschool. While she's not eating a lot (normally she eats what she wants), I'm happy she hasn't had any food allergic reactions. So happy. I'm going to try to take some pictures of lunches soon and share what's working for us. In the meantime, check out this lunch link (even if you don't have one in school -- it's pretty helpful). Of course, you need to adapt a little for food allergies.

Also, we are using these Ziploc containers and they are working wonderfully. They have three sections (2 small and 1 large) and the seal tight. Even if placed upside down the food doesn't mix. Very easy for her teacher to put on the table in front of her. And a lot less worry about food allergy cross contamination. These are cost effective, just under $3 for two and clean up really easily.

Birthday Doll Cake -- Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Peanut-Free

2010-08-07T09:44:00.003-05:00

I've been just waiting and waiting to post this awesome doll cake that I made of our daughter's birthday. I've been extra busy this week, so sorry for the delay. Our daughter just turned 3 this week, so the cake had to be extra special. But it also had to be free of allergens -- dairy, nut, peanut, and egg. Oh boy what a challenge it was! I made several cakes and tried several frostings. On top of that I had no idea how to decorate a cake to begin with. Talk about a learning curve.

Dairy-free, Egg-free, Peanut-Free Cake Recipe
Adapted from Divvies Chocolate Cupcakes. I used it as a cake recipe. I made two cakes in a Pampered Chef bowl. See links below for tutorials on how to make doll cake.

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's dark cocoa)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp vegetable oil (Crisco)
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Grease cake pan or bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

4. Mix together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until well combined. I used my KitchenAid mixer.

5. Add Flour mixture to wet mixture. This will be a very wet batter.

6. Pour into cake pan. If making cupcakes or cake bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done in center. If using Pampered Chef bowl bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Frosting Recipe: I tripled the recipe. Note when I was decorating the doll, I had to move very quickly. The frosting started to melt as it warmed up. I did some decorating then stuck it in the freezer. Then after 20 minutes did some more decorating. The cake then stayed in the freezer until serving. Tasted great cold. My niece said it tasted like ice cream cake.

Tip: I made the cake ahead of time and frosted the "dress." I then kept it in the refrigerator until the day of the party. That's when I decorated the doll and put in freezer as noted above.

Tutorials to make doll cake

Betty Crocker's YouTube directions
Pampered Chef Doll cake directions
Allrecipes -- view photos for ideas
Happy Housewife YouTube directions (Betty Crocker by nonprofessional)

Silk Soy Milk Coupon -- reset

2010-08-01T08:36:00.004-05:00

There's a new $1/2 Silk Soymilk Half Gallon coupon. Be sure to print it twice!

The results are in...

2010-07-31T08:12:00.000-05:00

Minutes after my last post about our appointment, the doctor called with the blood test results. He gets bonus points for calling himself -- normally I get a nurse whom I never met trying to explain what she sees on the results sheet. And unable to answer any question.

Peanuts--she is off the charts and we are advised to stay away.
Other tree nuts -- still questionable, so we are going to avoid.
Milk -- questionable, but we know from our last at-home test she's still allergic
Egg -- questionable, so we are going to do a challenge test and give her egg at the allergist

So, no new information. But it is good to know where we are at. I really appreciate the doctor calling and encouraging a challenge test for egg. So far, the allergists (our daughter's seen four) just close the door and say see you next year.

Allergist appointment

2010-07-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was our yearly visit to the allergist. He was new to the clinic and new to us. He did a pretty good job overall. He listened and documented what we've tried. He gave solid advice and we agreed to do just a blood test this year. Every allergist (6 of them since I was 14) I've seen has had a different philosophy on testing. I truly believe that blood testing is going to be more accurate than skin testing for our daughter because if she's like me (which I think she is) her skin is going to react just by being pricked alone. And that alters the real result. We get those blood test results in about a week. We tested for milk, egg, peanut and some tree nuts. I asked if we should continue to avoid shellfish and he advised to go ahead and try it. She may or may not react just like anyone else. We have a challenge test scheduled once we get the blood test results to determine if there is a true allergy after actually consuming egg (or peanut) in a controlled environment -- the doctor's office. I'm very optimistic that egg may be safer than we realize. Milk on the other hand, I'm sure she's still allergic to.

To be continued...

Pre-packaged food = frustration -- Product Review

2010-07-25T08:59:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was asked by CSN stores to do a review of a product of my choosing from one of their online stores. First off, let me say that my product arrived in less than a week and it was in perfect running condition. I selected a food dehydrator. Our daughter loves dried fruit, but it can be pretty expensive. We often find the cheaper version of dried apricots or raisins to have been made in a facilty that shares equipment with tree nuts or peanuts. That's not a risk we want to gamble.

The Product

I used the Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster. I read the reviews of different food dehydrators and this one seemed to be the best for our needs. It has four trays and one fruit roll tray. Many of the reviews said it was noisy, but I didn't find it any noisier than the fan over my stove. It ran all day in my house and it wasn't much of a bother in terms of noise. I just kept thinking I had to turn the fan over the stove off.

I also had read that the clean screens that come separately are almost a neccesity for using this food dehydrator. I searched for them locally and couldn't find them. I gambled without them.

The prep work (took about 30 minutes)

I decided to focus on a just a couple fruits for my first experimental dehydrating experience.

2 Golden Delicious Apples: I cored and soaked in Fruit Fresh.
2 Bananas: Cut and sprinkled with Fruit Fresh
1 Braburn Apple and 2 Bananas: Purred in blender, mixed in a little water and Fruit Fresh and poured in roll up tray
3/4 pint Bluberries: Soaked in Fruit Fresh (later read I was supposed to blanch, oops)
1 lb Green Grapes: Soaked in Fruit Fresh (oops, didn't blanch)

I sprayed each tray of the food dehydrator with cooking spray because I didn't have the clean screens.

The results

Apples took about 4 hours.
Bananas took about 8 hours
Fruit Roll took aobut 8 hours
Blueberries took about 13 hours
Grapes didn't turn out (guess I should have read the directions beforehand)

What did my food allergic child think? She loved everything she tried -- apples, bananas, fruit roll and blueberries. Each time she tried one of them she asked for more and more.

The clean up was easy and I don't think I need to buy those screens if I use these fruits on it. I was very impressed how little mess it made. I was expecting a sticky, gooey mess. Not the case. It took just a couple minutes to wipe each tray

Conclusion

I was initially a little overwhelmed by the directions and the length of time it takes to dehydrate food. But it turned out to be much simplier. It did take a long time, but to know that it we have safe food for our daughter to eat makes it worth it. We often have extra fruit that goes bad before we eat it. This is a great option for that predicament. I feel the dried fruit will be a great addition to snacks at home and for preschool.

I highly recommend buying a food dehydrator if you child has food allergies. You can check out CSN stores for a good selection. Or you can go over to my other blog and enter to win a $50 gift card with CSN stores to help with the cost!

Food Allergies and Doctors

2010-07-22T13:51:00.000-05:00

If you've been reading for a while, I've been sharing my journey with my food allergies. To recap, I have oral allergy syndrome, which means I'm allergic to fruits and vegetables. I just recently found out I am allergic to coconut, peanuts and some tree nuts. I am slowly trying to figure out what else. The allergist I saw gave me such poor advice, I don't plan on seeing him again. He told me that if I could eat peanut butter and test positive for a peanut allergy that I'm one of the lucky few. Well, after eliminating peanuts and reintroducing I found out that I do have a reaction to peanuts. Lucky in what way -- I have allergic reactions. I'm very allergic to many things, so I really don't know what causes reactions. Is it the grass, the weeds, perfume, an apple etc? What I do know is that I sneeze and have a running nose every day.

I was hopeful that a nutritionist would give me some strategies to get more nutrients that I may be lacking from the fresh fruit and vegetables that I can't eat. I told her my story. She listened. She looked at my food diary, which listed only two days of meals. She then lectured me on not eating "enough" fruits, vegetables, and milk. She lectured how much I "need" to eat a day. I argued that I do eat vegetables, but it's not represented very clearly in food diary (she didn't ask what was in a meal loaded with veggies). I do drink a little milk, and I get calcium and Vitamin D elsewhere. Anyone else wonder why the big push for Vitamin D all of a sudden? (I smell a conspiracy). The only advice she gave me was to take a vitamin with minerals, eat canned fruit and cooked vegetables. Duh. Not much help for me. Eating canned fruit kinda makes me feel sick. I don't mind it a little. And it's hard to find fruit without sugar added. I was hoping for a weekly menu of recipes and food suggestions to get the best nutrition into my body that is limited by eating some of the best food for you. She told me to keep a food diary to monitor what I eat to see if I am eating "enough" milk and vegetables. There was no mention of a follow-up. That's okay. I wasn't impressed.

You may notice that I put quotes around "need" and "enough." Well, here's where she contradicted herself. I know I need to somehow get a little better balance in my diet. I'm trying. I think that speaks volumes. I asked how many calories I am supposed to eat. She said it should be 2000 calories. I told her I know I don't eat that much. She said that's okay because everyone has different metabolism and that number is just a guideline. Well, then I just wonder if the 1 1/2 cups of veggies a day might not just be enough for me instead of stuffing myself with another 1/2 cup.

My conclusion. I was a waste of her time. I'm not overweight -- I've lost 15 pounds recently. I'm not diabetic, so she couldn't pull out her diabetic curriculum. I don't have bad habits, such as smoking, drinking, and caffeine. I really think she just didn't want to help me. In a way I feel overeducated. I know too much. Guess I take that over-education and educate myself.

On a side note. I saw a doctor yesterday for a terrible sore throat I had. So bad that I couldn't eat or swallow. I told her I have oral allergy syndrome and had eaten guacamole on Friday. I said that seemed to trigger it, but it had been five days. I said I'm trying to work with someone with my allergies to figure things out. She didn't reply. A couple minutes later, I elaborated and said I just seem to be having reactions with all types of food lately. She ignored it. Well, gee thanks for reaching out. I didn't have strep. So I have no idea what I had. I had no other symptoms but a sore throat.

I remain optimistic as our daughter has her annual appointment next week with an allergist. He's new. Hope he's ready for us.

Dum Dum Lollipop -- Allergy Free!

2010-07-18T08:43:00.001-05:00

I took our daughter to get her hair cut last week. The stylist asked if she could have a Dum Dum sucker (lollipop) before we left. I reluctantly said "yes." I don't want to sound like that mom who doesn't let our child have things. I told our daughter as we left we would have to check and see if it had food allergies. She's starting to really understand that (I had another treat at home in mind to replace if need be).

Turns out that Dum Dum Lollipops are made made WITHOUT peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, soy or gluten. It was a relief. I loved those as a kid and you wouldn't believe the happy sounds our daughter made licking her "goodie" (as she called it). Guess we know what we are handing out for Halloween this year!

Here's that Allergen Statement straight from the Spangler Candy website.

Allergen Statement: This product does not contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, or gluten. It has been manufactured on dedicated equipment. There is a trace amount of soy oil in the lubricant that we use in our cooking kettles. This soy oil has been refined, bleached, and deodorized and all of the proteins have been removed.

Dairy-Free Frosting (for cake decorating) UPDATED

2010-07-14T20:16:00.003-05:00

**I have updated this post a little with a photo and link to the cake recipe I used that is dairy-free, egg-free and peanut-free. I noticed this post got a lot of hits, so I wanted to make it more resourceful. Recipe is the same.**

Okay, so I found the frosting. I've made two batches since finding it. It's very easy to make and tastes good -- even to us egg/dairy eaters. This is a awesome frosting recipe!

Dairy-Free Frosting (from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book)

1 cup dairy-free margarine (I used Earth's Best at room temp.)

2 Tbsp soy milk ( I used Silk Vanilla Soy Milk)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. In a stand mixer or hand held mixer cream margarine, soy milk, vanilla, and salt until really mixed well.

2. Slowly add confectioners' sugar and mix for 1 minute on low.

3. Mix on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

4. Chill for 30 minutes before using.

**Note: When I frosted the cake I had to work quickly because the margarine softened. I just frosted some and then froze it for a little while. Then I worked on it some more. **

Check out the dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free cake recipe here!

Product Review--Cherrybrook Cake Mix and Frosting

2010-07-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again when I search high and low for cake and frosting. Our daughter turns 3 next month. Yes, I know I've had all year to figure this out (2 years actually), but for some reason I just haven't found a cake we like that is dairy-free. I recently tried a chocolate Cherrybrook Kitchen cake mix and vanilla frosting. My hope was to have a back-up cake mix and frosting in the pantry that was allergy-free for those just in case we need them. And maybe I can use it for a birthday cake.

Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Cake Review

First the good stuff. This cake was very easy to make. Just add water and oil to the mix. Stir and pour in cake pan or muffin cups. I made cupcakes and they rose beautifully. I was impressed with the texture of the cupcakes and how well they baked. I also appreciate their dedication to make in allergy-free facility. It is free of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and eggs. However it does contain soy and wheat. Cherrybrook Kitchen also has a gluten-free cake mix.

Now, the not-so-good stuff: The taste was medicore. It was bland and the chocolate chips didn't taste like chocolate. It was a little dry and I didn't get that can't wait to eat another bite feeling. Our daughter didn't seem to mind them, but for serving at a birthday party it won't cut it. Also, I paid more than $5 for the box and could only find it at one store in my area (I live near a big city, too).

While this cake mix would be good in a pinch, the taste and cost will probably limit me from buying it any time soon.

My Ratings (out of 5 stars)
Allergy Free - 5 stars
Ease of making - 5 stars
Quality of cupcake - 4 stars
Taste - 2 1/2 stars
Cost- 2 stars

Cherrybrook Kitchen Vanilla Frosting (in a jar)

This was the most disturbing allergy-free product I've ever bought. I was so excited to find a dairy-free frosting. But when I opened this product, it had a hard coating on the top of the frosting. The directions said to stir (a common direction for allergy-free products). Optimistically I stirred and all the hard coating clumped up in the frosting that now resembled a thick clumpy icing rather than a spreadable frosting. I tasted it and it was okay for flavor, but I don't even know how I could spread this on a cupcake or cake. It was a disappointment to say the least. I spent more than $3 for this item and will never use it.

Overall, I give this 1 star only because of the attempt to make it allergy-free.

(I did however find a homemade frosting that I will share with you in the next week that is fabulous. And I have two cake recipes to try that I've found on blogs. I'm not giving up hope yet!)

Dairy-Free Cas Mac

2010-07-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

When my husband and I were first married, one of our favorite meals was Cas Mac (re-named by my husband). We ate it often and got a little tired of it. But it is my go-to meal when I can't think of anything to make. Our daughter and I were talking the other day about lunches, and it dawned on me that I could easily make a dairy-free version of Cas Mac for her.

Dairy-Free Cas Mac
(This is one of those recipes that I will take some of the ingredients from the main dish that I making and make a single serving for her. Note: This make enough for about 4 servings).

1/2 pound Ground Beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup dairy-free cheese sauce, based on preference (this freezes well and can be pulled out for this meal to make it easier)
1 cup macaroni noodles (or any pasta you like)
1/2 can tomato soup (save the rest for a meal later in the week)
1/4 to 1/2 cup Frozen vegetable, (we like corn)

1. Brown beef. Drain. Set aside.
2. Boil noodles for 8 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
3. Make cheese sauce. Mix with noodles.
4. In casserole dish mix meat, cheesey noodles, tomato soup and vegetables together.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until baked through.

Pampers coupon Giveaway

2010-07-09T08:16:00.002-05:00

I'm giving away some high value coupons on my other blog. Check it out!

CSN Stores and Upcoming Review

2010-07-08T08:13:00.002-05:00

Does your home need a little redecorating or new LED Lighting? Maybe you feel the need to treat yourself to some new kitchen tools. Or you are looking for that unique gift for the someone who has everything. You won't be disappointed when you shop at CSN stores with more than 200 online stores to meet all your home and lifestyle needs. You will find something for everybody from contemporary furniture, kitchen appliances, LED Lighting, cookware, shoes, bags, toys, and even pet accessories. Be sure to explore the Ultimate Gift Finder to find that perfect gift.

Stay tuned for my review of a kitchen appliance that I hope will make a difference in making allergy-safe snacks at minimal cost for our daughter with multiple food allergies. In the meantime, happy shopping at the CSN stores.

Calling all Moms with School-Age Children with Food Allergies

2010-07-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

I have decided that it is time for me to go back to work. I'm so excited. I accepted a position at an Early Head Start center (read more here). But this means our daughter is going to have expand from our "food" safe bubble. She's going to be going to a preschool daily. I'm not so worried about her having a reaction or the teachers not knowing how to handle a reaction. I think just the overall idea that I have to trust someone else to keep her safe is the challenge.

I think we are going to bring lunches and snacks from home in the beginning until I can go through and read labels. Any suggestions or links would be really helpful. So far I have a pretty good list of foods and snacks, but am open to more ideas. Also, any tips or resources to give to the staff that you have found useful would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Anyone have experience with this website

2010-07-05T10:46:00.000-05:00

My husband found this website that carries nut-free chocolate made by Nestle in Canada. There are Kit-Kats, Smarties (which are like M&Ms) and Mars Bars (which are like Milky Ways). While it doesn't appear to be dairy-free, it still might be a good option for those of us with nut allergies. I'm still hopeful our daughter will outgrow the dairy allergy, but the peanut one is much less likely. It's a Canada company and I'm not sure if it ships to the US. Anyone have any experience with this or anything like this?

Fourth of July Marshmallows

2010-07-03T08:20:00.002-05:00

I adapted this idea from here. I'm not nearly that patient talented to make those amazing treats. But we were able to make the marshmallow part. Note our daughter did this one by herself!! I think my toddler is turning into a preschooler!

Fourth of July Marshmallows

Large Marshmallows
Red sugar sprinkles
Blue sugar sprinkles
water
toothpicks
3 small containers

1. Fill each container. One with the red sprinkles, one with blue sprinkles and one with about 1/2 of water.
2. Put toothpick on top of marshmallow. This is what you will hold onto to dip your marshmallow so you don't get too sticky.

3. Dip marshmallow in water.

4. Dip in blue sprinkles.
5. Use the same toothpick and put it through the top of the blue sprinkles.

6. Dip unsprinkled side in water and then red sprinkles.

**We made this for afternoon snack and our daughter ate it faster than you can imagine. I guess you can't get better than sugar and marshmallows (except if only chocolate was involved, hmm there's an idea in waiting)**

For more recipes (not neccesarily dairy-free) go the Grocery Cart Challenge and Life as Mom!

Wacky Mac

2010-07-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

I often get questions about what pasta we use that is egg-free. Yesterday, we stumbled across a sale ($1) for Wacky Mac and thought we would give it a try. The only allergen listed is "Wheat." This pasta is high in fiber and protein.

When I told our daughter that she was going to have Wacky Mac for lunch, she told me "no." I said "We will just try it." She sat in her chair and looked at the Wacky Mac coated with tomato sauce and said "I love pasta." Next thing I hear her say is "This is my favorite... More Wacky Mac please." She absolutely loved it. She liked the green shapes the best. Case in point -- you just never know what children will eat.

It was nice to pick up some "healthy" pasta for only $1 versus $4 or more. I know I've seen coupons for Wacky Mac online, too I found it a chain grocery store in town -- not one of my normal stores I shop at to get allergy-free items. This store does have organic and allergy-free food, but normally the cost is about 20 percent higher. This was a good find. So, check out your store and see if you can find. I can only hope for you that it works well with your little one!

Van's Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free French Toast Sticks

2010-06-28T13:05:00.000-05:00

A reader recently mentioned Van's French Toast Sticks and I just had to give them a try. Huge success with our almost 3-year-old. They are a little pricey, but for an extra meal idea for the week I think it's worth it.

Don't feel sorry

2010-06-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

If you have been reading this blog for some time you have read about my food allergies. I have had food allergies since I was 4 years old to raw fruits and vegetables. Just recently I found out I have a peanut allergy. It's a mild reaction but I think it was contributing to other issues as well.

Since I found out about the peanut allergy I have avoided "commercial" chocolate. I have tried M&Ms and Milky Way candy since finding out about my peanut allergy just to see what might happen. Sometimes nothing, sometimes a sneeze, sometimes a coughing fit. Interesting. So instead of the gamble I eliminated it all together. Now I am a huge chocolate lover and this was very challenging to give up. Not to stop eating it because when something you eat hurts you, you don't like it (even if you really do love the flavor). That part of it was easy. Just accepting a good alternative was a challenge (mostly because of cost). I found Enjoy Life chocoolate chips and Boom Choco Boom bars to be a very acceptable replacement. It so odd to me to eat a piece of chocolate and to feel such a "clean" taste. I never noticed it before until I took the peanut out of my body.

Yesterday I was watching a commercial for Dairy Queen Blizzards. A part of me got a little sad. I may never eat one of those again. They showed a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. Again I thought about how I used to enjoy eating those and probably won't again. But the other part of me said "thank goodness you figured out what may be causing the problems and it's really no big deal." That made me think about comments I hear about children with food allergies.

I often hear people say they feel sorry that their children can't have a certain food because of an allergy or that adults shouldn't eat foods in front of allergic kids who can't eat them. But I'm telling you it's no big deal. We don't want to eat what you have. What you have makes us itch, sneeze, hurt, rash or worse. We don't want that, ever. Our daughter recently tested out some milk-based chocolate pudding (she loves chocolate, too). After she had a mild reaction, I asked her if she liked the pudding and she very clearly shook her head and said "NO." Even though I know she loves the flavor of chocolate, she did not like the reaction it gave her. And again she's not even 3 years old.

To sum up, those of us with food allergies are used to it. We know what we can have and what we can't. Having alternatives available is fine. But I'll just skip over the food I can't eat if at a party or gathering. It's really no big deal. Children are the same. I think the only time they might feel some jealousy is if they don't have something to eat when everyone else does and there is no safe alternative, such as at a birthday party where cake and ice cream is served. But as parents we make sure those situations don't happen too often or at all. In that case I just bring along a chocolate snack bar or make a plate of brownies to share and all is well.

New Silk Soy MIlk coupon

2010-06-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

There is a new $.55/1 Silk Soymilk coupon available. Be sure to print it twice!

Lesson learned -- Sugar in Soymilk

2010-06-22T09:04:00.000-05:00

When our daughter started drinking soy milk (instead of formula), I really didn't do that much research on what to give her. I did know about the concerns with soybeans and causing possible medical problems. I concluded that everything has something that is bad for you, so that didn't sway my decision. What I was most concerned about for my then 13-month-old was getting the right nutrients in her. The doctors we had at the time weren't really much help. I bought Silk's Very Vanilla for her because it says "Fortified for Kids" right on the front. I also concluded that it had the most nutrients in it.

It wasn't until a month ago did I look at the sugar content in Silk's Very Vanilla Soy Milk. There are 16g of sugar in 1 cup. In a day our daughter drinks about 3 cups -- sometimes even a little more. That is 48g of sugar in a day. Just to compare to other drink, a can of soda has 41g of sugar. Yes, there is a difference in what sweetens the drinks. Soda -- high fructose corn syrup; Very Vanilla Soymilk - Cane Juice and Vanilla flavor. And just like anyone can justify why something is bad for you, they will do the same why something (cane juice) is good for you. The fact is that this soy milk had way more sugar than I think our daughter should have, especially if you take into account how much sugar is everything else. I believe now that she's almost 3-year-old, she's getting those other nutrients in the Very Vanilla Soy Milk in the other foods she eats. And after a recent nutritionist appointment (more on that in a future post), the most important nutrients to get are Calcium and Vitamin D, which is the same amount in the Very Vanilla and Vanilla soymilks. I concluded to change her milk to Vanilla Soymilk, which as has 7g of sugar per 1 cup.

So, how do you change the tastes of a toddler? Well, I did what I've done in the past. Slowly introduce. In this case, I mixed Very Vanilla Soymilk with Vanilla Soymilk -- Target brand (only because we live a minute from Target and it's a few cents cheaper). I started slow. I put 3/4 cup Very Vanilla Soymilk in her cup and added 2 Tbsp of Vanilla Soymilk. I did that for a couple days and then slowly added more Vanilla than Very Vanilla. About a week later we were add half and half of each. Two weeks later we are adding more than 3/4 cup Vanilla and just a little Very Vanilla. Her tastes gradually changed. She was fine with the Vanilla Soy Milk in her cereal from the beginning. I also made sure that she saw us mixing the milk -- no need to "trick" her. That doesn't work. I had tried before.

Do I believe you should change if you use Very Vanilla Soymilk? No. Do what you think is best. I just felt that we were ready to change things a little. I also based this decision on all the fruit and vegetables she's been eating lately. Seems like all of a sudden she's a lot less picky. Will we every drink Very Vanilla again? Maybe.

Not Quite Dairy-free Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

2010-06-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

My daughter is lucky. For whatever reason, regular Cool Whip does not cause any allergic reaction for her. Yay! Right? So, when I was reading this blog entry on Cooking During Stolen Moments last week (scroll to the bottom, but read them all) I was anxious to try the frosting/topping. I substituted Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese and it tastes excellent. Even to those of us who are dairy eaters. If you are not lucky enough to use regular Cool Whip, I found this excellent resource on Go Dairy Free that gives a few products to try and some at home recipes (be sure to scroll to the bottom to see whipped topping suggestions).

Not Quite Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting
3 oz Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Cool Whip (or use on of these dairy-free options -- scroll to bottom)

1. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.
2. Fold in Cool Whip.

**This is an excellent topping for berries. I'm going to use it on top of brownies and add strawberries on top.**

Enjoy Life Coupons -- Reset

2010-06-16T09:01:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've been able to print coupons from Enjoy Life's website.

It appears that the coupon on the home page for 55 cents/1 Enjoy Life product has been reset.

I also got this coupon for 75 cents/2 Boom Choco Boom Bars in my Enjoy Life newsletter.

Enjoy Life products are free of the top allergens -- Gluten, dairy, peanut, tree-nut, soy, egg and casein. We love the snack bars, the chocolate chips and chocolate bars at our house.

If you haven't printed Enjoy Life coupons for a while, you might want to give it a try!

Allergy-Free Snack -- Fruit Crisps

2010-06-15T09:44:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across Brothers All Natural Fruit Crisps on a Wal-Mart trip. I was so excited to see that they had a little fiber in them and that it specifically states: Peanut/Tree Nut Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Dairy Free, non GMO, Vegan, Kosher. These are great for an on-the-go snack.

These fruit crisps are all natural with no added sugar or preservatives. There are several flavors.

Strawberry Banana
Fuji Apple
Asian Pear
White and Yellow Peach
Pinneapple
Banana
Oraganic Strawberry

Oooh So Good

2010-06-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

Tonight I had a craving for chocolate. Ever since I realized that I have an allergy to peanut, I have cut most chocolate out (with the exception of a small Boom Choco Boom square here and there). I used to eat chocolate every day. Although my peanut allergic reaction is pretty small, I decided it best to keep it out of my diet because I believe it made my other food allergies worse. I have yet to find a doctor who agrees with. I digress.

I searched one of my favorite recipe sites for food allergies Food Allergy Mama and found this absolutely delightful (yes chocolate is delight for me) Dairy, Eagg and Nut-Free Chocolate Pudding Cake. It's ooey good and we ate it with ice cream. Our daughter had Purely Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream.

**Side note: I was asking our daughter tonight if the coconut milk ice cream hurt her anywhere. A question I am starting to ask her when she eats foods I'm allergic to or worry should could be allergic to. With my allergies you can't see them, but I can feel them tighten my throat. She told me yes. I thought that was actually odd since this is the second container of Purely Decadent she's devouring. I asked her where she hurt. She pointed to the top of her head. I asked some questions about other foods if they hurt her and she said no to all. I asked if Mommy's milk hurt her and she said yes. I asked where and she told me her cheeks, which is where she gets hives. I asked again about the coconut milk ice cream and she said it hurt the top of her head. I realized she must have eaten it too fast and it gives her an "ice cream headache." Don't you just wish you could get in that little brain sometimes?**

Recipe- Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

2010-06-11T15:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, my almost 3-year-old and I went strawberry picking at an organic farm. She wasn't really too interested. There was a lot of waiting. Waiting to be given a row to pick, waiting for me to pick them, waiting to pay and waiting to eat them. She sure does love strawberries. She was much happier once we got home and tasted the juicy fresh strawberries.

In an over-ambitious attempt at 9:30 last night, I decided to make some refrigerator jam. I am completely impressed with how easy this was to make. Our daughter ate it today on her Sunbutter and Jelly Sandwich. The results: She ate it up!

Strawberry Refrigerator Jam (makes about 3/4 cup)
(this recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook -- my favorite go-to cookbook!)

3/4 cup sliced strawberries (use an egg slicer if you have one)
1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (great to have in the freezer for a late night recipe)

1. Place a glass bowl in the freezer or in ice water.

2. Add all ingredients in non-stick saucepan. Cook on medium low for about 10 minutes. Sauce will thicken to jam consistency.
3. To test the consistency of the jam, place 1/2 tsp on hot jam in cold bowl. Let it set for 30 seconds. If it runs slowly (or slightly from side to side) then it's done. If it's too fluid give it a couple more minutes in the saucepan until it thickens.
4. Allow one hour to cool and store in refrigerator.

This will refrigerate for up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Check out more great recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge and Life as Mom!

Positive test -- chocolate pudding

2010-06-08T12:33:00.000-05:00

Last week I was optimistic about our daughter slowly outgrowing her milk allergy. She's been tolerating more and more cooked meals with milk. So, I decided to make milk-based Jell-O pudding. I was hopeful that the milk was boiled long enough and it would changed the milk protein enough for her to enjoy it without a reaction. I was wrong. I gave her less than 1/4 cup of pudding. She started coughing, but that's kinda normal when she eats. Drives me crazy because I never know if it's a food allergy or just her swallowing wrong or just plain coughing. Anyway, it got really bad. She was gasping along with breaking out in hives. I quickly grabbed the Benadryl (not the kind that was recalled), and she sucked it down. She was fine within a few minutes. It was too bad that she couldn't tolerate it. I think that was the worst reaction I've seen. Normally, it's just hives. But she did consume more than in a normal test.

Reminder: Do not do food challenges at home unless advised by a doctor.

Friday - Dinner

2010-06-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

**This is a week-long series that will detail the food that I feed my almost 3-year-old who has multiple food allergies, including dairy, egg, tree nuts, and peanuts. Each day I will detail the food she eats for her meal. I will update snacks with the dinner menu. Included you will see how I menu plan and prepare meals for the allergic child. I will be starting Sunday (although I will be skipping Monday).**

Friday - Dinner

Spaghetti (from freezer)

Cooked carrots (cut carrots in strips, boil with brown sugar and water for 15 minutes or until tender)

Strawberries, not pictured.

Soy Milk

Friday - Lunch

2010-06-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

Friday - Lunch

Chicken soup (another meal from the freezer. I will either freeze a little after making a big batch or make batch just for freezing. I will omit the noodles for freezing and add when re-heating or omit all together. Today I used alphabet pasta. I freeze the soup in a baby food jars -- the one pictured is 6 oz. I love using these frozen soups when traveling. First they are frozen to start so they can slowly unthaw in the cooler. Second they are easy to prepare. Heat in microwave for a minutes. Third it's packed full of meat and vegetables. Another variation of this is vegetable soup. Also see my recipes on how to make your own chicken stock or vegetable stock)

Applesauce

Soy Milk

Banana Bread, not pictured (also not dairy-free, but she tolerated baked goods with milk and egg)

Friday - Breakfast

2010-06-04T08:29:00.001-05:00

Friday - Breakfast

Eggo waffles with maple syrup. These waffles do have milk and egg in them, but our daughter is able to tolerate milk and egg in baked goods. And I think it's good to get whatever she can tolerate in her system. We haven't had these in months, but I scored a box for 75 cents at Target this week using a coupon matched with a sale.

Banana

Soy Milk

Second Breakfast: Cheerios

Thursday - Dinner

2010-06-04T08:23:00.002-05:00

Thursday - Dinner

Pork chops (from freezer, we grilled them a couple weeks ago and froze a couple extra for a quick dinner), BBQ sauce

Corn on the Cob

Wild Rice

Grapefruit

Strawberries, not pictured. Silly toddler didn't eat them at lunch, but when she saw them on the table tonight wanted to eat them. She ate four the size of her hand.

Soy Milk

Thursday - Lunch

2010-06-03T13:37:00.000-05:00

Thursday -Lunch

Sunbutter and Jelly Sandwich, sweet potatoes (follow these directions), fresh strawberries

Thursday - Breakfast

2010-06-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

Thursday - Breakfast

Rice Krispies, Raisins, Soy Milk

Pretty simple breakfast today.

Wednesday - Dinner

2010-06-02T21:33:00.001-05:00

Wednesday - Dinner

Nachos (just use vegan cheese instead of dairy). Note: I make our daughter's nachos in a separate dish and bake next to ours in the oven. Hardly any extra time to do, but took me a long time to realize that I could do it. Why are the simplest ideas the hardest to come up with?

Leftover applesauce from lunch

Soymilk

I use the taco shells from the kit. I heat them in oil for a couple minutes, then break into bite size pieces. I also use the sauce packet with the beans to mash them into refried beans. I save the taco seasoning packet for future taco meal. PS. I go this extra cheap at Target -- I used a $1/2 coupon when they were priced $1.79 each. Making this only $1.29 for 12 tacos, 3 oz taco sauce and taco seasoning.

I bought these black beans for only 99 cents. After cooking them, I usually freeze them in 1 cup portions for meals such as this. Quick and easy and good for you too.

This is the small baking dish I use when I am making a meal separate and dairy-free for our daughter. It also came with a lid for those meals when she doesn't eat it all and I can just pop it in the fridge for a backup meal later in the week.

Our "real" cheesy nachos on the left. Our dairy-free toddler's nachos on the right.

Snacks: No AM snack (slept in again), No PM snack either (she's took a long nap that just about ran into dinner). She must be growing, again!

Note: She has a water cup available to her all day long.

If you have missed any other meals from this week, be sure to go here!

Wednesday - Lunch

2010-06-02T12:01:00.000-05:00

Wednesday - Lunch

Tofurky, Smiles, Applesauce, Soy Milk with ketchup and mustard

Wednesday - Breakfast

2010-06-02T08:44:00.001-05:00

Wednesday- Breakfast

Banana -- our daughter for one reason or another won't eat a banana with other food. By that I mean if the banana is on her plate with other food, she won't eat it. But if I give it to her by itself before the meal, she'll eat it gone. So that 's what we do. I also let her peel it to keep her involved.

Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Syrup -- I make in bulk and freeze. Simply put in toaster or microwave when ready to eat. Use a pizza cutter to cut.

Soy Milk

Second breakfast: Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal -- guess that's the favorite of the week.

Tuesday - Dinner

2010-06-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Dinner

Crockpot Chicken
I took the original idea for this recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. I just love her blog!

Family Pack of Leg Quarters
2 tsp kosher salt (if you'd like it as salty as the ones in the store, add another 1 tsp.)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch of chili powder
**Do not add any liquid. I also add four garlic cloves to the crockpot.**

Simply mix spices together and rub on chicken. Put in crockpot for 6 hours on low.

Potatoes: I used leftover potatoes from Sunday. I made some feta potatoes for us.

Canned Green Beans

Grapefruit

Snacks: No am snack-- she woke up late and we ate an early lunch before going to the pool.
PM Snack: Enjoy Life Snack Bar, water

Tuesday - Lunch

2010-06-01T12:36:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Lunch

Mic and Cheese (we call it that because it's Mickey shaped pasta), Fresh Raspberries, Peas (used from Sunday), Soy Milk

Tuesday-Breakfast

2010-06-01T08:37:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Breakfast

Cinnamon Spice Oatmeal with Raisins and Soy Milk to drink. When the soy milk is gone she drinks water.

Second breakfast: Our daughter is often still hungry after eating oatmeal, so I give her a second breakfast that usually is cereal and more dried fruit.

Sunday - Dinner

2010-05-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

Goulash
Ingredients: Ground Beef (we buy a quarter cow every year), tomato soup, macaroni noodles (note these are made in a facility with egg, however we have never had a problem eating them), Green Peppers, Onions, Frozen cherry tomatoes

Mashed Potatoes: Ours had milk. Hers just had Earth's Balance Spread. After boiled, I put hers in a seperate bowl.

Salad: Spinach, carrot, cucumber, Italian Dressing (dairy-free)

Motts Country Berry Applesauce. She also drank soy milk with the meal.

Today's Snacks
AM: Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal, Fruit Crisps
PM: Teddy Grahams, Prunes, Water

Sunday -Lunch

2010-05-30T12:55:00.001-05:00

Sunday Lunch

Alphabet Spaghetti (1/3 cup Eden Organic Alphabet pasta, 4 oz Hunts tomato sauce, Vegan Grated Topping sprinkled on top). Sometimes I make extra and refrigerate for future meal. I also buy 8 oz Tomato sauce cans and freeze the other half in a baby food jar. I find Hunts Tomato Sauce on sale for 33 cent to as low as 25 cents at Walgreens.

Frozen Peas. I put about 1/4 cup in small serving bowl (keep the rest frozen in freezer bag) with a couple tablespoon of water. I heat in microwave for 1 minute. If she doesn't eat all then I save for a future meal.

Fresh Raspberries

Sunday-Breakfast

2010-05-30T08:44:00.001-05:00

Breakfasts at our house are pretty simple. We have a couple open cereal boxes to choose from, Quaker Oatmeal (single packs), and pancakes or waffles (I make in bulk and freeze). We usually have fresh or dried fruit. It works for us. Plus I can let our daughter decided what she wants to eat and she gets to earn a little independence.

Sunday's Breakfast

Today our daughter choose Quaker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal- Low Sugar.

I heat up water in measuring cup.

Mix all together in bowl.

Served with soy milk.

Today's second breakfast: Kashi Honey Sunshine and Craisins. Often after finishing her oatmeal, she is still hungry. I usually give her some cereal with dried fruit until she's full.

When her soy milk is gone, she will drink water.

Coming this week: How I prepare Meals

2010-05-29T20:33:00.002-05:00

I think the biggest struggle for me initially with having a dairy-free child was planning and preparing meals. This week (in almost real time) I will post our meals for the week and how it works for us. I'll post each day, three meals a day -- I'll be starting on Sunday (but will be skipping Monday).

Maybe you can pick up a tip or two along the way.

Reaction to Study -- Can Peanut Allergy be predicted?

2010-05-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

In my last post, Melanie asked my reaction to a couple articles. I will first address this article: In Infants with Egg or Milk Allergy, Can Future Peanut Allergy Be Predicted?

Summary: Basically the article states that infants with milk and egg allergy are more likely to have a peanut allergy. Thus parents of milk and egg allergic infants should stay away from peanuts unless advised by a doctor.

My Reaction: Since my daughter first broke out in hives at 6 months after a teaspoon of milk-based forumula, I have been overly cautious with every single new food she tried. Whether blood tests are positive or not. As an life-long food allergy sufferer, I know that there is absolutely no science behind allergic reactions. Articles such as this may try to prove one way or the other. I really think it depends on the authors of the study and what they want to prove. Do I think there is a good chance that an infant allergic to dairy and egg may be allergic to peanuts? Yes. Is a current allergy a predictor for a future allergy? No. Infants are growing and changing constantly. Allergies can come and go. Two years ago our daughter was allergic to blueberries -- not any more. Plus many blood tests can come back false positive in infants and really aren't an accurate measure. The best measure of an allergy is actually seeing what happens when a suspect food is eaten.

Did I avoid peanuts with our dairy-free toddler? Yes. Simply because I didn't want to gamble. But nearly two years ago we had a doctor tell us to try peanut butter on our daughter at home. His theory was if she didn't have any eczema that she probably won't react. I DID NOT follow that advice. In fact for anything that we haven't tested her for yet, I have avoided. She tested positive for peanut about a year ago and we have seen the reaction only in food that is manufactured on equipment shared with peanuts.

**Note: I am not a doctor or in the medical profession. I am a mom to a toddler with mutiple food allergies. I also suffer from multiple food allergies (many different from my daughter). Please seek medical advice and attention from a doctor before doing any challenge food tests at home. **

Current Giveaway - Scrubbing Bubbles Coupons

2010-05-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check out my current giveaway over at Reflections from a Mother's Soul. I'm giving five (5) lucky winners a $5/1 coupon for Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-Clean Power Sprayer and $1/1 coupons for the Scrubbing Bubbles Power Sprayer refill. I really like how well it cleaned out the tub. With a eczema prone child it's so important to get that tub really clean.

Be sure to enter!

Question time

2010-05-18T15:13:00.000-05:00

I am a little at a stand still on this blog lately. I alway have things to share, but I'm not sure what you the readers are really interested in reading about.

So, I open this up to you. You can either post a comment below or e-mail with a question about dairy-free, egg-free or nut-free diets or just about raising a toddler. It can be about specific products, getting toddlers to eat, or how to explain to family members. Nothing is off limits. I will be addressing your questions in a future post.

Remember if you wonder, others might be wondering, too.

BugaBees Book Giveaway

2010-05-12T12:01:00.000-05:00

The BugaBees: Friends with Food Allergies by Amy Recob is one of our favorite books to read. It discusses the common food allergies in a fun and easy-to-understand way. Amy is sponsoring a giveaway of the book on her blog The BugaBees: Friends with Food Allergies. If you have commented on her website, be sure to do so by May 15!

Leftover bread or crust -- do this

2010-05-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

Recently we made these cinnamon sugar bread crusts from leftover bread. So good. I used Earth's Balance spread instead of butter. Yummy!

Another Porcupine Meatball recipe

2010-05-11T08:56:00.001-05:00

I found this recipe in a dairy-free cookbook, but I can't remember which one. Recently I made my mother-in-law's porcupine meatball recipe about a month ago, but wanted to compare this one with my family.

Porcupine Meatballs II
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup uncooked rice (I used Minute Rice)
1 tsp minced dried onion (my favorite)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 lb ground beef (uncooked)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt (recipe calls for 1 tsp -- too much for me)
1/2 cup water

1. Mix 1/3 cup of tomato sauce, 1/4 cup uncooked rice, onion, garlic, pepper, mustad, vinegar and ground beef. Shape into 20 small meatballs or 10 large meatballs.
2. Place in skillet.
3. Mix remaining sauce, oregano, salt and 1/2 cup water. Pour sauce over meatballs.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cover.
5. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is done.

Check out more great recipes at Life as Mom!

Milk test -- positive

2010-05-10T08:54:00.002-05:00

Reminder: do not do food challenges at home unless advised by a doctor.

We tested our daughter with milk-based ice cream this weekend. The results -- hives on her face. So we concluded she can eat just about any meal with milk "cooked" or "baked" inside it, but no cold or uncooked milk is safe.

Cute trailer

2010-05-08T20:41:00.000-05:00

What... She ate cheese enchiladas

2010-05-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

I made beef and bean enchiladas earlier this week loaded with milk-based cheese. We feed them to our daughter. She really enjoyed eating them -- I know because she makes happy sounds as she eats. The good news -- no allergic reaction. None at all!!

We are hopeful that this allergy is disappearing. Next on our testing list is milk-based ice cream.

**Reminder do not do any allergy testing at home unless advised by a doctor.**

Dairy-Free Cheese Sauce freezes well

2010-05-06T16:28:00.000-05:00

Recently I posted a couple recipes that use a dairy-free cheese sauce. I tried freezing it last week and unthawed for dairy-free macaroni and cheese. The results: Wonderful. I simply unthawed the sauce and then heated it up on the stove on low.

Tip: Use baby food jars to freeze this sauce or extra tomato sauce for toddler size portions. Plus it doesn't take up too much space in the freezer.

Dairy-Free Cheese Sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (I found them at a health food store -- a little pricey but so worth it)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp powdered mustard
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dairy-free butter (I used Earth's Best)
1/4 cup rice milk (you can substitute soy if you like)

1. Mix water, nutritional yeast flakes, cornstarch, mustard and salt in blender for 30 seconds.
2. Melt dairy-free butter in sauce pan.
3. Add blended mixture to melted butter. Keep on low to medium-low and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes. It will thicken some.
4. Slowly stir in rice milk. Stir until it thickens to consistency you want.

Just in time for Berry Season

2010-05-05T06:59:00.000-05:00

I probably haven't mentioned that our daughter was allergic to blueberries when she was just a year old. Oh, I was so excited that she liked them -- another fruit to add to the list. Her face was a little red after eating them, but she was always a little red in those days. I gave her blueberry pancakes soon after and she broke out in hives. Noooooo, I thought, but she liked them.

I held off testing her for blueberries until the other day. She devoured them. I told her we had to watch for food allergies (she understands what that means, now). We waited and waited and no hives or even redness. "Hooray," we shouted! So happy to have another fruit to add to her diet. We recently discovered that she likes blackberries, too. Good timing, too.

Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, Benadryl Recall

2010-05-01T20:42:00.002-05:00

There is a big recall on children's Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl. See press release here.

Recipe - Dairy-Free "Cheesy" Chicken Spaghetti

2010-04-28T08:45:00.001-05:00

Last week I posted this recipe for dairy-free cheese sauce. I made a dairy version of chicken tetrazzini and adapted this recipe for my dairy-free toddler. I just took some of the ingredients from our main dish to make hers. This recipe serves about four servings, but can easily be scaled down.

Dairy-Free "Cheesy" Chicken Spaghetti

1 to 2 cups spaghetti
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small zucchini, sliced thinly or grated
1 carrot, sliced thinly or grated
1 small onion, sliced thinly or chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup cooked chicken

Dairy-free "cheesy" sauce
(this can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a couple days)

1 cup water
1/4 cup nutrtional yeast flakes
14 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 to 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dairy-free margarine
1/4 cup rice milk (or soy milk)

1. I used a vegetable peeler to thinly slice zucchini and carrot.
2. Heat oil. Add vegetables and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Boil pasta for 8 minutes. Drain.
4. Add pasta and cooked chicken to vegetables.

To make cheese sauce:
1. Blend water, nutritional yeast flakes, cornstarch, mustard powder and salt in blender for 30 seconds.
2. Melt dairy-free margarine in sauce pan
3. Add blended mixture to margarine. Stir for 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Slowly add rice milk to sauce pan. Stir until thickens.
5. Add sauce to pasta and vegetables. You may not have to use all the sauce -- use your discretion. Save extra sauce for a mac and cheese meal later in the week.

It tastes really good!

2010-04-23T12:50:00.000-05:00

That's all my daughter could say today during lunch. I found this recipe a while ago and have been working to perfect it. I must have done it today. She's liked it before, but today there were all sorts of happy sounds as she ate. I adapted this recipe from the Go Dairy Free cookbook (if you haven't read it yet, you must).

Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese
(this makes 1 cup)

1 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (I found them at a health food store -- a little pricey but so worth it)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp powdered mustard
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dairy-free butter (I used Earth's Best)
1/4 cup rice milk (you can substitute soy if you like)
cooked pasta

1. Mix water, nutritional yeast flakes, cornstarch, mustard and salt in blender for 30 seconds.
2. Melt dairy-free butter in sauce pan.
3. Add blended mixture to melted butter. Keep on low to medium-low and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes. It will thicken some.
4. Slowly stir in rice milk. Stir until it thickens to consistency you want.
5. Add to pasta.

**I make just a small serving for my daughter of pasta and save the rest of the sauce for additional meals.**

Discount at Hy-Vee

2010-04-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I did a quick shopping trip to Hy-Vee for a couple dairy-free items. When I got home I noticed 10 percent off the items I purchased from the Health Market (the organic/health food area). I contacted the store and asked how I got the 10 percent off. Turns out on Thursdays they offer 10 percent off all Health Market purchases. I asked how long the promotion was running and they said they don't plan on stopping it anytime soon. If you have a Hy-Vee near you, you may want to check if they offer anything similar.

Eating Allergy-Free on a Budget

2010-04-22T08:49:00.000-05:00

As I was typing up my peek into the many staples we keep around the house for our dairy- and nut-free toddler, I started thinking about cost. Everyone wants to save money. I realized that once we had to buy certain products for our daughter that I would have to work extra hard to save money because so many products that are allergy-free are so costly. The strategies and suggestions that I'm going to share with you are based on costs in Wisconsin. So keep in mind that you may have to find your own price points that may be higher or if you're lucky lower. My strategies mirror those of other money saving articles, however because our daughter's diet is specific I'm going to share with you links and actual costs.

1. Find store brands that are safe. Be sure to read and re-read labels. Especially look for the phrasing "made in a facility or on equipment with peanuts, tree nuts, milk, etc..." I often see pretzels, crackers, dried fruit (ie raisins) all have that warning.

2. Shop around. We find that one store will carry one product and the next store will carry another. While Whole Foods is great, it's not usually the cheapest. I have certain stores I buy certain items. It sorta becomes a science. For example, I buy Enjoy Life chewy bars, soy milk, soy yogurt, toffuti cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and Purely Decadent ice cream at our locally owned grocer, which has the cheapest food products in our area. I buy some product such as Tofutti Pizzaz pizza, Enjoy Life chips, Enjoy Life chewy bar at Hyvee. I live about two minutes from Target and will buy Soy milk there unless I go to the locally owned grocery store or it's on sale somewhere else. My price point for a half gallon of Silk Soy Milk is under $3. I love when I get coupons or Target has it on sale for $2.50. The last store I shop at has little-to-no dairy-free food on sale regularly and has a small selection to begin with. Sometimes I get lucky, but not too often.

3. Use coupons. These retailers regularly have coupons for product we like to use. Occasionally, you can find them on coupons.com or on the manufacturer's website. Also, I have written to many manufacturers requesting coupons for their products. These come in especially handy when I use them at our locally owned grocery store that doesn't take Internet coupons.

Silk
Tofutti
Vegan Gourmet
Enjoy Life
Earth's Best
Kashi (usually seen on coupons.com on occassion)
Purely Decadent (usually seen on coupons.com on occasion)
Rice Dream or Soy Dream (usually see on coupons.com on occasion)

4. Watch for sales and have a price point. I know that I can get raisins for a less than $3 for a 24 oz container. Sometimes the sale price is higher than that -- that's not a sale to me.

5. Stockpile on snacks when you find them cheap. I like to have a variety of snacks around stashed in the pantry. Why? Because it's easy to pair up with fresh or frozen fruit or yogurt. Our snacks are typically dried fruit, cereal, crackers, graham crackers, fruit snacks, or homemade baked goods.

6. Find food for traveling. This is the one time I will strategize without cost. If it means it's easier and she'll eat than it's worth the little extra cost.

7. Re-read labels. I put this in here because even though a product was safe a couple months ago, it is possible that it no longer is. And if you have to toss it out after purchasing it, you are out some money.

8. Save in other areas. My mindset is that if I save $10 on a double coupon day at the grocery store on regular items, that $10 will buy me some non-dairy items for my little one. If I fill out a survey and earn $3, I equate that to a weeks worth of soy milk for my daughter.

9. Don't feel guilty. I sometimes feel guilty when I spend $4 on a new product to try to find out my daughter won't eat it or I didn't re-read the label and it has an allergen in it. It happens. It's okay to make mistakes or for kids not to eat something new. It actually can take a child 10 times trying something new over the course of six months before they might even like it.

10. Do what works for you. Sometimes when reading blogs and other's suggestion, you can feel like you're not doing enough or doing it right. Well, to that I say use this as a guideline, but if you don't have time to shop around or coupon clip every week then don't. Do what works for your family. I am just happy to share what works for us. Also, it's taken me two years to figure this out. And it has been a challenge.

Food Allergy Reflections

Dairy-Free French Fries

Update on Milk

FYI- more posts on my other blog

Milk Allergy -- Gone!

Update on Milk Allergy

$3/1 Children's Claritin Coupon

Trader Joe's

Welcome new readers

Product Review - Annie's Homegrown Gluten-Free Bunnies

Valentine's Day and Food Allergies

Hershey Kisses -- Follow up

Smore's in a Jar

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies

No More Rack

Food Allergies and Preschool

More posts coming soon!

You never know what might work

A conversation with Silk (an e-mail, too)

New Blog Title

Dairy-Free Thanksgiving recipes

Cool Whip Light

Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Chex Mix

Food Labeling and Allergies

Baked Cod -- Dairy-Free

Halloween and Food Allergies

Dairy-free, Egg-free Cut-out Cookies (plus frosting!)

Halloween Treat -- Chocolate Pumpkins

Halloween Treat -- Peeps

Halloween Treat -- Halloween Oreos

Halloween treats -- Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free

Sneeze much?

Nut-Free (not dairy-free) Chocolate

Dairy-Free Taco Salad

Directions

In search of...

Cheerio Snack Bars

Download Now -- Free Dairy-Free Cookbook (Linking Working Now)

Omit, Adjust, Substitute, Invest

Cookbook Recommendation

Cookbook Recommendation

Cookbook Recommendation

Great Resource

Quick update

Birthday Doll Cake -- Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Peanut-Free

Silk Soy Milk Coupon -- reset

The results are in...

Allergist appointment

Pre-packaged food = frustration -- Product Review

Food Allergies and Doctors

Dum Dum Lollipop -- Allergy Free!

Dairy-Free Frosting (for cake decorating) **UPDATED**

Product Review--Cherrybrook Cake Mix and Frosting

Dairy-Free Cas Mac

Pampers coupon Giveaway

CSN Stores and Upcoming Review

Calling all Moms with School-Age Children with Food Allergies

Anyone have experience with this website

Fourth of July Marshmallows

Wacky Mac

Van's Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free French Toast Sticks

Don't feel sorry

New Silk Soy MIlk coupon

Lesson learned -- Sugar in Soymilk

Not Quite Dairy-free Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

Enjoy Life Coupons -- Reset

Allergy-Free Snack -- Fruit Crisps

Oooh So Good

Recipe- Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

Positive test -- chocolate pudding

Friday - Dinner

Friday - Lunch

Friday - Breakfast

Thursday - Dinner

Thursday - Lunch

Thursday - Breakfast

Wednesday - Dinner

Wednesday - Lunch

Wednesday - Breakfast

Tuesday - Dinner

Dairy-Free Frosting (for cake decorating) UPDATED