Soy Yogurt

For some time now I've wanted to give my daughter soy yogurt, but I just couldn't seem to find any that were truly dairy-free. After posting on a message board I read that Silk Soy Yogurt is in fact dairy free. At my trip to Whole Foods this week I picked up a 32 oz container (I bought the large container because I knew it would take a couple tastes before she would embrace it and buying the larger container was cheaper than buying the 6 oz containers). And for afternoon snack my daughter has been eating it up! I put some frozen strawberries (I unthaw them first) and a couple graham crackers. She just loves it. I'm so happy to have another healthy snack for her.

Egg-Free Mayo and a Tuna Melt

I made a trip to Whole Foods this week. I had some coupons that I had been waiting to use for some milk-free and egg-free products.

I purchased Veganaise for my daughter and am so impressed with the taste. And it didn't cost any more than a regular jar of mayo. Until now I've avoided all things with mayo because I didn't have an alternative. Yesterday I made her a tuna melt and while she didn't eat much of it, I'm certain we will be able to rotate that into our lunch routine. It takes several tastes before a child will eat a new item. And then a toddler will change her mind often about liking a food anyway.

Tuna Melt

Half piece of hamburger bun

small can of Tuna

2 Tbsp Veganaise

Slice of Tofutti cheese

1. Toast bun for five minutes at 250 degrees.

2. Mix tuna and veganaise together. Add more veganaise or less to taste

3. Spread a thin layer on toasted hamburger bun.

4. Place cheese on top.

5. Put back in oven for 5 minutes or until heated through. The tofutti cheese will soften, but not really melt.

6. Save tuna for future meal later in the week.

Dairy-Nut Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's my latest attempt to make chocolate chip cookies. I think they turned out great!! Only thing I would do different is add 1/2 tsp of salt. Funny how you miss an ingredient when you are so used to tasting it.

Dairy-Nut Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

original recipe found here

1/2 cup shortening (I use Crisco)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp oil (I used blended oil)

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 to 2 Tbsp water (if needed)

3/4 cup Enjoy Life dairy free chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine shortening, vanilla, oil and sugars until well mixed.

3. Combine flour and baking soda in separate bowl.

4. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well.

5. Add water if dry. It should have regular cookie dough texture.

6. Add chocolate chips and mix well.

7. Drop cookies on cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Or until cookies are done. Mine tuned a light brown similar to regular cookies. However the original recipe says they won't brown like regular cookies.

8. Cool for a couple minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool.

**The best part of this recipe is that my 2-year-old was able to help. I didn't have to hover and worry she might touch something that would cause a reaction!**

Thank You

I just was looking at my blog and realized many of you have been sending comments my way. Please don't think I've been ignoring. I thought that this blog was set up like my other one and comments would be e-mailed to me (I don't think I'll ever fully understand blogger). I honestly didn't think I had too many readers and never bothered to look for comments. I apologize to anyone who has been waiting for a reply back. If you have questions or further comments, post away. From now on I promise to comment back.

Advice I would give if you are looking for where to buy products after reading them here or

somewhere else is to search the product name (I use google). And from there most sites have a "where to buy" link. Usually you type in your zip code and stores near you will be listed.

Thank you for reading and for the great encouragement and support!!

Results

We saw a new allergy doctor today. I was very impressed with his patience with my 2-year-old and his knowledge about allergies. He did a skin test on her and concluded that she is definitely allergic to milk, cashews and peanut. The peanut reaction was the largest on her little back. We did find out that she is not allergic to pecans, almonds, walnuts and may or may not be allergic to eggs and some other tree nuts. She also did not show any reaction to mold or pollens.

My reaction: I'm a little disappointed that we have to avoid peanuts all together. However, I am so glad that I did not give her any peanuts or peanut butter to test at home. That would have been very scary. (That was the advice one allergy doctor gave us to do.) It is highly like that she will outgrow the milk allergy. There is a 20 percent chance she will outgrow peanut. Thankfully, now there is more education out there about peanut allergies and schools are very accommodating and understanding. I guess if this is our challenge, it's not that bad.

Allergy doctor

Tomorrow we go visit a new allergy doctor (because we have moved). I cross my fingers that they don't want to do any testing. But on the other hand if they can get "real" results for us, I'm willing to do what they suggest. Hopefully some answers come from the appointment.

What I did for Birthday Cake

Okay, I struggled with what to do to make the birthday cake fun without allergic reaction. I compromised a little with dairy-free Pillsbury frosting (not the best tasting, but time was limited with making all the salads) and I used Devils Food cake mix from Betty Crocker. The cake mix tasted really good. To make the rest of the turtle I made Carrot-Raisin Muffins that I know won't cause an allergic reaction. I gave her the chocolate coated muffin and the rest of the guests received cake slices. Guess who didn't eat their share -- yep, my daughter didn't even touch her muffin. She was so hyped up with activity that she couldn't sit still. Good news, we had muffins for snacks for the next few days! Prepare if you must, but be prepared to have your toddler change your plans!

Birthday Cake

I am making a special cake for my daughter's 2-year-old party. We can't just go and pick out a cake at the store because odds are there will be milk and egg in it and I don't know how much. So, I tried a homemade cake as a test because it didn't have much milk or egg in it. She can tolerate milk and egg in baked goods, but whenever I try something new I still watch for a reaction. This cake was too moist for the decorating I want to do. When I gave it to her to try, my toddler said "no." No to cake -- come on. But that is the toddler way.

So, I decided to make a box cake because it really doesn't have that much more milk or egg in it; and odds are she might not touch it at all. Also, part of this decorated cake has cupcakes, and I think I might use a different recipe for the cupcakes (or even make muffins that I know she's okay with) and give her one of those instead of the cake. I bought Pillsbury frosting and don't see any milk products listed in it. I made frosting last year, but it took so long to make. I think it will be okay. I will update this (with photos) early next week. Wish me luck.