In the Dairy-Free (and Nut-Free) Pantry

It's been a while since I've talked about some of the meal and snack strategies for our toddler who is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts and some tree nuts.  (although we do use eggs in baked goods.)  Here's a peek into some products we keep around for either on-the go or for everyday cooking.  I could have gone link crazy with this list.  If you have further questions about a product or use that I have for it feel free to contact me in the comments or e-mail  I am very happy to help!!

• Enjoy Life Chewy Bars (quick snacks)
• Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (trail mix, making candy, baking)
• Enjoy Life Chocolate bar (snack or we have a dessert she can't eat)
• Tofutti Pizzaz pizza (lunch)
• Earth's Best Chicken nuggets (lunch)
• Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese (dips, bagels, frostings, misc. meals)
• Toffuti Better than Sour Cream (dips, misc. meals)
• Tofutti American style cheese (meals, snacks)
• Teddy Grahams (snack)
• Marshmallows (snacks)
• Jello (dessert, gummy snacks)
• Animal Crackers (snacks)
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal (breakfast)
• Earth's Best Cookies or Crackers (snacks)
• Graham Crackers (snacks)
• Ritz crackers (spread soybutter on top for snack)
• Soybutter (snacks, meals, baking)
• Sunbutter (snacks, meals, baking)
• Saltine crackers (snacks)
• Frozen fruit (snacks, meals)
• Frozen veggies (meals)
• Kashi Cereal (I mix with dried fruit  for snack, breakfast)
• Rice Krispies (breakfast, treats)
• Rice Chex (breakfast, puppy chow)
• Life Cereal (breakfast, snack)
• Cheerios (breakfast, snacks)
• Kellogs or Welchs's Fruit Snacks (snacks - we use these sparingly)
• Dried fruit - SunMaid Raisins, Ocean Spray Craisins, Sun Sweet Apricots are favorites right now **Make sure to check labels for these they are often processed in faciities with peanuts and tree nuts**
• Eden Organic Alphabet pasta (meals)
• 8 oz jar Hunts tomato sauce (meals)
• Small containers of Rice Dream Rice Milk and Soy Dream Soy Milk (baking, meals)
• Cricso shortenting (bakings, cooking)
• Store brand blended oil (baking cooking)
• Quick and Old Fashioned Oats (bakings)
• Canned fruit -- I usually buy Dole or Del-Monte no sugar added.  Although I noticed recently they are sneaking Splenda into the Del-Monte brand.  No sugar but still a sweetener, gotta love those marketing people.

This list is really just a peek into some of the things we use.  We always have fresh fruits and vegetables around for snacks and meals, too.  

Dairy-Free Easter Meal

I'm always interested what other people make for holiday meals.  I'm even more interested on how people make them allergy-free.  We are pretty simple people.  We don't make too many fancy meals.  Here is what we served for Easter dinner.  All is dairy- and nut-free, however two items are not egg-free.  I made the rolls and carrot cake the day before making it very easy the next day to just pop the ham in oven and make the rice.  And heating up green beans took a couple minutes.

• Ham - pour can of slice pineapple over ham, roasted for 25 minutes per pound at 325 degrees (I keep a couple slices to the side for our toddler to eat with the meal)
• Rice- white rice and wild rice mixed together
• French-Style Green Beans - canned
• Pull apart Rolls (not egg-free)
• Carrot Cake (not egg-free)

**Alternatives: Hot Cross Buns, potatoes (with dairy-free butter), any vegetable, dairy-free desserts

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Porcupine Meatballs

I don't remember eating many meatballs as a kid.  But my husband used to eat porcupine meatballs that his mom made all the time.  I recently stumbled on a recipe and he said he had his mom's recipe.  So we made it last night. It was simple to make and the flavors were mild.  Best part is that there is no dairy or egg. Our little girl loved it.  I think she liked the name best of all (she does like the porcupine at the zoo).

Porcupine Meatballs


Meatballs
1 lb ground beef (uncooked)
1/2 c uncooked rice (I used Minute Rice)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper

Sauce
15 oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1. Mix beef, rice, water, onion and seasonings together.  Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
2. Place in small casserole dish or 8 x8 pan.
3. Mix sauce ingredients together.
4. Pour sauce over meatballs.
5. Bake covered for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Uncover, turn meatballs (so rice cooks) and bake for 15 minutes or rice is finished.

Dairy-Free Chicken Nuggets

Hooray! I just found chicken nuggets made by Earth's Best for my daughter. The nuggets do have wheat and soy in them, but no dairy or egg. I just haven't had luck making chicken nuggets on my own without egg. These seem like a great alternative. I found them in the organic frozen food section. The ingredients listed are all familiar -- no strange chemicals or anything (although chicken meat is always sorta vague).

I don't know about you but sometimes it's nice to just open a package and pop food in the oven for 15 minutes instead of making everything by scratch. These seem like they will work for us. There are 16 nuggets in a package, so I figure that is at least 4 meals. They were a little pricey -- more than $4, but Earth's Best often has coupons on its website. I've even e-mailed and asked for coupons from them. They have sent manufacturer coupons to me in the mail!

Just had to pass it along!

Simple Meals

I found that with a toddler with allergies, you can't just open a package of pre-made food and heat it up. So many have milk or egg in them. On top of that I start looking at the fat, sodium and other ingredients that really aren't that good for her. Here are some suggestions for quick and easy meals that don't require a lot of prep work.

• Hamburger Rice Casserole. Take leftover hamburger, add rice and peas. Mix together. Substitute other vegetables or chicken for variation.
• Chicken soup. Take leftover chicken, add chicken stock, carrots, potatoes, celery, onion. Heat to boil then let simmer on stove for 20 minutes. This recipe freezes really well. I use 6 oz baby food jars and it works perfect. I add rice or noodles before serving.
• Beef and/or Vegetable Soup. Take leftover roast or steak, add beef stock, carrots, potatoes, celery and onion. Heat to boil then let simmer for 20 minutes. I freeze these, too.
• Alphabet Spaghetti. A favorite right now!
• Rice and Peppers. Use a 1/4 cup rice and add diced green, red, yellow pepper. Good side dish.

I normally cut up fresh fruit for every meal. Occasional I will give canned fruit or applesauce. I've found that using leftovers is really helpful because she doesn't eat a lot and I can fill the meal in with a variety of meat, rice, couscous, vegetables, etc.

Meal Idea

The hot dog rut.  We've all been there.  We want to give some meat with a meal and don't have any readily available.  We resort to hot dogs.  Hot dogs aren't the best in nutrition and I just don't like that there is 21 percent saturated fat (keeping in mind that's based on a 2000 calorie diet).  

The other day when I was picking up dairy-free cheese, Tofurky Franks caught my eye. It looks like a hot dog, but is tofu-based.  No saturated fat and 11g protein.  Much better I thought.  I picked it up and it wasn't too expensive (about $3 for 6 franks).  Now, would my daughter eat this?  I tried it before I gave it to her and it actually tasted pretty good.  I believe in honesty with kids and explained to her this looked like a hot dog, but it's Tofurky.  She looked at it and said "brat" and then "hot dog."   I asked her to try it and she started saying "Tofurky, Tofurky."  I asked her if she liked and she said "yeah."  And she ate about half of one.  A much better solution to the "what do I have to feed her today?" problem.

Vegetable Soup

This is a favorite of my daughter's and favorite of mine.  You can pack in so many veggies and using barley gets that extra protein and fiber in them.  To make the soup less messy, I crush saltine crackers to soak up the broth right before I serve it.  I also save the little bit of roast that doesn't get eaten and sometimes make it Beef Vegetable Soup. 

Vegetable Soup 

Snacks

Snacks at times have been really easy to find and at times a big challenge.  Mostly because my daughter gets bored eating the same thing.  The "nutritional" rule with snacks is that there are at least two food groups included.  That limits us a little when you take out the dairy and you normally don't eat meat at snack.  Also veggies need to be cooked at softened at this age.  Our snacks are typically fruit and grain.  My daughter only drinks water or soy milk for snack.

Here are some simple snack suggestions:

• Cheerios and dried fruit, such as raisins, craisins, apricots
  
• Gerber puffs and dried fruit
  
• Saltine crackers and apples or grapes
  
• Graham crackers and bananas
  
• Banana muffins (use dairy-free margarine)
  
• Toddler trail mix
  
• Earth's best Oatmeal Cinnamon cookies
  
• Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  
• Gerber dried apples, strawberries, bananas and crackers or Cheerios
• Strawberry Smoothie with animal cookies or crackers

Sample breakfast meals

I must preface this by saying that my 19-month-old daughter can tolerate milk and eggs in baked goods.  

Here is a sample of breakfast meals that my daughter eats on a regular basis.  I rotate them, so she doesn't eat the same thing every morning.

• Cold Cereal (Chex, Rice Krispies, Cheerios) with soy milk and raisins or craisins
  
• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (Quaker)
  
• Pancakes with fruit or applesauce
• Eggo Whole Wheat waffles with fruit or applesauce

My daughter doesn't really like bread or toast.  We've tried English Muffins, but not lately.