Baking Soda Worked for Us

It happened to us and I'm sure it has happen or will happen to you, too.  We didn't read a label and fed something we thought was safe to our daughter.  It read "Made in a facility with nuts..."  Oh, no.  We hoped there wouldn't be a reaction, but she had a messy, messy diaper shortly after eating.  And it took her little tummy about a week to get back to normal -- she was getting over a cold at the same time, too.

I worked as hard as I could to get as much fiber in her as possible: beans, cereal, craisins, raisins, fresh fruit, yogurt, etc.  But what also seemed to help was sprinkling in a little baking soda in her water.  She doesn't like juice, but she drank the baking soda water.  It is an antacid, and I think it's much safer than feeding a toddler "medicine." Just a suggestion to anyone who has a little one with tummy problems.

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Tuna Salad Sandwich

Trial and error and the picky toddler.  Yep, it's going to take a few tries to get it to their liking.  I'm still working on this one.  I made the mistake of putting onions in this, and our daughter just doesn't seem to like anything with onions.  Okay, I can adjust.  There are foods I don't like, and I certainly wouldn't want someone forcing me to eat them.  Here is a recipe for tuna salad sandwiches.  You can adjust to your little one's liking.


Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Tuna Salad Sandwich
5 oz can tuna
1 to 2 Tbsp Vegenaise (or dairy-free, egg-free mayo)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp pickle relish or chopped pickles
1/2 chopped carrot stick
1/2 chopped celery stalk
1 Tbsp chopped onion (I'll be omitting this next time)


1. Mix all together and spread on bread. 

**This can also be served on crackers.  Turn it into a tuna melt by spreading on half hamburger bun, top with dairy-free cheese and place in warm oven for 10 minutes. **

Book Recommendation

I just checked out The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book, by Kelly Rudnicki from the library.  It is a must read for anyone with food allergies.  This book focuses on baked goods such as, cakes, bread, cookies, etc.  You know all that stuff that normally has milk or eggs or nuts in them.  I can't wait to try some of the recipes. I highly recommend you check it out!

A Must Bake

Here is a delicious recipe for Banana Cookies.  We added chocolate chips.  Yum!

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Chicken Pasta Salad

Here's another recipe that I posted over at Must Follow Recipes.

Valentine's ideas

My recipe for Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Candy is being featured at Mallergies.com.  Go and check it out!  My recipe is number 5 of the Top 10 Valentines Day ideas!  There are other great ideas, too.

It's so fun to share ideas!

Dairy-Free Rice Krispies Treats

While this recipe might seem really obvious, I will admit when I began to learn about dairy-free food that I had no idea what to do.  I really like Rice Krispies Treats, and I am pretty picky about the flavor.  So changing to dairy-free margarine didn't seem like an easy option.  Then I read on a message board the Blue Bonnet Light was dairy-free.  Really... my margarine of choice for these treats is (dairy-based) Blue Bonnet.  It was worth a try.  I can't justify making two different batches of Rice Krispies just to appease my taste.  The verdict:  PERFECT.

Here's what we did today for Valentine's Day.

• 6 cups Rice Krispies (I always end up adding more so it's not too gooey)
• 3 Tbsp Blue Bonnet Light (or another dairy-free margarine)
• 10 oz marshmallows

1. Heat butter and marshmallows on low on stovetop.
2. Once marshmallows and butter are melted, mix in Rice Krispies.
3. Pour into a pan.  Spray a piece of wax paper with cooking spray (such as Pam, which is dairy-free) and press it to even out the treats in the pan.
4. Shake on sprinkles.  Use a cookie cutter to cut the treats into shapes.

Allergy vs. Intolerance

I think the hardest part of having a food allergy is explaining it to other people.  Many people get confused between an intolerance and an allergy.  The two are often used interchangeably, which is very incorrect.   Many people don't understand than an allergy is more than a discomfort.  Many people don't understand that allergens cause reactions in the smallest amounts.

Here's a really well written (and easy to understand) article from the Mayo Clinic that you can share with friends, family, school, etc.

With that said, I also caution reading articles, message boards, and blogs online looking for the truth.  I often find that many don't distiguish between the two.  Always consult a doctor  for major issues or questions you really need the answer.

Gotta check this out!

I'm now contributing to a blog called Must Follow Recipes.  Check out my first post for a recipe for dairy-free, nut-free chocolate candy.

Enjoy Life Coupons

I received the following in an e-mail from Enjoy Life Foods.  Seems like a really good deal to me!  We recently got a sample of the Cinnamon Crunch Granola that came with a package of snack bars, and our daughter loves it in her yogurt. If you go to the homepage there is a coupon for 55 cents off!

Purchase  bag of any of our 3 great-tasting Enjoy Life Granolas (Cinnamon Crunch, Cranapple Crunch and Very Berry Crunch), send in the barcode (on the bottom right, backside of the package) along with a copy of your receipt and receive FIVE $1.00 OFF coupons.

Receipts showing any granola purchase (12.8 oz. size) purchased between February 1, 2010 and February 28, 2010 are eligible for this promotion. In return, you will receive FIVE $1.00 OFF coupons good on future purchases of Enjoy Life products; $5.00 OFF in total! That's like getting the Enjoy Life Granola for FREE!

Please send your barcode and receipt, along with your full name, mailing and email addresses to:

Enjoy Life Foods

c/o JWG

1010 Davis Street

Evanston, IL 60201 USA

Limit one set of coupons per household. Offer only good in the U.S. and Canada. Entries will only be considered if a copy of the receipt and barcode are properly dated and are for the products indicated above. Entries must be postmarked prior to March 15, 2010 to qualify.

Questions? Email our marketing team: kasey@enjoylifefoods.com.