Question time

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

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

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

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

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

What... She ate cheese enchiladas

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

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

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

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