A happy Valentine's Day thanks to Ener-G

This weekend I wanted to make cupcakes for the boys for Valentine's Day and I didn't have a box of my favorite cake mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen. I also had a bunch of errands to run and didn't have the energy to make an extra stop to pick up a new box.

So, I decided it was time to experiment with a regular cake mix and the Ener-G egg replacer. I picked up a box of mix at Target and headed home.  I think it was Betty Crocker, but I'm not 100% sure. I did look at the ingredients and it said it might contain milk in it. I had no idea how the cake would turn out without real eggs, but I was game to see what would happen.  Great news!  The cupcakes turned out great. They rose up like you would expect and tasted good.

I was online trying to see what other people's experiences are with "regular" cake mixes and found this posting about Duncan Hines mixes that do NOT have dairy in them. So, next time I'll give that mix a try.

I am SO relieved to have other options for making treats for the kids. By they way, here's a tip fo other moms out there: When you make a batch of cupcakes,  keep a couple unfrosted cupcakes aside and throw them in the freezer ... this way you have one to grab the next time your allergy kid is invited to a birthday party.

P.S. Little Guy's school Valentine's Day party was interesting ... had to bring bread and popcorn for the party for him.  Ugh.

My mini-social experiment

Tonight is the Fun Fair at Big Guy's school. I decided that since I have some more time (being home on maternity leave) I would bake some allergen-free treats for the cake walk.

I made the Cherrybrook Kitchen chocolate cupcakes with Pillsbury frosting (which only contains soy) ....


and dairy-free rice krispie treats with the Miracle Margarine (aka Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine, which has no dairy in it.)


As you can see, the treats are clearly marked regarding what allergens they do and do not contain. I am interested to see if ...

(1) parents with kids with food allergies even go to the cake walk (I know I didn't last year because I assumed there would be nothing there that Big Guy could eat)
(2) parents with kids with food allergies are comfortable taking food another parent made
(3) kids without allergies will NOT eat these because they think they will taste gross (which they don't, they are yummy).

So that is why I consider this donation to be a mini-social experiment. The mom running the cake walk has two kids with food allergies, so she'll be paying attention to how this all goes down.

Stay tuned!!

I'm no Giada, but ...

I may not be the queen of italian cuisine, who also happens to be HOT (at least according to my husband), but I CAN make spaghetti and meatballs.

Homemade, you might ask? Hell no. But they are quick and tasty and I even put the cooked pasta BACK in the pan with the sauce and meat before I served them ... to me this is a very gourmet trick. You see, when I was growing up my mom used to pour the sauce and meatballs on top of the noodles on the plate (see! they were even called "noodles" back then, not "pasta").

Anyway, the meatballs come from one of my favorite stores, Trader Joes. They have two kinds that Big Guy and Little Guy will devour: party meatballs and turkey meatballs. Neither one has any dairy, cheese or eggs in them -- which can be difficult to find in pre-made meatballs.

So, grab a bag, enjoy and don't give that size 2 chef another thought.

My Baby is Three

Poor Little Guy, as second child he always get “seconds” – whether it be clothes or my blogging time. Anyway, yesterday was his birthday and I was busy doing stuff for and with him, so I didn’t get his post up until today.

He had a great day. All day long he said “it is my REAL birthday and I am three!” He is focused on the real day as opposed to his birthday party a couple weeks ago.

At the breakfast table, his first birthday present was waiting for him.

A big soft Buzz Lightyear. He loved it and carried it with us all day.

He started out with the chocolate chip pancakes in a smiley face. And asked me twice not to put eggs in it.

We took his brother’s birthday crown and changed the year to “3” from “5” and he proceeded to wear it ALL day long. At first when people told him Happy Birthday, he said it right back at them. I explained he could just say thank you.

After breakfast, we ran to the library and grocery store. After lunch we went to see Ratatouille, where he ate half a box of Mike & Ikes. The movie was good. It was pouring rain, so a great day to see a flick.

We had tacos for dinner and the 4 grandparents came over to celebrate with Little Guy. With the tacos, he can eat everything but the cheese, so I melt a piece of the Tofutti cheese on a tortilla for him. He was so full of candy from the movie that he didn’t eat much ...oh well!

He wanted cupcakes for his birthday treat, so I pulled four of them out of the freezer and frosted them up. Again, he ate 2 bites and then wanted to get to the pile of presents.

It was a Buzz birthday … Buzz scooter, lunch bag, wall decals, sleeping bad and shirt! Oh and a remote control spaceship from Grandma and Grandpa. My parents opted for other stuff, so he got a book and CD with songs, and a tape recorder with microphones (which was a hit).

After he got his presents, he went around the table and gave everyone a big hug to thank them for his presents. He can be such a sweetheart.

All in all a great day for him and lots of fun for those of us closest to him to see him so excited and happy.

P.S. As I re-read this post, I realize it is practically an ad for Disney!! So, hello Disney ... feel free to hire Little Guy as your Buzz Lightyear spokesman. He can say "to infinity and beyond" as cute as can be!!

Don't try this at home

Don't these brownies look delicious???? NOT!!!!!!
I wanted to make brownies that everyone could eat. So, I thought I was oh-so-clever and would use regular brownie mix and just use the Ener-G egg replacer so the boys could eat them. And I was so SURE this would work, I made a double recipe so I could be sure to have enough for everyone.

Boy, was I wrong! Don't try this at home! The batter never really turned brownie/cake-like. It just sorta kept bubbling, like a weird science experiment. So, I ended up bringing Costco brownie bites to the party and gave the kids popsicles. But being so frugal, I did try the science-experiment brownies and they actually weren't bad. They were more fudge-like than brownies. Big Guy and I ate them up over the course of a week or so. I would even break them up and put them on his soy ice cream.

But, next time I want to make brownies from a mix (that the boys can eat), I will make the trek to Whole Foods and get the Cherrybrook Kitchen brownie mix. I know these are good and won't bubble mysteriously.

If you are looking for recipes from a blog for those of us dealing with food allergies, check out a blog I just found called The Food Allergy Blog ... love the picture of the Swedish Chef from the Muppets!!

It's a small, small (blog) world

Sarah at No Whey Mama clued me in to the Vegan Lunchbox and Shmooed Food in her comment to my last post.

At the same time, my mother-in-law was busy making "muffins" with Big and Little Guy.

Not exactly their best glamour shots, but you might be able to tell that they do really enjoy these muffins. Okay, you probably can't tell from Big Guy's photo (on the right). He looks sorta confused or worried.

Grandma lets them take a cheese spreader and add their own frosting to the "muffin

So, I asked her if I could get a copy of the recipe. And she sent me an email to let me know she found it on the Vegan Lunchbox site and it was actually the Fluffy While Cupcakes recipe. The first time she made them she didn't include the coconut extract. The second time she used lemon extract because it was what she had in the cupboard.

Smart Grandma! She knew all about that great site long before I did. But isn't it cool? I found about it through my new blog friends

Speaking of new friends, check out Karen's blog, Because I Said So. Her son has egg and peanut allergies and one of the many things she blogs about is dealing with these allergies. She shares a heartbreaking story about what happened to her son when he ate a homemade cookie ... luckily it didn't result in a trip to the ER, but definitely was a difficult experience for her son.

All this talk of baking (not to mention 3 brown squishy bananas sitting on my counter) inspired me to make banana bread with the boys.

Here is the recipe ...

Banana Bread

3 large ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1 egg -- I use Energ-G egg replacer
4 T.
butter or margarine
1 1/2
cup flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

Heat oven to 325
Grease
9x5 loaf pan
Mash bananas, beat in sugar, egg, butter
Stir in remaining ingredients until just moistened
Pour in pan
Bake 55-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean

Yummmy! Enjoy.

Filling the Pantry

I am including a new section to my blog called “Filling the Pantry.” See it on the right-hand side below the blog archive.

I was inspired when I saw the “Foods” section in No Whey Mama’s blog . By the way she has posted some good-looking recipes. I want to try the Monkey cookies -- I’ll just need to use the egg replacer and skip the nuts.

Anyway, when I started this blog I wanted it to be a humorous (on the rare good day) resource for people and place to share experiences and tips. I have always said that dealing with food allergies is MUCH easier once you know how to fill your pantry with various “safe” things that your child can eat.

I have included lots of references to different products we like at our house, like here and here. But I thought listing cool products on the right would make it a lot easier for the “hordes” of people that read this blog.

When I was roaming other blogs, I did find a reference to Divvies. But I need to see them kid-tested by Big Guy and Little Guy before I will post it on the Filling the Pantry section. They look yummy. Has any one tried any of these out?

Also, let me know if you have any other good food suggestions.

Thanks!

Christmas Cookies He CAN Eat

Unfortunately, I can’t give my kids many of my favorite Christmas cookies from when I was a kid … peanut butter kisses, gingerbread cookies, fudge, or sugar cookies. Most of the cookie recipes call for an egg or two (or evaporated milk or cream cheese). I could use the Ener-G egg replacer, but for some reason I haven’t used it much.

But I am happy to say that I do have some yummy recipes to share with you. Big Guy, Little Guy and I made both of these cookies this weekend. (Thanks to my sister-in-law for the butterscotch shortbread recipe! We’ve been enjoying it for 2 years now.)

Butterscotch Shortbread

½ cup margarine, softened
½ cup shortening
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Beat butter, shortening and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour and salt. (Dough will be dry and crumbly; use hands to mix completely.)

Roll dough into rectangle, 15 X 7 inches, on lightly floured surface. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares, or use cookie cutters to make shapes. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 25 minutes or until set. (These cookies brown very little, and the shape does not change.) Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Note: I don't have the patience to frost and decorate these after dealing with all the work of cut-outs, so I sprinkle green and red sprinkles on them before they go in the oven.

The next recipe, Holiday Oatmeal Cookie Brittle, was new to me. I found it on the Quaker Oats Web site when I was looking for info for my last blog entry, Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips (which happen to be dairy-free). I did use white chocolate chips for the marble effect, even though they contain some milk. I know Big Guy can tolerate that little bit of milk and I decided to give it a try for Little Guy. There are so few white chocolate chips in it and I don’t expect Little Guy to be eating large amounts of these treats.

(That is the strange thing about food allergies. Every person is so unique. It’s not always black and white … although for some people, it is black and white—any bit of the allergen can have severe effects.)

Another idea to make these cookies look fancy/Christmasy if you want or need to skip the white chocolate chips is to use other decorations, such as red and green sprinkles. The chocolate chips are really the main source of sweetness.

Holiday Oatmeal Cookie Brittle

2 cups Quaker oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces (I used Miracle Margarine)
1 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (12 oz.) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup white chocolate pieces

Edible gold dust (optional) (No, I did not use this stuff.)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
2. In large bowl, combine oats, flour and baking powder. Add butter. Beat on low to medium speed of electric mixer until crumbly. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, water and vanilla. Beat on low speed until dough forms.
3. Divide dough in half. Place one-half on one cookie sheet; flatten with lightly floured hands into 13 x 9-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Repeat using remaining dough and second cookie sheet. (The Boys LOVED this part!!)
4. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown, rotating cookie sheets after 12 minutes. Remove cookie sheets to wire racks.
5. Sprinkle 1 cup dark chocolate pieces evenly over each large, warm cookie. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes. With spatula or knife, spread softened chocolate evenly over cookies. Sprinkle white chocolate pieces evenly over smooth chocolate on both cookies; let stand 2 to 3 minutes. With the tip of a knife, run through the white chocolate pieces, dragging them into the dark chocolate, making marble-like streaks. Sprinkle with gold dust, if desired. Cool completely. (Refrigerate 15 minutes to set chocolate, if necessary.)
6. Remove large cookies from cookie sheet and peel off foil. Break each into 24 pieces. Store tightly covered in a cool place.

I will stay on the look-out for Christmas cookie recipes that are okay for people who allergic to dairy, egg, peanut and tree nuts, but I’d also love to know if any of you have any recipes to share!!!

Brunch Issues

This past weekend we went to my niece's baptism. (I am the godmother ... my first time!) The baptism was really nice and Baby Z behaved like an angel—I really think that baptismal water is extra special!

After the baptism, we all went to a restaurant for brunch. Hmmm, brunch for Big Guy and Little Guy .... okay. You see, breakfast can be a tough meal when you have kids with dairy and egg allergies (and don’t even get me started on how much harder it was when Little Guy had the wheat allergy). It's manageable at home, but harder at a restaurant where you can't ensure they use Miracle Margarine on the toast. (Or for that matter, you can’t ensure the bread doesn’t have milk in it.)

Please note: my sister-in-law was great and warned me that there might not be much the boys could eat there. Giving me the heads up helps tremendously. Like the boy scouts say “be prepared!”

I’m not here to whine about what the kids can’t eat, but I do want to address the breakfast issue because I’ve had friends with kids with egg allergies ask for ideas on what to feed them.

So, let’s look at the popular kid foods at a breakfast place and whether my boys can enjoy them:

• Pancakes – nope
• Scrambled eggs—no
• Waffles – nuh-uh
• French toast-- not going to happen (unless I want to use the epipen)

What can they eat??? Granted, not a whole lot at a breakfast place, but there are some options. Breakfast meats are a wonderful option. We ordered a side of bacon and a side of sausage. The boys ate it UP! Bring it.

Before the pork extravaganza was set down in front of them, they polished off the fruit plate. Cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries (for Big Guy, not Little Guy), blueberries, mango, and even pomegranate seeds! (They didn’t have bagels at this restaurant, but a plain bagel is almost always okay for egg and dairy allergies—not wheat allergies.)

So, they did fine at the baptism brunch. Plus, Little Guy hasn’t grown out of his “not very interested in eating anything” phase, so the fact that most of the menu was off limits to him wasn’t much of an issue.

Would I make going out to breakfast a regular tradition for my boys? Ummm, no. There are just too many things on the menu they can’t eat. But, it was definitely do-able for a special occasion, like this one.

I’ll save my suggestions for breakfast foods at home for another day. Anyone have any ideas for what else to order at the breakfast joint?

Chocolate Overload

Yesterday, I read a fun blog post from Susan at Friday Playdate about her family's snow day. In it she talked about the baking she did (amongst other things) while she and her boys were holed up in the house. Her post inspired me to bake today after we got 8-12 inches of snow.

Of course, she was very healthy and made muffins, while I made chocolate chip cookies. And not just one kind ... we made one batch of Cherrybrook Kitchen's Chocolate Chip Cookies which are egg, dairy and peanut-free and then of course (since I already had the cookie pans out and the oven on) we made my hubby's favorite: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. I am eating one right now and they are delish!

I discovered the Cherrybrook Kitchen line about a year and a half ago. They also make mixes for chocolate cake, yellow cake and brownies. I haven't tried the brownies yet. The cake mix has been used several times and for both boys' birthday cakes.

And being the chocoholic that I am (and instilling into my boys), we also made hot chocolate. It's a must-have after they came in half-frozen from playing in the snow.

For a long time, I assumed hot chocolate would be off limits for them, but my friend, Amy, found a non-dairy hot cocoa mix -- Ghirardelli's Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa. I just add a couple tablespoons into a cup of soy milk and throw it in the microwave for 1 minute. This makes it luke warm which is perfect for a 2-year old and a 4-year old.

So, I think we now have enough treats in the house for the whole family. Hope you and your family enjoy your snow day ... whenever it happens!