O'Soy is Okay ... I think

As I said in my last post, I couldn't tell if it was safe for Little Guy to eat O'Soy yogurt any more. I did email Stonyfield Farm to get more information on whether the yogurt now contains dairy and they sent me the following response.

Hello,

Thanks for contacting us! We always welcome comments and questions from our yogurt lovers, and we’re grateful when someone takes the time to tell us what they think of our company and products.

To answer your question regarding whether O’Soy is completely dairy free, the O'Soy may contain traces due to shared equipment, but it also may contain traces due to the fact that some of the cultures used are dairy based. A small amount of cultures are initially used in a very tiny dairy base and then grown into the billions. If any dairy is present, it is in a minuscule amount. The cultures will turn the remaining amount into lactic acid.

Our old packaging stated that trace amounts maybe present, then updated the statement to be more accurate. The formula has not changed, but if there are any dairy concerns, it is best to consult with your physician. If you're highly allergic to dairy we do not recommend usage.

We are passionately committed to producing the best tasting, healthiest yogurts available, and trying to do some good in the world while we’re at it. Please visit our web site at Stonyfield.com to learn more.

Sincerely,

The folks at Stonyfield Farm

I consider this a very nice and fairly complete response. So, thanks folks at Stonyfield Farm! I think that since Little Guy is not SO allergic that he can't breath if he has dairy, I will give O'Soy another chance. I am sure he had it before and we never had any issues, so since the recipe hasn't changed, I think he'll be okay.

And thanks to all of you who commented!!

O'Soy -- what's going on?

O'Soy and Silk yogurt had been staples in our house. The boys LOVE soy yogurt. But recently, my husband called me from the grocery store and told me that the O'Soy yogurt said it contained active milk cultures. So, we stopped buying O'Soy. This is a real bummer! 50% of the market taken away from me (or rather from Little Guy since he is really the one that has to avoid ALL dairy still).

I went to the O'Soy web site to see if I could find more information on it, but I couldn't. If anyone else has any info, please let me know.

And for all of you who accepted my challenge several months ago to comment on the anniversary of my blog .... THANK YOU! It was wonderful to see so many comments. And to all of my friends who have personally told me to get my butt back to blogging and they miss me in the "blogosphere"... THANK YOU!

Fruit Salad ... Yummy (oh, you know the rest!)

Getting a children's song stuck in your head is the WORST. At times, I have wanted to stick a fork in my ears to pry the annoying tune out. And the ones that are the WORST of the WORST are these guys. Honestly, I haven't had these guys and their strange music on in our own house in at least two years.

But, when Big Guy asked for this for breakfast .....


I was very proud of his healthy choice. But also, the blueberry-apple combo reminded me of this song .... aghhhhhhhhhh!!! (what is it with those phallic hats??) Regardless of that fact, his "fruit salad"of sorts was a hit and he ate it all up!



One of the two key ingredients are these from Trader Joes (our favorite balloon-giving store)

And while he snacked on that, Little Guy enjoyed some Soy Yogurt.



So, all in all, a very healthy breakfast --- hurrah!!!!!

Picture This

Okay, I am finally succumbing to posting pictures of Big Guy and Little Guy on my blog.

I hadn't done so up until now because I was worried about security issues, but after seeing adorable pictures on other blogs, such as Christina's daughter at A Mommy Story or pictures of this cutie-pie at Mommy Off the Record, I can't resist. It is part of the Mommy-DNA to want to show off pictures of your kids, so why not do so on my blog, right?

So, here is the blog premier of my boys!!!! (Trumpets, please)

Below is Big Guy indulging (can a four-year old indulge?) in a soy ice cream cone. Get it! It's yummy.



And here is Little Guy slurping up a rainbow ice cone (another good non-dairy option for you when you are out, like we were at the zoo, where they don't have soy desserts).



And yes, these photos are about 6 months old now. (No more shorts for us for a while.)

So, those are my boys. Most of the time they are sweet and lovable, other times I refer to them as the hooligans. For better or worse, expect to see more of them here!

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!