Delicous milk, egg, peanut free brownies!

I found this delicious brownie recipe on Pinterest! What I love most about this recipe, because God knows I've gone through my share of brownie recipes, is that it's super easy and most of the ingredients are usually on hand! They have a gooey fudge like texture that my entire family loves!
http://www.littlehouseliving.com/ooey-gooey-brownies.html

Support Group for Food Allergy Parents

Just thought I'd share this great support group for Food Allergy Parents at www.kinsights.com. Please use the invite code: foodallergy when signing up!
Kinsights is a great website for parents, check it out for yourself!
Here's the link to the support group:
https://kinsights.com/groups/59/support-for-food-allergy-moms-and-dads/

Milk free, Egg free and Peanut free Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

MEAT FILLING

4 green onions

1-1 1/2 pounds of ground beef (or turkey whatever you prefer)

one 8 oz can hunts natural tomato sauce

one raw corn on the cob

1 tablespoon veg oil

CORN CRUST

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup corn meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoon veg oil, 1 1/2 tablespoon water, 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup rice milk

4 teaspoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons veg oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beef mixture:  Fry green onions in veg oil, add ground beef cook thoroughly, drain fat.  Slice all corn of cob and throw into pan, add beef and green onions.  Add tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.  Put beef mixture into a pyrex or other baking dish.

Crust:  In a small bowl, put 1 cup rice milk and 4 teaspoons of white vinegar mix and let sit for about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl,  mix dry ingredients. 

In another small bowl, mix oil, water and baking powder mixture then add to dry ingredients.

Add rice milk and vinegar mixture into large bowl. Mix all together and pour over beef mixture.

Bake  for 20 minutes.

For the family members like myself who can eat dairy, you can add a dallop of sour cream to the top!!  Enjoy

Vitamix on QVC

With a milk allergy, you can't go to the ice cream shop for ice cream or  Jamba Juice for a smoothie.  BUT... with a Vitamix, you can make your own! 

Everyone knows how expensive they can be, trust me I know, I've done the research.  I've checked all the local department stores, online and at Costco.  QVC seems to be the least expensive and they also include the dry mix to make your own flours!  This is great for gluten free folks!  They are going to be selling the Vitamix again during their on-air special on March 22 from 6:00-7:00, check your local listings for time.   

The Vitamix is a great way to offer your children veggies and fruits that they normally wouldn't want to eat.  It is extremely nutritious to start your day with a fresh juice!  Not to mention all of the other things the Vitamix offers, homemade soups, dairy free ice cream, the possibilities are endless! 

With food allergies, you have limitations on what you can eat and so you might be missing some very important nutrients.  Juicing would would be an excellent way to offer your children all the vitamins that they need!

Well I know what I'm doing on March 22! Boy with all the plugging I've done for Vitamix, you'd think they would send me one for free!! 

Ice Cream Magic

We just bought this Ice Cream Maker and tried using it with rice milk, unfortunately it didn't work out.  We're kind of bummed but I suppose we'll stick to Philly Swirl Italian Ice for now.  So if you're looking to buy this product to make dairy free ice cream, save your money.  I'm afraid this will only produce ice cream with heavy cream like recommended. 

The Perfect Salmon Dinner

I searched high and low for a great salmon recipe, and boy did I find it!  I found Personal Chef Ingrid Beer's website where she had this amazing recipe among others.  First I checked to see if it was safe for my fa daughter and thankfully it was.  It is free of milk, egg, peanuts and it's absolutely the most delicious salmon dinner I've ever had!   Check out her website where you can find this great recipe!
http://thecozyapron.com/the-salmon-dance/

Simple Allergy free Dinner Recipe

I just had a reader ask me if I could submit some dinner ideas because she had a boyfriend with food allergies.  How thoughtful of her!   I can only pray that someday my daughters grow up to find someone that kind.

Well, as far as dinner recipes go, I basically keep it fresh and simple.  I cook whole foods, try to buy organic and I usually roast or grill instead of fry. 

As a kid, I spent many summer afternoons at my Portuguese grandmothers house.  She made everything from scratch.  Delicious soups, stews, you name it, it was simmering all day long.  Boy, did that house always smell amazing.   Before dinner, my grandmother would often ask me to go out in the yard and grab a bundle of fresh parsley that she grew among other herbs. Till today, if I smell fresh parsley it takes me back to being eight years old, running in my grandmothers backyard looking for herbs.  I knew that I wanted my children to have memories like that.  I take cooking to be one of the most important things that I offer my children.  I often tell them that you need to see plenty of different colors in your foods.  Color=Healthy!  Green, yellow, red, all of the nutrients that your body needs.  So with that being said, it doesn't need to be fussy and loaded with a ton of ingredients, keep it fresh and simple.

Here's a very simple steak dinner:

Grilled Tri-Tip, 
Grilled Zucchini 
Garlic roasted tiny potatoes

Ingredients:
Tri-Tip
Zucchinis (about 3)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Olive oil (I use extra virgin)
Tiny potatoes
Sea salt
Black cracked pepper
Fresh Parsley

Preheat oven to 400

Prep your veggies.  Slice your Zucchinis down the middle.  So in the end you should have 6 half pieces. Salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Slice your tiny potatoes in half as well. Using a garlic press, put in two cloves of garlic. Salt and Pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss together.
I usually add fresh parsley, if your kids don't like it then omit the parsley.  I think it gives a good flavor and parsley has excellent health benefits!  I always add it when I can...

Salt and pepper your steak. 

Pop your potatoes in the oven first, and bake for about 20 -25 minutes or until fork tender.

Grill meat until medium rare.

Grill zucchini for about 5 minutes or less on each side.  Basically until done. This might vary depending on the size of the zucchini.  

So once your meat is ready, let it sit out for a bit to retain all the juices. Do not cut it right away.

That's it, I usually serve this with a good Merlot.  Of course the kiddos get juice;)

Enjoy!! Happy Grilling Season!

Our new favorite late night snack!!

Sweet and Salty!

We've created our own Chex snack mix!
Skinny Pop popcorn / Chex Chocolate Cereal
It's low in calories and delish!!  Careful, it's addicting!

If you want to send it with your fa kiddo for a sleepover or just fun snack.... think of adding some
enjoy life chocolate chips, small marshmallows etc.. whatever your kiddo loves!  Make it fun;)

Egg free, Milk free, Peanut Free S'more Cupcakes

 S'more Cupcakes

Okay... so I'm a little addicted to Pinterest these days! I've learned so many new recipes and this is one of them.  I have modified it to accommodate those with milk, egg and peanut allergies. DELICIOUS!!!!!!

7 whole graham crackers ( 1 cup finely crushed)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons (non dairy) butter or margarine, melted
2 (enjoy life) dark chocolate bars
12 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place graham crackers into large resealable plastic bag.  Finely crush into crumbs.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter in a small bowl.
Place 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in each cup of a mini muffin pan.  Firmly press crumbs to form shallow cups.  Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling.  Meanwhile, place chocolate bars into microwaveable bowls.
Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using sharp knife or kitchen shears.  Place one marshmallow half, cut side down into each cup.  Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened.  Remove pans from oven to cool for about 15 minutes.  Carefully remove cups from pan and cool completely.
Place chocolate bars in the microwave for about a minute or until melted.
Gently dip and turn the top of each marshmallow cup into melted chocolate. Turn top side up and let stand 40-60 minutes or until set.

Makes approximately 24 cups.

Biscoff Spread

This is Europe's alternative to peanut butter!  It is delicious!! 

It's peanut, milk and egg free!  Try it with your family.  We love it!  You can enjoy it with fresh sliced apples, in a sandwich with jelly, or by itself straight out of the jar, it's that good!! 

Your child will really feel as if they're eating peanut butter!  It even looks like it!

Allergy Warning: Packed in a facility where Tree Nut products are processed.  If your child has a severe allergy to tree nuts, you may want to avoid this product.