Daily Life

Hope you are all having a very enjoyable and safe holiday season!  I know all too well the toll being diligent about food allergies can be when you are off routine and at other people's house or have other people potentially feeding your child with allergies.  I've been doing some research about how allergens can be present in the air!  We've probably all heard about nut-free tables at school and the extreme cases of airlines fighting with passengers about serving peanuts.  I can understand the nuts in the air but I'm surprised that particles of milk can also cause a reaction.  I saw it on Christmas Eve.  My son was helping set the table for dinner and asked that his 4 year old cousin sit next to him (how sweet!). His cousin was drinking milk and like kids do the milk spilled on the table. I was rushing around trying to not let my son touch it but without it ever touching him he started gagging like he was going to throw up. Whatever little particles might ...

Today reminded me why I started this blog.  It was a frustrating day trying to prepare and get everything we needed to host our Christmas meals.  After my son's recent reaction to soy we are now having to go soy-free as well. For my baking this meant getting the Soy-Free Earth Balance 'butter' sticks, so I headed to WholeFoods. I was attempting a dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and gluten-free pound cake for Christmas Eve to accommodate all of the allergies.  The recipe came from a blog I like and even included a video tutorial so I thought it was a sure thing.  After navigating the busy stores and checking all my labels and getting rear ended with my baby in the car we where home safe and ready to do some baking.  I had some over ripe bananas so I figured I'd whip up a quick banana bread while I had all the baking stuff out.  I got that in the oven snd then started on the pound cake.  The pound cake was going well and easy to make.  I baked it an...

Anyone else hosting a Christmas brunch?  These are perfect! Since I've had to start researching new recipes I've become more conscious of how to make things a little more healthy as well.  These are the best vegan waffles I've made so far and they are also the healthiest.  They were delicious and didn't stick to my waffle iron for a change! You can find the recipe here:   http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/03/04/almond-joy-waffles/ However, I didn't have the oat flour on hand but I did have some coconut flour so I did a little substitution.  I added an extra 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour. Since I used the coconut flour I doubled the egg.  The flax egg replacer she refers to is 3 TBLSP water and 1 TBLSP flax meal. You mix them together in a separate bowl and allow them to sit and become an egg like consistency before adding them.  Since I doubled the egg I put in 6 TBLSP water and 2 TBLSP flax meal.  Served warm with...

These were delicious!!  These also came from some recipes the nutritionist gave me for my son.  You would never know there was no dairy!  I altered the recipe a little as it called for some chilling and stuff I didn't have time for but they still came out fabulous. 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup sugar (plus some extra for coating) 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce 1/4 coconut oil (heated to liquid form) 1 lemon Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl beat the sugar, apple sauce, coconut oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Add the dry ingredients all at once until begins to form a ball.  Roll in 1 1/2" balls and roll in a bowl of sugar.  Place on cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.  Enjoy!!

Remember EpiPens expire and need to be renewed! Generally the expiration is about a year.   Please check your dates and if you do need some both EpiPen and Auvi-Q have a 0 copay coupon if you refill before the end of the year. Just click on the links to get them:  Auvi-Q  and  EpiPen . If you haven't heard of Auvi-Q yet it has the same function as an EpiPen but it comes in what I've found to be a much easier container to carry and put in your pocket and more importantly will actually talk you through how to administer it when you need to use it!  Thank goodness I haven't had to use it yet but I know my heart would be racing and I'd appreciate the verbal reminder of what to do and it even counts for how long you have to hold it. It also comes in a 2 pack and contains a trainer.  I make sure EVERYONE who is around my son is trained and understands when it should be given.  I also demonstrate and have them practice with putting the trainer against my son'...

I used to love getting my Better Homes and Garden Magazine and trying out some recipes in it.  I stopped reading it for a while when we had to start strictly avoiding dairy because I was discouraged that so many of the recipes called for things that we couldn't have.  However, fast forward a year and I'm now reading the recipes and trying my own simple substitutions (and they are working)! Made these for a little dinner party the other night and they were a hit!  No one even knew they were dairy free. 3/4 cup + 2 TBSP coconut oil (Not melted) 1/2 cup sugar 1 TBSP lemon zest 1/2 tsp sea salt 2 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 cups white whole wheat flour Combine the lemon zest and sugar in a bowl and set aside. Add the solid coconut oil to the mixing bowl and 'cream'.  Slowly add in the lemon sugar mixture and salt and mix on medium for a minute. Add vanilla. Add all the flour at one time and mix on low until it forms into a ball.  Divide ball in half and wrap in saran ...

I have always loved making cut-out cookies for different occasions with my Mom.  I wanted my little baker to have the same memories.  We have made these a few times now in a couple of different ways. The most recent is definitely my favorite but does retain a coconut flavor.  The dough was a little hard to work with and refrigerating like with normal butter did not work well.  It is manageable with adult help.  They came out very nice and light and crisp.  My parents who don't enjoy some of my dairy substitutes even ate them!  You'll be able to pass them off to unknowing friends and family with ease. This recipe has been adapted from one a nutritionist gave me when my son was first diagnosed from an allergy cookbook. Ingredients 2 1/3 cup flour (original recipe called for barley flour which came out well  - this time I didn't have that on hand and instead used white whole wheat flour) 1 cup butter substitute (I've made them with Earth Balance V...