Recipes that Have Passed!

On this page you will find recipes that we have tried and been successful with--- no FPIES reactions to the ingredients and the outcome of the recipe was edible and resembled the intended item (cookies looked like cookies, etc). I will also most any modifications to recipes that have been a success.


I using these recipes, here is some basic knowledge about my LO's "safe" foods. All basic baking chemicals (baking soda, salt, sugar, etc) are safe. Canola oil is safe. The following corn products are safe: corn meal (we like bob's red mill fine ground yellow), corn flour/ Masa, baking powder (usually contains small amount of corn starch) and Kix cereal. Arrowroot flour is also safe for us. Bananas and pears are safe as well. We do not give Baby B any "ready-made" foods or baby foods except Kix cereal.


A note about cross-contamination. . . 
Because B has had FPIES reactions to very very small amount of certain foods, I am a little overboard on my desire to reduce cross-contamination risks. I have separate cookware just for her cooking. Here is the list of my materials: round wide spatula, nonstick medium size skillet, small brownie pan (doubles as a pan for cookies), and a mini food processor. Everything else I use for her can be sanitized on super high heat in the dishwasher. I also have a sponge and dish towels that are only used for doing her dishes. Crazy, maybe, but having these boundaries in place helps me to have less worry, and less worry means more fun time with my best girl!!!


Arrowroot Cookies (Our first one!!)
1/4 c canola oil + 1 pinch salt
1/2c honey (ok for babies if baked long enough); you could sub 1/4c sugar and 1/4c honey or 1/2c sugar and no honey--- making them with half honey and half sugar (1/4c each) or only sugar and no honey will make them more teething biscuit-like
1/2c mashed banana + 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional if your LO cannot have vanilla. You could omit this totally or try another extract, like almond, for fun)
1 c Masa (corn flour)
1/2 c Arrowroot flour/starch OR Kuzuko (dissolve Kuzuko in water; no need to dissolve arrowroot in water)
1/2 tsp baking powder (or 1/4tsp baking soda + 1/8tsp cream of tartar)
1/4 tsp salt


Preheat to 350 degrees. Mix oil and honey/sugar, beat in banana (with baking powder) and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients and be sure to mix well. Roll out the dough on to a floured surface; dough should be about 1/8- 1/4 inch thick. Dough will look and feel like cut-out cookie dough (not in color but in density and form). These cookies will NOT rise or spread (think shortbread cookies, same idea). Cut into rounds or super fun shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (this can vary-- mine bake for 13 minutes, but my oven does not run hot. Bake at least 8 minutes for the honey). After removing from oven, if desired, you can add a powdered sugar glaze or simply sprinkle powdered sugar on top. They should be a nice warm, light brown color (maybe a little speckled) and be about the texture of shortbread cookies. My toothless daughter can eat these by herself-- they are easy for her to gum down for awhile and then break off little pieces to swallow.


3/16/10 Here is a recipe for egg free, dairy and soy free, nut free, gluten free and rice free frosting; we used it for baby girl's first bday! This is a mix of a variation on a Wilton recipe and a recipe from cooks.com. Enjoy!


Happy Birthday Girl Frosting
1 1/2 c confectioners sugar
2-4 tsp water or nondairy/nonsoy milk (like coconut milk or zucchini milk. I used water this time)
2-3 tsp light corn syrup substitute (recipe)-- at cooks.com


 (For corn syrup substitute you will need 2c white sugar, 3/4 c water, 1/4tsp cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt. Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot on the stove top, bring the liquid to a boil,  reduce you heat and simmer, covering for about 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until desired  consistency is met. A NOTE: this burns VERY easily. You want the color to be clear, with a slight  yellowish tint to it if anything. For the frosting, you want it in syrupy form, not ball form as the recipe  states on the cooks.com website. When being heated, it is ready to come off of the stove when it reaches just thicker consistency than maple syrup. You will then allow it to cool in a separate bowl,  either refrigerated (45 minutes) or cooling on the counter top (2hrs). Once cool, it will be much  thicker, almost like a spreadable substance. It is when the syrup reaches this point that you can use it for the frosting recipe)


1/4 tsp your favorite extract (we use vanilla; you can get the kind that is free of corn syrup and alcohol I think)
Food coloring, if desired


Mix all ingredients, adding liquid/syrup ingredients alternately and gradually so as to obtain desired consistency. This will become a stiffer frosting (though soft in the center and easy for my toothless little girl to eat) so you may need to play around with the amount of liquid and the amount of powdered sugar until you get what you want. I will be trying this  as a decorator frosting soon (with the tubes and tips) and will report back as to how this goes. Enjoy! 




Fruit Sorbet
Original Recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/Banana-Sorbet-Dairy-Free-278708
Ingredients:
3 large bananas or 4 medium pears (if you use pears, it will be a little"icier" and not quite as creamy, though still tasty!)
1 tbsp lemon juice (to help bananas maintain color)-- optional
1 tsp vanilla --- optional
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
Favorite "safe" food coloring




In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer until desired thickness is met. When I made it, I allowed it to reach the consistency of heated maple syrup. This took roughly 10 minutes on medium heat. Remember to stir regularly!!!
Pour the syrup into a separate bowl and cool. If you cool at room temp, this takes 2-3 hours. I cooled mine in the fridge (uncovered) and it took about an hour.


While syrup is cooling. . . 






If using bananas: mash or puree them until smooth. Stir in lemon juice.
If using pears: peel, slice and steam pears until mushy. Puree in a food processor or blender at a baby food setting. Mix in vanilla and food coloring while blending.






Once cooled, mix the syrup into the fruit mixture, blending well with spoon or spatula. Pour into a brownie or lasagna pan (shallow dish) and cover with plastic wrap. Place in freezer for 6-10 hours. After freezing for this time frame, remove from pan and re-blend in the blender or food processor. Freeze again in freezer safe covered containers (we used the Ziploc freezer bowls with lids. The sorbet filled two 8 ounce bowls about 3/4 full.) Continue the freezing and re-blending process until the sorbet has reached the desired creaminess. Or until you are sick of refreezing and re-blending. . . I only re-blended mine once and the banana was super creamy and the pear was relatively creamy-- think gelato texture/ consistency. Also, it is significant to note that I used red asian pears for the sorbet which are slightly creamier when pureed than Bartlet pears and slightly less sweet than Bartletts.




4-9-10 Let them eat cake!!!!!
I can't believe I haven't posted our favorite recipe yet!!!! This is actually a muffin recipe but we used it for B's Birthday cake too! I is denser than cake and won't rise a lot, so when you fill up your pan or muffin cups, make sure it is at least 3/4 full, unless you want little shortcakes! To use this recipe for B's weekly muffins (she has one with breakfast everyday), I use honey instead of sugar or will use half honey, half sugar (2 cups sugar= 1 cup sugar and 1 cup honey OR 2 cups sugar= 2 cups honey. I think you get the best results using 1c sugar and 1c honey). When I am making her a cake with frosting, I use the 2 cups of sugar and no honey. This can be frosted with Happy Birthday Girl Frosting (recipe above!). Muffins will be moist but will be puffy when done. I use this also when we have a bday party to go to, so B has a dessert too and doesn't have to look longingly at the other kids mowing down on cake!!!!

Merry Muffins/ Happy Birthday Cake

3 cups Masa (corn flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup canola oil (excellent source of good fats for a little one on a restrictive diet)
3 large or 5 small bananas, mashed and mixed separately with 2-3 tsp baking powder
           ***** You can use an egg substitute here instead of bananas if you LO cannot have bananas. You need to substitute for 3 eggs. An excellent substitute is 1/4c apple or pear puree + 1tsp baking powder, per egg

1 cup white sugar
1 cup honey
Happy Birthday Girl Frosting, optional (if using for a cake)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Either use muffin cups with papers (silicone cups work very nicely) or use a greased and floured cake pan (use masa to flour the pan, of course). Assemble one large bowl and one smaller/medium bowl (serving bowl size). 
In LARGE bowl, mix together the Masa, baking soda and salt with a fork or whisk. 
In MEDIUM/SMALL bowl, mash the bananas (or add the fruit puree) and mix in the baking POWDER as you are mashing them. Set aside for 2 minutes. After two minutes, stir the fruit mixture again, then add in the canola oil followed by the sugar and honey (or simply 2 cups of sugar and no honey if making this as a cake). 
Once well blended, add the fruit/oil/sugar mixture to the flour mixture and blend well with an electric mixer until mixture is smooth and completely blended. Pour or spoon into prepared pan or cups (mixture will be thick so sometimes using a spoon and/or spatula works best. I use an ice cream scoop to fill my muffin cups). 
Bake in 400 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 25 minutes (slightly less for mini muffins) until a toothpick placed in the cake/muffin center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. 
Once completely cool, frost if desired with Happy Birthday girl Frosting. Since these have a moist texture, first spoon a large glob of frosting onto muffin/cake, THEN spread gently, so as to not become crumbly. For these muffins/cakes, you want the  frosting to be as creamy as possible. Now, serve!!!! And let your LO eat cake, too!!! :)


4.26.10
Love this recipe!!! It is dairy/soy/egg/peanut/tree nut/gluten/rice free, but full of flavor!!! VERY easy and very versatile!


Baby B's Breakfast (or anytime!) Flatbread
1 cup Masa
2/3 cup cold/ ice water
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp honey (you could substitute sugar, just add a little extra oil to maintain the moistness)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt


Blend all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add in water, canola, and honey one at a time, blending well with an electric mixer after each addition. Your dough should have a consistency similar to cut-out cookie dough; it should form a soft, pliable ball. Divide ball into 4-5 pieces; roll each piece out on a cutting board or pastry mat until 1/8- 1/4 inch thick. You can roll the dough into a circular shape or you can roll it out and make shapes with cookie cutters. Who says safe food can't be fun food!? Now some extra fun-- two cooking methods! I tried both and both produce a similar result. I prefer baking simply because I don't have to stand over the stove top to make sure it is evenly cooked. Choose whichever works best for you!!!


~ Method #1--- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Lightly oil a cookie sheet or metal baking dish. Place rolled out dough (or shapes!!!) on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn dough over and bake an additional 5 minutes. Your bread should be golden brown and soft when it is done. Serve alone or with toppings!
~ Method #2--- Heat a lightly oiled skillet to med-low temp on stove top. Cook rolled out dough/ dough shapes like a pancake! Turn occasionally to make sure it browns evenly! Again, it should be golden brown and soft when done!


Enjoy!!!!! Oh, and if using as a pastry shell, mold it into a slightly oiled pastry pan/dish (just like any other pastry crust) and bake at 350 for 5 minutes, fill with whatever (preferably precooked goodies) and then bake until heated through.

36 comments:

  1. thanks amanda! how long did you trial kix before considering corn safe?

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  2. We trial everything for three weeks before it is considered safe. We ended up trialing corn for a little longer because B took awhile to get over some texture issues with the Kix and I wanted her to be eating a larger amount of corn products per day to truly be sure she was ok with it. Thank goodness for corn-- it makes recipes easier! A note-- we still have not tried kernel or puree corn, only corn in a milled form.

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  3. These look like great recipes. I really want to try them. I'm having difficulty with how to introduce foods to my LO. Right now she has had fruits, rice, and milk based formula. How did you do it?

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  4. So glad I found this!!! our little ones are avoiding the same foods! It's so hard to find recipes that are both gluten and rice free. I can't thank you enough for this!!!

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  5. Sorry for the late response, ladies! We are still in the moving process and living in a hotel, even though we are now stateside in MA!

    Michelle-- as for how we trial foods, we just consider the common FPIES triggers and the big 8 allergens, avoid these things, and try and come up with a list of foods for B to try that have the best nutritional benefits and are most flexible for preparing in multiple ways.

    After that, we do three week food trials for each food, since some of B's failed foods have taken over two weeks to be an official fail. Each day the amount offered increases gradually-- we start at about 1tsp of the food and then by the end of the trial, we should be at around 2oz. Also, I ALWAYS cook the food she is trialling because it breaks down the proteins a little more. I try to save foods that are similar to those she has failed for later introductions.

    And then we cross our fingers and pray:), keep a detailed food journal, and have a bag ready at the door in case we have to go to the ER.

    And Rad&4-- good to know there are more out there in the same boat as us!! I am so glad you found us too! There should be more food updates once our move is settled-- around a month from now-- so keep posted!

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  6. Thanks for all the great info! we saw a great allergist 3 weeks ago and he has us doing basically the same thing to introduce foods. It reassures me that other moms are tackling this the same way. E has now added chicken, yogurt, and wheat to her safe list! I am dying to bake for her. I have ben searching and searching for a recipe with a few ingredients. So far I have found a banana bread recipe. It has 2 new ingredients egg and butter.

    You mentioned something on your blog about baked and raw -- have you found a difference in your little one?

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  7. I have found a huge difference in raw vs. cooked for B. Even at 16 months old, she still cannot eat more than 1/3 of a raw banana without have negative after effects. It took until she was about 13/14 months to be able to eat it raw in any amount. When introducing a food, I always introduce it cooked and once it has been a safe food for a little bit, I will then attempt it raw.
    Congrats on the new foods! I can't wait until we get some of the biggies like wheat under our belts!!!!

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  8. ooo! These are great! I'll have to get to the store tomorrow for some corn flour so I can make Noah some muffins! He LOVES bread (poking it, we don't let him eat it) so for him to finally get to eat a form of it will be so exciting. I almost tear up seeing him so excited about getting to eat new things. :)

    BTW - this is italaudi from BBC. :)

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  9. Hi! So glad these look like good options for your little guy!! And if the corn flour is too strong tasting for him, give Masa a try! (Masa Harina-- usually found in baking section or with the hispanic foods. Bob's red mill also carries it).

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  10. This has been so helpful. Just when I was beginning to feel at a loss of what to try next. Thank you for the great recipes. I can't wait to get to the store. I will need to make some substitutes with the oil and bannanas but nothing major. Thank you again.

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  11. yay! Glad to help! If you need any substitution ideas, let me know!

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  12. HELP!!! I tried making the flatbread... it was liquid! (definitely not dough consistnecy at all!) What did I do wrong???
    I did make the merry muffins... awesome!! I am confused on what I can substitute for some things... do you have a list I have not found yet?

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  13. Mix all of your dry ingredients first and save your milk or water until last. Then add it slowly until it is the right consistency-- you might use the full amount or you might use only half or so. I hope this helps! As for ingredient subs, just let me know what you need and I can probably help you out!

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  14. hey Amanda,
    i'm going to try these out for Mia's Christmas cookie and had two questions. first, have you baked with kuzo starch before? was wondering how these would come out with it. we haven't tried arrowroot before and she's sensitive to most grains (besides corn), so i wanted to avoid. also, we can do eggs. how many would you say instead of the banana + baking powder?
    thanks!
    michele

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  15. Yes! When we lived in Japan it took awhile for my arrowroot order to ship so I used the Kudzu root starch to do the original recipe and for a month or so following. It works well-- just need to add a little bit of water to dissolve first or crush really well.

    As for eggs, HOORAY for that! Generally, 1/4cup of fruit puree plus baking powder (or 1 small banana plus baking powder) equals one egg. For this recipe, I would use one egg. Good luck!!! Also, both arrowroot starch and kudzu root starch come from the starch of tubers, not grains. Hope this helps! And happy baking!

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  16. Hey Amanda!
    I would love to make your Merry Muffins/ Happy Birthday Cake for my daughters birthday in just a few weeks. However she can not have corn, any suggestions for a replacement? Buckwheat? Thank you!!!!
    Kylie

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  17. What flours are safe for her? These muffins should work with either sorghum, millet or buckwheat flours-- you just need to play around with your mixture of ingredients. If white potatoes are safe, be sure to pick up the HAIN brand baking powder made from potato starch! Is there anything else that you need to replace? Just let me know-- happy to help!

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  18. Amanda super excited to bake the cake now that we have millet...love your website! Question, so I can use cream of tartar and bakin soda instead of baking powder right? Because I would have to trial baking power for a week or two because of the starch?

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  19. Hooray for millet!! Yes, you can use that as your baking powder substitute. I would start with the sub so you can work with the cake, just to save yourself a trial for now. If you do end up passing corn or potato later on down the road, then the baking powder would likely come right along with it (typical baking powder is made with corn starch but you can get corn free baking powder made by HAIN--- they use potato starch instead). Good luck and happy baking!

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  20. Hi, thank you for sharing all these ideas for baking. In this house we are corn free and lot more stuff free. I would like to know how to substitute masa? I'm not very good at baking and i'm just learning about different types of flours, so can you please tell me what would you use instead?

    Thank you again.

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  21. Sure! Not sure what you are free of in addition to the corn, but I can give you a rundown of a few options! :) Wheat, of course, can be subbed in, cup for cup. It will make things rise more though (because of the gluten) so be aware! Sorghum flour and rice flour can usually be subbed in cup for cup in place of masa. I have never baked with rice (because it is evil here) but this is what I have read. Sorghum I have used often-- the only thing I find about that is that sorghum can be a little dry in some recipes (especially if avoiding eggs) so you may need to add in a bit more of a moist binder (maybe a touch more fruit puree and oil, for instance) with certain recipes using sorghum. Millet also works well independently or in combo with other flours (i like using a combo of sorghum, millet and quinoa flakes, maybe with a touch of arrowroot thrown in) and in many of the recipes on here, you can sub the millet flour in place of the masa, again cup for cup. I have found quinoa to be a bit more of an oily flour with some recipes and have had to reduce the oil or liquid when using straight quinoa--- allow yourself room for trial and error. Are there any specific flours you are wondering about? I haven't tried buckwheat but have heard great things about it working independently as well!

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    1. Thanks for all the info! We are wheat/gluten, eggs, soy, dairy etc..... I would like to make the arrowroot cookies. I do have some of all the flour you metionded I can sub. I wonder if millet will be the best? Or maybe sorghum?

      Thanks again

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    2. What about garbanzo flour?

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  22. We haven't used garbanzo flour with B but bean flours do have (in my opinion) a denser, moister effect. It might work nicely. As for millet or sorghum, you could easily use one of those as the main flour, or do a combo of the flours-- such as (in place of the one cup of masa) 1/2 cup sorghum, 1/4 cup millet, 1/4 cup garbanzo flour. Good luck!

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  24. I am SO excited to find these recipes! My son is 11 months old and I'm thinking towards his 1st birthday. He reacted to rice when he was 5.5 mos. So far, his safe foods are apples, pears, carrots, white potato, and (most recently) buckwheat. I didn't know about the HAIN baking powder, but already called and found a health food store nearby that carries it. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing what has taken lots of your time with others!

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  25. Is baking soda something that you trial? What about canola oil? Do you trial those in a recipe like the cake recipe? Thanks!

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  26. So glad to help and happy early bday to your little guy! Honestly, baking chemicals like baking soda are approached differently by different people. Some do trials, some don't. We didn't, but really, the decision depends on your comfort level. We always use Arm and Hammer brand though-- dedicated lines in the processing, I believe. Same with oils. We started with canola because it was one of the least allergenic oils-- just be sure that the bottle says 100% canola and check for allergy warnings--- canola "blends" that do not say "100% canola" do sometimes contain soy oil. B's Arrowroot Cookies were her first exposures to honey, sugar, baking soda and oil. But again-- go with your comfort level and good luck! I bet you can make a nice cake/cupcake with buckwheat flour and applesauce as your egg replacer!!! Be sure to check out the pear sorbet for "ice cream"!

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  27. I just found that Bob's Red Mill has potato flour. Do you think that would be better than buckwheat flour? We're trialing beef right now, but next is birthday cake! (trialing canola oil, sugar, and baking soda)

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  28. Potato flour does not hold up well on its own--- for doing a single flour for a bday cake, I would personally do buckwheat as opposed to potato. Unless eggs are safe, I haven't seen any potato flour only ways to make a cake. Sorry to be debbie downer!!

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  29. Good-I just bought buckwheat flour yesterday! Seemed like it would be a better source of fiber.

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  30. quinoa and quinoa flour has been a lifesaver for my daughter.

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  31. Thank you for this website. My daughter will be 1 in April and I wanted to make something for her. So far our safe foods are carrots, bananas, veggie straws, and apples. She reacts to dairy, soy, pears, rice, and quinoa so far. Any other recipe suggestions would be wonderful. Thanks!

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  32. How fun to have a birthday coming up! I think the banana sorbet would be a great route to go-- you can make it and then pour it into a silicone shape mold for the final freezing-- that is what my plan is for Baby C (she turns 1 in May). The other foods can be made into sorbet, but I personally think the banana version keeps the best texture.

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