Baby B's 14: A Salute to Global FPIES Day

It's been awhile, hasn't it? Once more the days and months get away from me! Our household is rather chaotic with our two and five year old residents keeping us on our toes! Can you believe that Baby B is 5 1/2 years old? My goodness, what happened? And Little C is approaching 2 1/2 years old. . . these girls are growing up!

Raising Awareness at the Doctor's Office for Global FPIES Day!

Despite their ages, we still are very much in the throes of food trials and reactions and the lovely grey area that so many of you know all too well. It is very daunting and overwhelming, but I feel a great deal of comfort in the larger amount of awareness that FPIES is getting these days. Hopefully, the awareness will turn to more education, the education to earlier diagnosis and new treatment options, and all of it will hopefully spur more novel research in the process. But I digress. . .

Today, as you are likely now aware, is Global FPIES Day (October 14th)! In fact it is the very first Global FPIES Day (thanks to The FPIES Foundation for sponsoring the day!) and it is really incredible to think that the day has finally arrived and to consider all of the work that has led to this moment. All of the families, all of the stories, all of the victories and all of the heartaches. Since October 14th is the official day, the FPIES Foundation (see www.fpiesday.com!) has invited the entire community, its supporters and its partners to "Find Your Fourteen!"--- to honor the day in fourteen distinct ways. Because this blog is a cooking resource and because I am currently watching my oven timer count down the minutes until chocolate chip muffins become a delicious reality in my house, I have decided to share fourteen recipes that have been life altering for our family-- B and C alike, as well as this chocolate-loving elimination diet nursing mama!

1. Merry Muffins These gave us a bday cake and a snack food. These opened up the doors to the world of allergy baking for me!
2. Arrowroot Cookies/Biscuits: The first recipe to appear on this blog and B's first encounter with a cookie!
3. 5 Ingredient Protein Power Granola Bars: The recipe that got me through many many long nights of my elimination diet with C
4. B's Sunny Bunny Banana Muffins Even though she can't eat these any more since she lost banana, this recipe is one of the blog's most versatile ones, as it can be slightly modified to make cupcakes, muffins and cookies. I love versatility!
5. Baby B's Coconut Crisps or Puffs This is a single food recipe (only uses coconut ingredients) but tastes like it has far more depth than the ingredient list suggests. This is the first cracker that B really enjoyed.
6. Squasher-tots: A recipe for C, one of her first in fact, that took her past purees and into something delicious and attractive. Posting to this blog this week!
7. Happy Heart Pancakes: The first pancake recipe that was not a flop! It took a long time to figure one out, but this is a keeper!
8. Fish Sticks: Again, B has since lost the ability to tolerate fish, but when she tolerated it, this was a great recipe for toddler "normalcy" and for practicality purposes, since I could freeze them in advance
9. C's Crazy Pancakes: Also posting to this blog this week, this is the recipe I have developed for C's pancakes. Siblings are different in many ways, and for my girls, their safe food lists definitely are unique to each!
10. Fancy Big Girl Ganache or Fudge: It is delicious. How could I NOT include this one?!
11. Sunflower Seed Butter Frosting: (scroll to the bottom of the post for this recipe) The first recipe that B actually snuck little bites of when I wasn't looking.  I cried when I saw this!
12. Happy Birthday Mama Safe Cake: A great way to incorporate beets into a delicious chocolate dessert. Among my allergy-free family members, this is the most requested cake!
13. B's Best Brownies: The secret to this recipe? If you make homemade whipped cream (with canned coconut milk and powdered sugar) and use this for half of your milk required in the recipe, these brownies are incredible.
14. Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies: Because, you guessed it, everyone deserves a cookie. And in Baby B's FPIES Test Kitchen, we take our chocolate VERY seriously. . . ;)

Even though Global FPIES Day has now come to an end for this year, the momentum does not have to stop. Please join myself, N, Baby/Big Girl B, and Little C in raising FPIES awareness and providing support to other affected families throughout the year. Be the voice!

That "Can" Do Attitude!

Let's carry on with our recipe fun fridays!

One of the easiest recipes I have found in the last year came simply from making a few modifications to the back of a can.

On the baking powder can, there is a recipe for biscuits. Since the large majority of the ingredients are not safe for us, instead of saying drat and moving on, I decided to throw in a few subs and voila! Biscuits!

Can-Do Biscuits
1 cup masa (or other safe flour)
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
1 Tbsp baking powder (remember-- if avoiding corn, HAIN is corn-free)
6 Tbsp shortening (or coconut oil. We use palm shortening)
1 tsp salt
1 cup safe milk (we use coconut)
1 Tbsp safe vinegar (we use coconut vinegar)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and lightly oil a parchment-lined baking pan. Generally, I use a large lasagna pan for this recipe but a cookie sheet would also work wonderfully.

Mix together the flours,, baking powder and salt. Using a fork, work the shortening into the flour mixture until entirely blended--- you should have a result that resembles coarse crumbs. Next, pour in half of the milk and blend well. Assess the consistency. You will want dough that is able to be rolled out. Pour in anywhere from 1/2 to all of the remaining half cup of milk (I usually use all f it, but sometimes I use a bit less, hence the range). Once milk is blended completely into the mix, THEN add the vinegar and only mix until worked into the dough. Let it rest for 2 minutes.

Form the dough into a large ball and place on top of a large piece of parchment paper. Place a second piece of parchment paper on top and roll the dough out evenly to be around 1/4 inch or just slightly thicker. Using a juice glass or biscuit cutter (or for fun, shaped cookie cutters!) cut out biscuits and place onto prepared baking sheet. Continue to roll out dough and cut out biscuits until all of the dough has been used.

optional: You can glaze these biscuits for a nice effect. All you need is

1 part honey
1 part safe oil
1 part safe milk

You may want to warm up the glaze mixture in the microwave slightly, just so the honey blends easily with the oil and milk. Blend with a spoon and lightly brush onto tops of unbaked biscuits.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until nicely golden brown on tops. The thinner biscuits will take less time, thicker ones will take longer. If you like salty things like B does, you may want to sprinkle salt over top of the biscuits when they come out of the oven.

Do these freeze well?  Yes, they do! I prefer to freeze the uncooked dough.

What I will do is roll out the dough and cut it completely into biscuits. Then, I bake the biscuits I want for that day and freeze the rest. To freeze the pre-cut, uncooked biscuits, i simply place them between layers of parchment or freezer paper and freeze them in a covered freezer container. If you are tight on freezer space, once they have been frozen in the container, you can transfer them to freezer bags to store in a smaller space.

When ready to bake the frozen biscuits,  use the same instructions that I described above in terms of temperature and pan preparation. Your time for cooking may vary slightly so you may want to keep a closer eye on this.

FPIES Frustration = New Cookie Recipe

New frustrations have arisen in addition to our regular batch of FPIES issues. At five years old and with no end to this parade of allergy nonsense in sight, I have decided to work on one thing in my control. For all that B deals with everyday, at least I can give the girl more cookies. And since we are decent sharers at our house, well, most of the time. . . we are sharing this with you! From our kitchen to yours, join us in drowning your frustrations in cookies if you can!

Top 8 free, FPIES common trigger free, and completely and deliciously unhealthy.

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies
1 cup sorghum flour (or quinoa flour/millet flour/other safe flour)
1/2 quinoa flakes (or quinoa flour/millet flakes/rolled oats/amaranth flakes/etc)
1/2 cup baking cocoa (we use Hershey's)
1/3-1/2 cup sugar (depending on preference)
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
5 Tbsp sunflower seed butter (or other safe nut/seed butter OR coconut manna)
3 Tbsp shortening (We use palm. You could use a safe butter or coconut oil here)
1/2 cup safe milk (we use coconut)
1 Tbsp vanilla (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips (we use Enjoy Life brand)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease a brownie pan if making bar cookies. This recipe will make: 2 1/2 dozen medium to large size cookies OR 1 13x9 pan of bar cookies OR 2 8inch circle pans of bar cookies.

In a large bowl, combine flour, flakes, cocoa and baking powder. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, sunflower seed butter, shortening and vanilla.

Blend sugar mixture into flour mixture. Once well blended, add milk and chocolate chips.

For an easier time rolling cookies into balls, you may want to refrigerate the dough for an hour or two. If you simply cannot wait that long (like those in our house, haha), you can scoop the balls unto the pan with a cookie scooper or use your hands to roll into balls. Just be aware that it gets a bit messy! The dough here is similar to a traditional peanut butter cookie dough--- you will need to squish each ball down into proper "cookie formation" just as you would if you were making traditional peanut butter cookies (this recipe is nut free of course-- just using this as a point of reference!)

If making bars, simply smooth into prepared pans.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Allow to completely cool before cutting bars or eating cookies. Enjoy!

Coffee Cake Follow Up-- Fancy, Big Girl Style

Last week I gave you B's new muffin recipe. Well, sometimes, you may be craving something a bit more than muffins! So today we will talk about how easy it is to turn this muffin recipe (and many other muffin recipes) into a coffee cake version for more of an adult presentation.

To start, like all of these recipes, this is a version of something that looks and for the most part tastes like a coffee cake. This may not be like the ones you buy at the store but it is close!

The first step is altering the initial recipe. For the sake of ease, let's use last week's recipe which is here. You really do not have to do much, in fact you don't have to change it at all. But in my opinion (take that for what it is, haha), there are a few things that you can do to make this more like a traditional coffee cake.

One thing you can do is, instead of just using a cup of unaltered berries, is to dice them into small pieces (even the blueberries-- I cut them into fourths), put them in a separate bowl, add 2 Tbsp of white sugar/cane sugar, blend, and let them sit in the fridge for an hour or so before starting the rest of the recipe. When you prepare the recipe, simply add this mixture instead of unaltered berries. OR, for better results, you could cook this mixture (berry mixture) down in a saucepan until it becomes more like a syrup and then when you get to the spot in the recipe for the berries, add the syrup that you made.

The other thing you can do, either by itself or in addition to the alteration above, is to add a coffee cake-like topping. This is super easy and adds a nice sweet crumb topping. All you need is 4 parts brown sugar (or coconut sugar) to 4 parts flour to 3 parts shortening (or butter, or coconut oil or coconut manna).

Translation for this recipe?

In a small bowl, blend:
4 Tbsp brown sugar (same thing as 1/4 cup)
4 Tbsp of safe flour
3 Tbsp of shortening (I used palm)

The mixture should be crumb-like. Once ingredients are blended together, set aside. Prepare the rest of your recipe according to the instructions and pour into prepared pan. Ensure that the to of batter is relatively smooth. Using your fingers, sprinkle crumbs over top of batter until entire top is completely covered. Bake according to original recipe instructions. You may want to peek in on it a bit more frequently to ensure that the topping does not burn. If the topping does start to appear like it will burn before the cake is done, you can do a few different things. (1) make sure that the cake is closest to the center of the oven and the top isn't too close to the heating element, (2) cover the cake with foil (being careful not to disturb the topping), (3) decrease the oven temperature and increase your baking time to correspond.

You could also do these alterations and simply keep the recipe as muffins. I decided to make a coffee cake version because it had been five years since I had one of those yummy bakery coffee cakes and for whatever reason, I woke up with a craving and decided I was going to make one. ;) Enjoy your "adult" Sunday breakfast treat and if you can have coffee with your coffee cake, drink an extra cup for B, C, and I!!

Berries for Breakfast

As many of you can relate I am sure, getting our kiddos to eat can often be a struggle. Between normal age and stage pickiness and all of the issues that arise from reaction pain/anxieties, it can seem like an impossibility at times to get through three meals a day.

Slowly, B has been eating less and less and is now at the point where she is refusing breakfast 5 of  days a week, entirely. I told her that I would make her whatever she wanted if she would start trying to eat and she decided on berry muffins. Happily, an easy choice! This is what I came up with:

B's Merry Berry Muffins
1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes (or amaranth flakes, millet flakes, or rolled oats)
1 cup sorghum flour (or corn flour, or wheat flour, or millet flour, etc)
1/2 cup sugar (I used brown sugar but coconut sugar would be yummy)
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
4 Tbsp sunflower seed butter or safe nut/seed butter (or coconut manna/butter!)
2 Tbsp palm shortening (or safe nut/seed butter, or coconut manna/butter)
1/4 cup safe oil (we use canola)
2 Tbsp honey/maple syrup/coconut nectar
1 - 1 1/2 cups safe milk (we use coconut)
2 Tbsp coconut vinegar (or other safe vinegar)
1 Tbsp vanilla (OPTIONAL)
1/2 - 1 full cup finely diced berries of choice (1/2 cup was fine for us)

Makes 36 mini muffins and one 4x6 coffee cake (for coffee cake recipe, stay tuned for next week. There are some alterations here) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare 36 mini muffin cups (approx 12 regular sized muffins).

In a medium bowl, combine flours and baking powder. Add in sugar and blend well. Add oil, then shortening and sunflower seed butter. Pour in the honey. Mix all ingredients well and then blend in the coconut milk until mixture is well blended. Add berries!

Combine vanilla into mixture completely. Add vinegar and mix JUST until blended in.

Using a small cookie scoop or Tablespoon, scoop spoonfuls of batter into each muffin cup, filling each 3/4 to completely full. Bake in a 375 F oven for 10-15 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and spring back when you poke them gently.

These may look done but feel a bit soft when you poke them in the center. Still, remove them from the oven and keep them in the pan as they sit on top of your stove to cool. They should set up just fine.

Next week, I'll give you the scoop on how to do a few quick alterations and to create a beautiful coffee cake to have for the more adult presentation, in case you are getting sick of muffins ;).

Version 2.0-- Cornbread

A new version with a touch more nutrients and with a bit more of a moist texture! Enjoy!

Corny Preschooler Cornbread Ver. 2.0
2 cups masa (corn flour)
1 1/4cup dry polenta mix
3/4cup quinoa flakes
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 3/4cup coconut milk (or other safe milk)
1 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp honey/maple syrup/coconut nectar/corn syrup
3 Tbsp coconut vinegar (or other safe vinegar)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare your pans--- eitehr use muffin liners for muffins or lightly oil a glass or metal baking dish. This recipe will make about 20 corn muffins or two 8inch circle pans of corn bread. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Once blended, add oil, milk, and honey. Blend well. Immediately before pouring batter into pans, add vinegar and mix until just blended. Pour batter into pans, filling until about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golen brown and firm on top. Enjoy!

Roadtrip Raspberry Breakfast Muffins

A quick one! Without the figs, they are B safe. We shall see if the figs are C safe, though we have had good luck with non-citrus fruits!

Roadtrip Muffins!
1 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
7/8 cup (14 Tbsp) sorghum flour
1/8 cup (2 Tbsp) millet flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar/coconut sugar/maple sugar
2 Tbsp honey/maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup coconut milk/safe milk
1 tsp vanilla (opt)
1 Tbsp coconut vinegar

1/2 cup mixed berries/berry of choice
OR
1/4 cup sliced figs and 1/4 cup chopped raspberries/blackberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 10 regular size muffin cups with papers. Mix all dry ingredients well with pastry blender. Add in honey, oil, milk and vanilla. Blend well until everything is mixed in evenly. Last, add the vinegar and stir until just blended-- do not overstir! It will get a little puffy and this is good! Fold in berries.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full--- these do not rise like wheat-based muffins. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm and slightly golden brown. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack. Enjoy on the road or when someone brings you breakfast in bed. Here's hoping, right? Happy baking!

Elimination Diet Update and a Powerful New Recipe

Well, I have re-emerged from the puke and poop to post an update! I am happy to report that I *think* (watch me curse myself) that I have managed to control the more severe of C's reactions to my milk. Projectile poop as of two days ago has stopped, multiple puking moments have been curtailed, and her spit up has even decreased a little (added bonus!). She is also having more moments of being engaging, rather than being more despondent (within the realm of normal newborn of course!). We are still dealing with a lot of the silent reflux and can't seem to get that under control with diet changes and lifestyle changes (positioning, etc), so I am hoping we can figure that out a bit better soon.

My diet is the same as B's right now, without potatoes/mango, with salmon, green beans and the occasional red peppers (weird right?!). I have so very much respect for all of those TED mamas out there-- it is tricky being limited for sure! But at least I have some options, albeit tricky and needing to be homemade ones.

So today, in the wake of B's latest formula fail and our constant hunt for protein in her diet, I decided to yet again read labels and create something yummy that we could both eat daily that might help boost our collective protein intake (I have always been at my best on a low protein, high carb diet, so I kind of struggle with protein as well). This is super easy and dangerously tasty. I think it would be even better with melted chocolate on top, but hey-- that is me! I kind of think EVERYTHING is better with melted chocolate on top, but really, don't you all agree?

5 Ingredient (plus baking chemicals) Protein Power Granola Bars
1/3 cup quinoa flakes
1-2 Tbsp sorghum/millet/other flour (I used sorghum to get the protein amount)
2 Tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp baking powder (soda would be fine here too)
1/2 Tbsp coconut milk
pinch of salt
dash of vanilla (opt)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Then blend in sunflower seed butter, honey, coconut milk and vanilla with a fork. Once well blended, press mixture into a prepared, greased glass dish. It should cover a 4x4 area, roughly, making four 1x4 granola bars. Bake for 12 minutes until edges are brown. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Slice when cool with a very sharp knife and enjoy!!! This entire recipe contains 10-12 grams of protein (with the sorghum version), according to the labels.

The Preschool Snack Pack

My baby B that you have all grown to know and love since she was a mere 10 months or so old is going to be a big preschool girl in the fall. My goodness, how the time has flown! We are so thrilled to have found a great preschool to send her to-- a Montessori school, my personal favorite in the realm of early childhood teaching methods! On top of the Montessori structure being a great match for my little explorer, they are also knowledgeable about food allergies and very willing to work with us to help B to have fun, educational, SAFE days!

The preschool provides snack for all of the small ones, but we are permitted to bring B's from home due to her restrictions. If you haven't been keeping track, she is top 8 free, FPIES common trigger free, vegan, free of several fruits and many more veggies, and also reacts to a handful of other things, such as cinnamon and latex (latex does not produce an FPIES response for her, of course). All in all, she has about 32 known trigger foods and about 19 safe foods/baking ingredients (like honey, etc). So if you have a little one in day care, preschool, etc with a lot of restrictions as well, it is my hope that maybe by us sharing our ideas for B's preschool snack packs, then perhaps you will also be able to use some of these ideas for your own little explorers. This will be yet another category on the blog-- so many subheadings!-- but I think it will be a very worthwhile one! I hope you enjoy!

To kick things off, here is a top ten list of snack pack ideas from some favorite websites and blogs!

Preschooler B's Top 10 Snack Pack Ideas for Preschool
1. Butterfly snack bags My MIL sent this link to me and I absolutely love this idea! It isn't a snack itself, but an awesome and fun way to package a snack for lunch boxes, snack packs, or party favors. Thanks, Gram, for the great idea!

2. Crackers  This is a great recipe for crackers-- you can mix and match a nice combination of flours/starches/seeds-- it is extremely versatile. The version I make for B uses quinoa flakes, sorghum flour, millet flour and arrowroot starch (and I also throw in a few tablespoons of honey--- a recipe can always use more honey, haha). She loves the crackers cut into shapes (I use bento box cookie cutters that I bought in Japan at the 100yen stores since they are small) and then made into sandwiches with sunflower seed butter inside.

3. Bento Boxes: Sometimes it is all about the packaging! I will be sewing a little snack pack bag for B when preschool starts, and in that bag, one of the many bentos that we bought in Japan will be filled with her treats.

4. Granola Bars: We have a few recipes on this blog for these-- fruit bars, sweet bars, protein-packed squares. What I love most about these, is they are very easy to grab and go--- you don't even have to defrost them before tossing them in the bag to go out and about. Perfect for preschoolers!

5. Fruit Salad and granola: Any combo of fruit is great, but I find that berries hold up a bit better than some other fruits. Pair a berry salad with a few tablespoons of sweet quinoa granola and you have a healthy and sweet snack to give those tiny feet extra energy to run around!

6. Yogurt Parfait: A variation of number 5, simply layer homemade coconut yogurt (I use a variation of this recipe), quinoa granola (see above), and fruit of choice. I prefer glass jars that I found on amazon, but these look like some great plastic jars. And of course, include a fun spoon/utensils!

7. Fruit Slices and Sunflower Seed Butter: This requires a bit of help from the preschool staff, as you don't want the slices to get brown and yucky before eating (If your LO is safe with lemon, you can always use lemon juice to preserve the color of sliced apples and pears. B reacts pretty severely to lemon, so not an option for her). We will send a pear, utensils needed to peel and slice it, and a little cup of sunflower seed butter (bento box to the rescue once more!).

8. Muffins and scones: There is a large assortment of these on this blog! And a nice addition in a snack pack with one of these baked goods is a tiny cup of sunflower seed butter, coconut manna (softened), maple syrup or honey.

9. Fruity Friends: Using colorful plastic lollipop sticks (you can find these at your local craft or baking store), skewer bite size chunks of fruits together. Depending on the fruit and on how industrious you are feeling, you can use fun cookie cutters to make the fruits into fun themed shapes. I like a combo of pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and mango. Again, dipping sauce is always fun! I like a softened coconut manna or honey for this variety! In choosing fruit, keep in mind fruits that will retain their shape and color well, like berries, melons, some citrus, ans so on.

10. Jello Fruit Salad: If gelatin is safe, I really don't need to explain this one for you! Simply make the jello of your choice and stir a selection of fruit into the liquid before it gels. For those of you like us needing to avoiding gelatin, you can make this treat too, just with a bit of extra effort using agar agar. Simply select a fruit juice that is safe (we like Ceres brand mango juice) and cook in a saucepan with agar agar flakes on the stove top. You will need to make the juice pretty darn hot in order to break down the flakes but once the flakes have dissolved, you can pour the liquid into bowls/tupperware type cups (that can have lids). You will want the fruit to be already in the bowls before pouring in the liquid-- agar agar starts to set up rather quickly. Cover the bowls and refrigerate until ready to go! I like the ziploc brand 1/2cup lidded plastic containers. Perfect size for these kiddos! For instructions on navigating agar agar use, check out PETA's site.

Enjoy and please feel free to share your own favorites! We will be adding new ones throughout the fall!

Fancy Grilled "Cheese" DF/SF/EF/Vegan and E-Z!

It isn't a super wild and crazy recipe but it is pretty darn tasty. First, a word about Daiya---- these are faux cheeses. Be sure to read the ingredients in each of the three varieties-- you can get pepperjack, mozzarella, or cheddar. Pea protein, and tapioca starch are the red flags for us over here in regards to B--- when they list the starch it is one of those "arrowroot or tapioca starch" ingredient labels so just be aware!

Fancy Grilled "Cheese"
Shredded Daiya "cheese" in cheddar
Shredded Daiya "cheese" in mozzarella
Long-cut portobella mushroom slices (slices should be length of the bread)
Safe bread (I use a simple french bread recipe that contains whole wheat, yeast and olive oil)
Safe oil or earth's best coconut spread
Caramelized onions (optional)

Prepare your onions (if using them) and mushrooms. Heat a medium skillet over low to medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil or coconut spread to the pan and allow to melt.

Place one slice of bread on a microwave safe plate and add desired cheese to the top. I used 1 part mozzarella and two parts cheddar. A little goes a long way! Nuke the bread with the "cheese" for a few seconds in the microwave--- essentially just until it starts to melt. If you are a master at flipping grilled cheese with shredded cheese in between the bread, you may not need to worry about this step. But since I lost about half of my cheese in the pan when I chose not to melt it a bit in advance, I will be melting from now on.

Place bread with melted cheese on top in the center of the skillet. Add mushrooms and/or onions to the top of the melty cheese. Place another slice of bread on top of the first. After a few minutes of cooking (depends on how your burners run), flip your sandwich over and toast the other side of the bread. Your sandwich is ready when both sides are a nice golden brown and a touch crispy!

And zesty is only my middle name. . .

I have been eating a lot of produce lately. A LOT. This will likely continue to some extent throughout the summer. As any of you mamas on elim diets know, fresh produce (that is safe!) tends to fill the majority of the shopping cart on grocery day (and takes up the majority of the grocery bill! Ouch!). Because I have been looking for a bit more zest in my life, I decided to make a veggie dip. Here it is!

Very Veggie Dip
1 cup safe mayo (spectrum makes a DF/SF variety)
1/2-3/4 cup of safe mustard (I used Chardonnay Dijon)
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
1 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves
1 tsp sage
1-2 pinches of celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix mayo and mustard together in a small bowl. Add in spices and blend. Chill and serve (or eat immediately with whatever crudities you can scavenge out of the fridge or garden).

The perk of chilling it in the fridge is that it allows flavors to meld a bit better. You can also play around with adding in honey and/or lemon juice for a bit of extra flavor. This works well as a potato salad or pasta salad dressing also!

Not So Chilly Chili

Technically, I believe that you can't really call this chili, since it has beans and it is meat free. Apparently, "real" chili contains meat and no beans. That said, this is my version of chili-- safe for my current elim diet but also it is top 8 free, vegan and almost FPIES common trigger free (depends if you include this type of legumes in the legumes listed on the common triggers). This is wonderful served with Corny Preschooler Corn Bread in the previous post. It also freezes well and would be a lovely filler for bread bowls and/or stuffed veggies (like stuffed bell peppers). Makes 3-4 generous servings and freezes well:

Hot Mama Chili
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain) with green chilies (I like these)
1 can chili beans (do not drain)
1 can refried beans (I used refried black beans)
2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 cups diced baby bella mushrooms
1/4 of a large sweet onion, diced
3 small bell peppers (I used yellow, orange and red), seeded and diced
4-6 cloves of garlic, depending on preference
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cocoa powder (opt)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup uncooked quinoa, prepared in a separate pot according to package directions

Bring one cup of quinoa with two cups of water to a boil in a medium, covered saucepan. Once boiling, reduce heat and allow to simmer until all moisture is absorbed. Once water is absorbed, remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare mushrooms, garlic, onion, and peppers. In a large saucepan or medium sized stockpot, add 1/2cup of oil and bring to medium low heat. Add in veggies and spices; saute on med to med low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon/wooden spatula. Once oil has been absorbed, add in water, chili beans, refried beans, and tomatoes. Add in cocoa, honey and brown sugar. Stir all ingredients until well blended and cover pot, continuing to simmer for about 30 minutes (add more water if water cooks off). After 30 minutes, add in cooked quinoa. Stir and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, again, adding liquid as needed and additional spices to taste. Once flavors have been well blended, serve with cornbread, in bread bowls, or in large whole roasted peppers.

For Hot Daddy Chili:
Follow recipe above. Add to entire pot of chili or to separate serving bowls:

In a separate skillet on low-medium heat, brown 1 diced garlic clove in two tablespoons of olive oil. For each person that will be eating the non-vegan version of this chili, add half a pound of ground buffalo, half a pound of bacon, and the insides of one large Italian sausage. Cook meat in the skillet until done and until all oil has been absorbed. Drain fat, dice the cooked bacon, and add all meats to either the entire chili pot or in separate portions to individual bowls of prepared chili.

Corny Preschooler Corn Bread

As much as I wish I could claim this recipe completely as my own, I cannot. The recipe below is an adaptation of this recipe. I simply made it gluten free, FPIES common trigger free, and changed a few other ingredients. Here is what I used for B's dinner tonight and I warn you, it is super good. I prefer it to the other corn bread I made for N and I. B's recipe as follows:

Corny Preschooler Corn Bread
1 cup dry polenta mix
1 cup masa (or other safe flour. Millet would work very well here)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup coconut milk (or other safe milk)
1/2 cup canola oil (or other safe oil)
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut vinegar (or other vinegar)
1 Tbsp honey/coconut nectar/maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 or 9 inch circular cake pan (or use a muffin tin and papers!). In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Blend well with pastry blender. Add in oil, vinegar and honey--- blend well with pastry blender. Once mixture looks pebbly, pour in milk and mix until well-blended.

Pour mixture into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 F or until top becomes golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Flip onto wire rack to cool outside of the pan. Slice like a pie once cool and enjoy!!! I like to put a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup on top of B's-- my mom used to make cornbread this way and serve it for breakfast. She called it "Johnny Cake" and now so does my girl. :)

Amaranth Stew-- Top 8 free, FPIES common trigger free

Ok, a new elimination diet recipe! This one is top 8 free, FPIES common trigger free, and can be vegan (my version was, N's was not). I did however serve this with whole wheat flatbread (the stew is free of the top 8, the wheat flatbread was homemade and just wheat ingredients) but I will put other more allergen friendly options at the end of the recipe. This was pretty tasty and I expect it to freeze very well. You might want to add a little bit more spice-- I am pretty sure I will next time around. All in all, it was a good outcome for a bunch of things I randomly started throwing into a pot (my very refined style of cooking) once I realized I didn't have anything I wanted for dinner.

Amaranth Stew
1 cup uncooked amaranth + 3 cups water
2 Tbsp olive oil (or other safe oil-- I bet safflower would be a tasty option)
1 bouillon cube (I like this one but you can always make your own)
1 14oz can beans, drained and rinsed, OR 1 1/2 cups beans (purchased dry, soaked overnight in water, drained)*
1/4-1/2 cup Diced Tomatoes OR Salsa (I used this one)
2 small garlic cloves, finely diced
1/4 tsp ground black peppercorns
2-4 small red and orange peppers, diced
5 medium potatoes, diced
Additional spices as desired
Flatbread for serving

For the non-vegans:
1-2lbs skinlesss boneless chicken breast, pan cooked in olive oil and diced**

In a large saucepan or small stockpot, bring the amaranth to a boil in the three cups of water with the bouillon cube and garlic. Cover pot with a lid, reduce heat to simmer. Stir periodically throughout the stew making process in order to keep amaranth from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If water is fully absorbed before stew is ready, add 1-2 additional cups of water.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans. If using dry beans, you will need to soak these for 24 hrs in advance of beginning your stew. Add beans and olive oil to the simmering amaranth. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix well.

Add the diced tomatoes/salsa. Depending on your tastes, you may wish to add more or less. Add the pepper and any additional desired spices.

Clean, seed and dice the peppers and peel and dice the potatoes. Add both to the mixture, again stirring well.

If using chicken or other meat--- rinse and pat the raw meat dry with paper towels. If frozen, defrost before rinsing. Cut meat into 1 inch pieces. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil (or other preferred oil) to skillet heated at medium heat. Add meat and pan cook until done. Add to individual servings or add to the stock pot, depending on how many people will be eating the non-vegan version. I added N's to his bowl once I served the stew.

Allow the stew to simmer for at least the total of one hour from start to finish, at least long enough for potatoes to be soft but not falling apart. Remember to stir periodically during the process, adding liquid as necessary.

Serve with flatbread--- the stew will actually be thick enough to spread over flatbread. If needing a top 8, easy to make option, this millet flatbread is a great choice.

Dairy and Soy Free Potato Salad

Well, the summer weather is somehow upon us in our New England home (but wait. .  .isn't it March?!) and my husband broke out the grill tonight! For B this meant a little foil packet of broccoli mixed with pineapple slices, a touch of canola, salt and honey (sounds odd but is super tasty). For me, this meant a salmon (hooray!) and summer squash foil packet; for N this meant a bison, bacon and cheese burger times two. For N and I, I also made potato salad and it turned out very well so I though I would share it with you!

Summer Mama Potato Salad
1 cup dairy free/soy free mayo
1/4 cup safe mustard (I used dijon)
4 hard boiled eggs (optional), sliced
5 medium red potatoes, cleaned, sliced and boiled with skins
1/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced mixed sweet peppers
1 small sweet onion, finely diced (optional)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Cook potatoes until tender but not falling apart, and hard-boil the eggs. Drain, and set aside to cool. While eggs and potatoes are cooling, dice 2-4 small sweet peppers (I like using different colors), 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, and a small onion. In a small bowl, mix the spices.

In a medium to large bowl, mix together mustard and mayo until well-blended. Add spices and again, blend well. Next, toss in potatoes, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Blend well. Add eggs and stir until all ingredients are well mixed. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hr or more. Serve with summer picnic food and enjoy!

Top 8 Free, Rice Free, Oat Free Mac and Cheese

Mama Safe Easy Peasy Mac and Cheese
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3 cups coconut (or other safe) milk
1 can diced tomatoes (seasoned or unseasoned)
2 cups boiled, mashed squash OR golden beets
1 small sweet onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella cheese (opt)
1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar cheese (opt)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4tsp black pepper

1 lb of quinoa/corn pasta (or other safe pasta; I used Ancient Harvest)

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add in milk, then vegetables and onion. Combine all ingredients well in the bowl. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and immediately add to bowl with "cheese" ingredients. Pour into dishes for baking (I line mine with foil) and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. If preparing for freezer food, divide into foil-lined casserole dishes, cover with lids or press and seal, and then freeze. Once frozen, remove from dishes (foil with help food maintain the shape of the dishes) and place in label freezer bags for storage in freezer. Now your dishes are free to use again and you have more space in your freezer!

Sunflower Seed Butter Ice Cream Sauce

While making the Quinoa Granola recipe for B today, I made a little bit of a modification and ended up with a super yummy sauce that doubles as an ice cream sauce. Since every Sunday night is "Ice Cream Sunday Night" around here, this will be perfect for this weekend.


Sunflower Seed Butter Ice Cream Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
6 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat on medium heat until boiling. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly before adding to ice cream sundae of choice.

Pizza Crust/ Flatbread (Dairy/Soy/Egg/Rice/Oat Free)

Pizza Crust/ Herb Flatbread
4 1/2cups flour (either flour blend or whole wheat)
1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast
1 1/2tsp salt
1 3/4cup warm water (between 110-115 degrees F to activate yeast)
2 Tbsp safe oil

For Flatbread:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2tsp sage
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp safe oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a large bowl with safe oil.

In a second bowl (preferably with a stand mixer or mixer with dough hook), combine flour, salt, and yeast. Add warm water and oil. Knead by hand or knead with a dough hook until a soft, smooth ball is formed. Place ball in the oiled bowl, cover the dough (not the bowl) with saran wrap, then punch the dough down once. Cover the bowl with a linen towel and place in a warm place (I use the top of the oven while it is preheating) to rise for 75 minutes.

Cover a cookie sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper OR lightly oil the surface and spread cornmeal overtop of the oil.

Once risen, place dough on a lightly floured surface. Place parchment paper on top of the dough, roll to desired thickness with rolling pin (aim to fit the shape of the pan you will be baking it in). Place dough in pan, stretch to fit as needed.

For pizza, you can either make one large pizza (will fill a large cookie sheet) or two smaller pizzas. Divide dough before rolling. Once dough is in pan/pans, add sauce and toppings. Brush oil and (if desired) mixed herbs on the edges. Bake until cheese is melted and crust becomes golden brown.

For flatbread, stretch dough to fit pan. Brush oil lightly over top of the dough. Sprinkle garlic and herb mix over top of the oiled dough. Puncture dough with fork in several places. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until dough is golden brown. Serve with either a marinara or a nomato sauce for dipping, or simply with warm oil. This can also be used for sandwiches or, you can make a few variations and create a homemade garlic bread (this will be my next project).

Enjoy! I had to put the flatbread in my chest freezer quickly (I individually wrapped pieces measuring about 2inches by 4inches with press and seal and placed them in freezer bags for easy single servings and quick reheating) because this was FAR too tasty to sit out on the countertop.

Elimination Diet on the Horizon and Multipurpose Fudge in my Fridge

So if you have been following along, I am on the cusp of the beginning to my elimination diet. It will be easy-ish to start--- just all forms of rice, dairy and soy (including oil and lecithin). My hat is off to all of you mamas eliminating far far more! We are also celebrating B's third birthday this weekend. I currently have several pans of  our favorite chocolate cake in the oven-- it will be transformed into a 3D frog in the AM. Yes, I am just that crazy. But yes, my love for my daughter is equally as large as my degree of crazy.

That said, we did have a prelim birthday celebration last weekend when my parents were in town. Easy peasy, I thought, I'll make a circle cake and cut it out like a lily pad, placing homemade chocolate frogs on top (frogs are all the rage around our house). Yum right?! Well, my mom and I love to talk and I wasn't paying attention when making the chocolate frogs and the chocolate didn't solidify like it should have. . .  I didn't add enough chips and accidentally altered the other ingredients. However, something very beautiful came out of the ordeal (as we sometimes are lucky enough to find with allergy friendly cooking)---- ganache and fudge. Two things that I hold very dear to my heart.

In fact, it had been several years since I made a ganache (at that time, it was deliberate--- trying to impress my now husband with a homemade valentine's dinner) and this was quite the surprise. When I made the chocolate, I made a huge batch and ran out of candy molds and silicone cupcake molds to pour the chocolate into, so being the cheapskate that I am (allergy friendly ingredients are WAY to expensive to simply wash down the drain), I spread the remaining chocolate over top of the chocolate cake I had make B. When it was time for the chocolate frogs to come out of the freezer, I was disappointed to find them not hard but rather the consistency of firm fudge-- not very conducive to getting them out of the molds easily! I was quite annoyed with myself but then the cake was served (I frosted over top of the chocolate with green pseudo buttercream frosting). And then I cut into it. And it was ridiculously good! So good, that I in fact plan on replicating my mistake. When I removed the chocolate from the silicone molds, I realized I had produced heart shaped fudge (with coconut centers--- I never do anything plain around here!). So the mistake turned into a purely delicious and very easy recipe, that after my long winded story, I will now pass along to you and your small ones that harbor a sweet tooth or two. This recipe can be used as a ganache or fudge--- if you spread it over top of a cake, it makes the frosting process much easier, as it provides a smooth firm surface to frost on top of.

Fancy Big Girl Ganache/Fudge
2 Bags Enjoy Life Chocolate chips (20oz total)
1/2 cup coconut milk (or other safe milk)
1/4 cup spectrum palm oil shortening (or safe butter or coconut manna)
1 Tbsp vanilla (optional-- you could also experiment with other extracts for fun)

On medium to medium low heat, melt chocolate and shortening while constantly stirring. Once smooth, add in the milk. When consistency has thinned out to be easily poured, add vanilla and turn off heat. Finish mixing in the vanilla.

For fudge, pour into prepared pan/silicone molds. If using metal or glass pans, you will want to grease them first with shortening or oil. If using silicone molds, there is no need to grease. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or for best results, overnight. You can have a little bit of fun by layering fillings in between the chocolate, like coconut or any safe nuts/seeds/dried fruits that your child/yourself enjoy. All you need to do is fill the pan/mold halfway with chocolate, add the filling, and then pour additional chocolate on top to cover.

For ganache, pour the chocolate overtop of the prepared cake prior to frosting. Spread evenly with a knife while still hot. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Frost when solid or serve as is, perhaps with a little bit of whipped cream.

I never said my elimination diet recipes would all be healthy. I hope you and yours enjoy these delights and please stay tuned for pictures of B's frog cake--- coming soon!

Corn Tortillas

Here is a simple explanation of how to make tortillas, simply using masa, water and a touch of oil to grease your skillet.

Corn Tortillas
1/4 cup masa (a form of corn flour made with chemical lime to ease digestion)
2-4Tbsp water
1 Tbsp oil

Heat oil in a non stick skillet over medium low heat. In a small bowl, add masa. Slowly add water one tablespoon at a time until you have achieved a dough that is playdoh consistency. Knead the dough until smooth and pliable. Roll out between parchment paper until tortilla thinness. Cut into shapes if desired or form into a large circle. Cook shapes in the pan-- turn occasionally. When the dough begins to bubble and brown slightly, your tortillas are done. I make small fun shapes for B and occasionally add food coloring for extra fun!

Enjoy!