So as we have enjoyed summer, I have had a little time to try some more experiments. I really am enjoying this cooking adventure more and more. I have also truly realized that I am bothered by soy and egg. If I eat it now after not having it for several months, my intestines really throw a fit! Now I can understand better how Taylor feels. I am grateful for the access we have to other ingredients so that making this change in how we eat is an easier process than if we would live in other countries.
We took a short stay-cation over in the mountains up Big Cottonwood Canyon at the Brighton Ski Resort. It was a glorious two day vacation that was full of fun, laughter, relaxation, and the beauties of this world. It was very good for my spirit and I felt ready to accomplish the tasks awaiting me back at home. My family means everything to me and I treasure those brief days we had to bond without the worries of chores and places to be.
My hope with this blog is that it helps someone start on their way a bit easier than I felt my journey of cooking for a family with allergies has been. I love to cook and have enjoyed learning new ways to cook delicious food. I love desserts, so this blog might end up being heavy on the desserts, but I hope that I can create a substantial recipe base for all types of food. So, on we go on this great journey to feed ourselves with joy!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
2 C. flour
1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 C. milk
2 TBSP ground flaxseed + 4-5 TBSP water
6 TBSP butter, melted
Topping
1/2 C. flour
1/4 C brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 TBSP slightly softened butter(microwave 60 seconds on 10% power, flipping half way through is just about right)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients(first 5). Then add milk, flaxseed + water, and melted butter. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Place in muffin wrapers in muffin tins. If you don't have muffin wrappers, then grease the muffin tins first.
Mix topping together by cutting butter into other ingredients, using your hands actually works best. Put about 1 TBSP topping per each muffin.
Makes 12 muffins. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Delicious!
1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 C. milk
2 TBSP ground flaxseed + 4-5 TBSP water
6 TBSP butter, melted
Topping
1/2 C. flour
1/4 C brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 TBSP slightly softened butter(microwave 60 seconds on 10% power, flipping half way through is just about right)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients(first 5). Then add milk, flaxseed + water, and melted butter. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Place in muffin wrapers in muffin tins. If you don't have muffin wrappers, then grease the muffin tins first.
Mix topping together by cutting butter into other ingredients, using your hands actually works best. Put about 1 TBSP topping per each muffin.
Makes 12 muffins. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Delicious!
Crockpot Chili
1 1/2 lbs extra lean hamburger, cooked and drained
1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 can diced green chilies
2 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
26 oz beef stock (OR 20 oz beef broth + 5 oz homemade chicken stock)
4 cans tomato sauce
2 TBSP worchestershire sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP cumin
3-4 dashes cayenne pepper
Brown hamburger, sausage, onion until cooked and onion is tender. Add minced garlic and stir 30 seconds until fragrant. Place in crockpot. Add all other ingredients and stir. Cook on high 1 hour and then low for 6 hours. This recipe has a lot of "sauce" to it. If you want a thicker sauce, then you can reduce the liquid or add some cornstarch mixed with cold water at the end. Serve with chips and cheese or whatever you would like. This recipe is also mild. If you want more spice, more veggies, more meat etc..make it the way you like! This is how my kids like it.:)
1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 can diced green chilies
2 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
26 oz beef stock (OR 20 oz beef broth + 5 oz homemade chicken stock)
4 cans tomato sauce
2 TBSP worchestershire sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP cumin
3-4 dashes cayenne pepper
Brown hamburger, sausage, onion until cooked and onion is tender. Add minced garlic and stir 30 seconds until fragrant. Place in crockpot. Add all other ingredients and stir. Cook on high 1 hour and then low for 6 hours. This recipe has a lot of "sauce" to it. If you want a thicker sauce, then you can reduce the liquid or add some cornstarch mixed with cold water at the end. Serve with chips and cheese or whatever you would like. This recipe is also mild. If you want more spice, more veggies, more meat etc..make it the way you like! This is how my kids like it.:)
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Whole Chicken and Chicken Broth in the crockpot
This recipe was a little intimidating to me because I had never before bought a whole chicken and cooked it, let alone make homemade broth. But this was surprisingly easy(crock pot does most of the work) and very delicious!
1 whole chicken(I bought frozen and let thaw in fridge for 2-3 days)
5-6 cups of hot water(mine would only hold 5 cups)
2 stalks of celery, rinsed and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
1/4-1/2 onion, chopped
1 TBSP parsley
1/2 TBSP peppercorns
1 tsp Real Salt
3-4 dashes poultry seasoning
1. Chop all vegetables and place in bottom of crock pot.
2. Sprinkle all seasonings over vegetables.
3. Rinse chicken and place on top of vegetables.
4. Pour hot water into crockpot.
5. Cook on low overnight(about 9-10 hours).
6. In the morning, take out chicken, be careful because it is so tender it falls apart(Use it for soup or any recipe that calls for chicken). Take all the meat off the bones and then put the bones back into the crockpot with the broth.
7. Continue to cook the broth and bones all day about 10-11 hours.
8. Turn crockpot off and ladle broth, veggies and bone into a strainer over a large glass bowl. You want a strainer with very small holes. When broth is all strained into the large bowl. Let cool for 30 minutes covered with a paper towel. Take paper towel off and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
9. The next morning the fat will solidify and you can easily scrape it off. Then your broth is ready for you to use in any recipe. It is very delicious!
Note: Some recipes I read said to strain the broth with cheesecloth too. I didn't have any so I didn't use any.:) But if you want all the tiny particles strained then you might want to try it with cheesecloth.
Yield: All the meat from the chicken, plus about 4 1/2 cups of chicken broth. You can use the broth right away, or freeze it for later use.
1 whole chicken(I bought frozen and let thaw in fridge for 2-3 days)
5-6 cups of hot water(mine would only hold 5 cups)
2 stalks of celery, rinsed and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
1/4-1/2 onion, chopped
1 TBSP parsley
1/2 TBSP peppercorns
1 tsp Real Salt
3-4 dashes poultry seasoning
1. Chop all vegetables and place in bottom of crock pot.
2. Sprinkle all seasonings over vegetables.
3. Rinse chicken and place on top of vegetables.
4. Pour hot water into crockpot.
5. Cook on low overnight(about 9-10 hours).
6. In the morning, take out chicken, be careful because it is so tender it falls apart(Use it for soup or any recipe that calls for chicken). Take all the meat off the bones and then put the bones back into the crockpot with the broth.
7. Continue to cook the broth and bones all day about 10-11 hours.
8. Turn crockpot off and ladle broth, veggies and bone into a strainer over a large glass bowl. You want a strainer with very small holes. When broth is all strained into the large bowl. Let cool for 30 minutes covered with a paper towel. Take paper towel off and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
9. The next morning the fat will solidify and you can easily scrape it off. Then your broth is ready for you to use in any recipe. It is very delicious!
Note: Some recipes I read said to strain the broth with cheesecloth too. I didn't have any so I didn't use any.:) But if you want all the tiny particles strained then you might want to try it with cheesecloth.
Yield: All the meat from the chicken, plus about 4 1/2 cups of chicken broth. You can use the broth right away, or freeze it for later use.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Taylor's 3 month check-up
This past Monday, Taylor had his check-up with his allergist. I thought that he would test Taylor again, but he wants to wait another year before we test him again. He just asked how he did with egg and soy and whether he had any other allergic reactions during the past three months. He was very impressed with how much better Taylor's eczema on his hands looked. We decided to still stay off egg and soy and rotate months or every couple months on and off to see if he still has any reaction. Then we have another check-up in six months. Taylor was very glad that he didn't have to get poked again. Taylor's doctor also gave us some samples of coconut free shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, soap, and lotion to try. I haven't found a convenient way to purchase shampoo without coconut. He doesn't really use conditioner so I hadn't looked at what's available. The samples are put out by the Mayo Clinic. So, I'm guessing that they are expensive. Maybe every six months I can just get free samples!!:)
Life is good, and Taylor is accepting his lot in life. He does very well and always tells everyone he meets that he has allergies. At first I was kind-of embarrassed by this, but I have realized this is a good thing. The more people around him that know he has allergies, the safer I can keep him. Taylor's doctor also recommended getting a kid friendly allergy bracelet. Walgreens is currently selling them through November 1, 2013. I think that I will go and look at them and see how much they are. For preschool, this might be a good reminder to him and other kids that he has to always ask before he eats something.
So, we journey on... continually trying new recipes and finding more things that Taylor is happy to eat. I also feel like I am feeling so much better since cutting egg out of my diet. I am hopeful that I too can out-grow that allergy if I in fact have one. Taylor and I both love eggs, so it would be good to eat them again.:) But I am quite happy with flaxseed and it seems to work in many recipes.
Until next time...have a wonderful day!!
Life is good, and Taylor is accepting his lot in life. He does very well and always tells everyone he meets that he has allergies. At first I was kind-of embarrassed by this, but I have realized this is a good thing. The more people around him that know he has allergies, the safer I can keep him. Taylor's doctor also recommended getting a kid friendly allergy bracelet. Walgreens is currently selling them through November 1, 2013. I think that I will go and look at them and see how much they are. For preschool, this might be a good reminder to him and other kids that he has to always ask before he eats something.
So, we journey on... continually trying new recipes and finding more things that Taylor is happy to eat. I also feel like I am feeling so much better since cutting egg out of my diet. I am hopeful that I too can out-grow that allergy if I in fact have one. Taylor and I both love eggs, so it would be good to eat them again.:) But I am quite happy with flaxseed and it seems to work in many recipes.
Until next time...have a wonderful day!!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Re-introducing egg & soy
So it has been a little over two weeks since we were supposed to give Taylor egg and soy again. I have been very hesitant with the egg and soy because I worried about his eczema. He has done really well. I haven't dared give him scrambled eggs yet, but I am going to try this week. Mostly his egg has come from things like Kirkland frozen waffles. I did let him have a tiny bit of Honey Nut Cheerios this morning which have almonds(which he isn't supposed to have). He really wanted to try them again and technically he didn't test positive for almonds, so we gave it a shot. He did experience some reflux today though. I think it could be the cheerios or it could be the ramen noodles I let him eat a tiny bit of last night. The ramen is really bad because it had all his allergies, plus more, that it was processed on the same equipment.
I just can't wait until his next testing, which is on June 3rd. Then it will give us some more clear answers hopefully about what Taylor can and can't eat. It is hard to feed him these foods when I know, or think I know that he is still allergic to them. I can tell that he doesn't function as well the days he eats more soy or egg. I still try to mostly feed him non-allergy food. Just keeping enough soy/egg in his system so that the tests will hopefully be accurate.
Taylor is getting better about knowing what he can eat and when he is hungry it's not such a sad thing that he can't think of what options there are to eat. He is such a good boy and almost always so tender and kind to everyone he sees. For example, at my piano recital(yes I take lessons), he handed out papers he colored to the participants at the recital. He just loves to give and make people feel loved.
I am truly grateful for the food labeling laws that have made my life so much easier. I don't feel so stressed anymore because we have found some favorite things Taylor loves and I know he is happier.
Life is GOOD.:)
I just can't wait until his next testing, which is on June 3rd. Then it will give us some more clear answers hopefully about what Taylor can and can't eat. It is hard to feed him these foods when I know, or think I know that he is still allergic to them. I can tell that he doesn't function as well the days he eats more soy or egg. I still try to mostly feed him non-allergy food. Just keeping enough soy/egg in his system so that the tests will hopefully be accurate.
Taylor is getting better about knowing what he can eat and when he is hungry it's not such a sad thing that he can't think of what options there are to eat. He is such a good boy and almost always so tender and kind to everyone he sees. For example, at my piano recital(yes I take lessons), he handed out papers he colored to the participants at the recital. He just loves to give and make people feel loved.
I am truly grateful for the food labeling laws that have made my life so much easier. I don't feel so stressed anymore because we have found some favorite things Taylor loves and I know he is happier.
Life is GOOD.:)
Friday, May 3, 2013
Snacks & Cereal & Treats
Taylor seems to still resist trying new things. So right now unfortunately he is eating a lot of fruit snacks and fruit by the foot. Betty Crocker is the one of the only brands that is coconut free. General Mills seems to be on top of allergies when it comes to cereal. By far they have more options for cereals Taylor can eat than any other brand. There have been a couple of Western Family and Great Value, but Taylor seems to like the General Mills ones best. Taylor has also really loved go-go squeezes. They sell them now in bulk at Costco. They are better for him than fruit snacks so I am okay with spending more for applesauce if he'll eat it.:)
He is finally eating the chocolate chips that are soy, nut, egg, dairy, etc free. I hope soon he will try the actual cookies I make with them. I made a homemade yellow cake from the Better Homes & Gardens cook book with flax seed instead of egg and it turned out great. So moist and more dense and filling. Of course he wouldn't try that either. At least most of the rest of us like our new diet.
My eczema has actually been a lot better since I have taken soy and egg out of my diet too. I do eat soy sometimes still when I have crackers. I did have egg for the first time last weekend and my hands were cracked and bleeding by the end of that day. I am sure that I will benefit by this diet too.
I am truly grateful for the companies that strive to make foods that people with allergies can eat, especially those companies that go to the effort of certifying that their foods are safe. It gives me peace of mind and that is good when I hear of people dying from eating something they are allergic too. I'm not sure if I will survive sending Taylor to preschool next year, but I will cross that bridge when it comes.:)
Life is so good. I am so blessed.
He is finally eating the chocolate chips that are soy, nut, egg, dairy, etc free. I hope soon he will try the actual cookies I make with them. I made a homemade yellow cake from the Better Homes & Gardens cook book with flax seed instead of egg and it turned out great. So moist and more dense and filling. Of course he wouldn't try that either. At least most of the rest of us like our new diet.
My eczema has actually been a lot better since I have taken soy and egg out of my diet too. I do eat soy sometimes still when I have crackers. I did have egg for the first time last weekend and my hands were cracked and bleeding by the end of that day. I am sure that I will benefit by this diet too.
I am truly grateful for the companies that strive to make foods that people with allergies can eat, especially those companies that go to the effort of certifying that their foods are safe. It gives me peace of mind and that is good when I hear of people dying from eating something they are allergic too. I'm not sure if I will survive sending Taylor to preschool next year, but I will cross that bridge when it comes.:)
Life is so good. I am so blessed.
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