Coffee Mug Cakies

Image courtesy of Gluten-Free Essentials

I am a sucker for gift baskets and gift sets, especially ones people put together themselves. This is one of the reasons I was happy to receive samples of Gluten-Free Essentials' Hug in a Mug cakes. Wee little gluten-free and dairy-free mug cakies!

The cakes come in two chocolate varieties and two spice cake varieties. Chocolate Craving and Spice of Life are sweetened with sugar, and Chocolate De Lite and Spice De Lite are sweetened with Fructevia. You add one egg and 2 T applesauce to the cake mix, mix well, and microwave it in the mug.



Our family preferred the sugar-sweetened varieties to the Fructevia ones, and Chocolate Craving was our favorite flavor. One cake is big enough for two to three people to share. The texture of the cakes is the texture of a low-fat cake. DO NOT think that you can fix this by replacing the applesauce with oil. Ahem.

I think these are cute for gift baskets, Halloween treats, stocking stuffers, or to mail to a GF/DF college student. They would also be handy to take to a family function if you're not sure what the desserts will be. "Aunt Carol, may I please borrow an egg and some applesauce?" But, they are $3.99 a piece! If I wanted to make a dairy-free mug cake at home, I would alter a recipe like this one, and if I wanted to make a gluten-free mug cake at home, I would try this recipe.

Ingredients:
Chocolate Craving: Sorghum flour, rice flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, guar gum, corn starch, baking powder, salt.

Spice of Life: Sorghum flour, rice flour, sugar, baking soda, guar gum, corn starch, baking powder, salt, spices.

Chocolate De Lite: Sorghum flour, rice flour, Fructevia, cocoa, baking soda, guar gum, corn starch, baking powder, salt.

Spice De Lite: Sorghum flour, rice flour, Fructevia, baking soda, guar gum, corn starch, baking powder, salt, spices.

This review was written for Go Dairy Free.

Columbus Day

It's Columbus Day! I forgot about having all of the children home today! We're going to celebrate Katherine's day off by making Banana Brownies from her Nintendo DS cooking game. I am also going to make a half batch of Relish, Sauce, and Chutney--All in One Day from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. We used those sauces so much last winter.

Two of my oats-based recipes were featured in Go Dairy Free's Sweet Sundays column yesterday.

One Frugal Foodie is hosting a huge Dairy Free Market gift basket giveaway!

I received an email from Oliver's Labels concerning my review and your comments about their allergy labels. Debbie writes, "We read all the valuable feedback and comments and it prompted us to launch our newest design - a bright red 'food allergies' icon. It's perfect for kids with multiple allergies and it's an attention-grabbing stop sign shape.
As always, feel free to use the 10% off coupon when shopping on www.oliverslabels.com!" [SAFETYFIRST]



I am very glad that Oliver's Labels listened to the concerns of food allergy parents. However. I think that having the icon say "food allergies" and not list specific allergies is too general. And, I still think it's not as noticeable as an entirely red label. What do you think?

Just added: GardenMama has a giveaway going on right now, too!

Whassup?

• My college roommate had her first baby yesterday! She and her husband named their daughter Cecelia, which I LOVE. Everyone is fine.
• Helen is sick and just licked my face, so you can see where that's going to go.
• Scott and I played matchmaker for two of our friends last night and are now, you know, wondering when we'll be invited to the wedding and mentioned in the toast.
  
• Courtney Cox-Arquette is now on my poo list. Life is so hard for celebrities. (Thanks to Janeen for the link.)
• It's time to dig out the winter gear and figure out what fits which kid and what we need to buy. *sigh*
• Have you signed your preschooler(s) up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library? I just did, and you should, too. FREE BOOKS for children through age 5! One free book a month! The program is available in the US, Canada, and the UK. [Edit: If it's not yet available in your area, suggest it to your local United Way or other organization.]
  

Odds and Ends

Five more videos have been posted in the Children's Hospital series, "A Cure for Food Allergies?," including an interview with Ming Tsai. After Kelly Rudnicki posted this interview with Ming, I apologized on Facebook for saying I always thought he was a bit of a tool. Might as well do it in front of the whole world. Sorry, Ming. You're doing great work for food allergies.

Speaking of Kelly, her cookbook is out! I think she should let someone review it for Go Dairy Free, don't you? *cough*

I had a wonderful birthday, complete with a huge birthday cookie, sparkly earrings from the kids, and two new books! Perfect.

Oh! Also, I indexed all of my recipes. So you can, like, find them. See the sidebar.

I can't believe I have to review products on my BIRTHDAY

Actually, I don't have to. But it's a nasty, cold, rainy birthday, so let's see how productive I can be, hmm?

In light of all of the shiny new review blogs popping up everywhere, I feel the need to re-explain how things work here. The reviews I write are usually for Go Dairy Free, I just cross-post them here. Occasionally, a company contacts me on their own. I get a sample of the dairy-free/food allergy-related food/product/whatever. I try it. I write honestly about it. I do not get paid by the companies or by Go Dairy Free. But even if I did, I'd write honest reviews. It's just a good way for us all to find out about new (often expensive) dairy-free and/or food allergy products. Aaand, done.

Recently I received a package of ND Labs' Meatless Burger Bits, or, as my kids call it, "Fake Meat." We used them in Peg Bracken's Green Pepper Stew. The texture and taste were very similar to ground beef, and we agreed that the texture is even more beef-like than their other meatless ground beef product. The Meatless Burger Bits are the closest-to-ground-beef meatless product we've tried. If it were up to us, though, we'd probably go with ground turkey or ground chicken or ground venison if we didn't want beef.


Yeah. Go here for a clear image.

So here's my question: if you are allergic to beef or a vegetarian or vegan, do you LIKE eating foods that taste like meat, or would you rather avoid meat--real or fake--all together? I had a grad school professor who was so excited about her Thanksgiving Tofurky, and I remember thinking, "What's the point?" If I didn't eat meat, I think I'd avoid meat-like substances. But I DO eat meat, so what do I know? Thoughts?

Ingredients: Beef flavored vegetable crumbles (soy protein concentrate, wheat gluten, malt color, and wheat starch). Spice blend: hydrolyzed corn and yeast protein, hydrolyzed wheat gluten, maltodextrin, malt extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, dextrose, yeast extract, onion, chili and garlic powders, torula yeast, malic acid, disodium inosiante, disodium guanylate, natural flavors*.

*The natural flavors thing worried me a bit, but they have allergen information on their website that says these are free of dairy.

Meatless Burger Bits are available on ND Labs' website.

This review was written for Go Dairy Free.

Cornucopia

It's fall! I'm home with two sick children! I'm Googling H1N1 signs and symptoms! And I'm cooking a lot to keep ahead of produce rottage. Money in the bank!

This week I've made applesauce and roasted green beans and mashed cauliflower and plum cake and pesto and a teeny tiny batch of salsa verde. Today I'm going to make Beck's Easy Cabbage Roll Casserole, but I'm going to make it with peppers instead of cabbage so I don't have to go to the store and venison instead of beef because we have a ton of it in the freezer. (Thanks, Scott's hunter friend!) And I want to make a sweet potato dessert but not sweet potato pie because I think pie crust is beyond me today. And really soon I'm going to make this because it is now a staple in our house.

What are you doing?

Milkless Milk Chocolate

Oh, yeah.

After some trial and error, we have found our dairy-free milk chocolate bar: Premium Chocolatier's Milkless Milk Chocolate. It has the mild flavor of milk chocolate, the creamy texture, and the meltability. And the chocolate is made in a dedicated dairy- AND nut-free facility. We are sold.


S'mores tested...


...kid approved. And adult approved.

I can't wait to try more of Premium Chocolatier's dairy-free chocolates. Like, NOW.

Ingredients:

Roasted Cocoa Nibs, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Soy Powder [Tofu, (Water, Soy Solids, Calcium Sulfate), Maltodextrin (From Corn), Modified Food Starch, Sunflower Oil, Calcium Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Tricalcium Phosphate), Natural Flavors (No MSG, No Dairy), Sea Salt, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Anatase, Titanium Dioxide (A Mineral for color), Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides, Vitamin B12, Vitamin E], Vanillin, Soy Lecithin Granules

Milkless Milk Chocolate bars are $12/six pack from Premium Chocolatiers.

This review was written for Go Dairy Free.

Scene from a September Morning

Children, waiting for friends to walk to school: Someone's here! Someone's here!
Mother, yelling from kitchen: All right, I'll be right out and we'll leave.
Children: Someone's here! Someone's at the door!
Irritated Mother: All RIGHT. I said I'm on my way.
Children: He's here! He's here!
Really Irritated Mother: WHO is WHERE?
Oldest Child: Mr. Young Ponytailed First Grade Teacher is here!
Mother: WHAT? [runs into trashed living room toward screen door]
Mr. Young Ponytailed First Grade Teacher: Your stroller was rolling toward the street. I thought there was a baby in it.
Flustered Mother: Oh, Good Lord, no. There's no baby in it.
Mr. Young Ponytailed First Grade Teacher: Well, it was on its way out to the road. I just wanted to stop and let you know.
Still Flustered Mother Who Can't Stop Talking: Well, that's what happens when you trash-pick your jogging stroller--you get one with no brakes!
Mr. Young Ponytailed First Grade Teacher: .... Yeah, well.... [backs away]
Flustered and Embarrassed Mother: Thank you!

Shoot me.

Kale Chips

This recipe was in our local paper a couple weeks ago. We've made it twice, and Katherine loves it. The other kids? Not so much. Scott and I think it tastes like dried seaweed. In the best possible way.

Kale Chips

1 T. apple cider vinegar
3 T. olive oil
salt*
2 bunches of kale, washed, with stems removed

Cut kale into 2 to 3-inch pieces. Mix vinegar, oil, and salt in a large bowl. Add the kale and mix by hand. Place in a single layer on baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes or until the kale is crispy. Cool and eat. (Scott and I crumble them up on top of rice.)

*The original recipe calls for 1-2 tablespoons of Celtic sea salt, which I do not own. I started with 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, and they were WAY too salty--even for me. I would recommend starting with 1 to 2 teaspoons of kosher or sea salt and then seeing what you think. You can always add more salt when they're done cooking.

Soup

The new birthday lunchbox and thermos are a hit. Katherine has had soup for lunch every day so far. Her favorite kind is homemade chicken and stars, but we're going to need to branch out. What is your family's favorite soup recipe?

Homemade Chicken and Stars Soup from Comfort Foodsby Rachael Ray
(This cookbook is also the source of PicklesandDimes' favorite Chicken and Dumplings--back before Rachael started calling everything "stoup." *shudder*)

2 quarts chicken broth (sometimes I use dairy-free bouillon)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (or leftover chicken)
1 bay leaf
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup pastina pasta
ground pepper to taste (I use white pepper so the kids can't see it.)

Heat 1 quart broth to boiling, add chicken and bay leaf to pot and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Add vegetables to pot when you finish chopping each of them. Remove chicken after 8 minutes and place on cutting board to cool. (If using cooked chicken, I add it at the end.)

Add the second quart of broth to your pot and bring liquid to a boil. Add pasta and cook 6 minutes. Remove soup pot from heat. Dice chicken and add to soup. Season soup with pepper to taste. If soup is too thick, add up to 2 cups of water to achieve desired consistency.

This soup has converted several children to celery and/or carrot and/or onion eating. I'm just saying.

Hallowed Ground

Last year I wrote about my September 11th experience. This year I'd like to share Dave Barry's column about Flight 93, written in 2002. Yes, he usually writes a humor column, but his serious pieces are some of the best I've read.

On Hallowed Ground

We remember.

Tears of Joy

So it's Thursday of the first week of school, and things are going well. Katherine is off to a great start, and she hasn't heard any other children complain about the new food allergy policies. Eli came bounding out of preschool on Tuesday announcing, "I have a good day at school!" And he didn't shed any tears on day two of preschool (today). Helen is adjusting to being alone with Mama.

Mama, on the other hand, has been weeping at the drop of a hat. Or the turn of a page, as it were. Oh hai. Has you met Gina Clowes' book, One Of The Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies? Well, buckle up, Buttercup, and grab your Kleenex. Remember when we were all talking about what a good children's book about allergies would look like? It's here, and its name is One of the Gang.


Do you know the Mister Rogers First Experiences series of books on divorce, when a pet dies, potty training, etc.? I love these books and have used them for many a parenting milestone. They have a calm, confidence-building tone, and they show photographs of real children going through the situation being discussed. (Yes, Amazon reviewers, some of the nice people in the photos are wearing dated clothing from the 80s. Listen to me: kids don't care. Never once has my child said, "Wow, I could really relate to these people if only they weren't wearing blouses with big bows at the neck and tinted eyeglasses with initial stickers on them.") One of the Gang has the same gentle, empowering tone as these books, if not the retro fashion sense. I think Family Communications should publish it.

One Of The Gang starts with a brief discussion of how children are different from one another, then moves into a specific discussion of food allergies and the struggles and emotions that go along with them. The book is addressed to children with allergies, but I think other children could learn from it, too. Then--genius. Gina writes that food allergies won't stop you from being what you want to be, and she includes photos of famous people who have food allergies, such as Jerome Bettis and Dr. Robert Wood. She ends by writing, "You are here for a very special purpose! I wonder what it is."

*Cue Parental Crying*

Here is what I think is most important about this book. More than any other allergy book we have read, this book prompted discussions about the emotions that go along with being a child with a food allergy. Katherine talked a lot about the page that says, "You might wish that you didn't have food allergies and that you could eat whatever you wanted." Her favorite photo is one of happy children eating ice pops, with the caption, "When other grown-ups bring treats that are safe for you, it's terrific!"

I am so grateful for this book. Thank you, Gina.

One Of The Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergiesis available on Amazon for $15.29.


This review was written for Go Dairy Free.

In which I am THAT mother

I am a little twitchy this morning. K's school enacted a new peanut-free policy, and decided to inform parents of it two work days before school. So people are not happy, and I am hoping that none of the anti-allergy sentiment affects my daughter. Parents have been so understanding and supportive till now, but a school-wide policy that affects their children directly is making them very upset.

The other part is that some parents have made comments about K's allergy not being life-threatening (which it is) since milk isn't banned. I hope people don't take her allergy less seriously because some foods are banned and some are not. (Children who bring snacks with dairy will sit at a separate table in her classroom, and she will have an assigned seat in the cafeteria.) It's so hard to explain.

Also, we dropped E. off at preschool today, which he was not thrilled about. At all. His teacher was so wonderful and understanding that I started crying. In his classroom. I had to go into the teeny tiny bathroom and collect myself.

Other Mother: "Oh, is he your last child?"
Uh, nope.
Another Mother: "This is a wonderful program."
I know that. Tell him that.
We left him forlornly laying his head on the toy tool bench.

All of this stress is coming out in my dreams. Last night I dreamed that I was a student teacher in K's classroom. Several children were teasing her, so when I graded their math papers, I wrote, "I HATE YOU," on them. When I came home that evening, I told Scott, "I don't think I'm cut out for teaching." To which he replied, "You think?"

Playing Catch Up

All right, I admit it! School orientation/open house week took me down. Of course it didn't help that my dad and I did a home improvement project this week, too. Swistle keeps inspiring me. We enclosed this weird screened-in (OK, semi screened-in) porch that is built onto the back of our garage. You can't get to it from the house, so we never used it. Also, we needed a place to store all of our summer furniture, outdoor toys, lawn equipment, etc. Behold! Now we have a shed and we will be able to comfortably park in the garage come winter, without having to squeeze by the lawnmower and leaf blower and wicker furniture and whathaveyou. I just need to paint the plywood so it doesn't look like we're preparing for a hurricane.

I need your help while I'm playing catch up on product reviews, etc. Meghan wrote to me recently, saying:

"hi sarah--

i just found your e-mail through your blog (no whey mama). my name is meghan mcdermott and i have 2 children: sarah age 3 and matthew age 1. we found out a few months ago that matthew is allergic to milk and i think i may have narrowed it down to products containing whey. now that we're trying to introduce him to table foods, i find it very hard to find kid friendly choices that do not contain whey. my daughter is a very very (did i mention very) picky eater. her favorites are chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with grilled cheese and drinkable yogurts. matthew can not eat any of these (except for jelly sandwiches which he loves :). so...i find myself at a loss as to what to give him. he is still eating baby foods and cereals ..and at 26 lbs, he is a hearty eater! if you could please give me any suggestions for brands and types of foods your daughter had enjoyed starting at an early age, i would greatly appreciate the help."

Off the top of my head:
So Delicious coconut yogurt
Some chicken nuggets are dairy free (Schwan's, Tyson--check the label)
applesauce
apple butter
Roman Meal bread
cooked chicken breasts
pasta
rice
grilled peanut butter sandwiches
Picadillo
Fake Rice-a-Roni
homemade soups (like chicken and stars)


Cookbook recommendations:
Go Dairy Free

Vegan Lunch Box

First Meals

Vegan Lunch Box Around the World
(Which I will be reviewing here very soon.)

I know there's more, but I need to take the kids shoe shopping. (Kill me.) What do you suggest?

Super M@rio Party

The Super M@rio Br0s. Party was a success. Due to rainy, wet weather, it was much more subdued than past parties. The kids watched a movie while eating dairy-free popcorn and drinking water from their party favors: M@rio sports bottles. (I wanted to get favors they might actually use again.)

Then we ate dairy-free cake, opened gifts, and did some coloring pages and games I found online. I love you, Internets.

The long, painful, birthday pet search is finally at an end. It turns out that K. is mildly allergic to dogs, and so we didn't want to introduce yet another allergen into her environment. That being the case, I'd like you to meet:


Kevin the parakeet!

Kevin is named for the bird in UP, which is a movie you and your family should see if you haven't already. We don't know for sure if Kevin is a boy or a girl.

*MOVIE SPOILER ALERT*

But we figure we're covered, since the Kevin in the movie turns out to be female.

Time to work on more back-to-school stuff. I'll be posting some new product reviews this week in time for the start of school next week!

Allergy PR

A lot of allergy information is being sent out to allergy bloggers right now. Must be back-to-school time.

• Linda Coss's article, "Attack of the Peanut Butter Sandwiches," is still available at her site. It's a helpful resource for schools.
• Children's Hospital Boston just posted the first in a series of videos about their first patient who is going through a milk desensitization study.
• Simens Healthcare Diagnostics and Disney have written a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book about environmental allergies. A free digital copy is available. The press release states that the book was introduced to clinical laboratory and physician communities at this year’s American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting. The email I received also shared some of the results of a recent survey. "Allergy testing methods available for children include blood tests, skin patch tests, skin injection and the skin prick/scratch test. The survey indicated that while most U.S. moms (75 percent) know of the skin prick/scratch test, only a half or a third of mothers are familiar with the other options.
  Other important survey findings include:
  1) An average of 1 in 3 mothers reported that they do not know how accurate the various allergy test results are.
  2) The top three sources mothers said they would consult for information about childhood allergies and allergy testing are: A physician or other health professional (98 percent), health/medical web sites (73 percent), and allergy organizations (39 percent).
  3) Overall, the surveyed mothers gave online interactive Websites (42 percent) and books (35 percent) the highest marks as “very helpful” to teach their child about allergies." More information is available on their site, of course.
• Gina Clowes and Enjoy Life foods share some food allergy back-to-school tips.
  

Whew! Speaking of back to school, I need to go fill out 3,210,698 school forms before all of our orientations and open houses this week.

Morning

Change diaper.
Turn on PBS.
Make coffee.
Make breakfast.
Explain concept of birthstones.
Feed children.
Say goodbye to husband.
Get dressed in preparation for 8-10 am cable guy timeslot.
Dress children.
Listen to fascinating Webkinz facts.
Take youngest child off of top of living room cabinet.
Change diaper of and redress youngest child.
Start laundry.
Explain why you cannot invite yourself to someone's house for a playdate.
Even someone with a cool Spiderman shooter.
Drink coffee.
Do dishes.
Make list for grocery store.
Stress about what activities you can create for eldest child's Mario Bros. birthday party.
Tomorrow.
Wonder where cable guy is.
Wonder if giant mulch pile counts as fun birthday party activity.
Look at clock: 8:40 am.
Change diaper.

And all I got was this stupid recipe

You didn't think I forgot your souvenir from my vacation, did you?

My aunt made this appetizer/side dish twice the week we were there because we all loved it so much. She got the recipe from a friend.

Texas Caviar

Prepare at least 12-18 hours before serving.

1 can each of:
shoe peg corn (or frozen or leftover fresh, cooked corn)
black beans
black eyed peas

1 cup chopped celery
1 small jar chopped pimentos
chopped jalapenos to taste*

Heat together until the sugar is melted:
1 scant cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and marinate overnight. Serve with tortilla chips. (The scoop-shaped ones work really well.)

*The original recipe says to use a small can of jalapenos, plus red pepper flakes if desired. Since there were children eating with us, my aunt used about 1/3 of a can of jalapenos plus some seeded, chopped chipotle peppers. She served the additional jalapenos and chipotles on the side for those who wanted more heat.

And the Regular Pediatrician said...

At the end of H's checkup yesterday, I pulled out the inhaler that Substitute Pediatrician gave Katherine and showed it to Regular Pediatrician. He looked at it, looked at K's files, and then proceeded to pull up a list of every medication containing dairy. (It's a looong list.) He read them off to me, made note of them in K's file, then refilled her prescription for her original, dairy-free inhaler.
Then he looked at me and said, "This is going to be a good day."
Me: "?"
Regular Pediatrician: "I didn't know dairy was in this particular inhaler. I learned something new today, so I know it's going to be a good day."
Me: "!"
Regular Pediatrician: "I have several other patients with milk protein allergies, but they're babies and aren't old enough for these medications yet. I wasn't aware that all of these medications contain milk protein. [Holds out his hand for me to shake.] You helped people today."
Me: "OK...."

He did not:

• Speak disparagingly of his colleague
• Defend his colleague
  
• Act as if he knew something he didn't
• Act defensive
• Tell me the medication would be fine for her
• Dismiss my concerns

Yay, Regular Pediatrician!

Dear Substitute Pediatrician

Thank you for filling in for our regular pediatrician. I'm sure it was a busy day. Your nurse mentioned K's environmental and dairy allergies right away, so I know they are clearly marked in her file.

And yet.

It wasn't till we got home and I was looking for the instructions for the inhaler you gave* K. for her cough that I saw this on the box:





"The ASMANEX TWISTHALER 220 mcg product is a cap-activated inhalation-driven multi-dose dry powder inhaler containing mometasone furoate and anhydrous lactose (which contains milk proteins)."

Needless to say, I'll be talking to our regular pediatrician today.

I have no words, except to quote Governor Menelaus "Pass the biscuits, Pappy" O'Daniel, "Weeping Jesus on the cross!"

*Attention Health Care Providers: Patients really, really hate it when you question the decision of another doctor in your own practice, ie., "Huh. I wonder why he prescribed that inhaler. This one will work MUCH better." Etc. Perhaps he prescribed it because it WON'T KILL THE PATIENT, eh?

Inspiration

It's hard to get back into the routine after vacation, isn't it? But you all have been very inspiring with your

• Landscaping
• Room redesigning
• Housecleaning

For the past two days, I've been digging a trench and planting forsythia bushes for privacy and to keep the kids away from our neighbor's new slice-your-fingers-open, old-school, chain-link fence.



Hopefully that row of tiny plants will look like this hedge in three years:



Now I suppose I should do something more sensible, like dishes or laundry.

Miso Hungry

We had some wonderful eating adventures on vacation ($3.99/lb lobstah, baby!) Besides hitting most of our usual stops, we tried a new Japanese restaurant in Concord. While they do use butter on the hibachis (Who knew?), they cleaned our hibachi before cooking on it and used only oil for our entire party. I don't know what they would do if you had to share a grill with another family or if you have a seafood allergy and someone else at your table wants shrimp, but they were very accommodating about K's allergy, so I imagine they would work something out.


I did notify the server. And the bus boy, and the chef....
Those are the children's menu hibachi prices, BTW.

The kids loved watching the chef and they loved the food, especially the miso soup. Of course now I want to order some miso online to make some at home, but I know nothing about it. White miso? Red miso? What?

On our way home, we stopped at a Burger King in the Bloomsburg, PA area. I asked for our usual dairy-free substitution at the drive-through window. There was a pause, then, "Sure! Anything else?" And they got the order right, too. So some BKs understand. It shouldn't be that hard to be that accommodating in every chain, right?

One final note: if you're new to eating lobster, let your mom take off the shell before you eat it. It tastes much better that way.


See the bite out of the claw? My little Daryl Hannah. (Except he's a boy.)

Home again, home again

And wishing we were still on vacation. Sigh.

How've you been?

Oliver's Labels

We received a sample of Oliver's Labels recently. These labels and tags, like Mabel's and others, are for use on children's bags and belongings. They also have a special allergy line, which is what we were able to sample.

The labels are very cute. They prominently feature the child's name, along with an attractive "No Dairy" (or "No Wheat" or what have you) icon. They are easy to read and feature Oliver's Labels' Found It (TM) lost-and-found system, which enables people who find your lost item to help return it to you using the website and a nine-digit code on the label.

I like the lost-and-found option, and I like the clear graphics and the allergy images. I think these would be good for use where you might use ID labels. But for my child's desk, and EpiPen cases and other important locations, I want allergy alert tags that are red and attention-grabbing. I am afraid people might overlook the graphic and/or think it denotes a food preference rather than a serious allergy.

Oliver's Labels is kind enough to offer No Whey, Mama readers a discount. Use the code “SAFETYFIRST” (one word) to get a 10% discount code towards your purchase. Enter the code in the Agent/Reseller’s code area before checking out your shopping cart. Please note this code expires on September 30, 2009.

Green with veggies

I am incapable of turning down free produce. Which is why, with our refrigerator bursting with vegetables and vacation looming on the horizon, I accepted three additional bags of veggies. Bags filled mostly with green beans and zucchini because it's that time of year. The zucchini gets eaten or shredded and frozen for bread. The green beans? I've never had so many before. A good year for beans, I guess.

I've roasted them, which the kids really like, and made them into a mild dip, which everyone likes all right. Next on my list is the Dilly Beans recipe from our CSA newsletter, and maybe blanching and freezing some.

How do you like your green beans?



Dilly Beans, from Kretschmann's Organic Farm

"Cook or steam trimmed beans 3-5 min. Drain when beans are still bright green and just tender. Stir 2 Tbs. fresh chopped dill into warm beans. Combine 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/3 c. cider vinegar, 2 lg. cloves pressed garlic, and 1/2 tsp honey in saucepan and bring quickly to boil. Simmer 2 min., pour over green beans and mix well. Add 1 tbs vegetable oil if desired. Serve hot or chilled."

A La Mode

Remember when I said I was going to start inventing and making homemade snacks? Well, I was half right. I've been making a lot of homemade snacks--using other people's recipes. Why reinvent the wheel when other people have already written wonderful recipes for granola and granola bars and now... vegan ice cream.



I had the chance to read and cook from Hannah Kaminsky'snewest ebook, A La Mode, and it is wonderful. I made the Jam Ice Cream because we have tons of homemade jam on hand. It turned out beautifully--creamy and delicious. Katherine said it's better than Tofutti's Wild Berry Supreme, and even Scott liked it. True confessions: the raspberry jam I used was from a batch that didn't set up quite right but was perfect for ice cream flavoring.

While some of the recipes have slightly complex ingredient lists, others are very simple. The Jam Ice Cream has just three ingredients! I used our small gel canister ice cream maker, which was cheap as ice cream makers go. I think we're going to save a lot of money--and have fun creating our own signature flavors--with the help of Hannah's cookbook.

The recipes are:
Birthday Cake Ice Cream
Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream
Chai Latte Ice Cream
Cherry Cola Ice Cream
French Vanilla Ice Cream
German Chocolate Ice Cream
Jam Ice Cream
Maple-Pecan Ice Cream
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ice Cream
Peanut Butter Bomb Shell Ice Cream
Peppermint Crush Ice Cream
Rose Petal Ice Cream
White Peach-Rosemary Ice Cream
plus variations on several of them

You can download this cookbook instantly for $5. Not a bad deal, huh?

This review written for Go Dairy Free.

In the Spotlight

Janeen interviewed me for WEGO Health. It's a Spotlight Interview! With bonus photo! And the Picadillo recipe, again, mainly because Sitting on the Mood Swing's Bug loves it so much. If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.

Shh, don't tell

Katherine loves her Laptop Lunch System, as do I. But sometimes she wants to to take soup for lunch. For her birthday, I ordered her a pink Land's End lunchbox complete with thermos that was on clearance (some similar ones are here).



Soon after, Sue wrote about a new American Girl lunch set that comes complete with allergy stickers.

Guess what Katherine and her American Girl are getting for her birthday?

Gone Pickin'

Blueberry picking, that is. $1.50 a quart at our favorite U-Pick farm!

Gifties

Look! I won this beautiful bracelet at Astarte's place! And met a fantastic blogger in the process! Jewelry and a new blog to love--double bonus. I've been wearing it with this necklace my sister and brother-in-law brought me from Italy. I'm so fancy.




My sister and brother-in-law also brought us this beautiful fresh pasta and dairy-free cream of asparagus sauce from Italy. Anyone have a recipe for asparagus sauce? Because I'm in love, and it's all gone.

I seem to have racked up several blogging awards and not written about them. Way to be gracious, Nowheymama.

From Not Your Aunt Bea, like, FOREVER ago:



From Rational Jenn:



From Alisa:



From Christina:



Thank you all very much! And instead of passing the awards on, I'm going to encourage you to please read these four women's blogs if you aren't already. Alisa and Christina write about food (so of course I love their blogs), and so does Bea, when she's not being hysterically funny. Jenn is a food allergy champ, and also writes thought-provoking entries on parenting. Check them out!

Steak Salad with Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

I made steak salads for dinner the other night--the Pittsburgh way, with French fries. Hey, the lettuce was from our local CSA farm. And I'm all for fries or croutons or fried noodles if it gets the kids to eat salad. I used leftover flank steak for the meat, but any leftover sliced steak will do.

The ranch dressing is an adaptation of a Todd Wilbur recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. I know Wilbur is not well-liked in the allergy community, and I do not approve of his recipe-discovery methods, but I appreciate his cookbooks. We've successfully made a lot of his recipes dairy free and enjoyed them very much. They've given Katherine a chance to 'try' foods from restaurant chains that she's wondered about.

Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing, adapted from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 T plain soymilk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/8 t. paprika
1/2 t. chopped fresh dill, or 1/4 t. dried dill
1/2 t. chopped fresh parsley
salt to taste

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving.

Let's talk about pets, Baby

It looks as if George is going to find a home on our very street, which is great for visiting privileges, but still very sad. "Hey, you know how we promised you a pet for an early birthday present? Yeah. He's going to live at your friend's house since you're allergic to him. But you still get to visit him sometimes. Happy Birthday!"

So. Sometime soon, we want to get another pet for the family. (Besides the fish K. already has.) It can't be a cat, a horse, or a guinea pig (obv) because of allergies. It can't be a rat or hamster or gerbil or a rabbit. None of us want a reptile. As far as I can see, this leaves us with either:

A. a bird
B. a dog (K. was tested for both of these animals and isn't allergic.)
C. anything else?

Scott had a pet bird at one time, so we know what that entails. But if we're going to get a pet that lives for 15 years, shouldn't we just bite the bullet and get a dog now? (We had been talking about getting a dog after George went to the Big Cage in the Sky.)

If we get a dog, it would have to be an indoor dog because of our nasty winters. That means it would have to be a small dog so it wouldn't feel claustrophobic in our house.

I looked at our rescue shelter's website and found:
7,854,362 cats
a dog who doesn't like men
a dog who doesn't like women
dogs who don't like children
a dog who doesn't like people
a dog who likes to run away a lot
a rottweiler
a pit bull

And this is as far as I've gotten.

What I'm looking for here is any and all advice, input, pet adoption advice/resources, charming pet stories, favorite dog/puppy training books, whatever you've got. Ed: I'm fine with information on getting a dog from a breeder, too. I have no preconceived ideas. Help!

Allergies Stink

We went to the allergist yesterday. Katherine is allergic to George, her new guinea pig.

Katherine: "It's just SO GREAT to be allergic to lots of things."

Poor baby.

Anybody want to adopt a guinea pig?

It's all about food

I'm a panelist for the Back to School Food Allergy Twitter Party on July 23 at 1 pm eastern. Come join us!

I received an email about a new FA website, Food Content Alerts. Has anyone checked it out?

Alisa was asking for book recommendations the other day. I forgot to recommend Jamie Oliver's Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life. It's a cookbook about eating locally and seasonally. It's arranged by seasons, which is my favorite style of cookbook. He also throws in lots of gardening tips, his thoughts on wild game, and a great resource section for seeds and products. Recently, I made his Quick sausage meatballs with a tomato and basil sauce, spaghetti and sweet raw peas. Minus the Parmesan cheese, of course. Here's a (dark) photo from the cookbook and a photo of my version.





Go Max Go sent a really great response about Katherine's reaction. They are talking with their suppliers, and they are hoping for a dedicated facility sometime in the future.

Intention Cookies

Recently we tried the four flavors of Intention Cookies from Bountiful Vegan. These cookies are as big as your face, so we broke them up so that everyone could try all of the different flavors.


Here they are. The measuring spoons are for scale.

The varieties are:
Prosperity--Choco Choco-Chip
Harmony--Lemon Snickerdoodle
Well-Being--Coconut Pineapple
Love--Chocolate Chip Orange


Choco Choco-Chip cookie on regular-sized dinner plate. Huge!

Everyone liked Choco Choco-Chip the best, but we liked all four varieties very much. The Harmony and Well-Being cookies have a crisper consistency, while the Prosperity and Love chocolate chip cookies are a bit softer. I liked the creative mix of lemon and Snickerdoodle flavors in the Harmony cookie and the chocolate-orange combination in the Love cookie.


Taste testing.

Intention Cookies are marketed with the idea that you read the intention on the back of the label and what you are asking for (love, well being, harmony, prosperity) will come to you as you eat. Maybe I'm just too Presbyterian, but this is a little New-Agey for my taste. If I purchase these cookies, it will be for their wonderful flavors and consistency, not for the promise of prosperity, or whathaveyou.

The kids wished that the cookies were smaller, so that they could have one all to themselves, and so that they would be easier to take along to events where we might need to provide dessert. I like the idea of packages of smaller-sized cookies. Scott thinks that they need to get away from the Intention idea entirely and just focus on the fact that they've created fantastic vegan (and therefore dairy-free) cookies.

These cookies are available on Bountiful Vegan's website for 4/$10. Currently the ingredients are not listed on the website, which is a change that needs to be made for us compulsive label readers. I would also like to see photos of the cookies on their site.

Prosperity--Choco Choco-Chip
Ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour, beet sugar, vegan chocolate chips (evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (emulsifier), ground vanilla beans), pecans, cocoa powder, potato starch, tapioca starch flour, leavening [calcium lactate (not derived from dairy), calcium carbonate, citric acid], sodium carboxymethycellulose, methylcellulose, lecithin, vanilla, aluminum-free baking powder, baking soda, salt.

Harmony--Lemon Snickerdoodle
Ingredients: Beet sugar, unbleached wheat flour, non-hydrogenated vegan spread [certified non-gmo ingredients: expeller-pressed natural oil blend (derived from corn, no msg, no alcohol, no gluten) soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy, derived from sugar beets), and naturally-extracted annatto for color], potato starch, tapioca starch flour, leavening [calcium lactate (not derived from dairy), calcium carbonate, citric acid], sodium carboxymethycellulose, methylcellulose, lecithin, lemon oil, aluminum-free baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt.

Well-Being--Coconut Pineapple
Ingredients: Beet sugar, unbleached wheat flour, pineapple, coconut, non-hydrogenated vegan spread [certified non-gmo ingredients: expeller-pressed natural oil blend (derived from corn, no msg, no alcohol, no gluten) soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy, derived from sugar beets), and naturally-extracted annatto for color], potato starch, tapioca starch flour, leavening [calcium lactate (not derived from dairy), calcium carbonate, citric acid], sodium carboxymethycellulose, methylcellulose, lecithin, coconut extract, aluminum-free baking powder, baking soda, salt.

Love--Chocolate Chip Orange
Ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour, vegan chocolate chips (evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (emulsifier), ground vanilla beans), non-hydrogenated vegan spread [certified non-gmo ingredients: expeller-pressed natural oil blend (derived from corn, no msg, no alcohol, no gluten) soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy, derived from sugar beets), and naturally-extracted annatto for color], brown sugar, beet sugar, potato starch, tapioca starch flour, leavening [calcium lactate (not derived from dairy), calcium carbonate, citric acid], sodium carboxymethycellulose, methylcellulose, lecithin, orange oil, vanilla, aluminum-free baking powder, baking soda, salt.

An open letter to Burger King

Dear Burger King,

As a food allergy family, we appreciate your dairy-free chicken fries. While we don't eat fast food very often, when we do we are happy to have a dairy-free chicken option available for our dairy-allergic daughter.

Our daughter also enjoys your kids' meals. She likes the apple fries (minus the caramel sauce, of course) and the apple juice boxes. She likes getting a toy, just like her brother and sister do. However, chicken fries are not available as a kids' meal option. I have gotten into the habit of explaining her allergy and asking that chicken fries be substituted for chicken nuggets in her kids' meal. Sometimes your employees do this cheerfully and without question. Sometimes I have an experience like yesterday's. This occurred at our local Burger King, where we have made this substitution several times.

Me: "I'd like three chicken nugget kids' meals, but I need to substitute chicken fries for the nuggets in one of them because of my daughter's food allergy."
Worker: "We don't do that."
Me: "Yes, you do."
Worker: "No, we don't."
Me: "Yes, you DO."
Worker: "Let me talk to the manager."
Me: "Great."
Worker: "She says we can't do that."
Me: "Cancel my order. I'm coming in to talk to her."

Me: "This is my daughter, Katherine. She has a severe dairy allergy and can't eat your nuggets, but she can eat your chicken fries. We need you to put those in her meal."
Manager: "Yeah, it's a cost thing. The breading on the nuggets costs less to make, that's why there's milk in it."
Me: "Uh-huh. She can't eat it. We've had the chicken fries substituted in her meal before. You can even put in four chicken fries instead of six so that it's the same number of pieces as in a regular chicken nugget meal."
Manager: "We don't have a button for that."
Me [summoning all the patience I can muster]: "Other workers just push the chicken nugget meal button and then tell the cooks to make the substitution."
Manager: "You mean verbally?"
Me: "Yes."
Manager: "Oh, I guess we can do that. I just didn't know."
Me: "Thank you."


To keep your dairy-free customers happy, Burger King, I would like to offer a few suggestions.

1.) Offer a four-piece chicken fries kids' meal on the menu.
2.) Or, offer a four-piece chicken fries kids' meal for those with dairy allergies. Mention this meal prominently on your website and make all chains aware of it.
3.) Offer other kids' meal substitutions happily and willingly (ie., your veggie burger* for vegetarian children and your side salad as a healthy option for any child).
4.) Better yet, make them all standard options, regardless of cost.

These are foods you already supply to every Burger King. Your child customers have a right to "have it their way" just as much as your adult patrons do.


Sincerely,


Nowheymama


*The veggie burger does have dairy.

Death of a Dream

The candy by the checkout counter is a pain for all parents. I think I'm safe in making that blanket statement. That is one time when I find K's food allergy to be a blessing in disguise because I don't let her touch or buy any of it. Her siblings have learned that we just don't buy those foods and don't even question it.

But oh! How I long for Santa to put a Snickers in her stocking. How I wish her Easter basket could be filled with pastel-wrapped chocolates that look like everyone else's and her trick-or-treat bag could be weighed down with Milky Ways, Three Muskateers, and Almond Joys.

When I first heard of Go Max Go's vegan candy bars, I thought my wish had been granted. They make four varieties of candy bars:
Jokerz (Snickers)
Mahalo (Almond Joy)
Twilight (Milky Way)
Buccaneer (Three Muskateers)
They are delicious. Better than the originals in many ways.

I presented them to Katherine as you might present caviar and water crackers. She tried them. And said that her mouth felt itchy. Because she had eaten other foods first, we weren't sure if she was reacting to the candy or not. Awesome mom that I am, a few days later I asked her to try a bite of candy bar again. I so wanted her to be able to eat them. She took one bite, waited a couple of minutes, and asked for Benadryl.

So. Sadly, I cannot recommend these lovely candy bars because they are "manufactured in a facility that produces products containing dairy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, and other tree nuts." Nine times out of ten, products with this warning are fine for Katherine. This just happens to be the tenth time. I hope that as Go Max Go grows, they are able to afford their own dairy-free facility. Until then, I am back to dreaming.



This review written for Go Dairy Free.

Five plus one

We're back from our travels, along with an addition to the family. No, I don't mean the Cuisinart I received as an anniversary present. (Thanks, Honey!)


Meet George, the guinea pig:



Please leave nice, supportive comments about how a pet will enrich my daughter's life, as I (unlike my husband) have never been a pet owner before. It's like a first pregnancy: I don't want to hear the bad stuff. Pet horror stories need not apply.

Long Weekend

I'm out of this space for a bit. Happy Fourth of July weekend to you, and Happy (eleventh) anniversary to my husband!

Happy Food Allergy Bullet Points

• Sue found Smooze pops in her store: "I found Smooze at Whole Foods and the girls LOVE it. So does J. And at 10 for $5.39 as opposed to 3 ice cream bars for almost $5, it's a steal. I just hope they don't do what they did with coconut milk yogurt and jack up the price after you're hooked. :)" Thanks, Sue!
• Someone sent me a request for reviewing glasses the other day. I refused, but we started chatting, and it turned out to be Hillary, sister of Bug and BooBoo's Mom of No Moo for You. I love how small the Internets can be. So say hi! You never know who you might be talking with.
  
• A friend of mine from grad school, who we haven't seen since K. was about 18 months old, came for a visit last week. This would have been great enough, but she showed up on our doorstep with Divvies cookies and Dandies vegan marshmallows. How thoughtful is that? This was the first time we'd tried Divvies, and now I see what all the fuss is about. Mmm. Also, I am now one step closer to understanding why people rave about homemade marshmallows. The Dandies were SO good--such a wonderful soft consistency.
  
• A local cooking show filmed at library storytime last week. While many of the foods had dairy, one of the cooks just happened to make a dairy-free slaw and dairy-free no-bake cookies with Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Katherine was over the moon that she could eat two of the five or so dishes. The slaw was vegan and gluten- and nut-free, and the cookies were dairy- and egg-free. Something for everyone doesn't have to be difficult--I promise.
  

Food Allergy Drawing Contest

Andrea Garza of FoodAllergyTalk.com, is hosting a drawing contest! She writes, "...I am an 18 year old allergic individual who created FoodAllergyTalk.com to help others find the answers to their FA questions, and find the support they need. I would like to inform you about the upcoming Food Allergy Drawing Contest.... This contest is a way for food allergic individuals to creatively express their lives with food allergies. The drawing contest begins July 1st and ends July 18th. The theme this year is is to 'draw a picture that captures either a past memory or a future instance where food allergies have had a positive impact on your life.' There will be four winners in age groups (5-8), (9-12), (13-15), and (16+). Contestants can find more information here: http://www.foodallergytalk.com/fadrawingcontest.htm."

Sounds like a great summer project for allergic kids, doesn't it?