Well, wow, I can't believe I haven't written since August. Life has been flying by and busier than ever and of course the writing takes a back seat. After all, I have the rest of my life to share with you all I've learned but only so many years to cater to my kids every whim:). Lana is a junior, Shelby a sophmore...so in two more years I will be no less of a mother but will have two kids away in college and two in elementary. That seems surreal! But I did want to catch up on a few things and hopefully share a little more than I have been lately. Since I last wrote we traveled to St. Louis again to apple pick for the second year in a row. This year my sister and her kids came along and we met her amazing friends that have been retationed there. We had such a fabulous time and great food. I learned that a restaurant we have locally, Red Robin, has a gluten free burger ON and gfree bun and gfree french fries! It's always fantastic to find new places to eat that will accomodate everyones tastes but especially Isabelle's allergies. There is a ton more I could catch you up on from birthday parties to Halloween and the holidays but it would take FOREVER to write all that. I'll try to add little bits in each new posting to catch everyone up but I will tell you that out of the blue, Isabelle has become anaphylactic to eggs. It seems it's mainly in the raw form and things like cupcakes or pancakes are ok (possibly due to the temp they reach in the cooking process???) but I am pretty much on edge about allowing her to have anything with them whatsoever. It's like starting from scratch all over again but I will tell you this...I have already learned a few tricks and I will be sharing them with some upcoming recipes! If any of you are also Egg free and have tricks of replacements I would love to hear from you!
SO with the New Year here and upon us we are going to start out with one healthy recipe that my kids love so much they've been asking for it every single day in the New Year....KALE CHIPS! I've had several friends ask for my recipe as they've tried to make them several times to no avail. So before you cringe your nose or tell me yours don't come out or it's too much work....try my recipe first.
I try to use all organic products but up here in Walmartland it is extremely hard to find organic Kale once the farmer's market closes for winter. I could drive to Fayetteville but sometimes it's just not convenient to drive the 30 minutes south to get one batch of organic Kale. When all else fails there is the big huge bags of already washed and cut up Kale in the produce section near the collard greens and spinach and that saves you half the work and time! Another very important part of making the Kale Chips successful is NOT adding salt before you cook it!
Garlic Kale Chips
1 16 oz bag already triple washed, cut up Kale
4-5 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
seasonings of choice (I prefer minced fresh garlic or garlic powder...for a little more kick try adding a little ceyenne)
Lemon Yogurt dip
2 Tbsp non-egg Mayo (I prefer Earth Balance egg and dairy free spread but you can use Veganaise or another brand you like)
3/4 non fat plain greek yogurt
zest of one lemon
juice from one lemon
dash of salt
Preheat oven to 350. Add the kale to a bowl making sure all the big stalks/stems are removed before adding to bowl. Drizzle just enough olive oil to coat lightly. Too much will make a soggy chip and again, DO NOT salt at this point. Spread a single layer of Kale onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes...at about the 8-10 minute mark you will start to smell it so check it a few times to ensure you don't burn it. It should be a dark green, if it's still lighter or bright green, it's not cooked enough. When it reaches that dark green, fragrant status, take out to let cool, but while it's still hot you want to season with your salt and pepper and any other seasonings you like on regular chips. The kids love just some salt and garlic powder. But if you like spicy you can do ceyenne or a taco seasoning or chili powder blend, you can also use infused olive oil, something like a olive oil with seasonings that you would use for Italian dipping bread and then add a little salt and parmesan. The craziest thing we've ever tried was truffle infused olive oil sprinkled with a little truffle salt and a dash of garlic powder...Might be Izzy's favorite way (she is definately my child;)). While the chips are baking away you can make the yogurt dip, all you do is combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, refrigerate and the longer it sits the more the flavor develops. The mayo substitute adds a richness to the creamy yogurt and can be left out completely or you can use regular mayo as well. You can also sub the yogurt for fat free sour cream if you like that better.
mom of 4 beautiful children. From teens to toddlers and every food allergy and culinary experience along the way...
My sweet celiac and youngest, Izzy
Monday, January 14, 2013
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Back to school
Going back to school is often exactly what mothers are looking forward to at the end of a busy summer and kids are dreading. For some parents though, it is a scary and hectic time of year. New teacher, new issues, new explaining and hoping that your child's teacher can take care of them the way you would if they have a physical disability, health concern or food allergy. Yesterday I sent my two high schoolers off to the beginning of their junior and sophmore first days and was able to attend and meet most of their teachers. I flashed back to their first days of preschool and all of the subsequent years after when I had to go in and speak to Lana's teacher about her heart defect and go into detail about every little thing she could, or could not do. I actually had a letter on my computer that I updated and printed off each year for them and the PE coach to keep in the classroom. Well, this was the first year I did not have to explain anything about her or her heart condition. Last year I was still going around and explaining that she had just had a heart transplant and would be absent quite a bit and so forth. This year, she has a parking spot and a car and a full class load preparing her for college. WOW!
This year it also starts all over for me, Isabelle starts big girl preschool. No more, Mother's Day Out where her teacher was a celiac and understood everything. This year we go three days a week in a new school, with new teachers. Preparing mentally is half the battle. What I have learned through dealing with teachers the last 15 years is that, they err on the side of caution. It is rare to not get a teacher that will stop and call you before they give your child something. Gluten is a tricky one because although it is gaining in awareness, it's still misunderstood. People do not understand all the things that contain gluten nor do they understand the impact of celiac's disease. Most people are not anaphylactic but it doesn't mean it isn't serious. SO, #1 prepare yourself mentally (meet the teacher, talk with the school and know you've done all you can and feel confident that you've taught them and YOUR CHILD well) , #2 talk to the teacher about the allergy in detail/educate her on the disease or allergy, what it means, write a letter if necessary with a list of things that have hidden gluten in it and #3 be prepared. I've ordered Gfree animal cookies and graham crackers, cereals, crackers, anything that they might be serving for snacktime and I will bring that into the classroom the first day for the teacher to keep on hand. I also will ask for a list of the birthdays in the classroom and stock the freezer with cupcakes so when there is a birthday celebration in the classroom, I will defrost the cupcake and decorate and bring it to class so that Isabelle can celebrate along with her classmates. At this stage I still pack her lunch so that is all in my control. I've also bought moon dough and gfree glue so that she can participate safely with crafts without becoming sick. I've researched and bought gfree hand sanitzer for the classroom. Yes there is an expense that goes along with being prepared but to keep her safe and help with the learning process it is well worth it for our family.
These are just some ideas to help you through the start of the school year. I hope this helps with the little ones.
This year it also starts all over for me, Isabelle starts big girl preschool. No more, Mother's Day Out where her teacher was a celiac and understood everything. This year we go three days a week in a new school, with new teachers. Preparing mentally is half the battle. What I have learned through dealing with teachers the last 15 years is that, they err on the side of caution. It is rare to not get a teacher that will stop and call you before they give your child something. Gluten is a tricky one because although it is gaining in awareness, it's still misunderstood. People do not understand all the things that contain gluten nor do they understand the impact of celiac's disease. Most people are not anaphylactic but it doesn't mean it isn't serious. SO, #1 prepare yourself mentally (meet the teacher, talk with the school and know you've done all you can and feel confident that you've taught them and YOUR CHILD well) , #2 talk to the teacher about the allergy in detail/educate her on the disease or allergy, what it means, write a letter if necessary with a list of things that have hidden gluten in it and #3 be prepared. I've ordered Gfree animal cookies and graham crackers, cereals, crackers, anything that they might be serving for snacktime and I will bring that into the classroom the first day for the teacher to keep on hand. I also will ask for a list of the birthdays in the classroom and stock the freezer with cupcakes so when there is a birthday celebration in the classroom, I will defrost the cupcake and decorate and bring it to class so that Isabelle can celebrate along with her classmates. At this stage I still pack her lunch so that is all in my control. I've also bought moon dough and gfree glue so that she can participate safely with crafts without becoming sick. I've researched and bought gfree hand sanitzer for the classroom. Yes there is an expense that goes along with being prepared but to keep her safe and help with the learning process it is well worth it for our family.
These are just some ideas to help you through the start of the school year. I hope this helps with the little ones.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Read The Fine Print...
One thing many mom's of children with food allergies and people WITH food allergies learn to do very well and very quickly is read food labels. But do you really know what you are reading? For instance, did you know that things that read Autolyzed Yeast Extract and Modified Food Starch can both contain traces of wheat? Yep they sure can....and there is nothing other than research or knowledge, or flat out a bad experience that would let you know that just by reading the label
Also, with the Gluten Free diet becoming a "trend setter" in the news and on more labels, it's getting more attention. This is usually a good thing to raise awareness of things people don't even think about normally. I mean, eveyone knows what having a peanut allergy if like these days and it can be a very good thing to raise awareness for all these life threatening allergies our children and other adults have but Gluten seems to be a puzzling thing. People look at you as if they have no idea what you are talking about. Oh, you mean seasoning can have Gluten in it? Pudding, Candy, Chocolate, and so on.....No it's not just your everyday bread, crackers and pasta so the new awareness is a positive for the most part. BUT there are also dangers to this new awareness. For instance, many of the new pizza places like Dominos and Maggio's are advertising a Gluten Free Pizza Crust. Great, that's awesome. Glad to have another product in the community like this that naturally raises awareness but have you ever read the fine print on their commericals or adds? They make their Gfree crust in the same kitchen as the other regular glutenous crust and put it in the same oven and on the same pans. So their fine print states that if you have an allergy, verses living a gfree lifestyle/diet, you should NOT eat their gfree pizza. To me, it means it truly isn't Gfree and doesn't help our lifestyle at all because Isabelle can get sick from standing in a facility that has flour in the air, much less something that has touched a pan that has had regular pizza crust on it. So please, for those with celiac's or the more severe form of Gluten intolerance, stay away.
And whatever you do, READ THE FINE PRINT.
Also, with the Gluten Free diet becoming a "trend setter" in the news and on more labels, it's getting more attention. This is usually a good thing to raise awareness of things people don't even think about normally. I mean, eveyone knows what having a peanut allergy if like these days and it can be a very good thing to raise awareness for all these life threatening allergies our children and other adults have but Gluten seems to be a puzzling thing. People look at you as if they have no idea what you are talking about. Oh, you mean seasoning can have Gluten in it? Pudding, Candy, Chocolate, and so on.....No it's not just your everyday bread, crackers and pasta so the new awareness is a positive for the most part. BUT there are also dangers to this new awareness. For instance, many of the new pizza places like Dominos and Maggio's are advertising a Gluten Free Pizza Crust. Great, that's awesome. Glad to have another product in the community like this that naturally raises awareness but have you ever read the fine print on their commericals or adds? They make their Gfree crust in the same kitchen as the other regular glutenous crust and put it in the same oven and on the same pans. So their fine print states that if you have an allergy, verses living a gfree lifestyle/diet, you should NOT eat their gfree pizza. To me, it means it truly isn't Gfree and doesn't help our lifestyle at all because Isabelle can get sick from standing in a facility that has flour in the air, much less something that has touched a pan that has had regular pizza crust on it. So please, for those with celiac's or the more severe form of Gluten intolerance, stay away.
And whatever you do, READ THE FINE PRINT.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Smart Flour Foods and a yummy, healthy chicken salad recipe
Ok, I have one heck of a chicken salad recipe for you guys that is healthy and omits mayo altogether! What's that you say? How can you have chicken salad without mayo? Listen here my friends:)...
I have been quite obsessed with Pinterest and I've seen alot of pins that have been subbing avocado puree for mayo. Even though we LOVE avocado and I can see the similarity in the textures I was still unsure of this. Well no longer my friend! I had 3/4 of a leftover rotisserrie chicken from a recipe I made earlier in the week and I shredded all the meat into a bowl, added 1/2 C of celery and if you like raw onion, 1/2 cup sweet onion both diced or for a little twist you could add 2 minced shallots. In my food processor I put two HAAS avocados, seed and skin removed, 1 TBSP organic sour cream and a pinch of salt, garlic powder and cumin. Combine in the food processor and stir into the chicken, celery and onion if using. It was FANTASTIC! I added some halved grape tomatoes and put it in a lettuce cup and had it like a lettuce wrap but you could also stuff it inside a gfree pita half or a Gfree tortilla with some arugula and cheese.
Happy eating!
Now for some Gfree talk about a new company, ok well it's not new but it's new to me and this is ONE HAPPY MOMMA. I found them by accident when I followed a gfree recipe link that ended me on their website and the opening line reads, " Many gluten free products lack essential vitamins & minerals. Smart Flour™ is a unique gluten free flour blend of ancient grains created by Smart Flour Foods." OK, you definately have my attention. The whole website was filled with great information on their products and ancient grains. They have products from their flour blends for bread, pizza, all purpose baking to actual cookie dough and brownies, premade pizza crusts and so on. The price of the products themselves were very reasonable, the shipping however was almost a deal breaker. BUT, they offer if you have a $100 in products the shipping is free....now THAT'S what I'm talking about. It didn't take me long to rack up a $100 in products to try! I ordered a sampler pack as well as some other things and let me tell you, we love it ALL. Everything we've tried, all I have made with their flour, it is amazingly good. So here's a small plug for a wonderful Gfree company!
http://www.smartflourfoods.com/
I have been quite obsessed with Pinterest and I've seen alot of pins that have been subbing avocado puree for mayo. Even though we LOVE avocado and I can see the similarity in the textures I was still unsure of this. Well no longer my friend! I had 3/4 of a leftover rotisserrie chicken from a recipe I made earlier in the week and I shredded all the meat into a bowl, added 1/2 C of celery and if you like raw onion, 1/2 cup sweet onion both diced or for a little twist you could add 2 minced shallots. In my food processor I put two HAAS avocados, seed and skin removed, 1 TBSP organic sour cream and a pinch of salt, garlic powder and cumin. Combine in the food processor and stir into the chicken, celery and onion if using. It was FANTASTIC! I added some halved grape tomatoes and put it in a lettuce cup and had it like a lettuce wrap but you could also stuff it inside a gfree pita half or a Gfree tortilla with some arugula and cheese.
Happy eating!
Now for some Gfree talk about a new company, ok well it's not new but it's new to me and this is ONE HAPPY MOMMA. I found them by accident when I followed a gfree recipe link that ended me on their website and the opening line reads, " Many gluten free products lack essential vitamins & minerals. Smart Flour™ is a unique gluten free flour blend of ancient grains created by Smart Flour Foods." OK, you definately have my attention. The whole website was filled with great information on their products and ancient grains. They have products from their flour blends for bread, pizza, all purpose baking to actual cookie dough and brownies, premade pizza crusts and so on. The price of the products themselves were very reasonable, the shipping however was almost a deal breaker. BUT, they offer if you have a $100 in products the shipping is free....now THAT'S what I'm talking about. It didn't take me long to rack up a $100 in products to try! I ordered a sampler pack as well as some other things and let me tell you, we love it ALL. Everything we've tried, all I have made with their flour, it is amazingly good. So here's a small plug for a wonderful Gfree company!
http://www.smartflourfoods.com/
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Garden...Sustainable Living
This year we have tried our hand at gardening. We've always had herbs in pots but this year we decided to go all out and teach the kids about what healthy organic food is all about. We live a healthy food lifestyle but growing it ourselves???? I thought no way can I keep anything else alive other than the kids and the dogs;). BUT...to my surprise, we have had an entire garden all summer, including surviving in the worst heat we've ever seen. This year we have grown tomatoes, corn, summer squash, spaghetti squash, mint, sage, rosemary, basil, and now pumpkins and watermelon. When we started it, it was an easy thought to run out and grab something to deal with aphids on the tomatoes.....I insisted that if we were doing this, doing this and teaching our children that we would use NOTHING that was not safe and healthy for the kids. So I researched what the best way to treat Aphids naturally was....lets see: there are lady bugs, there is a couple of drops of dawn dish detergent in some water sprayed onto the aphids a few times and there is the 3 TBSP of minced garlic soaked in olive oil for 3 days and added to the same dawn water you have leftover.
This is just the beginning of our amazing adventure in gardening:). Stay tuned but how cool is it that we have a pumpkin patch in our back yard?????:)
This is just the beginning of our amazing adventure in gardening:). Stay tuned but how cool is it that we have a pumpkin patch in our back yard?????:)
Vacation, vacation, vacation....
Traveling is one of the most difficult things to do when you or your child has food allergies. As a mom, I constantly plan and worry that the trip will go well and without incident. Sometimes planning the route of travel, if we are driving, by where we can safely stop to eat. Honestly, nothing makes me happier than hitting the Florida border and seeing that first Publix sign on the way back to our hometown. I know the grocery stores there but Publix is by far the best for organic, gluten free and peanut fee items in a normal, regular grocery store. You guys have to remember where I'm living and that our only grocery store is Walmart. The first week of our trip we stayed in a condo on the beach with a full kitchen. When we travel for lengthy times I like to have a full kitchen so that I know for sure I can feed my child if there are no other options for her there. In big cities we have been lucky but so often in other places there is the risk of cross contamination and she has gotten sick due to this. For other people who actually have celiacs, sometimes it's easier for them to "cheat" and eat the occasional gluten when traveling but for me, my children are my life and to think that I would give something to her that is not only unsafe for her but to know that it will make her sick, it's like a knife in my heart. I would do anything to keep any of my children safe and healthy and we have had our fair share of health issues in our family over the last 16 years, some in my control and some not. This is why it is so important for me to share the things we've learned, because I know how hard it is.
So, in Jacksonville, I relied almost entirely on Publix and a few good restaurants during our stay. I did bring two loaves of homemade bread sliced from home and some of her favorite snacks so we didn't have to search multiple stores for a few things. We were hit with a tropical storm at the start of our trip and some time we needed to kill that we couldn't be at the beach or pool. We ended up finding a really great restaurant in the Town Center area called BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. I am shocked as I was very unsure about this place initially but they had an entire gluten free menu. It ended up being fabulous. There was also Mellow Mushroom Pizza and Taco Lu's that offer Gluten free options. The best part of the trip though was our second week. We spent the second week at Disney. We had researched and called and still had no clue what we were in for. Disney does everything right, why I lost sight of that, I just don't know. We had an amazing condo on Disney property with a kitchen yet I barely cooked that week at all, I think breakfast was the only thing I ended up making yet it wasn't necessary, just worked out with timing. Literally, Isabelle could eat at any restaurant on the property or any restaurant at any of the parks comepletely safe. The deal with Disney is you tell either your waiter or waitress you have a food allergy and the chef comes out of the kitchen and talks to you. He gets an understanding of the allergy/ies, offers you options for the specific allergies and then goes to a seperate part of the kitchen, prepares the meal and hand delivers it back to the table. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It was the most amazing and fantastic part of our vacation and I was finally able to relax a little and enjoy the entire Disney experience. It was pretty funny, Lana and Shelby said we should come back and live there after they head off to college so that Izzy could eat whatever she wanted. HAHAHAHA. Isabelle was offered so many amazing options, I didn't even care about nutrition for a week, they had options for her that she NEVER gets unless I figure out a way to make it homemade or find a product I can trust that tastes good. It was truly an amazing experience for everyone in the family.
So, in Jacksonville, I relied almost entirely on Publix and a few good restaurants during our stay. I did bring two loaves of homemade bread sliced from home and some of her favorite snacks so we didn't have to search multiple stores for a few things. We were hit with a tropical storm at the start of our trip and some time we needed to kill that we couldn't be at the beach or pool. We ended up finding a really great restaurant in the Town Center area called BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. I am shocked as I was very unsure about this place initially but they had an entire gluten free menu. It ended up being fabulous. There was also Mellow Mushroom Pizza and Taco Lu's that offer Gluten free options. The best part of the trip though was our second week. We spent the second week at Disney. We had researched and called and still had no clue what we were in for. Disney does everything right, why I lost sight of that, I just don't know. We had an amazing condo on Disney property with a kitchen yet I barely cooked that week at all, I think breakfast was the only thing I ended up making yet it wasn't necessary, just worked out with timing. Literally, Isabelle could eat at any restaurant on the property or any restaurant at any of the parks comepletely safe. The deal with Disney is you tell either your waiter or waitress you have a food allergy and the chef comes out of the kitchen and talks to you. He gets an understanding of the allergy/ies, offers you options for the specific allergies and then goes to a seperate part of the kitchen, prepares the meal and hand delivers it back to the table. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It was the most amazing and fantastic part of our vacation and I was finally able to relax a little and enjoy the entire Disney experience. It was pretty funny, Lana and Shelby said we should come back and live there after they head off to college so that Izzy could eat whatever she wanted. HAHAHAHA. Isabelle was offered so many amazing options, I didn't even care about nutrition for a week, they had options for her that she NEVER gets unless I figure out a way to make it homemade or find a product I can trust that tastes good. It was truly an amazing experience for everyone in the family.
free Food Allergy Webinar for Back to School
http://community.kidswithfoodallergies.org/pages/webinars
Food Allergies in School: What Parents Need to Know
RSVP: Reserve your seat by registering
WHEN: Tuesday, July 31, 2012
TIME: 2-3pm Eastern (11am-12pm Pacific)
WHERE: Your computer or iOS device
Food Allergies in School: What Parents Need to Know
Many parents don't know where to start when they need to send their children off to school with food allergies. Attend this free webinar and you will learn the following from Michael Pistiner, MD, MMSc, pediatric allergist, parent of a child with food allergies, food allergy educator and chair of our Medical Advisory Team:
- Facts regarding food allergy and safety in the school setting
- Universal food allergy management strategies (preventing accidental exposures and preparing for allergy emergencies)
- Applying food allergy management strategies to the school setting
- Partnering with your school community
RSVP: Reserve your seat by registering
WHEN: Tuesday, July 31, 2012
TIME: 2-3pm Eastern (11am-12pm Pacific)
WHERE: Your computer or iOS device
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