"Spaghetti"

Well, what do you do when you find out you are allergic to all ready-made pastas? Eat spaghetti squash of course! I had seen the suggestion in an ancient allergy cookbook I have. It worked out really well. My son who is also allergic to wheat, rice and corn loved it and he is quite picky. You can see how my youngest reacted to it in the photo above.

Cut the squash lengthwise to get the longest "noodles". Place squash halves up in a 13x9 baking dish. Pour water in the baking dish about 1/4 inch deep, cover with foil, and bake at 400 for 30min. I brushed the halves with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper before baking. Very simple and very yummy.

Apricot-French Chicken and Quinoa

The girls loved it!

This was my first attempt at making dinner after I found out my 3 new food allergies. I adapted this recipe from one a very good friend of mine had given me years ago.

10 chicken tenderloin pieces

1 jar of apricot preserves (I used Cascadian Farms because it was all fruit and no corn syrup)

1 bottle of french dressing (Of course you know I made my own! I used the recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook and used my tomato-free ketchup for the ketchup in the recipe.)

chopped onion with a little onion powder (The original recipe calls for onion soup mix, but I can't eat that so this is what I came up with.)

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook it on low all day. I served it over quinoa and it was really good! You can see how the girls liked it.

Chebe

This morning I made the Chebe cinnamon roll mix and my older kids went crazy over it and gobbled them up! I was so excited to read the ingredients and see that we could still eat the mix. I replaced the egg with my arrowroot egg replacer and used coconut milk creamer for the milk. They turned out pretty good!

Frustration!

So, I found out yesterday that I am now allergic to wheat, rice and soy. This makes a grand total of 17 food allergies for me. This has been good news and bad news for me. It is good in the sense that I now get why I have felt so crappy and since I have eliminated these things I have stopped itching. I swear itching is just pure torture! It's also good because now I have the same allergies as my son and I no longer have to worry so much about what I have touched before I touch him. Spontaneous hugs and kisses are back!

What frustrates me is that I feel like I am having to start over with planning dinner. I have felt discouraged. I am also realizing that it's going to be even more difficult to save money when buying groceries. Which is a major issue when you only live off one income like we do.

My excellent and supportive husband is fine with the idea of making our house as wheat and rice free as possible. I have also discovered quinoa which is working out well. My son and I made a trip to Costco tonight and I actually found quite a few things he and I can both eat. That gave me hope.

At least I found out after my birthday (which was Monday) so I got to eat my very yummy dark chocolate cake.

Here We Go Again!

So, after feeding my youngest child (who is 10ms. old) yogurt for the first time, she broke out with whelps on her face all around her mouth. She also cried and did not sleep well for over 3 days after that and had some serious tummy issues. I called our allergy dr. immediately and got her in for an appointment. We went yesterday and she tested positive for milk and egg. The egg reaction site was so large that the dr. prescibed an epi pen for her. My little baby needs an epi pen!

I am so glad I took her in now and did not wait. I fought with doctors for several years to get my son tested and finally, right before he turned 5, we found out what he was allergic to. If we had known when he was younger, it would have saved a lot of needless sickness for him.

I post this to encourage parents who are suspicious of a food allergy to get their child tested. My son's pediatrician at the time would not listen to me and did not want to test him. My son went an entire week without eating when he was 2. He would only eat about 4 foods until he was 5. He had complete melt downs at nearly every meal, especially if you introduced a new food. I don't mean a screaming toddler fit. He would completely shut down and scream for over an hour at times. We would have to take him out of the kitchen and put him in his room so he could calm down. It was exhausting.

I had several people try to tell me he had autism. I took him to a feeding clinic and was told I was letting him manipulate me. Even my first allergy dr. here in Birmingham did not want to test him after I had already tested positive for 14 food allergies. If you are worried your child has a food allergy and your dr. will not listen to you, please go to one who will listen. Your child's health is too important to take one dr. at his or her word.

My son is a completely different child now. Finding out what was really going on in his body has made a world of difference.

Tomato-Free Marinara Sauce

I forgot to take a photo, but this sauce turned out great! I even prepared it for some of our extended family who could not tell that it was not tomato based at all!
http://www.livingwithout.com/recipes/gluten_free_tomato_free_marinara_sauce-1771-1.html

It was so nice to sit down and eat spaghetti as a family! First time in nearly 4 years! I've also used it as pizza sauce and it was excellent! I haven't had a pizza with sauce on it in nearly 4 years as well. I was very excited to find this recipe.

They Say It's Your Birthday...

I made cupcakes for my son's birthday party at school and thought I would post a picture. They turned out really well and all the kids in his class could not believe they were wheat-free. They were all covered in chocolate icing from head to toe!
For the cake I use Bob's Red Mill chocolate cake mix and for the icing I use the icing recipe on the back of the Hershey's Dark cocoa powder. They were delicious!

Tomato-free Ketchup

I was really tickled to death to find this recipe online. I have been eating plain hotdogs or cheating and using a little mustard or ketchup just to have it bite back in the end. It's been nearly 4 years since I've had a condiment I can eat! Woo-hoo!
Here's the link:http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Tomato-Free-Ketchup
It was super easy to make. I used beet juice instead of 1/4cup of beets because I already had some in the freezer and did not want to open up a whole can for this when I didn't need the whole can. My son is also allergic to tomatoes and he liked it too.

Baking Powder

One of my SILs brought to my attention that I have not posted how I make baking powder. I cannot buy it in the store, because the ones I have found have corn starch in them. 1/2 tbsp. cream of tarter 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. arrowroot starch I make a few tablespoons worth at a time and store it in a plastic container. I have also written the recipe on the container so I don't forget it! I actually found this recipe in a cookbook for what to do if you are in a pinch and don't have any baking powder and I just substituted the arrowroot starch for corn starch. Any starch would probably work.

Honey Garlic Chicken

Robert created this tonight and it was fantastic! Who needs to go out for Chinese food when you can make it so much healthier at home!

10 boneless chicken tenderloins

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced onions

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup apple juice

1 tbsp. lemon juice

honey to glaze, put as much as you want!

Brown chicken with onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Add lemon and apple juices. Cook on high until the juice boils away. Stir continuously during this step in order to coat the chicken. Remove from heat and add honey. Stir until glazed. We served it with chicken flavored rice. I put a little tamari on mine and it was better than Chinese take out!

Tax-free Holiday!

Whole Foods in Mountain Brook, Alabama is once again hosting a sales tax-free shopping day on Monday, April 18th! Don't forget to take your reusable shopping bags for an extra savings of 10 cents off per bag! Check to see if the Whole Foods near you is having one too! http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Chebe

One of my SILs just told me about this company: http://www.chebe.com/ I looked up all the ingredients on their site and I think I have finally found bread we can all eat! There are some local stores that carry their products according their website. I'll let you know how it turns out. Has anyone tried any of their products?

Italian Green Beans

Before baking After baking

This is one of my absolute most favorite side dishes ever! My wonderful friend Evie shared this recipe with me a few years ago and I am so glad she did! It is really easy and delicious.

frozen whole green beans

half pack of bacon

Italian dressing

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Layout pieces of bacon on a large rectangular baking pan. Place 4-6 green beans on each piece of bacon. I break the longer green beans in half to give me 2 pieces. Fold bacon over green beans. Repeat until you've used all your bacon. Pour Italian dressing over all of it. Bake for 20-23 minutes. You want the bacon to be done.

Fried Pork Chops and Gravy!

Tonight I cooked fried pork chops, rice and green beans. My husband is the gravy expert. When I make gravy you can hang wallpaper with it! I soaked the pork chops in lemon juice and tamari for about an hour. Then I pounded them with the tenderizer, coated them in my oat flour mixture and fried them. In my flour mixture I used: oat flour, salt, pepper, and 2tbsp. of arrowroot starch. The arrowroot starch helps make it more crisp once it is fried. Who says you still can't eat good food when you have allergies? I don't!

The Art of a Good Salad

I've always been a pretty big salad eater. This has been a very good thing now that I have allergies. I can often order a salad at a resturant if they are willing to take off items I am allergic to. I'm fairly good at planning dinner options, but often forget to make sure I have things I can eat for lunch. This was one of those days! My last minute salad consisted of: spinach leaves, chopped carrots, chopped sweet onion, chopped boiled chicken, craisins, and asian salad dressing. I have the Pampered Chef Measure, Mix and Pour and I make the asian dressing recipe that is printed on the container. Very yummy! Another salad I ate a lot when I was first diagnosed and trying to figure out what I could and could not eat is one of my Grandfather's dishes. He makes a huge bowl of this every day and eats every bit of it all by himself. I refused to eat it when I was a kid, but now I like it. Endive lettuce, onions, salt, pepper, and sprinkle rice vinegar and oil of your choice. It's odd what you will learn to like once your options become limited.

Chicken Salad

There are probably about 8 million ways to make chicken salad. Especially here in the south. Here are some variations I have tried that have turned out well. I don't measure anything. I just throw stuff in there and mix it together until I like it.

Cranberry Chicken Salad

boiled or canned chicken
Sour Supreme
rosemary
basil
onion

Pineapple Chicken Salad

boiled or canned chicken
Sour Supreme
pineapple chunks
onion
ginger
tamari

Peach Chicken Salad (Evie's fave)

boiled or canned chicken
Sour Supreme
fresh peaches
onion
basil

My fabulous friend Evie and I make Peach Chicken Salad everytime we see each other during the summer as long as we can get our hands on some fresh peaches. We modified the recipe from one in Southern Living. As my Grandmama would say "It tastes so good, it will make your tounge slap your brains out!"

Lemon Garlic Chicken

I've adapted this recipe from Fix it and Forget It. It's great for us since everyone can eat this at our house. Sorry there are no pictures!

2tsp. oregano
1tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
10-12 boneless chicken tenderloin pieces
4 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup water
6 tbsp. lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 packet of Herb Ox Chicken bullion
2 tsp. parsley
frozen green beans

Place frozen green beans in the bottom of the slow cooker. I did not measure this, I just put as much as I want. I even put a little chopped onion on top of them. Place chicken pieces on top of green beans. Mix all other ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour over chicken and green beans. Cook on low all day.

I served this with rice and used some of the broth as a substitute for the water when cooking the rice. Very yummy!

This is the bread mix I buy for my son. I make it in the bread machine and that is the only thing I make in the bread machine. After it cools, I slice it and freeze it. It take him a while to eat it and because it is freshly made it does not last long unless it is frozen.

Pot Roast

I forgot to take a picture, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

2lb. eye of round roast
6 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 packets of Herb Ox's beef bullion
salt
pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1tbsp. tamari
1/4 cup apple juice
Enough water to nearly fill up the crock pot after all other ingredients have been put in

I've made this so often that I don't measure a lot of the ingredients. Rub the roast with salt and pepper and then sear in a pan on all sides. Chop carrots and onion, place in bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle carrots and onion with salt, beef bullion and pepper. You can add the tamari and apple juice at this time too. Place roast on top of vegetables and seasonings. Place a clove of garlic around each side of the roast. Fill crock pot nearly to the top with water. Cook on high or low all day.

You don't have to put that much water in the roast if you don't want to. I do it in order to have plenty of beef broth left over. It's a lot easier than making beef broth from beef bones. I then use some of the broth to make rice to go with the roast.

Meatloaf

Last night I decided to cook meatloaf. Sorry about the picture! Dinner was over before I remembered to take one. Ooops! I've adapted this recipe from Betty Crocker.

1 1/2 lbs. lean groud beef (really any ground meat would work)

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp. tamari

1/4 tsp. sage

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced

3/4 quick oats

1/4 tsp. onion powder (I used to chop up half an onion, but the kids complained so I now use powder instead)

Heat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients. I find that if I mix the ingredients ahead of time and stick it in the fridge, the flavors blend better. Place mixture in loaf pan. Cook 1hr 10min.

Mixing it up ahead of time also helps if you are busy in the evenings like we are.

Keeping it Clean: Preventing Cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is a big deal. It is a huge reason why we do not eat out often and why I take food with us (or send it with my son) everywhere we go. In the end, no one is going to know or be as conscious of our allergies as my husband and I will.


My son is allergic to wheat and rice and I am not. I cook rice or noodles often with a meal because it is one of the few sides most of us can have. I have to take extra precautions to make sure none of my son's food touches anything that has touched wheat or rice. This means using separate bowls and utensils, even separate pans. I have also stopped cooking items for him in stoneware because you cannot wash it with soap and it absorbs whatever has cooked on it. I am really worried this could cross-contaminate his food. I make his bread in a bread machine and that is the only thing I will make in it.


I also have to constantly clean my kitchen. I probably clean my kitchen at a minimum of 3 times a day. Often more than that. I am also constantly washing my hands. If I touch wheat or rice and then have to touch something for him, then I have to wash my hands.


I've had parents tell me the school would accommodate his allergies, but I am terrified they would not be careful with cross-contamination. All it takes is just a small exposure to make him sick which triggers his asthma and ends up in several doctors visits, prescriptions and spending a small fortune. I'd rather just avoid it altogether and not worry when I send him to school every day. This year I even baked a large batch of gf cookies that his teacher keeps in the classroom for special events and birthdays.


Eating out is a big challenge. Many restaurants do not accommodate people with food allergies. Especially those that serve pre-made dishes. However, I have found that many will post full menus on their websites and will often post allergy friendly menus. I've even printed out a few of these guides and put them in a notebook that I leave in my van.

Also when eating out you have to be aware that not all food is made the same. My son can only eat french fries at Chick-fil-a because it is just the potatoe, salt and then fried in peanut oil. Fries anywhere else usually have some form of a wheat/milk coating to retain heat on them. He can only eat Hebrew National hotdogs because there are no wheat or corn fillers in them. We can only buy Boar's Head deli meat for the same reason.

Post you comments about what you do to prevent cross-contamination or how you have learned to eat out with allergies. I'd love to find out what works for other people too.

Italian Chicken

I've modified this recipe from the "Fix it and Forget It" cookbook. The original recipe calls for pork chops, but we like it with chicken instead.

1/2 of an onion chopped

5 carrots chopped

2 handfuls of frozen whole green beans

8-10 chicken tenderloins pieces

14oz. of Italian dressing (I make my own)

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low all day or high for about 5-6 hours. I like to put the veggies on bottom while they are cooking. Makes them very tender. I've served it with noodles and with rice.

Allergies Can Blow Your Food Budget, Big Time!

Sometimes it frustrates me to see all the money other women I know are saving at the grocery store by using coupon blogs and what not. That's great if you don't have food allergies. However, it does not work for our family to buy all the BOGOs at Publix and use coupons because most of that stuff we cannot eat. Again, I've had to adapt what other moms are doing to save money and apply it to our situation. It can be really expensive buying specialty food items and allergy-friendly snacks, but it doesn't have to be.

Here are a few things that have helped us, feel free to comment on what has helped you save $:

Whole Foods: I LOVE Whole Foods, but I have not been in there since Sept. 2010 because I cannot afford a trip very often! One of my SILs calls it "Whole Paycheck" and she's about right on that comment.

Whole Foods does have a coupon book and at the customer service desk they have a box of coupons already separated and in bundles. If you look in the book and only need a coupon for Tamari, then go to customer service and get a few Tamari coupons. If you are like me, take the stack! Also remember to take your reusable bag. They will give you 10 cents off per bag you use. They also take manufacturer coupons. Around the third week of every month, they give out store coupons for the next month. This is usually for free milk or other sales.

Last year they also had Tax-Free Day on April 15th and did not charge sales tax. This was great since the Birmingham store is in Mt. Brook where the sales tax is over 10%! I will post if they have that again this year. Their sales are also usually really good, but you are paying a LOT of sales tax plus the trip out there.

Publix: Publix does have a decent "Green Wise" selection of organic items. However they cost more and rarely go on sale. Publix also has a "Green Wise" magazine you can sign up for on their website. The subscription is free and has coupons in every edition.

I keep a stash of coupons for items we buy and on the occasion that it does go on sale at Publix, I buy as much as I can. Publix will also take coupons out of the Whole Foods coupon book and Publix will double them under 50 cents. Often you can come out cheaper getting it at Publix with a Whole Foods coupon.

Publix does carry a lot of allergy-friendly items and most stores will do their best to get an item for you.

Wal-Mart: Not all Wal-Marts carry the same thing. There are a few Wal-Marts around B'ham that carry more allergy friendly items, but most I have found do not. My MIL has not been able to find many allergy friendly items at the Wal-Mart she shops in Georgia. I don't know how you would go about requesting items.

Sam's Club: Sam's has gotten much better in the last few years. They carry Apple & Eve juice boxes, Eggland's Best eggs, Silk Soy Milk, Organic Horizon Milk, and Cliff Kid's fruit twists. I've also noticed several gf items for my son: pepperoni, bacon and Orida french fries. Their Member's Mark milk is also hormone free.

Costco: Costco carries a LOT of organic items. I've actually been considering switching our membership from Sam's to Costco. I may have to go again with a friend and see if it would be worth it to switch. Their prices to seem a little higher and the membership is also higher.

Amazon.com: I order a good bit of snacks and flours off Amazon. The only cracker I have found that my son can eat are Nairn's Oatcakes imported from Scotland. Yes, you read that right, Scotland! The day I drove to Whole Foods and they were no longer on the shelf is a day I will never forget. I about had a fit in store! We have to send his lunch every day and he has to take snacks with him everywhere he goes. Thankfully, I went online and found them on Amazon. I also order Enjoy Life snack bars for me off Amazon and many Bob's Red Mill items.

You have to price compare Amazon to the store! Sometimes I come out better getting an item at Publix or Wal-Mart than ordering a case online. Also with Amazon, any order over $25 gets free shipping.

Why I LOVE Arrowroot Starch

I absolutely LOVE Arrowroot Starch. When I was first diagnosed with food allergies in May 2007 I had a hard time trying to figure out how to replace eggs in my baking. Most egg replacements use corn or potato starch, both of which I cannot eat. I was googling allergy sites one day and came across using arrowroot as an egg replacement. It has been wonderful to bake with. I use it all the time and people cannot tell the difference.

To replace 1 egg: 1tbsp. arrowroot starch to 3tbsp. water

The only store I have been able to find this is Whole Foods. You can also order it off Amazon.com which I highly recommend. You end up having to order a case that way, but it is much cheaper and if you can split it with a friend it works out really well. It lasts a long time. I've even used it as a flour when I need to use a flour we can all eat.

GF French Toast

I've been doing my best to make a good breakfast for my son in the mornings to pump him full of protein and hopefully help him gain a little weight. I am allergic to eggs and had stopped making french toast, but my excellent mother-in-law reminded me that my son could eat it. He can be a little picky, but loves this. I cut it into strips and put a cup of syrup next to his plate so he can dip the strips

1 slice of gf bread (I use the Bob's Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix in my bread machine)

2 eggs (I use Eggland's best)

1 tsp. cinamon

1 tsp. vanilla

Syrup for dipping (I use Maple Grove Farms Sugar Free Maple Flavor syrup)

Mix the eggs, vanilla and cinamon. Dip bread on both sides. You can soak it a little if you like it a little moist. Brown on both sides.

Hamburger Stroganoff

I decided my first dish for the allergy food blog would be hamburger stroganoff. This decision was based solely on the fact that I had a pound of ground beef dethawed and the rest of the ingredients on hand.

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. fresh dill

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup of arrowroot flour/starch (I've also used oat flour and it turns out just as good)

1 cup water

1 packet of Herb Ox beef bullion

1 container of Toffuti Sour Supreme

Brown ground beef. Add onion and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Mix the next 8 ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to skillet. Cook on medium heat until it starts to thicken. It will thicken quickly. Turn heat off. Add Sour Supreme. Serve over rice or noodles.

I'm sure you could substitute whatever ground meat you wanted for the ground beef. I know a lot of people have meat allergies too. My son is allergic to rice and wheat. A lot of the time we will give him an extra veggie at dinner or some cheese.