I'm making coconut granola again.

This time I used 2 cups oldfashioned oats 1/6 cup coconut oil 2 tbls golden syrup and 2/3 a cup coconut.

MMMMMMMMMMM! Mix and throw in the oven at 375 and stir every 4-5 minutes to get an even bake. Take out when it all is browned.

MMM! I think this time I'm going to add in dried cranberries and then once it cools some chocolate chips. :)

V-day Ideas

Ahhh February is almost here! That means it's almost time for Valentines Day!!!

So what to do for Gabe's school party.....Hrm. I found some cute little heart molds for making suckers. (2 cup sugar 1/2 cup golden syrup 1/2 cup water) http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product.asp?pn=MH1201&sid=CHAMP

OR I could make some lemon drops.....(not very lovey though)

Or I could do Meringue cookies in the shapes of hearts.....(I could make regular ones for his class and then duck egg ones for Gabe)I could use a TINY amount of beet juice to color them pink (we are talking like 2 drops LOL)

I want to make sure to do something candy wise, that way Gabe gets some sweets.

There's also homemade chocolate hearts. Get some enjoy life chips to melt down....Micheal's has chocolate molds too so I wouldn't have to wait for them to ship.......hrm...We may have a winner! LOL!

So Gabe had his 4 year today. The allergist wants us to go and see a peds allergist, because Gabe is so hypersensitive. I'm getting sick of hearing that term used for him It seems like since his anaphylaxix reaction suddenly everyone is so much more nervous about him. :( I like our allergist, but it will be nice to meet with someone who specializes in kids, but on the other hand I feel like we just did the allergist meeting! It's so hard to add in so many appts! This time of year is crazy.! LOL! IT"S INSANE!~!!! And to make it worse we have gotten 3ft of snow so a lot of appts have been pushed back and rescheduled. Luckily they were able to get us in quickly. Hopefully we can get some new insight or ideas.


I learned something new today. People allergic to eggs can't have the flu vaccine BUT they now say that the MMR is safe for people with egg allergies. (unless severely allergic) So Gabe got his MMR.

Soon we will start doing give aways! I know I've been MIA the past few days, but I've actually been doing a lot of behind the scenes work! So far I've heard back from 2 companies and they can't WAIT to share their product with you! I'm really excited because it's all stuff that we use and love. (I only contacted companies that we already love)

Anyways there's my random update~!

basics

In response to this weekend I've decided to go over some basics good ideas for when your kids have allergies.

1. Get a med alert bracelet!!! (kid just died at our hospital because no one knew he has severe asthma and he had an attack while at a friends house overnight.)

2. Once your child has been diagnosed make sure that your school has a standing order from the allergist or ped for benadryl and/or epipens.

3. An action plan handout is a great thing to give people who watch your child!!!!! http://www.foodallergy.org/page/food-allergy-action-plan1 I got this one from FAAN

4. Don't ever hesitate to go over your child's allergies with a care provider, even if you've done it before. Everyone forgets things and until they can quote them back to you verbatim it doesn't hurt to hear them again!

5. Make a small safety kit with benadryl, epipens a list of allergies, emergency numbers for your allergist, you, your spouse and 1 extra emergency contact. Also a note explaining when to give what med and when to go to the er. (or the action plan listed above)

6. Make little cards with a list of the allergies for dr. offices and such. (SO much easier than trying to remember and fit in everything if you kid has a long list)

7. Talk to your child. Make sure they are well informed! Gabe is barely 4, but he can list his allergies, tell you what an epi pen is for and when to use it and that he shouldn't eat food unless mommy says it's ok. Also since this last reaction, I've given him some responsibility. I've asked him to help me always remember the epipens. He takes this job very seriously and has been doing a good job of reminding me. :) It helps him feel safer and it helps me remember.

8. The day you get your epipens go and write down the expiration date on your calender or program it in your phone calender so you will remember to get them refilled. My allergist's nurse says that an expired one is better than nothing, but do your best to keep up on this!

9. NEVER store an epipen in the car! They can't handle heat or cold!

10. Remember preventing and fast action are the best things you can do for your child. Stay calm so they can stay calm. :)

Gabe

He's okay now. Has been. We were soooo lucky. He still has hives but the benadryl keeps them from bothering him. He's been asking me if there is an epi pen where ever we go, but other than that he seems to be handling it very well.

I'm getting better. I'm scared. :( Not about this time. I know he's okay. I'm just so scared about the next time someone screws up. The next time someone gives him food that has a tiny bit of mold or giving him cheese. What if next time his throat closes? (the doc said his throwing up probably helped a LOT) What if I'm not there? What if I'm a total loser and don't have the epi pen again? (I feel sooooo guilty about not having it with me. He never had a reaction that was more than hives before and we just got lazy) I feel so awful. I feel guilty and scared and so sad. Before I was scared it could get this bad. Now it is. What is this going to mean in reference to his other allergies? I mean obviously the mold is worse, what about the others? If he's now ana to one does that make him more likely to go ana to the others?



Part of me wants to brush this off as really not a big deal. There was nothing major that had to be done for him. We just pumped him full of benadryl and monitored him. It isn't much worse than before. This time really wasn't a big deal. Other kids go through much worse all the time! But how I feel is much different. Now I'm suddenly really truly afraid about this! Before I was overwhelmed, challenged, and worried. Now I'm really scared! I don't want to pass that to him! He's using his epi pen as a security blanket and I'm ok with that. It seems like a healthy response to this, but how do I hover without hovering? LOL. How do I stop this from ever happening again? I can't! That is terrifying!

Whew. Okay sorry. Just emotionally overwhelmed. Thanks for reading.

pizza pizza

Peter Reinhart just sent me this recipe to try for homemade pizza crust! Can't wait to try it!!!!

GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA DOUGH
(makes about 8-10 small pizza crusts)

Rice Flour (organic, brown rice if possible) 1# (approx. 4 cups)

Sunflower Seed Meal 9 oz. (grind 3 cups sunflower seeds into a flour)

Tapioca Flour 3 oz.

Salt 1/2 oz. (2 teaspoons)

Instant yeast 1/2 oz. (4 1/2 teaspoons)

Olive Oil 2 oz. (1/4 cup)

Honey or sugar 2 oz. (1/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons honey)

Potato Water 5 cups (1 potato, sliced and simmered in 6 cups of water for 5 minutes. Strain and cool--you can eat the potato or use in a salad. Measure the water to get 5 cups)

Combine all the dry ingredients, including the yeast. Add the liquid ingredients and whisk to make a smooth, crepe-like batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment 1 hour at room temp.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

For each pizza, spray a 9” or 10” pie pan (glass or aluminum) with pan spray, or grease it with olive oil. Ladle in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan about 1/4” thick, or slightly thicker.

Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 to 20 minutes, or till the batter has baked into a golden brown color, and is crisp on the edges. Remove the pie pan from the oven and then remove the crust from the pan and allow it to cool. Use this as your pizza dough. Top it with your favorite toppings and bake at 450 degrees for about 8 - 10 minutes, or until the toppings are done and the dough has crisped further.

I think he's scared too.

Today at nap Gabe asked me to let his epi pen watch him sleep. :( I ended up taking our expired one and duck taping it to his wall (WAY UP high so he couldn't reach it even on a chair)

I think he's scared. He's had his epi pen all day (I'm such a looser and didn't have it yesterday and still haven't forgiven myself for it) He explains what it is and tells my husband and anyone else who will listen what it's for. He wants to make sure he has it for the next time his throat feels funny and he vomits. (his words)

What a loveable, smart, sweet boy. :)

I can tell you I will NEVER forget it again.

Scared.

Anaphylaxis is highly likely to be occurring when any ONE of the following happens within minutes to hours after ingestion of the food allergen:

1. A person has skin symptoms or swollen lips and either :

•Difficulty breathing, or
•Reduced blood pressure (e.g., pale, weak pulse, confusion, loss of consciousness)
2. A person was exposed to a suspected allergen, and two or more of the following occur:

•Skin symptoms or swollen lips
•Difficulty breathing
•Reduced blood pressure
•Gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e., vomiting, diarrhea, or cramping)
3. A person was exposed to a known allergen, and experiences:

•reduced blood pressure


I got this off the FAAN website. Yea Gabe is now anaphylaxis to mold. :*( My mom saw me give him homemade cheese last night (it was crumbled) and thought it was feta. So today she let him have some. Within minutes he told her his throat felt funny and that he couldn't breath. Then he vomited everywhere and got hives all over. We gave him benadryl and took him to the er. He's ok now. A little scared but he did fine and was playing at the hospital, then at bedtime he was overtired and crying because he was tired and he told me he didn't like feta cheese. Poor kid.

Also we've decided to get ride of our cats. Gabe has a level 1 allergy to them, but Sami is starting to show signs of being allergic to them so it's just time to say goodbye. Today was just a really sucky day all around allergy wise.

I have to admit I'm going through a lot of emotions about all this. When it first happened I just did what I had to do to make him ok. After it was over I was kinda numb for a few hours. Then I got so sad. I mean it's not really a big difference from what it was before. We were always scared it would get to this point, but now it IS at this point. My poor baby. And oh my gosh, what will happen the next time he has an exposure? What if someone has blue cheese at lunch? What if I kiss him after eating feta cheese? (will never happen now, but you get my point) I'm scared!!! I've always dealt with his allergies without being so worried, when we did the allergy testing last year I was overwhelmed, but never scared.

I'm scared now. What if my baby stops breathing?!?!?!?! That didn't happen today, but it so very easily could have. The dr. said that it was lucky that he puked everything up, she said it probably helped a lot. Thank you GOD he did.

Gabe update.

So we went to the allergist today to see if he would be able to test for flea allergies. (That last really bad reaction I worry it could be from a flea? The bite looked kinda like that.) So he thinks that there is a way, but he has to look into it. And he wants me to take the pictures to the dermatologist. WTF? And he will redo the allergy tests! Fingers crossed Gabe's out grown something. I'm hoping his cat allergy isn't worse. If it is any higher than a level 1 then we have to find new homes for our 2 furballs. :( The boys would be crushed and so would my husband.

So irony of irony. We leave the allergist and get home and Gabe starts having a reaction. His ear was red at the allergist, but he didn't touch anything! He was playing with moon sand after we got home, but that would have to mean that the ear was unrelated. All over his arms and his face. :( But not sure what caused it. He's never reacted to moon sand before, so I dunno. Maybe we can add in something new to the allergy list! Try to break 20 ;)

no go pasta! LOL

So last night I finally got to use a pasta machine. Yea....it wasn't easier, (looked nicer when it worked though) A very nice woman offered to come help me and to use her machine. It was very very kind, but she was thrown off by the different textures. Yea we worked through it, but the whole thing resulted in a lot of linguini mess. And when I cooked it up today it.....it sucked. LOL! Gabe ate it, but it did not look good.

BUT to compensate for my poor pasta skills I made this!




Spinach and cheese stuffed chicken baked in crushed tomatoes. MMMM!

I used 1 14oz can spinach
1 cup crumbled homemade cheese
oregano
pepper
salt
1 clove garlic
3 Large boneless chicken breasts
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes. (I hate using canned tomatoes, but was on short time today, make sure to get one without citric acid added!)






Slice the chicken on a long edge to make a pouch. In a bowl mix the drained spinach, cheese, oregano, salt and pepper (Make to your taste I did roughly 1/2 of salt and papper and then 1 tsp oregano) Then stuff it into the pouch leaving a small amount on the side. Put in casserole pan and pour the crushed tomatoes over it. Sprinkle remaining spinach mixture on top. (extra oregano never goes amiss either) Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is done.

For making your own cheese








Heat 5 cups of milk to 180 degrees. (I love my candy thermometer) Add in 3 tbls lemon juice mix and let sit for about 10 minutes. Take a cheese cloth and line a strainer with it. Once you milk has set pour the pan into the strainer (make sure the cheese cloth doesn't slip!) Then grab the edges to make a bag with the curds in it. Squeeze as much of the whey (liquid part) out as you can. I add in a pinch of salt and mix well. Then I put mine in a small bown and I use a matching bowl to squish it down into a tight form and to get a little more whey out. Then put it in the fridge to cool. When it's crumbled it makes about 1 cup.

So last night I tried playing around with my egg noodle recipe. I used 1 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup amaranth flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour. Yea it rolled out a lot easier, but the noodles were brittle, broke easily, and just didn't taste as good. :( So I have met a woman who is willing to make pasta with me AND bring her pasta machine!!! So I'm going to try another slightly altered recipe. This one is technically a ravioli recipe though. :) So I will have to make raviolis! LOL! I'm thinking beef and tomato. MMMMmmmm. I might even make some of my mozzarella cheese! (it would be perfect since it doesn't get to firm.)

Also today I emailed a pro pizza dough maker! LOL! Someone that follows on fb asked for some help finding a good dough. I wanted to rush in guns a blazing like normal, but I have a sneaky suspicion that if I did all I would end up with is a big disaster and LARGE amount of wasted flour. (which gets pricey!) So I figured since I know NOTHING about it, why not ask for help? See I can do it!!! LOL! I'm hoping to get an email back. Peter Reinhart. From what I've read all over the web, he's a pizza dough God! LOL! So hopefully he'll have some time to help me out or at least point me in the right direction. For those of you lucky people with no allergies, who just read this because you've been blackmailed, or guilt tripped in or just have interest in what you are eating, check it out! The man knows his stuff! I'm hoping to loan out his book from the library and make some for me and the hubby soon! http://peterreinhart.typepad.com/peter_reinhart/ Here's his blog.

Oatmeal

What is it with my kid and oatmeal? I love it because it's easy, cheap and good for him. He likes it more than is normal. The kid seriously ate 4 or 5 bowls today!!!!!!!! Breakfast oatmeal, snack, oatmeal, dinner oatmeal twice!!!!!!! It's crazy! But I guess there could be worse things he loves. LOL!

ahhhhh

I love a good roast. Comedic or food wise. Tonight I made a pot roast. I used carrot broth from a can of carrots we had for snack. I threw in LOTS of red and white potatoes, a bag of baby carrots, celery, some ground sage, oregano, basil and salt. I cooked mine on high for about 4 hours, but it could also be done on low all day :) MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM So good and Gabe ok!

Another one bites the dust.

Lawry's seasoned salt caused Gabe to have a reaction tonight. :( I had looked at the ingredients and thoughht it was ok. :( Bad mommy. I should have done some research. I found this on a random community page.

Hi Dawn,
Thank you for writing.
Common allergens, such as peanuts or eggs, would be listed in the ingredient section of our packages, and not included in "Natural Flavors".

"Natural Flavors" are unique flavors created for Lawry's by our flavor
suppliers, and we purchase the flavors as a single component. Since the formula of the flavor is proprietary to the flavor supplier, we do not have a list of the flavoring ingredients.

We do not operate Allergen Free manufacturing facilities, but after the
production of any product containing any common allergen ( such as peanuts) the
facility does what they refer to as a special cleansing process that is over
and above a normal cleansing process. With the intent to remove as much
particulate from the line as possible. Even though we take this extra step, it
is no guarantee that the product would be allergen free. So, based on the users
sensitivity they may or may not wish to consume any processed products.

We hope this information is helpful.

Your friends at Lawry's

Hot Dog Buns!

So today I went to get Applegate hotdogs and couldn't find any. :( But I found Shetland turkey dogs! They were good! And I finally made the hot dog buns!

Hot Dog Bun Recipe

•3/4 cup amaranth flour
•1/2 cup potato starch
•1/4 cup tapioca starch
•2 tablespoons flax seed meal
•2 teaspoons baking powder sub
•1 1/4 teaspoons guar gum
•1/2 teaspoon of salt
•2 duck eggs
•1/3 cup coconut oil
•1/2 cup milk
Bun Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400°F.
2.Mix together the dry ingredients.
3.Mix together the wet ingredients.
4.Combine the wet with dry.
5.Grease a cookie sheet, then shape dough into hot dog bun shapes if it’s sticky, wet a spatula and your hands a bit to form them.
6.Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until they start to brown.



The recipe is pretty simple. Only thing I did differently was I used a 8x8 pan and just poured it in. Then I cut it into hotdog size rectangles. Think the stand up buns. :) It was really good. Because of the coconut oil it was a tad sweet. Really tasted like corndogs! LOL! Boys LOVED LOVED LOVED them! They both had 3! My picky 2 year old had 3 hot dogs!!!! (and all of the buns!) LOL They were so happy to have hot dogs. :) Really made them so happy.

Granola

Coconut Granola

1 cup oats
1/2 cup coconut
1/8 cup coconut oil
1 ts vanilla extract
1/8 cup golden syrup or honey. (I used syrup)
enjoy life chocolate chips.

Bake at 300 for 24 minutes stirring a few times, then let cool and add in chocolate chips. I like it without the chips because then I use if for cereal. OHHHHH MY SOOOO YUMMY!

Yummy!

I got this recipe from my friend Pam and then altered it a little to fit our needs. MMMMM!

Yummy Screw Up!

So after making the creamed peas and potatoes last night i thought why not try to make mini pot pies? So I attempted that today and my crusts totally fell apart and made like a crumble. Soooo screw it! Let's make it a casserole!!!!


LOL! Turned out good! Gabe had 2 helping! LOL!

1 lbs ground turkey
1 cup and 4tbls rice flour divided
1/2 cup 2tbls butter
1 tbls flax seed meal
4-5 red potatoes
1 can carrots
1 can green beans
2 cups milk
optional handful of black eyed peas
Salt and pepper


In a bowl mix 1 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup and 2 tbls soft butter, 1 tbls flax seed meal. Mix well then put in cupcake pan and thin out. Cook at 375 for about 10 minutes. When it comes out it will look like a bunch of crumbs. Set aside. Brown 1 lbs ground turkey put turkey in a casserole dish, leave juice. In a pot boil 4 or 5 cut up red potatoes til tender. In casserole dish, add 1 can carrots, 1 can green beans, handful of black eyed peas, and red potatoes. Take turkey juice and add 4tbls rice flour. Mix well. Add 2 cups milk. On a med heat stir until thick. Then pour over turkey and veggies. Top with crumbs and put into oven for 5-10 minutes for everything to get warm. Salt and pepper to taste. MMMM! Makes 1 large casserole.

Whirrled Peas

I've got a LOT of baked goods recipes so I've been trying to focus on dinners lately. Here's the newest one. :)

Creamed peas and red potatoes

half a bag red potatoes
2 cans peas
4tbls butter
4tbls rice flour
2 cups milk

Boil about half a bag of red potatoes cut into smaller pieces. Once they are done drain and set aside.

In pan melt butter, then add in flour and mix well. Pour in milk, and stir on a med high heat until it's thick. Remove from heat and add in potatoes and peas. Mix well. Salt and pepper for taste. Serve. Made enough for me and 2 preschoolers and enough to freeze 2 dinners worth in ziplock bags. (I love things like this on nights when I don't want to cook!)

Great people!

Have I mentioned how much I love allergy networks?!

Food Allergy Queen's facebook is a great spot to meet people with allergies and share info!!!! Today thanks to one of her readers I finally found a hotdog Gabe can have!!!!!!

Applegate Farms!!!!

I was hesitant at first because it's lists natural spices (and I kinda read it as natural flavors) but they listed what they are! So no unknowns!

Organic Grass-Fed Beef, Water, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Sea Salt, Organic Spices, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Paprika, Celery Powder, Organic Onion Powder, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (Not From Milk).

And the organic spices are: Cayenne Pepper, Coriander, Ginger, Mace, Paprika, and White Pepper.

I am so excited about this. It's so stupid, but we do a lot of cookouts with family and Gabe didn't get to have ANY hotdogs. :( It was so sad to have him look at them and get this brave but sad face and say. Mommy.....those have corn? Poor kid. now I can't wait for him to ask!!!!! NOPE NO CORN!!!

And for buns I think I can alter this recipe....:)

http://glutenfreerecipes.net/gluten-free-hot-dog-buns/

MEATBALLS!

MMMM just did an impromptu meatball meal. YUMMY! Boys ate it up!!! Even I ate a full plate. (I normally try to leave the allergy free stuff for the boys, but I couldn't resist!!! It was so good!) Sorry I don't have better measurements! I was working while the baby slept and didn't want to take too long and risk him waking up!

Sadly my camera cable has gone missing so I'll have to upload the pics later. Here's the recipe


About a lbs. of ground turkey
oregano
garlic salt
pepper
salt
onion powder
2 bags rice (I LOVE the success boil in a bag rice)
milk
rice flour
olive oil

Boil the rice and set aside.

Take the turkey and mix in oregano, garlic salt, pepper, salt, and onion powder. Form small balls about the size of a golf ball. In a skillet put about a tablespoon of olive oil and then put the meatballs in it and cover with a lid. Cook on med high til meatballs are cooked all the way through. Remove the meatballs and put on a plate LEAVE all juice in the pan!!! Sprinkle rice flour in. Start with half a tbls and then add in more til you have all the juices absorbed. Not a lot!!! Once you have that then add in milk. You can add in as much as you would like. (depends on how much gravy you want. I did less than half a skillet full. Let that heat up on med high stirring constantly!!! Once it starts to thicken add in salt and pepper to taste and then pull off the heat.

Put the rice down on the plates then top with meatballs and lastly the gravy. MMMMMMMMMMMM! Mine made about 2 adult plates and 3 preschoolers plates. It was really yummy!!!!!

Not food, but still allergy related!

This doesn't totally have to do with allergies, but it does. LOL!

Some people are very sensitive to the products in laundry detergent. This is a SUPER easy and cheap way to make your own!!! !

I got this recipe from

http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

She also lists a few others, AND dishwasher detergent recipes!!!

I used #4. It's a dry one and doesn't make a ton.

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe #4

2 cups Soap (finely grated )
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

■Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
■Use 2 tablespoons per full load.



I got a new food processor for xmas so I used my mini one for the soap. (yes it's now dedicated to this) I got my borax at Walmart for 2 something and my walmart sadly did not have the washer soda (NOT BAKING SODA!!!), But luckily my Price Chopper did! It was 3 something (sorry accidentally threw away receipts! BAD ME!) I bought dial anti bacterial soap the little 3 bar pack (I got mine at Price Chopper) It was a dollar and some change. Ended up being almost exactly 2 cups! I cut it into small pieces and put it in the processor. Then I put everything into a clean, empty Folgers coffee can. The big plastic ones. :) Made almost half a container.

You only use 2 tbls per load!! Plus I still have a full box of Borax and one of Washer Soda. So when we do run out in a month or longer all I have to do is buy another 3 pack of the little soaps!!! Should last me I'm gonna guess til maybe August? All for maybe 15 bucks after I buy all the soaps. :O Woooo! Takes me all of 5 minutes with the processor and even if I have to do it by hand with scissors it wouldn't take more than 10 or so. The bars crumble easy!

For you Robyn!!!! now you'd better become a follower!!!! :P

Egg noodles.

Today I made egg noodles. OH MY GOSH!!!! SOOOO GOOOD! Seriously they don't taste allergy free. They are divine with a little bit of butter. MMMM

Here's how I made them. :) Only thing I would change is next time I'll borrow my friends pasta roller so I can make it thinner. I rolled like crazy, but Sami didn't want to be put down and so I couldn't get them thin enough. Still yummy and SOO simple and not a big mess!!!!

2 cups rice flour
3 duck eggs

On a clean surface pile the flour and make a well in middle put in eggs. Mix well with hands. Add 3 tbls of water and mix well. Add more water if needed to make it a nice dough ball. Knead like crazy. Roll out. :) Cut into noodles. Put somewhere to air dry.

To eat add to boiling water until soft. Made about 65, but would probably make closer to 100 if rolled out better.

Ringing in the New Year Baking!

I'm on a roll today!!!

I made pie crust, poptarts, blueberry pie, marshmallows, monkey bars and rice krispy treats!!!!!

I also dug out a recipe for egg noodles and am going to make them using duck eggs!

What's even more impressive is I've even cleaned up already!!!! LOL! Off to post new recipes!!!