Peach Cobbler Cookies (Dairy free, egg free, peanut free)

 Who doesn’t love a good cookie? Cookies are one of my favorite types of desserts to eat and also experiment with. This summer when I was looking for something new to bring to barbecues, I stumbled across some recipes for peach cobblers. Since my son has dairy, egg and peanut allergies, he cannot eat dessert unless it is made by us or purchased from one of our reliable companies. Therefore, I tend to like to bring desserts to events so that he can be included too. Everyone deserves to be included!

The following recipe is a play on peach cobbler. It is dairy, egg and peanut free as well! Add some ice cream to the top or sandwich it in between two cookies! You will want to put those summer diets aside for this one.

However you decide to eat them, they are promised to be delicious and totally worth the mess on the counter.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Vegan butter

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1.5 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract

2 Tablespoons dairy-free milk (We used almond, cashew, pea called Protein Milk by Silk because of its thickness and richness)

3 cups flour (We used organic, whole wheat but it can be substituted for a gluten free one)

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup chopped peaches (skinned and cut into tiny pieces)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Skin and cut the peaches into tiny pieces.
3. Mix melted butter and sugars in a bowl.
4. Add the extract, milk and applesauce.
5. Add flour and the rest of the ingredients into another bowl.
6. Mix both bowls together.
7. Stir and fold in peaches.
8. Grease trays with non-dairy butter.  Press cookie circles down with a fork. We made them about 2 inches in diameter.
9. Bake for 16 minutes.
10. Enjoy by themselves or with some dairy-free ice cream.  Our favorite to eat it with is vanilla cashew ice cream by So Delicious.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Chicken

I have always loved to cook and bake for parties.  I have always loved to host parties.  After food allergies came into our lives, I became a bit apprehensive in this area.  However, with time and healing from the post traumatic stress of TJ’s first anaphylactic reaction, I embrace them again.  I also embrace a tasty new allergy-safe recipe that could be used for the parties we now host again.   One example of this was a chicken recipe that we made for his third birthday party, sweet and tangy chicken.

 

So here it is:

Ingredients:

• 1-2 bottles of sesame teriyaki sauce or a sauce of your choice(We used Organicville brand) Sauce Website
• 1-2 cans of organic pineapple chunks with juice or a fresh pineapple (chopped up 3/4 of the pineapple and put the other 1/4 of it in the Vitamix or blender of choice to make your juice
• 1 green or red pepper chopped
• 1-2 onion chopped (I like onions and usually had some extra
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 8 boneless skinless organic chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Mix teriyaki sauce with pineapple chunks, juice, pepper, onion and garlic.
2. Place 4 pieces of chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker
3. Pour half of the sauce over it.
4. Place the other four chicken breasts on top.
5. Pour the rest of the sauce.
6. Cover and cook on low for 9 hours.

• Start with one bottle of the sauce when cooking.  Then, add the second bottle to taste.

• Note: This sauce has sesame.  Sesame is the 9th most common food allergy in our country and now an allergy in our house too.  Substitute with a sauce that will work with your family and their needs. We know we will be doing just that the next time we make this so that Madi can enjoy too.
• Note 2: Always make sure to check and double check every ingredient to make sure it is safe for you and your own family. Remember to label read even if you have already used the product before. Companies do change the make up of their products sometimes so it is in the best interest of everyone to always check.

What a simple, but tasty recipe that all guests will devour. It may even give you some extra time out of the messy kitchen, to mingle and enjoy too. This is an area I’m still working on…

 

 

 

Our Party Cake

Over the years, we have experimented with a lot of different types of recipes in order to find the best cake for our taste buds.   We use this recipe for birthday parties, play dates, or any kind of event or day that we need extra sweetness. This led to this beauty of a creation:

 

Peanut, dairy, egg and sesame free

But every bite more delicious 

for at home or any kind of party. 

 

Ingredients: 

2.5 cups of flour

1.5 cups of sugar

2 TBSP  baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 c + 1/8 c oil (we typically use coconut)

1 c milk (coconut or our preferred protein nut milk if tree allergies are not an issue)

2 TBSP vanilla extract

1 C organic, unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and oil in a bowl.
3. Mix in milk, applesauce, and vanilla.
4. Pour batter into a greased cake pan or greased cupcake liners/  (use oil for greasing or a butter alternative like Earth’s Balance.
5. Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes or cake for 35 minutes.
6. Test will a toothpick.
7. Cool.
8. Decorate as you wish!

 

We promise to not lick the spoon … but we can’t promise to not eat any before the party...

Two years later, we are still using the recipe. Just mixing it up a bit…

Can you tell we love Legos?!?!

Stay tuned for our favorite crumb cake … a classic everyone should have… no allergies attached!

And here’s a sneak peek…

Honey Oat Bites

I love granola bars.   Over the years, I have gone through phases of several brands.   However, the more and more I learn about food; the more and more I want to create our own version.   A very close friend of mine shared a similar recipe with us back in March of 2018; however, it used peanut butter.   Therefore, we switched it up and made it safe for us. It is a hit not only with everyone in our house, including our picky son, but also a huge favorite for anyone who visits.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup of almond butter (We use Barney’s almond butter because it is free of peanut contamination, unlike many other brands.)

2/3 Cup unsweetened coconut flakes (toasted at 350 degrees for 6 minutes, flip them half way through)

1/2 cup chia seeds or grounded flax

1/3 cup raw honey

1/4 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients.

2. Chill for 30 minutes

3. Roll into balls

4. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

5. Enjoy!

Notes:

• Substitute any other nut butter including peanut butter if safe for your family.
• For a protein boost, add in some protein powder.

These are a great way to satisfy that sweet tooth and get some much needed energy along the way.

 

 

Chocolate Covered Heart Cookies

I have always loved to bake and experiment with recipes out there. However after TJ’s anaphylactic reaction, I became paralyzed in many aspects of my life including my passion for baking. Like I’ve stated in previous posts, I spent the next two years, avoiding… avoiding and avoiding, paralyzed by that fear. For most of my life, I was the person who would enthusiastically volunteer to bake for events,.  However, I avoided this at all costs now. It was easier…

it was safer …

it was what I did to handle the fear the world of allergies brought.

I mean they do say FEAR = false evidence appearing real.

However, soon I started to learn that I didn’t need to do this and that in fact, parties and events that set up an incredible challenge for us…

…were really bringing us an incredible opportunity.

FEAR = forever embodying amazing revival

That’s when we started to experiment with recipes and began to create our allergy-safe recipe book. Yesterday, I took the day off to prepare a couple items for my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower today. One of those preparations involved creating this very recipe with TJ (who has already eaten 3 of these cookies).

So here you go: the perfect heart cookie drenched in scrumptious chocolate and everlasting love.

Heart Shaped Cookies (dairy, egg, peanut free)

Oven: 350 degrees

Time: An hour (But the dough should sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.)

• It makes 24 cookies.  I doubled it to make enough for the event.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup non-dairy butter (We used Earth’s Balance)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup applesauce
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 bag of Enjoy Life chocolate chunks
• 1 tablespoon Nutiva Shortening
• sprinkles of your choice

Directions:

1. Melt the dairy free butter. in a saucepan.
2. Mix the DF butter with sugar.
3. Stir in apple sauce.
4. Then, add vanilla.
5. Slowly mix in 3 cups of flour.
6. Place dough in plastic wrap or even a plastic baggie after shaping them into a disc. Place in the refrigerator for at least hour, or up to 24 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or use some of the DF butter and flour to grease the pan.
8. Roll the dough in a 1/2 thick rectangle and use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many as you can from the dough.
9. Repeat until the dough is done.
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
11. Have the cookies cool completely.
12. Use a double boiler or create your own.  I used sauce pot of boiling water and put a mixing bowl on the top of it.  In the mixing bowl on top, add the chocolate chip chunks and shortening. Stir until melted and smooth.
13. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, removing excess by tapping it into the bowl.
14. Place the cookies on a sheet of parchment paper and quickly add the sprinkles onto the west chocolate. Let set completely.
15. Keep the cookies refrigerated until time to serve or an hour before to ensure no melting chocolate.

• Final note: If you battle anxiety from anything,…no matter how long…no matter how deep the scars go… I promise you…you can heal.  You can defeat it.  You can overcome it.  I will be doing more posts about this and mental illness because healing happens…prayer and believe…and eat yummy cookies throughout it all!

Shake It Again

I am all about the green shakes.   I am all about pouring as much nutrition into a burst of morning energy.   And while bananas usually steal the show of most of my shakes, this one has a totally different spin to it.

So here you go again…

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons almond butter (Note: almond butter pictured is unsafe for peanut allergies)
• 1 cup green grapes or 1 cup chopped mango (although grapes work best)
• 2 pitted dates
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 cup spinach or kale
• 1 1/4 cup almond milk or protein nut milk for added protein (almond, cashew, pea)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp flax seeds
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds
• Handful of ice

*Note: ingredients can be modified for specific allergies.

Mix together in the Vitamix and enjoy! This is one my husband even loves (the grape version)… a great way to sneak in some veggies … and empower you to get after that mess once and for all…well, maybe tomorrow.

And of course I need to share with my little sidekick…

And Then There Was Sesame…

Are you kidding me 2019? That was the first thing I thought of when we were leaving the allergist’s office that Monday morning in January. Really… sesame…another allergy to add to the mix.

Like I wrote about in “Some Days Just Stink,”

we had just learned that …

• TJ’s allergy levels for this year had pretty much remained the same unlike the previous few years.
• That he would be going into kindergarten with dairy, egg and peanut allergies.
• Then, Madison had unsuccessfully tried straight milk with her allergist the week before. This was her final step in being able to eat anything!!!

I felt blessed that soon I would have one child who could eat whatever I ate… could eat anything at parties or play dates or restaurants …. but then …

sesame struck …

 

Now, three times in the summer Madison had tried hummus and loved it. However, all three times her cheeks got a little red and irritated. The third time her mouth got itchy so we knew it was something to avoid and ask the allergist about.

In January, the skin test showed what we expected although we prayed and hoped for the opposite:

She had an allergy to sesame and needed to avoid it until next year when we could retest in skin and blood work.

Are you kidding me 2019? Another allergy added to the mix… and so I allowed myself the next day or two to be bummed and annoyed. But like anything, those 48 hours of sulking was enough. It was time to turn it around.

Sesame is the 9th most common allergy in the United States. However, it is one that is usually not labeled, since only the top 8 need to be. However, sesame can be sneaky.

(Sesame Allergy Post from 2015)

We are no strangers to s sense allergy as TJ once had it too. But since passing his sesame food challenge a couple years ago, he must keep it in his weekly diet 2-3 times a week. (The same protocol is used with all his past allergens.)

While TJ now loves hummus, Madison has her own favorite dip. Sesame free hummus is always an option (look for upcoming post) but also guacamole. We love organic Yucatan guacamole. But here is a simple recipe totally kid-friendly and adaptable to all taste buds.

Ingredients:

2 avocados (mashed)

1/2 of a lime (squeeze out the juice)

1 teaspoon cilentro

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon salt to taste

1-2 tablespoons organic salsa of your choice (amount depends on how large the avocados are)

Directions:

1. Mix the lime juice with the mashed avocado

2. Add the rest of the ingredients

3. For added flavor for adults, add some cayenne and cilantro to the top.

Easy enough to not leave too much of a mess behind and totally not miss sesame one bit.

 

A Picky Eater’s Peas

Picky eating drove me crazy for way too long. From the time TJ was first able to eat, he was never really interested in food.

Some of this was due to his 21 food allergies at that time, texture sensitivities, and the fact he was a slow chewer and eater.

However, in every difficult situation, there is always a blessing. Because of his pickiness …

He wasn’t the child grabbing for someone else’s food at daycare. (Thank God for that with a list as long as his at that point.)

At his one year old appointment, his pediatrician who we love, spoke the medical truth, “TJ would have a reaction in daycare that year. The chance was too great not to. We just had to make sure the staff was prepared.”

(The course of action we took after that is for another post… as well as the panic I fell into..)

BUT…while that’s the medical facts, we believe in the God of real truth, of miracles, of the impossible … TJ was and is living proof of that. He never had a reaction that year at daycare or any of the other years after. God is good! And prayer with belief is powerful.

Looking back, his pickiness was a blessing, a way he was kept safe in otherwise, high-risk situations. However, he was still such a picky eater and it drove us nuts especially after his blood work came back around twelve months, stating he was mildly anemic, adding more to his already limited plate! (Quite the paradox if I can say so myself!)

Our options were put him on a supplements or try to build up the iron naturally with food. The latter was what we chose after meeting with two nutritionists. So we spent the next four months, getting him to eat three meals a day filled with iron … each meal would take an hour or more for him to complete… talk about patience…

When he was rechecked, sure enough it had worked! However, it did not stop the picky eating nonsense which continued for years…

Therefore, I was always on the search for new safe foods, recipes, inspiration …

When my daughter was first born, in a conversation with another mom, she mentioned roasted chickpeas being something her own picky eater loved.

TJ liked chickpeas here and there so we tried it… (I would have tried almost anything at this point) …and sure enough it was an instant hit!

And the added bonus… it’s so easy!

Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

1. Organic chickpeas (When we use a can, we make sure it is BPA free.)
2. Salt
3. Pepper
4. Olive oil
5. Any other spices your child likes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Rinse and dry chick peas. Get out as much liquid as possible
3. Coat the oven pan with a little bit of olive oil. Not too much
4. Put the chickpeas in the pan.
5. Sprinkle salt, pepper or whatever spices you want. (Amount is always to your child’s liking. I only use a little pepper for that reason.)
6. Drizzle the top with some more olive oil.
7. Put in oven for 40-45 minutes
8. Halfway through, shake or flip the chickpeas around to roast all sides.
9. Finish cooking until lightly browned and crunchy.
10. Enjoy!

It’s been over two years of making this recipe which now both of my kids continue to enjoy. And even though it may still take TJ a little longer to eat them, he does so with a smile.

Store Bought Favorites

Oh how busy life gets! There is always something to prep, cook or bake for, but not always the time to do so. Since TJ’s diagnosis, more and more great companies have been creating delicious treats... aka tasty time savers.

*Of course, always make sure to check ingredients and labels every time to ensure it is also safe for you and your family. Check labels with each purchase as companies do change the recipe here and there. Better safe than sorry … so cliche but true.*

Here are some of our favorite go-tos.

1) Mo’Pweeze Cupcakes: Mo/Pweeze Bakery

2) Abe’s Crumb cake: https://www.abesmuffins.com/the-muffins

3) Abe’s Muffins: https://www.abesmuffins.com/the-muffins

4) Azure’s Bagels: Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

 

While TJ’s teachers always have a box of Oreos as his special treat in case we don’t know about a party or event at school, we ask for a monthly schedule at the start of each month to try to prevent that.  Therefore, during the crazy weeks where dinner time is late and bedtime is even later, we are blessed to have found such amazing products and trustworthy businesses.

Blissful Banana Bread

Who doesn’t love a good baked bread especially when it involves bananas. Here is one of our simple favorites.

 

Ingredients:

First Bowl:

1.5 cups of flour

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

Second Bowl:

2 mashed bananas

1/3 cup of applesauce

1/2 cups of sugar

1/4 cup cooking oil (We use melted coconut oil, but have used others.)

1/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips (optional but a favorite)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a loaf pan. We use Earth’s Balance.
3. Mix in all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the middle of it.
4. Mix the second set of ingredients in a separate bowl or even directly into the well of the first bowl.
5. Then mix together everything thoroughly.
6. Add in dairy free chocolate chips.
7. Pour mixture into the greased pan.
8. Bake for 45 minutes.  Test with a toothpick.
9. Enjoy!

Notes:

• We prefer Pyrex but have learned (the hard way) to be careful when taking out glass from the oven.  Do not place directly from the oven onto the cool surface like the counter.  It can explode!

Now, let me try to get to that counter…