Awesome Allergy Product

Well, its semi allergy friendly. Diana's Bananas (full sized or baby) in dark chocolate. Oh, yeah. No dairy, pretty sure its soy free (don't have a box to look at right now). They *do* make peanut coated milk chocolate ones in the same plant, so that is out of the comfort zone for some parents. I am not sure on their manufacturing policies as it relates to making sure that there is no cross contamination issues, so you may want to call if you consider giving the dark chocolate ones to a peanut allergic kiddo.

I ate them like mad when I was nursing Caden. And it's healthy because it dark chocolate (antioxidants) and fruit! So, its not really a treat, but a health food, right?

They're sold only in limited areas. Whole Foods is the only place I've found them locally. Check out the website to see if you can get them near you. www.dianasbananas.com

Just a little FYI on my comment moderation

Someone has posted two anonymous comments that I have not moderated. The reasons for this are two fold.

1) The comment had nothing to do with the post

2) Since you are anonymous, I have no clue who you are.

I don't mind anonymous comments on topic, but I do mind anonymous comments that are not on topic, particularly if those comments indicate that the poster has been reading other aspects of my life on the Internet. While well wishes, thoughts, and criticism are welcome, they are only welcome in the venue in which they are posted.

I have not posted anything on any part of the Internet that I am uncomfortable with anyone knowing, however, its makes me a bit uncomfortable if someone comments on my blog about a post I've made on maybe another person's blog, web page, or message board.

There are other sorts of comments that I will not post, but they do not pertain to this situation at all. As such, there isn't much point in discussing them.

So, with that. I take my leave for the day! Happy Friday!

Living Without

This is a great magazine for those dealing with food allergies, specifically gluten and casein allergies. While Caden isn't allergic to gluten, this is still one of my favorite magazines to pick up from Whole Foods (the only store in my area that carries this magazine). The recipes are healthful and the articles pertinent to those "living without."

By the way, there is a coupon for $1 of any two Enjoy Life candy bars in this month's edition, if you need another selling point.

Never Forget

Today is my generation's "day that will live in infamy". Never forget where you were, what you were doing, what you were feeling. Never forget the people jumping from buildings, the smoke, the fire, those that lost their lives to save others, those that lost their lives just going to work, the children who will never know their fathers, the children who lost a parent. Never Forget.

Peanut Free Boiled Cookies (and dairy free too!)

Boiled cookies are one of my dad's favorite cookies (okay, mine too). I've finally found a way to make them safe for Caden as well.These are easy-peasy cookies, which make them even more of a favorite.

Boiled Cookies
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
1 stick safe margarine or butter (we use Fleishman's Unsalted Sticks)
1/2 cup milk substitute (rice, potato, soy)
1/2 generous cup of sunbutter (made from sunflower seed), maybe more like 1/2 cup plus a tbsp
4 cups oats
1 tsp vanilla

Melt margarine and milk in a large pot on the stove, over low medium heat, add cocoa and sugar and stir to mix. Bring to slow boil and boil for 30 seconds. Turn off heat and add all at once: oats, sunbutter, vanilla. Mix together thoroughly. Spoon mixture onto wax paper and cool. If first couple cookies seem to runny, add a little more oats to pan to help firm them up.

I made these from my mom's recipe which I'll add below. I think they're seriously yummy and a bit healthier than my mom's (sorry, mom).

Original Boiled Cookie Recipe
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
3 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats
1 tsp vanilla

The directions are the same as the above. For some reason the sunbutter recipe needs more oats to stick together. Enjoy!

Baked Beans Recipe (tomato and mustard free and maybe gluten too)

Sadly, one of Caden's favorite foods, baked beans, has recently been banished from our kitchen due to a reaction. Reaction to what, we aren't 100% sure but suspect mustard. We were happily using Bush's Honey Baked Beans but cannot any longer. By the way, Bush's was amazing at helping us figure out the possible ingredients that could have caused Caden's reaction.

At any rate, I stumbled somehow across a recipe from the following website and tweaked it to meet our needs. We tried it today and liked it well enough, though Caden refused to eat it. I'm going to make a few changes to it next time, mostly I think I need to add more sweetness and more salt. Sugar and salt being SO good for you and all.

To give credit where credit is due, here is the website where I got the original recipe, my changes will be below the link: http://www.celiactravel.com/blog/2006/11/gluten-free-baked-beans-recipe.html

Baked Beans
¾ of a bag of white beans (soaked over night, boiled for one hour in water)
Very generous drizzles of honey
Generous drizzles of molasses
Half a fist of brown sugar
Half a large onion chopped
Garlic salt
Onion powder
Bacon
Vinegar
Pepper

Layer bacon at bottom of pan
Layer drained beans on top (reserve water)
Add honey, molasses, sugar, onion, seasonings, vinegar and stir together.
Cover with reserved water
Cover with remaining bacon
Cover with lid or tin foil bake at 350 for 4ish hours.


Next time I will add some sort of thickener, maybe corn starch. I like my baked beans to have a thick sauce.

My Kid's PBJ Is a Constitutional Right... or Something

This article was posted on my allergy board and really responds to some of the common questions parents have when their child's classroom or school goes peanut free.

http://www.server-jbmultimedia.net/WAFamilyMagazine/sitebase/index.aspx?adgroupid=143007&view=single&pageno=22&webstoryid=15072631