Easy, allergy friendly pancakes (vegan too)

Being a dorm mom extraordinaire and a mom of two smalls, easy is always a benefit in my kitchen. I have been using Bisquik for my pancakes for several years, but I have always had a vague sense of distaste for feeding all that bleached flour to my family. At Costco last week, I noticed that Quaker had oatmeal pancake mix and was excited to have a healthier alternative. Unfortunately, it was not safe for Caden's food allergies. All the whole wheat mixes at Meijer were also out of bounds for allergy reasons. Lucky for me, Jason was shopping with us and spotted the Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix. Safe for us and much healthier than the bisquik nasties.

I modified the recipe on the back of the box to suit our needs and to improve the health factor.

1 and 1/2 cups of Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix
1 and 1/4 to 1 and 1/2 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk (I loathe thick pancakes, if you're an odd canary and like them thick, use closer to one cup of milk substitute)
Spoonful of brown sugar (optional, could also use honey or other sweetener)
2 tbsps ground flax meal stirred with 4 tbsps warm water, let set for 5 minutes.
2-4 Tbsps liquid coconut oil (coconut oil is generally liquidy at room temp, set on a warm window sill if your kitchen runs cooler)

Stir the pancake mix, coconut milk, sugar, and flax meal together. Add liquid oil and stir to combine. Cook on a pre heated and oiled skillet over medium heat until golden brown on one side, flip and cook until golden brown on the other side. Serve with topping of choice.

This is a high fiber pancake, full of omega 3s, iron, and medium chain fatty acids (which can improve your immune system). Enjoy!

Healthy Fruit Muffins (allergy friendly and vegan!)

Caden typically eats cheerios for breakfast, but has been cheerioed out for a while. He loves to eat bagels but I hate all the white flour that is in them. Today I decided to try my hand at fruit muffins made with whole grains and healthy oils. I planned on making blueberry but realized I didn't have any. Fortunately, we always have fresh fruit in the house and I was able to modify.

Healthy Fruit Muffins
1 cup oats
1/2 wheat germ
1/2 white flour
2 tbsps whole wheat flour
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar (or other sweetener)
2 bananas
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 small apples, grated or apple sauce
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk (or milk of your choice)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix coconut oil, coconut milk, bananas, grated apples in a separate dish and add to dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Place in oiled muffin tin and bake according to size. I made the super small ones and they cooked for 15 minutes. I modified this from another recipe so I hope it tastes good. They just came out of the oven *biting nails* They smell good at least :)

I think it would be easy to substitute any fruit in this. 1 cup of blueberries or chopped cherries would be super good as well. If you're making this without eggs, you could sub the bananas for apple sauce, flax meal with warm water, etc.

Silk (finally) recalls it's soy milk

From an official release from White Wave

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Marguerite Copel(214) 721-1273Allergy Alert on Undeclared Dairy in 11-Ounce Single Serve Silk Soymilk Chocolate Flavor in Plastic BottlesMount Crawford, Virginia (April 23, 2008) - WhiteWave Foods Company is voluntarily recalling 11-ounce plastic single serve bottles of Silk Soymilk Chocolate Flavor because it may contain undeclared milk protein. The individual bottles are printed with both a “use by” date of May 7, 2008 (printed as 05 07 08) and a Universal Product Code (UPC) of 2529360028. Consumers can find this information on the back of the individual bottle.People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk protein run the risk of a health problem or illness if they consume this product. Some reactions have been reported. This affected product was distributed nationwide and reached consumers through retail and foodservice outlets. WhiteWave’s sales team is working with distributors to actively recover any affected product remaining on store shelves.

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE RECALLED PRODUCT This recall includes only 11-ounce single serve plastic bottles of Silk Soymilk Chocolate Flavor with both a “use by” date of May 7, 2008 (printed as 05 07 08) and a UPC code of 2529360028. Consumers should look for this information on the back of the bottle. The Company apologizes for any inconvenience to its customers. Consumers who purchased the product may return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or exchange. Consumers with questions can contact the Company at 1-800-587-2259.The Food and Drug Administration has been notified of this recall.


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For the record, I am p-i-s-s-e-d off about this. Silk was notified weeks ago, were given the official documentation that dairy was indeed present in this from an independent lab and just before the FDA pulls the plug on it, the do a "voluntary" recall. Three children that I know of were hospitalized for anaphylaxis related to this, and Silk just gets around this.

Caden isn't able to eat soy products right now, but since Silk (owned by White Wave) dragged their feet every step of the way, they will no longer be getting our business now or in the future. It's a pity too because I really like Horizon products. Not big sacrifice though when it comes to something like this. Land o' Lakes is also owned by White Wave. We're boycotting the company for now, unless some serious, voluntary amends are made to the families who suffered sickness due to White Waves negligence.

If I was vegan, I'd be mighty pissed too.

GM Diet

So, I need to do something drastic. I gained 3 pounds in a week. Eating ice cream everyday during training evidently wasn't a good idea to my waist line (but it was so good). So I'm going to try the GM diet for a week, maybe two weeks with some modifications. After I'm done with the diet, I intend to eat more fruits and veggies, less fats and meats. I'm even considering going vegan, though I'm not sure how I would do doing that. I don't do well with eating little bits of bad stuff so I guess I'll try a eat nothing bad diet for a while and see if that works. I'm hoping it does; I need to do something. Once my broken toe heals, I'll start exercising. I'm considering starting to run this spring. I HATE running, but maybe I can learn to like it.

So today, on day 1, I've eaten some watermelon. I have some apples, blueberries and cantaloupe for the rest of today. Tomorrow will be a veggie day and maybe some soup. I intend to allow one or two cups of chicken broth if I want it. I may make the cabbage soup tomorrow or the following day. I highly doubt I will eat the amount of beef they suggest. I'll probably head to Kroger tomorrow or the following day to see what sort of lean beef I can get. So there we are. Here's to skinny jeans!