Major's Favorite Blueberry Muffins

Major’s Favorite Blueberry Muffins

12 T. (1.5 sticks) earth balance soy free buttery spread

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 T. vanilla extract

1 cup so delicious plain coconut milk yogurt

1/4 c. milk substitute

2 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 half-pints fresh blueberries (you can also use frozen!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, add vanilla, coconut milk yogurt, and milk substitue. Next, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Be sure to mix thoroughly so everything gets evenly distributed (about 1-2 mins).  Fold in the blueberries with a spatula or spoon.

Spray the muffin tins with nonstick spray (check for your allergens first) or use paper cupcake liners.  Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup to the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blueberry-coffee-cake-muffins-recipe/index.html

Butterless Buttercream

Butterless Buttercream

 I currently follow this recipe, posted by the amazing allergy guru Sloane Miller.  Instead of doing it exactly her way though, I double the vanilla extract the recipe calls for, and I also add in ¼ tsp of almond extract!  This recipe is a SUPER hit with our family and friends!  People who have tried it and are very skeptical of dairy free recipes have called it “delicious” before!  Also, I usually use Crisco shortening.  Just be sure to not get the butter flavor.  I get the original flavor that comes in a blue canister!  Happy icing!

Whoopie pies with pumpkin "buttercream" filling

Tonight, we went to a fall festival at Major’s school.  Apparently I am THAT mom that now has to bake everything homemade and package it all cutesy because that is exactly what I did!  I tend to overcompensate since Major can’t have everything at events like this, so I want him to have something special that I made for him.  Something I also did this year was added a sticker that I printed on my computer that listed all of the ingredients in them, just in case someone else had food allergies at the festival.  Anyway, I made these cookies and they were a hit!  They were gone in 15 minutes!  I definitely need to make more next year!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon earth balance soy free buttery spread softened

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 large egg

1 cup oat milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place earth balance, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the dry ingredients, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining dry ingredients.

Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or in a pinch a cookie sheet sprayed with pam works just as well!), spacing  about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes.

Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

make the icing (see recipe below)

Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies.

Dairy and Soy Free Pumpkin “Buttercream”

1 cup vegetable shortening at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 T. oat milk or any milk alternative

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 T. canned pumpkin puree

1/4 tsp. almond extract

With a whisk or whisk attachment on a stand or hand mixer, beat the shortening, almond extract, and vanilla extract until combined. Add the powdered sugar (with the mixer off, you will only make this mistake once, it goes everywhere!) and whisk until completely combined. If the icing is too thick you can always add more pumpkin or the milk alternative to loosen the icing up. If the icing gets too loose, you can always add more powdered sugar! After the icing is complete, add 1-2 tsp. of icing in between 2 of the whoopie pie cookies and enjoy!

Adapted from: http://www.marthastewart.com/354430/mini-pumpkin-whoopie-pies & http://makinglemonadeblog.com/pumpkin-vanilla-buttercream-frosting/

Nothing Bundt Cakes Major Style!

“Nothing Bundt Cakes” White Chocolate Raspberry Cake “Major Style”

White Chocolate:

4 oz. cacao butter (can be purchased here, it goes a LONG way!)

½ tsp. vanilla extract

8 T. powdered sugar

2 tsp. powdered rice milk (or you can do any powdered milk alternative you can find and tolerate!)

Melt the cacao butter in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between until all chunks are liquefied.  Next, mix all other ingredients into the melted cacao butter with a whisk until smooth.  Pour into a plastic container and allow to harden (this took about an hour at room temp.)  Once hardened, reserve ¼ of the white chocolate for melting into the icing. The remaining ¾ of the white chocolate, chop finely to put into the cake batter.

(Adapted from a recipe on www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com)

Cake:

1 pkg Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (or any other boxed cake mix that is safe, can use gluten free also)

1 pkg Jell-O White Chocolate pudding (not instant, read ingredients to be safe though!!)

¾ of the white chocolate, chopped finely

1 c. So Delicious Vanilla Cultured Coconut milk “yogurt”

4 large eggs (or egg replaced to equal 4 eggs)

½ c water

½ c oil (I used vegetable oil but you could use any neutral tasting oil!)

½ pint fresh raspberries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk all ingredients together except the raspberries until thoroughly mixed.  Pour half of the batter into a Bundt pan that is greased with Pam or any type of spray oil (or really whatever works best for your allergy situation).   Next, sprinkle the chopped raspberries across the batter in the pan evenly, then gently spread the remaining batter over the top until all of the raspberries are hidden.  Bake for 45-60 minutes.  The cake is done when a cake tester comes out clean (may have some raspberry juice on it, that is ok!)

Frosting:

2 (8 oz) packages Daiya vegan cream cheese, softened

¼ of the white chocolate, melted

3-4 c powdered sugar (I use the kind from whole foods without corn starch, but use whatever is best for your family!)

1 T. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. almond extract

With the whisk attachment on a mixer, or a whisk, whisk together the softened Daiya and the white chocolate until thoroughly mixed.  Next, add the extracts and powdered sugar until you get a mixture that resembles soft cream cheese icing.  It will be kind of soft at this stage!  After the icing reaches the desired consistency, scoop it into a gallon sized plastic bag, seal, and then place in the refrigerator for an hour or 2, until it is firm.  Once the cake is completely cooled, cut the tip off of the bottom of the zip loc bag and pipe onto the cake as seen in the picture!

Note about the icing:  This is the only part of the cake that I didn’t just LOVE.  I am going to play with the recipe, maybe add half shortening or earth balance butter to see if that kind of neutralizes the pea proteiny taste in it, but my husband liked the icing and if you’re not picky like me it’s fine!  

Spaghetti O's

What do you do when you have a picky 18 month old with food allergies?  Make your own kid food that is healthy!  Here is my attempt this week, and the whole family loved them!  I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Healthy Dairy/Soy free Spaghetti O’s

3 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

½ onion, diced

1 cup carrot puree (I used gerber carrot baby food)

1 (16 oz.) can tomato sauce, preferably organic

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

16 oz dry pasta, preferably stars or letters

Meatballs:

            2 lbs ground beef

            1 onion, grated

½ cup bread crumbs (soaked in milk alternative until moist)

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 T. Italian herb blend

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Next, mix all ingredients together for meatballs in a bowl.  After meat mixture is thoroughly mixed, roll marble sized meatballs (or whatever size works best for your child, you know them best!).  Place on a greased pan and bake for 20 minutes!

In the mean time, boil about 5 cups of water, and add about 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and boil the pasta. 

Sautee the bacon pieces and onion together until soft in a separate skillet or pot (big enough to fit everything in once it’s cooked!) once the bacon and onions are soft add the carrot puree, tomato paste, and tomato sauce.  Simmer until the pasta is done.  Once the pasta is done, drain and place in the sauce and mix together!  After the meatballs are done mix into the sauce and pasta mixture and you have spaghetti O’s that even adults will love!

Note: I used Monjuni’s brand pasta sauce, but use your favorite!  As always, check ingredients in everything to make sure you’re not missing any allergens!

Dairy and Soy free Lasagna that tastes like the real deal!

Lately, I have wanted to let Major try a lot of the “typical” kid foods.  The problem with most of these foods is that they usually are packed with dairy.  I came across the recipe for this Chive Nut Ricotta (see recipe below)    online that looked promising.  It uses soaked cashews to create a ricotta like substance.  I am VERY skeptical of cheese substitutes, but neither my husband nor I could tell the difference between this and regular ricotta!  It’s THAT good!!  On the top of mine in the picture, I put a few of the mozzarella style Daiya shreds, but next time I think I would leave them off and just let the last layer be marinara sauce.  It didn’t add anything to the flavor of the dish, but it didn’t hurt it either, so it’s entirely up to you!  If you don’t do wheat or gluten you could substitute the pasta with a gluten free option, and also the egg could be omitted from the ricotta, just with a little less firm of a result.  

Dairy and Soy Free Lasagna

1 jar of marinara sauce that is dairy and soy free (in the BR area I like Monjuni’s sauce, sold at whole foods and other local grocers)

1 box of no boil lasagna noodles

1 recipe of chive nut ricotta, (see recipe below)

1 egg

1 lb. of pork Italian sausage, sauteed until cooked through then drained

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Make the chive nut ricotta (see link to recipe above.)  After you make the chive nut ricotta, place it in a bowl then add about 3 T. of water and 1 egg.  Stir thoroughly until combined. 

Grease a 9x13 pyrex dish with olive oil to prevent sticking.  Begin the layers with enough marinara sauce to create a thin layer on the bottom of the dish.  Next, cover the sauce with the no cook noodles.  The next layer is the chive nut ricotta, put enough to create about 1/4” layer.  On top of the chive nut ricotta add the meat, then another layer of marinara sauce.  Repeat this until all of your ricotta is gone and the lasagna pan is full!  Bake the lasagna for approximately 40 minutes, or until the lasagna is 165 degrees when measured with a thermometer. 

Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving!

WARNING:  THIS RECIPE IS NOT FOR THOSE WITH NUT  ALLERGIES!  

Vegan Chive Ricotta “Cheese”



2 cups of soaked raw cashews, soaked overnight and drained

2 fresh garlic cloves


2 Tbsp olive oil


1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut Creamer, Original Flavor


3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp dried Italian herb blend


1 T. honey


1/2 bunch fresh chives


 In the pitcher of your blender, soak the cashews in enough water to cover them by 1 inch, overnight or at least 6 hours.  Completely drain the cashews then add all of the remaining ingredients to the pitcher of the blender.  Blend on high until smooth, more coconut creamer may be used if a thinner texture is desired, or your blender keeps getting caught.  This may take a few minutes because blender power and speed can vary.  If you are using this recipe for the lasagna right away, add the egg into the mixture and blend until completely mixed then spoon it into the layers as needed, if not put in an air tight container and refrigerate.

Source: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/06/vegan-chive-ricotta-nut-cheese-spread.html?m=1

Zucchini Muffins

Major won’t eat vegetables these days, so out of desperation I decided to come up with a recipe for muffins that I am able to hide all kinds of goodies in.  Every time I make them I try to add another veggie into them, the latest batch I made had 2 grated carrots in addition to the zucchini in them, and they are a big treat for breakfast!  I hope your kids enjoy these muffins as much as Major does!

Zucchini Muffins

2 2/3 c. white whole wheat flour

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. agave nectar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. allspice

1.5 c grated zucchini

5 oz. coconut oil, melted

1/4c. milk alternative, (I use oat milk but any milk sub will work!)

2 T. vanilla (you are not reading it wrong, it says Tablespoons)

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 c. walnuts or raisins (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Next, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl or mixer.  Once the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together pour into muffin cups (either grease a muffin tin or use cupcake papers) using an ice cream scoop.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffin. 

Rice dressing, a family favorite, Major style

This is a recipe that my family serves at holidays and for special occasions.  I have always loved this recipe but it was off limits for us because it normally has ground beef instead of ground turkey.  Luckily, I was able to find a “Major safe” version of the bulk sausage at my local whole foods in the butcher case (just ask your butcher!)  It was a hit with my whole family.  Major was hesitant to try it at first, as he is with most new foods, but ended up loving it and going to town on it!

Rice Dressing

1 lb. breakfast pork sausage (like Jimmy Dean, I used the whole foods version)

1 lb. ground dark meat turkey

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1.5 bell peppers, chopped

.5 bunch of green onions, chopped

2 cups of brown rice, cooked

Salt, pepper, and old bay seasoning to taste

Olive oil

Cook the onions, celery, and bell peppers over high heat in olive oil until soft.  Next, season the meat with old bay seasoning liberally and add it to the vegetables in the pot and break up with the back of a spoon until it is browned.  Turn the heat down to simmer and simmer stirring frequently for 1 hour.  Add the green onions and simmer for 15 more minutes.  After the meat mixture is cooked slowly stir in the rice until you reach the desired ratio of meat to rice (I didn’t use quite all of the cooked rice because I prefer a lot of meat in my rice dressing!)  Serve warm.  

Going Dairy Free 101

Going Dairy Free 101

·    DO NOT USE COFFEE MATE!  It says it’s dairy free, but it has milk protein in it!

·    If a product says it’s lactose free, it is not indeed dairy free, and usually contains milk protein (casein or whey).

·    Read all of the ingredients on a product label, even if it has an allergen statement, which is a statement at the bottom of the ingredients of a product that reads “MAY CONTAIN:”

·    These are all of the names milk/milk protein can go by on a product label:

▪  Acidophilus Milk ▪  Ammonium Caseinate ▪  Butter ▪  Butter Fat ▪  Butter Oil ▪  Butter Solids ▪  Buttermilk ▪  Buttermilk Powder ▪  Calcium Caseinate ▪  Casein ▪  Caseinate (in general) ▪  Cheese (All animal-based) ▪  Condensed Milk ▪  Cottage Cheese ▪  Cream ▪  Curds ▪  Custard ▪  Delactosed Whey ▪  Demineralized Whey ▪  Dry Milk Powder ▪  Dry Milk Solids ▪  Evaporated Milk

▪  Ghee ▪  Goat Milk ▪  Half & Half ▪  Hydrolyzed Casein ▪  Hydrolyzed Milk Protein ▪  Iron Caseinate ▪  Lactalbumin ▪  Lactoferrin ▪  Lactoglobulin ▪  Lactose ▪  Lactulose ▪  Low-Fat Milk ▪  Magnesium Caseinate ▪  Malted Milk ▪  Milk ▪  Milk Derivative ▪  Milk Fat ▪  Milk Powder ▪  Milk Protein ▪  Milk Solids ▪  Natural Butter Flavor ▪  Nonfat Milk

▪  Nougat ▪  Paneer ▪  Potassium Caseinate ▪  Pudding ▪  Recaldent ▪  Rennet Casein ▪  Skim Milk ▪  Sodium Caseinate ▪  Sour Cream ▪  Sour Milk Solids ▪  Sweetened Condensed Milk ▪  Sweet Whey ▪  Whey ▪  Whey Powder ▪  Whey Protein Concentrate ▪  Whey Protein Hydrolysate ▪  Whipped Cream ▪  Whipped Topping ▪  Whole Milk ▪  Yogurt ▪  Zinc Caseinate

Source: http://www.godairyfree.org/dairy-free-grocery-shopping-guide/dairy-ingredient-list-2

·    Goat, Sheep, and any other mamallian milk is usually not safe for most kids, they are molecularly similar.

·    If after being on a strict dairy free diet for 2 weeks or more and you have seen no change, you may consider going soy free as well.  A large percentage of children who are allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy!

·    Using google to look for dairy free products to replace your old dairy full products is a great idea!  There are A LOT of alternatives out there!

·    Dairy free does not mean you can’t eat anything, it just requires a little more thought!

·    You CAN eat out at restaurants!  You HAVE to tell your server/order taker that you have a SEVERE dairy allergy (even though it’s probably not you that has it, they won’t understand the whole explanation about breastfeeding) and you cannot have anything with dairy AND butter.  Then ask to speak to a manager or the chef who will help you order.  I also find that at a restaurant, it helps to call ahead and speak to a manager and clearly explain your needs to them, then they know you’re coming.  I also look at the menu online if it’s available and try to pick out a few items that may be dairy free to ask the chef/manager about!

·    The book and blog Allergic Girl by Sloane miller is a great resource for how to live a full life without eating allergens.

·    Godairyfree.org is also a great resource! See their grocery shopping guide here: http://www.godairyfree.org/dairy-free-grocery-shopping-guide/dairy-ingredient-list-2