Nut-Free Summer 2013: A Roundup of Food Allergy Posts for a Fun, Safe Summer

 

Homemade ice cream break with my youngest. See below (and search the blog)
 for nut-free frozen treat recipes.

Summer is in full swing by now. Most of us have kids out of school and things like parties, road trips and seasonal treats like ice cream and barbecues are on the horizon.

I have written quite a bit about summer with food allergies, so I thought I would share some of my favorite and most useful summer blog posts for those who haven't seen them. For those who have, I hope these will serve as helpful reminders.

Going to a summer party or barbecue? Check out these tips.

Are you scheduling a road trip to visit family or friends? Here's some advice on travel with food allergies.

Sending a child to camp or thinking about it? Here is our day camp story, plus a link to the transcript of a talk I co-hosted on The Motherhood dealing with camp, sleepovers and play dates.

Looking for homemade ice cream? Here is a recipe for nut-free, egg-free basic vanilla. Making ice cream and frozen treats is a fun and easy summer project on a rainy day or for “bored” kiddos.

If you’re concerned about nut allergies and sunscreen, here is a popular post discussing some options. The comments box below this post has great suggestions from readers, too.

And for anyone looking for an overall approach to living the nut-free life, check out my e-book guide for parents and caregivers of kids with life-threatening nut allergies. Grandparents, family members and teachers find it helpful, too.  As always, I appreciate the great feedback I've received from readers of my book. Thank you!

 

Last Minute Valentine's Day Treats at the Supermarket, A Recipe and Love for the Food Allergy Parents

Heart-shaped chocolate chip scones. Yum!

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and as parents of kids with severe food allergies know, we have to remain vigilant to prevent reactions. This holiday of love and treats is not always as "sweet" as we sometimes wish it could be with those concerns on our shoulders, but I hope it is helpful to know that you are NOT alone in this struggle. Just imagine as you drop your child off at school tomorrow that a lot of other parents are going to worry a little more about their kids because candy is not always safe for them to eat. Or maybe they will have to say "no" to a special treat that others can have. It can be hard to deal with the various issues and concerns, especially with regard to health and safety.

 

Remember that your attitude makes a big difference. Let your child know you'll have something special for them after school, or treat them to a nice breakfast that includes the heart-shaped scones above (recipe in a minute). Put a note in their lunch.  As busy parents, sometimes we just have time to give kids a hug and a Valentine card--and that's enough!

 

How you express your loving care doesn't really matter--you would be surprised at how important your simple support is. Truly, it's the best gift you can give. After all, love and not food is what this holiday is all about!

However: If you need safe treat ideas, and you're looking for last minute supermarket finds for Valentine's Day, here's a link to a previous post with several options.

Now onto the scones! I was thinking of a relatively simple and sweet treat that can be easily made into a heart shape without messy frosting, etc. So scones it is! You can use dried fruit in these if you like or make them plain; I used Enjoy Life Foods mini chocolate chips--nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free. The scones have eggs and dairy. For an egg-free variation, see below. Those of you who adapt recipes for dairy free, you can use dairy-free shortening and non-dairy milk in these, but your results and baking times might be slightly different.

These are a nice breakfast treat, lunch dessert or after-school snack.

Jenny's Heart-Shaped Chocolate Chip Scones

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I use Gold Medal)
2 - 1/4 tsp. baking powder (I use Clabber Girl)
1/4 cup sugar (Domino's) plus extra for sprinkling on top of scones
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 stick cold butter or cold non-dairy shortening or margarine
1 large egg (if you need egg-free, you can omit the egg but your scone will be more like a biscuit--and that's not a bad thing!)
1/3 cup milk or cream
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life, at Whole Foods, some SuperTargets and supermarkets) or dried fruit like Craisins

Stir together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then, using two knives used scissor fashion or a pastry cutter, blend in butter until it is the size of small peas.

Stir in chocolate chips or dried fruit and make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Beat milk or cream with egg and then pour into the well. Mix together lightly but thoroughly; do not over mix or you will have a tough dough. If it won't come together into a ball, add a little more milk. Then, use your hands to mix the dough together. Place on a floured surface and pat into a rectangle (or an approximation of one, as I did. See below).

Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter or other cutter (or alternatively, pat into a circle and cut into triangle shapes), cut out scones and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with additional granulated sugar, if desired.

Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown. These are best served warm, or reheat for about 15 seconds in the microwave.

Regarding food allergies and Valentine's Day, here's a post from a few years ago that you might also like.

Lots of love to you all! Here's to a safe and happy day!

Nut-Free Recipes for Superbowl Sunday -- or Any Game Day Party!

 

Since it's Super Bowl Sunday this weekend and it is reaaaaally cold in many parts of the country (like Chicago), I'm sharing a family favorite recipe -- Mexican Meatball Soup. Something about Super Bowl Sunday makes me crave Mexican food -- maybe it's the traditional chips and guacamole usually on offer -- so this dish will pair nicely with salsa, chips, guac, even cornbread. Click here for a simple cornbread recipe I featured around Thanksgiving.

 

I love this recipe because it is easy to make, economical, tasty and healthy. Kids and adults love it and it is also a great recipe to make and carry along in a slow cooker if you are attending a party. (For tips on attending a party with nut allergies, click this link.) If your kids are reluctant to eat vegetables, this might get them to eat some because most kids love meatballs. Or fool them by chopping the veggies really small, so that they are less likely to notice them.

 

Once you've assembled the soup and cooked the meatballs in the simmering broth for 20 minutes, this soup only improves the longer it sits in the slow cooker. And of course, like all soups, this is even better the next day. You can easily double this recipe for a crowd.

 

Before I list my recipes, one note: This site mainly offers peanut-free and tree nut-free recipes. I'm not an expert in substitutions for other allergies (though many of my recipes will take to substitutions) and there is no way I can anticipate every food allergy with my recipes. So please, if you can't eat one or more of the foods that appear in the recipes in this post, feel free to substitute as you see fit, if you can. I know a lot of us need nut-free recipes and that's what I know best, so thanks for understanding!

 

Mexican Meatball Soup

 

1 lb lean ground beef (I use ground round)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 grated yellow onion (use a hand grater right over the mixing bowl)

3/4 cup crushed tortilla chips

4 tablespoons (or to taste) fresh cilantro (skip cilantro if you/your kids don't like it--but if you like it, don't skip it! It is really good.)

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

7-8 cups chicken or beef stock or broth, or a combo of both (I use Swanson's low-sodium or organic broth)

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with their juice

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

 

In a large mixing bowl mix beef, eggs, onion, tortilla chips, cilantro, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Cover this mixture tightly and chill in the refrigerator for one hour to make it easy to scoop and to blend flavors

 

Place your stock in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, if using, carrots, celery, onion and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a roiling boil, then turn down heat; simmer.

 

Form the beef mixture into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls (use a small ice cream scoop for this, if you have one.) Place them in the simmering stock, carefully. Cover the dish and simmer gently about 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked all the way through.

 

At this point you can place the soup in a slow cooker on low.

 

When ready to serve, top with fresh cilantro. You can also add shredded cheese if you like, avocado, or whatever garnish looks good!

 

Makes about 8 servings.

Game Day Recipes from SunButter

If you can have/like SunButter, each year SunButter break out some tasty and inventive recipes for Super Bowl Sunday (or any game day). This may be your chance to convert friends and family to a peanut butter substitute.

Click this link to find nut-free snacks, apps, sweets and more.

Food Allergies and Summer: A Blog Post Roundup

Summer is in full swing by now. Most of us have kids out of school and things like parties, road trips and seasonal treats like ice cream and barbecues are on the horizon.

I have written quite a bit about summer with food allergies, so I thought I would share some of my favorite and most useful summer blog posts for those who haven't seen them. For those who have, here are some good reminders.

Going to a summer party or barbecue? Check out these tips.

Are you scheduling a road trip to visit family or friends? Here's some advice on travel with food allergies.

Sending a child to camp or thinking about it? Here is our day camp story, plus a link to the transcript of a talk I co-hosted on The Motherhood dealing with this camp and play dates.

Looking for homemade ice cream?Here is a recipe for nut-free, egg-free basic vanilla.

Nut-Free St. Patrick's Day Must-Have: Nut-Free Irish Soda Bread!

When you have a peanut or a tree nut allergy, Irish soda bread from the bakery is off-limits due to cross-contact risk, but that's OK because I prefer the wholesome goodness of baking my own.

Here is a link to my St. Patrick's Day post from last year, that included two delish nut-free recipes for soda bread. I hope you enjoy them!

Food Allergy Product Review: Enjoy Life Foods Seeds and Fruits, Plus a Recipe!

When old friends Enjoy Life Foods told me they were sending me their updated trail mix product, now in new packaging and renamed "Seeds and Fruits" of course I said "bring it on." They make all of their products in a dedicated nut-free facility and they are free of the top 8allergens plus a few more.

Trail mix that is also nut-free AND delicious is extremely difficult to find. Well, the search is over because Beach Bash and Mountain Mambo Seeds and Fruit are available at Whole Foods markets and other grocery stores: check the Enjoy Life Foods web site for a store locator.

Each mix has a wonderful blend of sunflower seeds and dried fruit: the Mountain Mambo flavor kicks it up a notch by adding Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Between my two daughters, Mountain Mambo disappeared almost immediately. And that's OK because it is a healthy snack in addition to being nut allergy-friendly.

The Seeds and Fruit are so good I really wanted to try them in a recipe. I saw an after-school snack recipe in a food magazine that used peanut butter and all sorts of other off-limits ingredients and decided to create my own version. The addition of Seeds and Fruit to the mix was a hit, let me tell you. I also used another of our allergy-friendly faves, SunButter, and the following snack has become a favorite around here.

I understand that some of you can't use sunflower seeds or sunflower seed spread. In this case, you can tweak the following recipe for your needs. The best part is that it is a NO BAKE treat.

Enjoy!

SunButter/Trail Mix Granola Balls

Ingredients:

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup SunButter sunflower seed spread (any variety)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or dairy-free spread)
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/4 cup Enjoy Life Seeds and Fruit (or dried fruit/chocolate chips, your choice)

Method:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, SunButter and butter or dairy-free substitute; stir until loosened and combined. Remove from heat.

Stir in remaining ingredients until well combined.

Drop by teaspoons (I use a mini ice cream scoop) into paper mini cupcake liners (Target has some Halloween-themed ones right now). Place on a rimmed baking sheet and set for at least 15 minutes but the longer they set, the better they are.

Serve! The rest can be placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator; they'll keep for about a week.

Note: I was given no compensation for this review, other than food samples.