Avoiding dairy. Harder than it sounds!!

Since my son was diagnosed with a dairy allergy I went into full-blown research mode (as I tend to do with everything that is new to me). I read medical journals, went into dairy-free forums, blogs, books, and even some Facebook pages that talked specifically about this topic.

One website with tons of good info is www.godairyfree.org.

I liked the info on the website so much that I bought the book “Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living”. 

That had tons of good recipes but also information. 

My husband wanted even more information about dairy allergies and ADHD, so he purchased for us “The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, Updated and Revised: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet”. 

That is another good book as well. It also shared some very appealing recipes. All fine and good, but my son is a picky eater, and I searched far and wide for recipes that besides being dairy free could be appealing to him….visually and taste wise….so I hit the jackpot with “Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy, Delicious Meals”. 

The author of this book, Silvana Nardone, also has a website http://www.silvanaskitchen.com/ , a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/silvananardoneglutenfreedairyfree?fref=ts , and is the Editor –in-Chief of “Easy Eats” http://www.easyeats.com/ . This last one is more of a gluten free site, but many times gluten free recipes are dairy free and a good source. My son has seen all the pictures in the book and is excited every time I tell him I am trying out one of the recipes there. So far so good. Anecdotally I can say he is doing much better, both with his allergies and with his ADHD. I can even say all four of us (Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son) are all doing much better health wise, so much so that even if his allergy goes away we will continue to do our best to be dairy free.

It is a pain to be dairy free though. My focus is more on dairy and I was surprised how many thinks use dairy or even casein. The strangest to me was to find out my kids’ multi-vitamin had milk http://www.centrum.com/centrum-kids#chewables.

I have become an expert food label reader. And it is exhausting.

We have decided to do our best to go organic, free of most preservatives, and thus mainly fresh products. We have also decided to do our best to avoid gluten and artificial colors, like Red 40. Red 40 is another one that surprised me how many things contain it. I expected it in my son’s bag of skittles, but then it turned up in a Duncan Hines icing, and again in that multivitamin I already discarded because of the milk. Jeshhhhh!!!

So as I am about to hit the “purchase” button on a vegan multivitamin that is milk free and red 40 free http://www.nowfoods.com/Supplements/Products-by-Category/Vitamins/Multiple-Vitamins---Childrens/M075933.htm I am hopeful that my whole family will benefit from leading a more simple way of life. 

Don’t get me wrong, because I still am enrolling my son in a study to slowly increase his tolerance to milk, but that is only so he can partake in pizza and cake at birthday parties at some point. Hopefully starting this journey so early in his life will make him a life-long healthy-lifestyle convert. Time will tell.

What healthy life-style changes are you making lately?


Rossana G-A



FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Cast Iron cooking - another green endeavor

I grew up in a household that cooked in Cast Iron skillets. My Mom never really taught me how to season them as she had been cooking in them for ever. She did, however, teach me they had to be completely dried or they would oxidize.

Then we "went with the times" and bought some non-stick skillets, started using cooking sprays, and even bought a microwave. Yep, I think I may have dated myself, but anyway...

In my efforts to have a healthier home and a healthier planet, I have gone back to these good old fashion skillets. I had non-stick for the majority of my married years, but the non-stick lasted only a few years and I was incurring the costs of new one more often than I liked. Then I come to find out about the lovely carcinogens left behind....wonderful.

Interestingly enough, even before I knew this, I venture out to buy to cast iron skillets because I loved to cook in them at my parents house. I stopped using them as frequently because they kept sticking. I come to find out I had to season them.

I found this wonderful blog post http://modernmrscleaver.com/2012/08/16/psssst-cast-iron-pass-it-down/ about cast iron and the ABCs of using and caring for them.

Image from modernmrscleaver.com

So I was sold. I pulled out both my skillets and seasoned them a few months back, and have slowly started using them.

I have the 5-inch lodge miniature skillet,

and the 8-inch skillet.

They have been a joy to use...once I got used to actually lowering the temperature on my electric range...because they heat up and stay hot so much beter than non-stick modern pans. One more for cast iron. That makes....a gazillion against non-stick pans.

I have noticed the lids I have from my other pans work well, but I plan to start using them in the oven as well, so I do plan to invest in a couple of cast iron lids.

I also noticed the handles do get pretty darn hot, and this multitasking Mom can easily forget to use a pot holder, so maybe some Silicon Hot Handle Holders are in my future as well

And since I am on a roll, I'l probably invest in a few more pieces. This one is a two-for-one, or should I say a five-for-two; a skillet, a fryer, a dutch oven, a lid, that also converts to a griddle. 

Have you tried cooking with Cast Iron?


Rossana G-A



FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Packing in the Magnesium - No-Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I recently read that many ADHD experts believe ADHD people have a mild Magnesium Deficiency. Some of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency include irritability, decreased attention span, and mental confusion

In one preliminary study of 75 magnesium-deficient children with ADHD, those who received magnesium supplements showed an improvement in behavior compared to those who did not receive the supplements. Too much magnesium can be dangerous and magnesium can interfere with certain medications, including some antibiotics and some high blood pressure medications.

Our doctor gave us the go ahead to add more foods that have a healthy dose of magnesium, but you should always talk to your doctor if you have health concerns.

One way I decided to make this endeavor more fun was with an easy no-bake granola recipe. I added plenty of bran, and magnesium rich nuts like cashews and brazil nuts.

Recipe that yields30 bars goes like this:

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

½ cup honey

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1 cup bran flakes

1 cup all-bran

½ cup raisins

¼ cup almonds

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup cashews

¼ cup brazil nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir oats, rice cereal, bran flakes, all-bran, raisins, and all the nuts together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased Half Sheet pan {about 18x13x1} and press out to be about 3/4 in or just below the 1 in thickness.

Note: Do not add the chocolate chips before this point as they will melt with the melted butter, sugar, honey mix.

Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly.

I am pretty impatient, so I cooled them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cutting into bars. I left them in the pan in the refrigerator for a one more hour before I packed them up in a few plastic containers. I took one of the containers on an outing with my kiddos and they loved them.



They come home from school and beg for one instead of asking for candy or cookies, and they will even ask for one while they wait for breakfast to be ready. They love them so much that I made my first batch 11 days ago and as of this morning we ran out. I love it that they love it!

What are some of the ways you sneak in healthy foods in your diet?


Rossana G-A

FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

A better start in the morning - Protein and complex carbs.

Now that the ADHD count has gone up in my home from 2 people to 3 (both kids and hubby), I have been noticing more opportunities for improvement. One major one being good eating habits. I want to make sure they have the best start to their day so they are in a better mood and in a better position to take on what the day throws at them.

This probably should have been my focus all along, but you get complaisant and tired, and all of a sudden you are having them eat cold cereal every morning. So here I go back on the healthy train.

So far this week I have done pretty well, and all campers are happy.  

Monday morning- Oatmeal:

• Steel cut oats 
• Raisins 
• Cinnamon 
• Brown sugar 
• 2% milk 

Tuesday morning – Bean and Cheese Burritos:

 

• 2 whole-wheat tortillas 
• Refried beans 
• Shredded part-skimmed mozzarella 

 Wednesday morning – Egg and Cheese Burritos: 

• 2 whole-wheat tortillas 
• 2 scrambled eggs 
• Shredded part-skimmed mozzarella

Thursday morning – Egg, Spinach, and Cheese Quiche (sans crust) and toast with jam: 

• 4 tablespoons chopped spinach 
• 2 eggs 
• Shredded part-skimmed mozzarella 
• 1 slice of whole-wheat toast with butter and fruit jam

I'm thinking tomorrow I may make some whole-wheat pancakes with nuts, but who knows, I'm still getting inspired by food images on the internet.

What breakfast dishes help you start your morning on the right foot?




Rossana G-A


FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Hot weather, cool lunch!

Since we are in the middle of summer, and my kiddos are going to summer day camp where they go out on field trips and hikes and swimming and all sorts of warm weather activities, it was soon apparent to me that their normal packed lunch was not getting the usual amount of shade it had while they were in school. They started complaining about their grapes being soggy and their yogurt not being cold.

I could have opted not to pack them such items, but when these are such healthy foods I thought I would look into it a bit more. I looked all over the Internet and found some interesting items. I also found out they sold them at Target, which made me even happier as I could go check them out and not simply order them on-line (and pay for shipping).

I was happy to find a smaller version of some lunch travel containers I already had.

These have been great tools for me when packing my own lunch, and for the past week it seams I made a good purchase in expanding our lunch tools for them.

 

These handy containers have an icepack on the lid which keeps the contents nice and cool without making the rest of their lunch bag wet with an external icepack. They are as small as 1 cup and 2 cup containers, and perfect for those fresh fruits and veggies they love. They also keep cheese and ham slices cool, for those “green Mom version” of store lunchables.

I was also very happy to find these yogurt containers.

They are insulated cups that fit most store brand individual yogurt cups. They also come with 2 stackable cups. One with an incorporated icepack lid for such things as pre-packed fruit cups or “green Mom version” fruit in juice without all the pre-packaging. The other is a smaller cup simple cup for dry snacks like granola, cheerios, or goldfish crackers.

My kid lunch packing collection already included the following items:

Lunch Bag

Napkins

Water Bottle

Snack bags

Silicone Cups - to use as bento dividers

Large sub container or small vento box

Sandwich container

Small snack container

Sporks

This last one I use more often in less warm weather to send my kids some chicken nuggets, or fish sticks, or even soup. It is a great tool because it comes with a spoon in the lid, it is microwaveable so you can heat it up again right before you pack it (or reheat if they can do so at school, but without the lid), and dishwasher safe.

Hot food bowl

I am actually a bit embarrassed to admit I have a few other things I use for packing lunches, like sandwich shape cutters, or cookie cutters I use for fruit shapes, little plastic sauce bottles, but these are the ones I use almost every day. It is all in an effort to make lunch more enjoyable and more eco-friendly for my little ones. And for me too :)

What are you eco-friendly lunch packing tools?





Rossana G-A


FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Guess what's for dinner!

I had a bit of fun yesterday sending out on my Facebook page this picture and getting a bunch of different responses to my call for a guess of what was for dinner.

I got everything from "Pizza" to "Tuna Loaf". I guess you could actually make a pizza with these ingredients, but it is not one my kids or I would be eager to try. I have also, believe it or not, not ever tried a tuna loaf let alone know how to make it.

So what did I make for dinner? Tuna Croquettes!

It is a simple and healthy recipe, and most times I have all but one of the ingredients at home (celery is not always in my fridge).

Ingredients:

3 (5-ounce) cans of water packed tune, drained and shredded.
3 large celery sticks (or 5-6 ready-packed small celery sticks) finely chopped
1 round slice of red/purple onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs
freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

This yields about 30-36 kid sized croquettes. I prepared this in 20 minutes (give or take for some picture taking) and cooked them in about 5-6 minutes.

I drained all 3 cans of tuna and placed it in a large mixing bowl. I added the celery, onion, bread crumbs and eggs. I also ground some fresh pepper (not too much because my 6 year old boy has a sensitive palet and pepper is "HOT AND SPICY" according to him) and a bit of salt.

Here is where you can't be afraid to get messy. I actually enjoy this part a lot.

I mix all the ingredients by hand, literally. I squish it all together and start making little balls, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

Then I flatten them out a bit and lay them on a well oiled grill. You need enough oil to sauté your croquettes, which means it is not deep frying but just lightly fried. About 2-3 minutes on one side, then you flip them over to get a golden brown on the other side. I also keep the grill on medium or medium-high heat to avoid having the croquettes stick and not need as much oil.

As a mentioned before, this is a fast and healthy recipe. More elaborate recipes include some mashed potatoes to help keep the croquette together, but that adds starches, carbohydrates and calories to the recipe. We are also a low carb and low-glycemic diet family, so even though it is definitely a much yummier croquette with the potatoes, we stay away from it and keep all the flavor going with the onions, celery and pepper in it.

This is what my plate looked like

A few sides, and lots of salad. My kids love their rice and beans, and I am increasing how much salad they eat, so their plate looked a bit different than mine, yet it had the same sides.

I do admit, my daughter did say "Mom, next time, can you make them without the celery?" because she is not a fan of celery, but once we got some ketchup out for her she stopped complaining.

From kitchen to table in less than 30 minutes. Not bad for a school day.

Tuna croquettes are definitely one of my "fast cooking" go-to recipes when I didn't plan ahead my dinner, and my kids love them.

What are some of your "fast cooking" go-to recipes?

Rossana G-A




FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Hearts for breakfast! Eggs in a french toast cage.

Here is another cute idea for breakfast. My kids love french toast, and they love eggs, so I combined them. Here is what you need:

12 eggs

8 slices of bread

some salt

syrup of your liking

Yep. It's that easy!! And I had all the ingredients at home.

I cut out some heart shapes on 8 slices of bread (2 each for my family of 4). I whisked 4 eggs to dip the bread in. 

I used 2 pans, one for the caged eggs and another for the french toast alone. I cracked 1 egg inside each cut-out slice. Add some salt to taste to the eggs and cook for about 2 minutes. Make sure to turn them over if you like them 'over-easy".

Again, my kids usually don't like mixing sweet and savory, so they got their french toast with chocolate syrup on a separate plate.

This took me maybe 10 minutes in the morning, and it is yummy yummy!!!


They got some extra protein in their breakfast, and Mom got praised for how big her heart was. Win-win!!


Do you have a recipe with hearts?


Rossana G-A





FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.

Breakfast treat - Pancakes!

Last weekend I made some pancakes for my family. I had not made any in a while, and I knew it was time to make some. I grew up eating pancakes on the weekends as a treat. It was a whole production since we were eight, but when it comes to making pancakes for four people it isn't as bad as it sounds.

I also feel that buying the ready made kind is a waste of money as the recipe is so easy, and making it from scratch keeps me within budget. Most ingredients I have at home all the time.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl you sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. You poor in little by little the milk, the vanilla extract, the egg and melted butter; mix until smooth. You can do this with an electric mixer at medium for about 2 minutes.

I personally opt for a whisk most times as I want to surprise my kids without waking them up, and it just takes me a minute or two extra.

Then you heat a griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. I like using butter to grease the griddle to add to the flavor, and I don't have to give my family any extra butter to spread once ready.

Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle if you want regular sized pancakes, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. I like making "dollar pancakes" which are bite sized and avoid some of the mess of having the kids cut them up. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

This recipe makes 8 servings, but my bunch is a hungry one, soI have to make more than just pancakes. I add some protein with some eggs sunny side up and some turkey bacon. I like the turkey bacon because it doesn't shrivel up as much as regular turkey does as it has less fat. Win-win in my book.

Turkey bacon is almost done, and eggs need a few more seconds.

My kiddos don't like mixing sweet and savory, so they eat their eggs and turkey bacon in one plate and their pancakes in another. Maple syrup or strawberry syrup is used in my home, but I'm sure any syrup would do.

As you can probably tell, the turkey bacon is nowhere to be found on these pictures, and that is because I was too slow to take a picture and they had already devoured it. I have some happy campers here!!

What is your breakfast treat?

Rossana G-A





FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.