Allerfree Recipes

So, time to make some changes. We have recently had some big time stuff going on (including losing the air conditioner and furnace when it was 90F, and a surgery for a two year old) and we are forced now to stick to a tight budget. Not easy with five kids, a special diet, and life! But i am going to follow through with it here! and also, i updated my mac and cheese recipe! it's creamy, delicious, and full of veggies that you can't tell are in there! The budget change must be instant. The good thing about this mac and cheeze is that it lasts a lot of meals. The rough price breakdown, as written is about $32 for the pot, but for 6 people it lasts AT LEAST 4 meals, so $8 a meal, which is about $1.25 per person per meal. WAY cheaper than the boxed stuff or take out!! Here it goes! Creamy, healthy delicious comfort food that your kids will eat (and you don't need to tell them about the vegetables!). Oh also, my dad ate it..... and that's really all i need to say about that...

We hit a record high yesterday for February! It was 75 degrees F. and Fantastic!!! Homeschooling is great on days we can play outside! (Well and almost every other day!) So i had a bazillion bananas get ripe because if i buy two they eat them before we get home, if i buy 20..... i throw them away. Anyhow, i got proactive and peeled and froze them before they got really gross. So i made nice cream. pretty run of the mill recipe. nothing exciting. added strawberries and "milk" to frozen bananas yesterday, then little chocolate chips (all dairy free of course!). And today this... i looked online for cake better flavored things and came up with this based on a few. Cake Batter Nice Cream 5 frozen bananas vanilla (about a tablespoon) milk (just enough to blend thick. though a smoothie would be good too, add more!) melted dairy free butter (1/4 cup) coconut flour (about 1/4 cup) sprinkles (optional) a big spoonful of cashew butter (probably a big tablespoon) (...

I am attempting to be more committed to this blog this year. I have so many new ideas and we have been through so much. And I have invented the healthiest, best, allergy free mac n cheese ever.  No, seriously, all four of my children and my husband, ate it. i practically threw a party. That is why it got its own line. ALL.FOUR.KIDS. For 5 meals (judge if you will! we have a newborn and three nights of dance a week! plus homeschooling) So we had a new guy in November 11/11, after a very strange (for me) end of pregnancy. He's so sweet and the kids try to maul him (i just told the 2yo three times to stop honking his nose) . It also appears he doesn't like something i eat. cue biased food allergy parent fear.... In case anyone's interested, i apparently was the only person ever to be veganish (still eat pastured free range, local friends when we can, eggs. cant force my husband to give them up, he's given up his entire way of eating) and unable to eat dairy ever at the...

As I sit here and blog.... I am reminded of so many things I am thankful for! My family being first! My dad's tumor is benign! He has to have a major surgery because it needs to be removed and is very large, but still.... It brings to mind others who did not get that same news. My kids are wonderful, sweet and smart (except from about 4:40 to 6 which I lovingly call the not happy hour) Also as I sit here, I am reminded of why I actually shouldn't be sitting here and that I have so may things to do and far less time than required to do them. hahahaha... Here's our Menu for tomorrow... (in your head, pretend someone is whining about everything I type) Lentil/Bean (and secret ground up mushroom- please don't tell my husband) Loaf Mashed potatoes (and cauliflower- see above, change husband to kids) gravy (that only my husband will eat) Stuffing (adults only, I'm sure) green bean casserole (vegan zed, freshized, and probably just for the adults, and also, my hus...

We went on vacation! Myrtle beach was wonderful. The ocean is very much my Zen! although we learned a few things... never take anxious kids on a walk when they are tired and it's very dark and they are unfamiliar with the area. Yikes... Also, the baby loved the sand, to eat... which was great, didn't have to feed her as much! Ha! Also, cleaning, cooking and doing laundry is way better on the beach!! But also, though, I seriously have to thank Cheeseburger in Paradise in Myrtle Beach for making our first time going out to eat in 5 years (with the kids, and I still brought food for the kids) way less anxiety inducing than expected! I told them that I don't eat dairy or meat. They checked with me several times about a few things, they took precautions and had the manager bring out me and my husbands. I really appreciated their attention and consideration! (we were with my parents, hence the cheeseburger :) The very name says ER in paradise to us considering our oldest is all...

Ahh vacation..! A time to relax, smell the salty sea air, lay in the warm sand letting the sun's ray wash over you, taking a cool dip in the ocean or pool when you get too hot. Cleaning up for the day and going to a nice relaxing dinner, lounging in the hot tub at night... BAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Just kidding! I have kids. And kids with allergies. so pretty much vacation is being home, at the beach, except not in your own zone. I cook, I do laundry, and I freak out when the baby crawls on the floor of the hotel, and wonder how much sand is a serving. But, it's nice to see the water as I run by or from the pool deck because someone doesn't want to touch sand. However, the beach is my Zen and it's been a very long time. We do always get a condo because we do not chance restaurants. This is hard for me, I'm use to vacation including being waited on and not doing all the work! But, for the kids, we do anything we need to eh? Not to mention, now that we are veganish AND have t...

So before I start the discussion about the supposed superfood Spirulina, I'd like to take you on the journey of grocery shopping affordably and organically. Done.... that's it. I don't know how. Our grocery bill has been quite honestly more than our house payment by plenty and we cannot afford it. So I'm beginning to delve deeper into the world of budget cutting and cheaper food. We can do this together! I started by deciding that avocados, while a extremely healthy favorite of many in this family, are too expensive for regular consumption, and have been (very sadly) demoted to treat food. We also are using far less plant based milk, which cuts down, but mainly because my children will only drink the full sugar junk. We try not to do tons of sugar, but i'm not convinced they get enough calcium, B12 and other stuff based on the level of picky. I'm continuing to work on cutting down by leaving out processed foods (though the occasional Gardein nuggets pop in). We ...

It's been a very trying two weeks. Our car broke enough that we were forced to buy a new car that we neither wanted, nor were financially ready for. Our sweet friendly dog got sick, and after seeming to get better declined and died. Our baby had a random allergic reaction to what is apparently not the vets (as presumed at first by the doctor, but disproved after spending a lot of time there), and our air conditioner broke. Not been a cheap or happy week here. But this conversation happened.. 3year old (pointing to the olive oil container): are those bwueberries? me: nope, those are olives, it's olive oil. 3yo: but wook, they are bwueberries me: no sweetie, he's picking olives to squish into olive oil. 3yo: oh look he is picking bwueberries! me: still olives 3yo: olives taste like bwueberries me: sure honey. blueberries  .... We did also celebrate two birthdays during this week of joy. :) My husband's and the baby turned one, which was when we were sit...

Happy later mothers day! (in the US- but seriously it should be everyday everywhere!) Happy day for those who act as Mothers (not including my 5 year old)! My Mother's Day was spent napping.... HA! Jokes aside, we drove two hours to see a baseball game that got rain delayed for two hours.....a slightly different plan then my get some groceries and grill artichokes...this one included standing smooshed with a zillion people watching it pour on the field, paranoid that someone's hot dog, cheese, ice cream, pizza, or pop corn would touch our severely allergic son, reconsidering whether that was more scary than our exhausted two year old ticking time bomb, debating for 2 hours whether we should just leave and lose our tickets if they did play. packing ourselves into the team store with everyone else to get warm. and a debacle when a guy ended up in the ladies room (he was pretty surprised when he exited the stall to a group of security, and may still not know where he is...

Back in the pre dairy free days, one of my favorite candies (which says a lot since I was pretty much addicted to anything candy like) was peppermint patties. Ahhh York..... I could have been in a commercial. In fact it was always a dream I had to be in a commercial, anyone really. In case you're wondering, that did not work out! But I still had candy. ha. I've been reading peppermint patty recipes for years trying to decide if I  wanted to attempt one. but none seemed quite right. I didn't want coconut shavings, or a variety of other ingredients. I also like to make everything quick and easy. Generally, I also will not make a recipe that requires cooling or freezing before eating. I've acquired a bit more patience though, and as long as it's not more than say, 20 minutes (I said a bit more!) I'm good. Here it is.. Peppermint Patties 1 can coconut CREAM (not milk) 1/3 cup melted coconut oil 1/3 cup coconut flour (or any probably) 2/3 cup confectioners su...

I just figured out how to upload pictures, it's like a whole new world! Next step taking decent pictures!  First, Happy Easter! Hope it was blessed! It was beautiful here and we had family in town. It was great having everyone together and the kids love having their cousins here! Second, April Fools! My kids are obsesssssedddd with playing "tricks" on us. (thankfully particularly daddy). It takes a certain kind of ability to cope with special situations to find the humor in their "pranks" (i.e. completely taking apart the bed and putting stuffed animals under blankets all over the upstairs). Lets just say I have to prewarn daddy to come home with a good attitude and find the intended humor in a mess that looks like we either were robbed, or hit by a tornado. Thus, in an effort to sweeten that, this was our April Fools dessert creation to "trick daddy" after he waded through the hilarious upstairs mess. I made this gluten, dairy free and vega...

I heard a rumor that you can use frozen mango instead of banana in smoothies to make them, um, smooth. And my bananas are not frozen yet I wanted a frozenish smoothie. You can. but not unless you actually want some fruity flavor. While I won't waste food and I AM drinking my chocolate mint MANGO smoothie, and it is smooth.... it's not awesome! lesson learned. Oh, and apparently, after a non eventful yet i'm certain expensive, trip to the allergist (but we did skip last year shhh), we learned that mr child #1 is MORE allergic to milk and beef. They weren't sure one could become MORE allergic to milk than he already was/is, but alas, it happens. First reaction is was disappointment. Not because we have any desire to go back to our former (not mostly vegan) lifestyle, but for his safety. I will need to be sedated when he is old enough to leave the house (with his epi pens!!) on his own! Current feeling is, well nothing different? what's the big deal?! And, we now mu...

K, I accidentally invented a healthy smoothie that tastes just like birthday cake!! (not a joke! even my very adverse to fruit and vegetable 4 yo girl will drink it!) . It's fast and a whole meal!! Cake Smoothie- layer in this order 1/4 cup liquid (milk of choice or water) 1/2 cup greens (I tend to use frozen kale bc it's easy, but pick whatever!) 1 cup mango 1 T flax (optional) 1/2 avocado (optional but highly recommended!) 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder* ( I use vega complete plus greens, but quite honestly rarely use protein powder-I don't think it's necessary, but was curious)  Fill cup rest of way ( a cupish more with water or milk choice _I use water here and a non dairy milk for the 1/4 cup) with water and blend. *or some fresh or frozen banana and a vanilla (ha, I almost said a shot of vanilla, but then remembered that actually (technically unless you're in college) means 1 ounce ) Yummy!! Hey btw! I did the 7 minute workout today! Kids...

Sooo.... tonight my tiny baby girl (who may almost be 5?!) is going to her first dance with her daddy! I am probably going to cry (and blame it on the postpartum hormones! they are still crazy 6 months postpartum right? ) This little lady is actually sick (I think) but won't tell me because she doesn't want me to make her stay home. Which I, quite honestly, wouldn't do anyway (unless vomit was involved) because I'm quite certain that she won't even be near another child. We run a shy household up to our third. Anyway, she is not allergic to any of the top 8, there is pizza and desserts and food at this. However, she's never had milk in her life, so I'm relatively sure there would be vomit involved if she ate pizza. But it's a strange situation as a parent to make one child do something because of another child who isn't even there. I half considered letting her go and eat whatever, but my husband and I avoid allergen foods as well even if we are out ...

Where has a Year Gone? I clearly am the worst blogger in history! however, my day job keeps getting busier! In other words, in addition to homeschooling as keeps happening on odd years, we added a little lady to our family in August. Earlier than expected, but not too too much. That will teach daddy to add an extra pumpkin to the front step to be funny so I have to answer to the neighbors! He was surprised on New Years Day! (yet this year two extra ended up on the porch! Thank goodness it's not an odd year! but still, no holding hands!) Considering the rough pregnancy, I wasn't too upset. I think it would be helpful to get back on this though. It would have been impossible to consider food while pregnant last without vomiting on the computer. My eventual cravings were fresh herbs (particularly cilantro and parsley) and friend egg sandwiches (which got pretty expensive considering the eggs we buy! Vital farms, as we become more ethically aware, they seem like the nicest of...

there are a few things I especially miss from our pre nearly vegan (except eggs) days. Pizza (that I didn't make, with cheese, NY style), milkshakes, being able to grab coffee wherever (one of those over priced drinks- but not at Starbucks, we differ on too many views of life!), and macaroni and cheese. not so much craft but the real homemade kind. its been 5 years!!! or maybe 4, point is.... So I found this recipe on Facebook, The No Cheese Mac and cheese from www.ordinaryvegan.net  and it looked ok, not awesome. I had no hope, but decided to attempt to create my own, kid friendly (except for my oldest, who did try it, but doesn't eat anything cooked anymore :( )version based off that recipe. It was fabulous for even my husband!! who is serious about his pre vegetarian/no dairy favorites. the baby (who will not eat pasta) even ate two bowls! Score on for mama! Hidden vegetables! However, the lovely lady who wrote the original attempted to make this healthy. While it's bett...

Ahhh Halloween! In a past life this was my favorite holiday for a few reasons. 1. my mom's birthday (and plenty of witchy jokes to go with that!) 2. I always enjoyed seeing creativity in costumes (my mom made me a spider once, best costume ever!!). and 3. A free pass to eat as much candy as I wanted! (and whatever kind I wanted when I could buy it myself! Trick or Treaters may or may not have been able to taste my favorites which may or may not have been stashed in the freezer or cupboards). And now it's a spooky holiday due to the fact that my children love trick or treating and my son could easily win an ER trip from it! We've changed a bit in order to not kill our son and keep it a more enjoyable holiday! Last year we carried a bucket and he held a bucket. We took whatever he couldn't touch and traded, if he didn't get something he could have. (I'm not even going to pretend I let the kids eat a ton of candy! it secretly disappeared and went to work with dad...

Since I last wrote we have had some major changes to our lives! We are now vegetarian due to a beef allergy (along with the milk allergy that has skyrocketed in severity) and to my four year old (now 5) realizing where meat comes from and being very upset. Oh, and our third child is SOMETHING!!!!! The baby hasn't sat down in the 16 months we have had him. Needless to say, blogging is not number 1. However, it's time to start again. More changes that I'd like to share in hopes of helping others. We are on a tight budget. Takes a lot of planning and trading because we also buy only organic. so... Dairy free, meat free, organic, on a budget! Yikes! (and I have picky children?!) I've done easier things than plan our menus for the week and get my kids to eat!! To be fair, due to allergy restrictions, at the beginning my husband and I ate whatever we wanted and made special things for our oldest. Seems that came back to bite me. and chomps down every night! thankfully, he...

It's not Halloween, I know! But, in being desperate for a treat the other day, and feeling that eating one in front of the kids would be mean, I came up with a chocolatey, peanut buttery treat that is kind of a trick! Not sure what to call it, but it resembles the Chex Muddy Buddy stuff. I certainly am not endorsed by anyone, nor do I enjoy that Chex use a chemical preservative, however, the kids love them and they otherwise have decent food ingredients. They can also be Gluten free if needed. 9 cups of cereal (i seriously used up everything we had that  the kids won't eat!) 1 cup of oats 3/4 cup of peanut butter 1 cup (or a teech more, unless you're me and ate a handful, then two teeches more) chocolate chips (Ghiradelli semi sweet are the only milk free that are real chocolate and not hideous) 2ish Tablespoons of Earth Balance (or butter) and about 3/4 cup of ground flax seed (always a trick!) put cereal and oats into a big bowl melt the chocolate with the p bu...