Allerfree Recipes

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) (...

My motivation to work out and lose the stubborn baby weight from my fourth child (which is apparently the only one I'm actually going to have to work to lose-but don't ask my mother, she will remind you that I never got back to what I was when I got married! FIFTEEN years ago, before life when I actually had time to do anything I wanted, plus could apparently eat most anything I wanted without too much of a problem. so I both worked out and had a metabolism and no kids. thanks mom) comes from my daughter who is five. I am not sure what God was thinking when he created 5 year old girls, but I think he added in sass a little too soon. I am truly starting to rethink our motivations behind teaching our children that honesty is best. At any rate, I bought myself a new mom bathing suit (that I truly hope I won't wear forever!) and was feeling... not gooood per say, but somewhat tucked in. My sweet girl says "well, you look okkkaaaaayyyy. but just not great." Thanks hone...

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 ...

I did it!! I made a vegan/vegetarian (and just for anyone!) veggie burger that met two criteria! 1. It can be grilled and 2. My kids eat it! I was (well, lets be honest, still AM) far more excited than I should be about something so silly. I didn't want mushy, I didn't want crumbly. I swear I've made a zillion veggie burgers. I also didn't want soy or anything not real food. As my two year old would say, I weeened! I love summer! I love cooking out! I don't always have tons and tons of produce to grill and have desperately wanted a quick recipe to be able to throw on the grill. I have tried tons of veggie burgers, none were grillable. I tried this.... magic the recipe includes, black beans (I have done canned and dried and soaked/ cooked), some nut or seed (I have used sunflower, but may try walnuts next), whole oats (not quick cooking), onion, garlic, grated carrot, and homemade grill seasoning (or any seasoning!). Not too much, not too hard! It does require ...

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...

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 ...

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...

I should add to the previous recipe that if you want granola bars, after you pat the granola flat in the cookie sheet (before baking) cut the granola so that when they are soft after baking you can take them out to harden in the fridge. Not that we have any left. Apparently my husband enjoyed the granola enough to eat the entire bag at work yesterday. I'd say his tastes have changed! It can happen! As soon as I can... I am going to post a bunch of recipes (non dairy (milk and egg), some gluten free, veganish - we do eat organic cage free eggs, and delicious enough for meat eaters!) Seriously, my parents (read father) are soo picky. My dad would generally eat only steak and potatoes if he had the choice, the occasional three pounds of shrimp and crab legs if available. However, I have a stuffed shells recipe that actually ASKED for! For real! With Tofu ricotta. (sacrilegious for us Italians, but what can ya do?!) And the best spring rolls you've ever tasted. My entire fa...

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...

Tonight I played a frantic game of hide and seek. I lost. After dinner we brought the kids for baths. Jake has been acting funny for a couple days, but it's been impossible to figure anything out. At some point I rationalized it with his less than  balanced, probably too low calorie and fat diet (yeah, I know, completely opposite of my issue! He's the only one in the house, including two cats and three dogs, that I am concerned because he's all muscle and bones! Also opposite of my issues!) At any rate, I noticed red marks on him in the bath. Looking closer I noticed they were hives. SUPER DUPER! Honestly, every time we've had a medical problem with us, kids, cats, dogs, it's been a Sunday night. I don't know about kids, but in case you were wondering, a Sunday night pet issue pretty much requires you to swipe your credit card to speak to someone, and then to walk in the Emergency Vet... yeah probably still paying it off 7 years later! At any rate, hives. My...

After an early morning of painting (thanks to a Valentine present of paint)... What does one make for Valentine's Day for a family diverse in it's pickiness and it's allergies? Well, apparently two things. Individual heart apple pies (which will not happen again for a looong time!) AND these, fabulous and easy cookies... Delicious Allergy Free Oatmeal Cutout Cookies Beat: 3/4 cup Earth Balance (or butter) 3/4 cup organic sugar 1t vanilla 1 T ground flax seed mixed with 3 T warm water (the warm helps to make it goopy) (or an egg ) 3 T Rice milk (or alternative) blend in: 2 1/2 cups wheat flour 1 t. baking powder 1/2 t. salt stir in: 1 cup oatmeal Dough will seem very crumbly, use your hands to make a ball. Add a touch more flour or milk if needed. I refrigerated for about an hour, but that's not necessary. If you do, however, it will seem like the dough will not stay together, roll it out, it will.  Roll about 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 375 for about ...

Here's why I do not enjoy shopping... well, probably because I cannot buy whatever I want! Here's another reason... fellow shoppers. I am not talking about the lady at Target who made me laugh by warning me before she knelt down not to worry about her when i heard cracks, it was just her knees, she'd be OK. Ha ha! I replied that she should worry if I cried a little when i stood up (let's not talk about a huge wipe out I had while running with my dogs...). Anyway, we laughed and moved on into the pink and red mess of Valentine stuff that in no way paid homage to Saint Valentine. I heard a little girl (maybe 5) asking for the super fun Valentine's that come with candy and other fun junk. I believe she said something to the effect of 'I want those mom, but we can keep them at home and not give them to anyone else.' Ummm... what?! Be mine? I think not! When her mom replied something to the effect of 'you don't need those and they are expensive', this...