Simple Granola {Dairy free, Soy free, Nut free, Gluten free}

My girls like their granola to be simple.  No nuts, no fruit, and no seeds.  This recipe is super easy and very tasty.  Best part is that your kitchen will smell amazing when it is baking.

Princess loves the smell of the granola as it is baking.  She will eat it plain as soon as it is cool enough to touch.  I often make her a yogurt parfait for her school lunch box  I layer frozen organic blueberries, coconut milk yogurt, and granola.  Wiggles prefers her granola plain.

Ingredients

4 cup of rolled organic oats (not instant), gluten free oats as needed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp real vanilla


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix together oats, cinnamon, and salt together in a large glass bowl.

Put coconut oil and maple syrup in a small glass bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Mix well.

Pour hot mixture over dry oats.  Add in vanilla.  Mix well until all of the oats are well coated.

Place the mixture on a cookie sheet or 9x13 cake pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and mix well.  Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 until mixture is dry and begins to get crispy.  Note oats will be come more crisp as they cool.

Let cool completely before eating.

Organic vs. Conventional Corn

Corn was a tricky food item for me.  On one hand, corn makes the Environmental Working Group's list for the 'Clean Fifteen'.  However, corn is at the top of the list for genetically modified plants (GMO's).

So what does that mean?

Field corn is generally all produced with genetically modified seeds.  Field corn is used to make tortillas, tortilla chips, corn syrup, animal feed, and biofuels.  So I buy only organic tortilla chips.  Organic tortilla chips are readily available at all grocery stores and even Target.  Organic corn tortillas are harder for me to find, so I tend to buy conventional as we rarely eat then.

Sweet corn is generally produced from non-GMO seed.  Sweet corn is what you find in your produce aisle and the frozen food section.  However, in 2012 a large quantity of GMO sweet corn appeared on the market.  In 2011, Monsanto announced plans to grow GMO sweet corn and may account for up to 40% of the sweet corn market.  GMO sweet corn is genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant and produces its own insecticide (Bt toxin).

I am committed to buy non-GMO and organic produce when I can.  When I buy sweet corn from my local farmer's market I do not bother to find out if it is organic or not.  This summer I will start asking the farmer's if they use certified non-GMO seed.  At the supermarket I always buy organic corn and organic frozen corn.  Often the prices are very similar between organic and conventional corn.   For example, organic corn at Trader Joe's is $1.79 for a 10oz bag.  The same bag of conventional corn at Kroger is around $1.29.

Mashed Potatoes {Dairy and Soy free}

These mashed potatoes are amazing!  Great way to fix dairy and soy free mashed potatoes and I promise that no one will know that they do not contain butter!

Start with organic potatoes.  Wash well.  Then peel and diced into cubes.  

In a large saucepan place a vegetable steamer.  Add in just enough water to touch the bottom of the steamer but not go over the holes.  Place cubed potatoes in pan and cover with lid.  Trust me, do not skip out and not use the vegetable steamer.  This method gives you fluffiest mashed potatoes without having to add in extra milk and butter.

Boil potatoes for 20 minutes.  

When potatoes are fork tender drain out any remaining water and remove vegetable steamer.

Mash potatoes.  Add in coconut milk and Earth Balance soy free margarine.  Mash some more!  Add in salt.  Then taste!  Add additional margarine and salt as desired.

3 lbs organic potatoes, washed, peeled, and diced
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 TBS Earth balance soy free margarine
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste


In a large saucepan, place a vegetable steamer.  Add just enough water to touch bottom of steamer.  Place diced potatoes in vegetable steamer.  Heat on high until water starts to boil. Turn down to medium high.  Cover with lid and tilt to vent.  Boil potatoes for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.  Drain excess water and remove vegetable steamer.  Add in coconut milk, margarine, and salt/pepper..  Using a potato masher, mashed potatoes well.  Taste and adjust to personal taste.

How I Buy Organic Produce!

I buy as much organic produce as my budget will allow.  However, organic produce is often more expensive.  So I make my choices are the grocery store wisely.

Here are my tips-

1.  Memorize the Dirty Dozen List (or print off a wallet sized version here).

The Environmental Working Group  complies a list of the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues.  The list is updated yearly.  I always buy these items in their organic form when available.  

• apples
• celery
• cherry tomatoes
• cucumbers
• grapes
• hot peppers
• nectarines (imported)
• peaches
• potatoes
• spinach
• strawberries
• sweet bell peppers
• collards and kale
• summer squash and zucchini

2.  Memorize the Clean Fifteen (or, again, print a list)

The Environmental Working Group has a list of the 'cleanest' 15 fruits and vegetables that have the least amount of pesticide residue.  At the grocery store I will often buy these items conventionally to save money.  However, check the sales!!!!  I often find that organic versions of the clean fifteen are often cheaper or the same price as the conventional.  So I then vote with my dollar and buy organic!

• asparagus
• avocado
• cabbage
• cantaloupe
• corn (see note below on corn)
• eggplant
• grapefruit
• kiwi
• mango
• mushrooms
• onions
• papayas
• pineapples
• sweet peas (frozen)
• sweet potatoes

3. Do some price comparisons!

I shop at four different groceries stores over the course of a month.  That might seem a bit insane to most but it actually works quite well with my work schedule.   Below you can see why.

• Kroger-  I tend to visit Kroger about once a week.  I go over my lunch break at work because I work next to one.  Kroger is the best place to buy bags of organic apples and bags of organic potatoes.  Everything else is more expensive.  EXCEPT when it is on sale.  A sale at Kroger will always beat out any other store.  So check your weekly add, check for unadvertised sales in the frozen aisle, and look for manager's specials.  I always look for organic spinach, organic kale, and fresh and frozen organic berries.
• Trader Joe's- I visit Trader Joe's about once a week.  This is my 'go to' store for many organic and unprocessed food items as their prices are always cheaper that any other store. Trader Joe's does not have sales but their base prices are great.  Trader Joe's is the best place to buy organic frozen corn, organic frozen blueberries, and organic frozen strawberries.  The quality of the produce at Trader Joe's varies.
• Whole Foods-  For me, Whole Foods less than a mile from Trader Joe's.  Whole Foods has a few specialty allergy-friendly items that are hard to find other places.  So I visit Whole Foods about 1-2 times per month.  I always take a few extra minutes to check the coupons at the front of the store.  Then I peruse the produce sections for sales and good deals.  Often this is the only place that I can find organic grapes and they have the highest quality organic berries (ie. they last the longest in my fridge).
• Rainbow Blossom- My daughter gets a weekly allergy shot for environmental allergies. Rainbow Blossom, a local natural food store, is next door.  Overall their prices are quite a bit higher than any of the other options.  So again, I stop in and check out the sales.  We visit this store about twice a month.

4.  Buy frozen!

Organic fruits and vegetables are often very similar in cost to the conventional.  Especially if you buy then on sale.  When I find a good sale I stock up!!!!  I always keep the following on hand in my freezer- organic sweet corn, organic green beans, organic strawberries, and organic blueberries.

5.  Eliminate Waste!

Avoid overbuying fruits and vegetables to avoid waste.  Freeze unused portions before they go bad.  For example, I will chop up my organic red bell peppers and freeze unused portions to use another day.

Homemade Hamburger Buns {Dairy and Soy Free}

When my good friend first told me that she made her own hamburger buns I thought she was nuts!  Who has time for that????  Then one really cold afternoon I was scrambling to come up with an easy dinner with an empty refrigerator and pantry.  I have a freezer full of grass-fed hamburger and the easiest option was to make hamburgers for dinner.  However, I was not about to pack two kids plus their bulky winter coats down to Kroger to buy just hamburger buns. The day was still early, so I made my own using a recipe I found in the book The Homemade Pantry.  As per usual I had to alter the recipe to accommodate food allergies.  The hamburger buns turned out amazing and my whole family LOVED them!  Since that wintry day I have made them multiple times.  I slice then freeze the extra.

I promise that these are easy!  However, they do take some time as they dough has to rise twice.  So make sure you allot enough time, at least 3 hours total (20 minutes to mix together, 2-2.5 hours to rise, and 20 minutes to bake).

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
3 TBS almond milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 TBS honey
2 large eggs, beaten
3-3/4 to 4 cups organic all-purpose flour, plus additional for counter
1-1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 TBS coconut oil

In a liquid measuring cup combine warm water (about 100 degrees F) with almond milk, yeast, and honey.  Let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).

In a large stand mixer, whisk together flour and salt.  Add in coconut oil and beat until combined.

Stir yeast mixture into flour mixture using the stand mixer with a bread hook.  Then add in beaten eggs.  Add additional flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.  (I have consistently used 4 cups of flour.)  Knead using stand mixer and bread hook for several minutes.

Spray a glass bowl with cooking spray.  Transfer dough to glass bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for at least one hour.  Dough should double in size.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Dust counter top with flour.  Place dough on counter.  Cut dough with a sharp knife into 8-12 equal parts.  Roll each part into a ball, tucking the loose edges under the ball.  Place on the lined baking sheet.  Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise again for about 1 hour.  Note- If your kitchen is really warm it may take less time. The idea with this rise is to get them the right size to hold the hamburger.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Fill a metal pan (DO NOT USE GLASS!) with water and place on lower rack.  

Bake buns for about 20 minutes.  Tops will be golden brown.  Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

What is GMO?

GMO stands for genetically modified organism.  These are plants or animals that are created through gene splicing, aka genetic engineering.  This merges DNA from different species together.  A donor species organism may be a bacterium, fungus, or another plant.  

For example, Bt-corn contains protein from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis.  Why?  The Bt protein is expressed throughout the plant as it grows.  When a vulnerable insect eats the Bt-plant the protein is activated in the gut of the insect paralyzing the insect's digestive system, ultimately starving the insect and causing its death.  The idea is that corn growers would use less insecticides if the plant can defend itself from the insect on its own.  However, since the implement of Bt-corn in 1996 US Farmers have sprayed an extra 383 million pounds of herbicide on GMO crops.  Overuse of herbicides has resulted in 'superweeds' that are resistant to the herbicide. This causes farmers to have to use more and more toxic herbicides each year.

There is a huge 'unknown' when introducing GMO into our food supply.  Are they safe to eat? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to regulate GMO foods. This means that food is entering our supermarket shelves and its safety has not been tested.

To complicate it all more, there is no required labeling for foods containing GMOs.  Organic foods are the only ones guaranteed to be GMO-free.

So which foods in our food system contain GMOs?

• Alfalfa (since 2011)
• Canola (90% of US crop)
• Corn (88% of US crop in 2011)
• Cotton (90% US crop in 2011)
• Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop)
• Soy (94% of US crop in 2011)
• Sugar Beets (90% US crop in 2010)- common source for white sugar
• zucchini and yellow summer squash

As a mother with two food allergy children, the idea of introducing foreign proteins into the food system does not make sense.  How do I know if my daughter is allergic to soy or really the reaction is to the protein in Bt soy.  This is not something that I have challenged and I do not even plan to.  However, it is something that I have thought about.


Another interesting aspect is that since the introduction of GMOs into our food supply there has been in increase in asthma, autism, and food allergies.  These two have not been linked directly, however, there are animal studies with interesting results.  For a great read about the history of GMOs and the connection to food allergies read the book  The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O'Brien.

What Living Without Means

I never thought much about what was in my food or where it came from.  I have never enjoyed frozen dinner or fast food.  However, I never looked at the ingredients on my favorite cereal or granola bar.  That all changed when my daughter was just 2 months old.

At just two months Princess was covered from head to toe in eczema.  She cried all the time. She never slept.  She nursed every 1-2 hours around the clock.  My husband and I were at a loss.  We visited our pediatrician for a well check and came home with the instructions that I was to change my diet, drastically, if I wanted to continue to nurse and provide breastmilk for my daughter.  His tentative diagnosis was a mild milk and soy allergy.

From that point on I began to look at labels.  And I was shocked!  Why was there soy in my crackers or milk in my lunch meat?

Long story made short.  I ended up eliminating the top 8 most allergenic foods from my diet. My daughter's eczema cleared, she began sleeping better, and stretching her nursing sessions to ever 3-4 hours.  I slowly added the food groups back in one at a time to determine what she was sensitive too.  I learned that she could not tolerate milk or eggs in my diet.


When pregnant with Wiggles I proactively went on a milk and soy free diet during the last month of my pregnancy.  No research said that this would help but I knew in my heart that I would have to do an elimination diet at some point and decided to start there.  I started out just eliminating milk and soy but later learned that Wiggles was also sensitive to wheat and oats.

I learned so many things during the 27 months that I spent breastfeeding my girls.  I learned how to cook.  I learned how to read an ingredients list.  I learned exactly what a food allergy was.  I learned to think about where my food was coming from.  Most importantly I learned to pay attention to what I was feeding my family. Food allergies were the start of my journey toward REAL FOOD.

My journey to REAL FOOD WITHOUT has had many twists and turns (and new diagnoses) along the way but that is a story for another day.

Chocolate Cake {Vegan, Dairy free, Soy free}

This is the easiest chocolate cake you will ever make!  Just as simple as opening up a boxed cake mix and much healthier!  Plus I bet you have all the necessary ingredients in your pantry right now!

Have you looked at the ingredients list from a Duncan Hines Classic Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix recently?  And don't think that Pilsbury or Betty Crocker's products are any better.
Ingredients- Duncan Hines Classic Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Propylene Glycol Mono- And Diesters Of Fats, Mono- And Diglycerides), Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali, Dextrose, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate). Contains 2% Or Less Of: Wheat Starch, Salt, Polyglycerol Esters Of Fatty Acids, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum.

The number one ingredient is sugar! Yes, my recipe has sugar too but not nearly as much. They use partially hydrogenated soybean oil which comes from GMO soybeans. There is large list of words that are hard to pronounce like 'propylene glycol mono- and diesters of fats, polyglycerol esters, and cellulose gum' just to name a few. I don't know about you but I do not have cellulose gum in my pantry!

Real food tastes good but is not laden with chemicals and GMO products!

Chocolate Cake

This recipe is adapted from the book The Joy of Vegan Baking.

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 TBS white distilled vinegar
1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly oil a Bundt pan or a 9-inch square cake pan.  Or if making cupcakes line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl.  Mix together vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water in a separate bowl.

Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Mix in wet ingredients until just combined.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake cake for 30 minutes.  Check cupcakes at 15 minutes as they cook much faster.

Makes one 9-inch cake or about 12 cupcakes.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1/4 cup non-dairy, non-soy, non-hydrogenated butter, softened (Earth Balance soy-free)
1/4 cup palm oil shortening
3 cups powdered sugar (approximate, may need more)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extra
3-4 TBS non-dairy milk (chocolate almond milk, plain almond milk, coconut milk)

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and shortening until smooth.  Add in cocoa power and vanilla.  Then add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing at low speed until smooth.  Add in the non-dairy milk one tablespoon at a time mixing at high speed until the frosting is light a fluffy.

Allow cake to fully cook before frosting.  Store unused frosting in the refrigerator.



Allergy tip-  Freeze extra frosted cupcakes in individual plastic containers for a quick treat for class parties or birthday celebrations.  Cupcakes defrost quickly at room temperature.

What is Real Food?

My journey towards eating REAL FOOD has been a long one.  My rules are evolving.  My rules are flexible.  My rules fit my life as a working mom of two kids with food allergies.  I strive to follow the rules as much as I can but never 100%.

Real Food is-

• Whole food made by nature, not in a factory.
• Fruits and vegetables.  Organic when possible.
• Non-GMO
• Locally raised meat that is grass-fed and antibiotic and hormone free.  Organic store bought meat.
• Locally raised eggs when possible.
• Wild caught seafood and fish.
• Whole-grain as much as possible
• Beverages include water, coffee, and tea.  Limited juice, wine, and alcohol.
• Use non-GMO sugar but only in moderation.  Use natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, and organic stevia extract instead.

Real Food is not-

• Processed food from a box.
• No fast food.
• GMO-laden products.
• No artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Truvia, or aspartame.
• No corn syrup.
• No artificial colors or flavors.