Second, I deeply apologize for completely dropping off the face of the earth, at least in the blogging world. I jumped on here recently and saw that my last post was in February. In February?? I could hardly believe it and thought something was actually wrong with my wordpress. But then I quickly realized I was a total loser and yes, literally dropped the ball all these months and haven’t posted a darn thing. BUT…I’ll give you the readers’ digest version of the past few months and you’ll see why.

Right after my last post, I sold my house in Wilmette, IL. During this time I was also juggling house showings (which means lots of house cleanings) and writing my next book, The Food Allergy Mama’s Fast and Easy Family Meals for Everyday. Writing this book was a labor of love as it includes lots of amazing recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and treats as well as menu ideas. However, writing roughly 140 recipes means creating them, testing them, retesting them and then cleaning it all up! Which, with 5 kids, virtually no help (except for my beloved Halina who lovingly cared for my kids 4 hours/twice a week while I wrote), and an insane kids’ sports/activities schedule, I was literally using every minute of every day to accomplish every necessary task. So then, after I received an offer for my house in February, my husband and I flew off to sunny CA in search for our new family home. No easy task, yet I did all the legwork and research months before, so I knew EXACTLY where I wanted to live. We spent a weekend in SoCal’s San Clemente and looked at TONS of houses. We found one, put an offer in, and after some multiple offer craziness we got it. Next up was finishing my book manuscript and recipe testing. After I finished that, it was time to cook like a madwoman for the book’s photography. I used the same photographer as my last book, Robert Knapp, who is such a creative genius. He has the most amazing sense of style. However, the process of shooting food photos is more work than meets the eye. And I do all my own cooking, food styling, etc. so the process can be very labor intensive. However, after a few days of that, we wrapped the shoot and I sent the photos and manuscript off to my editor. I took one day off, then got our whole family ready for a trip to Disneyworld….

Disneyworld is truly a magical place and I am so happy we went, even despite the craziness of those few weeks. My friend and AMAZING food allergy mama Lissa Critz at My Magic Journeys set up the entire trip for us, and took care of every single detail from where we stayed to where we ate. And yes we ate OUT!!! That alone made this trip the most amazing experience for us, and especially for John. It felt like a real vacation, one in which we could be carefree and feel as safe as possible. I love Disney and how they make EVERY child feel special and cared for, even those with food allergies. Many of you have feared going for obvious reasons, but please, take my word for it, it is worth every expense to go. It will be the trip of your child’s lifetime. Contact Lissa, she’s the BEST of the BEST and will ease your every fear. She’ll send you detailed printouts ahead of time as to where you and your FA child can eat, along with other special touches. I am forever grateful to her for making this trip one of our favorites.

After we returned from Disneyworld, I attended and spoke at FAAN’s Food Allergy Conference in Chicago and shared my favorite recipes and cooking tips. It was an honor and privilege to be there, and like every other year I’ve attended, met so many wonderful and dedicated food allergy parents. It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from these conferences. I am so thankful for FAAN and everything they do for families like ours.

After the FAAN conference, I was off to speak at my BFF’s middle school in my hometown in Illinois. That was truly one of the most amazing experiences. Those kids were so special, full of love, wonder, and had a great capacity of understanding and concern for learning about kids with food allergies. Afterward they each wrote me these amazing thank you letters, and they all brought me to tears. Every single one of them.

Then a couple of days after that I was off to Orlando again for my own weekend at the Ritz. I was supposed to go on my own as a treat to myself for finishing my book and meeting an old friend, but my one of my BFF’s was actually in FL too, and joined me for the weekend. We had a blast, and it was great to see old friends and meet some new ones too. Love that Ritz!!

After that trip I came home to pack for 10 days, wrap up the kids’ last days at school and get the final details in order for a cross-country move. Oh my Lord, that was no easy feat. In fact, much of it is still a blur. But I do remember landing at John Wayne Airport in Orange County thinking, “I finally made it”. It was a very emotional moment for me, as moving out west has a been a dream of mine for a very long time. The fact that we actually did it still shocks me. I love Chicago, was born and raised in the midwest, and I’ll always be a midwestern girl, but my heart and soul have always longed to be here. I am an outdoorsy-type of girl, one likes to roam and explore, and my spirit could no longer handle the brutal extremes of Chicago weather. In fact, I loved to be outside so much that I was always the dumb ass who could be found running outside at 5am in 15 degree temps and lower wind chills, many times even during snow and sleet storms. I NEED to be outside, all the time. Now that my kids are getting acclimated to the beauty and warmth here, they are loving it just as much.

So now it is May 13th, I’ve been here nearly a month and still getting my sea legs. But I can tell you that I’ve never felt more at peace, or more at home. Every day I wake up, run along the Pacific Ocean and count my blessings. I am a VERY LUCKY girl. I am surrounded by the love of my family, the beauty of SoCal, meeting new friends whom I already adore, and looking ahead to bigger dreams. I think about the past year, and all my dreams that have come true, and have wondered, “now what?”. I’ve always been a daydreamer, someone who is constantly looking to learn more, know more, and see more. Now that I’m here with my family, and we’re getting settled, I’m already planning for new dreams and experiences. Hope…it’s what keeps us all alive and kicking.  Just like I have hope for a cure for food allergies, or hope that our kids won’t feel excluded at school, or hope that our kids stay safe and happy forever.

I sincerely apologize for being MIA these past several months, but now you know why. It’s going to be another fun and fantastic year as I prepare my next book’s release for you, and will be posting some new recipes (Mac and Cheese anyone??) I love you all and am grateful for your support all these years. Your comments, questions and advice make this journey a blast.

Happy Baking Everyone!!!

xo

The recipe is featured below and I hope you enjoy it as my special treat to you and your fabulous little kiddos!! I also wanted to share some links of my favorite tips and websites. This is not an all inclusive list, and will share some more of my favorites in the weeks to come. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all…you truly make my life a lot sweeter! Muah!

FAVORITE LINKS TO VISIT:

Awesome food allergy mama Gina Clowes on her 10 Things to Know about Food Allergies in Classroom: A must-read for any parent or teacher with kids in school.

Allergy Apparel: I really dig this entire website…all the epi holders are cool, the tees are cool and I especially love the baking accessories. Check it out.

Divvies: What can I say, I adore this brand and really wish their product was stocked in every grocery store in America! I could order something from their site every day, just for ME, and eat tons of it. But I refrain.

The New Nut Free Mom; A Crash Course in Caring for Your Nut Allergic Child by Jenny Kales: This ebook is available on Amazon and I have yet to read it, but will soon because anything Jenny writes is enormously helpful, insightful and downright awesome.

Cybele Pascal; The Allergy Friendly Cook: OK, I really love Cybele and am especially loving her brand spanking new website! She also has a new book coming out this year so be on the look out! What a huge service Cybele has done for all of us food allergy mamas in her cooking expertise.

More links to come in the near future…I promise.

CHOCOLATE BANANA CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING

For Cupcakes:

1 c. mashed banana

½ c. room temperature water

¼ c. dairy free “buttermilk” (1/4 c. soy or rice milk mixed with 1 tsp. white vinegar, let stand 5 minutes)

¼ c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. good quality vanilla extract

1 c. unbleached all purpose flour

¾ c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1/3 c. dairy free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life or Divvies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 inch cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the mashed banana, water, dairy free “buttermilk”, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

In a separate medium bowl  combine the flour , sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk.  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the paper cups. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely.

CREAMY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 c. dairy free margarine

¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T. soy or rice milk

½ tsp. good quality vanilla extract

2 c. confectioner’s sugar

Combine the dairy free margarine, cocoa powder, soy milk and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the confectioner’s sugar, a little at a time, until combined. Turn mixer on medium-high and mix for 3-4 minutes or until creamy. Frost cupcakes.

Your feedback always has been, and always will be very important to me. I started this journey of blogging and cookbook writing because of food allergy kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and teachers everywhere. My usefulness to you is my number one priority. I love doing what I do, and there are few things that give me more satisfaction than serving you and your families with new meals that everyone enjoys and shares together. I’m always inspired by your stories, trials and tribulations. And I love that everyone who visits my blog feels the same inspiration and love that I do. This is an incredible community we are a part of, and I’m so grateful to all of you for your endless support, feedback and love. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So thank you for your patience while I get through it all these next few weeks, and in the meantime, feel free to post your comments and wish list for new recipes. Thank you SO MUCH!!!! xoxoxo

The journalist in me won’t make assumptions until all the facts are out. But I will say that if the school did, in fact decline the mother’s request to keep an EpiPen at school for emergencies, they will be held responsible for negligence and not having an appropriate policy in place for children with severe food allergies. I read the fine print of their “policy” but if a clinical aid refuses the only medication that could save a food allergic child’s life, than all the rest of their policy is crap and BS. The right meds for these kids need to be in the right places at all times. No exceptions.

Which brings me to my son’s school and where they keep EpiPens, medications for children with food allergies. We are fortunate to have a school nurse. She has a big cabinet filled with resealable plastic bags of medications for children with food allergies. The nurse is located down the hallway from the cafeteria. In the event of an emergency in the lunchroom, it would seem there would be enough time to get a child down to the nurse, go through the packs of medications to find his/her specific bag of medication, administer one EpiPen for 10 seconds, maybe two if the first one doesn’t work, call 911 and pray the child responds to the corrective action.

However, I never felt comfortable with this process, because it is assuming everything will go exactly as planned, and that the child’s allergy will be recognized quickly enough to escort the child down to the nurse. I’ve always requested that a second EpiPen package be stored in cafeteria with the lunch monitors who handle the payment/check in. That person is trained on the EpiPen, and the monitors know what to look for in the event of a reaction. This emergency protocol is labeled in John’s 504 Plan. Today, as I was picking up John for his allergist appointment, I asked the office to double check to make sure John’s EpiPens were still stored in the lunchroom. The office confirmed that it was, and out of curiosity I asked if there were any other medicine kits stored in the lunchroom. The nice lady smiled, and responded…”No. Just John’s.”

The proposed School Access to Emergency Act “would enable schools to maintain a supply of epinephrine and enable staff to administer an Epipen to a student having an anaphylactic reaction.” Please read this article for more information about why it is important for you to contact your local congressman or woman for support. In my opinion, every LUNCHROOM should be equipped with EpiPens in the event of a food allergy emergency. There are a number of factors that could affect the child getting the right rescue medication at the right time. We encourage our children to always have their medicine kits on them 24/7, so why wouldn’t we have them available in the lunchrooms, where there is the most risk to these kids? Something to consider when drafting your child’s 504 Plan.

After seven hive reactions in two weeks, I took John to his allergist today to determine why. No new allergies were detected. John’s allergist said recurrent break out of hives is actually common in kids with food allergies when they are exposed to certain viral infections. As long as there isn’t any other respiratory or oral symptoms, it should be fine to treat John with daily antihistamines until the virus has worked itself out. It was interesting to note that John’s skin test and blood result for peanuts is still greater than 100 (KU/L), class 6 (highest class possible), combine that with John’s asthma and, according to John’s doctor an anaphylactic reaction could occur within 1-3 minutes. 1-3 minutes….is all it would take for my son to die if he didn’t have his EpiPens on him. Another variable is possibly how much peanut product would be ingested….the more ingested, the faster the reaction. As we all know, peanut traces could be in breads, cookies, snacks, etc. THIS is the reality parents of children with food allergies have to live with every day when we send our kids out the door. I used to think when John was in preschool that it would get easier when he got older. But I am finding that it is much, much harder. At the end of the day, John desperately wants to be a normal kid, who hangs out, plays sports and goes to 7- 11 with his friends to buy Gatorade. I get it, and I’m letting go as much as possible. But after hearing of another food allergy death…it just makes it all so hard to deal with.

Children are a great gift to us all. As parents we love them more than our own lives, and would gladly give ours to save theirs. We’re fiercely protective of them, and that will never go away. Keep fighting the fight, there’s much more work to be done in awareness, advocacy and prevention. Don’t take no for answer, ever, and believe that your child’s rights at school are just as important as any other child. Believe that homeschooling doesn’t need to be the answer, that your child can adjust happily and even thrive in any environment. And most importantly, believe in the power of YOUR voice, and empower your child to feel the same.

In the meantime, my prayers will always be with Ammaria’s family and loved ones, and hope that we can all help to prevent another child’s death from food. Here’s a great list from FAAN about the Anaphylaxis Do’s and Don’ts. Please read and share.

xo

The past few weeks have been very unsettling in our house because John has had more reactions lately than I care to count. We’ve had more than one “sensitive” discussion about how his allergies are upsetting to him, and overall it’s just been a rocky road. Everything was cool and stable for so long, and now it feels as if the universe is shouting out to me to pay close attention, and that vigilance is a must in every single situation when it comes to our food allergic kids.

Yesterday morning John broke out in hives after breakfast. As I rushed to give him Benadryl, I drilled John about what he ate, and if he ate anything different. For the record we are pretty much allergy free in our house, so it confused me as to what would have caused the hives all over his face. John admitted he gave his brother a Gerber Banana Cookie, which is seemingly safe, but a closer look at the label (which oddly doesn’t follow the Food Allergy Labeling and Packaging Act by not listing CONTAINS: allergen, etc.) showed it contained buttermilk powder. The cookie was baked withe buttermilk powder, not coated in it. John simply grabbed three out of the box, and gave it to his brother because he had asked for a snack while I was upstairs. When John came upstairs and told me he was itchy, I panicked when I saw his face…two doses of Benadryl quickly resolved the hives, and I felt assured no further intervention was needed.

Then last night before my son when to bed, he had about four hives on his face and said his face was itchy. Again I gave him Benadryl because he had no other symptoms (such as wheezing, coughing, etc). There was nothing John ate that he didn’t have before. Fast forward to this morning, and once again, after breakfast John came to my room itching his arms and face and his face looked like this:

I immediately gave him the same two doses of Benadryl that worked on his reaction yesterday, and called his doctor’s emergency number, all the while watching John like a hawk. He stayed right next to me the whole time, as I held his epipen in one hand, phone in the other. I looked closely for every other sign possible and asked John a million questions such as Did his throat hurt? (No) Do your lips or tongue feel funny? (No) Does your chest hurt? (No) Do you feel dizzy? (No) Does your stomach hurt? (No) John’s hives were mainly on his face, parts of his back, his arms and one part on his leg…what many consider a full body hive reaction. Many people feel that these symptoms alone is enough to give the epipen but I hesitated to give the epi for one reason: my doctor on the phone said that they recommend giving the epi when the patient presents the vomiting/breathing/mouth symptoms, and that as long as he wasn’t in distress and the hives were lessening, that the Benadryl would counter the reaction. Of course, John’s symptoms could worsen at any minute, in which case I would have given the epi and called 911, no exceptions. But with a house full of young kids, no husband around and his highly respected allergists telling me the Benadryl was an “appropriate” course of action at that very moment, I decided, yes, the Benadryl was good enough for now, and as I saw his hives literally fade away, I was comforted.

However, in a lengthy discussion with the allergists’ office, I wanted more answers about what was going on with John, and can I expect to see another reaction soon, perhaps an even worse one? Apparently these types of reactions can occur intermittently for up to a week after the initial one, and there is truly no way to know if the reaction will present itself as hives or something like anaphylaxis. John’s course of action was to take a Zyrtec and Benadryl once a day until this passes out of his system, then I’ll need to bring John back in to determine if the reaction was caused by either touching the baked milk cookie, or possibly an emerging soy allergy. We’ll do a full testing on John again to rule out soy. If not, then we can assume the reaction was caused by touching that cookie. It’s another argument for the logic behind food free classrooms (or only allowing fruits and veggies as snack choices). Because if anyone believes that you can’t suffer major reactions by just touching a food you’re allergic to, simply take another look at the photo above.

Finally, I asked the doctor if I made the right choice, because I was still doubting that I did. I was assured, yes, given the set of circumstances, and John’s list of symptoms, that I made the best choice at the time. I then asked “But why? Why did this happen? Why now? How did it happen, and how do I know it won’t happen again and be THE big reaction that puts John’s life at risk?” I was told “You don’t know. None of us know. We don’t know if your son’s reaction was stemming from yesterday’s or if he has a new allergy, and if he DOES have a new allergy, why now? No one knows”.

No one knows. Ever. As a mother I always want to make the best decisions and am fiercely protective of my children, as are all of you. But what never ceases to amaze me in the world of food allergies…is how LITTLE we still know. How mysterious this disease is, how different each reaction is, and why some are highly allergic to one thing, and some outgrow others. I’m always asking why, but still feel like I don’t have any more answers than nine years ago when we first started on this journey. At which point are we going to know more? At which point can food allergies be eradicated? I know we are headed down the right road with new therapies, treatments, laws, etc. But on days like today, I’m painfully aware of how little we DO know. And how so much of this is still out of our control.

During this holiday season, I wish you all Happy Holidays and to BE SAFE. xoxo

I especially love serving these tender biscuits for breakfast with a little dairy free margarine and honey.

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE DINNER BISCUITS

Yield: 8 biscuits

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (alternatively use 1 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. all-purpose flour)

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. or 1 c. soy or rice milk

2 T. dairy free margarine, melted for brushing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt with a wire whisk. Add the soy or rice milk slowly, stirring with a rubber spatula until the dough just comes together and isn’t too sticky. Turn onto a light floured surface and knead 12-15 times, until the dough is soft and smooth.

Pat the dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to make 8 rounds, rerolling as necessary.

Brush the surface of each biscuit with melted dairy-free margarine, and bake for 15-20 minutes. or until very light golden brown.

The clip will most likely be on Martha’s website tomorrow, and it would be fantastic if you all could show your support of these types of segments by posting a comment to the video clip. I know that if Martha’s staff could see how much these types of stories mean to us, and that there is a huge demographic of viewers that want more allergen aware segments, they would possibly be open to even more of them in the future. The more mainstream food allergy coverage is, the better for all of us. When we get people talking about it, we bring awareness. And awareness brings compassion and diligence.

I’m so proud to be a part of such an amazing and support community of parents who are so passionate about food allergy awareness. Simply read my previous post, and all those incredible comments from so many of you, and you can literally feel the positive and warm energy. Your comments brought tears to my eyes, time after time. I’m beyond grateful to have you all to connect with. There are so many advocates, too many to name here, but who are always working behind the scenes and in front of the scenes to get the right information out there. I thank my lucky stars for you every day.

One more thing, my all time favorite site in the world for food allergy info, FAAN is posting another one of my holiday recipes on their blog FAANnotes. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Baking everyone and a VERY VERY Happy Holiday Season to you and your families!

xoxox

After school I offered my son John a brand of vegan pudding we’ve had in the past, and that I knew was safe for him to eat because I painstakingly read the label numerous times, except for today it seemed. This packaging look nearly identical but it was a slight variation made with soy milk. As many of us already know, some soy milk-type products often have milk or legume proteins hidden in the ingredient list. John noticed right away that it was slightly different packaging and asked if it was OK (because our FA kids are REALLY good at NOT trusting labels). I looked at the label, and it looked OK..still not putting two and two together that it was slightly different. I told John it was fine to eat, and since he trusts his mother to give him good information, he opened it up and took a bite. Reaction. Albeit it was minor (itchy lips and small hives), it was still an immediate reaction. Once we countered the reaction with medicine, and saw that John was OK, and the itching was only on the outside of his mouth and not inside, I went to the fridge to double-check the packaging. Sure enough, after looking at every little ingredient…there it was; Locust Bean Gum from the Legume Family. Thank God John didn’t start wolfing this stuff down, and took a careful bite to check first (again, FA kids are REALLY good at NOT trusting labels). My heart sank. I failed my son. He trusts me to make good decisions and to keep him safe at all times, and I didn’t. I’ve written many times in this blog that “mistakes can and do happen, even in the best of circumstances”.  This mistake happened on my watch, and if I’m vulnerable, so are schools, restaurants, etc. Wait, I take that back…they’re about a thousand times more vulnerable because they aren’t as lovingly and personally invested into our children’s health as we are. We’re moms, and will fight to protect our kids under any circumstance. Yet, we’re not perfect and slip ups happen even when we think we’ve got it all covered. Good to remember when we are trying to keep excess food out of our children’s classrooms….

Speaking of excess food, after this particular reaction my son left to go to basketball practice. Almost as soon as he walked in the front door upon returning, John broke into massive tears and sobbing. I gotta be honest, I haven’t seen him cry like this in a really long time. In fact it is rare John cries at all because he hates any excess attention on him. He’s always the kid who’s cool as a cucumber. So I knew something really bad must have happened at practice to shake him up. It was hard for him to talk about, but once he calmed down a bit he told me was embarrassed about his allergies, and for feeling different. I calmly pressed for more information, all the while fighting back my own tears, and he said that his coach offered his teammates a pizza party if they scored a certain number of points at their next game. John’s friend, who is very sweet and I know always looking out for him, told the coach John was allergic to pizza and couldn’t have it. John was mortified because he hates feeling different as well as if he were somehow preventing his friends from having pizza. He remained silent about his allergy and didn’t want to talk about it. The coach was concerned, and apparently unaware of John’s life-threatening allergies (this is a travel league, and usually all that information is relayed via paperwork and registration, so I guess I assumed wrongly his coach had this information). He said to the boys, “no problem, how about Jimmy John’s or Subway?” By this time, John said he just wanted everyone to stop looking at him, and to just have a pizza party. In that moment, I imagined John wanted to crawl up and go hide somewhere, because once again, all that attention on him made him feel different, and not like a normal 4th grade boy who just likes to hang out with friends and play sports. He goes great lengths to avoid looking different, and now that we’re approaching middle school, it’s only getting worse.

John’s emotions when he came home were raw, unlike anything I’ve ever seen come out of him. He’s growing up, and very aware of his limitations. He hates it, and at times, wishes his allergies would just go away. He wishes he would outgrow them, and he wishes for a cure. He doesn’t want his friends to miss out on things like a pizza party, because of him. He wants to blend in, and not have kids, coaches and teachers make accommodations for him. Once the tears stopped tonight, this is what John told me, straight from his heart.

My heart is heavy for John, and all the FA kids like him. Especially on nights like tonight. Everyone means well, everyone is trying their best, but sometimes, the reality is still that this is a very real disease that could cause death within MINUTES if not treated, or if an epi pen was left at home because “someone” didn’t want to feel different. That “someone” is John….and I fear he will continue to want to ignore his medical condition at the risk of trying to blend in. All I could do tonight was give my son my love, my hugs and my full attention to what his heart was saying. Before kissing him goodnight though, I reminded him that although I know how hard it must be to have a body that different from some other kids, he’s not alone. There are millions of kids out there just like him, feeling just like him, and want to be included in LIFE….just like him. He’s special, and that’s OK too. At the end of the day, we’re all different with unique challenges. Some kids have diabetes, some kids have learning disabilities, some kids have medical disabilities. But we’re all the same in that we just want to be loved, heard and accepted. And I guess that’s all that John and our other children, hell, even us, really need.

For example, in previous years, Halloween really used to freak me out, and not just in the literal sense (I don’t like mock graveyard scenes, zombies and scary movies…I’m a wuss). I used to hate having to think so far ahead about how I was going to handle the school Halloween party, or how I was going to handle trick or treating. This year, the tone was totally different. For starters, my son’s class party was food free, which was fantastic and eliminated all that planning and stress. The kids DID NOT care, believe me. I was in the classroom helping out and they were having so much fun playing games, etc. that they could have cared less if someone brought in a neon orange-tinted cupcake. Second, my 4th grade FA son wanted to go trick or treating without me, and out with his friends. Now, our community is very much like Mayberry, and everyone looks out for everyone’s kids. My son was going with trusted friends, and he took his medicine kit and my cell phone with him. He knew the rule was that he was to eat ZERO, ZILCH, NADA candy while en route, and had to wait until he got home to eat any of the three types of FA safe candy he got. John’s friends knew the drill, and were so aware and thoughtful of John and how to keep him safe. They truly cared about his well-being and were serious about following my rules. I told John, that I am letting go a little to allow him to make his own choices, and that I trusted him to follow the same rules we’ve always had. Then with the blink of an eye, my freckle-faced boy bolted out the door, with pillowcase in hand. He was LIVING…just like any other kid. And though I worried until the second he ran back in through the door, I was grateful he had his moment to let go and have fun. He never takes anything for granted, and I could tell he enjoyed spreading his wings a bit.

As John enters middle school next year, he is inching toward the age group of FA kids who are most likely to die from a food allergic reaction. Last year FAAN released a survey of food allergy patients ages 13-21 years old. Half the respondents admitted to knowingly eating food that they were allergic to, or that they knew was unsafe for them. Only 61 percent of the patients carried their life-saving medication epinephrine. And the majority of the respondents said although they wished their peers knew more about food allergies, they didn’t want to be the ones to educate them. FAAN conducted an earlier study that showed 69 percent of fatal food allergic reactions, were between the ages of 12-21. It is an extremely vulnerable group, and as my FA son grows up, I am realizing how important it is to be forthcoming with all this information to my son, so he can advocate for himself, especially as he increasingly finds himself in social and sports situations where I’m not always around.

I’ll try not to focus so much on the statistics. Instead, perhaps I’ll follow Emily D.’s lead and just live for today, because at the end of the day, time is sacred and shouldn’t be wasted for one minute worrying about things and situations we can’t control. Prepare, plan, but then let go and live freely, right?

One more thing, I just learned today that my Food Allergy Mama blog was nominated as a Circle of Moms top 25 Food Allergy Blog, a true honor and am so excited to be in the running. Please go here to vote, and you can vote every day until November 16th. I am so grateful for all you guys, you really are the most amazing and supportive group of readers I could ever hope for. I’ve learned so much from all of YOU over the years, and hope that I can continue to inspire and create recipes for your families for years to come. Seriously love you all and your comments…;)

Happy Baking…and will be back soon for a Thanksgiving recipe!!!

xo,

Kelly

In order to do that, I have to plan ahead and choose meals that aren’t fussy. I love slow roasting, slow cooking and braising for easy home-cooked deliciousness. This Chicken and Rice dish screams comfort food…but it is incredibly easy and requires very little labor time at all. I love to saute the veggies when the kids get home from school (5 minutes) and then let the oven do the rest of the work. Feel free to use whatever veggies you want in the saute mixture…butternut squash, carrots, celery and zucchini are my favorites. I also use whatever rice I have on hand, Basmati, Brown, etc. This dish also makes an excellent leftover meal the next night.

ALLERGY FRIENDLY CHICKEN AND RICE

1 3-4 lb. package chicken, cut up into legs, quarters, breast, etc.

1 T. olive oil

1 T. dairy free margarine

3 peeled carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 small butternut squash, diced

1 large garlic clove. minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 tsp. celery seed

1 3/4 c. rice (I like basmati or brown)

1 1/2 c. organic chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil and dairy free margarine until hot. Add vegetables and garlic, and season generously with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes and stir in dried thyme and celery seed. Stir in rice and lightly toast for 1-2 minutes. Turn off burner and place chicken pieces on top of rice and vegetables. Place dutch oven uncovered in oven and bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and add chicken broth. Put cover on top of chicken and bake 40-45 additional minutes or until chicken is done.

Over the years, I replaced my commercially processed sugar buzz with the homemade kind. But I never forgot how much I loved those treats. In fact, when I was suffering severe morning sickness (OK, when haven’t I had it?:) with my third son Matthew, eating three Oatmeal Creme Pies every day saved me from passing out. One for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner. No joke. I felt comforted and blissfully happy in those seven seconds it took to eat the cookie.

Recently at the grocery store, I passed by Little Debbie and suddenly realized that John HAS to know what an amazing little treat the Oatmeal Creme Pie is. But since I am a harsh critic of anything that resembles a “poser”, I hesitated to try to a similar version that was Dairy, Egg and Nut Free. But I got over it, and figured I’d keep trying until it was perfect.

This version is perfect, in fact, I can honestly say I love it even more than the Little Debbie version, and that is saying a lot. I don’t like to knock Little Debbie, ever. She’s a childhood friend.

Have fun making this with your kids and please be sure to wrap each individual pie in a little bit of saran wrap to keep it fresh. Put the pies in your kiddos’ lunchbox and start making your own “Little Debbie” memories.

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE OATMEAL CREME PIES

FOR THE COOKIES:

1 1/2 sticks dairy free margarine

1 3/4 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. good quality vanilla extract

2 T. water

2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 c. quick-cooking oats

FOR THE CREME FILLING:

4 c. confectioners’ sugar

2 tsp. cream of tartar

2 1/2 T. good quality vanilla extract

5 T. soy or rice milk

1/2 c. dairy free shortening

Make the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dairy free margarine, brown sugar, applesauce, vanilla and water until mixed well. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Add to the margarine mixture and mix well. Stir in the oats with a rubber spatula.

Use mini cookie scooper to divide dough evenly onto parchment paper. Bake 7-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly on parchment sheets.

While cookies are baking, make the filling:

Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well using a rubber spatula.

When the cookies are cooled, spread a generous amount (I love the creme part to seep through the edges for the ultimate flavor) on the flat side of one cookie, then top with another similar sized cookie. Wrap each “pie” in saran wrap to keep fresh.

Finally, after years of debate and efforts to promote food allergy awareness at my son’s schools, the day has finally come where I feel like we have made TREMENDOUS progress. Today I attended our schools’ Room Parent Meeting, to which our principal got up and addressed the room parents about the seriousness of food allergies, and that new procedures will be in place. For example, our school will celebrate birthdays AND holiday parties in a NON food manner for Kindergarten, First and Second Grades. The third and fourth grades will be up to the discretion of the classroom teacher. Grade level parties will be conducted with NO FOOD (remember my 1st grade Spanish Mercado and Thanksgiving Party stories?). Finally, the district has developed a comprehensive list of Food Allergy Policies and Procedures, as well as specific Food In Classroom guidelines. The link is here and I strongly recommend you forward these documents to your schools and preschools so they can further develop their own safe food allergy best practices. There are also sample letters and tips for you to use. During my principal’s address today, she went out of her way to mention that if any parents in their children’s classrooms have concerns about No Food Parties, or are getting any push back about safe snacks, etc. (ie Dairy Free classrooms, etc) that they should contact her directly. She doesn’t want anyone to feel like they have to defend the policy, and that she will take the time address the seriousness of the food allergy policy. As a “food allergy mama” advocate, I have had more than my fair share of parent push back on food policies I’ve advocated for years (thanks to our rights outlined in John’s 504 Plan). Hearing this come out of my principal’s mouth meant the world to me, because it allows me to not be the “face” or take on the burden any more. I’m truly grateful and excited for these new policies, and hope you can use some of the documents in your own schools.

Have a GREAT beginning of the school year everyone!!!

LOLLAPALOOZA: My FA son John attended this amazing 3 day music festival for the 3rd year in row…not bad for a soon to be 9-year-old boy! John is a true music lover, and enjoys everything from rap and techno to reggae and rock. He will sit patiently for hours and listen to a new bad he hasn’t heard before, or roam the enormous festival grounds and take in a view of the masses. I’ve taught him the two most important lessons while attending music festivals; watch where you are walking (in order to avoid stepping on something you don’t want to) and when using the portapottie, focus on happy thoughts and get in and out very quickly. John’s personal highlights included seeing Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 live in the pouring rain and getting a decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cone at the Temptation Ice Cream Booth (Vegan Ice Cream made by the excellent Chicago SoyDairy. It was the coolest thing to witness; a food allergic kiddo ordering his own cone at a music fest:

Big kudos to the Lollapalooza staff because they allowed us to bring in our own safe food for John in a cooler as long as we had a doctor’s note. Security was pretty cool about it, except for one jerk who questioned my note, and said any person can fake a doctor’s note. I looked at him with my best evil “Don’t F**** with me” look, one I think only a mom can really give, and then kindly asked if wanted to “search” the contents of the cooler to make sure I wasn’t smuggling in other stuff I shouldn’t be smuggling in. I was half-joking, but he got all serious and dug into the contents. Once he saw graham crackers and a turkey sandwich I think he felt like a tool. Or at least I hoped he felt like a tool.

So now that summer is winding down, it’s time to shift gears from lazy to crazy. Except this time I’m going to go less crazy and not stress as much as I used to about getting my kids ready for the school year. I’m not buying any new school clothes until it’s REALLY fall, I’m not going to be a room parent for the first time in 9 years, and I’m going to think positively that all the hard work of developing IEP’s and 504 Plans last spring will pay off this fall. But just to be sure, I have contacted my FA son’s school principal to facilitate a meeting with our nurse, assistant principal and teacher. John’s 504 can be carried over annually until 2014 (when we reassess eligibility) but I always like to make sure everyone is on the same page from day one so there is no confusion down the road. Many of you have written and asked me about 504 Plans, and how to draft them. If your child has a life threatening food allergy, he may qualify if he “has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking and communicating”. Schedule a meeting BEFORE school starts with your child’s principle to determine eligibility. In regard to how to word the language in the 504, it’s simple. Ask for as much protection you think your child needs because it is your child’s legal right, and ultimately your child’s school will want to keep him safe. After many years of tweaking John’s plan, here is what I asked to be written in the document, and what was agreed to by all parties:

Medical 504: John must have medications at school (Benadryl and Epipens) in case of accidental ingestion of allergens above (name allergens, history of reactions, how your child reacts (ie via ingestion, touch) and indicate whether your child has asthma.) John’s classroom will remain peanut free and dairy free. John has the option of eating at the peanut free table in the cafeteria during lunchtime. Care must be taken that John is not given any foods containing milk, peanuts, tree nuts, legumes and or peas. John’s parents must be notified anytime other than usual snack time, that food will be offered in any of his classes. Parents will then come in and examine the food labels to check for allergens. Students, in any classroom John is in, will bring their own snack and there will be no sharing of snacks. Parents of John’s classmates will be given a letter on food allergies at the beginning of the school year. Parents will be given alternative activities for birthday parties (no food will be served). These include reading a book, leading a game or sending non food goody bags. The nurse will provide information regarding John’s allergies and asthma to all teachers that work with John including specials teachers. An extra epi-pen will be kept in the cafeteria. John will wear a medic alert bracelet. The school staff will be trained in the use of the epi pen at the start of the school year. If John has an asthma attack, he will be escorted to the office by an adult and the nurse will administer Albuterol inhaler as per doctor. An Emergency Action Plan is in place. A copy of it is in the substitute file, in the nurse’s office, and attached. John’s reactions to his allergens: hives, itching, mouth hurts and vomiting, difficulty breathing. When staff members observes hives he will be given xx dose of Benadryl immediately. The parent will be called to pick up John. If John complains his mouth hurts, coughing, itchy throat and difficulty breathing, and it appears to be allergy related, the school staff will administer the EpiPen. The school nurse will be contacted and 911 will be called. Then the parent will be called. John’s medication, wet wipes and EAP will go on all field trips with him.

Feel free to use this 504 Plan for John as your own guide in developing your child’s specific plan.

Finally, I wanted to share a link for you to check out, and go vote for me as a “Momimee” at Babble. The winner with the most votes gets $5,000 to go toward their favorite charity (which would be FAAN and FAI for me). My BFF in Arizona nominated me (unbeknownst to me), and I’m thrilled and honored. Pass the word along in the food allergy community and vote HERE . Every dollar for food allergy awareness counts!!

Have a great last few weeks of August everyone and totally looking forward to working a little harder in the fall! xoxox

Contributor for the super cool Robot Vegan: I can’t scream loud enough about how much I LOVE and ADORE this site and group of cool chics. The site recently went live and already has so much fabulous information, recipes and articles. Take a minute to browse through their site and get hooked. I will be doing some recipes and Ask the Expert Column for them, and will have something on their site VERY SOON. Work in progress and can’t wait!!

Cooking Light Tried and Tested Blogger: I’ll be testing some new recipes (see below for my first one) for Cooking Light, a longtime favorite magazine of mine, and posting the results and recipe for y’all to try as well.

Expert Blogger at Martha Stewart’s Whole Living: I’ve already done a few GF Friday posts for Whole Living, and have a brand spankin’ new Gluten and Allergen Free one coming your way in the next few weeks.

Top 100 Mom Food Blogger Bites Contributor: As a Babble Food Blogger I’ll be sharing my favorite tips and tricks to get in and out of the kitchen fast. When you have a minute check out all the bloggers, I’ve already scooped up some fabulous ideas from these superwomen who like to cook and love to eat!

Guest Blogger for Williams-Sonoma’s company blog “The Blender” : I’ll be doing some kid friendly and allergy aware recipes and meal tips…not posted yet but coming very soon. I love this blog; it’s filled with some great tips and recipes, and just love WS in general.

Yet to be named Screenplay:  Totally off topic from my normal writing duties but boy am I having FUN with this! In my previous life before kids, carpools and writing cookbooks I used to be a news producer/writer and dabbled in screenwriting then too. Though I never sold a script, I hope to finish a couple of stories that have been brewing in my mind for a long time. It takes time do this sort of thing, but slow and steady wins the race I guess, right?

But the most time-consuming thing I have been doing lately is simply enjoying the sunshine and lazy days of doing nothing with my kids. We’re not doing anything fancy, just catching some fireflies, digging for worms and eating lots of popsicles. I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, keeps sending me your ideas and suggestions, and let me know what you think of this new Cooking Light recipe!

SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS WITH TOMATOES AND CORN courtesy of Cooking Light

This recipe has quickly become my newest favorite dinner to make for my family, and with the hot and humid weather, one I am making a lot. I don’t have to fire up the grill If I don’t want to slave over hot coals in 100 degree heat, and the entire dish can be finished in under 30 minutes. A few personal modifications:

• I used Gluten Free/Wheat Free tortillas instead of the suggested corn tortillas with excellent results.
• Broiling the corn using shredded rotisserie chicken is a HUGE time saver, but I’ve also used leftover grilled chicken and corn with excellent results.
• I love the addition of extra veggies, and have successfully used leftover roasted red and yellow pepper as well as some grilled zucchini. The more veggies the better.
• If you don’t want to use any tortillas this is a fabulous dinner “salad” as well. Add fresh basil for more flavor.

This recipe is healthy, fast and delish….a keeper for sure.

Finally, I’d love to know what kind of recipe you want to see here next. I am looking for YOUR fabulous ideas and inspiration. Thanks so much everyone as always for your amazing support!!

For example, my good friend invited John to her son’s birthday party and I made a special treat like I always do, for John to bring in place of the birthday dessert. I happened to have a lunch date with girlfriends that day, and my husband drove John to the party. But for some odd reason, John told my husband that he didn’t want the special treat, and that it was fine. He’ll just have water or something there. Like most of you, I’m sure, I would have made John bring the treat “just in case”. When I picked up John, he seemed to regret that he didn’t bring it, but after talking a little further about it, I learned that sometimes John just gets tired of having to bring or have the “special” treat. I personally think it is because of all the parties recently, and it can be just as tiring for an 8-year-old boy to be on his guard. As his mom, I can certainly relate.

However, the following email from my school superintendent literally picked up my spirits, and made me feel that little by little, we are getting to the point of regulating how much food we are bringing into our children’s classrooms:

Hi Kelly,

The Ad Council completed their review and have made recommendations for next year that include the restriction/regulation/control of food in the classrooms, but not an out right elimination. Staff and Parent handbooks will be revised to codify these changes.

However, our work is not complete. The new guidelines are still considered “under review.”  We are hoping to work with them and see how implementation goes.  Interestingly, a few teachers have already made comments like, “It might be easier for me to simply avoid the use of food in my classroom.” While this sentiment is clearly not universal, you can see that opinions are changing.

Additionally, we have given the Curriculum Department the task of doing a subject-by-subject audit of the curriculum.  Our goal is to identify every place that teachers are using food as part of their instructional practice. Once identified we will be asking how necessary this lesson is and what controls need to be put in place.

I know that this is not exactly where you want us to be (at the moment). However, we are taking a concerted effort to move in an improved direction.

The superintendent was right in saying that “this is not exactly where I want them to be”, but I am SO HAPPY we taking the next steps to developing a responsible policy that is good for EVERYONE, not just the children with allergies. It is a chance for educators to really pause about how they use food in their curriculum, and to determine if it serves an educational and valuable purpose. I am very proud and happy that this getting the attention it needs. Don’t ever give on your schools; they WILL listen and try to work in the best interests of our children. It may take a while (in my case, YEARS) but in the end, ALL our children will benefit from these healthier and important changes in the classroom.

Finally, I have another blog post up at Martha Stewart’s Whole Living. I’d love for y’all to check it out and post your comments! Thanks so much everyone and here’s to the start of a fun and WARM summer!!

Tragically, Sabrina died two years later from an anaphylactic reaction suffered in her school’s cafeteria. Many of us who have FA children know Sabrina’s story well and the 2006 law that was passed in her honor to help protect food allergic children at school. If you are unfamiliar with Sabrina’s documentary or story, see it here. I promise your life will be changed forever after hearing Sabrina’s sweet little voice over powerful messages about what happened on that fateful day. Every single time I hear Sabrina’s story I’m literally shaken to my core and knocked down at my knees. All I can think of is that my own bright-eyed and freckle faced 8-year-old boy could easily suffer the same fate, any day, at any time. As a mother, there is nothing that compares to the knowledge that your child is in danger. Mothers of FA children have this fear, either consciously or unconsciously, every day we send our kids to school, parties, camps, field trips or even simple trips to the park. We never know when a mistake will happen. All we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Sabrina’s documentary and her story is THE most powerful piece of knowledge I can give to other moms, especially non FA moms, about what my reality has been like since 2003. I don’t expect them to ever fully understand my reality, but I do hope they try. Whenever I advocate for stricter policies at schools, especially when it comes to enacting a food free policy in classrooms I am always thinking of Sabrina Shannon, and how an innocent misstep can cost a life. Mistakes can, and do happen. In my last post I wrote about my son’s religious education teacher handing out Dunkin Donuts as a reward during class, and I also wrote about how I was never notified and the teacher was going to get an earful from me. I talked to the director of the program who apologized and said reminders were sent home with the students (we didn’t get one) and my son was told multiple times of the reward (my son has an auditory memory issue and to leave anything to him to relay back to me is very risky…it won’t always get back to me) and parents were emailed as well (the teacher had my old email address). Add all this up and you have a perfect storm for miscommunication and a potential breach of safety in my son’s classroom. My son’s 504 Plan specifically states that no food is to be served in his classrooms without approval by me. Obviously the 504 wasn’t followed, which is a liability issue for them, and a major safety issue for my son. And for what? Donuts.

We came to an agreement that the best option for a one hour religious ed class is to reward students in a non food manner, in fact John’s idea for a reward was extra time on the playground or a game of Hang Man. Simple but effective, safer yet healthier for not just the kids with food allergies and diabetes, but for all the kids. I have said time and again I try so hard to look at the food issue in classrooms from all perspectives, never just from my own. I always hope other parents see my perspective as one based in simply trying to keep my son safe and alive, and that I am genuinely not trying to be a pain in the ass. Or combative. Or thinking my way is the only way. I am always looking at what is a good solution for EVERYONE involved. I believe in the greater good, and that people in general would never want to put my son or other FA in harms’ way, or to exclude them and make them feel socially awkward for their medical disability. However, despite my best efforts to do this, there is always someone, somewhere who passionately disagrees with me, to the point of calling me out on my beliefs, or telling others how their experiences are different from mine. I’ve heard many times (always through the grapevine of course) how my advocacy efforts are viewed as something that is more annoying than helpful. I’ve also heard how passionately other moms feel about their children’s right to keep treats and food in the classroom, that it is a part of childhood. My son’s allergies is an inconvenience to the class and that their kids are missing out on the treats of childhood.

The primary difference between my viewpoint and the other one is, well, life or death. It really is that simple. Yet, it isn’t. People want food in their children’s classrooms and they are gong to fight long and hard for it. All I want is for food to stay where it belongs; in the lunchroom. Food allergy issues aside, kids should eat their meals in one central place at a table. Their desk and classroom is for learning. Not for endless snacking and eating. Now, putting the food allergy issue back into the equation, it really should be a no brainer. (For the record, as I’ve always said, I don’t believe in food bans in the lunchroom and never have. It falsely promotes a sense of security that the area is safe and free of allergens, which of course is nearly impossible to regulate).

When I became a mom nearly 11 years ago, I never once thought I’d become an advocate, whether for my son’s medical condition or for my children’s learning disabilities and special needs. I also never thought I’d get so much backlash and negativity. Call me a Pollyanna, but I really think we are meant to learn from our challenges, to be compassionate and empathetic to others, and to always strive to think the best of each other. I believe we are all doing the best we can with what we’ve got, and that it is time to let go of anything that doesn’t serve us or others well. For me personally, I’ve had to take a long look in the mirror to see where I’ve made my mistakes, and how I can do better in my job as a mom, an advocate and a writer. It’s truly not the challenge itself that matters, it’s how we handle it that does. I may never get a food free classroom for my son, he may never outgrow his allergies, there may never be a cure, my kids might always struggle in school, I might always have to fight for IEP’s and 504′s, and I’ll probably always have to acknowledge the sneers and jeers for my efforts. That’s OK with me. It’s all worth fighting for. And children like Sabrina Shannon and John remind me to never stop trying.

Religious Ed Donut Party: My son came home from religious ed Sunday morning totally bummed because apparently his teacher handed out Dunkin Donuts as a reward for something earned by the class. The teacher did ask if any children in the class had any food allergies and if so to raise their hand. Um, hello, it’s MAY. He doesn’t know that one of his students has a life threatening food allergy at this point in the school year? It’s all over the paperwork I fill out when I register him for class and every week he brings a bright red allergy medicine bag with him. Not only could this have put John at serious risk but it was so unnecessary for a one hour religious ed class. Why oh why oh why must we keep using food, and sugary donuts at that, as a reward for positive behavior? What upset me most was how excluded and bummed John felt, being the only kid in that class to not eat anything during their donut party. I wasn’t even notified ahead of time so I could have sent something different. I’ll handle this with the religious ed department, and believe me they’ll get an earful. In the meantime, John asked if I could make a glazed donut or one with frosting and sprinkles. It’s time I start making donuts again; I want to make the best version possible for him and everyone else. Stay tuned on that….

I also wanted to share my newest favorite Dairy and Egg Free Lasagna recipe; it’s made with ground turkey and spinach but you could certainly omit or add anything you want. This recipe is completely adaptable to your family’s personal tastes. I’ve used several lasagna recipes in my life, many with gobs and gobs of yummy REAL cheese, and then of course the last eight years, I’ve made a few dairy free lasagna recipes with every type of dairy and cheese substitute imaginable. I have to admit, I love cheese and I miss it especially in dishes like lasagna. Baked pasta dishes are meant for cheese. I’ve played around with various lasagna recipes for years and this is the one I think I’ll keep. My Italian husband LOVED it, and my FA son John really loved it. My FPIES son Michael loved the meat and noodles, and especially the crumbled tofu. My other three children loved the meat and noodles. It is a great recipe that everyone loved. And it’s even better the next day. It also freezes very well for one month.

You could use my tomato sauce recipe from a few posts ago for the sauce, (the one with the turkey meatballs), and add browned, cooked ground turkey. To save time, you could also just use a jarred sauce (I use Bertolli Red Wine Marinara)  and add browned turkey or browned ground beef. I also like to add some fresh herbs to the final sauce to freshen the flavor. A few other tips to save time: use oven ready pasta sheets or you could use whatever egg free pasta brand you like. The “ricotta” mixture is actually crumbled tofu with a little sweetener and vinegar. I love to add thawed frozen spinach to the tofu mixture, and sometimes I’ll even add finely chopped leftover cooked broccoli, zucchini, etc. too. But make sure to finely mince it. I also like to make a dairy free Bechamel sauce while I’m browning the ground turkey. The bechamel is mixed with the tomato meat sauce mixture to make a creamier, “cheesy” sauce. I use the dairy free mozzarella cheese sparingly in between layers because it isn’t real cheese and gets too gooey if you over do it. The bechamel makes up for the lack of “cheesy” layers. One more note about the dairy free cheese: you’ll want to broil the top of the lasagna at the very end for a couple of minutes to get that beautiful browned cheese look. Finally, I like to make this recipe in two 8 inch glass baking dish, one for smaller lasagna for today, freeze the other for another night. If you use the old-fashioned kind of noodles that need to be boiled, just cut the noodles in half to fit the 8 inch square dish.  Alternatively make the dish in a 13 x 9 glass baking dish.  Enjoy!

DAIRY AND EGG FREE LASAGNA

Tomato Sauce:

1 large jar marinara sauce or 2 c. homemade sauce

1 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Dairy Free Bechamel Sauce:

4 T. dairy free margarine

3 T. flour

2 c. dairy free soy or rice milk

salt and pepper to taste

pinch nutmeg

Dairy Free Ricotta Mixture:

2 packages Firm Tofu, undrained

3/4 tsp. agave nectar

1 1/2 apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thoroughly squeezed and drained

For Layering

1 package dairy free mozzarella cheese, shredded (I use Follow Your Heart, but many people love Daiya’s shredded cheese. We cannot use it because it contains pea protein)

1/2 package no boil lasagna noodles or other egg free noodles, (if using regular noodles, cook and drain according to manufacturers’ directions).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and rub the bottom of two 8 inch glass baking dishes with dairy free margarine. Set aside.

To make tomato sauce, heat large skillet on medium high and add 1 tsp. olive oil. When hot add ground turkey, add a few grinds of pepper and a pinch of salt and cook until no longer pink and cooked through. Add tomato sauce to skillet, and add fresh basil and herbs. Simmer on low and start making Bechamel sauce.

To make Bechamel Sauce, melt dairy free margarine on low in a saucepan. Add the flour to saucepan and whisk mixture until flour is incorporated and not lumpy, about 1 minute or so. Slowly add the soy or rice milk, and a little kosher salt and pepper to taste. Whisk constantly for about 10-15 minutes or until mixture resembles heavy cream and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Once sauce is thick, add to the tomato sauce mixture and simmer on low to heat through.

To make “Ricotta”, mix all Ricotta ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.

To make layers:

Ladle 1/4 c. tomato/bechamel sauce on each 8 inch glass pan. Add pasta sheets, layer “dairy free” tofu ricotta mixture on top of sheets, then the tomato meat sauce, then a 1/4 c. or so dairy free cheese. Repeat mixture 2 times, ending with tomato sauce mixture on top. (Feel free to cover the other lasagna pan tightly with foil and freeze. ) Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle a 1/4 – 1/2 c. dairy free mozzarella cheese on top. Switch oven to broil and broil for 2 minutes or less to get a slightly browned look on top.

Let dish settle for 10-15 minutes and serve.

Just wanted to give y’all a heads up that I will be doing some blogging for Martha Stewart’s Whole Living site. I’m very excited as it is another way to reach a whole other audience with great allergen friendly recipes and tips. I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE for you to show your support for my posts on her forum by clicking here and leaving a comment or question for me. You guys have all been my biggest support system and have helped me so much with your limitless helpful comments and supportive words. So many of you have helped me with every recipe I develop through your testing, reviews and even fabulous hints and substitutions. I can’t thank you enough for making this blog as great as it is…it’s only as good as the wonderful people who read and contribute to it. I hope my contributions at Whole Living will be just as helpful.

In addition, if you are in the Chicago area please come tomorrow to the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Lisle, IL. I will be there doing a demo on how to bake for Allergen Free Parties on the Public Stage in the Vendor Fair at 11:45 a.m. I really hope to see some of you there!! The event runs through Sunday and it is not to be missed. So many of your favorite authors and bloggers are going to be there and I can’t say enough about the founder Jen Cafferty, who never ceases to amaze me with her creative spirit and energy. This is a HUGE event to pull off, and she does it so flawlessly.

Finally, Food Allergy Awareness is week is only a couple short weeks away. This is a fantastic opportunity to get into your child’s school to read a story about food allergies, talk to your school administration and lunch staff about safer and healthier food practices at school, telling friends and neighbors and writing letters to your local media. EVERYONE can contribute their time and talent to get people talking about food allergies, and what we can do about them. FAAN has done a stellar job in putting together easy school presentations and more. Go here to find out more and how you can help.

Thanks again everyone and hope to see many of you over at Whole Living!

xoxox

These would also be great packaged up in a cute little basket as a gift for teachers during teacher appreciation week, conferences, etc.

Enjoy Passover and Easter with your families!!

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

1/2 c. dairy free margarine (I use Fleischman’s UNSALTED ONLY)

2/3 c. soy or rice milk + 1/2 T. white vinegar (let sit for 5 minutes)

2 T. water

1 1/4 T. good quality vanilla

2 c. unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. dairy free mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life for this recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 12 muffin cups with dairy free baking spray, set aside.

Melt the dairy free margarine in microwave for 30 seconds, and use a wire whisk to mix with soy milk/vinegar mixture, water and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients using a rubber spatula and stir only until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups and bake until tops are light brown, about 20 minutes (every oven bakes differently so start checking around 18 minutes. Cake tester or toothpick should come out clean when inserted in middle.

Cool and serve.