Easy Gingerbread Rice Krispie Treats {Dairy-free}

I have come across several flavors of marshmallows this season and it has been fun making several different treats with them for the holidays! Flavored marshmallows open up a whole new world of sweets! Here’s one my kids have been enjoying:

Easy Gingerbread Rice Krispie Treats {Dairy-free}

3T Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread {It’s dairy-free!}

1 bag of gingerbread marshmallows {I get mine at Walmart}

6 cups Rice Krispies

Melt buttery spread in medium saucepan, stir in whole bag of gingerbread marshmallows. Stir continuously until melted. Stir in 6 cups of rice krispies making sure to mix well.

Pour into a greased 13×9 inch pan. Let sit until cooled. Cut into gingerbread man shapes! Enjoy!!

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And, did you read about the Stained Glass Marshmallow Roll I posted around Thanksgiving? This time I used the Peppermint Mallows by  Jet-Puffed that I found at Walmart….Can’t wait to try these!!

Sugar Cookie Icing {Dairy-free, Egg-free}

I can’t tell you how long I’ve looked for a perfect allergy-free sugar cookie icing. A lot of them have dairy in them and then I found one without dairy and realized I had no corn syrup. So after some research on substitutions, I came up with this icing. I will use it from now on! It’s the perfect consistency and tastes yummy, too!

Sugar Cookie Icing {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Vegan}

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp Smart Balance Light (or Earth Balance buttery spread – they are dairy free)

1 Tbsp Cream of Tartar (I may have used a heaping Tbsp just in case)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Food coloring, if desired

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until powdered sugar is moistened. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Add additional tablespoons of water to reach desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired.

Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies {dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free}

If you are looking for a perfect allergy-free sugar cookie, look no further! This is the best one I’ve made and I’m sure you will love it, too. I made these for the first time last year and my girl just loved them. I am busy baking today for all the parties my girl has and will be sharing several recipes with you. I hope you find them useful and yummy, too!

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies {dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free}

(Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients 1 cup butter or margarine2 cups sugar1 Tbsp vanilla2 Tbsp cornstarch 5 cups flour (divided) 1 cup buttermilk or dairy-free milk alternative, soured with 1 tsp vinegar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions Mix together butter or margarine, sugar and vanilla. Add cornstarch. Alternately add the buttermilk, 2 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in additional 2 1/2 cups flour.Chill well. (Approx. 3 hours)Roll out on a floured surface and cut out. Sprinkle tops with sugar (or colored sugar, sprinkles, etc).Bake at 350 °F for 8-10 min depending on size.

This is what the dough looks like when it’s been chilled long enough. It is very easy to form and not very sticky.
 Here is my girl decorating her first few cookies!

When baked for 8-10 minutes the cookies turn out perfect! They are not even brown on the edges which means they are just firm enough and still soft on the inside.

Chocolate Donut Muffins {dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, vegan}

I’ve been busy baking today for my girl’s Christmas parties this week. This one may be familiar to you because I posted it here awhile back. It is my go-to recipe when I need a donut for my girl. Tomorrow at school, her class is having donuts and chocolate milk while they watch The Polar Express so, of course, she needed a substitute. These turned out delicious and look so yummy, too! I can’t wait for her to try one when she gets home from school.

You can get the recipe here. I changed one thing and it turned out to be a great change. *Let the donuts cool for several minutes before tossing them in the powdered sugar. If the donut is too warm when the sugar is on them, the sugar melts. These turned out perfect today! I think you’ll like them.

Don’t just survive the holidays (and holiday food)…THRIVE!

Christmas is rapidly approaching and with this time of year come lots of Christmas parties and get-togethers with the main attraction being FOOD! Just in the next 7 days, my girl has an event involving popcorn, two Christmas parties at church and school and the traditional (and somewhat dreadful) gingerbread house building at school. All of those things involve food and most of them are foods that are very risky to her health. At this point, I can do one of two things. 1) Avoid it altogether and have her feel isolated and feed her fear of being around those things or 2) Do everything in my power to know what foods will be at what event and make alternatives for her to bring with her so that she can participate like a normal child and teach her to thrive in her environment regardless of food allergies. I’m choosing to do the latter. Her whole life we have been striving to maintain a sense of normalcy for this girl and show her that while she does have potentially life-threatening food allergies, it is possible to be able to enjoy every event and situation involving food. Our ‘normal’ isn’t the same as everyone else’s ‘normal’, but we do our best to help her blend in and thrive. It’s very important to us to teach her that while it is absolutely necessary for her to avoid certain foods, she can have just as much fun as everyone else and not be afraid.

So, here are some practical tips for surviving the wonderful holidays and all the food that comes with it!

1. MAKE A LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE. Compile a list of all the parties/events that your child will be a part of and make a detailed list of each menu. Mark the items that he/she can have and then make allergy-free substitutes for those items which he/she cannot have. If your child is old enough to understand, then go over the lists with him so he is aware of all the substitutes.

2. GIVE STUFF! Volunteer to bring items for school parties/church parties and sign up to bring items like cupcakes or cookies (or whatever your child cannot have) and bring an allergy-free type for the whole class. There are some things like graham crackers that my child can only eat certain brands of, so in that case, bring only that brand or ask the teacher if she can specifically request certain brands to be brought.

3. GIVE TIME! Volunteer to help at the parties so that you can monitor the food situation. My child is old enough to know certain things that she can/cannot have, but I know that she is much more comfortable to partake if I am there. When she doesn’t know if an item is okay, she will just refrain from eating it. I know some kids may not have that kind of self control, but your child might.

4. HAVE A LITTLE CHAT! Communicate with the teacher(s) as the time draws near for the party/event to remind her of your child’s specific needs. Send a note in on that day, as well, reminding her. You can also have your child wear allergy alert jewelry or a sticker/pin stating his/her allergies so that even volunteers can be on alert. My girl will be wearing her necklace on the days of her parties/events.

5. LAST BUT NOT LEAST! In case of gingerbread house building, find out the exact ingredients that will be there and deal with it appropriately. The ‘glue’ that my girl’s teacher is using to stick the house together has meringue powder in it and that is an absolute no-no for my sweet girl. So, we are going to have her use gloves while putting these houses together. And then I have checked into all the ingredients and sent in some of the ones where my girl needs specific brands. After all that, we know of one ingredient that she cannot partake of and she is aware of it. So, she’s feeling pretty excited about building herself a little gingerbread house with the rest of her class. And I have to say that this momma is at peace with it and looking forward to seeing what my artistic girl comes up with!

I’m planning to post a few Christmas recipes coming in the next few days, so stay tuned! And I have some plans in the works for the new year on this blog! Exciting days ahead!

Stained Glass Marshmallow Roll – {dairy-, peanut-free}

We’ve arrived at the time of year again where tasty, traditional food is a BIG deal! I’m excited about Thanksgiving dinner in a couple of days, how about you?? And with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, I’ve had to come up with some more fun desserts for my girl. I wanted to do something a little different for her this year in the sweets department and as I wandered through the baking aisle, I spotted the colored marshmallows. I was actually looking for marshmallows for something else I’ll post about later, but when I saw the colored ones, my tastebuds were catapulted back to my younger years when my mamaw would make Stained Glass Marshmallow Rolls. {Now I’m drooling.} I called my sister to see if she had the recipe, but no luck. So, I googled it and found one that works for me – with minor adjustments, I’ve got myself a dairy-free, peanut-free treat that I am sure my girl will love! Hope you enjoy it!

Stained Glass Marshmallow Roll {dairy-free, peanut-free}

1 lg bag Vegan Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread {dairy-free}

Pour both ingredients into large bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and let sit until cool.

1 10.5 oz bag colored mini-marshmallows

Once chocolate is cool, stir in marshmallows and pour mixture onto a sheet of waxed paper. Roll into a log shape.

Shredded Coconut

Spread coconut flakes onto waxed paper and roll the log in the coconut so that it is covered all around. Wrap the finished product in waxed paper and put in fridge to chill. When you are ready to eat it, slice it into 1/2 inch slices and serve! They look like stained glass windows!

Happy Thanksgiving from our allergy-free kitchen to yours!!

Allergy-Free Mom Food

A normal blog post for this blog usually centers around kid-friendly food, but I realize that some of you are adults with food allergies (or you just want to eat a more healthy diet – and so do I) so I decided to start putting more ‘adult-style’ food on here when I can. Today I made a yummy, healthy lunch and wanted to share it with you. My kids wouldn’t touch this with a ten foot pole because it involves lettuce, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s a great one for these record-hot days of summer.

Grilled Chicken Strips & Salad with Homemade Balsamic Vinagrette

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into strips {chicken tenderloins would work, too}

Olive Oil

Garlic Powder

Sea Salt

Black Pepper {a natural metabolism booster!}

Green Leaf Lettuce {washed and cut into bite size pieces}

1 Tomato, diced

1/2 Zucchini, washed and diced

White Mushrooms {sliced}, washed and diced

Balsamic Vinagrette

1 part Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 parts Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic Powder

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

1. Rub chicken with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Grill to your liking. Cut into strips.

2. While chicken is grilling, cut up your lettuce and veggies. Toss together in a bowl or on a plate.

3. Mix together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper. Pour onto salad.

4. Add chicken strips OR cut the chicken strips into smaller pieces and toss into salad.

This salad is loaded with nutrition and you could even add more veggies to it.

Zucchini helps cure asthma, as it contains Vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties. It contains useful amounts of folate, potassium and Vitamin A which are all necessary for proper functioning of the body. Regular consumption of zucchini can help protect the body from colon cancer. All of this and much more in one little veggie.

White Button Mushrooms have Vitamin D. In fact, they contain 100% of the recommended daily allowance of Vit D. They are also a cancer fighter, aid in estrogen reduction (helps reduce risk of breast cancer), contains potassium (great for high blood pressure, reduce risk of stroke and low blood sugar, prevents heart attacks), and decreases risk of prostate cancer.

Tomatoes are cancer fighters, they fight heart disease, promote healthy colon and prostate and reduce blood clots and inflammation. When grown organically and on a vine in the sunshine they soak up lots of nutrients that are good for your body!

What are your favorite veggies in a salad??

Confetti Bananas {dairy-free}

So, the kiddos got up from their quiet time begging for a snack, as is usual for our household and since I was out of ‘convenience’ kind of snacks, I decided to make up something with bananas. This is absolutely a no-brainer, but the girls loved it.

Confetti Bananas {dairy-free}

2 bananas, peeled and sliced

Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

Sprinkles of your choice

Divide sliced bananas into 3 bowls {or more if you desire}. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Top with your favorite sprinkles. Serve with a toothpick for eating with. The end.

Family Favorite

Just made these yummy no-bake cookies….the girls are really looking forward to having one of these after dinner!

Chocolate Muffins in a Rush {Dairy-, Egg-, & Peanut-Free}

I’ve been gone for a few days celebrating Easter with family out of state, so I haven’t posted in almost a week! The Whoopie Pies were a success for my youngest daughter’s 3rd birthday party. You would never know they were allergy-free. The cousins loved them! Saturday morning, I was at my sister’s house and she was making muffins for breakfast, so I decided to go ahead and whip up some muffins for my allergy girl, too. You can ask my 12 yr old niece how proud I was of myself for doing such a good job…she heard me exclaim several times, “These are great! I can’t believe how good these turned out!”  My sister doesn’t have anyone in her family with food allergies, but you can make these delicious muffins from anyone’s pantry! No weird ingredients – all normal, everyday items.

Chocolate Muffins in a Rush {Dairy-, Egg-, & Peanut-Free}

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup oats

1/3 cup sugar

1T cornstarch {this replaces the egg}

1/2 cup pure cocoa powder

1 cup almond milk {plain for less sugar content}

1/2 cup applesauce {I used a snack sized cinnamon flavored because that’s what my sister had}

1/4 cup canola oil

Mix dry ingredients together in mixing bowl. Mix liquid ingredients {including applesauce} in a small bowl and then add them to the dry ingredients. Mix until moist. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full and bake @ 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Serve warm with Smart Balance Light {dairy-free buttery spread}. Makes 12 muffins. 1/2 the recipe to make just a small batch of 6. They turned out perfect!