DF NF SF Hot Chocolate... Kid Approved!

So, my first attempt at hot chocolate was not approved by my food-allergy kiddo (even though I liked it very much!). This time I changed the "milk" and combined two together.  I really like vanilla hemp milk; it has a nutty taste and is fairly thick.  Witt likes rice milk even though it's kinda bland and thin. So I combined the two.

Here's what I came up with and it was approved by ALL THREE of my boys!!! WOOO HOO!

1 cup rice milk, original
1 cup hemp milk, vanilla
4 tsp cocao powder
2 Tbsp sucanat
dash sea salt
1 tsp GF vanilla extract

Warm the milks over medium heat. Stir in cocao powder, sucanat, and salt until well combined.  Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Stir. Pour. Add marshmallows and enjoy!

Hot Cacao (DF SF NF GF)

Normally, I would make hot cocoa with almond milk, but until we evaluate almonds in Witt's diet again, they are out.  And I always try to avoid soy.  He's tried chocolate rice milk and doesn't like it. So that leads me to coconut milk.

This recipe is thick, rich and delicious... a real treat! Unfortunately only one of my three boys agreed, and it wasn't the food-allergy kid. :(

However, I really enjoyed it so I'm keeping the recipe for me. :)

*A few notes first:

• I would not recommend substituting 1:1 on the sugar. To me, sucanat has a completely different flavor and isn't as "sweet" as regular white sugar. If you are going to use plain, white sugar, add slowly and taste as you go. 
• Cacao powder and cocoa powder taste different to me as well.  Cacao has more of a dark chocolate taste. I don't know if a regular cocoa powder (like Hershey's) would substitute exactly.

Ingredients

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (I use Thai organic)
1 can water
3 Tbsp cacao powder (I use Navitas organic)
4 Tbsp sucanat
1/8 tsp sea salt (I use pink Himalayan)
1 tsp vanilla extract, gluten free


Directions

Combine entire can of coconut milk and can of water in a pot. Warm over medium heat.

Whisk in cacao powder, sucanat, and sea salt. (Remember to taste as you go with the sugar!)

Once well combined and warm, remove from heat and add vanilla extract.

Serve warm.  Makes approximately 3 1/3 cups.



Recipe linked on Allergy-Free Wednesday

Chocolate Chip Cookie (GF DF SF)

Cookies

This recipe is altered from a previous one (DF, EF) now that Witt cannot have wheat, but can have eggs.  The following recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and soy free.  I made about 24 cookies, 24 mini-muffins, and one 9" cookie cake to see how the recipe handled different forms.

These may not be the most perfect looking desserts, but everyone loved them! Even the non-allergy folks.  YUM!

Mini-Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c GF flour (I used Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Mix)
1/4 tsp Xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c coconut oil
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp GF vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 - 2 cups Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

To get your eggs to room temperature more quickly, cover them with warm water.

In a bowl, combine flour and xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.

In a mixer, cream the coconut oil and sugars together.  Then add vanilla and eggs.  Mix well.

Slowly add flour blend to the oil blend. Stir until just combined. (Small chunks of coconut oil are fine.)

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Cookie Cake

For cookies:  

Drop SMALL amounts of dough onto cookie sheet. These spread and flatten. Bake 9 - 11 minutes.  Allow to cool on sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Yield: approximately 60 cookies

(Note to self: Try refrigerating dough before cooking to see if it helps lesson spreading.)


For mini-muffins: 

Fill muffin tin with cup holders. Do not grease. Fill cup 3/4 full.  Bake 9 - 11 minutes.  These sunk in the middle which made a perfect place for frosting! Turned out great! Yield: approximately 60 mini-muffins


For cookie cake:

Use a non-greased 9" round pan. Use 1/4 - 1/5 of the dough per 9" round pan. Bake 10-13 minutes. Yield: 4-5 9" cookie cakes.  Allow to cool in pan.  Recommend serving from the round pan; do not transfer.

(Note to self: I was very pleased with the cookie cake. The sides of the pan helped contain the spreading.  Will try with a pizza pan to see if the recipe can handle a larger size.)

Strawberry Frosting DFSFGF

Looking for some kind of cupcake container for my son to bring to school, led me to the Push-Pop Dessert Maker. Cute, huh? :)

Ingredients

2 large strawberries
1 tsp sucanat (or plain sugar)
1/2 cup earth balance natural buttery spread (soy free), room temp
1/2 cup Spectrum organic vegetable shortening, room temp
1 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract
2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar


Directions

Cut each strawberries in to 8 pieces and place in a small bowl. Sprinkle sucanat over the strawberries. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. When most of the sugar has been dissolved, mash or puree the strawberries until there are few to no chunks (unless you like the chunks... then you can leave them) :)

In a large mixing bowl (I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer), combine the buttery spread, the shortening, and the vanilla. I mix it on high until well combined.

Add the mashed strawberries and combine again.  You may need to scrape down the sides of your bowl to help the strawberries combine.

Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Mixing completely before adding the next cup.  (I liked the sweetness of 2 cups, but I wanted it a little stiffer so I added an extra 1/2 cup.)

If you need a thinner frosting, add a tsp of water or milk-alternative.

Refrigeration is recommended to maintain best consistency.

Rice Treats

This is an oldie from back in 2008, but I've updated the ingredients a bit to fit our new needs. These  treats were individually wrapped and labeled for my boys' Fall Festival at school. Now the allergy kids can have a treat, too! :)

 

I made a batch with Earth Balance and another with coconut oil. I, personally, like the coconut oil batch better. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients
10.5 oz GF miniature marshmallows (eg. Kraft)
1/4 cup coconut oil (preferred) or DF/SF margarine (eg. Earth Balance buttery spread)
5-6 cups GF crispy rice cereal (eg. GF Rice Krispies)

Directions
Line a 13x9 pan with wax paper and grease with coconut oil.

Melt coconut oil in a large bowl in the microwave (If you have time, you really should do this over low heat on the stove top to preserve the benefits of coconut oil. But... I was in a hurry and this is what I did.)

Add marshmallows to melted oil and mix to coat.

Microwave marshmallows and coconut oil until melted, stirring after each 1 minute. (Or if using the stove, just stir continuously until everything is melted and well combined.)

Add cereal to melted marshmallows slowly, stirring to combine well. Pour mixture into pan and press down with greased fingers.

Cool in the refrigerator. Cut into squares.

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Side note: I didn't realize until after I had stuck my labels on that I forgot to add soy-free. And to make these Top 8-Free, these are of course fish and shellfish-free, too. ;)

GF DF SF Baked Oatmeal

I tweaked this recipe from Urban Nester who tweaked it from someone else. :) After reading the many, many comments on Urban Nester's post, I realized this is a great adaptable recipe because so many people have made it to fit their own dietary needs and it worked! So, I tweaked it a bit for us and this is what 2 out of 3 of my boys ate and ate and ate. And then asked that I make again next week. (One boy doesn't like oatmeal...period. Even with chocolate.)


Ingredients

Dry:
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/3 cup sucanat
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup walnut (or pecan, flax, etc), ground (optional)

Wet:
1 cup strawberries (any berries work)
2 cups rice milk, original (or other DF milk alternative)
1 large egg (or egg replacement. We can do eggs now.)
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, peeled

 Fold in:
1/3 - 1/2 cup EnjoyLife chocolate chips

Side Note: If you have time, let the milk, egg, and fruit come to room temperature first so that the coconut oil doesn't clump too much when you mix them all together.

Another Side Note: My kids don't like crunchy stuff in their oatmeal, so I ground the walnuts first, but you can leave them in pieces if you prefer... or leave them out all together.  Easy peasy. :)

****************
DIRECTIONS


Lightly grease 11x7 pan with coconut oil.

In a bowl combine oats, sucanat, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and walnuts (if using).

In a food processor, combine strawberries, rice milk, egg, coconut oil, vanilla, and banana until well combined. The coconut oil may clump back up into solid form a little, but that should be ok.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and pour into greased pan.


To bake immediately:
Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.

To bake later (Preferred method for a thicker oatmeal):
Cover the dish and place in the refrigerator overnight.

(Mine was in a glass baking dish, so I removed it from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking. I placed it on the counter to allow it to come closer to room temperature first.)

Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.


Store covered in the refrigerator. Reheated nicely in the microwave. Serves at least 6.


****************


Notes to self for next time:

• Reduce to 1/3 chocolate chips (we preferred it this way)
• Compare reheat in microwave vs. toaster oven.

Chocolate Cake Brownies

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Peanut-Free

This recipe was adapted from the March edition of Guideposts Magazine.  You could substitute regular flour for the rice and amaranth flour if gluten is not a concern. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cup milk substitute
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 t sea salt
2 t baking powder
1 cup organic walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate baking chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease the inside of a 9x13 pan with coconut oil.  Combine oil, honey, milk substitute, flaxseed and vanilla in order, then mix 1 minute on medium.  Gradually add flours and cocoa powder - mix one minute on medium.  Add baking soda, salt and baking powder in order, then mix 1 minute on high.  Add walnuts and chocolate chips - mix well.  Pour into pan and bake 17-20 minutes.  Store in fridge. 

Makes 12 brownies.

Green Bean Casserole

I created this recipe because I was tired of not having any "popular" potluck items to bring to family functions.  Everyone loves green bean casserole, however, it is hard to find a recipe that doesn't call for some type of creamy soup.  I brought this to a family get-together a few years ago and everyone loved it.  In fact, they asked me to bring it back the next year.  No more cream of mushroom casseroles!!

Ingredients:

• 2 c. wild rice
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1/2 c. chopped celery
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 t. rosemary
• 1 c. sliced mushrooms
• 1 lb. steamed green beans
• Wheat germ

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cook rice in broth until done.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Top with a layer of wheat germ.  Place in a casserole dish and bake until the wheat germ is toasty (approximately 30 minutes).

To make into a main dish add 2 cups of diced chicken to the casserole before baking.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Pancakes are a weekend favorite in our house - the only problem is that most of the packaged mixes contain at least one of the foods my son is allergic to. And if the mixes don't contain them, the recipe calls for eggs or milk.

I started making my own mixes not too long ago and not only are they allergy-free and easy to make, but they save a TON of money!!

Buckwheat Pancakes

Blend the following ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. water
• 3 T oil (we prefer coconut oil)
• 1 c. buckwheat flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. vanilla

You could add 1/2 c. sugar to the mix to sweeten it. We prefer to drizzle our pancakes with maple syrup instead.

This recipe should make 6 large pancakes (8-10 small).

Enjoy!

Getting to know us and birthday cake!

I am so excited to be a part of this blog! For me recipes need to be easy to follow and easy to make or I wont touch them lol! This blog has given me many ideas on ways to cook for my 1 yr old daughter with many food intolerance's. We finally did allergy testing and all tests, except for grass, came back negative as we thought, because there is no testing to check for GI response allergies (or intolerance's as they like to call them). We have a plan to slowly introduce dairy/soy/rice/bananas and a variety of other foods that our daughter has reacted poorly to but for right now I will be learning to cook free of all of these.

Our first obstacle....Birthday Cake and frosting!

Since I am fairly new to cooking with many restrictions I visited our local Whole Foods and found many birthday cake mixes. One that I especially thought looked promising is a yellow cake mix by Cherrybrook Kitchen (most all of their products are dairy/egg/peanut/soy free.) It does call for butter so i picked a tub of Earth's Balance dairy/soy free butter and brought it home to make. It was so easy as it only calls for butter, water and the cake mix, and tasted GREAT! Its a bit more dense then your average cake but well worth it to be able to let my daughter have cake on her birthday.

To frost it I made a very simple frosting that required powdered sugar, "safe" butter,almond flavoring and a bit of water to smooth it out. I first melted the butter (the amount of butter depends on how much you want to make. I used about 1/2 cup of butter.) I then mixed in powdered sugar to make it clumpy and added about a teaspoon of water just to smooth it out. If you want it thicker you will want to add more powdered sugar. After I got it to the consistency I wanted I added 1/4 tsp of almond flavoring and 3 drops of pink food coloring. It turned out great and my daughter loved it! You can tell it tasted good by how she dug into it! For everyone else I made mini cupcakes with the same cake mix and frosting mix.

Everyone loved them and couldn't even tell they were allergy free!