Food Allergies

Egg Nog Truffles: A Taste Of The Holidays

/ mysenkid / 1 Comment

Egg nog. You either love it or hate it. I ADORE egg nog. There is something magical about the notion that a drink can invoke all the wonderful “feels” of the holidays! For me, egg nog is synonymous with the holidays. I love finding other ways to enjoy it!  I’ve tried egg nog cheesecake, egg nog ice cream, egg nog coffee…  As much as I love it, sometimes I am not in the mood to drink it! But honestly, most times I don’t want all the calories and full belly feeling I get after I enjoy a glass! I saw a recipe online for egg nog truffles and decided to give it a try with a few tweaks! Although the recipe doesn’t contain actual egg nog, the flavor you have come to love is all there, I promise!

The recipe is quite simple and you don’t even need to turn your oven on to enjoy these little mounds of joy! I chose to add actual rum into my recipe, but if you wanted to make these alcohol free just sub the alcohol out for rum extract! I highly recommend keeping your truffles refrigerated until you are ready to serve them. You can also freeze them in batches and take out certain portions when needed! This is a perfect make-a-head recipe as well! Let’s get to what you need to make these delicious treats.

egg nog truffles

Ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
1 Tbsp of dark run ( I used Sailor Jerry’s)
24 oz. white chocolate
2 cups gingersnap cookies crumbs (gingerbread cookies would be great as well)
Nutmeg and cinnamon for topping *optional

Step 1: Cook the cream, cream cheese & rum in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir often, until the cream cheese melts and the mixture is warm to the touch. *Do not boil this mixture. Crush the cookie crumbs and set aside.

Step 2: Stir in 12 ounces of white chocolate to the cream cheese mixture once you removed pan from heat. Once the chocolate is melted, add in the crushed gingersnap cookie crumbs. Place into a mixing bowl. cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Step 3: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the truffle mixture and form into small balls using your hands and place on the baking sheet. Once you have made all the truffles, pop them into the freezer for about 1 hour.

Step 4: Melt the remaining 12 ounces of white chocolate in the microwave or on the stove. Dip the frozen truffles into the melted chocolate and tap off the excess. Place back onto the making sheet and sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. You can even add holiday sprinkles if you wish!

Remember, store these in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer (covered) for 6 months and take out when needed. I hope you enjoy making these as much as I enjoyed eating them! What is another way you enjoy the egg nog flavor without drinking it? I would love to learn more recipes for enjoying this flavor all year round!

Happy Holidays!

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Operation Gratitude & The Halloween Candy Buyback: A Sweet Way To Say You Care!

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Halloween is over! Our houses are filled with mounds of sugary treats and kids are starting the trades with their friends. Chances are, your kids gathered enough candy to feed a small army. That’s perfect. That is where Operation Gratitude- Halloween Candy Buy-Back comes to play. I participate in this every year. It’s not because I am a “mean mom” and don’t let my kid have candy. It’s FIRST and foremost because it’s a great cause and SECOND I am a “mean mom” who doesn’t allow her kid to have 20 pounds of candy!

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In all seriousness, this program works for us. With Landon’s allergies on top of his food sensitivities (food dye makes my kid nothing short of BONKERS), we are not left with much for him to enjoy. He enjoys the experience of Halloween and sure, getting a few special pieces of “SAFE” candy are always a bonus. He also knows that the more candy he collects, the more candy will be sent overseas to the troops. The candy doesn’t just represent a sugary delicious treat, it represents a good deed and that we appreciate what the soldiers are doing for our country.  It reinforces the motto “sharing is caring”, something we say on a daily basis.

You can search on their website for drop-off locations for this program or can send it yourself. All shipping information is located on their website. Chances are there are many in your area! But, if you are local to me in Little Rhody, consider dropping if off at Pezza Orthodontics in Cranston, RI. The office is having their 4th Annual Halloween Candy Buy-Back Party TOMORROW Thursday, Nov 3 from 2-5pm. Bring your leftover and unwanted candy and they will be having prizes for gift cards!  There will be food, drinks and more! They are sending everything in care packages to our troops via Operation Gratitude! No donation is too small or large. If you can not make that time, feel free to drop it off at the location earlier as well! Or drop it off to me and I will make sure they get the donation!
Namaste~
Joy

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No Sugar Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bites

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Let’s be honest for a minute. When you see a recipe called, No Sugar Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bites do you really think they are going to be good? I mean, sure sugar is the devil since it makes you crave more of it throughout the day. And let’s not forget the sugar crash and belly bloat! But, alas sugar makes those sweets you love even sweeter! And if you are anything like me, I love me some sweets! I was so skeptical about this recipe. I decided to make it one night when I really wasn’t even in the mood for sweets. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and still be stuck with a craving after all the work! But, I was so wrong! These are really, really, really (did I say really) good! And simple. Good. And. Simple.

Ingredients:
3 Ripe Bananas
1/3 cup Apple Sauce (no-sugar added/natural)
2 cups of Oats
1/4 cup Rice Milk (Almond, Flax, Coconut)
1/2 cup Chocolate chips (I use dairy free chips)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Cinnamon

As you can see, the ingredients are all very easy to find and most might even have it already in your pantry! Also, notice, these cookies are egg free, dairy free, nut free, no oil, no sugar and are Vegan! Great allergy friendly recipe!

Directions:

The directions are simple. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together. Spoon onto cookie sheet (I sprayed with a coconut oil spray) into small mounds. Press in the center to flatten a bit. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. The shape stays the same as how you placed on the cookie sheet. Watch for a little color to show on the bottoms or cut one open to see how it looks! If you want these to come out with a smoother texture, place your oats into a food processor then add to the mix. I like mine a little heartier, so I keep the oats as is! You can add raisins, dried cranberries or a dollop of nut butter to the batter as well! The possibilities are endless!

No sugar chocolate chip banana bread bites

*Tip: After they have cooled, store in an air tight container in the fridge. They keep longer and you can place in the microwave for a few seconds to enjoy some warm, gooey goodness whenever your craving hits. Enjoy!

Namaste~
joy

PB & J Sandwiches Made NUT-FREE

/ mysenkid / 2 Comments

A good old fashioned PB & J sandwich used to evoke many pleasant memories from my childhood. However, PB & anything now evokes a queasy feeling in stomach that only be described as fear and anxiety. This simple, yet tasty combo can send my boy into anaphylaxis shock. When more than half his lunchroom brings this sandwich to school, needless to say I worry. He has had a nut allergy since he was barely a year old. Not a day goes by without thinking about all the possible outcomes. It is just something we have gotten used to. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, and I am thankful his reactions have been few and far between.

As his mom, and former lover of peanut butter it is now ridden from my diet. I do crave that PB & J sandwich on a hot summers day at the beach or late at night for quick snack! There are many products on the market nowadays. This is great for the food allergy community, but not all of them are quite good! Sorry, but it’s the truth! I was happy to find alternatives that actually tasted good! I have narrowed down my favorites for making a tasty, nut-free PB & J sandwich!

 

Lunchbox Ready: Just thaw & enjoy! Perfect for lunch, after school snack or trips. Really anytime is the right time to enjoy! 

Dr. Praegar’s Sunwiches: Sunflower seed butter with grape or strawberry jelly! Only 200 calories, 4grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein! These crustless wonders pack a nutritious bite, made with ingredients you can recognize! Screen Shot 2016-05-11 at 3.14.39 PM

Annie’s Homegrown Pea B&J Pockets: Featuring 9g whole grains, these crustless sandwiches are layered with real strawberry fruit spread and golden pea butter made from a legume variety that’s cousin to the green peas you scooted off your plate as a kid.

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Make Your Own Sandwich: These nut free butters are the real deal. Pair it with your favorite bread and jelly or add some bananas and marshmallow fluff! Or just eat if right from a spoon! I won’t judge! 

Don’t Go Nuts Organic Chocolate soy butter: Their bestseller! Almost 2X more protein & fiber and 1/3 the sugar per serving as chocolate-flavored hazelnut spreads!  It features organic cocoa. Way better than Nutella!

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 WOWBUTTER Creamy Soynut butter: 1200mg OMEGA-3 essential oils for good health; peanut butter has 0mg! Best thing about this product is that it comes in CRUNCHY as well! It tastes like peanut butter- but better!

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Even if you don’t have an allergy, these are great to have in the house for your kids to bring to school or playdates. Allergy parents truly appreciate when other moms & dads go out of their way to make their kiddo feel safe around food!

Food should bring people together, not tear them apart!

Teal Pumpkin Project

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It’s October folks! While I am dreaming of eating everything “pumpkin” this season, most kids are excited for what lies on the last day of the month! Halloween! Kids get to use their imaginations and create costumes or resemble their favorite superhero or Disney character all while filling their bags with sugary sweets! For some kids, trick-or-treating is not as exciting as it seems. For they know at the end of the night almost 90% of the treats they collected must be given away or thrown in the trash. I am talking about the 1 in every 13 children who have food allergies in the U.S. I am also talking about my son. While they want to dress up and trick-or-treat with their friends, they know one bite of a candy bar might cost them their life.

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What can you do?

FARE’s Teal Pumpkin Project™ promotes safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies. This nationwide movement offers an alternative for kids with food allergies, as well as other children for whom candy is not an option, and keeps Halloween a fun, positive experience for all!

Join the pledge this year to provide a safe alternative for these kids along with the 100,000 other households.

Paint a pumpkin teal and place it outside for all to see! You can also download a free printable here that indicates you have non-food treats available. What a wonderful new tradition you can start with your family. You don’t have to rid your house of food treats completely.  Offering a safe alternative to a child with allergies just shows you have went the extra mile to make sure everyone is happy & safe on Halloween.

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As a fellow allergy mom, it would honestly mean more to me than you know. It really is the little things that people do to show you they care that mean the most. Everything starts from one small gesture…

Get Painting~

Joy

Need non-food ideas- comment below and I will send some your way!