A nut-free Valentine's Day

L got a special delivery from here!

L was excited to receive his nut-free skippers, which are basically M&Ms, his granola bar and chocolate lollipop.

In case you are wondering, we do eat fruit too! It's just fruit and veggies come naturally nut-free:)

So Delicious Allergen-Free Ice Cream

Have you tried this? L gives it 2 thumbs up!

Allergen Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think these cookies are so yummy! And so do my boys and my taste testers. Taste testers that do not have food allergies!

Click here for the recipe!

I used shortening in place of the dairy-free margarine. I have heard dair-free margarine exists, but I have not found it yet! I also used Kroger Brand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, which do contain some dairy. I left some without chocolate chips for B. L only eats one cookie at a time and the few chips don't seem to bother him. Our allergist is comfortable with this plan for L. Each person with food allergies needs there own plan:)

Enjoy these YUMMY Cookies!

Pumpkin Muffins

Recently I made some pumpkin muffins that are dairy, egg and nut free.

I used this recipe. I used Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling for the canned pumpkin and all the spices. I did this to avoid using my spices...since they are McCormick I did not add the optional nuts and raisins. I used Canola Oil and Ener-G Egg Replacer I made them into muffins, or as L calls them "cupcakes", for easy freezing and storing. We have been using them as treats for the boys.

I added a few semi-sweet chocolate chips to some of the muffins. They do contain some milk. But, L seems to tolerate a little milk...not much, but a little! I froze the chocolate chip muffins in there own bag. This recipe makes a lot!

You can use Vegatable oil is place of Canola Oil. I did not because B was recently diagnosed with Sesame Seed Allergy, which can be found in some Vegatable Oils. This is only from blood work and not skin testing. We are just going to avoid sesame seed for now. I now have found some safe Vegatable Oils.

ENJOY!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Our family rented Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at my request over the weekend.I heard it was a good cartoon with a character who has a Peanut Allergy! I actually read about it on another mommy blog. I can't remember where or who to give the credit to for putting the word out about the movie having a PA character. I thought Sam Sparks, the weather lady with the peanut allery, was a wonderful character. Sam even goes into anaphylactic shock and requires an epipen during the movie. I think this is a great cartoon to watch with children who have food allergies. I enjoyed the opportunity to watch it with my 3 year old and talk to him about Sam! I give it two thumbs up!

McCormick Spices maybe cross contaminated with peanut and tree nuts

I was making dinner and called about the spice packet from McCormick. They clearly marked the top 8 allergens in bold, but I am glad I called. They stated McCormick does not make any efforts to keep from cross contaminating their food. Bummer! I went through my spices and 85% are McCormick. Hopefully I can find some safe spices!

CiCi's Pizza Buffet is a Peanut and Nut Free Restaurant

We wanted to eat out last night. I researched the restaurant we wanted to go to. The online menu to the restaurant we almost went to stated no peanuts or tree nuts. But, when I called to speak to the manager he was very short with me and I was not convinced we would get quality service there.

However,during my research I found that Cici's Pizza Buffet is peanut and nut free. They also state clearly that they have eggs in there white salad dressing and brownies. NO.WHERE. ELSE. We were able to eat out, at a buffet no less, and not worry. You do need to talk to the manager about MILK. The noodles with speghetti sauce were out for us because they contain cheese.

Our kids menu: We double checked with the manager upon arrival about the nut-free environment. We informed him of our children's milk and egg allergy. He made special cheese-free breadsticks for L and B. He also assured us that the Cinnamon Rolls were safe. I am still in shock that the Cinnamon Rolls could be egg and dairy free, not to mention nut free.

It made our year! We are so happy to have a Cici's close to home! LJ was bouncing off the walls with excitement! He got to eat out with the family and choose from a buffet! AND to top it off he got to eat DESSERT!

Thanks CiCi's

Go HERE to learn more!