Sweet Potato Pancakes

I've tweaked the pancake recipe found in an earlier post that eliminates the eggs and wheat. My daughter is in the toddler stage where she's becoming a picky eater and doesn't want the fruits and veggies she previously loved. In order to sneak some into her diet, I added sweet potatoes to one of her favorite things and it seems to be working.

1 cup Flour Blend #1 (ingredients are in an earlier post)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pureed, cooked sweet potatoes *
1 cup rice milk
1/2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

*I've also made these with the same amount of applesauce instead of the sweet potatoes

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Drop by 1/4 cupful on a hot griddle (350 degrees). Makes 6-8 pancakes

I've frozen these with wax paper in between each. When ready to eat, take one out of the freezer and stick it in the toaster for a quick breakfast!

Deep Fried Fish Batter

Homemade Fish & Chips has been a special treat in our house for as long as I can remember. I now have my husband hooked, so it only made sense that I tried to experiment with my mom's recipe in order to share it with my daughter.

1 1/2 cup of Flour Blend #1 (see previous post for the ingredients of Flour Blend)
2 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp canola oil
approximately 3/4 cup of water
ground pepper

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add canola oil. Wisk in water slowly until it is the consistency of pancake batter.

Pat fish or boneless chicken breast dry. Dip fish (or chicken) into batter and deep fry in 350 degree canola oil until crisp. The finished fish will not have the dark color of deep fried fish with a wheat batter, but it is just as tasty!

Flour Blend #1

One of the hardest things of baking without wheat is finding a suitable replacement. I call this Flour Blend #1 because I am still experimenting and this is the one I like so far. If I come up with something better, I will add it in another post.

1 part corn flour
2 parts tapioca flour
3 parts sorghum flour
3 parts potato starch

I usually make a large amount and keep it in an airtight container in the pantry. This makes sense because of the amount of baking I do.

The Allergy Grocer

This is a website I was pointed to by the nurse at our allergist's office (who also has to deal with multiple food allergies in her home).

http://allergygrocer.com

Their list of products was unbelievable - I felt like a kid in a candy store. I started ordering and couldn't stop. Not long into my order, I realized it was getting a bit expensive so I decided to stop for the time being. Happy with my order (on a Sunday night I must add), I proceeded to the check out. I ordered a few frozen items (which them mentioned that they only ship at the beginning of the week so that they don't get stuck in the mail), chose my delivery options and found out that I was about to be charged over $200 for $97 of food!!! I couldn't believe it! The site didn't give you this information before you confirmed the order and there was no way to go back! I quickly emailed them that I wanted to cancel the frozen items and stick to the rest of the order (which would have only been $20 for shipping). I didn't hear anything back on Monday morning, so I quickly called them. Thank goodness I did as they say they didn't see my email and were getting my order ready. The woman I spoke to was very nice and told me that I could get it sent by a cheaper ground option since I lived in MA (they're located in MD) which wasn't available or mentioned on the website. I chose that instead and received everything a couple of days later. I mentioned that they website should tell you the shipping price before confirming, but she didn't say much other than my credit card would be credited for the difference in the shipping. I've learned my lesson, if I'm going to order from them again, I'm going to call them :)

Household ratings:
selection of items: 9/10
website ease of use: 5/10
prices: 1/10 (items are expensive and that's not including the additional shipping)
overall: 5/10

Basha's Natural Marketplace & Cafe - Hudson, MA

I found Basha's Natural Marketplace & Cafe on the same google search that I found Debra's Natural Gourmet.

http://www.basha.com/home.html

I also only stopped by because they were local. To be fair, because of their website, I should have been able to tell that food was not their top priority (they are more of a supplement store). They have one small isle of food items, but was happy to find corn pretzels and a chocolate flavor of the Rice Dream Ice Cream there. Their cafe sounds great (their menu is on their website) and looked great, without allergen free bread, it wasn't a choice.

I doubt I will be going back since there was nothing there that I couldn't get (or have ordered) somewhere else.

Household rating: 3/10 (based on grocery items alone)

Debra's Natural Gormet - West Concord, MA

I did a google search of Health Food Stores near Sudbury, MA and was pleasantly surprised to find one in Concord. Their website is:

http://www.debrasnaturalgourmet.com/index.html

By visiting their website, I never would have guessed that the store was as great as it was. If it wasn't for being so close by, I'm not sure I would have even ventured there. Luckily we decided to take a ride yesterday and liked what we found. They have a fantastic selection of just about everything I can think of. They have a great selection of the different kind of flours that I've researched but hadn't found yet. At some point I will get around to trying some of them and will review them for my blog. In the meantime, I stuck to the basics - corn pasta, maple syrup, enjoy life rice milk bars, cornbread mix, and egg replacer. The store itself had a very friendly atmosphere and you can tell that the people there were genuine when offering to help you. They also would order items needed, I just was looking to find things (BREAD!) before having them order it for me. Luckily they carry other items from companies I've researched for bread, so as soon as I try them and like them, I know I'll be getting them to order for me. Although some of their prices for staple items were more expensive (as to be expected compared to chain grocery stores), I know we'll be shopping her frequently.

Household rating: 7/10 (with the potential to be higher once we work with them on getting more specific items)

Whole Foods - Wayland, MA

When I first learned of Emily's allergies, I started looking for food options at our local grocery stores. Whole Foods seemed to be a good place to start and I found a wide variety of things I've already blogged about (baby food, enjoy life brand, and more). It wasn't until we confirmed her wheat allergy that I realized the store wasn't enough. They have a frozen section with lots of gluten-free breads, but every one of them contains egg! They don't have any options for those with multiple allergies. I will still continue to shop there for staples (rice pasta, rice milk, baby food), I just would love to find a place that I can do more of a "one-stop shopping".

household rating: 5/10

I'm back!

Sorry for the lack of posts the last 6 weeks or so. The baby had many more bad nights that lead us to eating an extreme elimination diet so I didn't have anything new to report. After a couple trips to both the pediatric allergist and the pediatric GI doctors - I think we're finally getting somewhere. Emily had another RAST blood test that came back positive for milk, egg, and peanut. She also had low positives for wheat and oat, but the allergist thought they were too low to worry about. He asked me to try to reintroduce them back into her diet and see what happened. The baker that I am (and the fact that her 1st birthday was approaching), I started with wheat. Not only was I to use the 4 day rule, I was also to wait a week inbetween any new introductions. She got sick right away on wheat - so we were back to the doctor again. This time they did a skin prick test which was positive for wheat. If there was any good news in all of this, it was that she seems to have outgrown the soy allergy. She passed both the RAST and skin tests for it. I haven't reintroduced it yet, but I hope it will go well. Last week we reintroduced rice and this week corn. Next week will be turkey! I timed this because of thanksgiving of course as I couldn't imagine going without (but would have if I had to). Since I have to have it one day anyway as a tester, I'm waiting until Thanksgiving day so that I can have it guilt free. The other advantage is that if she does get sick through the night, both my husband and I are off work the following day!

We've been trying lots of items lately - both some successes and some failures. I'm hoping to try to get caught up on my reviews this weekend, so there will be many more posts. I've also visited some new stores that carry allergen free items so I'm thinking about doing reviews on local places I've found as well as some online grocers.

Enjoy Life Snack Bars

When I bought these snack bars, I was hoping they would be something like a nutri-grain bar. No such luck. They have the potential, there just wasn't much fruit in them which I thought was strange since they are called Very Berry.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/our_foods/snack_bars/very_berry.html

They also have the Sorghum flour, but I don't think it's quite as noticeable as in the cookies. Also again disappointed with the small number actually inside the box.

Household rating:
Very Berry: 5/10

Enjoy Life Cookes

Sounds good doesn't it? After having Enjoy Life's chocolate chips and chocolate bars, I just had to try their cookies. First up was their Gingerbread Spice.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/our_foods/cookies/gingerbread_spice.html

For the first time ever, I had to throw out cookies. I just couldn't stand these. I even tried their recommended warming them up in the microwave suggestions. It didn't make any difference. Enjoy Life is known for everything they make being allergen free. This is fantastic, but when you don't have to worry about gluten, you would like to have regular flour in your cookies rather than the sorghum flour used in their cookies. I didn't like the texture of this flour and I didn't like the way my stomach felt afterwards. Maybe the sorghum flour takes a little getting used to. I was also disappointed that there we so few cookies in such a large box.

Next up was their Double Chocolate Brownies.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/our_foods/cookies/double_chocolate_brownie.html

They aren't bad, but I think I would rather try to come up with a chocolate cookie recipe myself (again the flour was an issue, but I was able to eat more of these cookies than the gingerbread ones).

I still have a box of the Snickerdoodle ones is the pantry. I just haven't wanted to try them yet.

Household ratings:
Gingerbread Spice: 1/10
Double Chocolate Brownie: 5/10

Chocolate Bars!!!

And no I'm not kidding! Enjoy life came out with a line of chocolate bars so I just had to try them. They come in 3 flavors - Crispy Rice, Dark Chocolate, and Rice Milk.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/our_foods/chocolate_bars.html

I tried the Crispy Rice first, and it was by far my favorite. I was hoping it would be like a Crunch bar, but there wasn't much rice in it (to my disappointment). I wasn't crazy on the dark chocolate one, but to be fair, I'm not a fan of dark chocolate anyway. If you like dark chocolate, than you will probably like this one best. The rice milk one was ok, it just tastes like melted chocolate chips. I really think it could use something else in it (like lost of puffed rice)! The dark chocolate and rice milk ones I couldn't eat the whole bar at once (even though they are less than 2 oz). I don't know if it was because it had been so long since I had had chocolate or if it was just too rich (not usually something that bothers me).

Household ratings:

Crispy Rice: 8/10 (would have gotten a 10 if it had more rice in it)

Dark Chocolate: 5/10

Rice Milk: 6/10

Rice Puffs

Emily's stomach is really bothered by oats. When it was time to give her finger foods, we weren't sure what to give her. We first tried Rice Krispies (because we already had them in the house). She really liked them, but they got soggy very fast, so we were hoping to find something a little bigger for her. That's where we came across the Rice Puffs by Nature's Path.

http://www.naturespath.com/products/cold_cereals/puffed_cereals/rice_puffs

Their one ingredient is Organic Brown Rice and their size is perfect for mastering that pincer grasp. They get a little soggy (as everything does when a baby is eating it), but they hold up quite nicely.

Emily rating: 10/10
Household rating: 10/10

Amazon Frosted Flakes

Since I enjoyed the Gorilla Munch cereal so much, I thought I would see if there were any other brands that I could have and came across Amazon Frosted Flakes.

http://www.naturespath.com/products/cold_cereals/flaked_cereals/amazon_frosted_flakes

Another great find! I love them! These are also corn based, but the taste is really great!

Household rating: 10/10

No-Buttercream Here Frosting

Here's a frosting recipe I changed to make it milk and soy free.

1 cup spectrum shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
4 tbsp rice milk

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and vanilla. Add sugar gradually, one cup at a time, while beating on medium speed. Add milk and continue beating on medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. You can refrigerate any unused frosting for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 cups.

Wacky Cake

This is an awesome chocolate cake recipe that I randomly found in a cook book (Company's Coming - Cakes). I made it, and when my husband took a bite, he got all excited saying that this was a cake his mother made for them when they were kids. He requests it now on a regular basis. I also made cupcakes with this recipe for a baby shower a little while back that was a big hit.

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure dry ingredients into mixing bowl and stir. Make a well in the center. Add remaining ingredients into well and mix until smooth. Pour into greased* 9x13 pan and bake for 35-40 minutes (or 30 cupcakes for 30 minutes)

*be careful greasing pans, most cooking sprays contain soy so I use one of the spray cans that you add your own oil to and pump.

I either sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top or use the No-Buttercream Here Frosting recipe also posted on this blog.

Egg, Milk & Soy Free Pancakes

Here's the updated version of my previously posted pancake recipe. I've made these twice now (and will probably do so again tomorrow) as they are a big hit with my husband and daughter!

2 cups flour
6 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
2 cups rice milk or water
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and drop by 1/4 cupful on a hot griddle. Makes 12-16 pancakes. I usually cut this recipe in half for my husband and I and it makes 8 pancakes.

Update

Sorry I haven't updated the blog lately. We've had quite a few sleepless nights the last few weeks but I think we're getting back on track. On the 18th, we went to see Dr. Stephen Hardy, a pediatric gastroenterologist. He feels that because Emily broke out into hives while having formula, that she has a milk and soy allergy and not just an intolerance, no matter what the allergy test say. He feels they are too unreliable in the first year. He also agreed with me on the possible meat and egg issue, but again is worried they are allergies so he was kind enough to get us scheduled with a pediatric allergist who we will see next month and then with a nutritionist to make sure Emily and I are eating well. In the meantime, Emily and I are eating milk, soy, egg, and meat free. I'll repost some of the previous recipes that I have so that they are updated without eggs.

Also, we went to see our normal pediatrician yesterday as Emily was still having issues with laying down flat. I could rock her to sleep up on my shoulders but the minute I tried to lay her down, she would arch her back and scream (sometimes while still sleeping). Since we got the food thing straighten out (for now anyway), we figured something else was wrong. They think it's acid reflux so they prescribed some medication, and what do you know, after the first dose, she had a wonderful night!

Healthy Times Baby Food

I was recently looking for a teething biscuit that was milk and soy free and came across the line of Healthy Times Baby Food.

http://www.healthytimes.com/hthome.htm

They offer products that are wheat, milk, and soy free. I found the Vanilla Arrowroot Cookies and thought they would be good to try (they are not wheat free, but they offer a Maple Flavored Arrowroot Cookie that is). When I first handed it to Emily, she thought it was a toy. I put it up to her lips and she licked it. She immediately had a big smile on her face and couldn't get enough of it. She was able to suck on it for quite some time before she was able to break it up into pieces she could chew. It was a wonderful treat and fun to watch her explore a new kind of food.

I only found a few of their products at our local Whole Foods Market, but they are available to purchase from their website and Amazon.com has listings for their items with a "coming soon" disclaimer.

Emily rating: 10/10
Mommy rating: 9/10 (I had to try one too of course!)

Earth's Best

Earth's Best Rice Cereal was the only rice cereal we could find at any of our local stores that doesn't contain soy. It's available in all our local grocery stores - Shaw's, Stop 'n Shop, Whole Foods, and Sudbury Farms, as well as Target. You can also buy their products online:

http://www.earthsbest.com/products/product/291.php

They have a whole line of products that we have used, however, with Emily now having issues with protein, we're sticking with the fruits and vegetables as well as the rice cereal only.

Emily wasn't a fan of rice cereal at the beginning. We took the suggestion from our pediatrician to add in a little veg or fruit to give it some flavor and she's been eating it ever since. We tried the other cereals, but they bothered her stomach so it was suggested we stick to rice only as that doesn't seem to bother her.

Emily rating: 8/10 (only because she doesn't like it without something mixed in)

Vanilla Frozen Rice Dream Dessert

Vanilla was the only flavor of Frozen Rice Dream that our local Whole Foods stocked. There are only a few (3 I think) of the frozen desserts that don't contain either milk or soy. I wasn't a fan of this one. I could get used to the texture (more like Italian ice than ice cream), but it has a really strong rice flavor. I had to doctor it up with some homemade chocolate syrup (I made with cocoa, confectioners sugar and rice milk) in order to eat it. I'm not giving up though - I'm still looking around for other flavors to see if they are better.

http://www.tastethedream.com/products/product/1483/204.php

Household rating: 6/10