Ian's Chicken Nuggets

Every kid's favorite: Chicken Nuggets! I came across the Ian's line and noticed they have a great selection of allergen-free foods for kids. From Alpha Tots to Corn Dogs, these items are gluten, dairy, egg and soy free! When I went to Whole Foods, I was looking forward to getting the gluten-free French toast sticks but they were out, and the only other allergen-free item available was the Chicken Nuggets. Jacob loves these, and I'm hoping I'll be able to find some of the other items at Henry's. Enjoy!

Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread: Soy Free

Dairy and soy free margarine. Is that EVEN possible? I remember when I was on a hunt for dairy and soy free margarine a couple weeks ago. I cruised dozens of resources and forums. There's not many on the market. I actually like the regular varieties of Earth Balance, and when I found out that they made a soy free version, I was amazed! It still blows my mind how many allergen-free options are available on the market right now. I know I'm behind on my 1-a-day blog post goals, but rest assured I have A LOT of great allergen-free products I can't wait to post about. I'm also glad that I haven't come across any items I haven't been happy with, and I hope it stays that way.

In regards to the Earth Balance spread: it's yummy. I spread some on some of the Bread Physics bread and let it melt in the toaster, and Jacob liked it, and I did too. I feel almost guilty eating all of Jacob's allergen-free items just because they're so pricey, but sometimes you just can't help it. ;]

Bread Physics Sandwich Bread

On my first trip to Whole Foods, I seemed to totally miss the gluten free bread section. I still have no idea how I did that. Haha. When I got home, I began to research bread options, and I stumbled upon a website called Muffin Physics/Bread Physics. They are even based in San Diego which made me quite happy because I like to support local businesses as much as I can.

When I returned to Whole Foods, I was pleaaed to say they had quite a few options for gluten-free bread, but since I first read about Bread Physics I decided to bring that loaf home first. As with all the breads, they were packed frozen. The package recommended to warm the bread in the microwave for a minute or so. I actually really liked the taste and texture of the bread, and Jacob enjoyed it too.

So far this product is only available in Southern California, but when I first e-mailed the company, I mentioned I couldn't find it in the stores and the owner apologized and offered to send me a loaf for the inconvenience. Great tasting bread and customer service? A++ to you, Muffin Physics!

Rice Dream: Rice Milk & Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Wow, 2 weeks fly by! I apologize for the lack of updates! To make up for it, I'll review a product and share a recipe today.

Last week, I offered Rice Dream: Rice Milk to Jacob. For some reason I felt weird trying it myself, but my husband seemed to like it, and even used it in his cereal. Jacob seemed to like it a lot, and now we offer it to him during his meals. I am also quite pleased that they have "Enriched" varieties. Considering that rice milk alone is nowhere near as good as cow's milk, its good to know that the added Vitamins and Calcium are present to supplement Jacob's diet. I highly recommend! I haven't tried the Vanilla yet but am looking forward to give it to him.

Recipe Time: Stuffed Peppers
A dinner favorite in my family! My mother-in-law has made the best stuffed peppers for my husband and I, so I've been making it a lot for dinner. You can substitute vegetables and meats, but overall this is a great "all-in-one" meal.

1 pound ground beef (chicken or turkey is great too)
4 green peppers (or red and yellow)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of peas (I also like to use broccoli, carrots, you name it!)
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 cups cooked brown rice

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Saute the onions and garlic, and then brown the ground beef. Add your vegetables and saute. Add diced tomatoes. When all the vegetables are tender, gently blend in the cooked rice. For the peppers, cut off the tops and remove the seeds. You can either steam them in a stove-top steamer or microwave in a glass dish with about an inch of water for about 10-15 minutes. When the peppers are tender, stuff them with the ground beef, vegetables and rice. Place the stuffed peppers in an oven-safe dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Healthy Eating!

One of the phrases I heard a lot as a kid was something along the lines of, "Poor thing, you can't enjoy any foods!" It's amazing how some people know exactly what wrong things to say to children. =/ In all honesty, a child with food allergies can be a good thing, a GREAT thing even. Look around at the average kid today, and see what they're consuming: fast food, pizza, ice cream and cookies. Of course, this is all good in moderation, but it seems as though parents are getting too lazy to introduce healthy options to their children. I won't deny it, I myself eat a lot of cookies and ice cream and junk food here and there, but I will never say its a good thing.

According to Kidshealth.org, "The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese."

So look at the upside of dealing with food allergies: in a sense it forces you to feed your child healthy options! Believe me, it IS possible for your child to love fruits and vegetables. Jacob's favorite food of all time is butternut squash, and he'd eat a whole squash if I let him. =)

Tonight's dinner recipe for Jacob:
Stir Fried Ground Lamb and Asparagus
Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Enjoy!

DeBoles Penne Rice Pasta

All kiddos love spaghetti right? Too bad most pasta noodles are made out of wheat! Tonight I tried DeBoles Penne Rice Pasta, and I must say it's pretty good. It also cooks a bit faster than the average pasta (about 5-7 minutes). I tossed the rice pasta with some ground beef and tomato sauce, and it made a simple meal. I will most likely throw in some veggies next time. DeBoles, you get two thumbs up! They also offer a lot of other gluten-free options, like quinoa, amaranth and corn.

Introduction

When I first got pregnant with my son, one of my biggest worries was, "will he have allergies like me?" I did so much research, and one of the main tips was to exclusively breastfeed until age one. We had him allergy tested at 9 months with a skin prick test, and unfortunately we found out that he indeed had quite a few food allergies, just like me. My son is now almost 13 months old, and has had some allergic reactions already. I am hoping though that because he was breastfed, he will at least outgrow his allergies earlier than I did.

Just a little background on myself, I was born with A LOT of food allergies. I was allergic to all of the common allergens like wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, seafood and nuts, and a few items here and there (so my mom says). I remember how difficult it was as a kid to have to ask "what's in this?" and have people pity you that you couldn't eat anything. Thankfully, I have outgrown all of my allergies except nuts. I still get reactions to certain things but for the most part, I can enjoy almost everything. For those of you who are new to the concept of food allergies, don't lose heart. You might have just found out one of your kids is allergic to everything and are confused because you and your spouse don't have allergies. It can hit anyone; it's not always hereditary. But seriously, it's not the end of the world, and it doesn't have to be!

Since food allergies are so common nowadays, it's so much easier to cope with. Restaurants now have full menus with ingredients and allergy warnings, and markets like Whole Foods offer a wide range of allergen free items. They didn't have all this when I was a kid. I remember resorting to Top Ramen, Spam and Instant Lunch because they were "safe." While I am still armed with Benadryl and an Epi-Pen, it's good to know that food allergy awareness is on the rise. Be encouraged, and stay tuned to my blog! Even though I have a lot of food allergies experience, I am still new to all of the food options that are available now, and will keep you all updated with my findings. This is actually kind of exciting to me because I have always liked to cook. I now have a new challenge on my hands, and that is to make awesome meals for my son to enjoy. I am confident that one day he will outgrow some, if not all his allergies, but in the meantime, I might as well have fun in this adventure of cooking!