Frustrated….

Pizza box, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I can’t help but to be frustrated right now.  I have several friends that have children that are similar in age to my kids.  And of course, my kids love getting together and being able to play.  Recently, we had some time to spend with a friend who I have not seen in a very long time and her three little ones.  We had a great time.  But…..

 

She knows that my kids are eating gluten free.  She knows that it is because of an issue they both medically have.  She knows how much I struggle trying to make my kids feel like they fit in.

When she invited us over, she mentioned that we should come for lunch.  I began to explain to her my hesitation…and went down the whole list.  The foods contents, the cross contamination issues, etc.  She still insisted.  I offered to bring our own food, that I knew would be okay.  I even offered to bring enough for everyone to share.  She still insisted everything would be fine.  But, if this lifestyle has taught me anything its to be prepared, so I brought food anyway.

And its really a good thing that I did!  We got there, and the kids played for awhile, which was awesome.  But then I noticed that she had thrown in a pizza.  I knew immediately that it was not going to be anything safe for my kids.  So, I asked her.  I wanted to know why she was making a pizza when she had offered to provide a safe lunch.  She then said, well it is a favorite of the kids, so I was going to give them that, and I have salad and fruits and veggies for your kids.  I was appalled.

I, luckily, brought a nice hearty lunch for the kids.  But, still not the point.  She knows that I do everything I can to NOT alienate my kids.  Sorry, but eating something that they can not have right in front of them is awful.  To top it all off, she even offered me the pizza.  I remained calm during the whole thing, but shortly after lunch my kids were getting tired and had asked to leave.  I was more than happy to oblige.

While I did take the time to explain my frustrations to her, I still can not help but to be upset to this day.  Please do not take medical issues, especially those revolving around kids, lightly.  It is hard enough for the kids to feel like they fit in, try not to make it any harder.

 

Udi’s Easy Breakfast Bagels & Muffins

We had brunch today and it was super easy and delicious!  We had Udi’s Lemon Streusel Muffins & breakfast bagels made with Udi’s Everything Inside Bagels.  For the muffins, open the container, and breakfast is served!

  

However, my girls requested breakfast bagels, so we made those too.  Here is a simple and easy breakfast bagel recipe… slice & lightly toast a bagel. My husband dislocated his shoulder, so it is immobilized.  Note… do not let the one-armed guy try to cut the bagels or they will come out horribly uneven.  LOL  Crack an egg in a microwave safe coffee cup (we use a custard cup), add a tsp of milk, scramble it up and microwave it for one minute (one minute per egg). The egg will come out fluffy, but hot. Scoop it out of the cup and it will be the perfect size for the bagel. Put the egg on the bagel,  then top with cheese right away. The heat from the egg will melt the cheese nicely. Microwave a couple of peices of turkey bacon (about 2 minutes for 3 slices of bacon). Top egg and cheese with bacon, cover with top of bagel and serve. My husband likes honey Dijon mustard on his. The kids like a little butter. I like it plain. The whole thing takes less than 10 minutes.  We served with some peeled oranges slices, for a delicious easy breakfast.

  

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I was provided with the Udi’s products shown above.  I was not financially compensated for this post.

Product Review: Crunchmaster

**I was provided free product in exchange for my honest opinions.  I received no financial compensation and all opinions contained in here are my own and in no way influenced by an outside party.**

When I am looking for snacks that are safe for our house, I can NOT even begin to tell you how much of a pain it is to find ones that taste good!  I walk down all the aisles with the kids and of course they look and want everything.  And I know that even if I didn’t…they would see their friends with “normal” snacks and wonder why they have to be so different.  And sometimes, I can’t help but wish we could just buy whatever we wanted without looking.  Luckily though, I found a company that really has that in mind when producing their snacks.  Crunchmaster!!  Check out their website here.

The kids and I were so excited when our product got here… I could barely get a picture before the kids wanted to tear into them!

We were able to try Crunchmaster’s two new kids snacks, Cheezy Crisps and Grammy Crisps.  And we also got to try the Rosemary and Olive Ooil Multi Seed Crackers. We were very happy with each item, which is unusual.  For those of you that follow this blog regularly, you know how much of a challenge  it is for me to find something both kids will like and agree on.

The Cheezy Crisps were the first things the kids wanted to try, and I was all for it.  After checking the nutritional panel to see about a serving size, I was even more excited to give these to the kids.  60 of these crackers make up an adult serving for 120 calories!  That’s quite a s snack!  I portioned out half that amount for the kids and the full amount for myself and got to sampling.  Before I even tasted them,  I was worried that like so many other cheese snacks, they may have that fake flavor.   I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did not.  They are made with a great blend of real mozzarella and cheddar cheese and you can definitely taste them.  They are light and crunchy and have a fantastic texture.  There is enough cheese so that you know you are having a cheese based snack, but its balanced well and not ever overbearing.  These snacks are great all on their own.  The kids and I also mixed them in with some cereal and pecans and dried cranberries for a nice little trail mix.

Next up was the Grammy Crisps.  These have a suggested serving size of 25 crackers for 130 calories.  Still not a bad deal in my book, especially because both of their kid centered snacks are made with whole grain. So the kids each got a few and off we went to taste them and see how we can incorporate them into other things.  These by far were my favorite of all the Crunchmaster items we sampled.  They are nice and crunchy, and have this amazing blend of cinnamon and sugar.  These definitely took me back to when I was a kid and the cinnamon and sugar toast that we would have with breakfast. I was so happy to find something that allowed me to share these kind of flavors with my kids.  The kids could not get enough of them and were quickly coming up with some great recipe ideas.   These are amazing all on their own or in our nice little Smores mix.  The kids actually came up with this one…and we mixed the Grammy snacks, some mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips and had our own version of easier to eat, no heat Smores!  This is something we will definitely be making again, it is a great little snack mix to have for play-dates or get togethers.

After the kids had their fun with the new snacks and building new recipes, my husband and I set out to try the more “adult” type snack from Crunchmaster, the Rosemary and Olive Oil Multi Seed Crackers.  They are super thin and all natural and nice and crispy.  They have a great blend of seeds including sesame, quinoa, flax, and amaranth.  They are great right out of the bag, with nice undertones of Rosemary and Olive Oil. I was a little nervous that the Rosemary would be overwhelming but it was not at all.  My husband was totally content to eat them just plain, but I could not help but wonder what sorts of topping would work best for these awesome little crackers. I tried various cheeses, and our favorite was a New York Extra Sharp Cheddar.  I also had a dinner to attend with some  friends and wanted to bring something along.  I used these crackers and make up some Bruschetta.  What a great combination!!! My friends at the dinner party could not get enough of them and just had to know what kind of crackers I was using.  They are such a great substitution for bread in dip like recipes and I cannot wait to try therm with other options.

All in all, before trying these Crunchmaster products I had come in contact with mixed reviews from other people I know who have tried them.  I was a little hesitant, but I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to try them for myself.  I am excited to say they are one of the better gluten-free snack companies out there.  For those of you interested in trying them for yourself ( and I highly recommend you do!!) check out this link for a great coupon! Also, please check them out and show them your support on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!  And don’t forget to share your opinions with me!

Lizzie”s Wordless Wednesday

My princess always has to match what I do, and I love it…I would NOT ask for it any other way…. But that does come with its own set of drawbacks.  This picture shoes why it is so critically important for me to follow a gluten free diet, even though gluten is not an issue for me.  As parents, we lead by example, and in my case, I have my fantastic little copycats watching my every move.  They are my reasons for living, my everything, and I owe it to them to provide the right kind of example to follow.  Me cheating and adding gluten only cheats the people I hold dearest to my heart.

 

Gluten Free Auntie Annes Copy Cat Recipe

I noticed earlier today on our twitter feed that someone had said they would LOVE to have an Auntie Anne pretzel, but couldn’t because they are now gluten free.  This got me thinking and so I scoured a million and a half pages of copy cat recipes.  I finally came across this one and made them earlier today and I LOVED them.  So I had to share.  This was on a fellow blog… click here for the recipe.  Hope you enjoy!

Awareness in the Food Service Industry

It was another one of those nights tonight…

You know, the whole, hey let’s try and go out and grab something for dinner.  For those of you who can do this effortlessly, and without any kind of thought, I envy you…dearly. For us, it is a lovely game of first, finding somewhere safe, and then second, trying to find somewhere that my uber picky Bear will eat from.

After a long debate and thought process, we finally settled on somewhere.  As usual, once we were there and getting ready to order, I went through our typical “we can NOT have anything with gluten, so I need to know what your ingredients are” speech.    And this was met with the typical “Oh is this for an allergy” question.  I begrudgingly say yes, not wanting to get into how it is NOT an allergy (that is another post for another day).  But then, to my dismay, our server said they would have to go and ask someone else, and they would get back to us about what was safe.   It took quite awhile, and finally someone else came out to talk to us, with a large book that they told me contained all the items they had and what was in each item.  And I am NOT kidding when I say that this binder had to be 3 or 4 inches thick.  At this point, we explained that we did not feel safe enough to continue our experience, thanked the establishment, left a small tip for our server ( I used to waitress, so I feel that it is only right to leave a little something for taking up some time at a table) and wound up back home eating leftovers.

But here is my point, I just feel like if you work in an establishment where food is served, you should be knowledgeable enough to explain to patrons what is or is not in your products.  Not just for those with gluten issues or food allergies, but for anyone who asks.  People are becoming more and more aware of what they put in their bodies, and typically most like to know what they are eating.  I just find it amazing that in most cases the servers or counter staff typically have no clue what they serve.  Even worse, as in our case, the management did not even know what was in the products they were serving.  Um…what?  While I understand that this may be a paycheck for you, this could be a life threatening mistake for someone else.  I am not at all trying to downplay the need for us with food issues to do our homework…but it would be nice for places to start educating their staff on the make up of the their products.  Also, maybe a bit of education on the plethora of food issues that people can have.  It would be nice to walk into a restaurant and explain my situation and have it met with something more than a weird look.  A bit of extra effort on the part of restaurants could do wonders for their customer service, and open up their businesses to a whole new market of people who may have previously been unaware that eating there was a safe place.

Disease Labeling

I was talking to a friend earlier today and we were discussing some nutrition information and swapping recipes.  This is something we like to do regularly.  Some background…She has diabetes, and is very careful about what she eats, when, and what combinations of foods she eats at a time.  So far she has been lucky enough to manage her condition by diet and exercise, although doctors are still keeping a close eye on her.  Today, she said something that really got me thinking.  In our conversation, I was teasing her about how meticulous she was with her measurements when it came to food ( all good-natured of course).  And her reply was, “Well I am a diabetic, what do you expect?”.  I found it interesting that she, and many other people who have diabetes, identify themselves AS the condition, rather than a PERSON with the condition.

I then emailed a friend who has Celiac and asked her how she identifies herself.  She also replied that she, and many of the members in her support group, identify themselves as “celiacs”.  There is just so much about this labeling that bothers me.  There are many other conditions that are life long that people deal with all the time, yet they do not identify themselves AS the condition, they just say they HAVE the condition.  So what makes conditions like Celiac and diabetes so different.  Why are people relating themselves AS the disease?

I would really love to see people step away from this.  Yes, you may have a condition, and yes it may be something that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.  But, your disease DOES NOT define YOU!  You are the only person that can do that.  I think that the more we encourage terminology change (ie… I am a person with Celiac disease, or I am a person with diabetes) the more people with these afflictions will be able to feel more “normal”.

After I did some thinking, I called my friend back this morning and asked her why she identified herself in such a way.  She seemed surprised that I brought it up and was genuinely thankful for my observation.  She did not even realize the way she was referring to herself and her condition.  She agreed that it was much more empowering for her to be a person with diabetes, than a diabetic.  So, I encourage all of you to listen to when friends are talking…and if they do identify themselves as a condition they have… ask them why.  Many may be like my friend and not even realize that they do it.

I would love to hear feedback on this issue.   Please weigh in on questions and comments.  Let me know how you identify yourselves and why.  Or let me know if you think I am completely off track.  I would love to hear everything!

Eggless Meatloaf Recipe

Eggless Meatloaf

Ingredients:

Servings:
4-8
2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup potato flakes
1/4-1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 In a large bowl, put ground turkey, potato flakes ( other spices if desired) and starting with 1/4 cup salad dressing, mix together until it holds its shape and all the potato flakes are well mixed.Add the additional 1/4 cup salad dressing if needed.
3 Put the mixture in a pan; I use an 8×8-inch square pan.
4 Bake uncovered at 350°F until done, about 35 minutes.
5 (I sprinkle some paprika on the top before baking to add some color).

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/fast-easy-eggless-meatloaf-206521?oc=linkback

Peanut Free Granola Bar Recipe!

My daughter can never have granola bars, but these are safe! She will be thrilled!

Being Happy...

As most of you know from life or from my previous posts, our 7 year old, J, has a peanut allergy that is classified as “moderate-to-severe.”

For the Cap-Rast blood test.

< .035 Class 0 – Below detection
0.35 – 0.69 Class 1 – Low
0.70 – 3.49 Class 2 – Moderate
3.50 – 17.49 Class 3 – High
17.50 – 49 Class 4 – Very High
50 – 99 Class 5 – Very High
> – 100 Class 6 – Very High

Basically, if he eats peanut products his lips and mouth swell, and if his skin comes in direct contact with peanuts he develops hives, but it has always been manageable with Benadryl.

It doesn’t make that big of a difference in our lives now that he’s homeschooled, but it did mean a huge shift for us in our eating habits to make sure he’s safe.

Unfortunately, since a lot…

View original post 363 more words

Best eggless peanut free pumpkin pie recipe ever!

I have shared this with friends who also have children with egg allergies.  This worked out well, because my daughter had an egg and peanut allergy.

It is really yummy!  Enjoy

Eggless Pumpkin Pie

2 c. pumpkin (16oz can)

2 c. milk

3/4 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp. cornstarch

Add salt, cinnamon, and cornstarch to pumpkin.  Stir, add sugar, than milk.  Bake in an unbaked pie shell 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower temp to 350 degrees for 1 hour

Optional: Omit 1 cup of milk and the brown sugar and replace with 1 can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk