Getting Back on Track & Fish Tacos (No Egg, No Dairy)

During the summer, life slows down.  Without homework to complete, team sports practices to rush off to, or school volunteer commitments, you would think our lives are stress-free during the summer.  But as the weeks go on, a subtle regression takes place to a life where any semblance of a schedule is nonexistent.

Yep, sneaky little thing, the fall to chaos.  And then you're back dealing with the same old stuff you're dealing with during the school year: the repetitive dinner dishes, kids want to "help," but you have very little time to shop or prepare, and everyone's food allergies and disparate tastes exacerbate the situation.  Time for a change of pace.

First, get everyone back into a routine by making sure they understand their daily roles and responsibilities.  I am a true believer in incentives.  I found this website called Kidspointz where you can assign each child tasks/responsibilities/chores using a points and rewards system.  Kids can help develop their online charts, along with the rewards they are coveting (right now, the kids are really into computer time, online game subscriptions, special outings, etc).  We are into week two and beds are still made, daily reading time is still observed, and whining is down to a minimum.  Eventually their responsibilities will be habit and their rewards will come naturally--that's the hope, anyway.

As for the perpetual question, "What's for dinner?" we recently tried a simple recipe for fish tacos with much success.  The kids were able to help, the bulk of it can be made in advance, and the use of frozen fish sticks buys me an extra day or two between grocery store visits.

The key to making this recipe allergy-friendly is finding frozen fish sticks and a mayonnaise that work for your family.  We use Trader Joe's Lightly Breaded Fish Sticks Reduced Fat.  They contain wheat, but are dairy, egg, and soy free, which are the usual fish stick culprits.  If your kids are fish allergic, try substituting allergy-friendly chicken nuggets or grilled fish or chicken for a gluten-free option.

As for the mayonnaise, for this recipe we tried Nasoya Vegan Nayonaise.  It seemed to separate a bit in the jar and had a yellowish tinge, but when we made the coleslaw dressing, it was smooth as silk.

For picky eaters, try a plainer coleslaw (my 8-year-old swears by just cabbage, sugar, salt, pepper, apples, and raisins), and try creating a plate instead of putting it together into a taco.  Your kids might surprise you by piling everything together anyway (see exhibit A below).  Have the kids help you cook, or try adding in a favorite ingredient to make trying something new a bit easier.  I also added a bit more sugar to taste, and substituted apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar.

"Exhibit A:" She started off with everything separate, but quickly moved on to a taco.

Easy Fish Tacos (NO Dairy, NO Egg)

Ingredients:

Coleslaw, adapted from Tyler Florence's Ultimate Coleslaw Recipe

1 cup mayonnaise, like Nasoya Vegan Nayonaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 store-bought bag of shredded green cabbage (8 oz)
1 store-bought bag or shredded red cabbage (8 oz)

Fish sticks (like Trader Joe's Lightly Breaded Fish Sticks Reduced Fat)

Corn tortillas
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven and pop the fish sticks in to bake on a foil-lined baking pan.  Bake as directed on box.

2.  Make the coleslaw by combining all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, then tossing it with the cabbage.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Pan fry the corn tortillas and set aside for serving.

4.  Allow kids to assemble the tacos and enjoy!

Weekend Getaways: Food 101 for the Family with Food Allergies

For some, summer means travel.  I relish the lazy days close to home myself, but if we had the option to travel all summer long, I might very well consider it.  Unfortunately, for a food allergy family, traveling is a challenge with an enormous amount of planning involved.

With a severely food allergic child, I feel less and less comfortable eating out, especially when we're far from home.  I think I've got the Epinephrine to ER thing down pat when we're at home, but being on vacation with an allergic reaction is a different story all together.

So I try very hard to limit our restaurant eating and do as much preparing and cooking as I can.  We will be away this weekend for a rare mini getaway with the family, and although we will be within an hour from home, I still have a lot of planning to do.  Some tips to make the getaway more like a vacation and hopefully, less stressful:

1. If you can, book a hotel with a refrigerator at the very least, and for longer trips, some form of a kitchen or microwave is essential.  If there's no microwave in the room, there may be one available for use, like in the lobby.

2. Seek out the markets near your hotel before you go, and plan on making a few trips with a list of easy, allergy-friendly, low maintenance food options in hand.  Some forethought saves you time in the long run.

3. If there is a stove available, bring your own pots/pans and cooking utensils.  This cuts out the mystery and puts some of your cross-contamination worries at ease.

4.  Bring paper goods and disposable eating utensils.  No one likes to wash dishes on vacation, but this is especially important if all you have is a fridge.  An added bonus: kids can eat by the pool and not skip a beat!

5.  Bring drinks or water bottles and lots (and lots) of non-perishable snacks to pack for day trips, have by the pool, or satisfy a craving.  Some of our favorites are safe granola or breakfast bars, crackers, popcorn, fruit or fruit and gel cups (like Dole Fruit and Gel Cups), fruit leathers, seeds, and dried seaweed.

If you're a seasoned food allergy mama you likely already follow these guidelines religiously.  For those of you who might be starting out, know that you CAN have fun while on vacation.  And yes, we were the ones with the 8 grocery bags filled with food upon check-in, but we were also the ones who spent a fabulous 87 degree day by the pool.

Wishing you safe and happy travels this summer!

Kale Mint Chip Ice Cream revisited -- dairy-free, soy-free goodness

St. Patrick's Day is this Sunday.  Do you celebrate it in a big or small way with your family?

My family has no Irish roots but we do use the holiday as a fun way to "get our green on".  I have been on a kale kick lately -- kale in our tacos, kale in our fried rice, kale in our pasta-- so I definitely want to make something with this vitamin-rich leafy green.

With warm temperatures arriving in our area, it was a great excuse to break out the ice cream maker.  I decided to revisit a kale mint chip ice cream recipe I had posted in 2011.  I love to tweak and remember having some issues with the texture of the frozen ice cream so I went right to tinkering with the original recipe.

I subbed in agave sweetener for the refined sugar so that I wouldn't need to heat the mix to dissolve table sugar.  I ended up reducing the amount of agave because it is sweeter than table sugar.  I omitted the extra oil that the original recipe called for since canned full-fat coconut milk provides enough fat to help with the creamy texture.  Adding arrowroot powder is absolutely key to getting a creamy texture.  It is expensive stuff but a little goes a long way -- the same bag of stuff will get you through many, many quarts of smooth ice cream, my friends.

I think it also helped tremendously to be working with a better blender (we have a Ninja) that could really grind up the kale leaves into tiny pieces.  The more the kale is ground up, the easier it is to hide any chewy leafiness among the mini chocolate chips!  And mini chips were much more appropriate in frozen dessert than regular-sized chips.  I love that Enjoy Life offers this size.

Kale Mint Chip - free of the top 8 allergens depending on the type of milk substitute you use

4 cups of packed curly kale leaves (stems removed), washed and dried
15 oz can of full-fat coconut milk
2 cups safe, milk substitute (I used almond milk but soy, rice, flax, or coconut milk should be fine)
1/3 cup agave sweetener
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp mint extract
dash of sea salt

1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips

1. Except for the mini-chocolate chips, combine all ice cream ingredients in a blender.  Blend until kale leaves are cut into tiny flecks.
2. Prepare ice cream mixture (again, not the mini chips yet) according to your ice cream maker's directions.  Add the mini chips in at the last five minutes of the ice cream making time.
3. Serve immediately.  The ice cream will be a little more solid than soft serve.  Freeze for an additional hour for a more ice-cream-out-of-a-carton texture.
4. Freeze any leftovers in a freeze-safe container.  When serving on another day, let the ice cream container warm up on the counter (room temperature) for 30-45 minutes before scooping.

I completely misjudged how much ice cream to give the kids.  But they
sure enjoyed every last lick of their humungous cones!

The texture is a big improvement over the original posted recipe.  My eldest son, who had not been a fan of the 2011 kale ice cream, absolutely loves this new iteration as does his little brother.

Happy Girl Makes a Boy Happy

We sort of accidentally stumbled upon Pacific Grove, California as our summertime home away from home.  We love the slow-paced lifestyle of a kid-friendly small town with our big market chains just a mile and a half away for convenience.  The weather is perfect for the kids--similar to San Francisco summers and not too hot for eczema prone skin.  We get foggy mornings, sometimes clearing in the afternoons, making treks to the beach a popular choice for otherwise lazy days.  The local library, natural history museum, plenty of friendly shops, and playground all within walking distance means I don't need to deal with the headache associated with piling kids in and out of the car on a daily basis.  We've been very content playing tourists for almost a month now:

We flew a kite at Asilomar Beach

Riding the glass-bottom boat, we saw otters, sea lions, and jelly fish!

We rode a surrey from Lover's Point Beach to Fisherman's Wharf

A rare sunny morning got us to the beach at low tide.

Biking and scooting along the trail.

There's always something new to see and learn at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Their new Jellies Experience is especially fantastic!

But as this is our second summer here, we've had to start doing as the locals do.  Participating in the local activities leading up to the festival at the beach for the Feast of Lanterns, religiously hitting the Monday afternoon farmer's market in downtown PG (four short blocks away), getting a Pacific Grove library card, and a must on every local's weekly list of to do's--frequenting our favorite cafe--Happy Girl Kitchen Co.--for Blue Bottle Coffee and allergy-friendly treats.

Last year, I connected with Stephanie Stein, creative baker and sweetest person from Happy Girl Kitchen Co.  She generously shared her scone recipe and words of wisdom about baking without egg with our readers.  I adapted her recipe to make it dairy-free, and armed with Stephanie's baking advice, experimented with my own scone variation, Coconut Chocolate Chocolate Chip Scones.

So you know I was thrilled when I last visited Happy Girl and noticed a new pre-order form for Stephanie's baked goods.  I promptly placed my order for a dozen berry scones and a chocolate ganache birthday cake for Tristan, all egg, nut, and dairy free.

Stephanie was happy to take a break from her busy morning baking duties to discuss Tristan's food allergies and my specifications, even adjusting the cake to make it less sweet.  The result: a wonderful scone breakfast shared with friends and an even more fabulous birthday celebration for a delighted 8-year-old boy!  As he opted out of a full-blown birthday party with friends this year, having his first store-bought cake more than compensated.  His verdict: "Yummy and chocolately!"  His siblings were equally overjoyed about the allergy-safe cake, both announcing they wanted the same cake for their birthdays!

Eight candles...plus one for good luck!  

Stephanie Stein's chocolate ganache cake was the star of the show!

A dozen berry scones, hot out of the oven--no egg, nuts, or dairy!

Couldn't resist picking up some carrot muffins--all allergy-safe for the kids!

Happy Girl Kitchen Co. at 173 Central Ave, Pacific Grove, CA--stop by before your  Aquarium visit!

As a chocoholic and self-proclaimed sweets critic, the cake was delicious--moist, with a rich dark chocolate taste.  And unlike my egg and dairy free creations, this one held up well and wasn't crumbly.

See you soon Stephanie, and thanks SO much!

Bring on the Red, White, & Blue

Fourth of July.  A day for family, picnics, hotdogs, and all things red, white, and blue.  And what better way to celebrate than to make one of America's favorite desserts: Jell-O.  Who could forget a tray of Jell-O chilling in the fridge on a hot day, pudding pop commercials featuring Bill Cosby, or the coveted rainbow layered Jell-O served at parties?

Such a mystery to my little hands, how they got all those colors to line up so perfectly in one little square of Jell-O.  And what was the white layer made of?

Well, Jenn at JustJenn Recipes seems to understand my childhood obsession, with a beautiful tutorial on how to make rainbow Jell-O.  I decided to try my hand at making a dairy-free version for the Fourth of July, using coconut milk instead of condensed milk.

Red, White, & Blue Jell-O
adapted from JustJenn Recipes

Add color and stripes to your Fourth of July party with Red, White, & Blue Jell-O.

1 6 oz. box red Jell-O
1 6 oz. box blue Jell-O
6 packages unflavored Knox gelatin
1 cup coconut milk
hot water
coconut oil (optional)*

1. Combine 1 cup of coconut milk with 1 cup of hot water and set aside.  If you prefer a sweeter white layer, you could probably add some sugar to this mixture.

2. Stir in 2 envelopes of unflavored Knox gelatin with 1 cup of hot water, then combine with coconut milk mixture and let cool to room temperature.

3. Mix together box of red Jell-O, 1 envelope of Knox gelatin, and 1-1/2 cups of hot water.  Pour about half the mixture into 9 x 13 Pyrex pan and let chill in the refrigerator until set, about 30 minutes.  If you are worried about sticking, grease bottom and sides of the pan with coconut oil*.

4. While the red layer is chilling, mix together box of blue Jell-O, 1 envelope of Knox gelatin, and 1-1/2 cups of hot water.  Let it cool to room temperature.

5. Once the red layer has set, add 1/3 of the milk mixture to the pan, and let chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes, or until set.

6. As each layer sets, add a new layer, alternating between red, white, and blue.  I added them in this order: red, white, blue, white, red, white, blue.  This way one side of each square is blue, one side is red.

7. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Slice Jello in half lengthwise and use a star-shaped cookie cutter for stars and stripes all in one treat!

For other festive Fourth of July treats, try Michelle's Red, White, & Blue Fruit Pops,




a simple star pasta dish,

fresh berries over soy or coconut ice cream or yogurt,

or a bowl of red, white, and blue tortilla chips with your favorite salsa.  Happy Fourth!!!

Take and go placemat tutorial by Michelle T.

Summer is around the corner and there will undoubtedly be some perfect picnic days ahead.  In lieu of eating out in restaurants, which can be risky for food allergic children, we are big picnic people.  And isn't it just a little more fun to spread out a blanket wherever you are and start digging in?

I challenged Get Allergy Wise contributor and awesome seamstress extraordinaire Michelle T. to make a travel placemat, perfect for food allergic children or anyone eating on the go! 

I found oilcloth at Fabrix on Clement St. for $2.39 a yard, gave some to Michelle, and here's what she came up with.  Awesome.  (I especially like the use of binder clips to hold the oilcloth together for sewing!).  Happy picnicking!

~Sarah

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This placemat will hold your utensils and napkin and roll up in a nice, convenient bundle.  It's not hard to make, but some sewing experience would be helpful.

You'll need

1/2 yard oilcloth

22 inches of ribbon

sewing machine

thread

Here, you'll want to sew from the top arrow to the bottom one, starting

1/4 inch from the top of the pocket piece and stopping 1/4 inch from the bottom 

of the pocket piece.

Are You Prepared for Day Camp?

We live in San Francisco.  And like snagging a decent parking space or getting into a reputable preschool for your tot, finding and enrolling in a camp that works with your kids' busy schedule can be tough.  Crazy, right?  And yes, I've had all three kids scheduled in camps from ballet and basketball camp to baseball and art camp for the entire summer since February.

Now it's May, and public schools let out this Friday (gasp!), which means camps are right around the corner!  Arriving on the heels of Tristan's latest severe allergic reaction, I am reassessing my allergy guide for camps to make sure they have everything they need in the case of a reaction.

There are two times during the year that I put together my resources for the purpose of educating caretakers: before summer camps, and again in the fall before the new school year.  Having things in order before camps begin are even more crucial than school for two reasons: many of these camps travel or take place off site, and many will last just a week or so, giving you no time at all to form a trusting relationship with the staff to ensure that they are properly trained to prevent and treat an allergic reaction.

So I've decided to streamline my resources for the purpose of an at-a-glance guide for you and for summer camp staff.  If I have just a few minutes with them before the start of the first day, here's my to-do list complete with plans and templates for you to personalize for camp staff this year--keeping it clear and simple!

MY TO DO LIST: 

Inventory all of your child's medications, putting aside any expired Epipens, and discarding any other expired medications.  Go out and stock up so you have a set of meds for your child's pack, for your bag, and for the home.  Our allergy kit includes Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) chewables (generics can be found at Target),  Loratadine (Claritin) chewables (generics at Target or Walgreens), Naphcon A allergy drops, and an Epipen Jr. twinpack.  Keep everything in their original boxes, and make sure that the Epipen Jr. has its original label on it, with the prescription in your child's name.

On day 1 of camp, bring an expired Epipen Jr., and let your child's counselor, who has likely zero experience with an Epipen, administer it on an orange.  Sounds funny, but my children's allergist recommends it.  If a caretaker can get over her fear of using an Epipen, there is a higher chance she'll use it when she needs to.  If you don't have any expired Epipens, the trainer pens will do.

Update your Food Allergy Action Plan and have it in hand along with your child's medications to discuss with camp staff on day 1.

Here is a copy of page 1 of the Food Allergy Action Plan, courtesy of FAAN

As you can see, you will need two doctor's signatures on your Action Plan.  Some places will require these signatures in order to keep and administer medication to your child, so try to get them to your allergist or pediatrician as soon as possible.  In a best case scenario, set up an appointment with your doctor to go over the plan and discuss other concerns you have.

Make copies and have a scanned copy in your computer just in case.  When school rolls around, you'll have it ready!

Write up a guide for managing allergies with some important points about keeping your child (and all children) safe from an allergic reaction.  I used the Food Allergies Resources Guide to Food Allergens found at Kids with Food Allergies to help compile a list of hidden milk allergens for page two of this template guide:

Template for Summer Food Allergy Guide

Sample, 'Ingredient Labels Can be Tricky Business!' gives camp counselors an idea of how hard it can be to identify  hidden allergens in food labels 

Label your child's lunchbox, water bottle, food containers, and backpack with personalized Allergy Alert Stick-Ons.  These are quick and easy references for camp counselors, with bold lettering and pictures of your child's food allergies, especially good for children with multiple food allergies, like mine.

Allergy-Alert Stick-Ons can be personalized

Equip your child with a food allergy bracelet, like this customizable Allerbling bracelet, to remind others of his food allergy.

Allerbling bracelets are customizable and fun for little kids to wear

Keep your cell phone charged and on.  It will provide you some peace of mind while your kids are at camp.

Sit back and enjoy the foggy days of summer, knowing your children are in good hands!

For more food allergy resources, see Irene's recent list compiled in celebration of Allergy Awareness Week.