Posts from ‘Food Allergies’
Four things that freak me out about food
We all grew up on “regular food” and we turned out fine. Righhhht.
Except for the fact that we are incredibly obese as a nation. Life-threatening food allergies are on the rise. Our children’s hormones are out of whack. And many people connect mental health issues (ADHD and more) to diet. Then there are other health related problems influenced by diet – diabetes, heart disease, cancer, to name a few.
Listen, I was raised on Hamburger Helper and Lucky Charms. So those things seemed really normal for me feed my kids – no judgment here if those things seem normal to you, too. It was my daughter’s diagnosis of severe food allergies to egg, milk and peanuts that shocked me into reading every single label of every single food.
This year Avery is a Puppy and Alex is a Red Ninja Power Ranger.
Oh Halloween… a holiday that is supposed to be fun and exciting…
But not for this Mom. I’m stressed out. Even though I try to play it off like I’m not… I’m really cringing on the inside. Every. Minute. of. Halloween.
Alex and Avery were twin puppies - Halloween 2010.
Holidays can be especially tricky for families with food allergies. We want our children to experience the same traditions as other children, but so many traditions are based on food. Of course there is much ado about candy on Halloween! This post isn’t geared towards families with food allergies, but to my readers who are interested to learn one or two easy things they can do to make Halloween a little safer for kiddos with food allergies.
My oldest begins Kindergarten next week, and like most mothers, I’m finding myself reflecting on this milestone. Amazed at how big he is. Wondering if I’ve prepared him well for school. Questioning if the school I chose (after months of deliberation and a bit of sweat and some tears) is the right fit for him and our family.
Last night, when picking up the kids from daycare, I asked, “what should we make for dinner?”
…just then another child at daycare piped in, “Macaroni and cheese!”
My response was, “Oh, we don’t eat that because it has cheese.”
Avery has never had macaroni and cheese. She has severe food allergies to eggs, milk and peanuts, so I typically make our food from scratch. And the thought of making macaroni and cheese had never crossed my mind.
But I had a strange feeling, an internal dissonance, the entire drive home. And then it hit me, I had seen a recipe for mac & cheese using the vegan, non-dairy Daiya Cheese online. We’ve had great luck making pizza, quesadillas and even lasagna with Daiya Cheese, so I suspected we might have luck with mac and cheese, too.
I easily found the recipe on their web site, and then adapted it a couple of ways to accommodate ingredients I had in the house. I used penne noodles, added chicken (Avery’s idea!), smashed up Ritz crackers for bread crumbs and left out yeast. I also cut the recipe in half, because I knew a half box of noodles would be more than enough for 2-3 people (and it was plenty).
Ingredients:
4 ounces (1/2 box) Dreamfields Pasta (see why I like Dreamfields here)
1.5 tablespoons non-dairy margarine (we love Earth Balance)
1 cup non-dairy milk (we use Rice dream)
1.5 cups Daiya shredded cheese (I used both cheddar and mozzarella)
1/2-1 cup chopped, grilled chicken
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers (egg and milk free)
black pepper
sea salt
paprika
Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta and drain. In a separate pot, simmer margarine.
When melted, stir in the milk. Then add cheese shreds. cook over low/medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Add the sauce to the noodles, mix. Also add in chicken if you’d like.
Move mixture into a baking dish, cover with breadcrumbs and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for about 15 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Avery and I both said YUM!
The only part she didn’t like was the pepper flecks, which she tried to pick out. That’s why I removed it from the middle of the recipe and suggested adding it at the end. I found it a bit bland for my adult tastes, and would add a bit of minced garlic and more salt and pepper while cooking if I were making it just for me. For kids, though, it makes sense to add salt and pepper at the end for those who might like it.
As a busy mom, I tend to gravitate towards what I know and make things I’m used to. This was a really good experience for me to push myself to try something new. I loved including Avery in the process so we could spend time together and, plus, it’s fun. It was her idea to add the chicken, which was awesome!
I hope this recipe encourages you to try new things and use ingredients you have on hand to make recipes work for you.
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