Emily wants Broccoli in hers please!!

Last week Wednesday I asked the Twitterverse where should I take Princess tomorrow for dinner? I was answered by Tamara Wudinich who runs the blog Serendipindots if Emily Likes Mac n' Cheese. She heard of S'Mac in NY and that it was a good Food Allergy friendly place. I have heard of S'mac before and even tasted some of their Mac n' Cheese at a street fair a long time ago. So the decision was made. My co worker and good friend Kim who runs the site Virago Inc. (This one is for the grown ups;) One of the many people who kidnap my princess whenever I bring her into the office treated me and Emily to S'mac once I told her about the place. We stopped to get some Vegan Chocolate cake before getting to S'mac.  I asked princess what she wanted in her Mac n' Cheese and gave her the choices of hamburger meat, broccoli or chicken to go in her vegan noch size pan of mac n' cheese. She chose the Broccoli. I love that she loves it as much as I do. Kim got vegan mac n' cheese with Spinach and Garlic and I got American and cheddar cheese with broccoli and mushrooms. You have to be careful the pans they bring out your orders in are very HOT! So let them cool a bit before digging in. Emily Loved her order but then saw the "Ketsup" sitting on the table and wanted some on hers. I put a tiny bit at first to see how she would like it. Of course she loved it and made me put it on the whole thing. After eating this Delish! Mac n Cheese Dinner it was time for Cake! I must say this cake was a little sweeter than the other one we had before. Emily went through it like no tomorrow afterwards Jetting out of S'mac! She was on a sugar rush running and climbing every set of steps spinning and jumping. It was toddler Parkour. 

Emily's Allergies Chocolate Bliss

OK so every weekend I have with princess is always a great one. We had a great time at my my mothers (booboos) house for her Birthday. Ate until we all dropped, But the highlight of the weekend for Emily was Death by Chocolate Cake! I have had my fair share of chocolate cakes but nothing like this. We went to Atlas Cafe. A vegan and non vegan hole in the wall Mecca. They get there desserts from Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, PA. A co worker of mine put me on to them and Atlas Cafe. So I had to share this with Princess. I ordered a Vegan Philly Cheese Steak and a piece of Death by Chocolate Cake. Emily went straight for the cake :) I have to admit I was skeptical at first thinking how could something be soooooo god and vegan. So watching Emily indulge herself in this chocolate paradise looking at her face waiting for her to break out from an Allergic reaction. Nothing happened thankfully she ate some sandwich also but was more into the cake. They have a variety of treats from Strawberry Shortcake to Coconut Cake :) I recommend Atlas Cafe to anyone for a good meal (vegan or not) and make sure you save room for Desert! Princess always has room.    

Scalloped Potatoes (Recipe Suggestion)

So here it is. Last week I asked on twitter are there any recipes that you may want your little ones to have but can't because of their food allergies. The tweet was answered by  Shayna Graham. She wanted a recipe for scalloped potatoes without gluten, yeast, mushrooms, dairy,eggs or nuts. So I took the job and went researching at Whole Foods and got a few things and came up with a great recipe that came out superb (Emily loved it!).

• 5 tbs of Earth Balance Buttery Spread
• 1/4 Soy Flower ( or any other to fit your allergies)
• 2 cups Soy Milk ( or any other to fit your allergies)
• 8 oz Daiya Cheese
• 4 large Russet Potatoes (sliced 1/8 inch thick)
• 1/2 Natural Nectar Crackle Bread (Crumbled into crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a sause pan add the butter and whisk in flour on low heat. After butter and flour are mixed well start to slowly whisk in milk and let come to a simmer. 

While simmering gradually start mixing in 6 ounces of the cheese while stirring slowly. salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. In a baking pan I used an aluminum one (hey I'm a single dad bare with me) Grease and add a layer of potatoes first then sauce and sprinkle some remaining cheese. the layers should start with potatoes at the bottom and end with sauce and cheese on top.

Sprinkle crumbs on the top. The flavor crackers I use where sun dried tomato and oregano. Bake for an hour and about 15 min uncovered until golden brown and potatoes are tender.

I hope you enjoy it Shayna as much as me and princess did. Also sorry about the pics its my first time being a food photographer. If anyone has any questions or input I would love to hear from you. 

Miss Emi Mac Mac n Cheese (No food allergies here)

Baked Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite things to eat. I felt bad last Thanksgiving when I had to deprive Emily of Mac n Cheese because of her dairy allergy. Dada would fix that though :) I Looked up vegan mac n cheese but nothing I was to amazed of. Thinking of how we made baked mac n cheese I just started replacing Ingredients.

Thus the creation of Miss Emi's Mac n Cheese.
I know it's corny but I thought it was catchy.

I made some Gluten free macaroni according to the box instructions.

• 2 cups of soy milk (rice or coconut)
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 2 packs of Daiya cheese (cheddar and mozzarella)
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup of Earth Balance original buttery spread

Pre heat the oven 350°
Add soy milk, flour and salt to taste in a large bowl and whisk until thickened. Stir in 1 1/2 pack of cheese, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and macaroni into the mixture.
Add the mixture into a lightly greased baking dish and on the top sprinkle the remaining cheese and bread crumbs and drizzle melted butter over the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is slightly golden. (you don't want the cheese on top to overcook) It will turn into a hard layer of burnt cheese if you don't keep an eye on it.
This is a great side dish or can even be a main dish if you just want some mack n cheese.
I also need to apologize I have no pictures of these creations. I have a composition notebook with my recipes and didn't think to take pics while making them. In the future from here on I will start taking pictures of princess enjoying all the things i make for her.

I wont let Food Allergies stop the goodness.

Having a child with food allergies can be hard sometimes. You want them to enjoy all the things you did when you where a kid. When i was little one of my favorite things to eat was Banana Pudding. Oh gosh how i loved it so much. I got sick one time from eating it so much :) I took princess to my grandmothers house and my grandma wanted an old fashioned Banana Pudding. You know the cooked pudding the Nilla wafers and the whipped egg whites all layered up and baked so the top is a little brown. Well its a tasty banana pudding but i felt sooo bad because princess wouldn't be able to enjoy the goodness. I had to figure out a way to make a banana pudding for my Emily to enjoy. I found out that the Jell-O brand instant pudding mix didn't have any protein allergens in the ingredient list and i know that Oreos are safe for princess to eat also the golden ones. Nilla Wafers contain milk and eggs.So making the mix using soy milk i started splitting oreos. I didn't want to make it super sweet so i removed the cream and lined the baking pan with the cookie. I needed a cream to layer with the cookies and bananas. I found a recipe for Vegan Coconut cream. I mean wow this banana pudding was amazing. Using these simple replacements Emily got to enjoy a great treat. She wanted more and more but I didn't want her to get a tummy ache like i did when I was young. It was a great desert. Nothing special make it just how you would any other banana pudding.

That swing may hurt.

A few months ago i was doing something Emily Loves to do. Swinging her by her hands could be going up and down stairs or just walking with another person holding her other hand. I didn't feel anything but she was complaining her arm was hurting after swinging so I just thought it was stretched to much or just her muscle hurts I told her to move it up and down so it could feel better. She didn't want to. She was in pain but not extreme pain so I didn't think it was dislocated but we took a trip to the ER because I didn't see her feeling any better. The Dr. took a look at it and told us it was Nursemaids Elbow. A very common injury in toddlers caused from a jerking of the arm. Like when swinging by the hands.  The ligaments are looser and the bones arn't fully developed. So the Radius slips out of place causing an uncomfortable pain when the arm is moved. Something so fun and enjoyable can hurt our little ones. The Dr. did two simple movements to make sure it was back in place and princess was fine 30 minutes later. Forgetting about the arm. I was shocked because she still wants band aids on Booboos from a month ago. This is my Public Service Announcement to parents. Be careful kids love to swing. It can even happen while walking and your little one trips and you pull them back up by the hand. So parents be careful.

My Weekender 3

As you all know my weekends are my family time so I'm going to keep it short and sweet like always. I just want to put up a link to let parents know the difference between Food Allergies and Food Intolerance. I hope you find this information useful. It sure did for me when i was first figuring out about Emily's allergies. 

Do you know?

When reading labels to make sure none of your child's allergens are in the ingredients do you know what all of those long words mean or if they have the allergen in them. My princess is allergic to eggs plus other things but today i want to list how they may label egg ingredients.  All of what im listing contain egg protein in them.

•  Albumin
• Apovitellin
• Cholesterol free egg substitute
• dried egg
• egg, egg whites
• yolk 
• egg wash 
• eggnog
• fat substitute
• globulin
• livetin 
• lysozyme 
• mayonnaise
• meringue powder
• ovalbumin
• ovoglobulin
• ovomucin
• ovomucoid
• ovotransferrin
• ovovitelia  
• ovovitellin
• powdered eggs 
• silici albuminate 
• simplesse
• trailblazer 
• vitellin

Disability WAH!?

Today i'm going to dedicate this post to a woman that shows true strength and being able to beat all the odds. Helen Keller was born on June 27th 1880 (Emily's was born on the same day). She was an American Arthur, Political activist and lecturer. If you have only heard of her and not know who she was and why she is considered a Great woman in history. Well at nineteen months old Helen Keller was diagnosed as the doctors describes "an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain" which most likely was scarlet fever or meningitis. This left her blind deaf and mute. Frustration made her destructive and a wild child. Her mother sent for a special teacher. The teacher was Anne Sullivan a 20 year old  visually impaired former student of The Perkins Institute for the Blind. She taught Helen to spell by using her finger in her palm first learning to spell "d-o-l-l" for the doll she had bought Keller as a meeting gift. Helen got frustrated often in the beginning actually getting so upset trying to learn the word "mug" she ended up breaking the doll Anne got for her. A breakthrough came when Anne was running Helen's hand under water with one hand and on the other hand spelling out the word water. After that she wanted to become familiar with other objects almost exhausting Sullivan. Helen was the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree she wrote a total of 12 published books. The earliest when 11 was The Frost King. At the age of 22 she published her autobiography, The Story of My Life in 1903 while in college. She became an advocate for persons with disabilities. Along with being a suffragist, a pacifist, a radical socialist, a supporter of birth control and an opponent to Woodrow Wilson. To me that's beyond greatness not letting so called "Disabilities" stop her from breaking boundaries. As parents we have to teach our kids to break boundaries. I am the best father i can be i go above an beyond but i want my daughter to be ten times greater than i am and not let anything hold her back. So parents of kids with food allergies or anything that a doctor may consider a "disability' or "different" take a long look at Miss Keller and other like her and make sure your little ones know they are GREAT!    

Its not the Tacos its the Salsa

 My princess Loves tacos. I came across this Recipe for some good healthy fish tacos. Emily doesn't have Fish allergies but for parents who do have little ones with fish allergies u can always make it chicken or whatever replacement u prefer. Fish tacos remind me of a summer getaway. What did it for me in this recipe was the Mandarin Orange salsa. Made with cilantro a jar of mandarin oranges, red onions and salt. I left out the jalapeno I dont think princess would have been to fond of something  "Thpicey". I like to use Smart & Delicious Wraps. They came out great. I was skeptical about the Mandarin salsa at first but one I tasted it with the tacos my mouth lit up. Such a great Combination. I have used this Recipe a few times and there are very little tweeks I needed to do to make it for Emily to enjoy as well as an adult. Make your tweeks so your little ones can enjoy some healthy tacos.

My Weekend Find

Looking on the FAAN Site (The food allergy & anaphylaxis network) I came across a informative and cute scenario for kids with food allergies. I think its a great way to make your child a PAL (Protect A Life). This would be great for Teachers and Day Care programs to enforce and will should be fun to do role playing while learning about food allergies and how to be a PAL. Emily is at a stage where she is using her IMAAAAAAAGINATION in the words of Spongebob. So I think its time for some food allergy role play time :)

The bullying allergy

This is a great report on WPIX about kids being bullied because they have food allergies. Dr. Steve talks to Dr. Larry Blater. I can see how this is bullies would fin it easy to target kids with food allergies. It may make kids afraid to eat around others or single themselves out. As parents you just have to let your children feel as great as they can be. I agree with Dr. Blater with letting your child assume responsibility. Even though my princess is only 2 1/2 when we go out to eat i ask her what she wants (all she will say is FENCH FIES). but i give her a few choices list maybe 3 she can have and let her choose or order all three and let her have at whichever she likes most. I see in her face she is proud and excited to be able to choose.

Food Proofing

I have done Child Proofing before making sure window guards where in place sockets covered the wires where all managed and not everywhere sharp corners covered even installing a oven lock. Everything to a T in my home to make sure my princess was safe. But what about Food proofing your home of products containing the allergen your little one is allergic to? It may seem easy but there are factors you have to think about. Like how severe is the allergy? How many children are in your home and what are there ages? How will eliminating the food effect the other members of your house hold? They may be hard to eliminate all together but maybe placing foods with the allergens on a different shelf than foods without not to get them confused. I have taught my little one to always ask before eating something with a simple "can i eat this?" Learning how to read and decipher labels. All family members should wash there hands before and after eating just to make sure none of the allergens may come in contact with the person who has the allergy and the same goes for counters shelves and dishes. So these are things to think and to figure out what works best for you your little one and the entire family.

Good tips for shopping.

WPIX 11 had a good video on smart shopping for suffers of food allergies. Dr. Clifford Bassett (FAAAAI and FACAAI) of the Allergy and Asthma Care of New York shows what to watch out for while shopping. Its very informative make sure you check it out parents. 

Ohhhh yea its Fat Tuesday

Ok its a bummer I'm not in New Orleans Licking my fingers after a Crawfish Boil. But I'm not. ( insert sad face here). So I'm just going to share a recipe for some New Orleans Style Chicken. For me being a Vegetarian I use Light Life Chick'n Strips in which I love almost all there products. So thats what I replace the chicken in the recipe for and as for the cheese I use Daiya Vegan Cheese. The cheese has none of the common allergens in it but as for the Chick'n strips they contain soy. Those are my tweeks to a simple recipe.

Its Food Allergy Week.

WPIX Morning news is acknowledging Food allergy suffers this week. It excites me as a parent of a little one with food allergies that the media is trying to bring more light on the subject. Today they showed a great allergen free treat shop called Divvies. I have purchased there cookies at whole foods for princess and they are great. So check out Divvies and WPIX for more info.

Breakfast at Emily's

 Yesterday was a rainy day and the clouds were blocking the sun from shining but for me and princess it doesn't mean we can't have a good snack to bring in some light. I have been making making apple sauce for a long time now Emily loves it. We made some Banana Pancakes. This simple recipe is a cup of flour of your choice. (we use soy). 2 tbs of brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder 1/8 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp olive oil and a cup of soy milk (or coconut milk for those with soy allergies). But this is not about the pancakes people. It's about the Apple Butter we ate with it. No it has no actual butter in it. Its called that because of the thickness. Apple butter is a concentrated form of apple sauce just cooked longer until the sugar in the apples caramelizes turning the apple butter brown. I like to take 10 honey crisp apples (peeled and cored) a cup of brown sugar a half cup of water and a tablespoon of cinnamon. Let simmer on medium low heat until the apples turn brown for about 2 hours. Remove from heat let cool and puree in a food processor. Traditional apple butter takes much much longer to make. So if you want to plan ahead you can add the ingredients into a slow cooker for 10-12 hours.

Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction to a chemical that has become an allergen. After being exposed to a substance such as bee sting venom, the person's immune system becomes sensitized to it. On a later exposure to that allergen, an allergic reaction may occur. This reaction happens quickly after the exposure, is severe, and involves the whole body.

Tissues in different parts of the body release histamine and other substances. This causes the airways to tighten and leads to other symptoms.

Anaphylaxis can occur in response to any allergen. Common causes include:

• Drug allergies
• Food allergies
• Insect bites/stings

The Hummus Effect

  Emily loves dips and sauces. She just likes flavors period she licks any food that has a sauce or a flavor to it even the salt off of crackers. That’s just princess for you. I needed to find a better alternative than ketchup or sweet n sour sauce. So i introduced her to the over 5,000 year old dip that i fell in love with HUMMUS. I’m not really sure how old it is but it goes back. Waaaaaaay back you can check it out here. Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are a good source of folic acid, manganese, iron, copper, magnesium and molybdenum. I wasn't sure if she was going like it. So I got some baked pita chips and roasted red pepper hummus for a snack one day. SHE LOVED IT! using one chip as a dipping tool so she could lick the “hummith” off and yes my little one has a lisp which gives her a very cute unique vocabulary. We went to Rice one night a small restaurant in Nolita ill provide the link don't worry. I got her vegetarian meatballs and rice no sauce though its spicy but i got a side of pita and there Edamame hummus. Lets just say i had to order another. Emily ate some of her food but her favorite was the hummus. She was so polite to the waitress saying “Thanks yew” every time something was brought to the table and that earned her a free box of rice crispy treats. Well for the parents with kids with soy allergies traditional hummus will do. I occasionally make my own I follow a simple Hummus recipe I just leave out the Cayenne and add some roasted red peppers to the mix. Emily loves hummus it goes great with veggies, pita, pretzel's or anything else you want to pair it with and it has more nutritional value than katchup. No offence Heinz :)

http://www.riceny.com/home.php

"FENCH FIES"

Going out to eat with a child who has a food allergy can feel difficult at times but it doesn't have to be . There are plenty of options for your child and yourself to enjoy. I worried so much at first with my daughters peanut allergies trying to figure out what places used peanut oils when cooking. Come to find out a majority of places stopped using peanut oil to fry because it is one of the “BIG 8” and counts for 90% of those with food allergies. It seems that one food toddlers love and will love if introduced to is FRENCH FRIES! every time I ask my daughter what she wants to eat she whispers “fench fies” there was one random time she said Crabs i was shocked and confused. You may not want to go out and get fries without knowing if the place your going to uses peanut oil. A simple way is to bake your own fries. Preheat the oven at 450 F. Cut your potatoes (I prefer sweet potatoes) into wedges or fries and make sure your rinse them off to remove the starch and pat them dry. Put them in a large bowl to toss drizzle 2 tbsp of the oil of your choice. (note if using coconut make sure the potatoes are warm so the oil wont thicken up on you) and some salt if you like. Toss until they are all coated evenly. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 min. turn them over about half way through. In the words of Emily FENCH FIES!!

     Sweet potatoes are a great source of Vitamins A and C and have about 4 grams of Protein.