Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dynamite Dairy-Free Ranch

Since sharing our food allergy/intolerance journey with family, friends, and acquaintances, I am amazed at the number of people who open up about their journeys with food.  I have had the opportunity to hear remarkable stories involving precocious puberty, airborne food allergies, and learning disabilities.  While some can only be managed, it is astonishing to me when removing certain foods appears to eliminate the symptoms.  The past two years has been such an education!  If I was still a practicing school psychologist, one of my first steps after getting a referral on a child would involve a diet questionnaire.

One of these food warrior family members (my term for these amazing families), mentioned a recipe for dairy-free ranch.  Once again, I found myself wondering why hadn't I thought of going dairy-free with ranch.  My older kids love it but I have had to keep it away from Ethan.  After some recipe research, I tried this one.  Wow, we all love it!  I am not much of a ranch user but this recipe has me hooked.  You can add in the full amount of rice milk/lemon juice mixture to make it a dressing or a lesser amount to make it a dip.  I put in 1/2 the amount of dill as it was a little strong for me.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice + enough rice milk to equal 1/2 cup (7 1/2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
Mix lemon juice and rice milk.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Whisk together mayonnaise and seasonings.  Slowly whisk in rice milk lemon juice mixture until you reach your desired consistency (full amount is very runny).  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes prior to serving.

Rating:
5 out of 5 family members love it!

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
We have had success with the Earth Balance product line for soy-free vegan mayonnaise.





Thursday, May 24, 2012

Tasty Tacos

The past few weeks have been busy at our home. Between end of the school year activities, graduations, and birthdays, it has been fun but hectic.  Trying to find time to cook has been an even greater challenge than normal.  At the store, I grabbed an old, quick, kid favorite, taco seasoning and taco shells.  To my surprise, the bean version was a big hit for everyone.

The older kids preferred the beans mashed with rice-based cheese melted inside.  Ethan ate it in a soft tortilla.  The adults added fresh greens from the garden and salsa.  (By the way, we purchased a Vitamix a few weeks ago.  It is super fast to make salsa now.)  The beans reheat well.  The meal took me about 15 minutes to pull together.  I served it with artichokes but they took longer than the tacos.

Makes 12 tacos (or more)

Ingredients:
1 package Bearitos Taco Seasoning
2 cans or 3 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans
Taco shells (we like Garden of Eatin')
Lots of additional toppings

Directions:
Bearitos has directions on packet for bean tacos.  Basically, add taco seasoning and 2/3 cups water to beans.  Blend in seasonings while bringing to a boil.  Simmer uncovered 8-10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Serve and enjoy!

Ratings:
5 out of 5 family members loved it!

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
Once again, watch labels for ingredients used in your taco seasoning and taco shells.  I have seen MSG listed as ingredients in some taco seasonings.  You want to avoid it!  Click here for more about MSG.


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Southwestern Salad Vinaigrette

A few years ago, my sister-in-law told me about Lisa Barnes, a chef and author of child-focused cookbooks.  After trying a few recipes, The Petite Appetit cookbook quickly became a favorite one in our house.  The book contains nutrition information while breaking recipes down into different culinary stages (beginners to connoisseurs).  It also has markings on each recipe indicating if it is gluten free, wheat free, sugar free, vegan, vegetarian, no cook, and egg free.

While my pickiest eater still does not eat all of the foods from the recipes, my husband and I really enjoy the connoisseur recipes.  The Southwestern Salad Vinaigrette is one of many favorites (pictured above).  It is great as a side dish or served as an appetizer with chips.  Ethan loves to pick out and eat the black beans first.

Ingredients:
(While I cannot list out all of the ingredients, here are a few.)
Black beans
Red and green bell peppers
Corn
Cherry tomatoes
Green onion
Plus a super yummy sherry wine vinaigrette!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Garbanzo & Kale Tacos

Thank you to Sarah for sharing her friend's blog and recipe with me!  These did turn out very tasty.  I used the leftover kale water, which is filled with nutrients, instead of the garbanzo bean liquid.  The kid tacos had vegan cheese while the adults did not.  My other two did not like it probably due to the amount of kale I used.  We will definitely try it again!
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale or other cooking greens, with 1/3 cup liquid retained after cooking
1 (15 ounce) can or 1 1/2 cups of garbanzo beans, cooked
Water for sautéing
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup carrots, diced or julienne
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas


Directions:
Cook greens in a large sauce pan of salted boiling water for 6 minutes or until tender.  Reserving 1/3 cup of liquid, drain, chop and set aside the greens.  Heat small amount of water in large sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Add red pepper and garlic; sauté briefly.  Add beans, reserved kale liquid, carrots, spices, and salt; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until carrots are tender.  Uncover, increase heat, cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.  Stir in kale; cook 2 minutes.  Warm tortillas, spoon mixture evenly onto tortillas.

Nutrition Information:
1 serving (1/4 mixture, no wrap or cheese):  160 calories, 23g carbs, 6g fat, 8g protein, 6g fiber, 13 mg iron

Rating:
3 out of 5 family members liked it

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
I have searched and searched for tortillas that we can all eat.  Most seem to contain soy oil.  Cedar's is the only brand I can find so far.  They use palm oil.  Plus, we all like them.


Friday, May 4, 2012

Sweet Potato & Bean Burger

Thanks to KayCee who sent me the link to this recipe.  I only had to make a few minor changes such as blending the beans and potato into a smoother texture for the kids.  The first batch was a little bland.  Adding the optional seasonings is a good idea.  The kids ate it with ketchup while the adults enjoyed it with lots of toppings.  The leftover uncooked patties store well in the refrigerator making for super easy future meals. 

Makes 10 small burgers, approximately 3 ounces each.  

Ingredients:
2 cans or 3 1/2 cups cooked cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cooked (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (or another spice)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (ex., a few dashes cayenne, black pepper or others)
salt to taste

1 cup of bread crumbs
expeller pressed canola oil for pan


Directions:
1.  Place bread slices in food processor.  Process until crumbs are small.  Place crumbs on large plate for later use.
2.  Place cooked sweet potatoes in food processor along with beans, tahini, maple syrup, spices.  Process together until desired consistency.
3.  Add in flour and process until blended. (Your mixture will be soft and moist. However, you should be able to form a patty. Add a scoop of crumbs to thicken the mixture if needed.)
4. Heat 1 tablespoon expeller pressed canola oil in a pan over medium high heat.
5. Form patties then coat in bread crumbs with a thick coating. Cook until browned on both sides. (Do not cook patties you want as leftovers.)  
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes before serving.


Nutrition Information:
1 serving (3 ounce patty): 133 calories, 25g carbs, 2g fat, 5g protein, 5g fiber, 9mg iron

Rating:
5/5 of us like it

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
Again, watch labels.  The ketchup we use to use was processed in a facility with milk, soy and nuts.  Fortunately, there are a few options with no issues for us.  

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Hummus Panini

My older children love turkey and cheese paninis.  After making the switch to our new diet, I had to find something that would work for all of us.  I searched and searched, finding many delicious recipes I would eat but my children would not touch.  Finally, I found a recipe using hummus. Why didn't I think of that earlier?  Oh well, at least I found something we all like.  It is great with leftover grilled vegetables.  Of course, the kids like it best with a rice-based cheese.

Ingredients:
Basic Bread Machine bread or other bread
"I Love You" Hummus 
Expeller pressed canola oil spray
Earth Balance buttery spread, soy free
Grilled vegetables or other toppings

Directions:
Heat panini grill.  Spread buttery spread and hummus on insides of bread.  Add additional ingredients.  Once grill is heated, spray canola oil on panini grill.  Grill panini until golden brown.

Ratings:
5/5 like it

Food Allergy/Intolerance Notes:
Prior to switching to vegan meals, I always made Ethan's panini first.  This helped reduce the possibility of the dairy cheese from the other paninis contaminating his sandwich.  Then, I'd do a thorough cleaning after all paninis were made.