Natural Easter Egg Dyes

We made our own dyes for Easter Eggs this year. We boiled red cabbage for blue eggs, beets for pink eggs, and spinach and turmeric for yellow/light green eggs. We stirred in a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar, and let the eggs soak. Some eggs took the dye better than others. I thought they were really pretty. Messy to make, but pretty, nonetheless.

The egg on the upper right has a leaf pattern on it. J brought me a leaf, which I got damp and stuck to the egg. I wrapped a stocking around it and twisted it until it was really tight, and then secured it with a rubber band. I let it sit in the dye overnight without disturbing it. I like the way it turned out, and would like to try more next year with a darker colored dye.

Baked Oatmeal II

Here's another recipe that we like that doesn't call for soaking. I find that grains are more digestible after being soaked, but I don't always take the time to soak them the day before.


Baked Oatmeal II

3 cups coconut milk or other milk substitute
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup raw honey
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp cinnamon
3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 apples, peeled, cored, & chopped, opt.
3/4 cup raisins, opt.
Dairy-free chocolate chips, opt.*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9-inch square pan with coconut oil or Spectrum shortening

In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, honey, oil, and cinnamon. Cook on low heat.

Meanwhile, combine the oats and sea salt with the chopped apple, raisins, and/or chocolate chips. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Just before the milk mixture begins to boil, pour it evenly over the oatmeal mixture.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the oatmeal is tender.

Serves 6

*This recipe is refined sugar-free if made without chocolate chips.

Baked Oatmeal

I recently found a recipe called Our Favorite Oatmeal Bake on Our Backyard Homestead. I doubled the recipe and made a couple of small changes to suit our family, and I'm thrilled to say that it was a hit with everyone. That may not sound like a big deal, but when I can find a recipe that works for our food allergies and that everyone likes, I'm a happy camper!


Baked Oatmeal

6 c gluten-free rolled oats
1 lemon, juiced

1 1/2 c coconut, unsweetened & unsulphured
8 Medjool dates
1 c organic raisins
1 heaping Tblsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
2 c organic applesauce
2 c coconut milk (not canned)
2/3 c raw honey
4 organic apples

The night before, soak the rolled oats in just enough water to cover, with the juice of the lemon added to the water.

In the morning, drain the rolled oats and rinse well. Let drain while preparing the rest of the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11 x 15" baking dish with Spectrum Organic Shortening or coconut oil.

Place the coconut in a large bowl. Chop the dates finely, and, one at a time, add to the coconut, mixing to coat the date pieces with the coconut to prevent them from sticking to each other. Stir in the raisins, cinnamon, and sea salt; mix well. Add the drained oats, applesauce, coconut milk, and honey.

Peel and chop the apples and add to the oats mixture, mixing well.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.

Note: This makes a LOT! I thought that the leftovers were good, but if I didn't need leftovers, I definitely would not double this recipe!

Allerbling!

Since E is now going to preschool a few mornings a week and church a couple of times a week, it was time to get an allergy bracelet for him. I researched many different types and finally settled on Allerbling.

The Allerbling set comes with bracelets in two different sizes, along with eight charms representing the top eight allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, and shellfish. The charms can be snapped into the bracelet to customize it for each child's individual allergies.

The bracelets and charms can also be purchased individually. In addition to the top eight, they also offer these individual charms: sesame, corn, coconut, strawberries, chocolate, and bee stings.

When I first saw these bracelets, my concern was that E would take the charms out and lose them. I emailed the company and received a prompt response, assuring me that the charms stay in the bracelet securely. When they arrived, I couldn't even get the charms in; I had to ask Nick to do it. I'm happy to report that there's no way that E could get them out once they're in there. Even so, the manufacturer recommends this product for children over the age of three because the charms are a potential choking hazard.

There are a lot of things I like about the bracelet. It's bright orange, which is eye-catching. I like that it has a medical alert charm. Some of the other allergy bracelets I researched looked too much like the bands that all the kids wear. I wanted something that would stand out. It seems to be very durable, it's latex-free, and I like the fact that it's waterproof.

Each charm has a picture of the food on it, plus the written name of the food. E can go through each picture and recite his allergies.

E wasn't too sure about wearing it at first, but he quickly got used to it. I don't think that I'd be able to say the same about some of those metal bracelets. He now wears it to school and church, and it stays on well. When he gets home, he takes it off and hands it to me, so that I can put it in a special place. We don't want this bracelet getting lost!

One drawback is that the bracelet only holds four charms, plus the medical charm. To me, it looks as though it would be possible to add spaces for two of three more charms, so I'm not sure why they didn't do that.

With E, we chose the ones that we feel are most serious and that he would most commonly run into, and added those. For us, it was peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and sesame. He wouldn't be as likely to encounter fish and shellfish in his classrooms, but I'd still feel better if I could add them to the bracelet.

My only other little complaint is that I don't like to spend $5.00 on shipping when it only cost $1.38 to ship. I don't mind a little more for materials and such, but that seemed like a large increase. On the plus side, they did ship the product quickly.

Overall, I think we made the right choice, and I like the fact that he has one more thing to help protect him. We waited a long time before letting him to go any classes or events alone, and I still say a prayer every time he leaves, but he loves his classes, and it's great to see him learning, having fun, and making new friends.

Seasoned Salt

Seasoned Salt

1/2 cup sea salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp tapioca starch

Mix ingredients well and keep in a tightly sealed container. Stir or shake before using.

The Super Allergy Girl Allergy & Celiac Cookbook

I wanted to share the post below from our Truly Pure & Natural blog about carrying The Super Allergy Girl Allergy & Celiac Cookbook. I've had the cookbook pictured on our sidebar since I discovered it and I've mentioned it several times in different posts. I shared the wonderful chocolate cake recipe from the cookbook here.

We're happy to announce that we're now carrying The Super Allergy Girl Cookbook: Gluten-free Casein-free Nut-free by Lisa A. Lundy. This is absolutely my favorite allergy cookbook. I still remember being in a health food store at the beach, and Nick calling me over to look at a flier on the bulletin board for this cookbook. I knew I had to have it! It turned out to be the first good cookbook I'd found that covered all of our allergy needs.

Here is a review I wrote on Amazon back on August 11, 2008:

"This cookbook has been a lifesaver for our family. Our son has autism and is on a gluten/casein-free diet and our daughter is gluten intolerant. There are plenty of GFCF cookbooks out there and we did okay with finding meals that they could eat.

Then, our baby was diagnosed with food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs, and that changed everything! I tried baking GFCF desserts without eggs and had one disaster after the other. I eventually found a few things that worked, but I still needed more recipes.

I was thrilled to discover this cookbook because it addresses all of our allergies. I've made many recipes from it, and every single one so far has been a hit with the kids. We've enjoyed the main dishes (the General Tso's Chicken is amazing!), the snack mixes are great, and the desserts are delicious. I'd given up on trying to make brownies without wheat or eggs, but there are two brownie recipes in this book, and they're both incredible.

I've recommended this cookbook to many people. The only thing I'd point out is that some of the recipes call for Bragg's Liquid Aminos, which we don't use, or, alternately, soy sauce. Regular soy sauce has wheat in it, so it's important to look for wheat-free Tamari Soy Sauce, if avoiding wheat or gluten."

Lisa not only has over 200 recipes in her book, she also offers so much helpful information on food allergies, celiac disease, equipping your kitchen, where to find ingredients, tips for saving time and money, how to work with allergy recipes and how to measure gluten-free flours. She also has an extensive section on rotation diets and food families.

One of the ways that this cookbook really helped us was to provide recipes for special occasions. The chocolate cake recipe is wonderful and has been the perfect cake for many birthdays in our house. The chocolate chip cookies and the brownies are delicious treats, too. There are many muffin recipes that the kids love, and we just make them in mini-muffin tins and pop them in the freezer so that they're ready when we need them. There are even candy recipes that we've used for holidays. It's just been nice to have treats so that the kids didn't always feel different or left out during various social occasions.

There are also many delicious main dish recipes that we've used over the years, plus many good dressings and dips, which have helped our family since it's hard to find dressings and such that are allergy-friendly.

I also have to mention that Lisa is one of the nicest people ever. Although we haven't met, I've contacted her a number of times with questions, comments, and more questions...and she's always been so willing to help in any way she could. She knows her stuff and has lived with more food allergies in her children than I can even imagine, and she does so much to help other parents deal with food allergies. It's a pleasure to carry her book, and I hope that it helps others as much as it's helped us.

*********************************

Middle Eastern Lentils

Lentils are one of my favorite comfort foods, and I've been craving them lately. This is a recipe that I've been making for years. It may sound strange to serve a cold salad over a hot entree, but I think it's delicious!


Middle Eastern Lentils

2 lge onions, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 c brown rice
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups lentils, sorted & rinsed
4 cups water
1 bunch romaine or green/red leaf lettuce
2 med tomatoes, diced
1 med cucumber, peeled & thinly sliced
2 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 tsp raw honey or agave syrup


In a large pot, sauté the onions in 1 Tbsp olive oil until soft and
golden. Add rice and salt, and continue cooking over medium heat
for three minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in lentils and water.
Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook until the rice and lentils
are tender, about 50 minutes.

Tear the lettuce, and mix with the tomatoes, cucumber, and scallions.

In a small jar, mix 2 Tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, paprika,
mustard, garlic, salt, and sweetener. Shake well.

Toss the salad with the dressing.

To serve, place a spoonful of the
hot lentil mixture on a plate and top with a generous serving of salad.