Wrapping up Food Allergy Awareness Week

On this final day of Food Allergy Awareness Week, I wanted to post another video. The last one centered on the children's thoughts, and this one is the parents' thoughts.

I used to share people's misconceptions about food allergies. Growing up, I was one of the few people I knew who had food allergies. I tested allergic to hundreds of foods and other things. The difference between my food allergies and my son's food allergies is that mine weren't life-threatening. I always had sinus problems, which worsened when I ate problem foods. It became difficult to breathe through my nose, which is a very different thing from someone's throat closing up, making it impossible to breathe. I did the weekly shots, but I didn't even know what an EpiPen was, and I didn't live with the fear that a bite of certain foods could kill me.

I share these videos to make others aware. I've heard people say that a little bite won't hurt, that it's not necessary to take the EpiPen when you're just running into the store for a minute, that I'm being overly cautious when I ask people to wash their hands and rinse their mouths if they've eaten certain foods.

Food allergies are very real, and they can be fatal.

I'd just ask people to never offer a child anything to eat without first asking if he or she has food allergies. Don't ever assume that a food is okay. My son doesn't eat anything that's homemade (unless I make it), or anything that doesn't have an ingredients label on it. It's just not worth it.

I have food allergy resources listed on my sidebar. A few of my favorites are:

Kids with Food Allergies

FAAN (The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network)

FAI (Food Allergy Initiative)

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake!

We have a little more flexibility when it comes to baking now that E has passed his egg challenge and can eat eggs in dishes baked for at least 30 minutes. I would never, ever tell my kids what's in this recipe! Without that knowledge, it was a hit!

I was reading about the Spunky Coconut's Vanilla Bean Cake (also grain, gluten, sugar, and dairy-free), which Kelly said she created after trying Healthy Indulgences' Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake, which Lauren said she adapted from a recipe on LowCarbFriends. Phew! Follow all that??

At any rate, I made a few small changes to suit our tastes and allergy needs. I made it in the evening and let it sit overnight. I wish I'd gotten a picture but they dove into it before I could grab the camera! There's a picture on Healthy Indulgences. There's honestly no way, by looking at it, that anyone could tell what's in it!

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, well drained, at room temperature
5 organic free-range eggs
1 teaspoon chocolate stevia extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey

1/2 cup cacao powder (cocoa powder could also be used; this is just what I had on hand)
1 teaspoon Grain-free Baking Powder* (Recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9" cake pan with Spectrum Organic Shortening. Line the bottom of the pan with unbleached parchment paper, then grease the parchment lightly with the organic shortening.

Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia, and Real Salt into Vitamix. Blend on high until mixture is completely smooth and creamy.

In mixer, beat coconut oil with honey until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after adding each egg. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and beat until well mixed.

In a small bowl, whisk together cacao powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to mixer and beat on high for one minute. Scrape batter into cake pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to eliminate any air bubbles.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Cool cake until it reaches room temperature, then cover with cake dome. For best flavor, let cake sit for eight hours! Frost with the Spunky Coconut's Chocolate Frosting.


*Grain-free Baking Powder

2 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp tapioca or potato starch, optional

Mix all ingredients together and pass through a fine sieve. Store in a tightly-sealed glass jar. Use within four weeks.

Grain-free Baking Powder

2 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp tapioca or potato starch, optional

Mix all ingredients together and pass through a fine sieve. Store in a tightly-sealed glass jar. Use within four weeks.

Faces of Food Allergies: Food Allergy Awareness

From our favorite food allergy group, Kids with Food Allergies:

Faces of Food Allergies: Food Allergy Awareness

Look for E in there!

Update: I can't believe how many pictures they've added! I scrolled through, looking for E's picture, and the thing that stands out is the wide bottom of a bright yellow slide that he's sitting on!

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Allergy-Friendly Easter Candy

In addition to our natural Easter Eggs, we made allergy-friendly candy: Peanut-free Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate and Caramel Cups, and Chocolate Crunch Balls.

For the Peanut-free Peanut Butter Cups, we melted a bag of dairy-free chocolate chips in a double boiler with a tablespoon or so of coconut oil. We stirred until it was smooth and glossy. In a small bowl, we mixed Organic Sunbutter, nutritional yeast, rice flour, raw honey, vanilla extract, and sea salt. We didn't measure; we just put maybe a cup of Sunbutter, and started with about a teaspoon of nutritional yeast, a spoonful of rice flour, a squirt of honey, and a tiny bit of vanilla and salt. We just happily tasted it until it tasted right! We used mini muffin pans lined with paper liners. We poured a little bit of melted chocolate to coat the bottom of each liner. We put it in the freezer for a few minutes and then put a bit of Sunbutter mixture in the middle. We covered it with more melted chocolate, and back into the freezer it went. When it was frozen, I peeled off the paper liners, and then stored them in the refrigerator. All of the kids, even the ones who don't love Sunbutter, said that they were amazing!

I'd made these before but had just used plain Sunbutter for the filling. They were so much better this way! I got the idea from Samantha at Color Wheel Meals. She also had a recipe for Chocolate and Caramel Cups, with the caramel made from dates! We tried that, too, but we soaked them in coconut milk, instead of almond milk. Nick added a shot of maple syrup, and I added a little extra vanilla extract and sea salt to them after mixing them up in the Vitamix. I felt like the extra vanilla toned down the date taste a bit. So good!

GracieGirl helped me set up this picture
with the bunnies checking out the chocolate!

I didn't get a picture of the Chocolate Crunch Balls, but all I did was toast some puffed millet in a dry skillet. The truth is that I had to do it twice because I completely burned it the first time! After it was toasted to a nice light brown color, I poured in some of the melted chocolate chips/coconut oil mixture. I stirred it up and dropped it by balls onto a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. It went into the refrigerator until they were firm, and then I stored them in the fridge.

The kids were happy, and best of all, there weren't any allergic reactions from Easter candy!

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.