Simple Coconut Granola

I made granola today. From start to finish, it took three days! Don't get me wrong; it's an easy recipe that would normally take no time at all, but this has been The Week of Incessant Interruptions!

I like the simplicity of this recipe. Since we can't do nuts, and the kiddos tend to pick out the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and organic dried fruit that I've added in the past, I decided to just omit those ingredients. If I chose to add the seeds, I would do so in the beginning, along with the rolled oats and oat bran. I'd add the fruit as soon as the granola came out of the oven.

I use two different types of coconut oil because not everyone in our house likes a strong coconut flavor. The virgin coconut oil smells and tastes like delicious fresh coconut. The expeller pressed oil does not have any coconut taste or smell at all. By combining the two, I get a light coconut flavor, but the recipe would work just as well with all virgin oil or all expeller pressed.

Simple Coconut Granola


8 cups gluten-free rolled oats (or 6 c rolled oats and 2 c steel cut oats)
1 cup gluten-free oat bran
1 cup organic unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup organic coconut milk (classic, NOT light)
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup raw honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, oat bran, and flaked coconut.

In a saucepan, combine coconut oils, brown rice syrup, and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for two minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.

Pour the syrup over the oats and coconut, and stir until the dry ingredients are fully coated.

Divide evenly between two large stoneware jellyroll pans, spreading out to cover the entire surface of the pans.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until toasted. Remove from oven and cool on jellyroll pans.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

Baking Half Birthday Cakes

Tomorrow is GracieGirl's birthday.

Not that there's constant competition going on here or anything, but E has been insisting that it's his birthday.

I realized that he's right; today is E's Half Birthday. He's 3 1/2, although if you ask him, he'll tell you, quite convincingly, that he's 5!

So, he needed to make a cake. He wanted a vanilla cake (in contrast to his sister, who wants all things chocolate!). I found Lisa Lundy's White Cake recipe, and E and I went to work.

He was such a big help!

Okay, that's a lie, but J lectured me a bit this morning about how I'm too hard on E and he doesn't really get in trouble, he's just curious! So, apparently he was just curious yesterday as to how much of my hair he could rip out of my head and how far his teeth could sink into my flesh. Yeah, that's it...

I digress.

E was busy mixing the flours, and he asked me if he could take a bite.

I said no, explaining that it wouldn't taste good.

I turned around and asked him if he'd taken a bite.

He said that he had not.

I'm just not sure I believe him...


We spooned the batter into some little cake molds and the
kids were thrilled at how the little cakes came out.

Not a great picture, but they really are cute! E was happy with them,
and that's all that matters. Happy Half Birthday, E!

P.S. I've mentioned Lisa Lundy's recipes and cookbook before, and I'm going to mention them again because they've been such a lifesaver for us, especially on birthdays and special occasions. I'll be making Lisa's chocolate cake for GracieGirl's birthday tomorrow. Lisa's cookbook, The Super Allergy Girl Cookbook is definitely worth checking out if you need recipes without gluten and the top allergens!

Spinach and Corn Mashed Potatoes

This isn't a combination that I ever would have dreamed of, but it's so good! In my book, it's comfort food at its finest.

Since I'm beyond sleep deprived, still sick, and now have four sick kiddos, none of whom have the same thing I have, I'm in definite need of comfort food. I'm going to do my best to make this tonight!


Spinach and Corn Mashed Potatoes


3 lbs red potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c Earth Balance, soy-free
1 c milk substitute of choice, unsweetened*
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 c whole kernel corn
20-oz fresh baby spinach, stems removed
3 tsp garlic, minced

Fill a large pot with water, add 1/2 tsp sea salt, and bring to a boil.
Add potatoes and boil until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain well and return potatoes to the pot.
Add Earth Balance and milk substitute, and mash potatoes until light and fluffy.
Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Add olive oil and corn, and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes.
Stir in spinach and garlic and sauté just until spinach is wilted.
Fold mixture into mashed potatoes.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve!

*This recipe can be grain-free, depending upon the milk substitute used.

Celestial Stew

Celestial Stew is one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, I have a cold right now and I'm craving it big time! Too bad I don't have the energy to make it!

I don't know if my kids would eat it, especially in light of the fact that they tend to go running in the opposite direction at the sight of a single pea. :) Maybe they'd eat it if I tried putting dumplings on top...



Celestial Stew

2 lbs potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 28-oz cans Muir Glen tomatoes, chopped, with liquid
2 med onions, diced
3 med carrots, sliced
1 10-oz bag Cascadian Farm frozen sweet corn
1 10-oz bag Cascadian Farm frozen sweet peas
1 qt vegetable broth
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp sea salt

Boil the potatoes until soft, about 25 minutes.

Drain, and add the tomatoes and juice.

Add the onion, carrots, corn, and peas.

Stir well and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, on low for about two hours.

Remove bay leaves before serving.


Update:

My nice hubby made Celestial Stew for me. It really hit the spot! On a whim, I stirred a little bit of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar into my bowl. I don't know if it's just me but I loved it!

Thanksgiving GFCF Pumpkin Cake

We had signed up to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local church today, but, because we were sick, we weren't sure if it was going to happen or not. One thing I learned this week while Nick was out of commission is that, realistically, serving Thanksgiving dinner for three or four hours is not something that I'm physically capable of doing right now. In retrospect, I'm not even sure what made me think I could do it, except that it was just something that I really wanted to do.

Nick woke up feeling better today. My sister had signed up, too, so he went with her and took Nate and JJ, while I stayed home with GracieGirl and E.

While they were gone, I divided my time between playing with GracieGirl and E, and cooking. I wasn't going to do much this year, and I didn't do as much as past years. I cooked up some yams and made one of those yucky casseroles with the marshmallows. I also made a pumpkin cake from Karina's Kitchen. I followed the recipe except that I used a different GF flour blend and I added 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum just because I've never made any GF baked goods without it! It was nice and moist (always a bonus with GF) and everyone loved it. Of course, as soon as I mixed it up, I realized I'd made it with eggs, so I had to make a second recipe (which I cut in half) for E, using Egg Replacer.

A Visit to See the Allergist

Nick and I took Jay and E in to Children's Hospital today to see a new allergist. We were gone for seven hours, and spent 3 1/2 hours in the office! Thankfully, the boys were well behaved, even as it approached the magic meltdown hour of 5:00pm.

Jay was tested for 13 different things. I really wish they'd given me a list of what those 13 things were. He came up quite allergic to shellfish, cats, and trees.

I think that E was tested for more than 20 things. His positives were peanuts, tree nuts (especially cashews), eggs, sesame, shellfish, fish, cats, dogs, horses, trees, and grasses. We already knew about some of those things, but he'd tested negative to horses in the past. We'd been avoiding sesame and all fish just because they're highly allergenic, and now I'm glad that we did!

We'd originally been told that kids generally aren't tested for environmental allergies until they're at least three years old, but they told us today that they've started seeing environmental allergies in younger children, so they went ahead and tested E after we told the doctor about the time he was sitting out in the grass and came in with hives all over the back of his legs!

Both boys were very brave, even though I was cringing as I saw the welts on little E's arms. A couple of them (peanuts and cashews) were so large that they merged with the welts next to them!

We walked away with 13 prescriptions, and now have two children carrying EpiPens!

The doctor wants to see E again in September since his asthma has gotten bad enough in past Septembers that he had to be hospitalized.

She wants Jay to go to a clinic at the hospital that they hold once a month where both allergist and dermatologists are present, and work together to come up with solutions for kids with allergies and eczema. I'm excited about that and am praying that they can help my itchy little guy!

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Living with Food Allergies

As Food Allergy Awareness Week wraps up, I thought I'd share, as others have done, a bit about how food allergies affect our life. Most days, we just go with the flow, but there are times when I stop and think about how much easier our lives would be if there was a cure for food allergies.

I was allergic to hundreds of things when I was growing up, but anaphylaxis wasn't part of the picture, so I had no idea what living with life-threatening food allergies was like.

In our house, Jay is allergic to wheat and gluten (rye, barley, and most oats) and dairy. The nutritionist also has him off of soy, refined sugars, and most carbs. GracieGirl is allergic to wheat and gluten. E is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts (anaphylactic), eggs, and dairy. Nate was tested as a toddler and no foods showed up, but I suspect a dairy allergy or intolerance.

Jay has severe eczema, E has eczema and asthma, and Nate has asthma.

We make almost all of our food from scratch. There are some prepared foods we can buy but they're expensive and often don't taste as good as homemade.

Baking is an adventure. We have a cabinet and freezer full of different flours. We can't use just one flour when we bake; we have to combine several flours, such as rice, sorghum, tapioca, and potato starch. We use xanthan gum to keep baked goods from becoming a crumbly mess, and powdered egg replacer as a binder. We use olive or coconut oil instead of butter and rice milk instead of cows' milk.

We never have peanuts or tree nuts in the house. We do have eggs, and it's a bit stressful keeping E away from them. E doesn't have anaphylaxis to eggs, but he did have an immediate reaction after eating them, so we don't know what a second reaction might be like. It's sometimes challenging, especially when we're rushing, to remember who eats what. GracieGirl can't have the Ezekiel Bread; she has to have the brown rice rolls. E can't have the rolls because they have egg whites in them. Jay doesn't like meats or most vegetables and that's all he's supposed to be eating right now. Nate can't stand rice milk or gluten-free bread.

On the rare occasions that we find a meal, or even a single food, that everyone likes and can eat, it's cause for celebration!

We always plan ahead. When we leave the house, we pack food and drinks for everyone. We don't have the option of stopping to pick something up if we run late and get hungry.

We read labels, read labels, and just when we think we've read enough, we read more labels! Product ingredients change, so, just because we bought something that was safe one time doesn't mean it will be safe the next time we go to buy it. We also avoid products that were processed in facilities or on equipment that processes peanuts or tree nuts. Studies have shown that a full 10% of foods manufactured on shared equipment will actually have nuts in them.

We avoid some homeschool events, especially those centered around a meal or where a lot of snacks will be served. We opt for more of the outdoor events and field trips.

Family get-togethers are difficult. Jay has a tough time watching his cousin eat pizza and chicken nuggets and desserts that he loves but can't have. When possible, we bring our own substitutions so that he doesn't feel as left out, but it's not always possible and it usually doesn't look as good to him as the stuff his cousin is eating!

Baseball games and flying are two other things that we avoid because of nut allergies. We always carry wipes, and when we go shopping, we wipe down the cart before putting E in it, in case the child before him was eating nuts. E is at that age when he puts everything in his mouth and I worry that he'll pick up a piece of discarded candy at the park that has nuts in it. He also believes that all cups and water bottles must be his, and I worry that he'll grab one that may belong to someone who was eating nuts before drinking from it.

I'm also concerned about people not taking the children's allergies seriously, and/or thinking that we're overreacting or being overprotective. With Jay and GracieGirl, they'll get sick if they eat foods they're allergic to, but with E, he could die from eating nuts or peanuts. He doesn't have to eat a Reece's Cup; he could react from getting a kiss from someone who had eaten peanuts or from eating food that had been served with a spoon that had just a trace of nuts on it.

E can never be without his EpiPen. Thankfully, we have never had to use it. It scares me to think of using it on him, but I'm confident that I would do what I had to do if he was having an anaphylactic reaction. We have EpiPens in a bag by the door, along with a bottle of Benadryl. There are EpiPens and Benadryl in the kitchen and upstairs in our bathroom. We always have them on hand, in their designated spots, and we always make sure they're in date.

E is rarely away from us, and I wonder about sending him to friends' houses when he gets older. It's hard enough for us to keep on top of reading labels all the time; can we expect others to do it vigilantly? What if his friend gives him something, without the friend's mother knowing?

Jay, who is almost nine, knows what he can and cannot eat, and he's good at telling people that he can't eat something. GracieGirl is good, too; she knows that she can't eat bread or pasta or cookies or pizza at people's houses, but I sure can't expect her to know about all of the hidden sources of wheat. All of the kids are very protective of E and will quickly tell family or friends not to feed him certain things or eat nuts near him.

I don't worry about E all the time, but I do have concerns when he suddenly develops hives and I have no idea what caused them. When his eczema or his asthma flares, I wonder if a food allergy is involved. Recently, his eyes have been swelling and he screams and rubs them frantically. He's also been sneezing a lot, after which he also screams and holds his ears. I'm also concerned about other allergies to foods he hasn't been tested for. We haven't given him fish or sesame seeds, for instance, because they're highly allergenic foods, and we don't know if he'll react.

Maybe this is sounding whiny, but I'm not complaining about it. We do what we have to do. Yes, it's a pain, and yes, if I had a choice, I'd certainly prefer that the kids not have food allergies.

On my Fantasy Food Allergy Wish List, if I couldn't get a cure for food allergies, my next requests would be a freezer full of allergy-safe, delicious convenience foods that all of the kids loved, and a healthy, allergy-free fast food restaurant in every town.

I can dream, can't I?? :)

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