My "A HA" Allergy Moment

It seems Spa Parties are all the rage for 6 grade girls in our area. Katie got invited to her second spa birthday party a couple weeks ago. This time they decided to do their hair, make up and nails. No dairy-free chocolate masks to worry about. So off we went with her leftover non-dairy pizza, her Swirlz cupcake, and her Epi-pen and Benadryl.

I dropped Katie off with a barely heard “goodbye Mom” over the screaming of ten 6^th grade girls. Was I ever like that?  Two hours later with makeup, hair curled, and blue sparkle nail polish on, it was time to head home. The host came up to me and said that she was impressed that Katie was so good with her allergies because she knew just what she could and could not eat. This is not the first time I have heard this from some parent or teacher but it is the first time that I really felt like she really did not need my help! The host went on to say that Katie seemed so grown up and independent for her age. You go, girl!

That’s when it occurred to me that I just had my first “A HA" Allergy Moment. I know I should have felt a bit sad that our little girl was growing up and did not seem to need us. Instead, I felt proud that Katie had accomplished something that we had been striving for since she was in second grade. Confidence. Independence. Maturity. 

It seemed that all those years of reading label after label, all those scenes we roll played over and over again and all those cooking lessons with Mom had finally paid off. In spite of her severe food allergies, our Katie IS now a confident, independent young girl. Or maybe she has become this way, in part, because of her food allergies!

Fireman’s Delight

We are not much at planning in our house and we tend to do most things on a whim. So I was not surprised when Katie called me and asked where to find the oats in our cabinet. I knew she was baking again.

The 6 graders in Katie’s school are taking a class called Collaboration and Leadership where they are asked to do a two-hour service project for someone in their community. Katie decided to bake some sweets for the local fire station since they do so much to keep us safe.

She made these yummy Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Chocolate Chip Bars from the Food Allergy Mama. Check out her website for very easy to make recipes that have all been delicious! 

Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Chocolate Oat Bars

1/3 C   dairy free shortening (Crisco)

2/3 C   light brown sugar

¼ C     unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp.   vanilla

1 C      flour

¼ tsp.  baking soda

¼ tsp.  salt

1 ¼ C quick cooking oats (not instant)

1 C     dairy free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch Pyrex dish and set aside.

In a mixer, combine the shortening, brown sugar, vanilla and applesauce. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and mix. Add the flour mixture to the shortening mix. Stir in the oats and chips. Spread this mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool and cut into squares.

This amazing smell greeted me as I walked in the door. I thought about eating it all myself but it was for a good cause. Right? Right! So being spur of the moment people, we sliced them up and headed off to our local fire station and rang the doorbell. It was around dinner time and we thought they might want some dessert with their dinner. Proper etiquette would be for us to call first but if we waited much longer, their wouldn't be any left for them to eat. 

Sure enough a very handsome fireman answered the door and asked us to come in. To our surprise, they gave us a full tour of the fire station, explained how their equipment worked and had Katie try on their fire hat and very large, fire proof coat. I would love to have shown you pictures of Katie with this giant fire hat on her head, sitting in the driver’s seat of the fire truck but I forgot to bring my camera. You’ll just have to use imagination!

For all the firemen and women out there, thank you for everything you do for us!

Can Electronics Be Bad for Your Health?

I have been lying around the last couple of days with what I thought was a 24-hour stomach bug that has extended its stay for at least another day. I never knew there were so many food ads on TV during the day. Blah!

I actually think that I may have gotten this bug from our home electronics. Can this really happen? Last week, our primary computer died, our printed died and our internet has been on and off for the last 6 days. To top it off, I found out that our e-mail was hacked this morning.

Some days, I miss my Walkman and my favorite Phil Collins tape. I know what would make me feel better, a Project Runway rerun marathon…Christian you rock!

The Jungle Trail

We just got back from a very relaxing vacation in Florida and I wanted to show you some pictures of one of my favorite spots there. Indian River Shores is a barrier island in Vero Beach, Florida where it is buffered between the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Intercoastal Waterway on the other. We feel we have the best of both worlds because we can choose between soaking up the rays at the beach or doing some fishing on the Intercoastal. The Intercoastal is also home to a wide variety of marine life including dolphin, pelicans, egrets, herons, ospreys and manatees.

We start most of our mornings fishing and biking along this Intercoastal.  Also running along this waterway is a strip of dirt road that is called the Jungle Trail which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This trail is really a road that was built in the 1920's so that citrus growers could haul their produce up and down the barrier island. Nowadays it is used mainly by walkers, joggers and cyclists which is what I do while they fish. Fishing is not my thing!

It has changed a great deal since we have been coming here over the past 18 years. Gone is the fruit stand where we used to get fresh squeezed orange juice, oranges and grapefruit. We are talking the best orange juice I have ever tasted! Nowadays there are more houses and people to see but this Jungle Trail is still is a little piece of simplicity and tranquility that I adore. Here are some pics of what it is like now.

The view from the kid's fishing spot.

These Mangrove trees magically survive even with the roots exposed 2 feet above the ground.

Even the dogs here get the royal treatment.

And you can't forget the palm trees and the Spanish moss. It is worth a quick stop if you are ever in the area. 

The Egg Trick

Katie came home today all excited to show me this cool trick she learned at school. Apparently, today, Wednesday, March 20, is the first day of Spring or otherwise called the Spring Equinox. It's hard for me to think of spring here since it is was only 14 degrees this morning. 

Technically, the Spring Equinox is where the sun crosses directly over the Earth's equator during a moment known as the vernal equinox when both day and night are about equal. Because both day and night are equal, there is a theory that you should be able to balance a raw egg upright without it falling over. They tested this theory in school today and it worked. 

As I mentioned, Katie wanted to demonstrate her new trick but she couldn't find any eggs in the refrigerator. She turned to me and asked me why we did not have any eggs in our house. My reply was, "Because you are allergic to them!" We both looked at each other and laughed. We did the next best thing and watched other demos on YouTube. Here's one we liked best Equinox egg balance.

Just as a side note, we usually do have a couple eggs in the house just in case we need one but we hardly ever use them. So if you do have eggs in the house, go ahead and try this cool trick! Just do it before midnight tonight!

Shamrock’n Fun

This is a very easy, fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your family. My kids want to make these every year. We originally saw the recipe in one of the Family Fun magazines but I’m not even sure what month or year it was from since the recipe is all battered, torn, and barely recognizable at this point. If you are really interested in finding it, I’m sure it is on their website.

This treat is great because all you need are Pillsbury breadsticks, dairy-free margarine, cinnamon and green colored sugar. I love that it’s only 4 ingredients and all I have to do is head to the store to grab some breadsticks.  Pillsbury also makes dairy and egg-free corn bread, pizza dough and crescent rolls. Not all their products are dairy and egg-free so make sure you read the labels first.

You just roll out the breadsticks and grab 4 sections for each shamrock. Twist them to make the shape of the leaves and stem and then squish them together. This is always our kid’s favorite part! Then brush melted, dairy-free margarine on top, sprinkle with cinnamon then sprinkle again with the green colored sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-13 minutes.

Swirlz Are In

When we need a Vegan (no dairy or eggs) cupcake for a birthday party or some other special event and I do not have time to make my own, I head over to Whole Foods. These Vegan cupcakes are from this cool bakery in Chicago, called Swirlz. Not only are the cupcakes delicious but they are adorable too. You can see a full list of the cupcake varieties at http://www.swirlzcupcakes.com/.

For those on the hunt for these wonderful treats at Whole Foods, they are in the refrigerator section where the Gluten-free baked goods are. 

For those who want to take a field trip, head on over to their shop on Belden Street in Lincoln Park north of downtown Chicago. I thought this would make a good mother/daughter field trip for us so recently when we had a day off, we set out with some friends to visit the Swirlz shop. I called ahead and ordered four vegan cupcakes for Katie so that she would have her "fav" Mint Chocolate Chip cupcake waiting for her.

Just take a look.....YUMMMM!!!!!!

Actually, I think she is trying to tell me to back away from her cupcake!

I love this picture because our salesperson was posing for us!

Just look at the rows and rows of cupcakes on display as you walk into the store. When I talked to them on the phone they wanted to assure me that they make their gluten-free and vegan cupcake first thing in the morning so that they will not cross-contaminate them with gluten, dairy and egg products. They also display them on a separate shelf. Even though it seems like most of their customers take them with them, they do have 3-4 small tables for instant indulgence. We couldn't wait to dig in and devour our cupcakes before we headed out to lunch around the corner. A girl must keep her priorities straight!