Dairy Free Cole Slaw

There are a few more weeks of summer and maybe you still have some family reunions or get-togethers to attend. Coleslaw is always a perfect side dish for any BBQ or outdoor family gathering. I am a sucker for some good coleslaw, but have had a very hard time finding a great recipe that I can make at home. I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of coleslaw now, having tried so many different recipes. Most were ok, but there was always something missing and I could never figure out what it was. Not to mention that most coleslaw isn't that healthy, despite having cabbage and carrots in it.

After going to a family BBQ last year, I was introduced to the perfect make-at-home coleslaw - Brookville coleslaw. I have seen versions of this recipe all over the internet now but I believe the original stems from a hotel in Kansas (The Brookville Hotel) that is famous for it's old fashioned chicken dinners.

Now, I had a few issues with the original recipe. One being that used heavy cream as an ingredient and the other was the amount of sugar. I have always had issues using heavy cream - I am just weird like that. I don't like giving my kids super high fat dairy products (except maybe the occasional bowl of ice cream) and we had The Princess's dairy allergy to deal with. So, I set out to "healthify" (is that a word?) this recipe and it turned out dairy free in the process. A double bonus.

Now, my hubby thinks that without the cream it is lacking a little but I disagree in this instance. However, if you don't have issues using heavy cream, go ahead and give it a try. You can decide for yourself which you prefer.  So, choose your method and lets get mixing!

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup sugar (ALOT!!)*

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 cup raw cashews**

1 cup water**

1 bag coleslaw

1 bag broccoli slaw (which I have found at my local Walmart)

* You have a few options here. You can substitute turbinado sugar. You can also cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup. I don't like things super sweet so it works for me. If you want to cut the sugar down but need more "sweet" add a bit of agave nectar to taste.

** This is what replaces the heavy cream. Raw cashews blended with water in a high-powered blender produce a nice "cream" that can be used to replace heavy cream in recipes. Obviously it won't make whipped cream, but it is very helpful when making sauces and soups. If you want to keep the cream, use 1 cup.

About 1 hour before serving, blend water and cashews in a high-powered blender until creamy. Add salt, sugar, cider vinegar mix. Pour over coleslaw and broccoli slaw. Mix well and refrigerate until serving.

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Allergy Testing

This past week, we had The Princess in for another round of allergy testing.  When she was tested last year, our insurance would only allow us to go to one doctor at a certain office that he only practiced in once or twice a month. While he did a great job with the testing and background/history, he was seriously lacking in the advice department. We left his office with a list of her allergies and a prescription for an epi-pen, but no direction as to the severity of her allergies, places to go for help, things to watch out for. He didn't even show us how to use the epi-pen. I tried to call him back a few days later, but he could not be reached at that office and I had no other way of getting in touch with him. Needless to say, we went looking for another doctor when our insurance changed this year. That along with some reactions The Princess had in the last few months that could not be attributed to her known allergies caused us to get her retested after just 1 year.

I had the greatest of intentions to take my camera with me to the allergist to document The Princess's latest round of allergy testing, but in the rush of getting ready I forgot. Pretty typical for me, but still a bummer.

Going to the allergist is a nerve-racking experience, especially with a young child. There was no way to prepare The Princess for what was to come. At least this time, her daddy and I knew what to expect and we could be more prepared. Last year, The Princess was not quite one and we had an extensive list of things to test her for. Her little back was completely covered in dots and pricks - there almost wasn't enough space. This year, we had just a few things we felt might have contributed to her latest reactions (dogs/cats and grasses) and upon my insistence, we had her retested for her known allergies (peanuts, brazil nuts, milk and eggs). I wanted our new doctor to get a feel for the severity of The Princess's allergies so he could give us the most accurate information on how to deal with them.

The Princess eating her favorite food - Nutella!. 

Because really, who doesn't love a little chocolate? 

Last year, with dots and pricks covering her back, The Princess did not seem at all bothered as we strolled around the doctors office and she sat contentedly with her daddy while waiting the required amount of time. This year, despite the small number of dots and pricks on her back, The Princess was not happy about the testing. She squirmed and cried when she was pricked and yelled about having her shirt off (she likes to be fully dressed). Thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the I-pad and the promise of a sucker when she was all done, we made it through with only a small amount of crying and screaming.

When the doctor came back in, we were astonished to learn that The Princess had tested negative to milk and eggs!! What?!! While we knew that she most likely would outgrow them, I never expected it to happen so fast. After having her completely off eggs for over a year, it is weird to think that she might be able to eat them. You think I would have been overjoyed about getting that news, but I just wasn't even sure what to think. Maybe I was just in shock because it was so unexpected. I think I also (almost) liked having the egg allergy with the peanut allergy because I felt "safer" when it came to baked goods. Sometimes there can be peanuts in baked goods where you would not expect them to be (especially if they are made in someones home who didn't wash things completely or wipe the counter completely - you get the picture). With an egg allergy, we avoided those things completely and it was easy not to have to worry. Now, I will have to stress about whether to let The Princess have a home-baked item for fear it might be contaminated with peanuts. Maybe I will be the mean mom and still stay away from those things. What to do, what to do? But... back to the appointment.

Our doctor discussed how to slowly introduce milk and eggs into her diet one at a time and we also discussed her peanut and brazil nut allergies (which were still very positive). He gave us so much more direction than we received last year and was very helpful in answering all of our questions - and believe me, there were a lot.

The Princess eating one of her newest favorite foods - seaweed and (egg-less) fried rice!

Now we are 2 days out from The Princess's appointment, and we still have not tried adding either milk or eggs to her diet. When you get used to eating a certain way, it is very strange to go back. We became used to having more almond milk than cows milk around and not even having eggs in the house very often. We are looking forward to being able to take The Princess to Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland and her being able to actually eat without fear of egg contamination (which is hard to avoid with breakfast foods). I have also been thinking about recipes that I will be able to make again that just did not work without the egg, which is a bit exciting. But there are also so many recipes that work great without eggs and (I believe) might be healthier without the eggs, that I will continue to cook just like I have been this past year (like the egg-less chocolate chip cookies).

No fear! The Peanut Allergy Princess blog will continue on despite changes being made to The Princess's diet and I will still post recipes without eggs. I am working on a new (and very yummy) one right now!!

Jana

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Ice Cream Crunch Bars

Adapted from Our Best Bites
Please, do not die of shock that another post is coming so quickly after the last one! I am really trying to do better. And, while trying to organize all my recipes, I came across one that I had originally planned on posting in July as part of our ice cream month. I guess it is time to find a better method of organizing!

But I digress... this recipe is very much a summer recipe, so it needed to be posted before the summer is over. I cannot believe we are in the last few days/weeks of summer. Many kids have already started back to school (thankfully, mine still have a few weeks of summer). And since we are only 8 days out of July,  we can still enjoy some ice cream recipes.

These are super yummy, but weren't the healthiest thing, so I set out to make them healthier. While we all love a good treat, a healthier treat that is still delicious is even better! They were originally allergen free (at least egg and peanut) so nothing needed doing in that area. Unless you have a true milk allergy, than you would want to substitute the butter and ice cream for a vegan version (or healthier yet, coconut oil and dairy-free ice cream made with coconut milk).

Now... for the recipe.

2 1/2 cups Brown Rice Cereal *

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut **

3/4 cups sucanat (or brown sugar if you don't have any sucanat)

pinch of cinnamon

1 stick real butter, melted

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

* I bought my brown rice cereal at Winco. If you have a Winco near you, it was much, much cheaper than at a health food store.

** You can buy unsweetened shredded coconut at a health food store. Try to avoid the kind at a grocery store as they generally all have added sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13 inch pan with foil, extending a little over the edges of the pan.

Place brown rice cereal, pecans, coconut and sucanat in foil lined pan - like so. Well ok, they can be in any order in the pan so it doesn't need to be exactly the same but you get the point.

Drizzle melted butter over mixture and combine well. Sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon over ingredients in pan and mix. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven when toasted and golden brown and let mixture cool completely (very important).

Remove half of the crispy mixture and spread remaining half in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Gently spoon softened (not melted) ice cream on top of mixture. Use a spoon and gently spread mixture, being careful not to lift crisp from bottom of pan. Spread ice cream out evenly and then top with remaining crisp mixture. Gently press top crisp into ice cream with hands. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and chill overnight. FYI...I put this into our regular freezer and it didn't freeze very hard. It did better in the chest freezer at 0 degrees.

When ready to serve, use foil to completely remove ice cream from pan. Slice into squares and try not to eat the whole pan by yourself!!

Jana

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Apricot Jam

I have been super busy the last few days jammin' - or in other words, making jam!! Last week, I ended up with a 5 gallon bucket OVERFLOWING with apricots. What does one do with all those apricots... obviously start jammin'! I wanted to share the recipes I used in case anyone else finds themselves with a whole lot of apricots (or any fruit).

My issue with jam is the amount of sugar that is usually required. The jam goes from tasting like fruit to tasting like sugar - which I don't like. Plus, I don't like feeding The Princess or her brothers all that sugar. Kids are bombarded with sugar these days so I wanted to avoid it as much as possible.

Imagine my delight when I came across this recipe online for organic sugar free apricot jam!! So perfect. Although to be honest, mine didn't turn out to be organic after all. I could not find the organic apple juice concentrate and didn't want to drive 30+ miles to a bigger health food store. But anyway... it turned out so yummy. And, it tastes like apricots instead of sugar.  Pomona's Universal Pectin is the magic ingredient. I was able to find some at a health food store. One box made 2 recipes so even though it was a bit on the pricey side, it went a long way. Can you tell that I am a little too excited about this jam? I have a delicious dinner recipe that I am so excited to use the jam in. Look for that recipe in the future.

I am a super novice at canning, so don't be scared if you have never canned before. I believe that this was my 3rd, maybe 4th time. Check out this post on Our Best Bites for some quick tips and tricks before you venture into the canning world. This is where I learned all of my canning know-how. I bought the little kit talked about in their post and I just borrow a large pot from my neighbor. Easy peasy!

But, if canning still scares you, the second method I used is sure to be a winner. It is even easier and the jam is just as yummy. Freezer jam! Once again though, there is usually a lot of sugar in freezer jam which always made me leery. Than, I found Cornaby's Jam in a Jiffy.

All you need is 4 cups of crushed fruit, water and the mix. It is that easy. There is some sugar in the mix, but much lower than in traditional freezer jams. You can even mix fruits to create your own flavors. I mixed apricots and raspberries. YUM!

I got a little carried away and made 3 batches of freezer jam and canned 12 pints and 3 quarts of regular jam... and still had about 1/3 of my 5 gallon bucket of apricots left. We will definitely be stocked with jam this year - good tasting, healthy jam!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid in any way by either Pomona's Universal Pectin or Cornaby's Jam in a Jiffy.  I just love their products and want to share them with others.

Jana

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Chocolate Banana Cake

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking
There is nothing like waiting until the last day of the month to squeeze in one more recipe for National Ice Cream month. Obviously todays recipe isn't ice cream, but cake is often served with ice cream so I think it works.

Other cake recipes I have used that don't call for eggs are sometimes a bit dry and crumbly, but not this recipe. One of the reasons I like it so much is how moist it is.  The fat is in liquid form, which gives it it's delicious moist texture and tender crumbs. Plus, it is another great way to use extra ripe bananas which I seem to frequently have on my counter.

I made this recently as a birthday cake and it was a big hit! It serves 16 people which makes it great for large gatherings. Using it for birthday cake is also how I am tying it into recipes using ice cream. You can't have birthday cake without ice cream!

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar (I used 1 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup regular sugar)

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or dutch-processed)

1 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp fresh ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water

1/3 cup no-sugar added applesauce

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray or wipe with coconut oil. Set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the ground flax seeds mixed with water, applesauce, mashed bananas, water, non-dairy milk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk until combined. The batter will be quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for  35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooked, frost with chocolate butter cream frosting.

Here is the basic buttercream frosting that I used, but feel free to experiment with other types of frosting.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker
3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup stick butter, softened but not melted

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or dutch-processed)

2 to 3 Tbsp. non-dairy milk

Mix all ingredients except milk in a bowl.

Stir in non-dairy milk until smooth and spreadable. This will frost a 9x13 inch cake very generously (or you can save some for spreading on graham crackers later - but don't tell anyone I said to do that).

I hope you love this cake as much as we did. I seriously could not stop eating it - too bad it is a big cake and there was some leftovers!

Jana

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