Natural Flavors

Natural flavors might just be the end of me. They are in EVERYTHING. Because of my daughter's corn allergy, I have to read every label very carefully and usually end up calling the company to be sure there are no corn derivatives. I already feel like there isn't enough time in the day, so calling company after company isn't exactly how to want to spend the few free minutes I have!

We've realized that she is very sensitive to corn and any derivatives so I've been extra careful lately on what we both eat. I would safely say that if a label says natural flavors, there is a 99% chance that there is corn in the food.

What prompted me to write this post is that we've recently night weaned our daughter and she has been sleeping great. Except a couple nights ago she was up all night, couldn't settle herself and my husband got very little sleep. The next day I tried to figure out what was going on and realized we had been giving her the little juice boxes that we purchased awhile back. Just about everything in my house is "safe" for all of us to eat. I guess this one slipped by because what do you know, natural flavors were listed on the box. And these are organic, no sugar added, real juice drinks. So, I called the company and they said that yes, the natural flavors were in a base of corn (or wheat) alcohol but since "alcohol is a distilled product, there are no proteins from wheat or corn left". I am 100% positive that my daughter reacted to the juice because she hasn't had anything else that could have caused a reaction, isn't sick and had been sleeping fine. Once we stopped the juice, she slept fine again.

So, I've learned my lesson. I don't plan on buying anything else with natural flavors unless I have confirmed that it is corn free. There are some natural flavors that are not corn derived, but be careful if you are corn or wheat sensitive to always confirm the ingredients with the company!

Homemade Mayonnaise

I just recently found out that the Whole Foods Mayo I was using also has corn in it (in the natural flavors) so I wasn't sure what to do since I have looked at most other brands and they all have corn. Now, of course I can live without mayo. But I do like a little on my sandwich and egg salad is one of my weaknesses :) So, I decided to try and make my own. I was a little nervous and not really sure what to expect, but it was delicious and very easy. You probably have all of the ingredients at home already. It only took me about 10 minutes to make. I did use an electric beater to make it a little easier though.

I used a regular egg but I think next time I will use a pasteurized one just to be safe. Even if you aren't allergic to corn, give this recipe a try, it really is delicious!

The recipe I used is as follows (click here for a direct link):

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large egg yolk*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• 3/4 cup canola oil, divided

PREPARATION

Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk until blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds.

Using 1/4 teaspoon measure and whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup oil to yolk mixture, a few drops at a time, about 4 minutes. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup oil in very slow thin stream, whisking constantly, until mayonnaise is thick, about 8 minutes (mayonnaise will be lighter in color). Cover and chill. do ahead Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

* Raw egg is not recommended for infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. To avoid the risk of salmonella infection, you can use pasteurized egg yolk instead.

Corn Free Baking Powder

Most commercially available baking powders have corn starch in them. I did find one at Whole Foods that was corn free, but it was really expensive. So, after doing a little research I realized how easy it is to make my own!

Just mix together 1 tsp of baking soda, 2 tsp of cream of tarter and 1 tsp of tapioca starch (you could probably use arrowroot also).

I tested this out over the weekend and it worked wonderfully! You could leave out the tapioca starch if you need to but be sure to use it immediately. For longer storage, you need the tapioca starch to absorb any moisture.

This is such a great option for those of us that are corn free but also is a great money saver! Most commercially available baking powders have aluminum in them so this is a great aluminum free option.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for coconut milk ice cream!!

My sweet husband gave me a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for my birthday and I love it!! I've been wanting one for years, but lately more than ever since we are dairy free. I decided to try a chocolate coconut milk ice cream recipe that I found on The Nourishing Gourmet. Well, it was absolutely delicious!! I followed it exactly and used Whole Foods 365 Brand coconut milk. It came out rich, creamy and was much better than the store bought stuff. Even my husband loved it.

The recipe is:

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

3 cups of unsweetened coconut milk (about two cans)
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
6 tablespoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa powder in a small amount of coconut milk, until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Or dump all ingredients together and blend with a stick blender. Make according to your machines instructions.

I'd also like to mention that The Nourishing Gourmet has some other great recipes. The site is not specifically allergen free, but it does have many recipes that are allergen free and everything is delicious and healthy.

FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in Atlanta, GA

My husband, daughter and I will be participating in the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network's (FAAN's) Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure. The event will be held on September 26, 2009, at Brook Run Park in Atlanta, GA. The FAAN Walk for Food Allergy is designed to raise funds to find a cure for food allergy and to educate others. Please support my fundraising efforts with a donation. Your tax-deductible donation will make a difference in the lives of many! It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause; you can make your online donation by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message.

If you live in the Atlanta area, we'd love for you to join our team! You can join by emailing me or by clicking on the link below and registering yourself. Any amount, large or small, helps FAAN continue Moving Toward A Cure! I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

To make a donation online or join our team, visit my personal fundraising Web page.

To send a donation, make all checks payable to FAAN and mail to:

The Food Allergy & Anaphlaxis Network (FAAN)
Walk for Food Allergy
11781 Lee Jackson Hwy, Suite 160
Fairfax, VA 22033-3309

If mailing in a donation, please include a note indicating the walker and location to which the money should be credited.

Allergy Testing

We finally took my 1 year old daughter in for allergy testing this week. We've suspected multiples food issues for about 11 months and both of us have been gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and tomato free for about 10 months.

The tests confirmed that she is allergic to corn, dairy and peanuts. We still suspect intolerance to soy, wheat and tomatoes and will do some food trials in the coming weeks to retest these items. We never suspected peanuts but are glad to know about her allergy so that we can avoid any trips to the emergency room!

While we aren't happy that she has allergies, we are relieved to know that we aren't crazy, over protective new parents either. Our suspicions over the past year have actually been based on something real and all of the restrictions have been worth it.

This blog will still cater to those with multiple allergies since most products that are free of corn and dairy are also free of atleast one other common allergen. I will also be taste testing some recipes that hide veggies in foods and are allergy friendly, so if you have a picky eater at home, stay tuned!

I'd love to hear about any allergy friendly products that you or your family love. Or if there is a product out there that you have wanted to try but haven't yet, let me know and I will try to post a review.

Enjoy Life Foods

Enjoy Life Natural Brands™(ELNB) was founded in early 2001 with the mission of making great-tasting gluten-free and allergy-friendly foods that most everyone can eat freely. The company owns and operates two brands: Enjoy Life Foods and Perky's 100% Natural. The Enjoy Life line is specially made to be gluten-free and free of the eight most common allergens: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish. The Perky's 100% Natural brand, which was acquired in late 2004, includes five gluten- and nut-free cereals including Perky O's, Nutty Rice and Nutty Flax.

I love their cookies. I've tried the Happy Apple, Snickerdoodle and No Oats "Oatmeal" Cookies and they are all delicious. I actually have a friend who tried them while I was visiting her and she now buys them for herself even though she does not have any restrictions. They are that good!

They also sell soy free, dairy free chocolate chips and chocolate bars. I've had the boom CHOCO boom Dark Chocolate Bar and it was very good. If you would like to try one for yourself they have a coupon on their website right now for $.75 off.

Other products include Granola, Snack Bars, Bagels, and Trail Mix. The Enjoy Life website has information on all of their products including the ingredients and allergen information.

They have also just come out with a cook book called Cookies for Everyone and have a contest going on right now where you can win a Trip to Enjoy Life® for a day of baking with Betsy, Co-Author of the Cookies for Everyone book and Director of Research and Development, plus 3 other lucky folks will win a copy of the book, Enjoy Life® t-shirt, Enjoy Life™ shopping bag, and a free coupon to use on ingredients needed for the recipes (or their favorite product)!

Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas

There aren't many allergy friendly tortilla options out there - especially if you can't eat corn. Food for Life makes an allergy friendly line of breads and tortillas that are a really great option for those of us on restricted diets. I can't eat much corn, so I have only tried the Brown Rice Tortillas. I really like these shells and use them for sandwich wraps and when we eat tacos or fajitas. They are the first available certified Kosher, all natural, Wheat & Gluten-Free tortillas and were specifically developed to fit the needs of individuals who are looking for Wheat & Gluten Free food options. They even have a store finder on their website that allows you to type in your zip code and find the closest store that sells their products.

I've found that these hold up best if you keep them frozen and heat them up for about 10 seconds before you use them. If you heat them up too much or leave them out too long, they do tend to get a little dry and break apart.

INGREDIENTS: Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour, Filtered Water, Tapioca Flour, Safflower Oil, Rice Bran, Vegetable Gum (xanthan, cellulouse), Sea Salt.

Healthy Times Maple Arrowroot Cookies

Because of my daughter's multiple food sensitivities, it was hard to find a packaged cookie that would be safe for her to eat. Luckily, Healthy Times makes a delicious cookie that is free of most allergens. Healthy Times was founded in 1980 by Rondi K. Prescott. At the time, Rondi was a young mother looking for products that did not contain refined sugars, preservatives or artificial additives. Rondi had studied nutrition at Colorado State University for her own satisfaction than for any career goal. When her daughter, Lorissa, was born, Rondi found that there were no products on the market that met her ingredient standards. In fact, sugar, salt and preservatives were listed in most of the baby foods on the market at the time. Being a natural cook who seldom followed a recipe, Rondi developed the first all natural teething biscuit for her baby using whole grain flour, unsulphured molasses and natural vanilla.
Today, Healthy Times products are made from organically grown ingredients, no preservatives or artificial additives. Healthy Times is the only exclusive organic baby food company providing mothers with products that are USDA certified organic, certified kosher by OU, and addresses baby’s allergies by offering wheat free, dairy free, soy free products for sensitive babies. The products are also supplemented for baby’s healthy growth and development, and recommended by pediatricians and hospitals.

My daughter loves the Maple Arrowroot cookies and they are perfect for an older infant or toddler. The maple flavor is soy, dairy and wheat free. The vanilla flavor is soy and wheat free. No palm shortening is added and they use only organic safflower/sunflower oils. I love these cookies also and since I am on the same diet as my daughter, I eat these cookies right along with her! I love that they are organic and are free from refined sugars, added salt and preservatives.

Healthy Times products are available to discerning parents throughout the United States and internationally in both Natural Food Stores and Conventional Super Markets.

INGREDIENTS: Organic Whole Oat Flour, Organic Barley Flour, Organic Evaporated Unrefined Cane Juice, Organic Cold Pressed Safflower Oil and/or Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Unsulphured Molasses, Arrowroot Flour, Baking Soda, Natural Flavors, Aluminum Free Baking Soda, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E). VITAMINS AND MINERALS: Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A (Palmitate), Niacin (B3), Electrolytic Iron, Zinc, Riboflavin (B2)

Pamela's Classic Vanilla Cake Mix

My daughter just recently celebrated her 1st Birthday. Rather than make everyone eat a gluten and dairy free cake, I ordered a regular cake for everyone else and made some cupcakes for her and I to eat. The bakery even gave me a few extra flowers to put on top of the cupcakes so that they matched the cake!

I've had Pamela's Classic Vanilla Cake Mix before and decided to use it for the cupcakes rather than risk making it from scratch. As far as cake mixes go, I have to say Pamela's is pretty good! The cupcakes were not quite as fluffy as I like them to be, but they were tasty. The mix does call for eggs and does not list any substitutions. Since we do not have eggs issues here, I did use them and I think that this mix needs the eggs to work. I frosted them with a homemade frosting made from powdered sugar and palm oil shortening. I have to say that I was pleased with the cupcakes and would use this mix again if I needed to make a cake. Pamela's Products are available in natural food stores such as PCC Natural Markets, Sprouts, Wegman's, Whole Foods, and more, as well as many grocery stores such as Fred Meyer, Kroger, Publix, Safeway and Winn Dixie, throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. You can find out more information on their website

Ingredients: Organic Natural Evaporated Cane Sugar, Tapioca Starch, White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Chicory Root, Sea Salt, Grainless & Aluminum Free Baking Powder (Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Potato Starch), Organic Vanilla Powder (contains corn derivative), Rice Bran, Gluten-free Natural Vanilla Powder (contains corn derivative), Xanthan Gum.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix

I miss pizza. Terribly. But when you are dairy, soy and tomato free it's a little difficult. There just isn't a good substitute for real cheese on a pizza. If you know of one, please let me know! I actually use this mix to make rosemary rolls. I make the mix according to the instructions and add in fresh chopped rosemary. Then I drop the dough onto the cookie sheet (it's a little sticky) I drizzle olive oil on top of them before baking. And if I do say so myself, they are pretty darn good. My husband loves them. He can eat gluten but prefers these little rolls to anything else. I would imagine the pizza crust would be great from this mix. I paid $3.99 for it at Whole Foods. It is well worth it if you are looking for a great gluten free crust or roll mix. It does call for 2 eggs, but if you are egg free there are instructions for using flax seed meal instead. You can find Bob's Red Mill at most grocery stores (my local Kroger sells it) or order it online at http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Ingredients: whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, whole grain millet, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato flour, evaporated cane juice, xanthan gum, active dry yeast, sea salt, guar gum.