Tips for reducing fat

Here are some tips for reducing fat in your diet. Most allergy kids need the extra fat, but I am posting the tips for me, and for my sweet niece who finds herself needing to make dietary restrictions.

So, here are some fat reducing tips:

• Use non stick pans, so that you do not need to add extra oil.
• Sautee vegetables in vegetable stock instead of oil.
• Oil in salad dressings can be replaced with vegetable stock.
• Puree a potato and add to homemade soups in place of the cream. You can also use low fat yogurt.
• Sauces and gravies are usually made with fat, flour, and liquid. To omit the fat, toast the flour in a dry pan on medium heat until it is lightly browned. Add the liquid and any seasonings. Whisk to remove lumps, then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
• In baking, recipes can call for up to a cup of oil. Try reducing it to 1/3 cup. Applesauce, pureed banana, or pumpkin can also be used to replace oil. Pureed prunes are good for chocolate, spice, and carrot cakes.
• Season vegetables with spices and fresh herbs rather than butter or margarine.
• Broil meat, so fat drains away as it cooks.
• Beware of low-fat claims on packaged foods. Read labels instead, for actual fat content.
• Poach fish or chicken. Always remove skin.
• Avoid over-cooking vegetables so they retain their flavors.
• Use small amounts of strong, hard cheese rather than large amounts of mild cheeses.
• Use egg substitutes in baking, or two egg whites for each egg the recipe calls for.
• Boil potatoes, spray lightly with oil, and then crisp in the oven.
• Tenderize lean cuts of meat with marinades as they can be tougher than fatty cuts.
• Eat more vegetarian meals.
• When making frostings, replace the butter or margarine with marshmallow creme.

Most the ideas from 101 tips for a healthy diet on diet and fitness today.com

Check out their webpage, because it's awesome!

Ketchup and Meatloaf

Ever since Tia was one and she tested allergic to tomatoes, I've been looking for a substitute for ketchup. I pretty much gave up. But then I re-googled it this week and found one to try.

It's the ketchup recipe from SisterCooks.

Tomato free Ketchup:

• 1 can Gerber plum with apples and pears baby food
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 dash onion powder
• 1 dash garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp vinegar
• 1 TBS sugar
• 2 drops red food coloring

Mix all ingredients together. Let sit in the fridge for an hour so flavors can meld, then stir again.

I couldn't find the plums with apples and pears, but I did find plums with apples. So I bought it and a jar of pears and mixed the two together and doubled the rest of the ingredients.

*******************************************************************

So then, since I had a ketchup for her, I thought I'd try meatloaf, since she recently passed a beef trial and can have beef now.

I use Aunt Lavona's recipe for meatloaf. It is:

• 1 lb ground meat
• 3-4 carrots finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper
• 1/2 c or so oatmeal
• 1 cup of left over rice
• at least 1/2 c ketchup
• 1-2 tsp mustard
• chopped onion

Sauce

• 2-3 T ketchup
• 1 T br sugar
• garlic powder

Use plenty of ketchup and touch of mustard. (Tia's used her baby food ketchup, and didn't get mustard). Another key is to mix ingredients very well. It works best to use your hands and squeeze the mixture thru your fingers but I mixed real well w/a fork. The sauce of course mixes up after you've put the meat into a greased loaf pan and spreads over the top.

Then bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

When Tia's came out I hesitantly tried it. I was surprised! It was delicious. WAY better than the one I made for the rest of the family with real ketchup!

Aaron got home and I had him try it too. He loved it. Until I told him the ketchup on hers was made out of baby food. Then he stopped chewing and said, "Baby food?! I'm eating meat and baby food??!?!?!!!" Trust me, though. It was good.

Food facts

Foodfacts.com is a GREAT web site! I just found it and I already love it!

At the top of the webpage is a search engine. You can search for any brand food, or food type and using the keywords you type in, it brings up a list of foods. Find the food you're looking for and click on it. And for that food it shows you what's good about it, what's bad about it, its ingredients, and its allergens. Amazing!!

Or you can click on the allergen you want to avoid and it brings up foods that are free from that allergen.

I bookmarked it. And I also downloaded the iPhone app. It's amazing!

Go to their web site and give it a try!

Carrot Cake

Dry ingredients
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix above ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

1/2 cup applesauce
2 ener-g egg replacers
1 1/2 cup canola oil
3 cups finley chopped carrots

Put in blender 1 egg replacer, 1/2 cup oil and 1 cup carrots. Add another egg replacement mixture, 1/2 cup oil. and 1 cup carrots. Repeat this step by adding the 1/2 cup apple sauce, 1/2 cup oil, and 1 cup carrots. Blend until smooth Add blended mixture to dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bundt pan, bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost when completly cooled with frosting.

Frosting recipe:
1 cup cornstarch free powdered sugar
1/2 tsp clear vanilla
1 tbsp vanilla ricemilk
2 tbsp nucoa margarine softened

In a mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, vanilla, ricemilk and nucoa.
Stir in additional ricemilk 1 tsp at a time untill it reached drizzling consistency.

Blueberry cobbler Ala Mistake

I am pretty picky about my cobbler. I like it not too crusty, not too flakey, so I combined and tweeked about four recipies to create this little ditty.

Ingredients

2-1/2cups blueberries (I usually use frozen because thats what I have on hand)
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp haines baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 ener-g egg replacements (to replace two eggs)
1 cup oats
1/2 cup nucoa margarine
1/2 cup vanilla rice milk

Place blueberries in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
MIx together flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, oats, and mixed up egg replacements untill crumbly. Spread evenly on top of blueberries.
Mix together melted nucoa and vanilla rice milk and dribble over top. Bake at 350 untill lightly browned. About 15-20 minutes.

Butternut squash soup

This soup is so yummy, even my meat loving husband loves it.

Ingredients

2 tbsp Nucoa
1 small onion chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
2 or 3 medium potatoes diced
1 medium butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed
32 ounces 365 vegetable broth from whole foods. (see picture on potatoe soup recipe.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt Nucoa & onion, celery, carrot, potatoes and squash in large pot. Cookfor five minutes to brown a little. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 20 minutes or untill veggies are soft. Blend half of soup mixture in blender till smooth. ( I like my soup hearty and chunky. If you prefer it smoother, blend more or all of soup in blender till it reached desired consistancy.
Add salt and pepper.

Red velvet cupcakes

I made this delicious cake from the recipe I found online here. It is so good!

Cake
2 cups soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 ounces red food coloring
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Add vinegar to soy milk, and set aside to curdle.
• Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
• Add vegetable oil, food coloring, and vanilla extract to the curdled soy milk, and mix.
• Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix.
• Fill cupcake liners ¾ full.
• Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes or until done.

I didn't use her recipe for the icing, but here it is.

Frosting
½ cup margarine, room temperature
½ cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners sugar

• Cream margarine, cream cheese, and vanilla extract.
• Slowly mix the confectioner’s sugar into the creamed sugar, and then beat until smooth and fluffy.
• Frost cooled cupcakes.

Honey Candy

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey

Boil in saucepan on medium high heat untill reaches hard crack stage. Rub Nucao onto your hands and stretch and pull untill white in color. Caution very Hot!!!

I like to make them in sticks because Marix is still at the choke on small hard thing stage.

Wheat Waffles

2 cups flour ( 1 cup white and 1 cup wheat)
4 tsp haines baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey
1 and 3/4 cups ricemilk ( I like to use vanilla, is makes it vanilla-ie yes that is a word.)
6 tbsp canola oil
2 egg replacers ( to replace to eggs )

Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Cook on hot griddle.

Blender Wheat Pancakes

This is a great way to use whole wheat from your food storage.

1 cup ricemilk
1 cup uncooked whole wheat
2 egg replacers Needed to replace two eggs.
2 Tbsp oil
2 tsp baking powder (use Haines)
2 Tbsp honey or sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt

Put ricemilk and wheat in blender. Blend on highest speed for four or five minutes or untill batter is smooth. Add and blend on low, egg replacers, pil, baking powder, honey and salt. Bake on hot Griddle.

Variations:
We like to add 1/2 cups blueberries at the end and mix them in by hand wih a spoon.

Toppings:
Pure maple syrup
Cornstarch free powdered sugar
Bananas
Applesauce

Apple Brown Betty

Peel, Cut and slice 4 large apples and place in a casserole dish.

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Nucoa

Mix all dry ingredients together. Cut in Nucoa untill it is all blended in. Crumbs are smaller than pea size. Sprinkle the topping over the apples. Bake at 350 for up to 55 minutes, apples are soft and crust is brown.

Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

~4 unpacked scoops vanilla Elecare
~4 fl ounces vanilla flavored rice milk
~1 tablespoon apple juice
~1 tablespoon grape juice
~1/2 cup frozen bluebarries
~1/2 cup frozen medium banana, peeled and sliced.

Directions

Pour ricemilk and elecare into blender, and blend till frothy.
Add juices, berries and bananas. Mix untill smooth.
Serve immediatly.

This is a fun way to get Marix his protein. He also feels like his big beithers drinking a smoothie. THis makes nine ounces, so I usually freeze some in small tupperware containers. He loves to eat it like icecream.

Don't be scared by the elecare. This smoothie is so yummy. I like to eat it too.

Chocolate chip cookies

• 1 cup Nucoa Margarine
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg replacer
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Aaron has been working on a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe. He's found the winner!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Nucoa Margarine
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg replacer
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 heaping TBS cocoa
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Soybean butter cups

• 1 cube melted nucoa margarine
• 1 cup soybean butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 lb powdered sugar

Mix and put in bottom of a pan.

Melt 12 ounce package of vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand). Pour over soybean butter mixture. Let cool in refrigerator.

Muddy Buddies

Wait! Muddy Buddies have peanut butter!?! What are you doing???! Tia recently passed a soy trial. That means she can have soy! She's not a fan of anything soy so far, except blueberry soy yogurt. So, we are sticking with rice milk for now. I went to the store and bought soynut butter. It's nut free, even though it has "nut" in the name. That makes me way too uncomfortable, so at our house, it's called "soybean butter".

Once we had a nut butter substitute, I made Tia my favorite treats. First was muddy buddies. Mmmmmm. It makes me want to take a road trip! The recipe is the same as printed on the side of the rice chex box, and on their website. Here it is:
Soybean butter:

Oreo cookies

My sister used to make these for us and we loved them! I halved the original recipe and had to substitute the cream cheese frosting, but they turned out great!

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix
2 egg substitutions
3/4 cup shortening
Mix well. Roll into small balls and drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes only. Cool on brown paper bag.
I used a simple powdered sugar icing to turn them into Oreos. Yum!

Czechoslovakian cookies

These are so good! And a perfect example of how you can tweak most your recipes to make it allergy safe.

• 1/2 lb of Nucoa margarine
• 1 cup sugar

Cream together. Then add:

• 2 egg yolks (this is done by making up the EnerG egg replacer for 2 egg yolks, instead of 2 full eggs. The instructions are on the side of the box.)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups of flour

Press half of the dough into a greased pie dish. Add a layer of your favorite jam. To make it safe for Tia, I use homemade pear jam or apple butter. For the ones I made for me, I used homemade boysenberry jam. Mmmmm! Then press the other half of the dough and lay it on top, piecing it together if needed. Bake at 325 for one hour or until done.

Product Review

Barbara's Snackimal Cookies are so, so good! Chocolate chip and oatmeal are delicious, but I didn't enjoy the vanilla flavored cookies. The chocolate chip ones are my new favorite treat right now!

Cherrybrook pancake mixes are expensive, but are really good. They make much better pancakes than any by scratch allergy friendly recipe I've tried. I switched to using this mix, because it's easy and makes delicious pancakes.

Repenting and progress!!

Here is a recent picture of my little allergy guy.
We still have our ups and downs, but he has made so much progress in the past two years. So has his mommy.
They just built a new Whole Foods by our house in November which has been so wonderful.
Previously the closest one to us was a 20 to 30 minute drive. It made me think back to the first time I ever set foot in a whole foods. Marix was three months old and we had just got his tests back for allergies to dairy, soy and corn. I was nursing him at the time, and Tish told me she bought Tia safe food at Whole Foods. I brought my two smaller children into the store with me. I was already overwhelmed with and still adjusting to having four kids. Now I was facing severe allergies. I walked into the front door, and immediatly was greeted with smells, food, and lables that I had never seen or smelled before. I burst into tears, turned my cart around and drove the 20 minute drive back home. It was a horrible experience. The next week, we got a babysitter to watch the three older boys, and my husband came with the baby and I to Whole foods. He helped me read food labels until we found three foods that would be safe for me to eat. ( I had to go off dairy, soy and corn for the remainder of the time I was nursing him.) So two years later.....

Whole Foods is my favorite store ever because it contains so many safe foods for Marix to eat. The day after the store opened, I was literally no joke frolicking down every single aisle singing, "This is the most wonderful store of the year." I was getting crazy looks, but I didn't care.
Thats
WHat
I
Call
Progress!!
I have also gotten alot better at converting recipies to feed to Marix. I am not yet the veteran that Tish is, but give me a couple of years and I will be kicking hypoallergenic Booty just like her. I have to repent because I have been terrible at posting my recipies on our blog as I learn to make them. I started homeschooling my two older children this past school year and it has taken some adjustment. But I am back to functioning, and will post many more recipies.

The bestest fluffiest dinner rolls you will ever eat.

Marix could eat a billion of these rolls. They are good with soup, turkey, casserolls, or just plain on their own with Nucoa and Jam.

1 cup of warm rice milk
1 cup of warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 TBSP salt
1 TBSP yeast
4 cups approx flour

Mix milk, water, sugar, oil and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and lett proof for 2 to 3 minutes until foamy. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add enough flour to make a slightly sticky but workable dough, but not so much that the dough becomes smooth. We are not making bread here. Let raise in bowl for 45 minutes. Punch dough lightly and knead again lightly. Grease and flour your counter liberally. Roll out the dough till 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 4 inch circles with a circle cutter. Fold roll in half, place fold on the bottom.Baste roll with ricemilk, and melted Nucoa.

Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or untill golden brown.

Pastry for Double Crust Pie

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup nucoa
6 to 7 tablespoons cold water
1/2 tsp salt

1. Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (I use a potatoe masher) cut in nucoa till pieces are pea sized.

2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening dough with 1 tablespoon of the water at a time till all the dough is moistned. Divide dough in half. Form each half of dough into 2 balls.

3. On a slightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flaten dough. Roll dough from center with a rolling pin into a 12 inch circle.

4. To transfer the pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin and slowly roll it into the pie pan. Position the pastry to be centered in the pie pan.

5. Trim Pastry even with pie pan.

6. Roll remaining dough into a 12 inch circle. Cut slits into the center od circle to allow the steam to escape. Place remaining pastry on filling and trin the edges 1/2 inch from pie pan. Crimp edges. Bake as directed in individual recipies.

Pastry for single crust pie

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup nucoa
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water
1/4 tsp salt

1. Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (I use a potatoe masher) cut in nucoa till pieces are pea sized.

2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening dough with 1 tablespoon of the water at a time till all the dough is moistned. form dough into a ball.

3. On a slightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flaten dough. Roll dough from center with a rolling pin into a 12 inch circle.

4. To transfer the pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin and slowly roll it into the pie pan. Position the pastry to be centered in the pie pan.

5. Trim Pastry to 1/2 inch from edge of pie pan.Do not prick the pastry. Bake as directed in individual recipies.

Apple Pie

This is no comparrison to Tish's Applesauce pie (Which is so yummy I could eat the whole pie myself.)but it is good durring the holidays and is one of my husbands favorites.

1 recipe for Double-Crust pie
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 and a half pounds.)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg (Marix cant have this.)

1. Prepare and roll out pastry for double crust pie. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry.

2. In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if using.)Add apple slices. Gently toss till coated.

3. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Cut slits on remaining pastry; place on filling and seal.

4. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more until top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Snickerdoodles

A Yummy favorite.

1/2 cup Nucoa
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tarter replacement
Cream of Tartar For 1 tsp: 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
(regular C-O-T has corn starch in it.)
1 ener-G egg replacement
1/2 tsp clear vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon (Marix can't have this, Tia can.)

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the nucoa with an electric mixer on high for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tarter. Beat till combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Cover and chill for an hour.
2. Combine the 2 Tbsp sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1 or 2 inch balls. roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture till coated. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or untill the edges are golden. These are best if you dont over cook.

Yummy oatmeal Raisin Cookies

You would never even guess that these little suckers are hypoallergenic.

3/4 cup Nucoa
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp Haines baking powder
1/4 cup baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (Marix can't have this but Tia can)
1 ener-G egg replacement
1tsp white vanilla (I like putting in a little extra)
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

In a large mixing bowl beat Nucoa with an electric mixer for 30 seconds at high speed. Add brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon (if using.) Beat till combined scraping sides of bowl if necessary. Beat in egg replacement (already mixed up), and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour, add oats, stir. Add raisins and mix till well combined.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or till edges are golden.