Lesson learned during this weeks cooking journey... Be sure to eat lunch prior to cooking a snack that you can't eat! Seriously. So I've mentioned that I'm not eating grains right now and since we collectively can't do almond or coconut flour due to sensitivities, any sort of grain-free baked good recipe doesn't even work. So technically speaking, I can't nosh on any of it. And if I do, I pay for it dearly, often with a lovely headache and then digestive issues that I will spare you with the details. Insert very sad face here.
This week, we chose a recipe I came across when searching for an allergy-free alternative to Cheez-It crackers. You know, the little cheesy square ones with the hole in the middle. Anyhow, last week during school, Logan was tempted by a friend's lunch and ended up eating Cheese-It crackers. This is a biggie because they have gluten AND dairy among other undesirable ingredients we choose to avoid.
How did I know Logan had eaten something with dairy that day? Well, he certainly didn't tell me. He came home with a patch of eczema on the right side of his cheek near his lips. A tell-tale sign whenever he ingests dairy. Also, he had an emotional break-down for no apparent reason. Not a major temper tantrum, but just a little melt-down because I asked him to grab the mail just like I do every day when we pull into the garage. Again, another tell-tale sign that he has ingested something to which he is sensitive. If you don't believe there is a connection to food and mood, come live at my house for a week and you will quickly become a believer.
On to the recipe! The original recipe is from Cara at Fork and Beans. She has a wonderful blog that is full of dairy-free and gluten-free recipes. As we began cooking, we made some adaptations to her recipe making it even easier (IMHO) and to prevent ruining your first tray as we almost did. These suckers fried in the oven at the recommended 375 degrees so I highly recommend dropping the temp to 325 degrees as I included in the recipe below.
Overall, these were quite simple and again, had a fun element for kids! Logan loved poking the holes in them with a toothpick. But first he blended the "dough" with a handheld mixer. Another fun moment for him.
Once blended, we formed into a ball to then divide the "dough." Then we took half of the "dough," placed it between two sheets of parchment paper and flattened it with a rolling pin. Once flat and thin, but not too thin, Logan used the pizza cutter to start making the squares, although I use that term loosely as you will see in our end result.
Here they are ready to go into the oven!
Be prepared to double the batch. As I'm finding with these fun snack recipes, they just don't make enough for the time and effort it ultimately takes. Our recommendation is always make a double batch, even if just to freeze the second portion for later. You'll be glad you did!
NO-CHEESE ITZ Dairy-free "cheese" crackers
as adapted from Fork and Beans
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 C Gluten-free flour blend -- I used 1/4 C rice flour, 1 heaping TBS arrowroot, and the rest garbanzo bean flour. The original recipe called for Bob's Red Mill, but we don't seem to tolerate Sorghum Flour which is in that mix.
- 1/2 tsp xantham gum
- 1 c. Daiya vegan “cheese” (the yellow one)
- 3 Tbs Coconut oil (soft but not liquid)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tb ice water
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, beat coconut oil and cheese together until blended nicely with a hand mixer.
- Combine flour, xantham gum and salt in a separate bowl until fully mixed together.
- Slowly add 1/2 the flour mixture into butter/cheese mix until blended. Add remaining 1/2 and mix well.
- Add water and stir well with a rubber spatula, making sure all scraps on the sides of the bowl have been incorporated.
- Place dough on a piece of parchment paper and lightly knead until a smooth ball is made. Divide dough in half and place one of the halves in a bowl and set in the fridge.
- Roll out other 1/2 of dough with a rolling pin in between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll thin (about 1/4″ or so).
- With a pizza or pastry cutter, slice the dough into square shapes going all the way across the pan as if you are making a tic-tac-toe board.
- Take a flipper with a thin beveled edge like this one and very carefully space each cracker on a parchment lined baking sheet with about 1/4 inch of space in between each cracker.
- If desired, make a little hole in the center of each cracker with a toothpick. Just be careful as these are fragile usig the flour blend that I chose.
- Now bake the first tray for about 12-15 minutes until lightly golden
- Repeat steps #1-10 while the first tray is baking and either add second tray to the oven when finished if you can fit two trays, OR wait util the first one is done so you don't have to mess with two timers.
These were a big hit with Logan! Yay! Did I mention he is picky? Logan especially wanted them to look just like his friends crackers. It's definitely an age thing I think -- wanting to fit in, hang with the "cool" kids, and such. But it utterly torments me at times. I feel like it's a never ending feat to find and create recipes to match all of the other kids "junk" food, or at least what I consider junk. If only real food like vegetables, fruit and meat were cool! And yes, when he was younger (apparently 2nd grade is no longer "young"), I pulled out all the tricks using fancy picks and fun shaped fruits to make his real food cool.
My quest continues...
To find a collection of more allergen-friendly, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free recipes, visit my food allergy support group for kids on Pinterest:
Nourishing Friends
Oh, what a fun Wednesday with Logan this afternoon! I'm extremely excited about today's recipe and I have a feeling you will be too. Anyone in the mood for a little chocolate goodness in their breakfast?
We found the perfect, most delicious and incredibly FUN recipe from Purely Twins! I've been following their blog for several months and I'm always intrigued at the purely creative concoctions they come up with each day. They use real-food ingredients and make healthy versions of some old favorites, which is helpful when you have kids with food allergies.This is the first Purely Twins recipe I've actually tried. Lets just say, I'll definitely be making more.
Now it's time for the drum roll please!... Introducing Logan's choice:
Purely Twins homemade cocoa puffs
or as Logan calls them, Chocolate Yum Yum Puffs. And yes, they are YUM!
These tasty, chocolate morsels are gluten-free, egg-free (in our version), dairy-free and even packed with protein. Who can say no to that? It's cereal and a healthy snack!
Some of you may have fond memories of eating cocoa puffs as a kid. I will say that when I was at my Dad's house, as my parent's were divorced, this type of cereal was definitely sitting on the top of the fridge nestled between Honeycomb and Fruit Loops. But, at my Mom's house, that variety of food was banned. And I'm glad. As some might think, I really was not a deprived child because of her choice to deny sugar and chemical-laden food in our house. Thanks Mom! Your effort and continuous "No, I'm sorry we don't buy that," has truly paid off!
Back to the recipe!... The Purely Twins homemade cocoa puffs recipe calls for a gluten-free flour blend noted below with hemp protein, arrowroot and coconut flour. Instead of the coconut flour portion (we are allergic), I substituted quinoa flour and it worked great! I'm sure there are lots of combinations you could try depending on your allergy or sensitivity.
- 1 cup of gluten-free flour blend (again we used a mix of hemp protein, arrowroot, and coconut flour making it grain-free)
The actual gluten-free flour blend I used was 2 TBS hemp protein powder, 2 TBS arrowroot powder and the rest quinoa flour to make 1 cup.
The next substitution we made was the egg. Logan is allergic to eggs and I'm on a gut-healing diet which excludes eggs for a while. So instead, we used a chia "egg," as noted in their full recipe below, and it surprisingly worked perfectly in the puffs. I often find that using various egg substitutes can change the texture, but this was pure perfection.
The actual recipe is extremely quick and easy. Then it comes time to roll those little balls which wasn't too bad, but for some people it can be tedious... or like meditation. You decide!
I highly suggest making this together with your kiddo! It's really a fun recipe and much more fun with two people to roll the little puffs. Logan actually rolled them much better than I did as his puff size was just right. Mine were a little too big. The key is keeping them the same size for even baking results.
Speaking of results...
My final tip, and yes, unfortunately I'm speaking from experience here, is to watch the puffs carefully. Ahem, I admit we burned the second tray (gasp!). Thankfully, it was not a full tray, however realizing all that hard work went to burnt balls instead of Chocolate Yum Yum Puffs was a major buzz kill. Guess I'll have to make more tomorrow!
Oh, and I lied, Logan has one MORE tip! Make two batches while you have the ingredients out on the counter. Because, well, you will want more! Lots more.
Here is the official Purely Twins recipe:
homemade cocoa puffs recipe
Chocoately, not too sweet healthy cocoa puffs
Adapted from Heathers French Press
Ingredients
1 cup of gluten-free flour blend
(again we used a mix of hemp protein, arrowroot, and coconut flour
making it grain-free)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (we use raw cacao; could do 1/4 cup cocoa and 1/4 cup carob)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 whole egg or chia gel (1 tbsp chia seeds with 3 tbsp water, let sit for 10 minutes)
1 tablespoon coconut oil, semi-soft (ghee or butter)
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup (honey or coconut nectar)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Next add ingredients into food processor (or In bowl of a stand mixer) except maple syrup.
3. Begin to pulse the ingredients.
4. Slowly add in your maple syrup one tablespoon at a time.
5. Continue to pulse until the dough is just coming together. It may look like it is too crumbly, but if you
put some in hand and roll it should hold together.
6. If it does not -- add more maple syrup. Should take 3 or 4 tbsp.
7. Start to take some batter and roll into balls {about the size of a blueberry}.
This take awhile to do.
8. Bake cocoa puffs for 15 minutes.
9. **Vegan ones we suggest going more like 16-18 minutes.
10. Let cool.
11. Enjoy.
http://purelytw ins.com/2013/08/07/gluten-free-egg-free-cocoa-puffs-cereal-recipe/
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To find a collection of more allergen-friendly, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free recipes, visit my food allergy support group for kids on Pinterest: Nourishing Friends
Logan asks: What was your favorite childhood cereal?
