Top Five Fast Lunches
Comments (2) | October 20, 2011
Here are our recent top five fast lunches. This is not earth shattering information, however, food allergies make nothing about meals quick, so these five options take the guesswork out when you're in a hurry.
1. Fast Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
- 1 tb dairy free butter (I use earth balance vegan buttery sticks)
- 1/4 C 'milk' (I used soy)
- 1 slice of tofutti cheddar cheese (melts very well)
- 1 C pasta of your choice (I used a rice based, shell shaped pasta)
2. Sun Butter and Jelly
3. Whole grain Pasta with tomato sauce -
Almost every other week I make and freeze homemade tomato sauce for the next few weeks. To beef it up nutritionally I have been adding steamed and pureed veggies, such as carrots and/or spinach. With veggies included in the sauce, it makes a fast, easy lunch, that I know he will always eat. That sounded like a bad commercial.
4. Dr. Praegers fish sticks
These fish sticks do not contain milk, or eggs in the breading. They are made with wild pollack and without added preservatives. Excellent choice for any kid (or adult) with or without food allergies.
5. Applegate Farms, lunch meat
I specify brand because with a milk allergy all deli meat is not created equal. If you purchase it prepackaged it often contains 'casein', which is a component of milk. If you purchase it behind the deli counter, you run the risk of cross contamination with cheese. Applegate is casein free and prepackaged. Plus, regardless of an allergy, it is a great choice because it is hormone free, and humanely raised.
So, that's what we've been eating. How about you?!
Turkey Cordon Bleu- kind of
Comments (0) |
Ingredients-
- Turkey Cutlets (I used six)
- 1 C panko Crumbs
- 6 slices of Tofutti cheddar cheese
- 6 slices of ham
- 1/4 C olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- italian seasoning
- toothpicks
First, season your panko crumbs to your liking in a shallow dish. I used salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Add to the panko crumbs a teaspoon of olive oil. (This will give the panko crumbs a nice, crispy texture.)
Use a second dish for the 1/4 C of olive oil.
Lay cutlets out on a baking sheet and place a slice of cheese and ham on each one. Roll the cutlet up, with cheese and ham inside, and jam a toothpick through the roll to secure it. (Do i have some unaccounted hostility today? 'jam' was the only word coming to mind!)
Once all of the turkey cutlets are rolled and 'jammed' with toothpicks, dip them in olive oil and coat with panko crumbs. Place them into your baking dish of choice and bake for 15- 25 minutes. Baking time will depend on the thickness of your cutlets.
I do not have a picture of this recipe but I wanted to post it because I used tofutti cheese in it. I had previously posted about a rice vegan cheese but it was since recommended that I try the tofutti. True to the recommendation, it melts like a dream and has a much smoother, more cheese like texture. Micah also enjoys eating it by the slice, more so than the previous brand. What are your favorite recipes that use a cheese substitute?!
Micah meets the good life.
Comments (0) | September 7, 2011
First cake, now brownies, his second year of life is looking pretty good! :)
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Two words; Sun. Butter.
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MMMMuffins
Comments (1) |
Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins
1/2 cup molasses (for increased sweetness use half molasses and half honey)
1 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Spin on Spinach
Comments (0) | August 22, 2011
I'm happy to say that tonight's post involves a hit rather than a miss! Today, during Micah's nap, I was scouring the web for dinner inspiration. With sausage thawing and not much else on hand, I was pretty open to anything, knowing a trip to the store was guaranteed either way. I was getting quickly discouraged, which has been my M.O. lately with meal planning, but was relieved to come across a Sausage Spinach Casserole recipe. I don't often veer towards casseroles, it can be hard for me to get ingredients to stand on their own when all mixed together, but this one sounded refreshing and different, so I was game. After a walk to the store (who minds a trip to the store when you can walk on a beautiful day?!) and some slight adaptations for one Micah Abreu, we had an allergy accommodating, delicious, meal on the table. I am posting the recipe with my adaptations. and shout out to my husband, Andrew, he contributed the title for today's post! :)
- 16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 can (15 ounces) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 6 cooked sausage links diced (I used Nature's Promise Sundried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage)
- 12 ounces almond milk (or milk substitute of your choice)
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 4 teaspoons butter ( I used Earth Balance Vegan butter sticks)
- 1/2 C panko crumbs
-Saute garlic and onion in butter (or olive oil, which I used) When they begin to soften, add your sausage and cook completely. -In a separate pot, cook the frozen spinach-Mix sausage mixture, spinach, beans, milk, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a bowl-Pour into casserole dish-Melt butter and add panko crumbs to it, spread on top of casserole-Bake uncovered for 30 minutes Benefits to this recipe-Two forms of protein, sausage and beans, if you have a finicky eater, hopefully they will eat at least one of the two!-Spinach is an excellent source of calcium, great for our dairy free friends Things to watch out for with this recipe-Sausage choice- only use a sausage with ingredients listed, particularly that it is free of casein. Also, if you are purchasing sausage behind the deli counter, make sure there is no cross contamination from the other products. The sausage I used had a complete list of ingredients and was pre-packaged, so I felt comfortable using it. So, when it was all said and done, do you think Micah ate it?! Nope, not a bite swallowed. We'll try again tomorrow and until then I'll keep the pasta on standby! Goodnight!
My lesson in label reading
Comments (2) | August 16, 2011
Spin-Off
Comments (0) | August 9, 2011
Well, since I was so great at maintaining my first blog, it seemed appropriate to start another, right?! :) Something about a fresh page for a fresh start is so inviting, even if the background is the same, and the title, eh not so earth-shattering(ly) unique. However, I bring to you, this time, a clear direction. A direction that I could not have foreseen, or shed any light on, prior to a few months ago; food allergies. Yup, Micah's got em. Peanut, dairy, and egg to be specific and although he's been known to throw us a curve ball, or three, this one is equally a learning process.
So, here we are, off on a new journey of label reading, recipe creating and food monitoring. I'll be documenting hits (and misses) for product substitutions, recipes, nutritional information, and coupons.
I'll close with my biggest assignment to date: Micah's first birthday cake. I used an unadapted cake recipe, given to me by his allergist. I will include the icing recipe however, I used Wilton Decorating Icing, to get a fast, easy to use, variety of colors. The eyes and spikes were created by combining the icing and extra cake together, and forming into shape. I held them in place with toothpicks. The cake, although very tasty, was rather dense. I am anxious to research if there is a lighter, fluffier option. Thankfully, Micah was none the wiser and was not deterred by a more 'pound cake' like cake. It proved to be a hit and with 'go big or go home' red icing, it made pictures a success as well! Enjoy!
