Allergy Free Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Adapted from the Rachael Ray Show. The site includes a video clip showing how to make these.

Ingredients
1 pound ground white meat chicken
1/2 small onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
2 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
3 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced
Store-bought, dairy free ranch dressing for dipping
A couple of handfuls celery sticks
A couple of handfuls carrot sticks

Directions

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken with the onion, garlic and parsley, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Flatten out the meat in the bowl and score it into four portions using the side of your hand. Shape each portion into four balls – you should have sixteen meatballs in total. Arrange the meatballs on a nonstick sheet pan and drizzle them with EVOO. Place in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through and golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and whisk to combine. Toss the baked meatballs in the hot sauce to coat. Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter and spike each one with a toothpick or serving fork. Place the dressing in a small serving bowl and garnish with scallions. Serve the meatballs with the dressing, celery and carrot sticks alongside.

Allergy Friendly Halloween Candy *UPDATED*

Halloween is right around the corner. It's time for ghosts and goblins, creepy crawlies and candy! Who doesn't love candy? I've been known to have the occasional sweet tooth. Ok... so maybe it's more honest to say I live with a constant sweet tooth. Whether you have food sensitivities, have a child with them, or just want to have an allergy friendly option for those who do here are some links that might be helpful. These sites provide lists of gluten free and allergy free candies for Halloween. Happy Haunting!

About.com Gluten Free Candy - Updated for September 2012
Gluten Free Nut Free Dairy Free Halloween Candy List - Updated 2012
gfreelife.com - Updated 2012
Sure Foods Living - Updated 2011
My Gluten Facts - Updated 2011
Celiac.com - Update 2011
Dairy Free Candies

As new lists become available for the 2012 Halloween season I'll be sure to update!

Pumpkin Fluff Recipe

This recipe is from All Recipes.

This is one of my favorite fall treats. It's quick, easy, and not too heavy. I normally make this recipe with prepared pudding instead of just adding the powdered mix to the pumpkin and whipped topping. There's just one problem... if you're sensitive to dairy, most pudding mixes will not set with any milk other than real milk. Jell-O brand says on their website that you can make the cooked pudding with soy milk, but the consistency will be thick. It's all rather frustrating if you ask me. Let's hope this recipe is just as tasty and works well!

You serve this as a dip with graham crackers, ginger snaps, or any other cookie of your choice. I'm going to try it with some allergy free ginger snaps or vanilla cookies. Can't wait! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions
In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Gluten Free Donuts

As fall nears and we welcome back cooler temperatures my thoughts drift towards comfort foods that traditionally are not very allergy friendly. I have found something that has me excited and hopeful! The Bob's Red Mill site offers recipes that utilize their products. I was hoping to find something different to make with the GF Pancake Mix I have, and I did! Here's a recipe taken from the BRM site for donuts! I plan on modifying the recipe slightly by adding chopped apples and cooking them up like fritters. Enjoy

Gluten Free Donuts


A gluten free recipe to use with the Babycakes Donut Maker. This recipe was not tested by Bob's Red Mill. Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Low Cal, Low Fat.

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups GF PANCAKE MIX
1-1/4 cups Water
1-1/2 Tbsp Oil
1 Egg
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Directions
Combine all ingredients well to make donut batter. Pour batter into donut molds and cook until toothpick comes out clean, about 5-7 min. Cool donuts on a wire rack and top with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or an icing of your choice.

Serves 8.

Notes
3 mini donuts is 1 serving.
Be sure donut maker is completely preheated.
Cook time is per batch.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Review

I finally made something with my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix that I received from Bob's Red Mill. My husband and I had been craving cupcakes, so that's exactly what I made. I have to say, this mix makes a very tasty, chocolaty, cake. I used rice milk and egg substitute and my cupcakes came out moist and delicious! The package does directions for an egg free option using ground flax seed, but since I didn't have that I just stuck with my egg beaters (I can handle egg whites better than yolk, so this option works for me). I definitely recommend this mix and will certainly buy it again!

Getting the Right Nutrients Allergy Free

Having to eliminate certain foods from my diet causes me to worry that I'm getting the right nutrients. Admittedly, I'm still not as disciplined as I need to be about avoiding my trigger foods, but even still... I know I don't eat enough of the right foods. I recently found an article from kidswithfoodallergies.org that outlines some of the common food allergies, the nutrients those foods provide, and some alternative foods that contain those nutrients.

11 Nutrition Myths That Can Cause Weight Gain

Here's an interesting article from Shape.com. Some of the very things many of us believe to help spur weight loss could actually be causing us to pack on the pounds!

Mexican Bean Salad Recipe

I found this recipe on Yummly.com. I know it as Texas Caviar. It's a great salad and works well when eaten with tortilla chips (kind of like a salsa).

Ingredients
15 ozs black beans (rinsed and drained)
15 ozs kidney beans (drained)
15 ozs cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
10 ozs corn kernels (frozen)
1 red onion (chopped)
1/2  cup olive oil
1/2  cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsps fresh lime juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsps white sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4  cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp black pepper (ground)
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder

Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity: It Exists

Celiac.com recently published an article on their website regarding a 10 year study on wheat sensitivity. The study found that among test subjects who had reactions to wheat, only a portion of them were actually confirmed to have Celiac. Some were found to have multiple food sensitivities and others were found to have non-celiac wheat sensitivity. For those of us who tested negative for Celiac, but still have symptoms this is no big news, however it does mean that there is now evidence substantiating the belief that wheat sensitivities can and do exist outside of Celiac Disease. Often times patients complaining of chronic gastrointestinal distress are given the blanket diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This research suggests that it could be a sensitivity instead. The researchers behind this study are now conducting further research to determine the differences between wheat sensitivities and wheat allergies. Hopefully this will lead to more specific definitions for each.

You can read the full article at celiac.com and the research abstract Pubmed.

Mi-Del Gluten Free Cookies

 On a recent trip back home, my aunt bought me a bag of Mi-Del chocolate chip cookies (among other things). Since everyone else was indulging in comfort foods it was nice to know I had some goodies of my own to indulge in. I have to say, I was impressed. Now, they are a bit on the small side (see below), but they taste just like Chip's Ahoy. Let me tell you, I ate the heck out of these bite-size bad boys! I'm happy to say they even carry them at my local grocery store. They're in the $3-$4 range, which isn't too bad for a bag of cookies... especially gluten free ones!

Ground Beef Goulash

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/classic-goulash/

Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups water
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt, or to taste
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (Can substitute gluten free)

Back on Track

I'm not proud to admit it, but I've had my first slip up with this blog. It's been a few days since I've posted anything and I missed a few items I had lined up for last week. The only thing I can say is, school's back in session. As a teacher my life just got a whole lot more hectic, but I'm getting back on track with both my eating habits and this page. Hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day!