Yummy Protein Bars! soy free, dairy free, egg free, nut free!

A friend of mine told me about these protein bars.. I listened, thought they sounded interesting.. and didn't put much more thought into the bars.. Well, until I caught myself running out the door at 5:30 in the afternoon for an "emergency" and realized soon after that I would not be back home until after midnight, with nothing to eat.. Thankfully I had ate a very late lunch around 3:30 that day, but that is not enough for a pregnant lady! As it got later I thought about how badly I would like a granola/protein bar! So the next day I set out on a mission to get all the ingredients and make them! (A much needed trip to Earth Fare was in my day, because I only had a few ingredients the recipe called for!)
Before I post the pictures and recipe, let me tell you.. I found that these are so GOOD, but very gooey, so they keep best in the freezer! I (well my husband actually did this for me) put them in individual baggies and then into one freezer bag so that I could just grab one out when ever. Now I find myself throwing them into a thermal tote to keep them cool when I know I will be out for a while! (usually a clementine, apple or some other fruit goes in the bag as well!)

Here is the Original Recipe: I will not what I did differently as well!

you will need a large mixing bowl, a slightly oiled spatula, a 9x9x2 (i used a 9x13) inch pan, plastic wrap and the following ingredients.. (Next time I will probably line the pan with wax paper and then pull it out onto a cutting board, it should make removal much easier!)

-1 cup of hulled raw pumpkin seeds (I just got a cups worth from he bulk section at Earthfare, and I will buy much more next time they are so good plain!) $6.49 a pound so it was about $1.88 for that
-1/2 cup of coco rice cereal
-1/2 cup of plain rice cereal (I could not find the coco so I did 1 cup of plain rice) I found this down low in a big bag that said "Cereal, Puffed Rice" for $1.99 and I have enough for a few more batches!
-1/4 cup of uncooked Quinoa, you can find this in the rice section but I found it in the bulk section as well. it was $3.69 a pound and I got enough for a few batches total I paid was $2.10
-1/4 cup hulled hemp seed, this was not in the bulk section so I got a good size bag (it will last a while) $7.49
-1/4 cup shredded coconut, this was unsweetened in a bag and earthfare brand. I LOVE coconut so I actually added about 1/2 a cup.. And I have plenty left over (actually I have been putting it in smoothies and pancakes!) $2.79
-1/4 cups of mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Brand- they are allergy free!) I also put 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips in!! Love the Enjoy Life chocolate, it taste just like real chocolate chips! And I have been putting these in pancakes as well! $4.99 a bag, but a bag will go a long way.
-1/4 cup of Crunchy Sunbutter this I already had but creamy, however I was getting low. I went to buy more and realized Earthfare has it in their brand. $4.99 and I used much more than 1/4 cup.. I really don't know how much I used.. maybe 1/2 a cup.. I like the sunbutter a lot so it just added more flavor and helped the bars stick!
-3/4 cup brown rice syrup I used 3/4 cup of light Karo syrup.. It worked perfectly and I already had it in the cabinet.

-begin by adding all the ingredients together EXCEPT SUNBUTTER mix it all up using your oiled spatula.

-Press half the mixture firmly into your pan (again I used a bigger pan and I had oiled the pan, but next time will use wax paper)

-then spread the SUNBUTTER over the mixture. (you don't have to use sunbutter but it is super good)

-then press the remaining mixture firmly on top of the sunbutter

-cover with plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for about an hour

-remove and cut into bars. if you use a 9x9 cut in half across then cut into 5 even piece going the opposite way making 10 bars..
i made them thinner by using the 9x13 and jut cut them into smaller squares as well. I really didn't put much thought into how I cut them, and sometimes I don't want a lot, and other times I may grab two bars out! Once put them into little snack bags or sandwich bags or whatever.. and then put into one big freezer bag. store in the freezer!

my husband says they look like bird suet, but liked them! The kids loved them as well! And I have gave then to a few friends to try and they also loved them!

everything mixed then add the Karo

Notice I ate one of them before taking the picture!

If you're wondering what I have been Eating!

So it has been one full week, and lets just say this Monday was so much better than last Monday! Last Monday was day one and I seriously wanted to cry, my husband suggested that we just buy formula for our baby so I could eat whatever.. But I seriously want to try to breast feed our baby as long as possible, so Thankfully God helped me thru this week, opening up my eyes to all he has created for us! That being said, I have ate Tons of Fruits and Veggies! I have always loved those things anyway, but I appreciate them so much more now! I have ate quiet a few salads. I bought Mixed Greens, an Extra bag of fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, celery (that I chopped up), mini bell peppers (I eat them whole or chop them for my salads), carrots, I made some whole grain rice and put it in a baggy in the refrigerator, I put on my salad as well, and I made home made chili (pressure cooked the dry beans so I didn't have to worry about canned beans) I put some rice in a bowl and poured chili on top.. I ate that with some tortilla chips.. Hormel makes lunch meat that is all natural, no preservatives. I bought it, it does not have Carmel color in it and the ingredients are great.. Plus the price is not and.. I got it from walmart. I have ate sun flower seeds, sun butter on bread with raisins on top. Oat meal, Cereal with Rice Milk. The Rice Milk is Really good, I didn't think I would like it but I really do! I found some Italian dressing at Earth Fare that I could use.. I made Taco Salad one night. I just left out the traditional taco seasoning (If I had chili left over I would have used it) I browned the meat and used Pampered Chefs South Western Seasoning and Chipotle Seasoning with some garlic. I Have had avocados and we have grilled chicken, with that I fixed some beans and had a salad (I did make mac and cheese for the kids!) I will probably end up making my own pasta sauces, as most all pastas are fine I have been finding that pizza and pasta sauce tend to have soy in them.. I love making Smoothies (that I posted about last week), Steel Cut Oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar,  Apples are one of the main fruits that I crave. And I have had lots of Ice Water.. (Some Juice and Some Tea) but lots of water!

On Saturday we left the house right before lunch, about 10 minutes into the drive I looked at Dustin and said "Oh No, I should have ate lunch before we left!" FYI: I am so moody when I don't eat.. so I started trying to think of a what I could eat because it would be several hours before we were back home. I had downloaded a allergy app. on my phone that I have noticed is not always correct so I was getting frustrated with it.. Then Dustin and I both thought of Jason's Deli.. They have such good food! I looked up their website on my phone real quick. Thankfully they have a quick link for Allergy reference. I knew I could eat at the salad bar so we just went for that.
I added a side of smoked turkey breast to my salad so it made it cost around $8.00 but I really wanted that protein and they give you quiet a bit, plus I could go back to the salad bar if I wanted.. I had never ordered the salad bar before so I had not paid much attention.. Thankfully I was able to see on their website that they had a bottle of Red Wine Vinegar Dressing I could have and saw everything else on the bar.
I had mixed greens with extra spinach, mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, red and yellow bell peppers, sun flower seeds, cherry tomatoes, and the dressing.. Then I also found they have some Flat Bread that packages like a pack of crackers that is pretty good! It is hard but it has lots of seeds on it and I really liked it as well.. Everything on their salad bar was so fresh and everything was in it's place! I assure you All I got my moneys worth! It was so good!!

I am sure as time goes by I will find much more food to eat.. are get more creative.. but as of right now I amcompletely happy and I have not missed the otehr foods that much.. I have my moments of wanting something, but when that happens I grab and apple or orange and eat it instead! :)

Oh My! Wonderful, Yummy Dairy, Egg, Soy, Nut Free Bread!!!! Seriously!!

*First of all, this is not gluten free.. In this past week I have learned much more about gluten (which I am not avoiding, and happy because that can get expensive.. to anyone who is avoiding good luck to you! my head was spinning over gluten! I have friends who can not have gluten and I totally see how you may get frustrated)

After making bread the other day I started searching for a different recipe that I could make that was not gluten free but that was Egg, Dairy, Soy, and Nut Free. I wasn't having much luck on a "good" looking recipe. Until I came across The Food Allergy Chronicles recipe of French Toast! It looks so good! (and now I can try it in the morning!!) She had provided the link to the bread she used in her french toast. So I clicked and read and checked out all the pictures and was so amazed by the bread maker.. Seriously, I like kitchen gadgets, so why I have I never cared about a bread maker?? Maybe because I had no idea and just not seen one used.. A friend of mine has recently purchased one and I was impressed by her pizza that she made with it.. but pizza crust did not have me convinced enough to buy a bread maker, after all I would have to make a LOT of pizza for it to be worth it.. But now that I had seen the bread at My 1/2 Daily Dozen's page and really realized just how much money I could save by not buying "special" bread for myself and bread for the rest of the family.. And it would be fresh with out preservatives!!! I was Sold!!

My Dear Sweet Husband made a trip to Wal-Mart for me and picked up an Oster Bread Machine ($70.00) I had reviewed them all on Amazon and it didn't really seem to matter which one I got.. I have not used or seen any other machine before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but so far it does a great job and we are very pleased! Dustin (my husband) had made some sour dough in it and it turned out great.. Then I did this bread in it.. Of course I did not bake the bread in it, I just did the dough.. However the dough was perfect!
Now at 1:30 AM I am still up because I just started some sweet bread with Orange Zest, Raisins, and Dried Cranberries! I will take a picture in the morning and post that recipe for you!

Back to this Bread.. I followed her Recipe exactly. For the Oil, I used Olive Oil, and instead of 4 cups of white flour, I did 2 cups of White and 2 cups of Whole Wheat! I think I want to get some different grains/seeds and add to it next time! Dustin said it reminded him of a bread we get at a steak house.. He was impressed! I must have woke Ansley up because she came in the kitchen and had some with coconut butter.. She said it very good as well! She is my food critic after all! She is very impressed that I knew how to make it! So In All, THANK YOU x100 to The Food Allergy Chronicles and to My 1/2 Daily Dozen Y'all Are Amazing!

(Ps. I did not post pictures.. I could because I took them to send to family (so I could show what I did!!) however My 1/2 Daily Dozen has Beautiful Pictures on hers that You will see when you go to her page!!

Needing something Healthy yet Sweet to Eat? Smoothies!

Before going Dairy, Soy, Egg, Nut Free I would eat Greek yogurt daily! I love that stuff! And I had started making smoothies with it as well. My second day of the allergy free diet I was craving a smoothie and thankfully, my Publix Greenwise magazine had came in! (these are free when you go to publix website and sign up!) The first thing I turned to was "Green Smoothies".. I thought about it for a second and concocted my own Allergy free Smoothie. So I go tout the blender and I threw in some banana, frozen strawberries and fresh pineapple we had cut the day before, and a little honey to sweeten it.. then about 1 cup of crushed ice and poured a little plain coconut milk into the mix. I blended it all up and poured it into a glass.. As I drank my Really Good Smoothie I read the article about Green Smoothies.. and Decided I would need to try that as well.. My family and I made our first Green Smoothie to "kick off" the first day of spring.. (the day we made them was not actually the first day, but the kids didn't know that! I had let the first day go by with out notice.. Spring is our favorite because it is Garden Season for us!)

The Arthur of the article is with Gerry Coffey a 72 year old triathlete that discovered Green Smoothies 10 Years ago from food guru Victoria Boutenko. The Arthur also tells about the book by Boutenko- Green For Life. Boutenko or Gerry one Suggested to start with leafs that are not bitter like fresh spinach leaves or romain and later try fresh kale, turnip greens, and aruglia. Also don't include the stems of the stronger leafs, it will make your smoothie have a peppery taste. "Flavor is Everything. But No matter how healthy something may be, you wont stick with it if it doesn't taste good. Starting out don't make your smoothies Super Green. Sim for a ratio of about 60% fruit and 40% greens, but let your taste buds guide you to the ratio that works best for you." "I encourage everybody to go at their own pace." Boutenko says.  (she didn't say anything about the coconut milk or milk at all but i thought it sounded good!)
(the above is mostly from the Green Wise Magazine.. in case you don't get that issue! I had to share that part and give the right person credit for the info!) The article also talks about how nutritious greens are!! :)
We had just planted our spinach so my husband didn't want to take all the leaves! So Ours wasn't super green.. However it was yummy and the kids drank it up! I will be making these often!

 Spinach, frozen apples I had chopped the day before, frozen strawberries, frozen banana that had been chopped earlier, (also there was fresh pineapple in the refridgerator I almost forgot, you will see it in the blender on top of the ice, some honey, and coconut milk.. If I knew my husband wouldn't mind the milled flax texture I would have added a scoop of it as well.

Ansley and my Husband adding the fresh spinach!

Justus adding the Strawberries!

They ended up with their own glass.. And then asked for more!

Bread- Made in My Kitchen by Me! Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Egg, Nut Free Bread..

after thought: If you are not avoiding gluten.. see my next post on bread (March 27th) After a day or so this bread dried quickly and seemed very heavy.. The wildlife got the left overs!

Yesterday I posted about this yummy sounding bread that I wanted to make.. (The recipe for that is here) However, I did not have (and still don't have) all the flours it calls for.. When I went to the store on Monday I had picked up the Bob's Red Mill mixes I posted about yesterday. So I grabbed those out of my cabinets and quickly red the ingredients.. Realizing that the Pizza Crust Mix had some of the flours in it and the All purpose flour had the others in it, I decided to "experiment" I wanted to make bread that I could eat and I did not want to make a trip to the store, Especially since we are about 25 minutes away from the store! The bread came out amazingly! Seriously it did! My husband and kids agreed! It was heavier than any average bread but that is fine! I just used a very sharp bread knife to slice it up in small slices for sandwiches. and stuck it in a gallon zip lock bag! (note: I know it doesn't look "perfect" before my first time to EVER make bread of any kind I was excited it even baked correctly!)
Now that I made that I am excited to actually try the other recipe, and can't wait! It looks wonderful!

So here is what I did..

I wanted to cut the recipe in half and just do one loaf. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat  more than that before it went bad anyway. Also, I had know idea if it would even turn out correctly!

1 1/2 cups of the Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1 cup of the Gluten Free Pizza Crust Whole Grain Mix
1/2 cup of Corn Starch
2 Tsp of xanthan gum
1/2 Tbsp of salt
1/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp. Active dry yeast

I mixed all those together in my mixer using the flat paddle.. (I actually cut it on low for a second and cut it off and repeated that a few times to keep the flour mix from flying in the air!)

Then I added

2 Tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
and about 1 3/4 cups of warm water

I mixed it all up and sprayed a glass loaf pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. ( I have the Pampered Chef Kitchen Spritzer so I am able to add my own oil with out worries of other ingredients)

I followed the instructions from the recipe I had found about making your microwave the place for the bread to rise and then followed her baking instructions.. I will paste those below!

(this is straight from the recipe I found)
Mix with electric mixer–using paddle attachment, NOT regular beaters or bread hook–for two minutes.  The bread dough will be more like cake batter than traditional bread dough.
Two options for the rising:
For the best rising: While mixing the bread, create a proofing box from your microwave. Microwave a small mug or ramekin with water until the water boils.  Leave the water in the microwave.  Pour the bread dough into two nonstick or well-greased pans.  Tuck the loaves into the microwave with the water—the container of water should not be touching the pans. (I have to remove the turntable in my microwave to do this.) Allow to rise until batter extends a bit over the top of the pans–generally 30-50 minutes.
Standard method: Pour into two nonstick or well-greased loaf pans, place on a warm surface (such as on top of the pre-heated oven), and cover with a towel. Allow to rise until batter extends a bit over the top of the pan–generally 50-70 minutes. (Batter should take up about half the loaf pan before rising.)
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove loaf pans from oven and cover with aluminum foil. Return to oven and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven. (Insert a toothpick or knife into the center to see if it comes out clean or doughy, if you aren’t sure when you pull out the bread.)
As with most breads, it is easiest to slice if you allow it to fully cool. But who can wait that long? I usually let it cool for a little bit, and then remove the loaves from the pans and place them on a rack to cool more while I slice it up. The bread tastes delicious warm, dipped in olive oil and herbs or spread with honey and ghee. It also works well for sandwiches after it has cooled. If you won’t be eating it within 2 days, after it’s cooled, slice it, wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap, and freeze it.  Never refrigerate this or other bread—it will get dry and hard if you do. If you leave the bread on the counter (wrapped), it will be good for all purposes for a couple of days.  After that, it will be best used for bread pudding, French toast, croutons, etc.

What are those Symols on pre-packaged foods?

Maybe you already knew this.. I did not! so here it is really quick.. Have you seen a "u" that has a circle around it or a funny "k" symbol on the front? I had read on a post form something else that those symbols could indicate dairy. Well my chips I had bought had that "u" symbol and beside it said "dairy" so then I remembered that symbol meant dairy.. Then I noticed some other "o" symbols had "pareve" under or beside them.. So I had no idea what that meant.. Obviously I didn't know what the symbol meant to begin with.. I panicked thinking I bought a bunch of dairy items.. This evening I decided to google that symbol and this is what I found "guide to popular kosher symbols" Kosher symbols are registered trademarks of kosher certification organizations, and cannot be placed on a food label without the organization's permission. so that is why some look different than others! click that link above to see the symbols I am talking about!

Then on the last page (8 of 8) of that site you will read this:

Often there are letters or words printed next to the kosher certification symbol on food packages. These are added to inform the consumer of the product's kosher category. Kosher categories are Meat (Fleishig in Yiddish, Basari in Hebrew), Dairy (Milchig in Yiddish, Chalavi in Hebrew) or neither meat or dairy (Pareve in Yiddish, Parve in Hebrew). According to Jewish Dietary Laws, meat and dairy food must be prepared and consumed separately, and pareve food can be eaten with either meat or dairy dishes.Meat:"Meat", "M" or "Glatt" printed near the kosher symbol on the food package indicates the product is kosher and contains some meat or meat derivative.

Dairy:"Dairy" or "D" printed near the kosher symbol on the food package indicates the product is kosher and contains some milk or milk derivative.

Fish:"F" printed near the kosher symbol on the food package indicates the product is kosher and contains fish ingredients.

Pareve:"Pareve", "Parev", or "Parve" printed near the kosher symbol on the food package indicates the item is neither meat or dairy.

Passover:"P" printed near the kosher symbol on the food package does not stand for pareve, but instead it means the product is kosher for Passover and all year round.

Furthermore, D-P means dairy and kosher for Passover and all year round. M-P or Glatt-P means meat and kosher for Passover and all year round. F-P means fish and kosher for Passover and all year round.

SO PAREVE means free of Dairy and Meat! Just remember a "P" is for passover not pareve!

here are two pictures to show as an example.. I bought both of these not realizing at the time one had dairy.

Day one of a Dairy, Egg, Soy, Nut Free life!

Day One! ( <~see that excitement it soon fades..) So I woke up and had some oatmeal and fruit.. Fixed my coffee with out cream. And decided to go to the Whole foods Store. I started to do this solo, but then thought it may be fun for My husband (and kids) to come along so he could help me with label reading and make choices with me.. 1. I don't know what I was thinking going in with out much research, 2. I don't know what I was thinking going in with out a list to go by and 3. I seriously don't know what I was thinking taking to hungry kids (this was about 5:30 in the afternoon) not to mention Justus desperately needed a nap. They asked for everything kept switching buggies, wanted with me one minute and my husband the next! (this is life and normally I handle it very well but I was on a mission and had to concentrate!)
Honestly (and don't laugh!!) I thought I would walk into that grocery store and there would be a huge sign that read "allergy free foods all on this Isle" maybe not exactly that but something.. SO now I am going down every Isle looking and trying to read Everything! I would be at one end of the store one minute and realize I wanted something on the opposite side! I also thought tree nuts were safe, so I bought some frozen pecan bread and some almond butter.. I found muffins, bread and bagels made by Udi's.. I got some vegan cheese that was cheddar flavor and then saw the swiss flavor with out looking I grabbed it as well. I bought a couple different bags of chips. I went down the flour/baking Isle and was overwhelmed by all the Bob's Red Mill products that I just grabbed somethings! I got Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, GFree pizza crust, GFree Biscuit and Pancake mix, and xanthan gum (which apparently is a thickener of some sort!)
We also bought other produce and I had a coupon for a whole chicken (which I promise you, I have never cooked a whole chicken! I had at least seen my mom prepare one so I knew it needed cleaned out! and thank goodness my mom gave me an electric pressure cooker last week because that 4lb bird was cooked in about 25 minutes! after my long shopping trip I didn't not want to be in the kitchen forever.) I found the "recipe" for the chicken here, and I made sure my chicken stock was free of all the things it needed to be, I also added a few spices.

So as I stood in a very quiet kitchen and had a clear mind, I started to unload all my groceries.. I got these chips that were "allergy" free and even though I thought I had checked the ingredients I had totally missed dairy.. There was actually a little symbol on the front and beside it clearly said "dairy" I will blog about that next.. It will be a short post, I promise! Trying not to get frustrated I thought No big deal, the kids can totally eat these.. Then I noticed that same symbol on some other things and thought that meant Dairy as well.. I was about to cry.. seriously! (don't worry I realized tonight that the symbol I was seeing did not mean dairy! look forward to the next post)
I got out the cheese and the cheddar was perfect but the swiss flavored that I had assumed was made the same way had casein in it.. (milk protein!) again, the kids will eat it.. chin up, don't stress! Now I have learned that Nuts are a No as well, so my pecan bread is a big No and my beloved Almond butter I will miss while I breast feed Ian.. however once he is done, I will be so excited to eat that again! Until then, my 5 year old is so excited that I bought it! she could eat it all by itself!
Today I was eating my bagel made by Udi's and thought I would check out there website.. Wondering if they had a coupon.. (they do, just click on a product and you can sign up and they give you $1.00 0ff) I clicked a product and in bold I read "Contains EGGS" What! NO! Really, this can't be! the bag says Gluten Soy Dairy Nut Free... Well I assumed Egg was dairy.. and i was wrong! :/ I thought I would be sad about this discovery however each item was about 5.00.. so 15.00 for bread.. not sure if it was worth it.. and even though the flours and all are expensive, I thought i could make my own bread using the stuff I bought.. I came across this bread recipe , and it sounded awesome.. However I do not have all those flours right now.. (I do plan on getting them) SO I made my own recipe using hers as a guide.. and it turned out Amazing! I will post mine tomorrow! My husband and kids liked it as well! Ansley had it with Coconut spread! :)

In all at the end of day one, I felt so Lost! And probably still will for a little while.. But I am getting the hang of it! I will try to post somethings tomorrow that I have been eating so far.. I am feeling like I have more energy as well. I can't wait to see how I feel in a few weeks!