Peanut Allergy: Safe, Homemade Pancake Mix

B loooooooves pancakes.   So much so, that I was going through pancake mix REALLY fast.  


Every morning she gets three big pancakes (sometimes dotted with chocolate chips) , maple syrup, some fruit, her vitamin, and some milk or juice.  I love that she eats a good breakfast every day!


To save time in the morning, especially those days that I have to head in to my office (the rest of the week I work at home), I make things easier by whipping up the pancake batter the night before and keeping it in the fridge.


In the morning, I just heat up a pan, drop in some batter, and in about 3 minutes - voila!  Pancakes!


But back to that mix....I created my own pancake mix using a few easy pantry staples and thought I'd share it with you guys.  My secret ingredient is rolled oats.  Makes them nice and hearty (but not heavy, I promise!).  And this is super budget friendly.


PFM's Pancake Mix


Mix well, in an airtight container:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Rolled oats, pulverized in the food processor
3 T baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 T plus 2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


To make the batter:
Take 1 cup of the pancake mix and put it in a bowl.  Add 1 egg and 1 cup of milk. Mix well.  Note: Sometimes I add a 1/4 tsp of vanilla (if I remember).


Now you're ready to make your pancakes!  


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Hope you guys enjoy these just as much as B does!

Peanut Allergy: Attention Chicago White Sox Fans

The folks at the Chicago White Sox contacted me recently to let me know about a peanut controlled game coming up next month - so cool!  Here are the details:

WHITE SOX HOST A “PEANUT-CONTROLLED ZONE
Reserved Seating Area Will Provide Haven for Fans Who Suffer Severe Peanut Allergies 

CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox will host a “Peanut-Controlled Zone” on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 7:10 p.m. against the Baltimore Orioles.

To provide fans who suffer from severe peanut allergies with the safest environment possible, no peanuts, nor anything containing peanuts, will be allowed or sold in three reserved sections of the Club Level at U.S. Cellular Field.   The concession stands closest to those special sections will not sell peanuts and the area will be meticulously cleaned and inspected prior to the game.

“This is another example of us responding to fan feedback,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox senior vice president of sales and marketing.  “Hopefully, some of our fans and families who typically could not attend a White Sox home game due to potential allergic reactions will be able to enjoy an evening of White Sox baseball at U.S. Cellular Field.” 

The tickets are specially priced at $36.50 and include $10 in “Bonus Bux” that can be used to buy food and beverage at any permanent club level concession stand.  There are approximately 200 seats available, so fans are encouraged to order tickets early.

For the least peanut-exposed path to the game, the club suggests entering through the Chicago Sports Depot near Gate 5 on the north side of 35^th Street. From the second level exit of the store, escalators lead up to a bridge over the street which ends at the Club Level concourse.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets and seating in the peanut-free section should email or call Dustin Milliken at dmilliken@chisox.com or (312) 674-5186.

   
I LOVE that they tell you about the 'least peanut-exposed path to the game'.  THAT RULES.

BIG thumbs up to the White Sox!!

Gab

Whole9 and The Peanut Manifesto

So it's the start of the new year and I'm not alone in re-examining my diet.  I lost about 20 pounds last year due to the separation, exercising more (hello Stand Up Paddling - I love you!!!), and stopping drinking (no, I'm not in recovery, not that there's anything wrong with that).

But I have another 10-15 pounds to go to get back to where I REALLY feel good.  So I've been looking at all sorts of programs.  I want something that is easy, not too limiting.  And something where you just snap your fingers and you're skinny!  Ha!  Just making sure you were still reading.

Anyhow, I found the Whole9 site.  It's basically Paleo way of eating, but they have a Whole30 program where you give up all sorts of foods (grains, sugar, alcohol, legumes, dairy, potatoes) for 30 days and you see some great results.

So what does this have to do with peanut allergy, you ask?

They don't allow peanuts (it IS a legume after all) on their plan. 

Here's an excerpt from their Peanut Manifesto:

"Lectins from grains (especially wheat) and legumes (including peanuts and soybeans) are most commonly associated with aggravation of inflammatory and digestive diseases in the body...Recent research has suggested that these lectins may effectively serve as a “Trojan horse” allowing foreign proteins to invade our natural gut defenses....Lectins can cause damage well beyond the gut – commonly in joints, brain, and skin of affected individuals. Continued exposure of the gut by these toxins leads to a persistent stimulation of the body’s defense mechanism in a dysfunctional manner, i.e. autoimmune disease. (Allergies fall into that category as well.)"

This kind of blew my mind.  What do you think??

I'm not sure if I will try the Whole30 plan (could I give up rice, pasta, and dairy??).  But their stance on peanuts may just convince me.

p.s. now that I think of this, the Whole30 program is what a lot of our allergic kids are already practicing.  Gluten free, soy free, milk free, peanut free.  Maybe we're trendsetters!

Peanut Free Snack: Chex Mix

When we were in Hilo Hattie in Lahaina, Maui, I stumbled across some Chex Mix that was peanut free - Teriyaki Chex Mix!

Of course it's not on the General Mills site, but apparently you can buy it at convenience stores.  Or, if you are in Hawaii, I guess you can stop by Hilo Hattie.

Yum!

Peanut Free Bakery: Zest (San Carlos, CA)

After I attended BlogHerFood last month, I was scanning the hashtags on Twitter and noticed raves coming from folks who had sampled gluten free treats from Zest Bakery at the Sunday after-picnic.

Zest is a local bakery to me, but I had never gone in.  Why?

Why else?  Nuts!

I just assumed (you know what they say about assuming things) that there would be too much peanutty stuff there, so we just avoided it.

Now I could kick myself.  After a tweet to them, I found out that they are peanut free!  Now, don't get too excited - they use other nuts and things like almond milk.  But B has the clear to eat all other tree nuts (the only ones we haven't tried are Brazil nuts (blech) and Macadamias (still can't find peanut free ones) so we went in and got a sampling of treats.

A chocolate chip cookie.
A cinnamon apple morning bun/muffin.
A raspberry chocolate chip muffin.

O.

M.

G.

These are so tasty, and you'd never ever know they were gluten free.

And they have pies, and other breads, and ravioli.  I even saw a tweet a week ago about pumpkin cream puffs! 

Here's a menu. Not sure if they ship, but they should consider it.

My waistline will not be happy this holiday season, that's for sure.

If you're local to the SF Peninsula (or heck anywhere in the SF Bay Area) stop by and try them out.  It's a small bakery, but they are sure to have something you'll enjoy. Call ahead - see what they've got that day.  You're in for a treat!

Zest Bakery
1224 Arroyo Ave
San Carlos, CA 94070
phone: 650-241-ZEST (650-241-9378)

p.s. they have no idea I've written this post, so no, i didn't get anything free from them to review.  this is just a happy customer!

Back to School Peanut Free Lunches

I always chuckle a little when I see lists of ideas like this - a peanut free lunch is _just that_ for me - it doesn't have any peanuts in it - duh.

But I do know that these types of lists help parents of non-allergic kids who can't pack peanut butter anymore because of school bans.

So without further ado, here are some 'peanut free' lunch ideas from Parenting.com.

But the real question is:  would YOUR kid eat any of these?

Peanut Free Snack #2

Have you been waiting on pins and needles for Snack #2?

Yeah, I didn't think so. But here it is anyways!

A little back story:
Around these parts, we're venturing into the land of tree nuts. B had a negative RAST and skin test to all tree nuts, so one-by-one we've been introducing them to her (with her doctor's approval). I can't tell you how stressful this is (for all of us I'm sure). We give her a nut and then sit and stare at her for 20 minutes to see if she has a reaction. Big Fun in the PFMama's house!

So far we've tested Almonds, Pecans, Hazelnuts, Pistachios, and Pine Nuts with success. It's a total nightmare trying to find 'safe' nuts (meaning that haven't been cross contaminated with peanuts), but I've done it.

That being said, B's been eating almonds for a while now. She's a skinny little thing so any added good fats are in rotation.

I've even let her have packaged snacks that contain almonds (as long as they don't have a peanut warning of any kind). Now I know many folks out there will say "But how do you know that there isn't cross contamination at the source?". Well the short answer (and I guess the long answer too) is: we don't. Is there logic there? Not really, but there you have it.

OK, enough yapping, here's the snack I found.

I've been looking for a peanut free granola bar that isn't chewy. I hate those ones that seem like rice krispie treats with the stretchy little strings that extend when you take a bite. Blech!

You know the ones I want? I want the Nature Valley texture kind! The hard, crunchy ones! Love those, but no way is B getting 'em. They're full of peanuts! Or so I thought.

So being the go-getter that I am I've kept at it, reading every dang label over and over and over (are you getting it yet) again.

And then I found these: Kashi Roasted Almond Crunch Crunchy Almond Granola Bars. Here's a link to the nutrition panel.

And I know there are those of you out there that are avoiding ALL nuts and for this I'm sorry. I've totally been there and I hope I haven't bummed you out by blogging about these. Seriously.

But if that ever changes, know that these are GREAT. They taste awesome and I keep one in my purse at all times for a snack for ME.

I can't tell you all how happy I am that I can pack these in B's backpack at summer camp or in her lunch in the fall. It's like the holy grail of peanut free snacks.

All my continuing detective work pays off - well at least sometimes.

Peanut Free Snack #1

I found a couple of peanut free snacks I wanted to share with you. I can't give it all up in one post, so I'll give you one today and one tomorrow.

Here's the first.

I was at the grocery store today, buying my weekly load of stuff as well as some extra treats for the memorial day holiday. I was wandering in the snack aisle, picking up some, uh, healthy treats. And I spied these. I love me some Chex Mix!

Who was I kidding? These have never been safe. What the heck was I thinking picking these bad boys up?

But I did. And, as usual, I read the label, expecting disappointment.

But something's changed. On the corporate site, you'll see this label:

The warning says "Contains Wheat, Milk, Soy, Sesame, Almond, and Peanut Ingredients".

But on my bag today, the warning says:
"Contains Wheat, Milk, and Soy Ingredients."

No PEANUTS! No Almonds! No Sesame!

I know it's easy to make this homemade, but I always end up with WAY too much. And I KNOW that there are all sorts of things added to the bagged stuff that makes it not so great for your kids (or yourself for that matter). But being able to pick up a bag of this to take to a football game or picnic is a real time-saver and someday I'm going to use it to my advantage.

But isn't it saying something that it doesn't have peanut flour anymore? Are things changing?

I'm going to take it as a good sign.

Now make sure you read the bag's label in your store, just in case. Don't want you picking up an old batch.

And it just goes to show that reading your labels constantly pays off. If it isn't protecting you against accidental exposure, it'll show you new products that have become safe for you!

Let the snacking begin!

- Gab

p.s. And next time? Stay tuned for something most peanut free parents long for to put in their allergic kids lunchboxes and backpacks...

Friday Recipe - Sunflower Butter Balls

I read the feed to a craft blog called The Crafty Crow. She highlighted another blog called Happy Things - specifically a recipe for Peanut Butter Balls - which the author had adapted from a sinful recipe from the butter queen herself Paula Deen. The recipe looked so good that I thought I would take my first stab at creating a peanut free treat from a peanut laden one.

The transformation from there to here definitely took a few turns. Paula's original treat has been turned into something a bit healthier and definitely something that a Peanut and Tree Nut free child can partake in.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup sunflower seed butter (I used Sunbutter Organic Creamy)
1 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup quick cook oats (I used McCann's Quick Cooking Irish Oatmeal)
3/4 cup wheat germ

To make them:

Place the wheatgerm in a shallow bowl. You'll use this later.

In a separate bowl, combine the sunflower seed butter, honey, milk, and oats and mix until they are evenly incorporated. Roll into small balls about the size, ironically enough, of a walnut (I used my meatball making tool and it worked really well). Roll them in the wheat germ. Place on a plate or tray and refrigerate until set. Once they are set you can transfer them into a covered container or put in the freezer.

Makes Approx. 36 balls.

How are they, you ask? Put it this way, when I tasted one, the first words out of my mouth rhymed with Moly Mitt! I swear I could eat, like, 7 or 10 of these in one sitting. I regretted making only a half a batch. Suffice it to say, these will be made many more times (I'm sure with variations) in our household. These are almost like little soft granola bars - I could see giving Bella a few of these in the morning for a quick breakfast. I also think these are not peanut butter looking enough to confuse a child.

A note about allergens: these don't contain peanuts or tree nuts but they DO contain dairy and wheat, but I bet we could find substitutes. McCann's oatmeal is made on dedicated equipment so I think it's safe for gluten free diets (correct me if I'm wong!). You could use gluten free graham cracker crumbs to coat them and you might be able to find in your area powdered soy milk? I'll leave it to you, my wonderful readers, to suggest a dairy free alternative to powdered milk.

Let me know if you try these, and if you do, how your kids (and you) like them. I can't really take any credit for them, but the experiment was fun and oh so delicious.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

p.s. You know what? If you wanted to try Paula's recipe and just substitute SunButter, I bet the recipe would turn out fabulous -it would definitely make a sweet treat for the holidays.