Whole Foods Cookie Monster Cupcake

Got to love a friend that finds the cookie monster egg-free nut-free cupcake for your child before you do! Yes, I showed up to a birthday today and Vince had a cookie monster egg-free nut-free cupcake waiting for him. Sooooo sweet and Vince was sooo happy. My friend Annette found it at Whole Foods! If I didn't know that she checked with the bakery more than once to make sure there were no eggs or nuts, I would not have trusted this gorgeous huge blue cupcake. It was too good to be true!

That cookie in Cookie Monster's mouth was his favorite, followed by the blue icing, following by the vanilla cake (which I have never made him)...and we took the leftovers home and Ava and Emma loved it too! So next time you wish you could just go buy a cupcake instead of making an egg-free batch at home, call Whole Foods and see if they can whip this up for you.

Greek Chicken with Hummus, Tzatziki, & Quinoa

Have I mentioned I am back to work? Not too much, only 10 hours a week but it seems to have cut into my food shopping, cooking, and blogging time. Heads up...my recipes will probably get easier and shorter and my posts about take out restaurants will get more frequent. I have my old job from 4 years ago working at a residential eating disorder treatment center. I am one of the Education Coordinators, helping the students who are in treatment keep up with their school work. I also contact teachers, parents, and counselors.

I was sure this dinner would be a disappointment. It was about 15 minutes of prep and not well thought out. But Emma said half way through dinner, "Mommy, can you make this again tomorrow night?" It is amazing how good that feels, when your kids all actually like the dinner you prepared. Success! And when it happens after an easy prep it is even more of a Success!

Greek Chicken:
I cut chicken with a scissor, put the chunks in a baking dish and added a little greek salad dressing. Baked at 350 until done.

Baked Broccoli:

Cut up broccoli, top with Olive Oil, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Sesame-Free Hummus:
In the VitaMix I added:
1 can chickpeas
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp Olive Oil
salt

Tzatziki:
Fage Total Tzatziki

Quinoa:
Cook in a rice cooker or pot
1 cup of Quinoa in rice cooker
1 tbsp of greek salad dressing
2 cups of water
After it cools add Feta Cheese.

Nothing fancy but when the kids liked it, I decided to share it. Enjoy.

Baking with a Baker (and Blogger, Writer, & Photographer)

My cousin, Shuna, from http://eggbeater.typepad.com/, is a Baker (and Blogger, Writer, & Photographer). My recipes would probably horrify her... but today I got to bake with her. First, she made me Gluten Free Flour! Mixed and matched and viola, my own Gluten-Free All Purpose flour. Her recipe was inspired by glutenfreegirl.com. This flour can be used for all kinds of cooking. 

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour:

200 grams Super Fine Brown Rice 

150 grams Sorghum

50 grams Potato Flour

250 grams Sweet Rice Flour/"Mochi" Flour

150 grams Potato Starch

100 grams Arrow Root

50 grams Coconut Flour

Then, I got to watch her make chocolate chip cookies. I must admit, every time I try and bake cookies from scratch they look and taste like scones. I can't even share the exact recipe she made because there was a lot of tasting and adding and I lost track. It was a variation of the recipe on the back of the Kirkland Chocolate Chips.

Chocolate Chip Cookies,  Egg-free + Gluten-free:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1.5 teaspoon of Ener-G egg replacer + 2 tbsp warm water

3 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 1/3 cup Gluten-free All Purpose Flour

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Mash the butter in a bowl until it looks whipped. Then add the sugars and mix. Then add the egg replacer, vanilla, and salt. Once mixed, add the flour. Do not mix until the flour is fully mixed in. When there is still a flour coating on the butter mixture add the chocolate chips and finish mixing. Taste and if you are as talented as Shuna, add what you think is missing. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. 

I learned lots of lessons today which will hopefully affect my cookies forever. First, I learned not to melt the butter but get it to room temperature and mash it until it is a whipped consistency. Second, I learned not to over mix, it creates too much air which could have caused my scone like cookies for so many years. Third, I learned that gluten-free baking is inconsistent and trust yourself, if you think it needs more of something despite the "recipe", then go for it. In baking-for-dummies terms, the gluten-free flours absorb the liquids differently and longer than a gluten based flour and there is no consistency among them. After the cookie dough appeared and tasted done to me, Shuna added more salt, vanilla, and butter. End result, they were insane!

Lucy's Brownie Cakes, Gluten-free + Egg-free + Nut-free + Diary-free

I have been MIA lately I am going to admit why. I messed up. Thank God no one got sick, but I am 95% sure I messed up big time on the kids' allergies.

A few nights ago I went to blog about my Turkey Tacos. I had bought a seasoning packet, Fontera Taco Skillet, at the store that day and read the ingredients at least two times, maybe three. I made tacos, the kids ate them, and so I went online to share them with you. However, I already threw out the seasoning packet so I looked it up online to share the exact info. I immediately noticed the scary words "sesame oil" when the item came up.  I even blogged previously that some of the Fontera packets have sesame oil and I still missed it. My kids had no hives! I do not know what that means. It was one of the last ingredients and the tacos had cheese with very little Turkey, so perhaps they did not react to the little bit? Or has their sesame allergy gone away? Or was it a different flavor that I bought in the store and the one I found online was different? I do not know but I was horrified and mortified and it took me a few days to get over it.

Sometimes, I think these things happen to remind me to be more careful. Stick to what I know works. Stop trying new and creative recipes and give the kids what they like and what I know is safe. Or maybe an accident happens to show you the children have outgrown an allergy. I have no clue. I think we all need to be retested and so I am going to leave it at that...A reminder to go back to the doctor and see where we are at this year.

Here I am today, with a Store Bought suggestion, afraid to try any new items for a while. Lucy's Brand cookies are an easy treat for my family. Their cookies are nut-free, gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. Bottom line, they are safe. And they are good!! So they either have a new item or it is new to my Whole Foods. Brownie Cakes, wrapped in individual servings packs (with two mini brownie cakes). These are PERFECT! They look like cupcakes so I can leave them at the schools for birthdays. I can bring them with me on play dates, to restaurants, while traveling as a "special treat", or to leave in my car in case other parents bring surprise cupcakes to the park. I swear, this little box from Whole Foods has the potential to change my life.

The whole family tested them out and we all approve. Also, try Lucy's cookies. So far, I like every flavor I have tried.

Hope this helps and enjoy!

Flax & Honey Banana Bread, Egg-free + Dairy-free + Nut-free

I made this for a friend today who needs extra love and prayers. I have no idea how it turned out but it was on the Whole Foods Recipe website so I am trusting them and sharing it with you.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/flax-and-honey-banana-bread

This is not a gluten-free recipe, however, you can substitute the Whole Wheat Flour for an All-Purpose GF Flour.

Zucchini Linguine, Cauliflower Mash, and Grilled Chicken

Imitation night... I was inspired to imitate some of my favorite dishes tonight with vegetable replacements. The grilled chicken is real...although for a minute I considered sticking with the theme and making some imitation chicken tofu thingy.

Cauliflower Mash:
2 bags of Microwavable Cauliflower, cooked
1 tbsp of Cream Cheese (or dairy free cream cheese)
1 tbsp of Butter (or dairy free butter, I used Smart Balance)
1 minced Garlic Clove
1 tbsp of Parmesan Cheese (Optional)
Salt & Pepper

Put all the ingredients in the VitaMix and blend on a low speed. Mash down while blending.

Zucchini Linguine:
4 Zucchinis
1 jar of Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp of Olive Oil

Shave the zucchinis using a vegetable peeler. Go around the zucchini in a circle until you see the seeds and throw the rest away. Saute shaved zucchini with olive oil. After a few minutes add the sauce. Cook about 5 minutes. Serve like Linguine.

Grilled Chicken:

Chicken Cutlets

Salad Dressing (I used Organicville Sun Dried Tomato & Garlic)

Put some salad dressing in a Grill Pan. Grill chicken.

Edamame Salad

I have been meaning to blog about this dish since I started the blog. My friend Jenny told me about this simple recipe for Edamame as a snack, side dish, or appetizer.

1 bag of Frozen Edamame, defrosted
Craisins
Feta Cheese, Crumbled
Salad dressing, I used Organicville Olive Oil & Balsamic

Mix and serve!

Whole Foods Indian Red Lentil Soup, Everything-free

I am sorry that I have been out of touch. Spring break, new (old) job, and a little bit of cookers block (if that is a thing?). I am tired and overwhelmed. Headache, potty accident, atomic meltdown, ear infection, shower refusal, allergic reaction to dog, MRI scheduled, planning the summer, school project, kids fighting, Uggs in the rain, eczema.... Yea, I ended up hysterical crying in the doctors office today. There was a student nurse following the doc. I had no control and just melted down. Wonder what their conversation was after I left?

In other news, I stumbled upon the Recipe section of the Whole Foods website and found new inspiration. There are hundreds of recipes, all simple, healthy, and many are allergy free. My first recipe was their Indian Red Lentil Soup.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/indian-red-lentil-soup

Check it out. Their pictures are better than mine so I am not posting one. It was simple, delicious, and pretty easy.