Perfect Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

As Thanksgiving approached my son asked me to make him a pumpkin pie. After some experimenting, I came up with a recipe that had the right balance of flavor and consistency. The crust can easily be replaced with one that is gluten free to make this pie perfect for all with food allergies.

Ingredients:

I cheated and used Pillsbury pre made crust as it is dairy free and guaranteed good. You can easily substitute it for a homemade gluten free crust.

Filling:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 sodelicious dairy free coconut milk coffee creamer

Directions

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Stir together the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl; set aside. Whisk together the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, vanilla, and rice milk in a separate bowl until evenly blended. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until fully blended. Pour into the prepared crust and place on a cookie sheet in the preheated oven.
Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. The center may still wiggle a little but will firm up out of the oven. Cool on a metal rack.

Summer Potato Salad

Potato Salad is synonymous with Summer and cookouts. This recipe is great when you need to bring something to a Summer gathering as all ages will love it. It does include bacon (thus the yumminess) and soy (Veganaise), but it does not contain eggs, nuts, or dairy. If needed you can substitute out the Veganaise for a dairy/egg/soy free imitation mayo.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes

1/4 cup Veganaise

6 slices bacon

1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoon mustard

Cut the potatoes into quarters but do not peal. Boil until soft (about 1/2 hour).

While the potatoes are cooking go ahead and cook the bacon and set aside.

Drain and let the potatoes cool for only 10 minutes. Then mix in the veganaise and mustard. Stir in 1/2 the bacon crumbled into small bits and stir in the salt and chives. Once ingredients are mixed- stir in the remaining bacon.

By mixing in the ingredients while the potatoes are still warm, the potatoes will soak up the flavors.

Feel free to adjust the amounts of ingredients. I tend to make my potato salad creamy and thus add quite a bit of veganaise.

Breakfast on the Road with Allergies

Since my son is at a ski academy, he is on the road a lot. He recently returned from Chile and will be heading out to Colorado in a few weeks. I am able to do the leg work ahead of time to make sure he has the food he needs at his destination, but sometimes the actual traveling is the hardest part.
In the past, breakfast has been the toughest meal to find on the road. He usually can find a banana in the airport and eat a granola bar. Dairy and eggs seem to be in everything breakfast related and finding the food labels in a busy airport food court can be impossible.
This led me on a search for fast food oatmeal. Apparently many restaurants have it now including Macdonalds. Unfortunately many of these restaurants also add many unnecessary ingredients making the oatmeal allergy unfriendly! The answer is Starbucks. Strangely enough I could not find oatmeal on their menu board or anywhere else in the restaurant, but had no problem ordering it. I recently ordered him two cups of oatmeal with the side of dried fruit. It was immediately after his last endoscopy at the hospital Starbucks. At 16, I’m not usually ordering for him but in this case he woke up starving and out of it. I got him to the car where he fell asleep and I ran back inside to get him the breakfast to eat during the three hour car ride home.
Next time he will add the brown sugar as well as the dried fruit. The two oatmeals plus fruit added up to about 450 calories. He is trying to gain weight so that seemed like a fairly adequate breakfast with juice. He reported that it was very bland without the fruit, but quite good once he mixed them together.
They make their oatmeal with just water so it is allergy safe. I would be careful ordering oatmeal at other fast food restaurants without checking the labels first.

Quick Shrimp Scampi

This is a dinner you can throw together in 15 minutes with food you have in the house. I do keep a bag of frozen cooked shrimp in the freezer, so that I can make this when I am tired or haven’t been to the store to get food for dinner. It is full of garlic, so you may want to tone that part of the recipe down if your children don’t love the taste.

This recipe is egg, dairy, soy, and nut free

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of frozen cooked shrimp
• 1 box of spaghetti (check that it is egg free)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• lemon/pepper seasoning
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• splash of white wine (optional)

Directions:

• Cook spaghetti while preparing sauce.
• Defrost shrimp, remove tails and cut in half
• heat olive oil and garlic on low
• add white wine and simmer 3-5 minutes
• Add shrimp and stir until shrimp is coated.
• cover shrimp in lemon pepper seasoning
• add diced tomatoes and continue simmering for 5 minutes
• add lemon juice and toss with spaghetti

 

Sweet Potato Fries

This is another recipe that everyone will love even though it is allergy free. It is a great side dish and a healthier variation on french fries. I have tried some of the frozen sweet potato fries, but they ended up a bit dry and lacked zip. My son with allergies likes them with ketchup or dairy free ranch dressing while my other son likes them with regular ranch dressing. I have included a recipe for the dairy free ranch dressing at the bottom.

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

• Peel and slice sweet potatoes into 1/4-inch long slices and then 1/4-wide inch strips.
• Line a sheet tray with parchment.
• In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat.
• Mix salt, pepper, and garlic powder together and sprinkle over potatoes.
• Sprinkle with paprika.
• Spread potatoes evenly on the pan and bake until golden brown- about 20 min..
• Turn a few times during baking.

Dairy Free Ranch Dressing:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup veganaise dairy/egg free mayonaise
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 7 1/2 tablespoons rice or soy milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and then refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Chicken Pot Pie/ Dairy and egg free

I have several teenage boys coming to stay at my house tomorrow night before a ski race. They are used to boarding (ski) school food- so ordering pizza for them is not an option. I wanted a recipe that screamed home cooking, but fills up 16 and 17 year old boys as well. I have chosen chicken pot pie with rice.  I was able to make it this morning and will just reheat it tomorrow. I used a recipe that has always been a hit. Of course, I also needed a recipe that my son who is allergic to dairy, eggs and nuts could have as well.  I took my favorite chicken pot pie recipe and substituted the cream and butter ingredients.  The recipe turned out great- the boys won’t know changes were made and it tastes the same as the traditional version. Now I can arrive home tomorrow after work and pop it in the oven before they arrive!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ – 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1 cup soy creamer or coconut milk creamer
  • 4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3 small red potatoes, cut in 1-in chunks
  • 1 zucchini, sliced
  • 5 Tbsp earth balance butter substitute
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • ¾ cup frozen green peas
  • 1 package mushrooms
  • 5 Tbsp flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • ¼ cup cognac or dry white wine
  • 1 Tbsp dried tarragon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • store bought pie dough (most are dairy and egg free including Pillsbury)

  Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken in a baking dish in a single layer. Pour the cream over the chicken and bake for 30 min.- until almost cooked through
• Remove the chicken from the cream, reserving the cream for the sauce. Once the chicken has cooled, cut it into 1 inch pieces.
• Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water. Bring this to a boil. After 10 minutes, add the carrots and cook 5-10 minutes more until both the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Drain and set the vegetables aside.
• Melt the earth balance in a wide sauté pan, add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Sprinkle in the flour; stir and cook 5 minutes, but do not brown. Slowly add the broth to the onion mixture, whisking until the sauce smoothes out and thickens. Add the creamer, white wine, tarragon, salt and pepper and cook 5 more minutes.
• Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots and frozen peas to this sauce and mix gently. Pour mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Cover the dish with the pastry and seal the sides. Make air slits in the top of the pastry.
• Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees until golden brown.

Coconut Shrimp Tempura

One of the challenges of feeding kids with allergies is to avoid getting into a rut of the same recipes and standbys. Often cooking with out allergens can mean simplifying recipes. I can find myself falling into both these traps. I have my list of easy meals that work for my son and then there are the times that I simply adjust his portions so that they are allergy free and unfortunately more bland. I know that when he is at school he is almost always getting the blander version of what the other students are eating. Luckily my son is willing to try new foods and new recipes, so he is happy when I make myself venture out and try new dinner ideas.

Of course even when I venture out of my recipe box, I still like quick and easy! The shrimp tempura recipe is perfect. It is different, delicious and easy to make. It is dairy, egg, nut and wheat free. It is soy free if you skip the soy sauce for dipping and substitute an orange sauce or eat them plain. I serve it with rice and stir fry vegetables- we just have not conquered chopsticks yet….

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Equivalent of 3 eggs using Ener g egg replacement
  • 18 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined (tails left on)
  •  Oil (for frying)- if peanuts is not a problem- peanut oil adds a nice flavor

  Directions:

• Mix panko, coconut, lime peel, salt, and pepper in bowl. Mix ener g egg mixture in a seperate bowl. Add shrimp to bowl with egg mixture and toss to coat. Coat each shrimp with panko mix.  Pour oil into frying pan so that shrimp will be submerged in the oil; heat over medium-high heat. Add a few shrimp at a time to skillet and cook until golden then turn over and cook until shrimp is golden all over- about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
  Serve warm with dipping sauce.

Orange sauce- add 1/4 cup orange marmalade and 2 teaspoons chili sauce to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until bubbly (about 30 seconds), then stir in 2 teaspoons lemon juice.

Favorite Products

Favorite Products

Here is a list of foods that are essential in our household. Some work with the 6 elimination diet and some contain wheat. All of them are useful when you are trying to cook quickly! When my son was first put on the 6 food elimination diet, it seemed that I spent over half my day either shopping for food or preparing food for him. Part of this was due to my own anxiety over his weight and feeling that I constantly needed to feed him to ensure that he got enough calories despite the diet limitations. Over time I found some products that helped me reduce my time in the kitchen, although it still takes shopping at more than 1 grocery store to find all the right foods. Things like Amy’s vegetarian pizza and Amy’s chocolate cake are great when time is limited!

 

1. Ener-G Egg Replacer

A culinary egg substitute.

A blend of raising ingredients and stabilizer in a Gluten-Free base.   Wheat Free, Nut Free, No Preservatives, Artificial Flavorings, or Sugar Added.  No Cholesterol. Contains no Eggs or Animal protein.

I tend to be a little heavy handed with the replacement powder and water and this seems to work well in all recipes. Great in pancake mixes and all baking.

2. Amy’s Organic Chocolate Cake

This also comes GLuten Free. The regular cake is dairy, egg, nut and soy free. It is sooo good! Very moist and I like it as well as any regular chocolate cake. Believe it or not- Duncan Hines vanilla frosting is dairy free and tastes great with this cake.

3. Earth Balance Soy Free Butter Substitute

This comes in a tub or sticks. Sticks work great for baking.

4. Back to Basics Granola

Found with cereals. Great mixed with dairy free yogurts for breakfast.

5. Sodelicious Coconut Milk Ice cream and Yogurts.

The mint ice cream is great! I mix with rice milk and chocolate syrup in blender for a mint chocolate milkshake that is dairy and soy free.

6. Dairy Free Chocolate Dream chocolate chips

These are dairy and soy free and taste exactly like tollhouse! Great for baking.

7. Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Cheese Free Pizza

Nothing easier than frozen pizza for a lunch or snack and the onions on this give it a sweetness that kids love.

8. Schar Gluten Free Classic White Bread Mix

A bread machine is needed for this, but this is by far the best sandwich bread I found that worked for the full restricted diet. No wheat, eggs or dairy. It is a white, kid friendly bread that does not need to be toasted to taste good!

9. Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix

Believe it or not pancakes and waffles come out really well using this traditional mix along with ener-g eggs and rice milk!

10.  Thai Kitchen Original Pad Thai

This is gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, nut, soy protein free and can be made with only water and a microwave. Perfect for a dorm room snack or emergency meal when other options contain allergens.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork for the Road!

My son is at a ski academy which is 1 1/2 hours away, so at least once a week I deliver food up to him and visit. The cook is great about working around his allergies, but I bring him his rice milk, soy yogurts, bagels, dairy free cream cheese, baked goods etc. It was especially hard when he was off of all 6 main allergens. I then delivered a lot of meals that were frozen and he could pull out when needed.

Tomorrow morning he is heading to Canada for a 4 day race series and the team will be staying in a condo and cooking for themselves. We have learned that shopping in a french speaking grocery store does not work well for him. last time I was trying to google ingredients as he pulled packages off the shelf and told me through the phone what to look up!  So now I have a cooler packed and am about to deliver sandwich bread, hamburger buns, rice milk, oatmeal, bagels, yogurts,soy cream cheese and a few frozen meals to him before he leaves in the morning.

I fell back on an old standby- pulled pork. This recipe freezes well and is free of all allergies. Now the only thing I have to worry about while he is away is that he comes back with all of his toes and his nose, since the temps are staying below zero through the Weekend!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 pork tenderloin

  Directions:

Combine all ingredients except roast in the slow cooker. Put tenderloin in slow cooker and cover with sauce. Cook on slow for 8 hours. During the last 2 hours, break the pork apart with a fork and stir. Do this a few times.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread- Dairy/egg free

I love this recipe in the Winter months when I don’t feel guilty using canned pumpkins instead of fresh vegetables for baking. It is extremely easy and very moist. It lasts for days, but also freezes well. I tend to double the recipe and than throw a couple loaves in the freezer. My son loves it on race day for a snack in the morning and it does well keeping for days in his dorm room in a sealed container. The recipe contains no dairy or soy ingredients and using an egg substitute makes does not change the consistency of the bread. If nut allergies are not an issue, add 1/2 cup of walnuts.

Preheat to 350

Ingredients:

• 1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water. Add in flour, sugar, baking soda cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves. Mix on low speed just until moist.
Pour into 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.