A blog about living an allergy free lifestyle
Here is a bit of good news for parents of children with food allergies in Texas schools.
Senate Bill 27 has passed the House and is headed for the Governor’s Desk. Texas will now join 15 other states to have statewide, best practice guidelines that will help Public Schools know how to handle students with life-threatening food allergies.
Thank you to all of you that worked on awareness and getting this bill through the committees.
To see just how easy allergy free cooking can be, try this simple recipe. This is a family favorite and perfect meal for this time of year. We like this dish served over rice or quinoa. If you are gluten intolerant be sure to use gluten free oat flour. You may of course use your own favorite flour, but results may very. Also look closely at your canned tomatoes. Some contain corn ingredients.
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup grapeseed oil, or other vegetable oil
1 med green bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
1 large onion, cut crosswise then sliced thin
1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz cans
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
2 clove garlic minced
Method
Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken with a little salt and coat with flour. Cook chicken in oil about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on all sides and cooked through. Drain.
Place chicken in large pot on stove top. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, salt and italian seasoning. Heat to boiling. Top with onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender. Serve as desired.
This recipe can also be made in a slow cooker. Brown chicken in skillet and drain. Use canned mushrooms in place of fresh. Mix vegetables, tomatoes and seasonings together in separate bowl. Place half of the chicken in cooker. Top with half of the vegetable mixture. Add remaining chicken. Top with remaining vegetable mixture. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours.
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Originally posted Fall 2010
This recipe is a take on my White Bean, Vegetable & Pasta Soup. The pasta is replaced with precooked barley for a hearty, tasty, winter soup. But of course this soup can be enjoyed year round. If you don’t like barley, by all means go ahead and use the pasta. Also try making a batch of meatballs with this soup and dropping them in just before serving for a wedding soup type dish. Extra yummy.
Ingredients
1 med onion, chopped
2 med carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 sm zucchini, chopped
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup precooked barley, or uncooked brown rice macaroni
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed and drained
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 tsp italian seasoning
Method
Saute onion, carrots, garlic and celery in dutch oven or large pot, stirring occasionally. Cook until onion is translucent and carrots are crisp-tender. Add remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until vegetables and macaroni (if using) are tender, stirring occasionally.
Note:
This recipe may also be made in a crockpot. Just sauté onion, garlic, carrots and celery in a little olive oil until beginning to soften. Add to crockpot along will all other ingredients except barley or pasta. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. In the last 20 to 30 minutes, increase heat to high and add barley or pasta. Cook until barley or pasta is soft.
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Originally posted Winter 2011
Many of the baking recipes in the Make It Allergy Free cookbook calls for oat milk. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful oat milk is for cooking. It substitutes well for low fat dairy milk and can pretty much be used the same way as soy or rice milk. Relatively unknown in the US for a very long time, it has been used in other countries such as Sweden, which is credited for inventing oat milk, for a while
Oat milk is high in fiber. It is cholesterol and lactose free. It contains vitamin E, folic acid and other trace elements and minerals. Oats are also rich in phytochemicals.
You can most certainly buy prepackaged oat milk at your local health food store. One of my favorite brands as Pacific organic. However, if you are dealing with food allergies, it may be best to make your own. Some brands contain xanthan gum which can be a problem for those allergic to corn and some oat products can be an issue for those that require gluten free due to wheat cross-contamination with oats.
There are several ways you can make oat milk yourself. This version, according to my tests, seem to be the easiest, tastiest and recipe friendly. If you require gluten free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
OAT MILK
4 cups water
1 cup cooked rolled oats (I used Bob’s Gluten Free cooked with a pinch of sea salt)
1 tbsp organic granulated sugar, brown sugar or 1 medjool date, pitted)
Directions:
Place all ingredients into blender. Start off on low speed then increase to high. Blend for 2 -3 minutes. Pour into container through cheesecloth lined fine mesh strainer. Put in refrigerator and let sit it overnight. The next day, shake well and strain once more. It is now ready to use. Shake or stir well before each use.
I’ve found that with this version, the overnight sit will cause extra sediment to collect at the bottom. For cooking this is fine. Just shake and use. For drinking though, you may prefer to pour off and use just the top layer of milk, removing the sediment. Fresh oat milk will separate. This is normal. If this bothers you, you can add a little guar gum to the mixture to hold it together. I personally do not find that it makes a big difference in cooking. For higher fiber, vitamin and mineral content, oat groats can be used as well. Just soak them overnight before cooking and using them. In a bind, you can also make raw oat milk. Just used uncooked oats (not groats) and increase the water to 5 cups. I find that this version tends to get a little slimy after sitting. It still works fine for cooking though.
Give it a try You might be pleasantly surprised.
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Originally posted February 24, 2011
This is actually a tip I posted on the mailing list a couple of weeks ago, but thought I’d share it here too. I hope you find this useful.
A spring handle ice cream scoop can come in very handy with allergy free cooking. Batters made from gluten free flours handle a lot differently than those made with wheat flour. They tend to be more delicate and somewhat sticky. I have found that using a regular sized ice cream scoop with a spring handle comes in real handy for filling muffin cups. It is just the right size to fill a medium sized cup to the right level for baking. It also works great for making pancakes and waffles. Just scoop and release onto hot griddle or waffle iron for uniform pancakes and waffles. Smaller scoops are also great for making cookies. Give it a try sometime.
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Originally posted February 4, 2011
Make It Allergy Free was created by a mother of twins with multiple food allergies off the charts. After being faced with the question of what to feed someone who is allergic to almost everything, she aimed to find out. Several years in the making, Make It Allergy Free is dedicated to true allergy free cooking. Allergy free does not mean flavor free.
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