Soy and Dairy Free Recipes, Tips and Products

Vanilla Wafers

2009-09-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

The closest Whole Foods to us is over 3 hours away. We have found that their 365 brand of Vanilla wafers are delicious (even though they don't have the texture of the real stuff). But, we can't drive over 3 hours each way every couple of weeks to stock up on snacks like these. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting recipes for different "kid" snacks that I've been testing out.
This vanilla wafer recipe is quick, easy and delicious! (FYI: The dough does get very sticky- it might work good to rub a little shortening on your hands/spoon prior to shaping)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup palm shortening
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla (or more if you like a stronger vanilla flavor)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1.1/2 cups flour
1. 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 325.
Cream together powdered sugar, regular sugar, salt, vanilla, egg and shortening. Add the flower and baking powder.
Add the water and mix until you form a ball.
Roll the dough into balls (1/2 inch worked great, but 1 inch would be a good "adult" size too!). Flatten slightly on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake for about 15 mins or until they start to turn golden. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!

"Special" K Bars

2009-07-03T10:57:00.001-07:00

This recipe was altered from one of Food Allergy Mama's recipes to make it soy free.

Yield: About 36 squares

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

1 (15-ounce) container creamy peanut butter

6 cups crisped rice cereal

2 cups Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Grease a 13 x 9 baking pan. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, simmer syrup and sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until thoroughly mixed. In a large bowl, combine cereal and peanut butter mixture, and press into prepared baking dish using a rubber spatula.

Place chocolate chips into microwavable dish, and heat on high 45 to 60 seconds, or until melted. Using an offset spatula, spread melted chocolate over the cereal mixture. Let mixture cool completely at room temperature, and cut into small 1-inch squares.

Tip: Add more rice cereal if you like a crunchier bar, and less cereal if you want your bars to be chewier.

Thank you to Food Allergy Mama for the original recipe! www.foodallergymama.com

Weddings!

2009-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

We went to a wedding a last weekend. To be honest, I DREAD going to weddings.....not necessarily the wedding itself, but the reception. More specifically, the dinner......there's all those little candies on the tables, food that you don't know what was prepared with, the cake, the punch, and any other goodies they have. If you're prepared, you can get through an event like this pretty easily. If you're not prepared, it can be a stressful, embarrassing and very long evening.
So, here's some things we do to help everything go smoothly.
1) This is the most obvious, but bring your own food. We live in a small town and we usually know what general foods they are having at which place- so we try to get Lilly's food closest to what they have (ie, chicken, veggies & potatoes/rice, etc.....) Don't forget the dinner rolls/bread! There's usually a basket of it out on the table.
2) Definately bring your own piece of cake (preferably with LOTS of frosting)
3) Bring your own table snack. You know those little candy filled things that they have on the tables at every wedding (filled with M & M's, or dinner mints or whatever)? Make your own little snack bag..... mine usually consist of cashews (lil loves them), some pastel mints (we found one kind at the grocery store that are S/D Free.), and some Enjoy Life chocolate.
4) Juice boxes! (we get this apple nectar in the grocery store that we call "Lilly Pop"that we bring)
4) Bring some little toys to occupy them....just in case ;)

Have a good wedding season everyone!

Strawberry shortcake

2009-06-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Food Allergy Mama (www.foodallergymama.com) for this recipe! It rocks!!! I varied it a bit, since hers called for soy products. Our whole family loved this recipe! I made big ones for each of us, and I took the remaining dough and made mini ones to freeze for daycare.

Yield: Makes 6 shortcakes

4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

3/4 cup granulated sugar

__________________________

1/3 cup cold shortening cut into small cubes

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup rice milk

In a small bowl, combine strawberries and sugar. Macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in cold shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

Preheat oven to 425ºF, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I was out of parchment paper, so I greased the cookie sheet with shortening and it worked great). Shape dough into a ball, and transfer to a lightly floured board (I didn't want to have to wash another dish, so I floured the bowl that I mixed everything in and it worked well). Knead ball for about 5 minutes, and roll out into a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Cut out each shortcake with a floured 3-inch round cutter (I used a regular old drinking glass and a mini one out of the girls' kitchen to make smaller ones) , and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly, and slice crosswise.

Place one half of each shortcake biscuit on plates. Fill with rice ice cream and 1/4 cup of macerated strawberries. Top with remaining shortcake halves, rice ice cream, and an additional 1/4 cup strawberries each..

Popcorn balls

2009-06-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

Pop 3 quarts popcorn and keep warm in a 200 degree oven
oil a large fork and spoon and keep nearby.
Combine 2 c. light corn syrup, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 T. Cider Vinegar in a medium pot. Heat over medium high until the syrup reaches a hard ball consistency. Remove and add 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Pour over the popcorn carefully and stir with the oiled fork and spoon.
Once combined and cooled shape into 2 inch balls and cool on waxed paper.
Wrap in festive tissue, saran wrap with a bow, or set out in a fun holiday bowl.

Thanks food allergy mama for the recipe! www.foodallergymama.com

Dairy Free Buttermilk?

2009-06-18T18:54:00.002-07:00

I just read on someone's blog that to make dairy free buttermilk, add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar mixed with one cup of rice milk.
If anyone knows that this is true and/or have tested this "recipe", please let me know! This opens up a whole new world!!!!!!

UPDATE: This rumor is true with cow's milk and soy milk, but nobody that I was able to contact has tried it with rice milk- but they think there would be no reason why it wouldn't work. So, I will try new recipes this week using rice "buttermilk" and post new recipes as we go.

LEMON GRANITA

2009-06-18T18:54:00.001-07:00

Yield: 6–8 servings

2 cups water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

Juice of 2 lemons

In a small saucepan, combine water and sugar, and heat on low until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature.

Add the lemon zest and juice to the sugar syrup mixture. Cool to room temperature, place in a shallow glass container, and freeze until solid. Use a fork to scrape the lemon ice block into small crystals. Transfer lemon ice crystals into serving glasses.

Thanks food allergy mama for the recipe! www.foodallergymama.com

Banana Bread

2009-06-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

I do.not. like bananas. To be honest, I can't even be in the same room as someone eating a banana. But, with that said, I plugged my nose, channeled my inner mama and made this banana bread. I was told it was delicious, and Lilly LoVeD it....which is all that matters. Owen (my husband) was surprised it was soy & dairy free and said it tasted just like normal banana bread. We've made a couple batches since and made one batch of mini-loaves and one batch of muffins that we froze and kept on hand (in double freezer bags! LOL) for quick snacks and meals.

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup palm shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas

In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening for about 5 minutes.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas, beating after each addition (the batter will be thick).
Spoon into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan.
Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

this recipe came from A Taste of Home

Pumpkin Pie

2009-06-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

This is the pumpkin pie recipe that we use for Lilly during the holidays. It isn't as creamy as a normal pie (since there is no evap milk) but, it is pretty good. We buy a pack of mini-pie tins and divide this recipe up and freeze up the remaining pies so that she is guaranteed to have pumpkin pie during the holidays. (how you freeze it is up to you- I guess this is a controversy in the "baking world")

3 eggs
1 cup rice milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

Unbaked Pie Crust

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Beat in the milk, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, ginger and cloves. Stir in the pumpkin just until blended. Pour into pie crust.
Bake @ 350 for 50-60 mins ('til knife comes out clean)
Cool- then chill until serving.

Chicken Salad

2009-06-17T20:34:00.001-07:00

Chicken (cubed and cooked)
diced celery
hard boiled eggs (chopped)
pickles (chopped)
Canola Mayo

Combine all ingredients, adding just enough canola mayo to moisten.
Add to bun/bread or eat with salad.

SPAM !?! (pt 3- On the go)

2009-06-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

We always have an individual serving of Spam with us. We leave one at daycare for the days when Lilly won't eat what we've sent for her. She has rarely turned it down.

When we go to a restaurant, we bring one with us. We order Lilly a garden/side salad (free of croutons, cheese & dressing, of course!) and we explain to the waitress that Lilly has food allergies and we brought food for her. We've never had a waitress give us a problem- and I think it helps that a) she's only 3 and b) if possible, we've ordered her something off the menu. To make her salad "complete"- we cut up the spam and add it to the salad. It makes the salad go a little further and turns the salad into something she likes to eat.

For more restaurant ideas, go to the homepage and look at the restaurant links on the left.

SPAM !?!

2009-06-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, SPAM is soy & dairy free!

Next to tacos, Spam is Lilly's favorite food. We asked her what she wanted to eat for supper the other night and she said "I hungy for SPAM!"
I made a couple of posts on some ideas we use spam for. I will probably add to these as we go; since we use it for everything, it's hard to remember some of our ideas.

SPAM !?! (pt 2- Sandwiches)

2009-06-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

When you think of SPAM as ham, you probably have many more meal ideas pop into your head.
Here are some common ones that we do for Lilly:

we chop up (really finely) the spam and make it similar to an egg salad sandwich. Add some canola mayo and some pickles (or pickle juice....but READ the labels!) to a bun and you have a "spam salad sandwich"

Slice up some spam and throw on some cheese, tomatoes and pickles and you have a "spam sandwich"

Take a "spam singles" (individual wrapped serving of spam) and throw on the grill for a "spamburger" Obviously, you can just buy hamburger and make a regular hamburger, but it provides some variety and is easy to throw in the diaper bag for that pool party or BBQ or any other situation where you might have to wory about cross-contamination.

SPAM !?! (pt 1- Ham alternative)

2009-06-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

For holidays, when ham is being served (finding a ham that is truly soy & dairy free is very hard in our area and VERY pricey), we take a small baking dish and slice spam. Then, we throw it in the oven with some brown sugar or pineapple and cook it right up.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

2009-06-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Canola Mayo
Hard Boiled eggs
Sliced Bread or Buns

Optional

Green onions
green pepper
Pickles (check the label!!!)
Mustard (check the label)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-06-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup shortening (palm)

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
_______________

1 cup AP flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup Enjoy Life choc chips

Cream together shortening, sugars, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Mix together dry ingredients, stir into creamed mixture, blending well.
Add chocolate chips.

Grease cookie sheet- drop desired size dough on cookie sheet
Bake @ 375 for 10-12 mins
Remove from pan immediately to prevent burning.

recipe modified from 1953 Betty Crocker cookbook

Frosting

2009-06-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is my mother-in-law's frosting recipe for both cookies and cake. It's delicious!

Egg sized dollop of shortening
a couple tablespoons rice milk (try coconut milk!)
Powder Sugar
Food coloring

Blend together until smooth. Add more milk, sugar, etc... to make the consistency you need.

The Most Amazing Cake Ever!!!

2009-06-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe out of a 1950's era Betty Crocker cookbook. It is amazing! It tastes very light- like a muffin almost. I love adding fresh berries to this.....it is so delicious!

1/2 cup shortening (palm)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

Stir shortening to soften (no need to do this with palm shortening...its really soft!)
Gradually add sugar and mix on med-high speed until creamed.
Add vanilla
Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each
Sift flower with baking powder and salt (ok- for this step, I measure the flour out in the bowl, add the bp and salt and stir with a fork until mixed)
Add flour mixture gradually, alternating with milk, beating after each addition.
Recipe calls for paper lined cake pan(s) but I've done fine with rubbing the pans in shortening& dusting with flour.
Bake @ 375 for about 23 mins.
This cake is really moist, so I usually try to make sure it is light/golden brown before I take it out.

Here are some suggestions with this (but it tastes really good plain)

I make mini muffins with this for Lilly, putting 1 raspberry in the center of the muffin. Make sure the raspberry doesn't go close to the edges- it causes the "cupcake" to tear when taking it out of the pan (or stick to the paper). We freeze them and make sure we have plenty on hand so that if there is a party or someplace where we'll have dessert, she'll get a cupcake.
Add chocolate powder or Enjoy Life choc chips to the cake/muffin pan.
Add fresh fruit to the cake/muffin pan.
Use Coconut milk instead of rice milk

One more thing, every time we've gone to make 1/2 a recipe, we get all the way to the end and we forget to half the milk. So then, we have to go and add the remaining 1/2 of everything else. Even when Owen's gone to make the recipe himself- he's done it too. (we call it the curse of the cake! LOL) So, I'm going to write down the half recipe so that we (and you) can have it!

1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/8 cup flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon milk

Sherbet

2009-06-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

We tried this recipe the other day and it turned out pretty good....Lilly LOVED it! It could be used with other fruits, but I'm sure you'd need to add a little extra water or juice.

4 cups seeded chopped watermelon
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 envelopes unflavored gelatin (I use knox- it's S/D Free)
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup rice milk

1) In a large bowl, combine watermelon, sugar and lemon juice.
2) Chill for 30 minutes (we cut up and chilled our watermelon the night before, so if you do that and have the lemon juice already refrigerated, you don't need to do that step)
3) Place in blender and blend until smooth.
4) Return mixture to large bowl
5) In a saucepan, cook and stir gelatin and water on low until gelatin dissolves.
6) Add to watermelon mixture; mix well.
7) Stir in the rice milk until well blended.
8) Add mixture to ice cream maker and then freeze leftovers
***if you don't have an ice cream maker, pour mixture in a cake pan and freeze for 20-30 mins (or until somewhat frozen) stir well, return to freezer. You may need to stir it a couple of times to make it smooth.

Got this recipe from Taste of home and altered it to be SD Free

Waffles

2009-06-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is the recipe that I go off of to make waffles. We make at least a double batch, and freeze the remainders in sandwich bags. When we're in a hurry in the morning, we take one out, pop it in the toaster and we're good to go. If freezing, be sure to make sure to cook these so that they are a bit crispy on the outside so that they don't get soggy and nasty.

2-1/4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2-1/2 cups rice milk
1/4 cup oil (we use canola)

I just toss everything together (according to the order on the list) and stir until combined (there will probably be lumps) I believe the original recipe said to mix dry first, mix the wet ingredients and then combine. I honestly don't want another dish to wash.

Taco Seasoning

2009-06-17T06:22:00.000-07:00

Our kids' favorite food is tacos. If you ask them what they want for supper, the odds are, they'll say tacos. Since the only true soy and dairy free taco seasoning that I found was $2/pack and REALLY spicy, I knew I needed a simple recipe. I found this somewhere online (sorry- I don't remember where!) It works great!

1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. each ground cumin, garlic powder, paprika, powdered oregano and sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Add to browned hamburger with some H2O and simmer.
Enjoy!

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls/Bread

2009-06-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

1	cup water
1	egg
3 1/4	cups bread flour (or regular)
1/4	cup sugar
1	teaspoon salt
3	teaspoons bread machine or active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer's directions (usually wet first, then dry, with yeast on top)

If making bread, select proper settings on bread machine and let the machine do it's job.
For dinner rolls
Select manual/dough cycle, be sure not to use the delay cycle

Remove dough from pan, let dough rest for about 10 mins on lightly floured surface

Grease cookie sheet with palm shortening. make about 15 dough balls and place on cookie sheet (roughly 2 inches apart). Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size (30 mins?)

Bake @ 375 for 12-15 mins.

I make these and freeze them. We use them for everything- sandwiches, snack, etc.... It's so easy to just take out one out of the freezer bag.

I believe I got this recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook somewhere????