Tessa the Domestic Diva: Wholesome, Allergy-Friendly Living

Allergy Free Wednesdays #6

2012-02-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

March 1-5th, 2012

Hello and welcome to Allergy-Free Wednesdays (AFW). AFW is a weekly blog hop where folks can share their allergy-free cuisine, gain knowledge about allergy-related topics/issues, and connect with others living or caring for someone with food allergies.

Visit previous AFW linky parties for even more delicious ideas!

Your weekly submissions will be shared on 6 blogs! Additionally, each hostess will feature a favorite recipe(s) from the week before. Please visit each blog to see their features! Your hostesses:

Me, Laura@Gluten Free Pantry, Nancy@Real Food Allergy Free, Amber@The Tasty Alternative, Michelle@The Willing Cook, Janelle@ Gluten Freely Frugal

Please read here for the rules and guidelines of our hop, as well as links to all previous parties! 2 WEEKLY SUBMISSIONS MAX PLEASE.

Until our cool visual key is done, here is a key for labeling your recipes:

GF = Gluten Free
DF = Dairy Free
SF = Refined Sugar Free
V = Vegan

Reader favorites:

Doughnuts@ The Freak Food Gourmet

10 Whole Foods Snacks You Can Pack @ Beyond the Peel

Two Ingredient Dark Chocolate Pudding @Veggie Wonder

My picks from last week:

Cauliflower Crust Pizza @ Organized Chaos: I am a huge fan of sneaking vegetables into my kids...so much less fuss! I am anxious to try this (my friend already has and said it is amazing!)

Gluten Free Oatmeal Bread (vegan) @ Hope For Healing: This bread is so delicious! Moist and fragrant, and totally reminiscent of sweet brown breads of my past.

Grain Free Raspberry Tart @ Real Food Forager: I am trying to limit my grains a bit, and raspberries are one of my very favorites, this is a must try for me! And look how pretty it is, eye candy!

Vietnamese Salad Rolls w/ Dipping Sauce

2012-02-27T08:29:00.001-08:00

Salad rolls are an absolutely dear food to my taste buds. I have had them so many different ways, each restaurant has their own style. I love making my own at home for many reasons.

A.) It's WAY cheaper! I usually pay at least $2-3 per roll in a restaurant, ouch!

B.) I control all fillings and put lots of the stuff I prefer in, and leave the stuff I could do without....out!

My friend Amber, over at The Tasty Alternative has a fun version where she actually bakes the rolls for some added crunchy texture...awesome! It was her recipe that got me on my latest kick of sauteed veggies inside the rolls as opposed to all raw ingredients. The options are truly endless, but lately I have been buying pre-shredded and diced mixtures of veggies at Trader Joe's to greatly simplify the prep and whip these together quickly for a light lunch. The dipping sauce is really out of this world, a very traditional Vietnamese mixture. I make a full batch and store leftovers in the fridge. Don't be put off by the fish sauce, I am SO picky about anything fishy, you really can't tell it's fish at all (even though the smell is rather pungent). It's actually provides the salt in most Vietnamese and Thai cuisine! Peanut sauce is another good dipping option (use another nut butter if peanuts are out).

Salad Rolls:
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

These wraps are made of tapioca and can be found in the Asian section

1 pound (about) finely chopped/shredded vegetables (cabbage, carrots, celery, broccoli, red peppers, etc) It is important the pieces are very thinly sliced or diced so they cook evenly and quickly.
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons tamari or coconut aminos (or more to taste)
Sriacha to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro to taste
Spring Roll Skins (at right)

Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2-3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fish sauce ( I prefer Three Crabs brand)

Prepare your dipping sauce by mixing all ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a pan and saute your veggies 3-6 minutes until wilted, but still firm. Add in the remaining seasonings, taste and add more of any seasoning as you see fit. Set aside as you prepare your wrappers.

Fill a 9" round cake pan (or any pan large enough to accommodate the wrapper) with hot tap water. Place the wrapper in the water, making sure the whole wrapper is submersed. After a minute (or more) the wrapper will be rubbery and pliable. Carefully lift it out of the water, letting the excess drip back in in the pan. Spread your wrapper out on your work surface. Now add the another wrapper to the water to soften while you work. As the water cools, it will take slightly longer, but it will soften!

On one side of the wrapper closest to you, put desired amount of filling down about 2 inches from the edge, spreading it out 5-6". Leave a little flap (closest to you) to fold over the filling. Fold the flap over the top tucking it around all the filling. Pull back a bit to secure all the fillings in. Roll once over, then fold the left and right sides into the middle to close the ends. Finish by rolling the remainder wrapper up. Serve fresh with the dipping sauce of your choice.

These are best eaten fresh, but will keep for about a day if they are wrapped very tightly in plastic wrap.

This recipe was shared on Monday Mania, Tasty Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Things That Make You Say MMM, These Chicks Cook, Gluten Free Wednesdays, What's Cooking Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays,

Homemade Mayonnaise

2012-02-24T12:32:00.002-08:00

This is one thing that is so ridiculously easy to make, and so delicious, you'll wonder why you've never attempted it before! Even better, there are so few ingredients in homemade mayo, it is easy to control the allergens, and no weird unpronounceable mystery ingredients are lurking within. Trust me, try it just once and see! It takes under 5 minutes, promise! Here are some recipes you could use this in:

2 egg yolks, fresh, and organic if possible
2 teaspoons Dijon or yellow mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 1/2 cups oil of choice
salt to taste

Place all ingredients except for oil into food processor bowl. Turn the machine on, and get ready to drizzle your oil. Here's the key, you MUST ADD THE OIL VERY SLOWLY!! Notice the thin stream in the picture, it took me about 3 or 4 minutes to pour the whole amount. Do it too fast and you will have a gross, thin, yellow mixture that has not emulsified. Add salt to taste. Store in an airtight container.

This recipe is shared on Mix It Up Monday, Melt In Your Mouth Monday, My Meatless Monday, Just Another Meatless Monday, Monday Mania, Tasty Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Things That Make You Say MMM, These Chicks Cook, Gluten Free Wednesdays, What's Cooking Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays,

Allergy Free Wednesdays #5

2012-02-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

February 15-19th, 2012

Hello and welcome to Allergy-Free Wednesdays (AFW). AFW is a weekly blog hop where folks can share their allergy-free cuisine, gain knowledge about allergy-related topics/issues, and connect with others living or caring for someone with food allergies.

Visit previous AFW linky parties for even more delicious ideas!

Your weekly submissions will be shared on all 6 blogs! Additionally, we will each feature a favorite recipe(s) from the week before. Please visit each blog to see their favorites!

Me, Laura@Gluten Free Pantry, Nancy@Real Food Allergy Free, Amber@The Tasty Alternative, Michelle@The Willing Cook, Janelle@ Gluten Freely Frugal

Please read here for the rules and guidelines of our hop, as well as links to all previous parties!
2 WEEKLY SUBMISSIONS MAX PLEASE

Until our cool visual key is done, here is a key for labeling your recipes:

GF = Gluten Free
DF = Dairy Free
SF = Refined Sugar Free
V = Vegan

Reader favorites:

Peanut Butter Protein Balls @ Veggie Wonder

Tiramisu @ Canned Time

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars@ Against All Grain

My picks from last week:

Healthy Deep Dish Cookie Pie @ Blissful Bites By Micah: I've already made this and can attest to it's delciousness. No one was the wiser in my household! I used 1/4 xylitol and 1/2 cup palm sugar as a sweetener!

Double Chocolate Double Walnut Cookies @ Gluten Free Easily: I was drawn to these for their simple, healthy ingredients. They were SO easy to make...I of course had to veganize them, which I did with success, and Shirley has now included it in her recipe! I also doubled the chocolate.

Cauliflower Potatoes and Peas with Indian Spices @ Hobby & More: I am eager to try this. I love Indian flavors, and this looks like a great way to jazz up the night's vegetable!

Coconut Secret Bars/Homemade Healthy Mounds

2012-02-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Dark chocolate? No sugar? Coconut? Meet the Coconut Secret Classic Coconut Bar. I ran into my friend at the grocery store, and she was begrudgingly buying her husband a very expensive bar that he just loved and HAD to have: Coconut Secret Classic Coconut Bars. I was familiar with other Coconut Secret items, and just love them all, but I had yet to notice these. I decided to buy one to see what all the fuss was about, and promised I would try to engineer a recipe if I liked it enough.

Liked it enough? No, that would not even begin to describe my feeling towards these bars. The bars literally melt in your mouth, not too sweet, but a lovely dark chocolate coating setting the whole flavor through the roof. I am HOOKED! But each bar is close to $3...ouch! Maybe because they are still too new? Regardless, I had to try and recreate these beauties....and succeed I did young Padawans...the force must have been strong with me on this one....and don't hate me for putting something so divine in your face.

If you like Mounds Bars or Almond Joy...well these are a very close cousin that are allergy friendly and made with real food ingredients only (their ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate, chocolate, corn syrup, sugar, milk fat, cocoa butter, coconut, salt, soy lecithin, PGPR, hydrolyzed milk protein, sodium metabisulfite, caramel color, sulfur dioxideto and milk). My ingredients? All real food and nutritious.

Do you have a favorite treat that is also healthy? Share a link in the comments! And don't forget to check our Allergy Free Wednesdays, a great way to give AND get inspiration!

If you love chocolate and coconut, you may want to check out these other recipes:

2 cups grated, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup softened or melted coconut oil (Trader Joe's sells 16oz organic for $5.99)
2-4 tablespoons coconut nectar (I liked this best, however you could use real maple syrup, honey, or agave)
roasted whole or slivered almonds (optional)

Coating:
1 1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces
1 tablespoon coconut oil

In a food processor, put the filling ingredients and blend 1-2 minutes until well incorporated and smooth. Taste for sweetness, add more if you like. It is necessary the coconut oil be soft or melted so the mixture blends. Line an 8 x 8 or similar sized pan with waxed paper or parchment. Pour the mixture in and spread around evenly. If you would like to use almonds, now is the time. Press them in! Place the pan in the fridge or freezer to speed the solidifying process. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate with the coconut oil. Once solid, lift the whole chunk out by lifting the paper. Cut into desired shapes. Dip each piece in the chocolate, letting the excess drip back before laying it on A Silpat, parchment, or waxed paper to solidify. Store in an airtight container on the counter or in the freezer. unlike most coconut oil delicacies, these are solid at room temp and travel well out of refrigeration.

This recipe was shared on Allergy Friendly Friday, Lunchbox Love, Fight Back Friday, Wellness Weekend, Pennywise Platter, Thriving on Thursdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Whole Foods Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Hearth & Soul, Traditional Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays,

Fruit Filled Cereal Bars - Gluten Free & Vegan

2012-02-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

My kids have always loved cereal bars. I never got it...they were too sweet for me. When we had to go gluten free, the options out there for this breakfast staple were pretty dismal. Not only were they atrociously expensive, they left more than a little to be desired. My kids couldn't go through a box. I couldn't blame them. But now I have something better to give them, and you do too! Meet the quintessential cereal bar with no weird ingredients, wholesome nutrition, and allergen free! This one took a lot tries to get it right, I hope you think they're worth it! Woot woot!!

INGREDIENT NOTE: Make you oat flour by whirring rolled oats in a coffee grinder, it's easy and works great!

Dry:

1 cup gluten free oat flour
1 cup teff flour (or more oat or brown rice flour)
(If you can do gluten, I imagine spelt, and whole wheat pastry flour would work great!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup palm sugar (or other granulated sugar)
2 tablespoon chia meal or flax meal

Wet:
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup melted coconut oil (or other oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Filling:
6-8 tablespoons favorite jelly (I used my own homemade honey sweetened strawberry jam). If your jelly is very thin like some low sugar jelly's are, it is ok to add a couple of tablespoons of tapioca flour or arrowroot starch to thicken it up!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the dry ingredients together. In a separate liquid measuring cup, whisk the wet ingredients. Pour into the dry mix and blend until a soft dough is formed. You may add a couple tablespoons milk if it is necessary. Divide the dough in half. Grease an 8 x 8 pan. Place half the dough on a piece of parchment, place another piece of parchment over the top, and roll it out into a rough 8 x 8 square (the dough should be too wet to roll without the parchment on top. I have used plastic wrap, waxed paper, and a Silpat for this job too with success, just be sure you don't try and bake the plastic wrap or waxed paper!) Invert the rolled dough into the pan, pressing and smooshing until the bottom crust is dispersed. Gently remove the parchment. Spread your filling evenly over the bottom crust. Roll out the top crust in the same manner, and flip over onto the top of the filling. Press and smoosh with the parchment in place and then remove when you are happy! Bake for 20-25 minutes until the center is set.

This recipe was shared on Allergy Friendly Friday, Thriving on Thursdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Whole Foods Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Monday Mania, My Meatless Monday, Sugar Free Sundays, Lunchbox Love, Fight Back Friday, Wellness Weekend, Pennywise Platter, Hearth & Soul, Traditional Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays,

Allergy Friendly Kid's Birthdays & Fresh 4 Five

2012-02-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

Perfect Chocolate Birthday Cake

Every kid deserves a birthday party. It's a time to shine the spotlight on them, and them alone. (contd)

I am pleased to participate in Fresh 4 Five's Have your Cake and Eat It Too - Celebrating Birthdays Food Allergy Free. Danielle knows first hand what it means to have a kiddo with food allergies. She has loads of valuable information and delicious recipes to share with you. Everything you find on her blog will be gluten, dairy, soy, and nut free! To read more of this post and get some great ideas on how you too can have a normal kid birthday party, regardless of food allergies, read my guest post on her blog! Her series promises to be helpful to loads of families wanting the very best for their child and their birthday.

Wholesome Banana Donuts - Gluten Free & Vegan

2012-02-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

I used powdered palm sugar to make this glaze, my kids thought it was caramel!

I was totally inspired by one of our submissions to Allergy Free Wednesdays. I knew my kids would love the recipe, I just had to make it work for everyone. We were all thrilled with the results....moist banana donuts with no starches, no gums, and totally nourishing for your body. That puts this recipe well into my happy court, thank you Gluten Free Gidget for your lovely idea, her original recipe can be seen here.

You might also like my other two donut recipes, Pumpkin Donuts, and Cake Donuts.

Wet Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chia meal or flax meal
3 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons milk of choice
2 over-ripe bananas (lots of brown spots), mashed
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or other oil of choice)
1/4 cup palm sugar (or other granulated sugar of choice)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup oat flour (whir your own rolled oats in a spice grinder)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, place the meal and warm water, stirring. Let gel for a minute. Stir in the rest of the 'wet' ingredients. Sprinkle the dry ingredients on top, and whisk in. Grease a donut pan - I purchased a donut pan for $12 on amazon (or refer to this post on how to free form donuts when you do not have a donut pan). Fill the tins 3/4 the way, and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes (for mini donuts) until just set. If you are using a large donut pan w/ 6 donuts shapes, you will need to bake an additional 3-4 minutes.

Eat as is, or glaze with this frosting.

This recipe was shared on Thriving on Thursdays, Gluten Free Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Whole Foods Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Hearth & Soul, Traditional Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Monday Mania, Melt In Your Mouth Mondays, My Meatless Monday, Mix It Up Mondays, Sugar Free Sundays, Lunchbox Love, Fight Back Friday, Allergen Friendly Friday, Wellness Weekend, Pennywise Platter,