Orange Julius, the Soy way

I love Orange Julius at the mall, but with my little one we can't get those anymore. Here is a recipe for a Soy Orange Julius:


ORANGE SOY-JULIUS

1/2 12 oz can frozen orange juice
1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk (vanilla is better than regular in this recipe, skip the vanilla listed below if you'd like)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
ice cubes (totally up to you how many, I use 7-8)

Blend until smooth!

Chocolate Frosting YUMMY

Here is a good milk free frosting recipe (not sure where I got it so I can't give anyone credit, sorry!). I frosted Jemma's Brownies last night and they were awesome!


CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (one stick) dairy free margarine like Nucoa - softened
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp vanilla

Use a large bowl, beat the margarine with a mixer until smooth and then add all the other ingredients. Mix until smooth, about 2 minutes, and spread.

Zucchini... What to do with too much zucchini

I have a zucchini plant this year and can't figure what else to use it for. I have chopped it up for spaghetti but my family is completely sick of it. Not many recipies turn out well with the egg replacer but my wonderful sister gave me this recipe for her "Sneaky Zucchini Brownies". They are sneaky because not only do you add zucchini, but carrots give an added vegetable serving and you can't even taste them (try spinach as well, it also turns out good).

JEMMA'S SNEAKY ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
2 egg equilevant of any egg replacer (I use EnerG Egg Replacer)
2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup steamed and mashed carrots (I use the little individual packs of diced carrots that you buy in a 4 pack and just mash them with a fork)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, soda, cocoa, and sugar. Combine zucchini, oil, and vanilla; blend into dry ingredients; add the prepared egg replacer last and mix well. Stir in walnuts.

Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven. Cool in the pan, and then cut into bars.

Banana Pancakes

I LOVE Bisquick pancakes and miss them dearly. I have tried a few recipies for egg/dairy free pancakes and none really turned out good except this one my sister gave me:

BANANA PANCAKES

1 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk (vanilla tastes the best but regular will work as well)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 mashed ripe banana

Additional optional add-ins: strawberries, blueberries, walnuts

Combine or sift all dry ingredients together; mix in the soy milk and oil until smooth.

Drop 1/4 cup of batter at a time onto a hot oiled griddle or well greased frying pan over medium-high heat. When bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, about 3 minutes, turn and cook the other side for 2 minutes. Because there are no eggs in this recipe it takes longer than usual so be patient!

Cookies, cookies, cookies...

I used to be a total cheater and buy cookies at the bakery or make the mixes that you only add oil, water and eggs to. Now, not so much! The mixes all have milk and egg replacers don't work out very well (unless you want wafer think crispy cookies!). This is the best recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies that I have found. My sister gave it to me, her sons are egg allergic, and I think she said she found it on the back of a bag of chocolate chips:


CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks dairy free margarine - soft (NUCOA is a good one)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all the above together well (will be very thick and kind of hard to mix well but do the best you can).

Add 2 eggs: Mix egg replacer per the instructions for 2 eggs and add this to the bowl last!

Add 2 cups (I usually use a whole bag!) of Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (usually semi-sweet store brands or generics are dairy free)

Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes and let cool for 1-2 minutes before you remove from the pan.

Birthday Cake Nightmare

For Amaya's First Birthday I really wanted her to have cake she could eat, and that all the guests would actually enjoy. I went through 7 recipies/mixes. I tell you now, don't waste your money on the boxed mixes that are allergen free, they taste like crap. Some cake mixes are dairy free but when you use the egg replacer they fall apart. Instead, I have two really good recipies for you:


WACKY CHOCOLATE CAKE
This cake was popular during the depression because it actually tasted good without the eggs and milk!

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 cups cold water
1 Tbsp vanilla

Sift the dry ingredients together then blend in the liquid ingredents. Bake in a greased 9 x 13" cake pan at 350 for 35-38 minutes. You'll know it's done when a toothpick comes out clean and it feels bouncy when patted in the middle.


VEGAN GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

My sister's vegan friend contributed this recipie and it really does taste great!

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 cup granulated sweetner (sugar or substitute)
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice
5 Tbsp oil
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup chocolate chips (dairy free) - optional

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda. Stir in vanilla, lemon juice, oil, water, and chocolate chips. Spoon into a greased and floured 9 inch cake pan and bake for 25-35 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

FROSTING
1/2 cup margarine (like Nucoa or other dairy free)
3/4 cup granulated sweetner (sugar or sweetner)
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla

While cake is baking, boil together the frosting ingredients over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour and spread on cake while frosting is still warm and let it set before serving.

My Child's Food Allergy NIGHTMARE!

At 6 weeks old I started to introduce formula to Amaya. I had a horrible time nursing and had mastitis for the fourth time at this point and at the advise of my doctor, I decided to stop nursing. I started by mixing a little formula in with pumped breast milk. She didn't seem to like it but I just told myself that she would get used to it. Then at 7 weeks old, at 2:00 in the morning she took a 4 oz. bottle and went back to bed. About 10 minutes later she started making some weird noises like coughing, gargling, wheezing, and spit up big time. I picked her up to burp her again, hoping for a gas bubble and got a look at her HUGE ears, nose, lips, eyelids and freaked out. I woke up Chris and we quickly grabbed her then 18 month old big brother and ran to Primary Children's Hospital.

We spent 6 hours at the hospital under observation only to hear that It's probably "just" a food allergy to milk in the formula and to follow-up with our pediatrician. We went to a pediatric allergist and found out that she is not only severly allergic to cow's milk protein, but to eggs also! That's how it started. We had to switch to a amino acid based formula, which costs an arm and a leg, and I ended up pumping breast milk until she was almost 12 months.

Amaya just turned 18 months and I have decided to share my journey through this insane food allergy world. There are a lot of completely useless websites out there and I hope to actually give you all things that matter and make a difference. I am going to share my journey through the restaurant and recipe world for everyone. Please let me know if you have any questions or extra insight and things to add!