Friday, October 5, 2012

The Nut-Free Mom Blog

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The Nut-Free Mom Blog

Food Allergies Don't Have to Take the Fun Out of Food

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 10:11 AM PDT

My youngest planted pumpkins...here is one that is growing and in flower.
As Halloween time approaches, you may find yourself in conversations with your food-allergic child that involve all the foods that he or she can't eat. It's important to reinforce these rules, but what about all the things that our kids can eat? I find that it helps to put the focus on what they can have, not just what they can't.

Growing food in your garden or visiting a pumpkin patch or apple orchard is a wonderful way to teach kids about foods they can have. Plus, vegetables, fruits and even herbs that you grow are a great way to incorporate not just healthier foods, but an interest in cooking into your child's routine. Kids who know how to make food and what goes into the meals and snacks that they eat tend to be better at self-managing their food allergies.

When your child sees that they can grow something it gives them a big boost of confidence! The same goes for picking and eating their own apples, picking pumpkins and toasting the seeds and making pies or other homemade goodies.

I've found that one of the surprising side benefits of living with food allergies is that you can't rely so much on unhealthy fast food. As busy as our lives are, slowing down with a simple meal you've prepared or a snack you've made with your kids is a peaceful way to spend time together.

What if your child doesn't like most fruits or vegetables? I strongly recommend Today I Ate a Rainbow for kids who might be on the pickier side. This system includes a board you attach to your refrigerator that encourages your kids to eat healthy foods by checking them off on special chart. The goal is to eat a "rainbow" variety of fruits and vegetables to ensure they are getting healthy choices each day. Visit Today I Ate a Rainbow at their web site. It's a great gift and I've heard wonderful feedback from those who have used it.

If you are in a cold weather climate (like I am) and your outdoor gardening days are soon over, try an indoor herb garden with your kids. Growing great-smelling basil, thyme, rosemary will engage your kids in a fun past time, but then they will want to eat what they grow. You can incorporate the herbs into some healthy and tasty meals. I found this web site that has a nice and affordable selection of herb garden kits, but check your local garden stores, too.

All this talk about food is making me hungry, so it's recipe time! Celebrate the harvest with this wholesome pumpkin and apple bread recipe. (If you pick your own apples or pumpkins, even better!)

No nuts in this recipe, of course, but it does have dairy and eggs. If you are eating dairy and egg-free, this bread is easy to modify with dairy-free margarine and an egg replacer such as a quarter cup of canola oil or unsweetened applesauce--or use your own personal favorite egg replacer for baking. This pumpkin-apple bread has a flavor that gets better each day and it stays fresh provided you keep it in a tightly-closed container.

Enjoy this with tea or coffee and share with your kids as an after-school snack or lunch box treat!

Pumpkin and Apple Bread

2- 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or substitute a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
Note: nutmeg is not a nut. :)
1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk (non-dairy is fine)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or dairy-free margarine, softened
1-1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs (or egg replacement of your choice such as 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or 1/4 cup canola oil or whatever egg-free option you prefer)
1 cup diced sweet-tart apples such as Granny Smith or Golden Delicious

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray that contains flour. Combine flour, baking powder and soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. In another bowl combine pumpkin puree, milk and pure vanilla extract.

Beat butter with sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs or replacer until well combined.

Reduce mixer speed to low; add pumpkin mixture and flour alternating between the two and ending with the flour. Turn off mixer and stir in diced apples until well combined.

Pour batter into pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Check and bake a few minutes longer if not done, but be careful not to over bake or it will be dry.

Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes; turn out of pan and allow to cool completely.

Store in a tightly-closed container.

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