Learning to Eat Allergy-Free

Chia Seed Bagels

2012-02-23T07:00:00.004-05:00

Check out the Chia Seed Bagel recipe I created for Bob's Red Mill:

Please note that while I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour in the recipe, those who need to avoid the tree nut and soy warning labels can substitute their favorite gluten-free flour blend.

(Disclosure: Bob's Red Mill provided me with chia seeds and gluten-free flour to create this recipe.)

A Truffle Kind of Month

2012-02-20T07:00:00.002-05:00

I've been in a truffle kind of mood lately. It doesn't usually take much to convince me to eat chocolate, and since I made some chocolate truffles for Valentine's Day, I've been on a roll trying new flavors of truffles. So, consider these Post Valentine's Day Truffles. You know, when you've eaten whatever chocolate you had and you still want more. Or is that just me? I don't think so...

All of these truffles start with the recipe I posted last week.

For Rice Crisped Truffles:

Follow the basic truffle recipe and form the truffles as described. Instead of rolling them in cocoa, use a food processor or seed grinder to grind down about 1/4 cup of gluten-free crisped rice cereal. I used Erewhon cereal. Roll the truffles in the crisped rice. Yum!

For Cranberry Truffles:

Follow the basic truffle recipe, add 1/4 cup of finely chopped dried cranberries before refrigerating. I rolled them in cocoa, but powdered sugar would work really well with these. Double yum!

What kind of truffles should I make next?

More Fun With Chia Seeds – Gluten-Free Chia Seed Crackers

2012-02-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

Fair warning: I may be talking about chia seeds for a while. Since Bob’s Red Mill sent me some to try, I keep dreaming up new ideas of what to do with them. Today’s project is Chia Seed Crackers.

In this recipe I am not using the chia seeds in a gel as an egg replacer. Because chia seeds can be digested whole they can be used very much like you would use poppy seeds – and they’re about the same size.

Gluten-free Chia Seed Crackers

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend
½ cup millet flour
½ tsp xanthan gum (leave out if the flour blend contains xanthan gum)
½ tsp salt
2 ¼ tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp chia seeds
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp cornmeal (for dusting)

Mix the flours, xanthan gum, salt, yeast, sugar, and chia seeds together. Set it aside. Combine the water and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients and beat for 5-7 minutes until the dough is formed. Proof the dough (in the bowl) for 30 minutes:

Spread the cornmeal on a smooth surface. Place the dough on top of the cornmeal and coat:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough (I like to use a small rolling pin) into a thin layer. If the dough is too thick you will have bready crackers, so spread thinly:

Score the dough with a bench knife or pizza cutter to make the cracker marks:

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on how thin you spread the dough).

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Chocolate Truffles

2012-02-13T07:00:00.009-05:00

Last year I took a chocolate and confections class at the Culinary Institute of America, and learned how to make all kinds of chocolate goodies. Since that time I've been wanting to create my own truffle recipe, with allergen-free ingredients. What better time to do so than for Valentine's Day?

I've never been a fan of those chocolates in the heart boxes. Usually there are too many nuts, and too much milk chocolate. I admit, I like my chocolate dark and plain.

The ingredients for my allergen-free truffles are simple:

¼ cup So Delicious coconut beverage creamer
1 ½ tbsp Earth Balance Natural Shortening
1 cup allergen-free chocolate chips
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa

The coconut creamer is the perfect replacement for traditional cream in these truffles because it contains thickeners (cane syrup and guar gum). I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips.

I used 1/2 tsp orange oil instead of vanilla. You could substitute any other oil, or liqueur, to mix up the taste.

Let's get started making truffles, shall we?

Melt the coconut beverage and shortening together over medium heat. Slowly bring it to a boil. When boiling, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips and oil (if desired). Mix vigorously until you have a creamy ganache:

Refrigerate for an hour. Before refrigerating, I transferred the ganache to a mixing bowl to prepare for the next step -- soften the ganache with a mixer (use the paddle blade for about 30 seconds). It should look like this:

Scoop out truffle-sized balls of chocolate using a small spoon, and place them on a lined cookie sheet. Don't worry about how they look at this point.

Use your hands to gently roll the chocolate into smooth balls. (This works best with gentle pressure and cool hands.) Place them back on the cookie sheet. Place the cocoa in a shallow bowl, and gently roll each truffle into the chocolate until just coated:

I used natural unsweetened cocoa because I like the bitter taste of pure chocolate, but this is one rare case when I would suggest that you could use sweetened cocoa (just make sure it's allergen-free). Alternatively, you could roll the truffles in powdered sugar, or dip them in chocolate. Transfer them back to the cookie sheet and refrigerate for another hour:

Share them with someone you love!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Be Sure to Get Your Allergy Free Survival Kit

2012-02-08T07:00:00.002-05:00

Late last year, Lauren Wuscher of Lauren David Style asked me if I’d like to participate in a food allergy survival kit she was putting together. Heck, yeah! Some decisions are just that easy. Anything that will help food allergy families is something I want to support!

The Allergy Free Survival Kit is chock full of goodies, including samples, coupons, information, and more! It includes some of my personal favorite brands – Enjoy Life Foods, Bob’s Red Mill, and Home Free – and many more! It even includes information about my upcoming book. And the best part is – it’s free!

But don’t wait! There are a limited number of kits to go around, and you will surely want to make sure you get yours! So click here to your Lauren David Style, Allergy Free Survival Kit. Again, the kit it free, but you will need to pay shipping.

Let me know what you think when you get it!

Like, Watch, Share!

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve been busy as a bee lately finding new ways to create and share great allergen-free and gluten-free content with you.

First, I’m excited to unveil my new facebook page, the Allergen-Free Baker. But I’m feeling a little bit lonely there, so please head on over and click “like” so you can be sure to get all of my updates. As we get closer to the launch of my book (have I mentioned that my book is coming soon?) I’ll be doing some fun stuff (including giveaways) there.

You will also notice that I’ve put up a link to my You Tube channel, AllergenFreeBaker, so you can easily subscribe to my channel and get video updates. It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new video, but be sure to stay tuned – I have some exciting videos planned.

And, if you like to tweet, you might want to note that I have changed my twitter handle from @cfmjewels (what was I thinking?) to @colettefmartin. If you were already following me on twitter, no need to make any updates – the feed changes automatically.

As always, thank you for following, liking, watching, and sharing!

Fun with Chia Seeds – Making Chia Seed Gel

2012-02-02T07:00:00.001-05:00

I’ve been wanting to try baking with chia seeds, but hadn’t been able to find them locally, so I was thrilled when the folks at Bob’s Red Mill asked me if I wanted to create a recipe for them, using chia seeds. Yes! I absolutely did.

I had heard that it was possible to make chia seed gel – like flax seed gel – to use a substitute for eggs when baking. But I need to try it myself – to see how it works. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. The first thing I want you to do is look at the chia seeds, and notice how different they are than the golden flax seeds I usually use:

The chia seeds are on the left, the flax seeds are on the right.

Chia seeds are tiny – about one-fourth the size of flaxseeds. But unlike flax seeds, whose shells need to be cracked to be able to digest them, chia seeds can be eaten whole. That means they can be used as toppings or add-ins – in whole form.

Also notice the color. The dark color of chia seeds means that they will be noticeable in most baked goods – if that matters to you.

Flax seeds need to be ground into meal before you can make an egg replacer gel with them, but chia seed gel can be made from whole seeds:

That said, I actually prefer grinding the seeds before adding the water:

So that you can get a smoother gel that looks like this:

While I typically grind about ¾ tablespoon of flax seeds to get 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal, only ½ tablespoon of chia seeds are needed to get one tablespoon of meal. If you use more, your chia seed gel will be too dense.

The formula to make chia seed gel (one egg equivalent):
½ tablespoon chia seeds (either whole or ground) mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water. Whisk together, let it sit for five minutes, then re-whisk.

You Can Help North Mountain Pastures Build an Aging Room

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Every now and then I run across a cause worth supporting, and this blog post is about one of them. I just recently learned about Kickstarter, a new way to fund to creative projects. It allows anyone to find supporters to help fund a project. It's not an investment (not directly at least) and it's not a charity. It's a way to help fund projects that you have an interest in. Projects are only funded if they reach their goal.

North Mountain Pastures is run by my niece and her husband, and they are seeking funding to build an aging room to make their own salami, bacon, and other cured meats. Today they raise their own grass-fed pigs on their Pennsylvania farm, and want to be able to process the meats at their own farm. Here you can see them talking about their project:

Why should you care? You would be supporting a local, sustainable food system. Especially those in the Pennsylvania area would benefit, but anyone can invest.

What do you get in return? Contributors who give at least $50 or more will receive processed meats in return. Check out the North Mountain Pastures project page to learn more and to find out what you will get at each funding level.

Classic Beef Stew – In the Crockpot

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Winter is when my Crockpot comes out from hiding in the far corner of my pots and pans shelf – and usually it stays out for a few months. The beauty of the Crockpot is you can use whatever you have in the fridge, and it’s so easy to throw a combo together that is gluten-free and allergen-free.

This week I picked up some beef stew meat at the grocery store and went with a classic:

Allergen-Free Beef Stew

1 ½ pounds of beef stew meat
4 small-medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Additional spices to your taste
1 quart vegetable stock (make sure it contains no food allergens)

Throw all of the ingredients together in a Crockpot, set it to low heat, and let it stew for 7-8 hours. Enjoy the smells and the warmth of the house when you get home from work!

What's your favorite winter Crockpot dish?

Is it Cold Enough Yet? Warm Up With Hot Hemp Cocoa

2012-01-23T07:00:00.010-05:00

It has taken a while for winter to reach us in the Northeast this year, but it's finally here. And yes, we have cold temperatures and winds that make it feel even colder. Of course after the mild winter we've had so far those single digit temps can feel much colder than they are.

So when you come in from the cold, you might want to check out my recipe for hot hemp cocoa over at the Living Harvest blog.

Enjoy!

Of Course There Should be Epinephrine in Our Schools

2012-01-19T07:00:00.006-05:00

The death of Ammaria Johnson, a first-grader with food allergies, earlier this year, has caused an out-pouring of outrage, grief, sadness, and concern among those in the food allergy community. Ammaria suffered cardiac arrest after eating a single peanut, handed to her by a classmate on the playground. Those who have written on the topic point out that this was a death that was avoidable, but none do so better than Margaret Carlson in her article for Bloomberg titled Death Shows Schools Need Power of EpiPen.

Carlson makes the point that defibrillators are more common in our schools than epinephrine, a point that really hits home with me. Yes, the high school my sons recently graduated from has a defibrillator. Nobody questions the need for the defibrillator. That same school also has a trainer who is with the sports teams during practices and games. For many games he isn’t called in action, but when he’s needed parents are sure glad he is there.

During high school football games there is an ambulance sitting ready at the field (unless responding to another emergency). During my years of watching football at the high school that ambulance was needed three times. The rest of the time it was waiting, just in case.

In the cafeteria there is a large sign posted prominently with the instructions to recognize if someone is choking and how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, should it be necessary. Nobody questions that it should be hanging there. There should be a poster right next to it that explains how to recognize an allergic reaction, and how to administer epinephrine, if needed. For those not familiar with food allergies, epinephrine can save a life, as Dr. Sarah M. Boudreau-Romano so expertly explains here.

Of course there should be epinephrine in our schools. And it should be easily accessible.

The most recent estimates of food allergy in our children is now between 4 and 6 percent; that means that most classrooms will have a child with food allergies. Not every child with food allergies will have had an episode serious enough to prescribe epinephrine. And there’s always a first time for an allergic reaction. Given that many of our children eat two out of three meals a day (plus snacks) at school, there’s a good chance that first reaction will happen there.

The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act was introduced in the Senate late last year. The proposed bill would provide States with incentives to require elementary schools and secondary schools to maintain, and permit school personnel to administer, epinephrine at schools. The findings note that more than 15% of students with food allergies have had an allergic reaction while at school, and 25% of epinephrine injections at school involved individuals with a previously unknown allergy.

It’s not just parents of children with known food allergies that need to be concerned. Of course there should be epinephrine in our schools.

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix

2012-01-16T07:00:00.005-05:00

I am so excited that Bob’s Red Mill has been expanding their line of gluten-free products – many of which are also dairy-free. Over the holidays I found this Cornbread mix from Bob’s Red Mill, and decided to try it.

Of course, I had to adapt it so that we didn’t add any allergens. Instead of adding milk, butter, and eggs, I added hemp milk, sunflower oil, and I used Ener-G egg replacer for the eggs.

The result was not quite what I expected. Usually when I think of cornbread I think of a moist, grainy bread, with a strong corn taste. I found the Bob’s Red Mill mix to be much milder and more “bready” than the typical cornbread. I made mine into muffins, but had I made a loaf this would have made a good slicing bread for sandwiches.

The grains in this bread mix are cornmeal, potato starch, sorghum flour, corn flour, and tapioca flour.

If you’re looking for the standard cornbread mix, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a good gluten-free bread with a hint of corn taste that can successfully be made allergen-free, this is a great choice.

Mindful Mayo – A Great Find for the New Year

2012-01-12T07:00:00.002-05:00

Today I want to talk about sandwiches. Sandwiches for the lunchbox, sandwiches for the road, sandwiches to take to work. Once we found a wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free sandwich bread for my son, we solved half the problem.

But we were still left with few options for dressing up the sandwich. Of course there was mustard, but sometimes you just want mayonnaise. The dairy-free options we could find were soy based – not an option here. So late last year when I heard of Earth Balance’s Mindful Mayo I got really excited.

At first it was only available at Whole Foods, and the closest to me was an hour and a half away. So I waited patiently and this weekend I found it in my health food store.

So here’s the deal: The original Mindful Mayo has no eggs, no soy, and no dairy. It’s gluten-free and vegan. It contains (non-GMO) canola oil, water, brown rice syrup, apple cider vinegar, pea protein, salt, mustard flour, and lemon juice concentrate. One tablespoon has about 90 calories.

And the best part is – it tastes just like (an egg-based) mayonnaise! And it spreads just like (an egg-based) mayonnaise too.

Don’t look for it near the mayonnaise – it’s in the refrigerated section (and must be kept refrigerated.)

Have you tried Mindful Mayo yet? What do you think?

One Dish Meals – Sam Mills Pasta d’oro

2012-01-09T07:00:00.004-05:00

It has suddenly turned very cold here in the Northeast – frigid cold. Not unusual for this time of year, but since it’s been so mild this winter so far, the cold is noticeable. So before my son left to go back to school I decided to whip up a nice warm one-dish meal.

I used a gluten-free pasta that I found at a local health food store. The Sam Mills Pasta d’oro is 100% corn – no gluten and no common food allergens. Whereas some corn pastas can get very mushy and sticky, this is one that holds it’s own extremely well. The recommended cook time is 10-12 minutes. I went on the lower side of that as my experience with gluten-free pasta is that they usually recommend cooking too long, but next time I’ll go the full 12 minutes.

Pasta with Chicken and Sprouts

1 package Sam Mills Pasta d’oro 100% corn pasta
4 chicken breasts, diced
1 pint brussel sprouts, halved
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup olive oil

Begin cooking the pasta. Saute the chicken, brussel sprouts, onion, and garlic, with 2 tablespoons olive oil, in a large sauté pan over medium low heat, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining olive oil. Drain the pasta. Toss all ingredients together in a large pasta bowl.

Done in less than 20 minutes!

What’s your favorite one-dish winter meal?

A Field Trip to the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Despite having spent my high school years on Cape Cod, and my frequent visits back to visit my Mom, I had never visited the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory. So on this holiday visit we decided to go.

The factory is located in Hyannis, a stones throw from the Cape Cod Mall. It’s an unassuming building, but as soon as we arrived we were greeted by bright signs that directed us to the tour. While the tour is self-guided, the potato chip making process is very easy to follow by the signs that describe exactly what is happening at each stage.

Cape Cod Potato Chips are my chip of choice – not just because I’m from the Cape, but because the ingredients are so simple – the original variety contains only potatoes, canola oil, and salt. While there are some flavors that contain milk ingredients, I feel more confident after having seen the factory that we can safely eat the potato chips.

I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the process, but it was quite impressive. The most surprising thing to me was that after the chips are sliced, oiled, and baked, there is a person on the conveyor belt that inspects the chips and (by hand) removes the ones that are overly baked or burnt – a job he took very seriously.

And at the end of the tour we got to leave to samples. My fav so far? The Yukon Gold chips!

New e-book from Dr. Atul Shah on Allergies

2012-01-02T07:00:00.001-05:00

I love to find high quality information about allergies from reliable sources, and that’s exactly what I found when Dr. Atul Shah pointed me to his new e-book, Allergy: You Asked, We Answered. The book, available from Smashwords, is written in question and answer format, and based on the many questions Dr. Shah hears at the Center for Allergy and Asthma. Here is an example (and one of my favorites):

Q4: Is allergy suggestive of a weak immune system?
A: No. The immune system protects us from getting infections and helps clear them once we are exposed to germs. When this immune system gets over activated in response to other exposures like pollen, it is considered an allergy. So, in simple terms, allergy is an over active immune system and not a weak immune system.

I’ve always known that those of use with allergies are super-strong!

Seriously, this e-book is an introductory tutorial on allergies (of all types), and I’m sure we’ll see more e-books from Dr. Shah. While not specifically about food allergies, it's a great resource if you suspect allergies, or have a recent allergy diagnosis. If you’d like to check out the book, you can sign up for Dr. Shah’s newsletter at www.Center4AsthmaAllergy.com, and download your free copy.

What a way to start the year! (And if you happened to get a new Kindle, Nook, or other e-reader for Christmas, you can read it there.)

Home Free Treats are a Great Snack Choice

2011-12-26T07:00:00.003-05:00

Just before Christmas I was delighted to receive a package in the mail. Of course at this time of year it’s not unusual for the UPS or the FedEx trucks to drop by – but this time the package wasn’t something I ordered. Instead, it was a box full of cookies that the folks at Home Free sent me to try.

What a nice surprise! And great timing because my food-allergic son is home from college for holiday break. I am very impressed at the packaging – they make full size boxes of cookies with both large and mini cookies, single serving packs with large cookies, and single serving packs with mini cookies. Especially the mini cookies make a great take-along snack – something we’re always on the lookout for.

The cookies are dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, soy-free (the only soy used in the facility is soy lecithin), and gluten-free – and made in a dedicated facility. So they are safe for everyone in my house. Kudos to Home Free on that!

My son and I decided to try the mini chocolate chip cookies first, and we were delighted. If you did a taste test and compared them to Chips Ahoy mini chocolate chip cookies, I don’t think you’d be able to tell the difference. The vanilla cookies were next and, while not our favorite, a great basic vanilla cookie. The chocolate chocolate chip cookies are coming with us this week as we visit family.

These are crunchy cookies, tasty, and allergen-free. If you are looking for a snack for the lunchbox in the New Year, this is one to try. The cookies are available at some health food stores (including one very close to me!) or via the Home Free website.

Have you tried these cookies yet? What do you think?

Write in the Cookbook? Not Me…

2011-12-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

Books have always been special to me. I can recall long lazy summers when the highlight of the week was our visit to the library, where my sisters and I would pick 4 or 5 books each – and hope they would last the entire week. Of course those were borrowed books, and writing in them wasn’t allowed.

In elementary school that reverence of books was reinforced further. We were taught to handle the books we were loaned for our studies with extreme care – they had to be covered and we were never (ever) to write in them, except on the little plate where we had to record our name as the protector-of-the-book-for-the-year. Did I mention this was a Catholic school?

In college I had to shell out my own money to buy textbooks. While many of my classmates would take notes in the margins and never went to class with a highlighter, not me. It was a book. It was my book. All of my notes went into a notebook.

Since that time I have amassed quite a collection of books, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, I just can’t bring myself to write in a book.

Which brings me to cookbooks. Cookbooks lend themselves to taking notes. Whether it’s fine-tuning a recipe, highlighting a key step, or a substitution for an ingredient, a recipe sometimes needs notes. Or, you might simply want to record your favorites.

I’ve taken cooking classes where a text is included, and the instructors encourage us to take notes – sometimes even telling us exactly what to write. And I still can’t do it. And yes, that means sometimes I lose the notes, or I forget what I did last time. But isn’t that what they invented Post-it tabs and post-it notes for?

What about you – do you write in the cookbook?

Regardless of what you are celebrating this season, I wish you all the best, and maybe even some great books (and cookbooks)!

The Problem Isn’t Flavored Milk, It’s Milk

2011-12-12T07:00:00.002-05:00

I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. I truly believe that we should all have healthier diets, and that school lunches need to be dramatically revamped for our kids.

That said, I cringe when I read about the movement to get rid of flavored milk with school lunch. Yes, we need to get rid of chocolate milk, strawberry milk, and any other sugared version of milk. No debate there.

My beef (no dairy pun intended) is with all types of cow’s milk.

You see, milk is what caused my son so much distress at school during his elementary school years, before we discovered he was allergic to it. Until he had an official diagnosis of food allergy, he had no other beverage options with the lunch the school served. And even after we knew about his food allergies, milk was still everywhere at the lunch table.

I find it amazing that our food pyramid still recognizes milk as an entire food group, and suggests that our children consume three cups a day, when so many of our children are allergic to it. Consider that we are the only mammals who consume another mammal’s milk. Who decided this was good for us?

Here’s my list of possible alternatives to the usual milk with school lunch:

Orange juice fortified with calcium
Hemp milk
Coconut milk beverage (the lower fat alternative to pure coconut milk)
A veggie smoothie
Water (do any of our kids drink enough water?)

What do you think? What beverage would you like to see served with school lunch?

The Book is Coming!

2011-12-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

Have you noticed my updated website design? I thought it was time for a facelift because I have news – very big news!!

I’ve been kinda quiet about this, because this is my first full-length book, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – but now that the book has a cover and is available for pre-order at Amazon and other publishers – well, I guess it’s time for an official announcement.

Drum roll please...

Learning to Bake Allergen-Free: A Crash Course for Busy Parents on Baking without Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Soy or Nuts, will be published by The Experiment in April, 2012!!

Let out the balloons and streamers...

Check out my new about the book page to find out the whole scoop and options for pre-ordering.

What do you think of the cover? I think Susi Oberhelman, the cover designer, did a fabulous job on it, don’t you?

Just four more months...

I can't wait until I can actually hold the book in my hands and share it with you!!

Enjoy Life Updates Their Snack Bars

2011-12-01T07:00:00.004-05:00

I love sampling new allergen-free and gluten-free products for you – we all know that allergen-free foods can be very expensive and you want to choose wisely. Well, Enjoy Life has been a roll this year updating all of their products. Their new mega-chocolate chips top my list of favorites, followed by the crunchy cookies, and my son favors the updated soft-baked cookies. Enjoy Life’s latest updated product are their oven baked chewy bars, and they sent me some samples to try.

What I love about Enjoy Life products is that I don’t have to think about food allergens at all. All of their products are free of the top eight allergens and gluten-free. All of their products are made in a dedicated facility, and anyone dealing with multiple food allergies (the top eight anyway) can feel very secure with this brand.

But I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of their earlier version of snack bars, finding them a bit grainy and dry. The new bars come in the same flavors – Sunbutter Crunch, Cocoa Loco, Very Berry, and Caramel Apple. They are actually smaller than pictured on the box, but they’re each 120 calories or less, low in sugar, and they are very easy to throw in a tote bag.

These are a very healthy snack or lunch-box treat.

I found the new bars to be chewier than the earlier version, and a bit moister. They are definitely an improvement, but still a little grainy for my taste.

Have you tried them yet? What do you think?

Sundial – A Book Review and Interview

2011-11-28T07:00:00.014-05:00

Usually when I talk books on this blog I am reviewing cookbooks – specifically gluten-free or allergen-free cookbooks – but when I heard that Carolyn Fruzzetti and Meghan Pearsall had written a young adult novel with a heroine who has food allergies I was intrigued.

While noone in my household fits the young adult genre at this stage, I am a big fan of suspense novels and Sundialdoesn’t disappoint. It’s a fast-paced thriller with some teenage drama thrown in along the way. And – despite being filled with espionage and serious subject matter – it’s “clean” and totally appropriate for young readers. This is definitely one I would recommend considering for your gift list!

I interviewed Carolyn and Meghan, and here’s what they had to say:

Colette: The first part of the book is primarily about what I would call normal teenage stuff – school, sports, boys, parties – and we get just a glimpse of what makes Whitney so special. The second half is full of some very heavy topics including cold war, terrorism, nuclear war, and corrupt government agencies. Why those topics?

Carolyn and Meghan: We researched what worked as compelling young adult fiction and used that as our foundation. Since Sundialis the first book in a series, character development and relationship building at the onset was critical. Granted, not everyone is from the wealthy Washington, D.C. suburbs but the characters have the same basic issues as most teens – school sports, friends, dating and parties. We wanted teens to be able to identify with these characters on a basic level and entice them with clues that much more is about to happen because in Sundial nothing is exactly as it appears.

As the characters expand their horizons about themselves and the world at large, the plot does the same: it evolves from a privileged high school world to a darker and more complicated world. The nuclear meltdown, terrorism and corrupt government agencies were relevant in 1988 and are still relevant today. The teen readers of today are our future. This book is full of complex and higher concepts because we believe teens want intelligent material and this book provokes thought and discussion on several issues.

Colette: I love that the hero in the story is a female. We have too few stories with females who save the day. Can you tell us more about how you developed the Whitney character?

Carolyn and Meghan: The simplest answer to that is Whitney is a character I would want as my friend. She is able to save the day because of her qualities as a person and the skills she develops within herself. Her competency is not from a wand or superpower – she earns it.

We also did not want her look to someone else to “save” her. We can all self-rescue and each person is responsible for his/her personal safety. Whitney has a plan for herself and her life. She is our idea of a real heroine and someone we thought teen girls could use as a role model.

Colette: When I first learned of this book it was the connection to food allergies that intrigued me. I was surprised at barely a mention of food allergies until the last third of the book, but as it turns out the food allergies are a strength that comes in handy for the lead characters. I found that so interesting because my food-allergic son talks about his immune system as being highly evolved – exactly the way you position it in the book. What triggered that idea for you?

Carolyn and Meghan: For us, it was important for food allergy to be a pivotal part of the plot but not to use it to define the characters. Instead, we defined our characters by their actions, dialogue and choices. Reid makes several mistakes concerning his food allergy like real teens do in real life and then has to correct his actions. These create teachable moments without lecturing or boring our teen audience because we know they are smart enough to learn from it. Better to have a “friend” in a book make a mistake that you learn from than to learn the hard way and do it to yourself! Several teens in food allergy support groups we have spoken to agree that this resonates with them more than other forms of communication. This is good because currently the age group of 12-21 has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest reaction fatality rate. It is our hope that Sundial will make a difference in those dire statistics and it will become an obvious tool to help educate and empower those with food allergy.

We would also like to point out that keeping food allergy as a strength to save the world makes the plot interesting and acceptable to ALL teens. One of our goals is to raise food allergy awareness and to do that we need to reach not only food allergic teens but their friends. So far, non-food allergic teens love it just as much as food allergic teens. That is our version of REAL success – achieving awareness to an entire peer group!

Meghan’s daughter has a life-threatening peanut allergy and as she considered the skills food allergy parents must try and instill in their children, she realized they are actually the same skills the military teaches their special forces: situational awareness, preparedness, communication, mental toughness, vigilance, risk assessment, etc. They are the ultimate survivor skills. This idea merged with the thought that perhaps food allergy is an evolution (not a detriment). It has been a fun and empowering premise and we hope it reshapes the media image of those with food allergy. As a food allergy parent, this is the kind of book she would want her high school daughter to read so she wrote it.

Colette: I found the book very easy to read and fast-paced. While it starts out like your run-of-the-mill teen romance novel, it’s really a suspense thriller. I liked that you didn’t get too explicit with the romantic scenes, and I loved the way the story line played out. That said, I was a little disappointed in the ending – I like to have all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed when a novel ends. Clearly this ending is in anticipation of the next novel in the series. Can you give us any hints on what’s to come?

Carolyn and Meghan: Thank you! Sundialis designed to be accessible to everyone so it is free of profanity or explicit adult content. We wanted it to be edgy and exciting but not inappropriate in any way. Yes, the tension and suspense of the romance and action make for quite a thrilling cliffhanger! Hopefully, we won’t leave you hanging for too much longer as the sequel is almost half-finished and the entire plot is sketched out.

In book two, Whitney and Reid have even bigger obstacles to face and a rockier ride. On the food allergy front, readers will learn more of what actually happens before Whitney is hospitalized in Sundial, how to consider food and drink at high school parties and how to be properly prepared ahead of time when traveling outside the country with food allergies (to name a few). There are so many food allergy issues we wanted to subtly weave into the plot that we knew this had to be a series!

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

Lots of Winners!

2011-11-21T07:00:00.006-05:00

First, I must thank all of you for supporting this blog, and for helping to vote me into the Top 25 Food Allergy Blogs at Circle of Moms. I consider myself very lucky to be within the top 10, and very grateful for everyone’s support. I am in exceedingly good company with some truly awesome bloggers. Be sure to check out the whole list!

Next, onto the Pamela’s Products giveaway. The two winners (chosen at random) are:

Rogene
and
Mom-b

Oh! Lucky winners, you are going to love this prize!! I have e-mailed each of you. Please send me with your mailing address no later than Friday, November 25th.

And (yup, I'm not done giving way stuff) – if anyone is interested, I still have one coupon for a free Goodbelly product to be given away. The first person to e-mail me here with their address gets it.

GoodBelly Probiotic Juice Drink Giveaway

2011-11-17T07:00:00.003-05:00

A while back, the great folks at GoodBelly sent me some coupons to try their probiotic juice drinks. Alas, after scrutinizing the ingredients label I determined that they weren’t for me, and left the store without buying the product.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that I still have these coupons, and would love for someone to be able to use them before they expire at the end of this year.

The GoodBelly products are dairy-free, soy-free, organic, and vegan. They are also wheat-free but not gluten-free. They do contain barley and oats.

So – for those of you are not allergic to wheat or gluten, and want to try what looks to be a fantastic probiotic drink, I am giving away one coupon each to the first three responders who e-mail me here. Each coupon is good for one free GoodBelly product. Please include your mailing address.

Also, don't forget to enter to win a gift package from Pamela's Products including their new Whenever Bars. That contest ends tomorrow!