The Crunch Bar

I am a serious chocolate lover and I have to say that Rylan has inherited that trait from me.  He loves chocolate and if given the chance would put chocolate on everything he could.  When he drives it trucks he pretends he is the delivery truck and he is dropping off chocolate. 

When we were potty training I was look for motivation for him and I knew that chocolate would do the trick.  I adapted  a recipe from my sister in law, Jessica and used it to make a crunchy chocolate bar that he loved.  It must have been good because he was potty trained in 5 days!!

The Crunch Bar

35 quinoa crackers (we use Le Pain De Fleurs Quinoa Crispbreads
1 cup palm shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup nuts ( we did not have safe nuts at the time so I made them without)

Line a cookie sheet with foil and grease the foil with coconut oil.  Line the sheet with the crackers.  Microwave the shortening on high for 2 minutes , add the sugar and microwave for another 2 minutes (be sure to stir every 30 seconds).  Pour over the crackers and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and our the chocolate over.  Let the chocolate melt and then spread over the top of the crackers.  Add the nuts if desired.  Put in the fridge to cool.  Once cooled break into bars.

Banana Cream Pie

I recently made this pie for a birthday and it got rave reviews.  My sister in law could barely tear herself away from the pie dish.  I will say this one of the best pies I have ever made and I literally could eat it all day.

I do not get to make it often since we have to special order ungassed bananas but when I do have bananas one of these pies is getting made.  I use my basic oat crust for this pie but you can use a graham cracker crust too.

Banana Cream Pie

Basic Oat Crust:

2 cups oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt
8 tbsp. coconut oil

Pulse all the ingredients in a food processor.  Press into a pie plate and bake 10 minutes at 375 F.

Pie Filling:

3 cups whole milk ( can sub milk alternatives)
3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tbsp. coconut oil
3 bananas
1 tsp vanilla

In a large pan, scald the milk.  In a bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Slowly add it to the milk, whisking often.  Cook over medium until it starts to thicken.  In a bowl mix the egg yolks with a small amount of the milk mixture.  Then slowly add the yolks to the pot whisking the whole time.  Stir constantly, cook for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and add the coconut oil and vanilla.  Slice up the bananas and line the top of the crust with them.  Pour the filling over and refrigerate.  Top with homemade whipped cream if you want.

Maple Shortbread Cookies

I have always loved shortbread cookies and I always hated having to wait until Christmas to get them.  This recipe is dairy free and is super fast.  It yields really delicious cookies and Rylan can not get enough of them

They freeze well so I usually make a double batch and stash some in the freezer for later.  I use my kitchenaid mixer to whip them up!!

Maple Shortbread Cookies

1 cup palm shortening
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp sea salt

Beat the shortening and syrup in the mixer.  Add in the flour and the salt. Mix well.  Place by the tsp full on a baking sheet and press down with a wet fork.  Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.

Butternut Squash Soup

Everyone loves soup and no one loves it more then when you are not feeling well.  People without allergies take it for granted that when they get sick they can just go to the store and buy soup.  We can not have store bought soup or deli soup or restaurant soup.  The only soup being eaten in our house is homemade.  I do not think that many people will argue with me when I say that homemade is sooooo much better then store bought.

I love soup because I can make huge batches of it and freeze it single serving sizes and pull out when we need.  It is super handy to have a freezer full of soups.  I always have at least 15 jars of soup on hand.  Soup is also pretty easy to make and pretty hard to screw up.  In our home the favorite soup of course is chicken noodle but since we have no chicken at the moment the next on the list is Butternut Squash Soup.  It is so creamy and sweet and tastes divine

Butternut Squash Soup

2 large butternut squash peeled and cubed
2-3 leeks chopped
2 tbsp. beef tallow
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups homemade beef broth

Put the 2 tbsp. of beef tallow in a pot and add the leeks.  Sautee for a few minutes and then add the broth and the squash.  Simmer until the squash is soft.  Puree with a hand blender and add salt and pepper to taste.

* I have done this recipe with just water when I did not have broth and it is not as rich but still good.
** You can substitute the tallow for coconut oil or butter

The Struggles of Mom

Mom Guilt, it seems all moms have it.  I have yet to talk to one that does not have guilt over something.  Whether it comes from us, other moms or society we all have it and it can easily consume us.  As a mom with a corn allergic the guilt piles on pretty high sometimes and it is pretty hard to get rid of.

I know that I am not a bad mom.  I love my kids, would die for them and spend my days taking care of them.  This allergy is a catch 22 and it seems that when you are trying so hard to make things work for one kid you are letting the other down.  In our house I have a corn allergic kid and a husband with the allergy.  We keep our house free of allergens which means I cook a lot.  On average I cook 6 hours a day, that is 6 hours that I am standing in my kitchen prepping and making food.  Some days it is 8 hours and some days it is 4 but it is fair to say a good portion of my awake time is cooking.  You see when I am cooking I am not playing with my kids, I am not reading stories, building forts or heading to the beach.  My oldest who has no allergies struggles with the amount of time I spend in the kitchen.  He gets mad that I am always cooking and can not play with him and it has gotten worse since he started school.

Today was a hard day.  My oldest wanted to build a fort and read books.  I told him he had to wait until I made the three pots of soup I needed to make, as well as wash 15 lbs of blueberries and freeze them.  He got teary eyed and told me I was mean, that I was not being a good mom and that he was sad that I did not want to play with him.  I will not lie and say that that was not the worst thing to hear.  It broke my heart and put me in a place I hate to be.  I hate having to choose between making sure there is enough for my family and spending time with kids.  I really do not like that my son feels that I do not want to just spend my days snuggled next to him.  I am at a loss of what to say to make him understand.  It really seems so unfair at times and it is the source of my guilt.  When I cook I feel bad for not being more active in their lives and when I am playing with them I feel guilt about not making the foods I need to make.

I sometimes get jealous of the other moms out there that can buy dinner at the grocery store or take their family out to eat.  I get jealous when I see pictures of all the fun stuff that people are doing while I am cooking.  Sometimes I get so overwhelmed, the weight on shoulders hurts and I cry.  Tonight I cried.  I let out the frustrations of never getting a break, I let go of the life we won't live anymore and I cried for the vacations we will never take.  After the good cry I picked myself up and went to prep for tomorrow's cooking day.  I know that the work I do makes my son healthy and happy.  I know that eating REAL food makes us all healthier and happier.  I know that my boys appreciate all that I do and love eating the foods that we have in the house.  I know that we are teaching our boys important lessons in life and that there will come a day when they will look back and be very grateful for all that we have done.

I know that we are never given more then we can handle but sometimes it is so hard.  I am a stronger person because of this allergy and I do believe it has made me a better mom.  Tonight when I tucked in my oldest, I told him I loved him and that I am so happy he is my son.  He reached over and kissed me on the cheek and told me that he loved me and really loved the smoothie I made him today and just maybe I could make it again tomorrow. And just like that the guilt is gone and I am grateful for all that I have.

The Perfect Pie Crust

One of my biggest challenges with this allergy was to make a pie crust that not only tasted good but had that perfect flakiness to it.  I had been trying for about a year using olive oil and I was extremely unhappy with how the crust was turning out.  It was dry and hard to roll and was never pretty looking.  So one day I decided to give coconut oil a try. 

For the first time since the allergy I made a perfect crust.  It rolled out well , went in the pie plate with out issues and tasted just like a regular crust like my Baba used to make.  It was so easy to do that I actually now enjoy making the crusts.  (Before it was liking having my teeth pulled with out freezing!!)

The Perfect Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup firm coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
8-10 tbsp. cold water

Mix together the flour and salt.  Cut in the coconut oil with a knife until crumbly.  Add water a tbsp. at a time until a dough forms.  Refrigerate about 10 minutes and then roll the dough out on wax paper.  Place the pie plate upside down over the dough and flip.  Fill with your favourite fillings!!

So the favourite pie in our house is apple pie.  This recipe tastes so good you just may want to eat the entire pie.

Apple Pie Filling

6 large apples peeled and chopped (we love to use gala apples)
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. flour

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the crust.  Top with another crust.  Brush with egg and bake at 375 F until golden brown.

Chocolate Bark

For anyone that knows me, they know that I love chocolate.  It is one of my most favourite things to eat and if that is all Kevin ever bought me as a gift I would be content.  Since changing how we eat, where we get our food and they type of footprint we want to leave behind I have started to make my own chocolates.

The first one I made was not corn safe for Ry because of the cranberries but the second one I made him - peanut butter and sea salt he loved and devoured.

Cranberry Sunflower Chocolate Bark

1 bar semi sweet baking chocolate
1 bag bitter sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 tsp sea salt

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.  Once melted pour on a wax paper lined sheet and spread out.  Top with the cranberries, seeds and salt and allow to set in the fridge.  Break into pieces and store in a container in the fridge or freezer.

For Ry's I added organic peanut butter to the chocolate and topped with sea salt.