Thursday, September 11, 2014

I Scream for Ice Cream

      People often ask me what Food I have missed the most since developing several food allergies, and while there are certainly lots of foods I miss, ice cream is probably the biggest!  Throughout the past few years I have tried quite a few "alternative ice creams" and they have varied from awful to amazing: and I want to share what I've learned...

      
      Cherry berry, frozen yogurt is HUGE right now and I for one hate being the person who when asked by friends to go out for a treat is like "fro-yo!? Great, I'll just chill in the corner and awkwardly watch you eat, or else risk a nasty allergic reaction..." That tends to be a bit of a buzz kill. However Cherry Berry offers a dairy-free frozen strawberry-lemonade that is super good. The down side is it still has plenty of sugar which I also have a sensitivity too. While it's not as creamy as actual fro-yo it is still delicious and it means I can go out with my friends, so that is a win!

      Clemmy's  is probably the closest I've tasted to real ice cream and is gluten free, lactose free and sugar free. It uses Xilitol  as a sweetener though, --- which can be a laxative in large amounts, but I've never had a problem with it and it is better for you than some of the other alternative sweeteners. The down side is that it is only sold in certain stores and is lactose free, not dairy free so it still contains casein. However, it has tons of flavors and is a nice treat for those who are just lactose free.

   
   So-delicious is one of the overall best, and easiest to find. It is made with coconut milk or soy milk, and has a nice creamy texture. It comes in several flavors, but the chocolate is my favorite.

      Another treat that is more common, is LIFEWAY frozen Kefir. Like most regular Kefir it is 99% lactose free and has more of a frozen yogurt taste. It can be bought at most groceries stores. I adore it have been known to eat most of (or all) of a pint in one sitting.

     
 The only not so good one I will list is Arctic Zero, it is supposedly lactose and sugar free, but tastes like frozen sawdust with chemicals. I would not recommend it.



      Last but not least is my personal favorite, Coconut Bliss. As the name suggests it is made with coconut milk and uses agave as it's sweetener. Also, even it's flavors like chocolate walnut brownie are gluten free! It is usually only found at health food stores like small co-ops or whole foods, and is a little more pricey than  many other allergy friendly frozen treats, but boy is it good! There are lots of great flavors and and it is worth the splurge!


Hopefully this helps!



* All images are taken from product websites, and do not belong to me.
 http://www.clemmysicecream.com/pints/coffee
http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/?gclid=CPHSl-fP2cACFQypaQodhKwANw
http://coconutbliss.com/coconut-bliss-products/chocolate-hazelnut-fudge

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

My favorite gluten free foods!

Gluten free foods have gotten a lot better over the years, but living in a family of gluten free people I've learned a lot about brands are good and where you might find them,
(For the record, I do not have celiac disease and recommend that you always double check the label to make sure an item is safe to eat:)

1. Glutino - best pretzels and crackers
 http://shop.glutino.com/?gclid=CPngpYSx470CFa9cMgod-lQAIQ

2. Mary's gone crackers are good, in the seedy cracker department, and taste great with goat cheese (or regular cheese.) i would pass on their pretzels though, they were not especially good.

3. Udis is an overall a life saver. Their bread, bagels, cookies, tortillas, (basically everything) is amazing! And they are sold at a lot of stores now.
4. My personal favorite snack bar, are Pure bars. http://thepurebar.com/ (they are also vegan! ) They are certainly expensive but you can order them by the box on the website with free shipping over $39, so that helps.


So these are just a few of my favorite products, hopefully it helps:)

*all pictures are from product websites.


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Love, Pillow.

I love throw pillows, like seriously, I ADORE them! However, like most people I really don't like spending $30, even for the most fabulous pillow. So, last year when I was getting to move to school and saw an inexpensive plain red pillow at Ikea, that happened to match my bedspread, I had to dress it up!

First off I used some white yarn, which  I already had, and twisted it and tacked it onto the edge of the pillow. I also added some handmade tassels.

Than, I created a template by using sticky labels and cutting out the design I wanted, It worked a lot better than just plain old paper because it adhered to the fabric and the paint didn't run under. (at least not much.)




I than used white acrylic paint to fill the stencil in.

Once the paint dried, all I had to do was peel off the stencil and there was my pretty pillow!

I've had this pillow for over a year and it has worn pretty well, I used inexpensive materials, so it won't last forever, but part of the fun of throw pillows is being able to change them out.
Hopefully this inspires you to make your own wonderful throw pillow.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Gluten free, Dairy free Sandwich Idea

      Ok, so for my first real post  I want to share my favorite sandwich recipe!
 To put this in context I have a pretty strong gluten intolerance and issues with dairy so I've had to get pretty creative with my food!
     I came up with the idea for this sandwich after having a cranberry cream-cheese Monty-Cristo at a little tea place a number of years ago. Of course I had to modify the recipe after developing my food allergies... but I like this version even better!
     So here it is:

     I use gluten free bread (I like Udi's bread http://udisglutenfree.com/)  and spread soft goat cheese on each piece. Than I take raspberries (fresh are best but defrosted ones work too!) and basically smash them into the cheese. Finally I take sandwich meat (I prefer turkey or chicken) and add that. 
     You can also put lettuce or other topping on the sandwich, but I like to keep mine pretty basic (also I don't like lettuce!)
 Than you fry the sandwich. I usually use a little butter in my cast iron pan, but coconut oil or a butter substitute would work as well. 
       Voila! You now have a lovely raspberry sandwich that is allergy friendly!

A Fresh Start...

       Well its been over a year since I had the "brilliant idea" to start a blog..... one year and a grand total of one post. (Yes I know that is highly impressive...)

       However, I am back and ready to start this blog for real, so get ready for all sort of crazy/creative  ideas to start inundating this blog!