Exhaustion in allergy parents

Exhaustion is defined as a state of extreme physical or mental tiredness. It occurs when something (typically our energy levels) have been used up.


Parents of kids with allergies (or any other chronic illness for that matter) understand what it feels like to be exhausted: the need to be constantly alert; the need to be constantly organised; to be only one step away from making a devastating mistake. Our energy levels quite simply get used up! But being exhausted or feeling exhausted still doesn't change the needs of our children.

It's now the beginning of March, and we have just come through the stress of Christmas, family gatherings, starting school/kinder, new teachers, new routines... and we wonder why we are exhausted?! But wait, Easter is coming up, and still another 10 months till we do it all again! Clearly, we need help, or a new way of doing things, or a bit of both.

So what do we do?? There are many practical steps we can take to ease the load. Here are just a few:

Keep a pantry well stocked with snacks and treats that are ready to go:
- Small packets of crisps/popcorn/potato stix
- Fruit cups or packets of pureed fruit (check out the baby aisle if you don't want additives etc)
- Dried fruit or fruit based lollies (check out the baby aisle again for bite sized snacks)
- Small packets of lollies and chocolates. If you can't get small packets, simply pour a few into a small container or paper cupcake liner
- Juice boxes

For something a little more substantial at a party:
- corn thins/ rice crackers with biocheese (coconut cheese for us)
- slices of ham
- small tin of baked beans

We also like to have cupcakes in the freezer that can be easily topped with either fondant or just a pile of lollies.

LIMIT the number of outings each weekend or day to something that is manageable for your family at this time. This might mean missing out on something, but it will also mean actually enjoying the chosen event much more. It takes time to pack and unpack, so having planned activities back to back is a recipe for mistakes as well as tears.

EXERCISE is good for the body as well as the heart and mind. Finding a way to get your body moving is a great way to release pent up stress. When our minds have a tendency to flit from one thought to another, it helps to pick an activity that demands your full attention. Exercise classes that demand some level of mental focus and coordination are great for helping to increase focus on the present and let go of the things we can't control. I've tried Zumba, boxing, and circuit classes - all of them help me to take off the load of allergy parenting, and concentrate on the present.

REST and RECOOPERATION is needed for the mind and for the body. For the body, a good night's sleep does everyone wonders! Make sure you get to bed at a regular time, or you won't have the energy to face anything or anyone tomorrow. Finding time for friends, away from the stress of allergy parenting does wonders for the soul. Enjoy a movie or a dinner where you don't have to take a bag of goodies, plus wipes, plus medications. Be carefree, for a litttle while at least!

If some of these points resonate with you but you're not sure where or how to start, face to face appointments are available in Rowville, Victoria. If you live further a field, online appointments can be arranged using Facebook Messenger etc. Our family has dealt with allergies (including anaphylaxis) to  dairy, eggs, peanuts, all nuts, soy, wheat, oats, shellfish, seafood and some other random foods. We also understand the stress of asthma, dustmites and hayfever.

Exhaustion is exhausting. If you would like personalised support, please send me an email.

Anzac Day slice - with coconut oil, Milk Free, Egg Free, Nut Free and Soy Free

The reason I've used coconut oil is because one child can't have dairy, the other still can't tolerate Nuttelex (vegetable oil mix) or Copha (contains soy) so coconut oil is the happy middle. However, the mixture was too crumbly to make into a cookie, so a slice seemed like a good idea. I pressed it into the tin using a fork. This seemed to create the perfect amount of pressure - not too crumbly, but not too dense either. Yay!

How to make beautiful Easter Eggs - what a Hack!

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Allergy free and Non food ideas for Easter Egg Hunts

Easter is coming up... and what is normally a time for celebration and a bit of fun, becomes a time when allergy parents have to put on their thinking hats, pre-empt situations at school, at church, and even at the shops. How you choose to celebrate, or not celebrate will make a difference to your child, and your family. The way you explain things to your child will also make a difference to how they view their food allergies.

Allergy Education

Last year, I did an Easter egg hunt at my in-laws, with little clues for where to find the next egg. I filled plastic eggs with small lollies, snacks and little chicks, and of course ended with the finale egg. My 3 year old actually remembers it from last year and has been asking when we can do it again. The best part of last year for my older son was the food trials we had to do leading up to Easter. Every day, he ate increasing amounts of a large Easter Egg, to ensure that Easter Sunday would not end up in hospital. We can sometimes find a very bright side to allergies ;-)

Easter Egg hunts can be fraught with danger if other children are involved. On some occasions when other children are searching for normal chocolate eggs, I've filled plastic eggs with special treats or stickers, and put say a name sticker or some other special sticker on them. (This also allows me to know the eggs have not been open by someone else and act like a safety seal). Then I tell my child they are only allowed to pick up their special eggs with their sticker, since the other ones would make them sick. At a young age, I would walk with them, and direct them to the right locations, so they don't accidentally pick up the wrong eggs. I would point out the wrong egg occasionally, and explain, oh, that egg is for other children, let's keep looking for your eggs. It can still be fun for them... but it really depends how big and controlled it is. If there are too many people, I would probably not choose not to attend that Easter Egg hunt. If it's just a few friends, then it is more manageable.

Non-Food Easter Egg Hunt

Organising a non-food Easter Egg hunt would be a great way to educate others about how to include, and not exclude, children with food allergies. Here are some great ideas for an Easter Egg hunt, that don't involve food at all - Non-food Easter Egg Hunt. I love the puzzle pieces one... but imagine what would happen if you didn't manage to find all the pieces!?


And what about Glow in the Dark Easter eggs?? Simple, but clever! 

Allergy Friendly Easter Eggs

Here's another idea for making Easter Egg icypoles. Cute!

And one last one... Rainbow Jelly eggs anyone?

It seems alternatives to the traditional chocolate Easter Egg hunt are only limited by your imagination, and perhaps personal energy levels.

Have a safe Easter everyone, and don't forget to look for the real meaning behind Easter.

Amazingly simple Allergy Free Slow Cooker meals - GAPS and Paleo inspired.

If your home has numerous allergies, meal times every day, of ever month, of every year gets very tiring. Throw into that mix after school activities and homework for each child and your cooking time gets seriously condensed! Enter the slow cooker... the most wonderful and economic kitchen appliance around!

I'm not an expert on gut health, but there seems to be an increasing awareness of how our modern diet can influence our gut health, which in turn can influence allergies and intolerances. I don't believe all allergies can be resolved by gut health, but I do believe that some gut allergies and intolerances may improve.

The GAPS and Paleo diets encourage the use of meat bones, bone marrow and offal. The belief is that our modern diet, eating only the "best" muscle meat, has lost some of the nutrients available within the bones, the sinew, the cartilage and various organs. Looking back at my asian heritage, I can see that my parents and grandparents used to eat a lot more stews and soups made with bones and offal that simmered for hours. In China, there is a soup that is supposed to be 100 years old, where ingredients are continually added to one very old soup. Apparently is has many health benefits. Maybe it does?!?

Our second son who suffers from numerous gut allergies actually loves bone marrow and offal. He eats Lamb's tongues in a tin, corned beef in a tin (which also contains hearts) and loves to get a straw and extract all the bone marrow from every piece of meat. But if your family aren't keen on eating bone marrow, that's OK. Cooking with the bones and bone marrow will infuse the rest of the pot with lots of natural goodness.

I've simplified the recipes for Red meats (lamb/beef) and White meats (chicken/pork). The recipes are remarkably simple because cooking them really is so simple. But you will be pleasantly surprised by the flavour and I'm sure you will be cooking them regularly. Enjoy!

Red meat recipe:
Enough meat for 4 adult serves - Lamb shanks / lamb chops /Beef Osso Bucco
Add 2 sprigs of rosemary and thyme for lamb dishes. Add 2 bay leaves for beef dishes.
Add vegetables like onion, garlic, carrot, swede, sweet potato, potato.
Add one handful of some dark fruit like grapes, cherries, sultanas or plums.

• Tomato based sauce - add 400g tinned tomatoes, 2T tomato paste.

• Cherry based sauce - add 800g jar of cherries and their juice.

• Coconut milk based sauce - add 400g tin of coconut cream or milk. Add curry leaves, 2t curry powder or 2T curry paste if you are able to.

Add water to cover all the meat and vegetables, leaving about 3cm at the top to allow everything to simmer without splattering.

Cover and cook for 6 hours on slow, or 4 hours on high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish the tomato or cherry based meals with a sprinkling of parsley for colour. Garnish the coconut based meal with a sprinkling of sliced spring onions.

White meat recipe:
Enough meat for 4 adult serves - Whole chicken, chicken legs/thighs, pork hock, pork spare ribs
Add vegetables like onion, garlic, carrot, swede, sweet potato, potato.

• Apple based sauce - peeled apple pieces and apple juice or apple cider. Add enough juice to cover all the meat and vegetables, leaving about 3cm from the edge of the pot.

•  Coconut milk based sauce - add 400g tin of coconut cream or milk. Add curry leaves, 2t curry powder or 2T curry paste if you are able to.

Cover and cook for 6 hours on slow, or 4 hours on high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish the apple based meals with a sprinkling of parsley for colour. Garnish the coconut based meal with a sprinkling of sliced spring onions.

If you would like to cook your pasta in the sauce, simply scoop out most of the meat and vegetables and keep them in a warm dish. Add enough dry pasta for 4 serves. Top with boiling water until all the pasta is well covered, with maybe 1cm extra on top. Stir well. Leave the slow cooker on high, with the lid off for a further 30mins if using wheat pasta or 20mins if using rice/corn pasta. If your pasta shapes are extra small, then cooking time will be faster. Don't forget to add more salt if needed.

Alternatively, serve with mashed potato, rice, bread or normal pasta.

Click here for more allergy friendly meals.

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Coming soon... One Tray oven meals... allergy free of course!

I would love to hear your favourite combination.

Allergy Free Chocolate Coconut custard

Here's a yummy chocolate custard recipe, based on cocoa and coconut milk, that is free from the top 8 allergens. It is quite yummy on it's own as you can see, but completely divine when layered with pancakes and strawberries!

 Bon Appetit!

Click here to find the recipe for a milk free, egg free, nut free pancake. Instead of pureed fruit, you can also use 1T honey or a combination of both for larger batches.

To print the recipe for the custard, go to Happy Tummies, supplier of allergy friendly foods. Keep up the good work!

Allergy free Menu Planning - perfect for Elimination diets

Menu planning used to be a bit of a foreign concept to me - I enjoyed going to the shops to see what was on special or what took my fancy. At home, I would spend time creating some new dish or adding all sorts of spices and sauces... well... that's how I like to remember my pre-allergy life. Perhaps I'm remembering them with rose-coloured glasses - I'll have to ask my husband. My pantry still has a full spice rack that we no longer use, jar upon jar of curry sauce that I bought on special once... note to self... must clear out pantry!

Since our second son was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, my diet is so restricted that nearly all joy from cooking has disappeared. The restrictions on our food list are beyond ridiculous, and now just ensuring all bellies are full is an achievement in itself (especially my belly since I'm breasfeeding a ravenous monster of a 5 month old).

I realised not long ago, that actually the stress of cooking dinner each week has been reduced by having a few easy meals that can be rotated or by having a mix and match system. I'm not sure if you remember, but there used to be children's picture books where you could pick a head, flip through another set of pages for the body, then flip through for the legs of your choice. Our dinners follow this simple idea, and makes each dinner plate unique.

The meals aren't necessarily fancy, but they are nutritious and yummy. And with kids, an empty plate is a good plate. I don't plan each meal exactly, but provided my pantry and fridge are well stocked, I can choose my options based on how I feel that day, or how much time I have to prepare dinner. Typically I spend about 30 mins actually cooking dinner each day - doesn't sound much, but by keeping meals simple, I get to keep my sanity :-)

These meals are easily adaptable to be free from milk, egg, soy, all nuts, wheat, oats, seafood and sesame. If you're not sure how to substitute, or you haven't had success at substitutions, just let me know.

Meat options
Pan fried beef steak - served with a side of mustard for my husband.
Pan fried lamb chops - marinated with maple syrup, salt and oil.
Sausages - we use a gluten free range from our local supermarket.
Pan fried salmon steaks
Beef rissoles/meatballs
Sliced meat covered in crushed Red Rock Deli chips. You can also cover a whole roast chicken with the crushed chips and it keeps the chicken very moist and tasty.

Carbohydrate options
Penne pasta (wheat, corn or rice pasta) -  10 mins boiling time
Rice - 30 mins cooking time
Spaghetti (rice/corn varieties) - 10 mins boiling time
Bread rolls warmed in the oven- this one takes 5 mins from freezer, to oven, to plate.
Mashed potato - if my hubbie is home, he can mash it for me.
Udon noodles or other asian style noodle - 3 mins in the fry pan to heat through.
Frozen chips or hash browns - takes 30 mins in the oven, so needs more planning.

Vegetable options
Frozen/fresh peas or corn
Carrot - our son just has raw carrot sticks, while I microwave the adult portions
Aspsaragus/beans/snow peas/spinach/asian leafy vegetable - any vegetable that can be tossed into the fry pan and cooked in the meat juices to add flavour.
Grated raw carrot and grated raw apple - a yuumy combination actually!
Salad - our son loves raw tomatoe, so a few of those on his plate and he's super happy.

Complete meals
Lamb Roast with roasted potato, pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot.
Oven roasted chicken wings and vegetables, served with rice.
Spaghetti Bolognese.
Slow cooked chicken with apple cider.
Slow cooker - Lamb shanks/lamb chops/osso bucco, carrots, onion, potatoes etc with a tomatoe base. If you can't use tomatoes, a large tin of cherries and cherry juice works a treat!
Chicken one pot soup - chicken pieces, vegetables... and boil! Add rice noodles or pasta at the end.

For added flavour
Never underestimate the impact of a sprinkling of salt!
Tamari/Soy sauce - if you can use soy.
We can't use store bought stock, so we either make our own, or you can add grapes/plums/cherries to add some depth to the dish. These can be added to the fry pan, or to the slow cooker/pot. Think of it as a substitute for wine.


What are your family favourites? Click here to find some of the detailed recipes. If you would like more specific recipes, please do let me know. I am always happy to help :-)

Allergy free Family meal #1 - Oven baked chicken

After a week of coming to grips with my new restricted diet, this was our first family meal - one that I am quite proud of. Nothing too fancy, but given all the limitations, this is still quite tasty!

Milk free
Egg free
Wheat free
Soy free
Peanut free
Tree Nut free
Seafood free
Sesame free
Tomato, mushroom, onion, citrus and coconut free too.

That's right, and it's even free from traces of any of these nasties! We actually eat this once a week at the moment, and there is always extra for a few hot lunches.

Oven baked chicken

Marinate chicken pieces (I use 2kg of chicken wings) in 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup (for gluten free, choose the pure Maple Syrup).
Add 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder and a sprinkle of salt to suit your tastes.
For an added twist, add 1/2 Cup of pureed apple sauce (I bought mine in a jar).
Place in an glass/ceramic oven dish and allow it to marinate for a couple of hours if possible (or just 15 mins if you're in a rush like me).

Place the chicken in the oven for about 20minutes, at 200 degrees Celsius.

Add some vegetables (I used zuchinni pieces as well as sugar snap peas) and toss with the chicken pieces in the tray. Try and get some of the juice in and around the veggies to make them deliciously sweet.

Cook for a further 20 minutes in the oven, and serve with rice. Yum!

If you want to use carrots sticks, add them with the chicken right at the start since they take longer to cook up.
If you are using chicken legs, it will probably take a bit longer to cook - maybe need to add another 20 minutes to the cooking time.


Do you have a child with multiple food allergies?

YES! I would like to find out more ways to educate them about their allergies.

No, but I'm interested in more recipes.

Decadent Egg Free, Milk Free, Nut Free Chocolate Cake

Here is a link to the most amazing allergy-free chocolate cake I've ever had. Normally I avoid recipes that say Vegan since it often means they use nuts. But this recipe is amazing... oh wait, I already said that... yes, amazing! Don't be tempted to bake only the base - the topping is what makes the cake.

This is one for the adults as well as kids. Enjoy!

Not Quite Nigella

Meat Pie

This recipe was inspired by the previous Jam Tart recipe, but instigated by my husband who wanted our son to enjoy good 'ol Aussie Meat Pies. I used muffin trays to bake the individual pies.

Canola Puff Pastry (dairy free, from Coles, if you live in Australia) - cut one sheet into four square quarters. Each square can be placed into a muffin mold. Place the cooled meat mixture into the center of the pastry and fold the corners into the center, to cover the meat. Place a cut-out shape on top of everything to seal off the pie. The pastry doesn't need to be completely sealed or perfectly shaped - I personally like the dribbled effect. If you want it to be more browned on top, you could brush some soy milk over the top, but I don't think it's necessary. Bake at 220deg C, for 20 - 25 mins or till nicely browned. Serve with chips, mash or other vegetables.

Meat filling recipe
Our son is still on a very restricted diet so the ingredients we use are very limited compared to most recipes. If you are able to use more spices and herbs, then I'm sure it will taste even better, but in the meantime, this recipe uses very basic ingredients to make something still quite tasty. For example, we still haven't found a stock cube we can safely use, nor is there any chilli, mustard, or fancy sauces in it. If you miss these flavours, then perhaps topping the pies with a bit of spice will make up for it.

1 onion, chopped finely
500g beef mince
1T tomato paste
1C red grapes, chopped in half or perhaps 1 plum, chopped into pieces (this is what I use instead of stock cubes believe it or not!)
1C chopped veggies like peas, corn or carrot
salt to taste

Gently fry the onion in some sunflower or other acceptable oil. Add mince and brown it fully. Add the remaining ingredients and enough water to simmer for about 20 mins. Add salt to taste, then cool before placing into the pastry.

Hope you enjoy these little treasures too!

Easy Peasy Jam Tarts

This has got to be about the easiest egg free, milk free, nut free snack you could make with a toddler. Our son was watching an episode of Fireman Sam when he saw the characters enjoying Jam Tarts. Imagine how excited he was when I said, "yes, we can make them right now!"

We used Coles Canola Puff Pastry (dairy free, but contains gluten) which is pre-rolled and kept in the freezer. You could make any shapes you like, but we used a circle shape for the base, topped it with some fruit jam and a star shape on top. Bake according to the pastry instructions - about 15 mins at 220deg C. I also made some with a square of Sweet William Dairy free chocolate placed underneath the star, but I think the jam ones were better.

These were fun and easy to make and also look and taste great! I hope you enjoy them.

Turning 3, free of eggs, milk, peanuts and treenuts

Happy Birthday my not so little man! For some reason, this age seems to be more significant as I see our son go from nappies to undies, and watch him really play with other children in such a way that shows he really is not a baby anymore.

This year we decided to split his birthday celebration into two separate parties to ease the pressure and allow us to enjoy more time actually chatting to people. I'm not convinced that the first aim was achieved, but at least we did get to enjoy talking to friends more when the party size was halved. Having the first party at a friend's place was by far the best part though! Thanks Mei and Vince!!!!

As I compare the party last year to this year - there are so many differences! Food wise, we had so much more variety this time around and we didn't have to cook nearly as much special food for the kids. For those of you who also have allergic kids, we had Parkers Pretzels (mainly wheat), Red Rock Deli Potato Crisps (mainly potato and salt), Coles Spring rolls (cabbage and other vegies) and plain corn chips (mainly corn) freely available on the table... there was no cheese or cheese dip in sight, no nuts obviously and not even crackers with dairy or egg traces. It is quite a relief and surprisingly relaxing when you supply all the nibblies on the table, and for at least the first part of the party, you can let your highly allergic child run free - he was even allowed to help himself to the shared nibblies since I knew they had not been contaminated. Admittedly he ate way too many potato crisps, but I'm not complaining.

The main food event was of course the cake. A Wiggles cake for Party #1. I used the basic egg free, milk free, nut free recipe for one layer, and a new chocolate recipe for the second layer. We've managed to find a milk free and nut free cocoa powder (Planet Organic Cocoa) - which isn't as easy as you would think to find. The icing was simply icing sugar, water and food colouring. The greatest tip I have for cake decoration is simply to buy a toy to put on top! Forget trying to carve something out of cake... this is so much easier plus your child gets a toy at the end :-) We used Sweet William soy choc chips as well as SF Health Foods Premium milk free marshmallows for the added decorations, and to hide any imperfections in icing technique.

And for Party #2 the theme was Cars... I actually bought a Lighting McQueen toy to place on the race track, but our son found the toy the day before, and do you think I could find it on the day I needed it?! Oh well, I ended up washing some of his other cars and placed them on top instead... he was till happy with that... of course! I'm pretty sure us mums create some of our own headaches. The green grass was made using dessicated coconut mixed with green food colouring. Soy choc chips made the race track while the magnificent finish line was made by printing the chequered pattern onto an overhead transparency, secured with toothpicks. In the end I think I was more happy with the Wiggles cake - I think the simpler it is, probably the more glamourous it actually looks.

For lunch, we served small dinner buns (allergen free) and sausages for the kids. For adults we simply ordered BBQ chicken and I did buy some pre-made salads (which did contain dairy). But with the number of allergens significantly reduced by providing all the food, actually a lot of stress was removed and we really did enjoy having friends and their kids over. To be honest, most of the stress came from having to assemble a bunk bed and a trampoline, ready for the main event (while we were also suffering from a household bout of gastro... but that's another story all together).

And when you see something like this, with no rash at the end of the day...

... success!

Chicken,Tomato and Pasta soup

This recipe was born out of a near empty fridge and pantry, but don't all great inventions come from bare necessity? Well, perhaps that is too great a comparison... this dish isn't really that great an invention, but it is a hearty meal, made from ingredients dug out of a pantry. My secret ingredient was actually a small tin of baked beans! Our son can't have bought chicken stock cubes since he's allergic to some of the ingredients they use. I had run out of tinned tomatoes, and I was wanting to somehow add a bit more nutrition and vegetable content to the soup... and there it was, a tin of baked beans! My husband actually really liked this dish, so it got ticks of approval from old and young.

Chicken, Tomato and Pasta soup
500g chicken fillet - cut into bite sized cubes. If you have chicken pieces then you can use that instead of course, but the fillet is the quickest option and easiest to find in my freezer.
1 onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced roughly
220g can SPC Baked Beans in tomato sauce (dairy free, egg free, nut free)
300g San Remo soup pasta, or any other pasta of your choice

Boil about 3L of water, add the chicken pieces first. Once they have been cooked on the outside, simply add all the other ingredients, except for pasta. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Add the pasta to cook about 10 minutes before you are ready to serve. Depending on what pasta you choose, you may need to add more water to ensure the pasta doesn't stick together. This is a great simple, hearty meal for those days on the run. Garnish with some parsley just to add a bit of colour.

Allergy free Spring rolls - savoury and sweet

 

Hooray, our son can eat cabbage! I can just imagine the surprise as you read that. For our son, every new food is a cause for celebration - I have to admit that on this one, I didn't follow the strict rules of half a teaspoon one day, one teaspoon the next etc. I don't think that test would have been very successful because who wants to eat spoonfuls of cabbage?!

So, my test method was actually using Coles Cocktail Spring Rolls with Vegetable filling. Two spring rolls on the first day, doubling that portion over the next few days until my son could eat no more! This is where other allergy mums will understand what my cheering was really about. The picture that I've put up is of my home-made spring rolls, but my celebration over cabbage is because it now allows us to buy pre-made spring rolls! Just in time for birthday party number 3! This means that there is one less thing I have to make from scratch and one easy option when we want to bring a plate of something to share to other parties. The reason I chose this brand is because it has the least ingredients in it, thus making it more likely that our son can actually eat it: egg free, milk free and nut free still of course, but be sure to check the packaging every time you buy it.

Up till now, I have experimented with home made spring rolls like the picture above. I used Filo Pastry which is basically just wheat and oil. I wrapped shredded chicken with thinly sliced vegetables, or else slices of apple in the pastry and shallow fried it. Apple was our son's favourite naturally. For adults, I served it with a fresh garden salad, drizzled with sweet chilli sauce and mayonnaise. If you're adventurous, you could wrap them in triangle shapes instead to make samosas.

Home-made was probably more delicious, but shop bought gets my thumbs up for easier living.

Calling other allergy mums out there... do you know of a soy mayonnaise that doesn't contain egg?

Lamb roast and pasta for the whole family - allergy free

When cooking for a child with multiple food allergies, finding meals that the whole family can eat and enjoy is like finding gold! There aren't any new ingredients in this one, but with a clever twist, we've managed to come up with a dish that is quite delicious for young and old. Oh, did I forget to mention it's dead easy?! If you have a slow cooker, you can also do this in there, but I'm too worried that our slow cooker is already contaminated with other ingredients, so I've used a corningware dish that can be put on the stove top then into the oven for slow cooking.

So here's the actual recipe:

800g of lamb, cut into pieces. I used lamb chops with bones in it to add flavour to the meal. You can use a cheap cut of lamb since the slow cooking makes the meat very tender and easy to chew. Also, the meat just falls off the bones when you serve it, so there's no need to be pedantic about your chopping.

400g tin of tomatoes

2T tomato paste

1 onion, sliced

2 or 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks

1 large handful of red grapes - this is my secret ingredient! Our son still can't have meat stock cubes, nor can we add wine (which may contain traces of egg due to processing), so grapes is actually a sensible alternative, and definitely gives it a taste of sophistication.

300g dried pasta

1. Use medium heat for the corning ware dish on the stove. Then add oil and brown the lamb.

2. Add onions and saute slightly.

3. Add tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots and grapes. You could also add mushrooms or any other vegetable you fancy. Stir, bring to the boil then turn off and put the lid on.

4. Transfer to the oven, set at 180deg celsius and cook for about an hour or more if you have time. The longer you cook, the tastier and the more tender. But probably no more than 3 hours.

5. Add about 300g of your favourite pasta - we used Coles Organic Penne pasta. Stir in well. Make sure all your pasta is covered in juice. If it isn't, simply add enough hot water to cover the pasta and stir it through. Cook another 30 mins in the oven with the lid on.

Voila! ready to serve. Season with salt. You could garnish it with chopped parsley or even a dollop of greek yoghurt for those who aren't allergic to dairy.

Sadly I've since discovered that the ingredients used in the tomato paste that I used to use in a squeeze pack has changed. Suddenly they have all these other ingredients I guess to help with the sqeezability. Oh well, just as well I checked the packaging - it's back to the old jars for me - just pure tomatoes, the good old fashioned way. Just a reminder that we need to check the labels every time we buy something, so don't get lazy! 

Happy eating!

Asian style mince with noodles

I'm of Chinese heritage, while my husband is Australian. Our son knows he is "half Aussie and half Chinese." That doesn't sound very interesting in type, but it is gorgeous when he says it in person.

I'm a little dubious about using imported products, especially asian products which could easily be contaminated by peanuts or something similar. If they can stuff up baby milk powder then you just don't know what could happen with other products.

But alas, in my desire to feed our son a little more variety, I am on the search for products I can use. I look for products that specifically have allergy advice on it. If it has a label saying "gluten free" I'm hoping that their manufacturing controls are more seriously enforced and therefore safer for our son. Australian made always inspires a little more confidence but that's not always easy to find.

If you're in Australia, I'd be most interested to know what sauces other allergy mums use. You'll give me more confidence to try and expand to even more flavours.

So here's my recipe for Asian style mince - actually my picture is when I served it with San Remo Soup Pasta, but you could do anything - rice noodlse, spaghetti, soup pasta ... I believe it's called fusion!

Eskal rice noodles - cook according to packet directions.
Or serve it with pasta, rice or potato.


500g beef mince
1 onion, diced
1 medium sized carrot, diced
1 handful of beans, diced or perhaps 1C frozen peas
2T Abundant Earth Tamari rdeuced salt soy sauce (wheat free)
1T Chang's Tamari Hoi Sin sauce (gluten free)
1 stock cube (optional)
water

Brown the beef and onion in whatever oil you use. We use sunflower oil.
Add vegetables and sauce, bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer.
Our son doesn't use any store bought stock yet, but to flavour the adult portion I added a stock cube and sprinkled chilli flakes on top.
Simmer at least 5 mins to cook the vegetables, or longer if you want the mince to break up more.
Add water if it starts to get too dry.
Add cooked rice noodles or pasta, stir to combine.

Best served in a character bowl like Bob the Builder!

Steak and chips

Just had this tonight and loved it for oh so many reasons!

1. Our son cleaned up his plate and even had a second serve of chips... pretty big meal for a 2 year old. Dessert was a mandarin :-)

 2. The grown up meal looks remarkably similar right?! That's right folks, I only cooked one meal today. We had our steak with a smear of Dijon mustard... yum!

3. This is the clean up... seriously, just a pan, two trays, plus one bowl that I microwaved the vegies in. Even just using one utensil means less washing up.

For Australian readers, I used Birds Eye Golden Crunch Chips - supposed to be egg free, dairy free, nut free, but check the packaging each time, just in case. I also line the tray for our son just in case there are traces of other oils on there from previous cooking. But seriously, how simple is that?!

Big tick from my hubby too - what man can resist a good steak and chips?

Very fancy fish and chips

This is our version of fish and chips. I'm not sure if our son can eat other types of fish or not - early on we were told not to try white fish since he was probably allergic. Salmon and tuna are apparently the least likely to cause allergies. Fresh tuna is hard to come by and our son isn't too keen on tinned plain tuna. So, we basically have pan fried salmon on a regular basis. I've also stopped buying salmon from the local fish shop since there's a high chance of contamination from other white fish or prawns (which we know are a no no). So, my solution is to buy pre-packaged salmon fillets that are hopefully cut on a mass scale and less likely to be contaminated. So far so good.

So here we have, very fancy fish and chips - basically pan fried salmon fillets served with home made potatoe chips fried in sunflower oil. A light sprinkling of salt or a little bit of soy sauce and voila! Talk about spoilt!

Chocolate Chip cookies

This dairy, egg and nut free recipe was definitely a hit - all the family loves them and they're a great treat to share with friends. They're also shellfish and sesame free, but that's what you'd hope for in choc chip cookies!

When my husband is around, we make it together with our 2 year old son. He loves tasting all the ingredients as they are added (yes, even the flour, and especially the salt). The uncooked dough is also yummy to eat... so much so that when the cookies were finally out of the oven, he only ate half of one since he'd already gutsed himself on the dough!

I've also popped a few into the freezer in a zip-lock bag, so hopefully they'll taste nice too.
Enjoy!

 Chocolate Chip Cookies
1C Nuttelex
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1t vanilla extract
3T sunflower oil, 3T water and 1 1/2 t baking powder, mixed together (this is to replace egg)
2 1/4 C plain flour
1t baking powder
1t salt
2C Sweet William Chocolate chips - dairy and nut free

Preheat oven to 170deg C.
In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add oil-water-baking powder mixture to dough. Mix well. Mix in flour, remaining 1t baking powder and salt. Mix well. Stir in choc chips.

Form cookie balls, about 2cm diameter. Place balls approx 5cm apart on greaseproof paper (just to reduce the risk of contamination). Cook for about 10 minutes, or less if you make the balls smaller for smaller mouths.

This recipe is adapted from "What's to Eat? The milk-free, egg-free, nut-free Food Allergy Cookbook" by Linda Coss.

Vegan, alllergy free cake - Egg, Dairy and Soy free... and still yum!

Our son is turning two and so I've been searching out good recipes for the party. This cake tastes great and is super moist and super light. I first made it in small paper cupcake liners. This turned out great, but only cook it for 15 mins or so since it will cook quicker. Our son has loved peeling off the "skin" and the variety of colours we've had by doing it this way.

I've also frozen some for a quick snack and they still taste quite nice. Keep an eye out for another post of his real birthday cake. I'm undecided whether to go for a motorbike shape, or perhaps just decorate it like the cakes we see in story books so our son feels like every other kid for once. Either way, I'm sure he'll eat the icing first and then chomp through the rest.

As with everything else, there's always a special twist when it comes to multiple allergy kids: I come from Chinese heritage, so as I grew up, scrimping and saving has been the order of the day. So, apart from saving wrapping paper, we also save birthday candles. Afterall, you only light them for a few seconds... and why waste? Well, as with so many of my other ideas... from now on, it's new everytime! I wanted our son to practise blowing out candles, for the perfect birthday photo of course. But just as I went to insert the candles, I realised the base of the candles were probably contaminated with who knows what. So, cleverly, I must boast, I quickly wrapped a small amount of glad wrap around the base before inserting the candle. Problem solved, and one happy boy equals one happy mum.

2015 POSTSCRIPT: Our son is now 6, he has a younger brother who is 3. Our cakes have gone from strength to strength while still being completely free from dairy, eggs and all nuts. We still use this recipe as a base cake for most parties - it is just so easy and quick to make, and still tastes lovely. For these fondant cakes, I've used Satin Ice Rolled Fondant, available at Spotlight. It is dairy, egg, nut free and easy to use - just like playdoh. Make sure you check the ingredients yourself each time, just in case. The last cake was made for friend's party, so my boys could both enjoy a slice too :-)

Dairy, egg and soy free Cake

1¾ C plain flour

1 C sugar

¾ t baking powder

¾ t bicarbonate soda

½ t salt

1 C water

1/3 C sunflower oil

1 T white vinegar

1 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 175deg C. Line 20cm square tin with greaseproof paper to reduce chance of contamination. Grease and sprinkle lightly with flour.

2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the centre and add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Beat gently until smooth. Pour batter into pan.

3. Bake 30mins or till done. Allow to cool.

4. Decorate with frosting.

Frosting recipe

½ C Nuttelex

1 C pure icing sugar

A few drops of food colouring

Cream together the Nuttelex and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Addd food colouring one drop at a time until you get the colour you want. Spread over cooled cake.

Adapted from “Fast Ideas – safe recipes for kids” published by Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation Ltd.