Living Life One Cheerio at a Time

Last post on Disney, I promise! We did the Disney dining plan....so many choices but we chose the one that had 1 snack, 1 quick service meal and 1 sit down meal per person (except for #4 she was able to eat off of our plates.) And to be honest that was a lot of food but we were able to spread it over 5 nights and 5 days pretty nicely. I did plan early and got it to some fun table service dinners. We ate at the Coral Reef (Epcot), Ohana (Polynesian resort), Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot), Cinderella and Prince Charming Dinner at 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian resort), and Chef Mickey (Contemporary Resort) At each of those restaurants the chef met with us to discuss the menu for Little Man's allergies. Sometimes at the buffets they would take us up to the food to show us what was acceptable for his peanut, tree nut (including coconut and nutmeg) and dairy allergies. They adjusted menu items. They created special breads and desserts for him. The chefs often brought it to ...

We super diligent about what little man eats. We have a great set of friends who make sure that meals that we eat together are nut free. If there is a doubt~like at the wedding last week~ we don't give it to him. Yes, he went to a wedding and couldn't eat the cake. But I did make sure he got a special treat when we got home. Its pretty sucky sometimes but we can't take any chances. We have been doing pretty well these days. NO reactions to peanut/tree nuts in a long time until this week. We've been pretty fortunate to be in "nut" free activities. CBS is  nut free and church is nut free. The only thing we attend together that is not nut free is dance. Its not like he's getting snacks while #1 is taking ballet. But sometimes other parents bring snack for their kids. Sometimes they are nuts. Even the snacks they sell at the reception desk are often peanut kinds. I am diligent in watching him. Even though I do have a bit of panic because I don't kno...

I feeling overwhelmed. All I want to do  is keep my little ones safe but I don't know if I can keep up at this pace. My little guy was just tested and he has more allergies to items than we thought. Along with strawberries, chocolate, milk, tomatoes and peanuts our new list includes wheat, corn, oak, molds, and grass. For most of his reactions his eczema flairs up on his arms and legs. When he eats peanuts his body becomes one whole blister. He itches. He cries. Sometimes his stomach is so upset that he can't sleep...for days. Its not a pleasant time. Pooh bear fortunately only has a dairy allergy. She just doesn't sleep and spends alot of time on the potty. The hardest part {besides cooking 2-3 different versions of meals at each meal} is that he doesn't understand why he can't have some of the items the girls or mommy and daddy are having. Things he liked up until yesterday. Things we gave him unknowingly. I wrote several emails this week. I had to let the...

Always looking for a good "allergen" free snack bar for my little ones! 3/4 cup butter or substitute 2 teaspoons of butter for  greasing the foil 1 cup of firmly packed dried apricots (or dried fruit of choosing) 1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats 1 cup of flour 1 cup of dark brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla Melt 3/4 cup of butter and set aside Preheat oven to 350. Line 9 inch square pan with foil. Lightly grease the foil. Snip the apricots into small pieces. In a mixing bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Mix until well blended. Add apricots, butter and vanilla. The dough will be crumbly and moist. Dump the dough into the baking pan and press it down. Bake until the top is golden brown (35-40 minutes). Cool completely. Remove the foil and cut into 18 bars. Store in an airtight container.

Haven't tried them yet but they sound good so I'll share: Granola 3TBSP dark brown sugar 3TBSP pure maple syrup 2 TBSP honey 1TBSP canola or vegetable oil 1tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with dairy free non stick cooking spray. Place brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over ow heat, stirring constantly about 30 seconds, until sugar melts and sauce is well blended. Remove from heat and stir in oats. Spread mic evenly on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle fruit over granola mix; stir and spread out evenly. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Stir. Cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes and then place in a heat proof bowl to cool completely. {Recipes from "What else is to Eat?" the dairy-egg and nut-free food allergy cookbook" Linda Marienhoff Coss} ...

Over the past few months {sorry if I'd posted this before, I can't remember} I have been making my own bread. Mostly because of taste and some because of the allergies my kids have. So my friend, Kristin, gave me this recipe that was really working for her. YUMMO. My little boy wouldn't eat sandwiches but with this bread he's more inclined to eat a little. Especially the sunflower butter and jelly ones. Its easy and freezes well too! http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amish-White-Bread/Detail.aspx