{Allergy Free} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These are wonderful moist muffins with the perfect amount of chocolate. I love that they have no cinnamon so the flavor is purely pumpkin and chocolate. 

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

6 tsp egg replacer whisked with 8 T rice milk

2 cups sugar

1 can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup apple sauce

3 cups flour blend

1 tsp xanthan

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips

In large bowl whisk together egg replacer mixture through applesauce until smooth.
In another bowl combine flour through salt and whisk well.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 400 for 14-16 minutes.

When cool, glaze with a mixture of rice milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Drizzle over the top of muffins.

Adapted from Echoes of Laughter

{Allergy Free} Maple Cinnamon Cookies

Maple Cinnamon Cookies

3/4 cup Earth Balance

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tsp egg replacer whisked with 4 T original hemp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 T maple syrup

2 1/2 cups flour blend

3/4 tsp xanthan

2 tsp baking powder

t tsp salt

3 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Frosting

1/2 cup Spectrum shortening

1/2 cup Earth Balance

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 T maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

cinnamon for sprinkling

Cream Earth Balance with both sugars until light and fluffy.
Add egg replacer, vanilla, and maple syrup and mix well.
Add all dry ingredients and mix slowly until dough forms.
Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Flatten slightly with hand.
Bake at 375 for 10-11 minutes.
Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes.
Frost when completely cool.

For frosting, cream Earth Balance and shortening together until smooth.
Add powdered sugar and salt and mix well.
Add maple syrup and vanilla and mix on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Spread onto cool cookies and sprinkle them with cinnamon.

Linked up with Allergy Free Wednesdays at Real Food, Allergy Free

{Allergy Free} Apple and Caramel Muffins

Apple and Caramel Muffins

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/3 cup brown sugar packed

1 1/2 tsp egg replacer whisked with 2 T rice milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup rice milk whisked with 1 tsp lemon juice

2 1/2 cups flour blend

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup diced apples (peeled)

Streusel Topping:

1 T Earth Balance

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp xanthan gum

Caramel Icing

2 T Earth Balance

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 T rice milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix the dry ingredients (flour through baking soda) in a bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients (olive oil through rice milk mixture) in another bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Gently fold in the apples.
Pour into greased muffin tins and add streusel topping.
Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.
Then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for 10-12 more minutes until tops spring back.
Let muffins cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove and let cool on wire racks.

To make icing:
Combine Earth Balance through rice milk in small saucepan and heat over medium low heat.
Whisk until the brown sugar has melted.
Then add vanilla and powdered sugar.
Drizzle warm icing over muffins.

Makes 12 large muffins.

Unknown Food Allergies

Let's talk a little bit about our sweet Punkin. I have said that she had food allergies from the time that she was only a few weeks old. Here's why I suspected food allergies from the beginning:

• She had incredibly dry skin. We're talking about very rough, sandpaper, flaky skin. My pediatrician was shocked when he saw her at her 2 month check up because her skin was so very dry and scaly.

• She had eczema and red rashy skin. Bee was our original eczema baby and while Punkin's has never been as bad, she did have lots of red rashes (and still does).

• And of course there's the tell-tale sign of hives. She's had outbreaks of hives multiple times. While hives can be caused by other things, I was fairly certain that these were food related.

So, to keep track of Punkin's allergic reactions I keep a food diary. I write down every time she has hives and what she ate that day. So far I haven't been able to confirm any patterns. However, I suspect that she has an issue with dairy and with nuts - specifically almonds.

Right now we can't be sure what she is allergic to. In fact, her allergy tests all came back negative when she was tested last year. But we know from personal experience that these tests are not always accurate, especially on young children. The most accurate way to determine a food allergy is through a food challenge. Of course, I'm not going to start feeding suspicious foods to Punkin to see if she has a reaction, but I can tell a few patterns after looking through our food journal.

While we usually eat only allergy-free foods in our house, there have been times when only Punkin has gone to dinner with us and tried a few regular foods. And there are a few hidden snacks in our house that are just for the parental figures. These snacks are not allergy free and are usually eaten late at night when Bee is not around to have any problems.

Not knowing what is causing a reaction is the most frustrating and scary part of being a food allergy parent. You want your kids to try new foods but you know that new foods could cause a problem. However, you have no idea which foods you should try and which foods might cause a reaction.

What can you do to help you discover the list of food allergies?

• Keep a food journal - Write down everything that your child eats daily and how their skin looks and if they have any reactions.

• Continue with allergy tests - While these are not always accurate, they do sometimes yield some helpful information.

• Learn about food families - Knowing that Bee has an allergy to banana means that she's likely to also have an allergy to avocado and melons (which she does) because those are in the same family and are cross-reactive. 

• Listen to your child - Often Bee will refuse to eat certain things and it is often because they make her feel unwell. She's a fairly good judge of things that bother her or might cause a problem. Sometimes I just have to trust her senses and intuition. 

There are many reactions that we've never pinpointed the cause. I try to write down everything I remember from the day of every reaction and keep a list, but it doesn't always become clear what food caused the reactions. I can just go off our past experiences and what our various allergy tests have shown. There is so much guesswork and intuition involved.

Allergy Free No Nut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Perfect for a quick school morning breakfast. And it tastes just like eating a chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookie. Yummy!

No Nut Butter Baked Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups regular gluten free oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup original hemp milk-unsweetened

1/4 cup unsweet applesauce

1/4 cup melted Earth Balance

1 1/2 tsp egg replacer whisked with 2 T rice milk

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup Pea Butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Grease a 7x11 pan.
Mix all ingredients together in large bowl and then spread in pan.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.