2008-04-30

A Few of My Favorite Things

I've been a little reluctant to make a list of the products that I use to compensate for my child's food allergies in the kitchen. The idea of pushing specific brands makes me uncomfortable, even though I'm not receiving any kind of compensation from these companies. Since I get so excited to get these kind of tips from other allergy moms, I decided to go ahead and share. With the usual caveat to always read the ingredient label, here is my grocery list:
Other useful foods that aren't brand specific include ground turkey, rice cakes, and tortillas. The green vegetables that have proven least unpopular are peas and, oddly enough, zucchini, most likely because they have the mildest flavors and least objectionable textures.

A Note on Breadcrumbs:
Since I usually use cookie cutters on The Kid's sandwiches, I save the crusts in the bag from the previous loaf, then once it's full run them through the food processor to make breadcrumbs, which I save in the freezer. If you are looking for ready made breadcrumbs, Panko (Japanese style breadcrumbs) are generally safe, not to mention a fantastic breading, but are much less economical.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...
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FoodAllergyMom said...

I have to throw in my 2 cents worth. I think soynut butter is good if you like the taste of soynuts, but to me sunflower seed butter (sunbutter) tastes a lot more like peanut butter. My husband is anaphylactic to peanuts and he won't go near the sunbutter because it smells so much like peanut butter it scares him.

Speedbump Kitchen said...

I agree with foodallergymom on the Sunbutter, it tastes a lot better than soybean butter, although I can't find the creamy version around here so I have to strain the "crunchies" out with a potato ricer. Have you tried Fleishmann's Unsalted Margarine? Everyone raves about Earth Balance, but it tastes kind of funny to me...like beans and celery or something!

Libby said...

I had read really good things about Sunbutter, plus I'd like to get a little more variety than the soy overload we have now, so we did try Sunbutter. The Kid turned it down flat. It's still sitting in my cupboard, with only a spoonful missing!

Is Fleishmann's dairy free? The only other margarine completely without dairy that I'd found was Willow Creek, which just didn't taste as good. Looks like I'll be reading more labels in the dairy section!

Libby

FoodAllergyMom said...
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FoodAllergyMom said...

We use Nucoa margarine. It's not the healthy stuff, hydrogenated garbage really, but it's cheap and it tastes good so I'm OK with it.

Speedbump Kitchen, I don't know if I can put a link in comments but I am going to try. You can order sunbutter directly from the company online for a decent price at http://www.sunbutter.com/
I have to order a lot of my stuff online due to limited availability where I live.

Anonymous said...
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Nicole said...

Okay now I REALLY love you! Thanks for that blog and for linking the foods. I've been looking for a choc chip replacer and that one has a link to order online. I agree with you on the Silk, especially the yogurt. Oh and the breadcrumbs tip is so valuable because I do cookie cutouts too! THanks so much! (the margarine I use is Nucoa..dairy free and I especially like it for making popcorn because it has just enough salt flavor that you don't have to add any. I put 1/3 cube over medium heat and add 1/3 cup kernals)

Libby said...

Hi Nicole!
Glad the post was helpful. I buy the Enjoy Life chips at a local health food store, so you may not need to mail order them. If you have a good one nearby (and some time without your adorable kids) it can really pay off to spend some time at one just looking at products and reading labels. Libby

Mamique said...

Thanks for making the list, Libby. That's great! I love to get ideas from other moms. I'll have to try the sour cream substitute for baking.

Marketing Mama said...

Thanks for the breadcrumb idea - I hadn't thought of that and it gives me another cooking option I didn't have before. :)