Soy Free Mini Pita Pockets from Whole Foods

Hi All. I also wanted to share another great find for break alternatives that is soy free. I found these at Whole Foods and will post a picture once I get home. For the kids' lunches, I usually toast these up in my toaster oven, wrap with foil, and keep warm using my Warmables Lunch Kit. UPDATE: I just posted the picture of the Mini Pita Pocket bag.

 

Latest Update:  My sister discovered some soy free pita pockets at Giant while visiting me this summer.  The brand is Joseph's.

I recently also discovered a regular loaf of bread at Giant that my daughter can eat as well.  It does have soy lecithin, which is why the label says contains soy, but as I have noted in a previous post, my daughter is ok with soy lecithin, which applies to many soy sensitive or soy allergic people.  The brand is Giant's brand of Butter Bread.  I was so happy to see this since it has been a long time since she has had just a regular piece or loaf of bread.

Soy Free Sugar and Regular Ice Cream Cones

I wanted to share these ice cream cones with you all that you can find at the regular grocery store or places like Whole Foods. My little one is really enjoying eating ice cream again now that she doesn't have to bypass the cone :). These come in both regular and sugar cones. We just get the regular cones since the girls prefer those to the sugar cones.

Another Soy Free Snack Idea

I posted a while back on Soy Free Snack Ideas: http://handychickadee.blogspot.com/2013/02/soy-free-snack-ideas.html I found another kind of Lays Chip called Wavy Garlic and Sea Salt, which is very tasty and soy free. In my case, I look for both soy and onion. The Wavy Garlic and Sea Salt is both onion free and soy free. Also, it contains no MSG, which is great. Check it out. Enjoy.

Soy free take out pizza places

I have seen some questions about where to go or soy free pizza. Sometimes it is just nice to be able to order a pizza as an easy dinner. Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Dominos are not options so then what??? Papa Johns is an option as long as the dough is original hand tossed instead of the "thin crust".  My daughter did fine with cheese pizza from Papa Johns at a birthday party we were recently at.  Here is a link to Papa Johns allergen info:  Papa Johns Allergen Info.  Two other places that I frequent for pizza are Vapianos and Vocellis. The pizza is not only soy free to include the sauce and read, but it is deeeeeeeelicious. My kids love it. At Vapianos, we usually get the Americana, cheese, or half and half. At Vocellis we get the pepperoni and sausage toppings. Http://www.vocellipizza.com or http://www.vapianointernational.com/.  Even if you don't have either of those in your area, look up places that aren't so commercialized like papa johns and Pizza Hut. They typically make their own sauce and bread without all the added chemicals and soy. Good luck. If anyone knows of any other places, please comment. 

An Idea for Staying In Tune with Your Child's School Life

As the school year starts up, we begin to get back into the routine of homework, school events, uniforms, fundraisers, etc. In some schools, they provide a class roster with contact information for the parents of the children in the classroom. What I started doing with both my children is using Shutterfly's Free Create a Site using their Classroom template. When I received the roster for both my children's classrooms, I set up 2 sites, one for my first grader's teacher's class and the other for my 2nd grader's teacher's class. You can use the online wizard during the creation process, and it makes the process really easy and seamless. The shutterfly sites are great for having a one stop shop for looking at classroom pics, homework assignments, classroom events and announcements, parent volunteer sign-up information, etc. There is also a message board section where you can email all the members. I don't know about you all, but my email is a mess so this will help me to keep track of the assignments, announcements, contact info, school events, and volunteer opportunities. Anywho, I thought I'd share this for those of you with a school aged child or children. It's just a nice way of staying in tune with what is going on, keeping those communication lines open.

How to Loosen those Darn Nail Polish Caps

So my daughters and their friends were having a manicure party and a few of the caps were so tight. Instead of giving myself a blister from trying to twist it open, I was able to just turn it upside down and run warm water over the bottom of the cap. Then, I took a Q-tip, dipped it in some acetone, and just outlined the area under the cap where the grooves are. That was it. I then was able to twist the cap open. So don't hurt yourself trying to open that stubborn nail polish cap. Instead, use that energy for giving yourself a beautiful manicure/pedicure :).

How to Get Tree Sap off your Car Easily

My next door neighbor went camping over the weekend and parked his new car in a shady spot under a tree. Well, he came home Sunday and immediately started washing his new car. He had a lot of tree sap spots that he was trying to get rid of without scratching the paint on his new SUV. I brought over some bug off spray thinking that might work, but it didn't. So I did some googling and discovered that you can use anti-bacterial gel to get rid of sap on the car. Indeed, what ended up working is using anti-bacterial hand gel and make-up remover pads...the cotton-like ones. So with a squirt of the gel onto the affected areas, he washed the spots away with the round cotton-like make-up remover pads. Easy, right? Haha. Anyways, I thought I'd share that on my blog for those of you who find yourself in a similar predicament. So the next time you are given a free sample of anti-bacterial gel, don't throw it away. It has proven to be very useful outside of just what it is meant to be used for.

Finally!!! Something that works to pack hot lunches.

I have been on the hunt for something, other than a thermos, to keep my daughters' lunches warm. My younger one is in 1st and older daugher is in 2nd. I had been using thermoses to keep their food warm, but it wasn't so kid friendly when it comes to opening the lids at lunch. Also, certain foods just don't work right in a thermos. Anyways, I came across the warmables kids' lunch kit online at http://www.warmables.com and loved the concept of using cherry pits. I have been using the lunch kits for my kids, and they definitely work. Both my girls are so happy, especially my younger one because she can open the velcro warmables pouch all by herself, and the tupperwear that came with the kids is also easy to open. You can use your own tupper wear as well. I even toasted some pita bread, and wrapped it in foil, and threw it in the warmables pouch. Also, the colors of the kid's lunch kit warmables pouches are very nice. I got the pink and the aqua one. The pouches are a perfect size for the typical kids lunch bags. I bought the lunch bags for my girls from target. I put the pouch in and have enough room for snack and then a drink in the side pouch pocket. This is a must have for kids and/or adults who pack lunch.

Our Experience on the Disney Cruise aboard the Disney Dream August 2013

Hello Everyone. The girls and I just returned from our first Disney Cruise out of Port Canaveral. It was truly a vacation that we will always remember and most likely, repeat :). It was 4 days and 3 nights. The flight from Dulles was perfect. We left first thing in the morning. At the baggage claim, our chauffeur, Steve, was waiting for us. He was extremely nice and treated all three of us like princesses. The girls and I road in our own private car, and Steve dropped us at the Disney Cruise Line terminal point. Everything was very organized and went quite smoothly. We used a company called InterPlex. I thought the price was reasonable after doing some online searches. I just wanted us to have a really special experience down to the transportation to and from the port terminal, and it was :). Right before stepping on to the boat, there was a Disney crew there to announce our arrival. It was and felt awesome!!! I will tell you that I have cruised before on Carnival and Royal Carribean, which were very nice. However, Disney really knows how to bring service and cleanliness to that next level and then some. The girls and I were so impressed. I didn't have to lift a finger. I won't go into every detail, but I'll just name some of the highlights.
* At dinner, our server and assistant server cut any of the food that needed to be cut for the girls, while looking at me saying, "Mama, you eat your food and enjoy. We will take care of the girls." On the first night after the assistant server finished cutting up the chicken for Jess, Jess looked over at me saying, "Mama, he cut up my food. Do you think he thinks he's my baba????" hahahaha....she had me laughing and smiling all at the same time.
* I was a little worried at how Jess's soy sensitivity would be handled, but it was not an issue AT ALL. Our server, Anthony from Phillipines, planned out what the meals would be for Jess the night prior. All meals were prepared for her and ready for the next day....down to the outside barbecue on Day 3. I'm totally serious. I would just give whichever server our cabin number, and he/she would know immediately and get the food. Also, at the pizza places and snack shops, they personally made a soy/onion free pizza for us in 4 minutes...no problem. It was really something. When we booked the tickets, the agent told me that Disney will make the proper arrangements for allergies, but I had no idea. I'm serious. I had no idea it would be this amazing and stress free.

* The Disney Castaway Cay Island is absolutely marvelous. It is Disney's own private island, and it is so clean, relaxing, and just beautiful. The three of us really enjoyed it!!!
* The shows were so magical. I recommend getting there about 15 minutes early to get the good seats up in front section in the middle. The girls had never experienced shows like this, and it was just as magical for me.
* Deck 11 is where all the pool/slide/Nemo's Reef/hot tub, etc are located. There is also a huge slide called the Aquiduct. We will probably do that next time.
* It is so nice to be able to take pictures with all the characters and not wait in lines where it's 90+ degrees outside :).
* It's so nice to be able to do all the activities and eating on the Disney Dream and be able to get some chill time in your cabin when you need to. We would take breaks here and there so it was so peaceful and convenient to just walk up to our deck and just hang for a bit, and then go back out to party :).
* When you are on the ship, you don't see all these electronic devices and people messing around with their smart phones, ipads, laptops, etc. People are just enjoying themselves and relaxing. I loved that.


Some things that we will do next time are:

* Instead of spending too much time in Nassau, we will go to the movie theater to see one of the movies.
* Going to the Fireworks show.
* We will take some time to go to the Spa Salon on the ship.
All in all, it was an awesome vacation for all of us. It's worth every cent!!!

Soy Free Donuts .... YES INDEED!!!!!

Last week, I decided to look into making soy free donuts since Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts are not good soy free options for us.  I then found a babycakes donut maker on Amazon for 19.99 with free shipping using my Prime Membership.  It came with a cooling rack and fork tool.  It also came with some Recipes.  So far, I have only tried the Sour Cream Donuts recipe, which turned out really well.  My girls are hooked.  We haven't tried making chocolate covered donuts or powdered, but that is next :).  The girls really really love the donuts.  It made me so happy to see my younger soy sensitive daughter eating donuts with such an enjoyable smile.  We ended up making two batches. 

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have found it easier and more delicious to take regular recipes and just make the substitutions ad hoc.  So for the Sour Cream Donuts, it calls for:

Ingredients:

Makes about 2 dozen donuts

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp double action baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup applesauce and 1/2 tsp double action baking powder (substitute for 1 egg)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.  Using a mixer on medium speed, blend until smooth.
3. Fill each cooking reservoir in the baby cakes donut maker with about 2 Tbsp of batter.
4.  Bake abou 4 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean.

Use the fork to transfer the donuts from the donut maker to the cooling rack.

NOTE:  If you want to make powdered donuts, then you need to fill a brown paper lunch bag with powdered sugar.  While the donuts are hot off the press, go ahead and put the donuts in the bag and shake to coat them with the powdered sugar.

I will blog again when I have done this along with melting chocolate to make chocolate covered donuts. 

Soy Free Crescent Rolls

Hello All.  Sorry it has been so long since I've posted.  Life has gotten ahead of me, but I have many neat things to blog about in my quest for soy free goodness with cooking.  So, you can find many recipes online for soy free crescent rolls.  I have been searching for something comparable to the pillsbury brand that we used to eat.  Of course it has soy so there will be no buying it from the store.  Anyways, I have learned that in most cases when looking for a recipe, I don't necessarily include soy free in my online search.  I have actually just started looking for general recipes and then making the substitutions where needed for things like egg, onion, and vegetable oil.  I don't use any vegetable(soybean) oil in my cooking.  I only use canola or olive oil, depending on the recipe.  Anywho, I found the following recipe:

http://healthfulmama.com/2011/12/homemade-crescent-rolls-dairy-free-too/

which calls for the following ingredients:

Makes approx. 32 rolls

3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/3 cup water, warm
3/4 cup soy milk, room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 eggs
1 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp butter or Earth Balance, softened

For the inside:4 or 5 tbsp butter or Earth Balance, softened

Here are the ingredients I used:
Makes approx. 32 rolls

3 1/2 cups bread flour (Make sure you use bread flour, NOT all-purpose flour)
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/3 cup water, warm
3/4 cup soy milk, room temperature (I just used regular 1% milk)
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 eggs (I used 1/2 cup of buttermilk and a teaspoon of double action baking powder)
1 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp butter or Earth Balance, softened ( I used Land of Lakes unsalted butter.)

For the inside:4 or 5 tbsp butter or Earth Balance, softened  (I used Land of Lakes unsalted butter)

From there, I followed the instructions.  I will say that you need to make sure you use softened butter.  Otherwise, the dough just doesn't come out right.

1. Mix bread flour with salt. Dissolve the fresh yeast in the warm water with the honey and add to the flour mixture. I added a little more honey since I wanted a little extra sweetness.  Add buttermilk/baking powder and milk, mix everything together. Add the butter and knead the dough until the dough is smooth and soft. Cover with a dampened dish towel and let it rise for about 1 hour in a warm area, until doubled in size.
2.Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts. Roll them into balls. On a floured surface flatten each part into a large circle (about 16″), using a rolling pin. With the back of a spoon (or your fingers), spread about 2 tbsp of very soft butter onto the dough. Using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut the circle into 16 triangles.
3.Start rolling each triangle into crescents, starting from the wide edge of the triangle. Once rolled, tuck the tip under the roll and place on a greased baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the triangles. Let them rise for about 20 minutes. Melt additional 1 1/2 tbsp butter and brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter, if desired.
4.Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 15-18 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack few minutes before serving.  If you want to save some for later, you can store them in a freezer zip lock bag to keep in the fridge or freezer.  I took a quick snapshot of what the cresecent rolls looked like coming out of the oven.  These were truly delicious and light.  If you keep them in the freezer, then you can defrost them for about 10 seconds in the microwave.  Then use the toast setting on your toaster oven to cook them up.  If you have them in the fridge, then just toast them in the toaster oven...no need to defrost.

Squeaky Screech garage Door

So my garage doors have been sounding like Freddy Kruger's claws every time I raise or lower the garage door.  Needless to say, it has been really annoying to hear.  So I have been looking at what kind of maintenance needs to be done annually and so forth.  First off, I was instructed by my Garage Door Subject Matter Expert to NOT use WD-40.  He said that would be really bad so I am glad that I did not do that.  Instead he had me go to Advance Auto Parts and pick up a can of Lithium Grease.  It has that red straw like thing that WD-40 does which you cannot see in the picture below.

Anywho I put the straw in and went out to the garage.  You pretty much need to spray the hinges on the garage door vertically and horizontally like a cross.  Just takes a couple seconds per hinge.  You will most likely need a ladder.  You also need to spray the very top of the arm that attached to the door.  See the black arm in the picture below. You want to spray for a few seconds on top so that the grease will traverse across the track when the door opens and closes.

The lithium grease is safe to use on the door so don't worry of you overspray.  I sprayed the spring and pulley as well since they were also squeaking.

Bottom line, all better now.

Allergen Wash Laundry Detergent

I wanted to blog about this detergent that I have been using pretty regularly for towels, sheets, and pillow cases.  It has really helped with my younger one who is 4+ for dust and dust mites.  If you are looking for a detergent so that you do not have to regularly use hot hot water temperatures for the wash in order to kill the dust mites, then check this one out.

Link to the Allergen Wash Laundry Detergent

Allergy Friendly Natural Candy

I just received my order from the natural candy store online (http://www.naturalcandystore.com).  It was like Christmas at my house.  The girls, especially my younger one who has a soy sensitivity, went crazy when she and my older daughter opened the box.  It took a while to get the order, but it was worth it.  They had actually forgotten that we ordered the assortment of candy, but were extremely pleased to see the contents.  The girls and I ordered gummy bears, gummy worms, cotton candy, chocolate candy bars, and chocolate gold coins.  The Enjoy Life chocolate bars can also be purchased at Whole Foods.  Both my girls love the chocolate. 

I ordered a couple of the chocolate sprinkles because the ones at the grocery have soy.  The only cupcake toppings that don't are the sugar crystal toppings so now we have more of a variety.  I also found that the white pearl-like decorations are soy free as well.

So the first thing they each requested is a bowl of chocolate ice cream.  They then proceeded to top their ice cream with gummy bears and gummy worms.  My older one put some Enjoy Life chocolate morsels in hers as well as M&Ms.  Yes, it's FRIDAY....haha.  Anyways, All the products I just mentioned are Soy free...except for the M&Ms.  No big deal.  My younger one had PLENTY to choose from.  She ran up to me and said, "Thank you, Mama.  You're the best."  I never get tired of hearing that.

It's nice to know there are some really cool and equally delicious options for those who cannot tolerate soy.

I am one Happy Mommy!!!

Simple Soy Free Asian Pork Stir Fry

Tonight I made my Soy Free Pork Stir Fry dish.  Both my daughters loved it and went back for seconds.  I love that.  Anyways, for those of you who are eliminating soy from your meals, here's a crowd pleaser for both little and big people =).

For the meat, I use about 1.5 lbs of center cut pork.  That feeds 4 people very comfortably.

Marinades:

Great Marinade to use with center cut pork.

Cut pork into bite-size stir fry pieces, but not overly small.  See picture below for reference.  After cutting all the pork, put the pork in a bowl.  Add the following ingredients to the bowl.

1 tsp Soy sauce (For soy sauce, substitute with ¼ tsp worcheshire and ¾ tsp balsamic vinegar) NOTE:  I have a homemade worcheshire sauce that I posted a while back on my blog in case you are interested.

1 Tbsp rice wine

2 tsp corn starch

Cover bowl with saran wrap and let the meat mixture refrigerate for at least 4 to 5 hours.   This will help make the meat more flavorful and tender.

**************************************************************** 

To save time for later, you can go ahead and pre-make the stir fry sauce:

Stir Fry Sauce:

½ tsp soy sauce (Soy Sauce Substitute = worcheshire/balsamic vinegar)

1 ½ tsp sugar

1T rice wine

2t oyster sauce

1t corn starch

3T water

Set the bowl of the Stir Fry Sauce above aside until it's time to cook.

Ready to Cook time:

2 slices of Ginger root

Sliced Red bell pepper (just enough for flavor)

Canola Oil for cooking

Put some oil in the pan, and throw the ginger root and red bell pepper in there for just 30 seconds or so.  Then you can add the pork and begin browning the meat.   Using wooden chopsticks, make sure that the pork is fully cooked.  Then you just add the stir fry sauce to the pan and mix it up.  You may not need to use ALL the stir fry sauce.  Just use your best judgment.  It just depends on the your preference.  My girls love the sauce so I usually use all of it.

That’s it!!!  Wallah...  This is a great meal and goes great with a side of steamed rice and then a vegetable of your choice.

Jumpstarting a Car - QUICK CHEATSHEET

Try to get the hood of the working car as close to the dead car as best as you can.  This may mean that the passenger side door of the good car has to be positioned very close to the driver side door of the dead car, but that's ok.  You can just enter the dead car through the passenger side.

Make sure the radio is off and that nothing is plugged into the cigarette lighter adapter of both cars.

Get your red and black jumpstart cables out.

Using the red cable first, clamp the connector to the positive (+) terminal on the battery of the dead car first.

Then clamp the other end of the red cable to the positive (+) terminal on the battery of the working car.  While you are still in front of the working car, go ahead and clam one end of the black cable to the negative/ground (-) terminal on the battery of the working car. 

Connect the other end of the black cable to a piece of grounded metal on the dead car, preferably the bolt where the thick negative cable from the battery connects to the chassis. If this is not practical, look for shiny metal (not painted or oily) that is attached to the engine. Usually a nut, bolt or other protruding shiny metal will work. You may see a small spark when you connect to a good ground. As a last resort, you may connect to the negative (-) post of the dead battery, but this risks igniting hydrogen gas coming off the battery.

Now go ahead and start the working car.  Let it run for about 30 to 60 seconds in order to charge the battery in the dead car.  The starter of the dead car will draw most of its current from the battery of the working car not the cables.

Now start the dead car.

Remove the jumper cables once the car starts. Do this in the reverse of the order in which they were attached, and don't let any of the cables or clamps touch each other (or dangle into the engine compartment).

So start with the black clamp on the previously dead car first, then the black clamp on the working car.  Then the red clamp on the working car and then last, the red clamp on the previously dead car.

Keep the recently-disabled car's engine running. Run the car above idle (slightly revved up with your foot on the gas) for 5 minutes and then on or above idle for 20 minutes before turning it off. This should give the battery enough charge to start the car again. If it does not, you probably have a dead battery or a dying alternator.

That's it!!!

Soy Free Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

These are so easy to make and taste so warm and comforting.  I had to share the recipe.  My girls and I like to eat the cinnamon rolls without the icing....sooo yummy.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of all purpose flour

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 3 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 3 tbsp dairy free margarine or coconut oil

• ½ cup of dairy free plain milk

• ¼ cup of applesauce

Gluten Free Option:

• Substitute 2 cups of flour for 2 cups of Gluten Free all purpose flour + 1 tsp Xantham gum.

Filling:

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Icing:

2 tbsp dairy free margarine or coconut oil

¼ tsp vanilla

¼ cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp milk

Instructions:

1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.Mix the all purpose flour, 2 tbsp sugar, baking powder, salt, DF margarine or coconut oil, dairy free plain milk, and applesauce.

3.Mix until dough forms.

4.Place the dough on a very floured surface and knead the dough into a ball. I like to use a cookie shet as the surface because it supports me in rolling the dough into a rectangle.

5.Dust the ball of dough with flour.

6.Roll the dough into a rectangle about 10×8 inches. About ¾ of the cookie sheets length.

7.Spread melted margarine or melted coconut oil on the dough.

8.Mix cinnamon and sugar.

9.Sprinkle over the dough.

10.Roll the dough tightly starting from the 10 inch edge.

11.Cut the roll in half, then cut each half in half again and finally cut each piece into three to end up with 12 buns.

12.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

13.Ice with homemade icing.

14.For icing mix all the ingredients with an electric beater until frosting forms.

15.Ice buns while warm

Using half the ingredients yields about 6 cinnamon buns.

I will post a picture soon.  Unfortunately, they were all eaten up before I could snap a pic.  They actually taste really good even without the icing.  My girls prefer to eat them without.

Soy Free Side Item that works with Lunch and Dinner

My daughters love to eat dry seasoned seaweed for lunch and/or dinner.  They will either eat them plain or wrapped in rice.  If you have an international grocery store or asian grocery store, then they will sell packs of these there.  In Korean, we call this "kim".....yummy!!!

Soy Free Breakfast Food Ideas

For breakfast, you can do pancakes.  Maple Grove Farms of Vermonth Buttermilk & Honey Pancake & Waffle Mix does not contain soy and gluten.  And if you are also avoiding eggs, you can always substitute with 1/4 cup of applesauce and 1/2 teaspoon of double action baking powder per 1 egg.  And remember, use REAL butter not margarine since it typically contains soybean oil.

Other options are cupcakes using the Arrowhead Organic Cake Mix.  Also, Trader Joes has a soy free bagel in both plain and cinnamon raisin.  They taste awesome and even better toasted with cream cheese =).

And of course, don't forget about cereal.  There are probably more options than these, but this is what I have in my pantry. 



Soy Free Snack Ideas

Do not be sad.  There are definitely some good soy free options for you for snacks.  Everything picture is something you are most likely familiar with in the grocery stores.  The ritz looking crackers are from Trader Joes.  The rest of the items you can just pick up from the regular grocery store.  With the tostitos, my daughter loves to eat them with a side bowl of diced fresh tomato with just a dash of salt =).

Hello All.  I wanted to add some updates to my Soy Free Snack Ideas post.  The Lays chips pictured below are soy free and they are tasty without being overly salty.  The Lays Salt and Vinegar is also soy free.  There are other flavors, but they have onion powder in them, which is a no go for us.

At Whole Foods, they now have Erewhon Soy Free Graham Crackers for those of you looking for the soy free option.  Also, the sweet potato chips pictured below by "Food Should Taste Good" is also soy free and very tasty.  A recent find that I discovered at Whole Foods are the Crispy Cheddar crackers by Back to Nature.  They look and taste just like Cheez-Its...very yummy snack.  We don't do goldfish crackers since they contain soy so this is a great alternative to have in the pantry now :).

Whole Foods carries the cookies below by Enjoy Life.  They also come in gingerbread, but my girls really like the chocolate chip and double chocolate brownie.  These cookies are so soft and yummy and best of all, they are soy free and free of other common allergens as well.  Enjoy Life is really good about that.



Soy free treat ideas

For ice cream, I love Breyers.  If you want to make it more fun, get the enjoy life chocolate chips and use as a topping.  Mini Swedish fish also make dot great toppings like gummi bears.

 

 

 

 

 

For cupcakes, my hands down favorite is Arrowhead mills organic chocolate cake mix.  Whole Foods sells it.  For each egg required, I substitute with 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/2 teaspoon of double action baking powder.  It is great for making cupcakes and tastes so yummy.  I am not kidding.

 

 

UPDATE:  Hi All.  I want to add an update in here for those of you looking to decorate cupcakes with frosting and decor. 

For a full batch of cupcakes (24 cupcakes), the following will make enough super yummy buttercream frosting. 

Soy Free Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 stick butter (Note:  Put the stick of butter out in the morning so that it will have time to soften.)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream  (Add a little more if you think it needs it.)

Directions:

• In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter.
• Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
• Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.
• Use food coloring to make different different colored frosting options.

For decorating the cupcakes, there are also some soy free options.  I found the decorations at the grocery store except for the chocolate and rainbow sprinkles.  I purchased those online from the naturalcandystore.com.

Substitute for vegetable oil that contains soybean.

If you are avoiding soy, then know that alternative oils out there are:

Canola oil
Olive oil
Sunflower oil
Corn oil

For the most part, I use canola oil for cooking and deep frying

I use olive oil mostly as a dressing with fresh lemon juice.  Know that there are alternatives.

Substitute for soy sauce and onion SOLVED

To start off, my little one has eczema which affects a vast amount of people.  Her case is not severe but any degree of eczema is enough to concern most mamas.  So I took her in for allergy testing and found out that soy and onions are definite culprits that cause her eczema to flare.  So how did I take this news? Well let's see.  I cook mostly Korean food where in most of the recipes, soy sauce is a key ingredient.  And I also thought about the elimination of tofu as well.  I thought about how I was pretty much feeding her everything that her body is not processing well and ultimately, making her itch or breakout from snacks to meals.

So that is the background and without further delay, this is what I have discovered for substituting soy sauce using balsamic vinegar and worcheshire sauce.  Since my daughter has the onion sensitivity, I have also been making my own worcheshire sauce which is key to the soy sauce substitution.  I have provided my recipe for my homemade worcheshire sauce.  However, if you are able to buy off the shelf worcheshire sauce, then feel free to use that.

Otherwise, here is what I mix up for my homemade worcheshire sauce. This will last me a good while without going bad.  I have just been keeping the bottle in my fridge.

Easy Homemade Worcestershire Sauce Recipe

(makes 3/4 cup)
The Ingredients

• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons Fish sauce with no MSG
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• juice of one lime
• 1/2 tsp ground clove
• 1/4 tsp garlic
• 1/4 tsp of chili powder

The How-To
Mix all ingredients together in a blender, or shake thoroughly in a dressing bottle!
That’s it.

I use trader Jose's balsamic vinegar of Modena.  I love the bottle and the taste is perfect for this purpose. 

If you recipe calls for a 1 tablespoons of soy sauce, just get your tablespoon out and pour a little more than 3/4 balsamic vinegar and then for the remaining tablespoon, fill with worcheshire sauce.

That's it.  I am not kidding.  I can't tell you how happy I have been to discover this and feed my children all the recipes that we had eaten before from stir frys, galbee, galbee jeem, fish marinades, and so forth.  Over the holidays, I made some of my recipes for my sisters, nephew, brother-in-law, and dad.  They couldn't believe I didn't use soy sauce.

As for onions, I simply just use red bell pepper instead of the onions and it makes for a wonderful substitute.

Hope this helps those who are eliminating or have to eliminate soy from their diet.