Product Deletions

Here is an excerpt from Allergy Train's latest newsletter about product deletions. I have previously recommended the Millet Rings and Mrs Robens Tortilla mix so it's a bit sad that they won't be produced anymore.

"Product Deletions

There are a couple of products that have disappeared in the last few months and i just wanted to let you know what has happened to them. 

Eskal Marshmellows - Unfortunately our supplier had the wrong shipment of marshmellows arrive. They received pink and white instead of plain white. We do not yet have a time frame on when these will be back.  

Ecor Rice and Millet Rings - these have been deleted by the manufacturer and we can no longer get them. This is very sad news for many of our customers who's kids loved them for breakfast. If you hear about an alternative product that may be a suitable replacement for these, please let us know and we will do our best to get hold of them.  

Angel Foods Meringue and Marshmellow Mixes - these have been deleted and are no longer available. We have a few meringue mixes left, but no marshmellow.

    
Mrs Robens - The manufacturer closed it's doors last year and last we heard the potential buyer was still talking to their bank so it looks like these may not be back any time soon if at all, which is a real shame. We loved their tortilla and pie mixes at our place."

We have ordered our Easter Chocolate this year from The Cruelty Free Shop and our daughter will enjoy a Moo Free Easter Egg and some Bonvita Rice Milk Mini Half Eggs as we remember what Jesus did for us on the cross and how he's alive again. Happy Easter!

BBQ sauce

Not many regular BBQ sauces are wheat free, but Woolworths Select's BBQ sauce is so that's what we have in the fridge.

Mrs Robens Tortillas

The results!

The all important fold and hold test!

The other day I ordered a tortilla mix from the Allergy Train website. I made sure I put burritos on our menu plan and so on Sunday it was burrito time! The mix instructions are designed for the mix to be used all at once so I had to work hard at working out my ratios but I managed to make just enough for 3 tortillas. One problem was that you need a tortilla press but I used our sandwich press (with baking paper because we often put buttered normal bread in there) and although they were a bit thick, we had success! My daughter really enjoyed them and they rolled really well - no breakage - a very important thing in the gluten free world! I tasted them and they were very pleasant, even in the aftertaste. So we'll be doing that again soon. These tortillas also might be a good lunch option for when she starts school (but hopefully she may have grown out of the allergy by then...?)

We filled our burritos with chicken and chick peas seasoned with an Old El Paso burrito mix and pan fried, grated carrot, diced tomato, cucumber slices and shredded lettuce. Yum.

Allergy Train Website

Hopefully they will look better than this one

Oscar's Mum blogs about cooking for her son who has food intolerances and I enjoy reading because sometimes we cross over in what we can cook. The other day she blogged about succeeding in cooking tortillas - I have been looking for a successful tortilla recipe/mix for a long time (we love tortillas!) and so her link to the Allergy Train website for Mrs Robens Tortilla Mix was quite exciting.

I have placed my order (along with a couple of other things - had to make the $12 postage worth it) - and will let you know how it goes. By the way, I noticed that you can get a lot of Eskal brand items including the ice-cream cones that I mentioned on Wednesday.

Ice Cream Cones

We recently instituted Friday night ice-cream after dinner. The kids are super excited about it and often try to work out if it is Friday yet. Miss 2 can have soy ice-cream and we are currently using So Good's Chocolate ice-cream. I was at a specialty shop and happened on some gluten-free ice cream cones by Eskal and so I snapped them up. Both kids really enjoyed having them and we saved washing up 2 more bowls :)

There's lots more gluten free products by Eskal here - we have enjoyed the Deli Crackers before but haven't seen many of the other products in regular stores. I think some aren't dairy free so make sure you check.

Chia seeds

Chia pizza - yum

I recently bought a packet of chia seeds from the supermarket. There has been a bit of hype about them being a super food and really good for you so I thought I would see if I could easily add them into my daughter's diet.

Chia seeds are part of the mint family and rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as providing protein, fibre, and some essential minerals (phosphorus, manganese, calcium, potassium and sodium). More information is available at Wikipedia or just Google it.

So far I have added them to pizza dough and scones (not GF ones though yet). Apparently they go well in salads to add a bit of crunch. For the pizza dough, I just added about 1/4 tsp to the single serve.

On the packet of seeds it also tells you how to make Chia gel, which you can use to replace eggs, oil and/or butter. Combine 1 part Chia Seeds to 9 parts water and whisk to blend the seeds. Stand for 15mins and then whisk again. Put into airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Pretty cool! Will try it soon.

Edit 22 October 2011 - I recently read that people who were allergic to nuts could be sensitive to chia seeds. So please be cautious if you/your child have nut allergies. I am glad I read it because it explained my son's eczema that had strangely returned. We had been eating a loaf of bread with chai seeds in it that week.

An Easter Treat

The chocolate eggs I mentioned last month have been a hit - Bonvita Rice Milk Chocolate Half Eggs. They are fairtrade as well and a good size. My daughter loved being able to get a chocolate egg each day like her brother as we read through part of the Easter story on the 12 days before Easter. I bought these eggs online at The Cruelty Free Shop. There's quite a lot there that I'd love to try - soy condensed milk, dairy/egg free mayonnaise to name a couple.

Soy Milk

I have finally taken my daughter (Miss 2) off formula. The allergist had recommended putting her on formula and staying on for a while so that it could provide more vitamins and minerals etc. My decision to take her off was my own since we can't see the allergist until June and it was made easier by the discovery of this soy milk by Vitasoy - Soy Milky Kids. It has added vitamins (D, B6, B12, folate) and minerals (calcium, iron) and iodine. It is also made from non-GM ingredients.

Margarine

I have been using Nuttelex for my daughter's replacement margarine since the beginning. While I was at the supermarket the other day I spotted Meadow Lea has a Dairy-free spread as well, and it was on special! As much as I appreciate Nuttelex providing for us for so long, I also really appreciate saving money where I can, so I think I'll be going with Meadow Lea while it's cheaper. The only thing to be cautious of is that it is much more easily confused with a normal Meadow Lea so you have to be extra careful to avoid accidentally contaminating it! I have written my daughter's name on top as an extra visual cue.

Cheezly

I have seen this product mentioned on websites but never found a place that sells it, until I went to Choices Bakery and saw it in the fridge (it comes in a roll). Having had other soy cheeses without success, I thought I'd give this one a go, given its claims to being yummy and able to melt. I always feel my daughter is missing out on the true pizza experience when I put her pizza in the oven without cheese!

We tried it and it didn't quite melt as you would expect normal cheese to melt, but it did it better than the other ones I've tried. It also tasted reasonably cheesy and my daughter actually ate it all compared to the absolute 'No' we got with the others. I don't know if she'd like it without it going in the oven but we'll try it soon. It's a pity it's supposed to be used within 5 days of opening - we won't get through it.