Product Review: Attune Foods Erewhon Cereal

Not too long ago I was offered the opportunity to try Attunes line of Erewhon cereal.  Their cereals are organic and made in nut free and dairy free facilities.  Both of the cereals we tried are also gluten free.   

I have never been a huge breakfast eater, especially as a kid.   My kids, on the other hand, LOVE breakfast and especially cereal.   The minute their feet hit the floor in the morning they are looking for breakfast.  One of the challenges is finding cereal they will like that is still healthy.  So far we have been pretty successful at keeping the junk cereals out of the house but they get tired of the same old thing. So we are always on the hunt for something new, tasty, and healthy.  They were just as excited as I was when our box of cereal arrived in the mail.  We got to try the Rice Twice and the Strawberry Crisp. 

Even though I have never been a huge fan of cereal, as I have gotten older I have found that there are a few types that I  really like. I have pretty high standards and won't eat just anything. Actually, I am super picky about cereal.  I don't like super sugary cereals, or ones that get soggy quickly. I want my cereal to be healthy, but to not taste like cardboard. See?  High standards.  

The first box opened the morning after it arrived was the Strawberry Crisp.

I was especially excited about this one because it is similar to an old favorite of mine that happens to contain dairy. (Why would corn flakes with strawberries contain dairy anyway??  That doesn't make sense to me.  But I digress...)
 My Middle One was the first to dig in to her bowl and she gave it Two Thumbs Up.  That's our rating system for food, by the way.  If something gets two thumbs, it's really good!

 We also tried the Rice Twice cereal.  We gave that one to the Littlest One.

This still sleepy little monkey also loved her bowl of cereal.

Of course I had to give it a try too, so I had a bowl of the Strawberry Crisp with  almond milk.  It was so much better than my old favorite!  The flakes stay crispier, and there are a ton of the strawberries. I seldom finish a bowl of cereal, but I certainly finished this one.  Sadly, I have already eaten the entire box.  I am still on the hunt for it at my local grocery store but have not had much luck.  As soon as I find it I will be stocking up!

 I have been wanting to make a batch of homemade granola and I had found a recipe that called for crisp rice cereal as part of the ingredients. I will be sharing that recipe soon, but I will tell you that this worked perfectly!

I will also be using the Rice Twice to make those marshmallow treats for the kids from now on. 

As a Mom, I am thrilled to find a wholesome, great tasting cereal that my kids love.  As a dairy free consumer, I am so glad there is a company out there that is catering to the needs of those with food intolerances.
For more information visit the Attunefoods website.

Dairy Free Travel: A Wedding Weekend

Traveling with a food intolerance or allergy always requires some sort of planning and bringing of extra food.  I thought this would be a good time to share with you how I survived a weekend away from my kitchen.

This past weekend was one of our very best friend's wedding.  It was a much anticipated event- he is not only our best friend, but one of my husband's fraternity brothers, he was our Best Man in our wedding,  and he is our youngest daughter's Godfather.  Since my husband was one of his groomsmen we needed to be there on Friday evening for the rehearsal. This meant we would be gone from Friday morning to sometime on Sunday.  That's at least 7, maybe 8 meals plus snacks that I had to think about. For 5 people.  The good thing was we were headed to Charlottesville, and since we already know the area pretty well we had a plan as to what restaurants we could eat at.
A few days before we left I called the hotel to see if they had refrigerators or microwaves either in the rooms or available for use.  (Some hotels may not have them in the rooms, but you can request to have  a "Microfridge"  brought to your room upon arrival).  Sure enough, the rooms all already had fridges and microwaves.  That already made planning easier!
Before we left I made sure I have enough food to get us through no matter what was going on.  We hit up Target (I love that they have groceries now!) and I got:

• Single serve cups of Frosted Flakes (they are dairy free) for breakfasts
• A loaf of dairy free bread and single serve peanut butter cups for lunch
• Chex Mix ( it's our favorite road trip food)
• Small bags of animal crackers
• dairy free peanut butter crackers 
• Shelf stable almond milk
• Powdered dairy free coffee creamer (Not the same, but it works in a pinch!)
• Healthy Choice Pasta meals 
• Snacks for the girls: Pop snacks for the toddler, raisins for the bigger girls
• Take and Toss cups and utensils for the kids (mostly the toddler)
• Paper plates 
• Banana chips

That bag of peanut butter pretzels was sent to my by my Foodie Pen Pal Beth.  I had kept them hidden specifically  for this trip!

I decided to get these Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers just in case the food at the rehearsal dinner or wedding was not dairy free.  They weren't bad, not the best, but they work in a pinch.  It's better than starving, which I can tell you from personal experience is not fun.

I sent an email to one of Charlottesville's most famous restaurants- Bodo's Bagels- to ask if they had an allergen menu.  I explained that I had an intolerance to dairy.  I got back a response less than an hour later- talk about service! Turns out all of their bagels were vegan.  And while they did not have an allergen menu, they would be happy to answer any questions when I got there.  So guess where lunch was Friday? Yup- Bodo's Bagels.  I got the BLT on a plain bagel and it was so good!  There are no words to describe just how good their bagels are.

The rehearsal dinner was at the Boars Head Inn.  I have been to quite a few weddings and social dinner events over the past 5 years, but this is the first time  I have gotten to eat and enjoy my meal at a function like this.  The dinner was set up buffet style, and when I asked one of the wait staff if there were any dairy free options, she went to the kitchen and had them make me my own plate- completely dairy free! The best part- it was the same thing everyone else had, just without the cream sauces on the meat!  Normally I'll get a vegan meal which is hit or miss, or they just won't understand what "dairy" means and will bring me food covered in butter.  This meal was AMAZING!  I had 3 kinds of meat- all three that were on the buffet: roasted chicken, baked salmon that was to die for, and roast beef. They also brought rice pilaf (I happen to love rice pilaf.)  There was so much food on my plate I could not eat it all!  My husband commented that I should have taken a picture of it-oops.  Here's what it looked like after:

Obviously it was delicious  because the plate is almost empty!

Saturday we had most of the day to run errands or just relax. After a rather late start and an absolutely horrific cup of hotel coffee, we headed out for some lunch.  Guess where we went?  That's right- back to Bodo's Bagels.  This time I opted for the roasted turkey with lettuce, tomato, mayo on a plain bagel.  

And I had to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a  decent cup of coffee.

 I decided to call the caterer for the wedding to check and see what I would be able to eat at the reception.  The wedding and reception were outdoors at the 4H camp the Bride had spent her summers at growing up. In keeping with the outdoorsy theme they had BBQ from the best BBQ place in that part of the state.  The woman I spoke with was incredibly nice and went through all the ingredients for everything on the menu.  Turns out it was all safe except for the bread (No surprise there! Here's a hint- breads, rolls, muffins almost ALWAYS have some sort of dairy in them). 

The wedding was probably the most beautiful I have ever been to.  It was not fancy at all, but the setting was just so perfect for the two of them.  It was outside in a hilly field with  trees on all sides, under a small arch surrounded by their family and close friends.  It was truly about THEM.  It was simple, and there is beauty in simplicity.   They are two people that were truly and without question put on this earth to be together. 

Dinner and dancing were in a pavilion  just feet away from where the ceremony was held. It was decorated with paper lanterns, paper umbrellas over the lights, and candles. 

The only picture I have of them- I brought the wrong card in my camera so I had to use my phone.

Dinner was buffet style and it was delicious!  Pulled pork BBQ, pulled chicken BBQ, 2 pasta salads, baked beans, fruit platters, veggie platters. It was kid friendly ( always a plus when the kids are included!) and just laid back fun.  

Dancing with their Uncle Ed.  The only thing they really wanted to do- get to dance with him.  

  Our girls were given a very special job of handing out kisses to all of the guests.  They were thrilled that they were asked by their Uncle Ed and Aunt Ginny to be a part of the day.  

Handing out kisses to some of our college friends that made the trip to the wedding as well.  It was great to catch up with them!

The party ended with a bonfire and old friends catching up.  It's funny how so many years can pass by, but still there are some things that never change.


Sunday we packed up and headed home, but first we stopped off at Bodo's Bagels again.  This time we got lunch, ( A BLT again- it's my ultimate favorite) and 2 dozen bagels to bring home.  Before we hit the road we stopped off at UVA's campus to wander around, take some pictures, and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Maybe someday one of my girls will be a student here... maybe.

Our oldest is learning how to use my camera.  She does a decent job!

Planning ahead and having your meals with you, or options for meals means the difference between a good trip and terrible trip.

Do you plan ahead when taking trips by bringing your own food or calling restaurants to see if they have options you can eat?

First Farmers Market of the Season

We have been CSA members for 2 years now but unfortunately ours is taking a break this year. The rising cost of fuel and farming supplies has hit them hard, along with some illnesses so it was time  for them to re-evaluate their business.  They are still growing their delicious fruits and veggies but are instead going to have Saturday Markets at the farm and Pick Your Own days.  I am excited to take the girls to see where our veggies have come from these past couple of years, and to let them pick some of their own foods.

Since I am a firm believer in supporting my local farmers and eating organic whenever possible, we researched a few other CSA's in the area.  We found one and almost signed up but changed out mind at the last minute.  The pickup location was at one of our local farmers markets and we thought if we had to be there every week anyway, we might as well pick and choose what we want then.  In May there will be 4 we can visit between Wednesday and Sunday. They all happen to be at our favorite locations around town and that will offer even more variety.  

Yesterday one of them opened up for the first time this season so my Mom, my oldest daughter, and I headed over there in the morning to see what goodies we could find.  

 Since it is still April there aren't a lot of vendors out there yet.  As we get into May there will be many more.

My helpful shopper was on a mission: She wanted to find the special dog treats we used to get for our beloved Golden Retriever, Fenway.  She thought that Bruin, our new dog, would love them too.  

Found what we were looking for!  We bought Bruin a box of peanut butter treats- and he loves them!

Our next stop was at the Virginia Gourmet booth.  We found some really interesting goodies here!  All of those pastas shown are flavored and totally dairy free!  Most of their sauces are dairy free too!  They really seem to cater to people with food allergies, or those that lead a Vegan lifestyle.  We spent quite a bit of time here taste-testing and chatting with the owners.

I found this new and interesting little treat there:

  I am going to make this into a dessert pasta salad with raspberries and chocolate sauce- yum!

I also found picked up this bottle of Merlot Vinegar:

We got to taste this and it is amazing!  I foresee some very tasty salads in our future!  They also have a Chardonnay vinegar that I will probably get next week.

Of course my little helper found a few goodies for herself too. She loved this carbonated fruit juice - Fruit 66, so much that the owners took a picture of her drinking it to put on their Facebook page.  They made her feel very grownup!  (We also walked away with more than one can of this- it's great for kids or adults)

We  hit up the produce vendors last.  I was very excited to see my favorite farm from last year's market.  They always such a great variety, and their produce is so fresh. 

We spent some time chatting with the owner about CSA's, his business, and other farmers markets he is helping to start up.

 

During our conversation he was chatting with Cat and she told him that tomatoes were her absolute favorite food.  So he gave her this pint of gorgeous tomatoes as a gift.  I've never seen a child so excited about free tomatoes before- but that's my girl!

And who could pass these beauties up?  They were picked that morning, still had the dirt on them from the field.  These babies are going into my strawberry pie very shortly!

After a very successful trip we walked away with: zucchini, tomatoes, white potatoes, 2 pints of strawberries, chocolate fettuccine, Merlot Vinegar, Fruit 66 drinks for the kids, and special treats for Bruin.   Not a whole lot this time around, but we didn't need any greens this time since I am growing my own.  

Do you visit your local farmer's market for get your summer fruits and veggies from a CSA?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! This has become my favorite post of the week to write.  I love picking out new things at the grocery store and then sharing what I find with you all. This week was no exception:

Beanfields Nacho Flavored Chips

This company contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to try these and write a review for the blog. I will be sharing that  review  in another post, but for now I will say that they are my new favorite chips to snack on. As you can see they are allergen free- made from beans and rice.  And they taste amazing! Visit their website http://www.beanfieldssnacks.com/ for more information on where to buy them.

 Gardenburger Veggie Burger

I am not usually a fan of veggie burgers- I have tried several and I am usually disappointed.  But I decided to  give these black bean chipotle ones a try this week and I was very pleasantly surprised!  They make a great lunch for me or my toddler, or dinner when my husband has a meeting.  Just be cautioned- not all veggie burgers are vegan or dairy free.  You really have to read the ingredients!

GoodBelly

This is my new favorite dairy free item!  This container is actually my daughter's, I drink the little shots.  I start everyday with a serving of Goodbelly now. This company has also contacted me and there is a review and a GIVEAWAY coming soon!!

So Delicious Coconut Milk

We have switched from soy milk to coconut milk and my 2 year old LOVES it!  My two oldest ones do too- this is our second carton this week.  We use it in our overnight oats, and the little one drinks it straight.  We are now officially converts to coconut milk.  

Edamame

This little bag actually came out of a much larger bag that had 8 of these.  It's perfect as a side dish with dinner, or as a movie night snack.  

So  there you have it, this week's Friday Favorites.  And a mention of an upcoming giveaway!  

What kind of non-dairy milk do you prefer?

Raising a Dairy Free Toddler: Meal Ideas

 Growing up I did not have any food allergies or intolerances so when my dairy issue came up as an adult it was completely uncharted territory for me. It took me about 4 years to really get the hang of a dairy free lifestyle after being totally addicted to cheese for the 27 years before that. Luckily I am now prepared to deal with our youngest's lactose intolerance.
She didn't really show signs of lactose intolerance until close to age one.  She had no digestive issues, other than mild spitting up.  But there was no acid reflux or pain with it, just typical baby spit up, and my 2 older daughters had done the same thing.  We did make the decision to not give her cow's milk ever, so once she was off formula she went straight to soy milk (at the recommendation of our pediatrician). She was actually on regular formula, which contains milk products, but we could only use a certain brand or it wouldn't sit well with her.  Around 14months we tried a few items that had dairy- Goldfish crackers, organic yogurt, very small amounts of cheese. This was at the suggestion of our doctor. At first it did not bother her, but then she started to have nasty diapers and diaper rashes after eating certain foods.  After one particularly tough day I decided to eliminate all dairy from her diet for a couple days- all her tummy troubles cleared right up.  Now whenever she has any sort of dairy she has stomach upset ( and other issues that do not need to be described in detail).  Over the past several months we have been very careful about keeping all dairy out of her diet,  and that's not easy with a toddler who tries to eat anything she can get her hands on.

So what do you feed a toddler who can't have dairy? Definitely no premade toddler meals! (those are gross anyway) I have looked and they all contain some kind of dairy.  With a toddler you need easy, fast, and healthy. Here are some ideas that my little one loves:

Breakfast:

Scrambled eggs with toast 

Oatmeal

Overnight oats with coconut milk - this is her favorite breakfast

Cinnamon toast with fruit ( we use Earth Balance Buttery Spread)

Homemade pancakes

Belgian Waffles

Vans Organic Gluten and Dairy Free French Toast Sticks 

Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (Yes, they are dairy free!)

Lunch:

Grilled "cheese" bites made with dairy free cheese (she likes veggie shreds and Daiya)

Quesadillas, again with DF cheese

Veggie Dogs ( cut up into small, non circular bites),  veggies, and fruit

Veggie and rice bowls- organic mixed veggies over rice with Daiya cheese on top

Hard boiled eggs, avocado slices, and a slice of wheat bread

Snacks:

Dairy free cereal bars

Pretzels

Graham Crackers

Ritz Crackers

Animal Crackers

Banana or other sliced fruit

Apple Sauce

Dry Cereal 

Dinner:

She eats what we eat, and all our dinners are free of dairy.

These are just a few ideas and a small list of what my Dairy Free Little One eats.  She will eat just about anything we put in front of her so it's been pretty easy so far.  We try to keep her diet full of fruits and veggies and there aren't many she won't eat.  I am sure it will be a bit more challenging as she gets older and hits the inevitable picker eater stage that every single child goes through around age 4-5.  (Trust me, even the very best eaters have a picky stage!)

Friday Favorites ( On a Monday)

I realize it's Monday, but I did not want you all to miss out on last week's Friday Favorites.  I had to go out of town unexpectedly  at the end of last week to help out a friend so I didn't have the chance to post this on Friday.  I have a few favorites from last week's shopping trip that I wanted to share, even though it's few days late.  There will still be a Friday Favorites at the end of this week too.

Honest Tea 

I love to have these around  instead of soda.  

Crispy Rice Cereal Bars 

 I bought these for my two year old as a grab and go snack.  They are like rice krispie treats, but fluffier and larger.  She LOVES them! ( and so do I!) 

Ground Flaxseed with Mixed Berries

This has actually been a favorite for a while.  I always have a bag of this on hand to use in my overnight oats, on cereal, in baked goods, or sprinkle in the kids' pb&j's.  My kids love it because of the dried berries in it- I love it because they'll eat it!

 Flat Bread

I found these at my local grocery store last week.  If you can find them I highly recommend them! We used them in the Flatbread Pizzas.

Daiya Cheese

This is the best vegan cheese I have ever had ( and I have tried several!) It melts great, tastes like cheese, and is soy free.  An all around win!  You'll notice I wrote the date on it- I write the date on everything in my fridge so I know when I opened it.  

And Just Because...

I thought I would add in my favorite beer.  It is baseball season after all!  

Did you miss last week's Friday Favorites?  Check them out for some really delicious dairy free finds!

Do you have some new favorite dairy free finds?

A Look Back~ The First 3 Months of 2012

Is it just me or does it feel like this year is flying by at break neck speed?  I cannot believe it is already April! After a bit of a break for a couple weeks in March I have really been inspired lately to write more. I have several posts rolling around in my head or already started, and a list of new recipes and meal ideas to share.

Last week was a very exciting week for this little blog.  I was contacted by a couple of companies to do product reviews and a giveaway- so much fun! I have also added several new followers-Thanks to all of you for supporting my blog.  I love hearing from you - the emails and FB comments make my day!

I thought it would be fun to start doing "Look Back" posts,  especially for new readers to make sure they get  new dairy free information and new recipes.  Since I have not done one of these yet, I am going to start by doing a recap of the first 3 months of 2012.

January

Recipes:

This month had some of my most favorite recipes:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Cranberry Apple Bread

Party Mix

February

This month was a bit light on recipes.  I don't really have any goals for how often I plan to post. I write a post when I have something to share and when I have time to share it.   I did cook during this month, and I do have a few recipes saved from this month to still to share.

Recipes:

Belgian Waffles:

Beef Stew

 Dairy Free Information:

Each month I am trying to add new dairy free information to share.  The more information we can get out there, the easier our dairy free lifestyle is going to be.  

The Challenge of Eating Out: Lots of information about Dairy Free friendly restaurants.

and

A Weekend of Good Eats: Including my first time eating at zpizza.

March

This month was INSANE!  Along with my daughters' big play (Post coming soon!) and getting full swing into Lacrosse season, we also had our share of germs this month.  First a stomach bug that went through the entire family over a 2 week period and  we ended the month with a nasty strep infection in the Middle One. Needless to say illnesses like that definitely interrupted both my cooking and my blogging, so this month was really light on new recipes.   

Recipes:

Potato-Less Potato Salad

Chicken Sausage Subs

Fitness Posts:

As a lot of you know I am doing Best Body Bootcamp with Tina Reale and I LOVE it!  Even with the interruptions I did keep up with my workouts and my goals.

I'm Going to Bootcamp

Fitting in Fitness

Dairy Free Information:

Coffee Creamer Conundrum

New Dairy Free Find: Cinnamon Rolls

Just for fun:

Sushi Night

Keep an eye out for a GIVEAWAY coming soon.  I'll reveal what company it is in the next week...but here's a hint:  It is one of my new favorite products and it's good for you too!

Until then... Happy Cooking!