I apologize for how quiet it's been around here. May means both days and evenings are packed with various end-of-the-year activities and events that are fun and exhausting. So even though it feels quiet out there, there's plenty going on around here.
Logan is finishing up his soccer season, Tristan is knee-deep into Little League playoffs, the kids are preparing for final rehearsals for their annual dance recital, and I am busy shuttling them around to all of these things. I am looking forward to lazy summer beach and playground days, trips to the library and museum, and picnics and bike rides in the park; but before the reprieve of summer, there's still so much to do!
A few days ago, I was up all night with a migraine. My headaches are the one thing that can slow me down. My body is telling me to drink more water, eat regularly, get more sleep, and reduce the stress! As moms, we know we frequently become last priority. So the next day, I headed to the gym, then came home and decided to leave the messy house and piles of laundry alone--some baking therapy was what I needed!
I am always looking for a new and easy chocolate dessert recipe. I love cookies in particular because they are easy to transport, package, and eat without too much fuss (if you have a four-year-old who only likes the frosting off of cupcakes, and two boys who don't like frosting at all, you know what I'm talking about). They are perfect for bake sales, teacher's gifts, and cookie jar fillers. And who doesn't like a good chocolate chip cookie? Especially when it's a chocolate chocolate chip cookie, free of dairy, egg, and nuts.
I modified this Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from food.com to make it egg and dairy free. I feel like it would do well with a gluten-free flour mix, too. Now if you have been really good at watching your diet in the hopes that your tropical vacation in a couple of weeks will include something remotely resembling a bathing suit (ahem...), you might want to forgo baking these cookies. They're incredibly addicting, especially for the chocoholic.
Mother's Day, Father's Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, the end of the school year...in spring there are many events when we celebrate and thank those who make a huge difference in the lives of our children. I would love to pick out the perfect gifts that truly show how much I appreciate these special people in our lives but I seldom feel like I get it right. (Oh, how I wish I could give and receive the gift of time!!) What I have become accustomed to doing is giving a gift card and a homemade treat -- a way for the recipient to choose what is their perfect gift and a personal way for me to show some love.
Cookies are often my go-to gifts but sometimes it's nice to go a little different, a little more decadent. And with the weather warming up in my part of the country in the 90s this week and last, it's nice to have a treat recipe that won't add 10 degrees on to an already sweltering kitchen. I recently discovered a 5-minute vegan fudge recipe that fits the bill. The recipe comes from Hannah Kaminsky, the amazingly talented (and young!) author of the dessert cookbook My Sweet Vegan. It is a naturally dairy-free, egg-free, wheat-free, gluten-free recipe that I have adjusted to be free of soy, tree nuts, and peanuts as well!
My first batch of fudge using semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of pepitas
The recipe is so quick and easy, it almost feels like cheating! As I am wont to do, I tweaked the recipe a bit to fit my tastes. I cut down the sweetness by reducing the amount of powdered sugar. I really wanted to decrease the sweetness even more but I know that a certain amount of powdered sugar is needed in order for the fudge to set properly. In a second batch I substituted unsweetened baking chocolate for semisweet chocolate and sweetened cocoa -- sadly this is all I happened to have at the time -- with pretty good results. It was hard to melt the baking chocolate and the fudge turned out a little softer but it still holds up pretty well. I think unsweetened baking chocolate and a mix of unsweetened cocoa with a little bit more powdered sugar could work to achieve a less sweet, soft fudge but I am not positive. I haven't tried it and we have quite a lot of fudge to get through before I'm ready to make a new batch! (I will update this post once I try this but do let me know if you try it sooner!) Instead of adding nuts to the fudge I added roasted pepitas, the edible part of pumpkin seeds. I like to include seeds to counter the sweetness and to add more texture to the fudge.
A perfect way to showcase your fudge and impress that special person in your life is to wrap the chocolates in a candy box. I found cake slice boxes online at Amazon.com but you can also find them at your local crafts supply store. Buy some mini-cupcake liners and some ribbon and you now have the makings of a fancy gift!
I thought about cutting the fudge into heart shapes but, really, why complicate things? It's chocolate. C'mon. We moms love delicious chocolate no matter what it looks like. And, to dads who are braving the kitchen to make these treats: we moms will gladly take simple squares instead of an extra pile of cutters, knives, and dishes waiting by the sink to be washed. (Of course, my husband would never do that to me...except for on Valentine's Day, oh maybe 15 years ago.)
Vegan fudge using 1/3 cup pepitas and baking chocolate instead of semisweet chips
Feel free to double this recipe for thicker chunks of fudge or triple it and pop it in a 13"x9" pan.
Chocolate Pepita Fudge Adapted from Hannah Kaminsky's recipe from her vegan dessert book My Sweet Vegan
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
1 cup of dairy-free chocolate chips or 4 oz unsweetened baker's chocolate squares
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted pepitas
Whisk together cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips (or baking chocolate) and dash of salt in a microwave-safe bowl.
In a separate small saucepan, cook coconut oil and coconut milk over low heat. Stir to melt coconut oil.
When the mixture just begins to bubble (it takes just a minute or two), turn off heat and remove from burner.
Add vanilla extract and a dash of salt to saucepan.
Add dry mixture to saucepan. Stir until mixture is melted and smooth. You may have to try heat the mixture more to melt the baking chocolate.
Stir in pepitas. Then spread fudge in a greased or lined 8-inch square pan.
Cool the fudge completely on counter top. When it is cool, refrigerate fudge for several hours to set. Makes approximately 3 dozen 3/8-inch squares of fudge.
For thicker, roughly 3/4-inch fudge squares, simply double the recipe and set in an 8-inch square pan.
*If you are using unsweetened baker's chocolate in place of semisweet chocolate chips, you will need to add your baking squares with the coconut oil and coconut milk. Heat mixture, stirring occasionally, until squares melt.
Raising kids -- especially kids with food allergies and other medical needs -- takes a village. It is a weighty task that requires love, understanding, and patience. No thank-you would be quite as powerful without the voices of our children to echo their appreciation for the work of their teachers, parents, caregivers, and advocates. Be sure to allow time for your kids to make cards and pictures for that special person! If your kids are feeling particularly inspired, check out some of our craft ideas for flowers, more flowers, cards, and flower cards.
Don't get me wrong. I still love poring over friends' photo albums. I reminisce with my husband about taking a Thai cooking class and finding the cheapest massage ever while exploring the streets of Chiang Mai. And I still aspire to see more of Asia, more of Europe, and the other three continents I have yet to explore.
Once my eldest son, Ryken, was born I knew it would be a lot harder to travel with the adventurous attitude of my kidless years. Kids need routines, not to mention good sleep and flexibility, and the confines of planes, hotels, and restaurants can throw off kids.
Little did I know that having kids with food allergies would not only make travel MUCH harder but it would make travel almost completely unattractive to me. Now, the beautiful images of pristine blue waters and white sands are marred by anxieties over a lack of safe restaurant choices. Ziplining through lush rainforests and sleeping among trees have been ruled out because you certainly won't find a fully equipped hotel suite with kitchen up a tree in a jungle and who knows where the nearest hospital will be. Visiting the grandparents in China has been put off indefinitely because we do not trust that we will get clear answers on what is in our food and cross-contamination is way too risky in a country that doesn't have or deal regularly with food allergies like our own.
Despite my legitimate concerns over travel, it is sometimes necessary for us to travel. And we do want our kids to experience fun places and activities that their peers do, too. My husband is great about overriding my anxieties and insisting that we take advantage of spring break and take a family trip. Since we had such a fun time last year in southern California, we decided to plan a very similar trip with days in Disneyland's California Adventure, Legoland, and the sunny, beachy areas of San Diego.
We stayed with family for the first couple of days and then took up residence at Homewood Suites (very close to Legoland) which offers accommodations with a small kitchen. A kitchen is the #1 must-have for all of our trips. Our #2 must-have seems to be a Trader Joe's within short driving distance. Seriously, we ate more Trader Joe's ready-made food than we have ever eaten before. I can say with full confidence that the kids are as sick of turkey club wraps as my husband is of eggplant wraps. (I, on the other hand, could always go for a lentil wrap!)
Sharing a sofa bed and indulging in Cartoon Network
were other big pluses at Homewood Suites.
Even though we had access to a kitchen, I did very little "real" cooking during on our vacation. It's more like I use hotel kitchens for the refrigerator to store sandwiches and ice packs that we take into amusement parks for our safe lunches. And a microwave is handy to throw together mostly already-prepared (and previously-vetted) into some semblance of a meal. It's too hard for me to prepare any of our usual meals without a fully stocked kitchen. And I often have no energy to spend a couple hours cooking after a full day of exploring, driving, or having fun in the sun. Anyway, shouldn't I get to relax a little, too? It's a family vacation, after all.
My husband's great. He can even make grocery runs
(and there were many) good fun for the kids!
We feel very comfortable having most of our trip food come from Trader Joe's because it's familiar and safe. However, we did try to break up the monotony. We ate at five different restaurants during our week-long road trip, three of which we had safely eaten at before which. Out of the five restaurants, we had problematic experiences at two of them. And guess what? One of them was a restaurant we have frequented many times before and the second was a restaurant chain highly recommended by many food-allergic eaters!
The first restaurant was actually our favorite local Thai spot. We had ordered takeout the night before our drive to Southern California. And as usual, I had spoken to one of the servers and explained the kids' food allergies which the server quickly recognized -- we must be the only "regulars" with milk/peanut/tree nut allergies. We ordered our usual pad see ew noodle dishes with steamed tofu (never deep-fried in case frying oil is reused and contaminated with milk and nut particles). This is a dish we've eaten over and over again without any problems. And the kids again had no problem with the noodles. A day later, while spooning out some leftovers for Ryken and me, imagine my panic when I discovered HALF OF A PEANUT in one of our untouched boxes of pad see ew.
My heart almost leapt out of my chest when I spotted it.
Sadly I think it might be a really long time before Ryken is comfortable eating Thai food from a restaurant again.
(Side note: Many people have questioned how I can feel comfortable ordering Thai food when a couple of their most popular dishes are made with peanuts. The truth is we speak to the servers about how peanuts are used -- are they cooked in the pan, any peanut oil used, is peanut sauce placed on the side, are chopped peanuts only used for garnishing finished dishes?-- we carry our Allergy Translation cards, and we get a sense for how thorough the servers are in speaking with their chefs about our needs. We have felt comfortable with this restaurant because the chef and servers know us by face. But this accident has made me rethink restaurant-made Thai food. The threat of an errant peanut making its way in to a cooking pan is too risky. Plus, my wise Ryken has declared that he never wants to eat in a Thai restaurant again, the close-call clearly having an impact on him.)
Photo taken by Aranami from his/her Flickr photostream
The second restaurant that we had problems with was Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Chipotle chain has been touted as a good option for people with various food allergies. The company's lists major allergens in each menu item on their website and proclaims that their food is completely egg-free, nut-free, shellfish-free and fish-free. Dairy products are limited to the cheese and sour cream so, in theory, someone with a milk allergy could get a safe meal so long as proper care has been taken to prevent cross contamination.
We tried Chipotle as I had read a lot of positive reviews from other food allergy parents. Sadly, it wasn't a good experience for us. Ryken developed a stomach ache a few minutes into eating. He claims he felt a little stomach ache before dinner but it was clear to us that his stomach ache intensified after he began eating. We monitored his symptoms and kept our EpiPen Jr. packs close by while we rushed back to the hotel. His stomach started feeling better after about half an hour from when we ate. I can't say for certain what Ryken reacted to -- cross contamination of milk or maybe he has an undiagnosed allergy to a less common ingredient (maybe a spice) used in the cooking process? All I know is that we had big hopes for being able to add another safe restaurant to our very short list but it was not meant to be.
I don't regret the decision to try eating out with the kids but I am very grateful the reactions were under control. And despite those two incidents, we still had a fantastic time. But I can't tell you the enormous sense of relief I felt to come back home -- forget sleeping in my own bed, I was relieved to cook our meals again in the safety of our milk-free, nut-free kitchen! Phew. I sure could use a vacation after the vacation.
My 8-year-old has been going through a huge transition year that I was not fully prepared for. I must admit I didn't see third grade as being such an important year in my food allergic child's life, and I've been caught off guard by some of the challenges he's been faced with at school. There has been food-allergy associated teasing and bullying, resulting in a lot of hurt feelings and confidence issues.
One of the reasons why I loved his school to begin with was the Nuts Table. No, not the No-Nuts Table. The Nuts Table. If kids choose to bring nuts to school in their lunches, they must sit at the Nuts Table. Too bad our school only implements it from kindergarten through second grade, then it changes to a No-Nuts Table. And for us, this was the year the trouble began. I've tried to speak to them about it, but alas, this is their policy. Well, you know what they say. Try, try again.
It doesn't take much to understand that our kids would rather be part of a team than on the bench.
If your child's school already has a No-Nuts Table, then they already have a table designated for a group of children. Perfect. With a little reeducation, our food allergic children can sit with the masses. It is my personal mission to try to change as many No-Nuts Tables into Nuts Tables as possible, through forward-thinking allergy-conscious people, like you!
You probably don't need it spelled out for you, but here goes...the top six reasons why I love the Nuts Table:
1. Like I said, all it takes is a table and a bit of education. It's so easy to implement, it's almost a no-brainer. There are a plethora of rules and procedures associated with the lunchroom anyway, all of which are necessary to keep it running smoothly and safely. This is such an important one for our school communities, in order to lead by example and demonstrate inclusion at lunch time.
2. Most food allergic children will experience a sense of isolation and teasing along the way; we don't need to exacerbate this divide by putting them at their own table at lunch, too. It's heartbreaking to think that this divisiveness could be avoided. A Nuts Table says to our food allergic children, "Hey, we want you to be safe, but not excluded."
3. A No-Nuts Table punishes kids who have no choice about their food allergies, while a Nuts table empowers children who actually have a choice about what they eat to consider their food preferences more carefully.
4. A Nuts Table confines nuts, residues, and crumbs to one table, thus making a more thorough and focused table cleaning possible, and resulting in less allergic reactions due to cross contamination.
5. A No-Nuts Table gives lunchroom monitors a sense of false security when it comes to food allergies. It assumes that the possibility of an allergic reaction is highly unlikely. In reality, about a third of children with food allergies have multiple food allergies, which means that these children still need to vigilantly follow safe practices at the No-Nuts Table.
6. The Nuts Table is a wonderful means for every child to educate her parents about food allergiesand about making food choices that affect us all. After all, the parents are the ones making the lunches, but the kids have a say in what they want for lunch.
I've read enough stories similar to my son's to know that the No-Nuts Table, although a good first attempt at keeping our food allergic children safe, is a bit outdated. We can do better for our children.
Please read, pass this on to your school administrators, friends, and family. And thank you for always being your children's greatest advocate!
When Tristan left in the morning with his big duffle filled with sleeping bag, toiletries, and layering pieces--for which I had specific instructions lest he go out everyday in a t-shirt--I was in pieces. There was never a doubt in my mind that we would make it happen, and figure out a way for him to be included in his class' first overnight stay. I just hadn't anticipated how nerve-wracking it would be. And little did I know how much of a learning and growing experience it would be, for the both of us.
Eighty third graders stayed two nights at the Point Bonita YMCA. It is a clean facility, with separate boys' and girls' dorms. Bunks are divided into several smaller rooms and one meeting room, and large bathrooms. Their spacious dining hall includes a buffet and plenty of long cafeteria-style tables. All the children were given an orientation about how the dining hall works, with an emphasis on composting and taking only what you can eat. The food is mostly organically grown and healthful, with basic ingredients, which simplified things for us. On top of it all, the meals were delicious.
So how does a multiple and severely allergic child eat in a dining hall in a camp-style setting? With a lot of planning, foresight, and a bunch of faith thrown in for good measure. Richard Holden at Point Bonita YMCA was a pleasure to work with. We communicated via email, with a follow-up discussion with his chef when we got there. Here are a few things that worked for us:
1. I emailed Food Service Director Rich Holden well in advance of the trip. We emailed back and forth until I came up with a modified menu for Tristan. It would have been nice for these menus to have been posted in the kitchen upon our arrival, but Tristan brought two copies of the menu with him, both of which he ended up giving to the chefs for reference. I made sure to introduce Tristan to the chef before the first meal.
Here is the dinner menu for day 1. Rich was willing to do a modified menu, or a combination of a modified menu and supplements, depending on the food allergies. We needed to do minimal supplementation (just soy milk boxes and Oreos), as there was lots of variety.
Point Bonita Sample Dinner Menu
Pasta and Meat Sauce
or Vegetarian Pasta
Sauteed Vegetables
Dinner Roll, Salad Bar
Fresh Baked Cookies
Tristan ate a hearty meal of pasta with meat sauce and vegetables on day 1. His food was either separately plated by the chef, or he was allowed to plate his food first to avoid cross contamination at the buffet. We brought a stash of Oreos for dessert, and he ate those instead of their cookies. Although I was very impressed by the kitchen's attempt to accomodate Tristan with allergy-friendly cookies, I decided against them after reading a "traces of dairy" warning on the package.
2. Before the trip, I gave Tristan's third grade team a refresher on food allergies and Epi-Pens. I used some of the materials from our Food Allergy Summit in NY (and later improved the presentation with a food allergy quiz). Each teacher tried out a trainer pen, and I answered everyone's questions as best as I could. We agreed that Tristan would carry his Epi-pen in his pack. It was really valuable to reconnect with the teachers about the severity of Tristan's allergies. During his stay, Tristan was grouped with the male teacher in the group for hiking and bunking. Big thanks to Mr. H and the third grade team!
3. On the advice of his allergist, Tristan brought Claritin to take nightly. In an unfamiliar place with allergens all around, it was smart to have some antihistamine in his system.
4. The naturalists were alerted of kids who had special needs or medications, so they were made aware of Tristan's allergies and medications in his pack.
5. I tried to prep Tristan about managing his food allergies with a balance of trust and caution. I needed him to trust that I had prearranged a safe menu for him, but I also warned him that adults could make mistakes, and that he needed to make sure he was getting what was on his menu. I asked him to look at his copy before each meal, and make sure he knew what he was supposed to be eating. I think that helped empower him and give him a sense of confidence.
6. I packed safe granola bars in his pack, in case he wasn't comfortable with a meal, snack, or just got hungry.
When I went to pick Tristan up from school on day 3, he looked relieved to see me. In the car, he told me that he "just missed us so much." I was so proud of him for having such courage and stamina to collect his worries and gain such a valuable experience. Three days without him at home gave me a glimpse into the future, with a bit of worry, but a lot of optimism, too.
The day I was there, we hiked around and down to the beach, then back to the Y. The kids would approach the trail as a group, each with different responses and ways of coping. Some would charge straight down the hill, without looking back. A few would sidestep down, cautiously taking each step. Others would look straight down, as not to brush against poison oak, or step into a hole.
My hope for Tristan is that he is cautious, but confident through life, and that he take the time to explore and take in his surroundings. I hope that when he needs to, he will grab my hand for some extra support, and that he will let go when he's ready. I may never be ready, but knowing that he will be is an awesome feeling.
Just in the past week there have been two food-allergy related deaths reported in the news. College freshman Cameron Groezinger Fitzpatrick died of anaphylaxis after eating a cookie made with peanut oil. 12-year-old Maia Santarelli fell ill and died of anaphylaxis after eating ice cream purchased in a shopping mall. It breaks my heart every time I read the headline and see the photo of these smiling, vibrant faces. These young people had their whole lives ahead of them but they cut way too short, and all because of food.
When I read these stories, I think of my own kids with food allergies. How can I not? Have I given my kids a cookie that I was told was free of milk and free of nuts, only to discover that this was not true? Yes. Did my youngest eat ice cream in the mall, develop facial swelling, sneeze, and cough, and require a visit to the ER? Yes. These accidents happened. I am not proud of that fact that they happened under my watch but I have accepted that accidents are accidents. I try my best to prevent them but mistakes are always made.
I have met more food allergy parents (lucky for the camaraderie, unlucky for having allergies, too) lately. Most of the time I have been shocked to hear that many did not have a food allergy action plan in place and did not routinely carry epinephrine auto-injectors or store them at school sites. After talking with these parents -- and strongly urging them to keep epinephrine close at *all* times regardless of their history of reactions without trying to sound judgy -- I started to wonder why so many parents don't keep life-saving medication handy. Based on my conversations and my own evolution as a food-allergy mom, I came up with this reasons:
"My child's allergies aren't too bad. She isn't that allergic, like other kids."
There is an idea that allergy testing and patterns of previous allergic reactions can predict how a person will react when exposed to a known allergen. However, this is a serious misconception. Allergic reactions may be different in any given situation. A hive after one instance of exposure could be abdominal cramps and vomit in one situation, or swelling airways in another. No one knows the type and severity of a future reaction and for that very reason it is critical to always prepare for the worst-possible reaction by carrying epinephrine medication with you at all times.
San Jose father Brian Hom lost his older son, BJ, to food allergies after an accidental exposure to peanuts. In this FARE public service video, Brian describes the mild reactions that BJ had prior to the reaction that took his life.
Yes, it is responsible -- critical -- for all families who manage food allergies to try to be in control or have full knowledge of any food or skin products that they will come in contact with. (Good practice for non-allergic families, too!) But mistakes happen to even the most diligent of us. Epinephrine provides a line of defense for those mistakes. Having epinephrine does not mean you can take risks and neglect talking to food preparers, reading ingredient labels, and asking about possible cross contamination. And having epinephrine as a backup does not mean you or others should view yourself as unable to protect your child through your judgment.
We are extremely careful about what our family eats, too. But just recently both kids have an allergic reaction to cupcakes made from the same recipe and bakery that they have had two times before. We gave the kids Benadryl, kept our EpiPens at the ready, and watched them like hawks and the symptoms gradually subsided. Unless you grow all the ingredients and make and handle the foods yourself, you just never can be 100% sure of the safety of your food.
"It's so bulky but we carry Benadryl."
While I don't think people want to admit it, size does matter for some. An EpiPen auto-injector does take up quite a bit of room especially when you have more than one food-allergic child! Pair the bulky excuse with "my child isn't that allergic" or "we are very careful about what s/he eats," and parents can convince themselves that it's okay not to take their auto-injectors with them. Benadryl may be good for mild symptoms like rashes and sneezing but it is not enough to keep airways open in the case of anaphylaxis.
If size is an issue, a new epinephrine auto-injector may be a more attractive option for you. Sanofi's "Auvi-Q" auto-injector has just come out on the market. Auvi-Q provides emergency epinephrine medication in the size of a credit card. The devide also features voice instructions that can walk whoever must administer the medication through a potentially new and stressful situation. My allergist demonstrated the device for us at our last appointment in January. While the brand new product does not have a track record yet, the size and voice-guided commands are definitely attractive.
"I keep forgetting to pack it."
Packing an epinephrine auto-injector may not be part of your daily routine already but it should be. I have a mental checklist of exactly 4 things that I absolutely do not leave the house without: keys, wallet, phone, and Epi-Pen Jr. twin-packs for each child. My husband and I have turned the car around several times when we realized that we had forgotten to grab our emergency medication pack as we rushed to get out the door. It is a lifeline and, however cumbersome it is, you just have to learn to remember it always.
"We're not going far."
Allergic reactions can happen instantaneously anywhere, even in areas that you frequent and consider your safe zones. In the case of anaphylaxis and the swelling of airways, every minute counts. Epinephrine is most effective at the onset of a serious reaction. Delayed use of epinephrine can still lead to death.
"We're not planning to eat anything while we're out."
This is a good game plan for parents. But sometimes there are unexpected delays or last-minute changes of plans that make it necessary to feed your kids. Whether it's store-bought, restaurant-prepped, or homemade food, any time your child will ingest something it is important to be prepared for a reaction in case there was cross contamination anywhere in the food manufacturing, preparation, and serving process.
Even if you aren't eating anything, allergic reactions can occur with non-food items. More and more hair and skin products are using ingredients such as food proteins, nut oils, and extracts. I can think of four occasions when my kids and I read the label of a liquid soap at a restaurant, a friend's house, even the allergist's office (true story) and discovered it contained milk protein or walnut oil.
Bottom line: Any food allergy has the potential to be life-threatening.
Studies have shown that a body's reaction to one exposure may be very different from the body's reaction to another exposure: you just don't know. When someone you know and care for has food allergies, your life will and must change. You must toss out your idea of a totally carefree and spontaneous life and be prepared with safe foods, wipes for cleaning hands and surfaces to limit cross contact, and emergency life-saving medication. People with food allergies can still lead happy, healthy lives -- our kids certainly do -- but it is not without constant vigilance, planning, and clear communication. Think of it as a "new normal" and keep yourself ready for any situation.
St. Patrick's Day is this Sunday. Do you celebrate it in a big or small way with your family?
My family has no Irish roots but we do use the holiday as a fun way to "get our green on". I have been on a kale kick lately -- kale in our tacos, kale in our fried rice, kale in our pasta-- so I definitely want to make something with this vitamin-rich leafy green.
With warm temperatures arriving in our area, it was a great excuse to break out the ice cream maker. I decided to revisit a kale mint chip ice cream recipe I had posted in 2011. I love to tweak and remember having some issues with the texture of the frozen ice cream so I went right to tinkering with the original recipe.
I subbed in agave sweetener for the refined sugar so that I wouldn't need to heat the mix to dissolve table sugar. I ended up reducing the amount of agave because it is sweeter than table sugar. I omitted the extra oil that the original recipe called for since canned full-fat coconut milk provides enough fat to help with the creamy texture. Adding arrowroot powder is absolutely key to getting a creamy texture. It is expensive stuff but a little goes a long way -- the same bag of stuff will get you through many, many quarts of smooth ice cream, my friends.
I think it also helped tremendously to be working with a better blender (we have a Ninja) that could really grind up the kale leaves into tiny pieces. The more the kale is ground up, the easier it is to hide any chewy leafiness among the mini chocolate chips! And mini chips were much more appropriate in frozen dessert than regular-sized chips. I love that Enjoy Life offers this size.
Kale Mint Chip - free of the top 8 allergens depending on the type of milk substitute you use
4 cups of packed curly kale leaves (stems removed), washed and dried
15 oz can of full-fat coconut milk
2 cups safe, milk substitute (I used almond milk but soy, rice, flax, or coconut milk should be fine)
1/3 cup agave sweetener
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp mint extract
dash of sea salt
1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
Except for the mini-chocolate chips, combine all ice cream ingredients in a blender. Blend until kale leaves are cut into tiny flecks.
Prepare ice cream mixture (again, not the mini chips yet) according to your ice cream maker's directions. Add the mini chips in at the last five minutes of the ice cream making time.
Serve immediately. The ice cream will be a little more solid than soft serve. Freeze for an additional hour for a more ice-cream-out-of-a-carton texture.
Freeze any leftovers in a freeze-safe container. When serving on another day, let the ice cream container warm up on the counter (room temperature) for 30-45 minutes before scooping.
I completely misjudged how much ice cream to give the kids. But they sure enjoyed every last lick of their humungous cones!
The texture is a big improvement over the original posted recipe. My eldest son, who had not been a fan of the 2011 kale ice cream, absolutely loves this new iteration as does his little brother.
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