Allergy-Friendly Lemon and Garlic Pasta Primavera

This dish is a great and tasty way to use summer vegetables. Feel free to add your favorites.

Have I mentioned how much I love lemons, especially in summer recipes? Last year we planted a lemon tree in our yard and it's just starting to grow fruit. I'm really excited to have my own, homegrown lemons. I'll put them in everything!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Enjoy!

Pasta Primavera

1 package rice pasta of your choice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 medium yellow squash, diced

1cup broccoli (or asparagus, or green beans), cut into bite size pieces

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup fresh spinach or kale, chopped

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

12 grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

3 scallions, thinly sliced. (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

In a large pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. 

Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add squash, broccoli and kale and sauté until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

Add broth and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 4-5 minutes until veggies are soft and sauce is reduced by about 1/2.

Add peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat.

Add the pasta, lemon zest, parsley and scallions to the sauce and toss.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

I added some crushed red pepper flakes to add a bit of a kick!

Happy Birthday to Josh!

Happy Birthday to my awesome husband and Cody's daddy, Josh! Cody and I made him this birthday cookie and I'm pretty proud of it even though my decorating skills are not that great. I am practicing for Cody's birthday in September. I plan to make him a Mickey Mouse chocolate chip birthday cookie. He likes the cookies more than cake, so I thought he'd enjoy that more. I made a mini-version for him today.

I used my allergy-friendly chocolate chip cookie recipe and my favorite icing recipe.
I added cocoa powder to make brown (you'll have to add a bit more water also until you get the right consistency for decorating) and Color Garden natural food dye for the red(ish) icing. It looks more pink in the photo.

Easy Allergy-Friendly and Yeast-Free Pizza Crust

I have been working on this for about a year. It is finally at a place where I'm really happy with it and Cody loves the little pizzas we make!

We make mini-pizzas. Just press them by hand. It's easy and Cody helps me.

My little helper is very good at making pizza crust, but he likes to eat the uncooked dough. Seriously. I can't get him to try so many delicious things, but he will eat an entire roll made of uncooked pizza dough. Toddlers are baffling!

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Pizza crust

Makes two large pizza crusts, or about 20 mini-pizza crusts

3 1/2 cups oat flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 1/2 cup water 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a large mixing bow, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. 
Add the oil, water and maple syrup. 
Use a mixer, or hand mix until the dough forms a ball.
If the dough is too sticky add oat flour a tablespoon at a time, or if it's too dry add water a tablespoon at a time.
Roll out to make 2 large pizza crusts, or roll into balls and press to make mini-pizzas.
Bake 15 min.

Add your favorite bottled sauce, or click here for my recipe for tomato sauce, and toppings (we use Go Veggie! vegan rice cheese) and bake another 10 min.

Cody helping press the dough.

Cody eating raw dough and saying, "mmmm!"

Allergy-Friendly Red, White and Blue Smoothies and Popsicles

I meant to post this earlier, but I just couldn't seem to get to it. Here's a fun smoothie idea for kids. 

I made this red, white and blue smoothie for Cody using my dairy-free, allergy friendly smoothie recipe. Click here for the recipe. 

For the white, I just used the basic recipe without any added fruit. For the red, I added cherries and for the blue, I added blueberries. Make sure you pour the layers very slowly, so they don't get mixed together. 

This can also be poured into Popsicle molds for red, white and blue ice pops.

Slightly freeze each layer before adding the next.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Allergy-Friendly Fourth of July Recipes

Are you having 4th of July Party and looking for some allergy-friendly ideas? Here are some recipes to put together a tasty, allergy-friendly party.

All recipes are free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free). 
All recipes except the burgers are also vegan.

Enjoy and have a happy 4th of July!

Buffalo Hummus Burgers
These can also be made with beef or turkey instead of buffalo.

Potato Salad

Cole Slaw

Pasta Salad

Apricot Blueberry Crisp


And last, but not least, I love Sangria at summer parties! This is for adults only, though.

Sparkling Sangria

Allergy-Friendly Cole Slaw and Father's Day

This is a little late because we were visiting my parents, but I wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all you great dads out there. I was able to celebrate this Father's Day with my dad and my husband, Cody's daddy, Josh. They are two of the best dads I know and Cody and I are very lucky to have them!

This Saturday is the official start of summer! It's time for all those summer pool parties and barbecues. Here's a really easy, allergy-friendly side dish.

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Cole slaw

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons soy-free Veganaise (you can use vegetable oil if you want, but Veganaise gives it a bit of creaminess that I like) 

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 bag shredded cabbage and carrots

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl. 

Add the cabbage, season to taste with salt and pepper and toss.

That's all!

Allergy-Friendly, Eggless Chickpea Frittata

A while back I posted about a recipe I found for chickpea omlettes. I started making frittatas instead of omlettes. It's much easier and faster, which is always a plus! And you really won't believe how good this is until you try it! Feel free to try your favorite omlette or frittata fillings.

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Chickpea Frittata 

1 cup chickpea or garbanzo bean flour

1/4 cup oat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup fresh or frozen spinach, chopped

1 small zucchini,chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flours, baking soda and salt.
Slowly pour in the water while whisking to mix well and set aside.
In a large, heavy pan, sauté the onion over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, until just soft.
Make sure you use a cast iron pan or heavy stainless steel pan that can handle the 400 degree oven.

Add the zucchini and cook for 3-4 minutes, until just soft.

Add the spinach and tomato and cook for another 2 minutes 

Pour the batter into the pan, mix and cook for about 3-4 min. to brown the bottom.

Transfer to oven and bake 10-15 min until golden brown.