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View Full Version : need a yummy, wholesome recipe for LLL snack


diamondintherough
07-13-2005, 11:18 AM
Tomorrow night I will have my 1st time away from my kids in several months when I go to my LLL meeting(bringing the baby with me). I haven't been to one in 3 months and that's usually my only night out each month when dh is here. He's already moved to VA so I haven't even gotten that!

Anyway, I would like to bring a yummy treat this time since it will probably be my last one before the move. Suggestions?

JJsMom
07-13-2005, 11:33 AM
How about chewy granola bars? These are my favorite!
http://cookie.allrecipes.com/az/ChewyGranolaBars.asp
I never use 2 cups chocolate chips, I use less than one cup of whatever, usually raisins. I also like dried blueberries and coconut, but you could use anything! HTH!

Punkie
07-13-2005, 03:01 PM
My kids really like these chewy granola bars (they're different from the above) (http://lainesletters.com/recipe/granolabars.html), but I think that both of them may be issues for kids with allergies :shrug Since I have an allergic little one, I always keep that in mind...

diamondintherough
07-13-2005, 03:11 PM
My little one is allergic to everything under the sun, so I know what you mean. If I make these, then I will bring something different for her.

I'm open to other suggestions. Meeting is tomorrow (thursday) night.

Punkie
07-13-2005, 03:17 PM
Yeah, all of my foods are incredibly modified.

I really love to bring foods that are safer for kids with allergies and surprise people with how good they can be. I'm not sure which allergies your dc has, but I have a great dairy-free recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Everyone always begs me for the recipe. The only tricky part is that you need some kind of health food store nearby to get dairy-free chocolate chips. Ghiradhelli (sp?) chips are dairy-free, but made in a facility with milk, so we can't do that. My ds is very sensitive...

diamondintherough
07-13-2005, 05:19 PM
hmmm. That sounds good. I can omit the chips. DD is allergic to chocolate, milk (I can't even eat either b/c she's bf and reacts to it :sad2. She was allergic to rice of all things :rolleyes, but I've been giving it to her lately and she seems fine.

So, I guess she's not allergic to EVERYTHING, just those things (haven't even dared try her with any type of nuts yet). Milk or casein seems to be in everything tho :( You'd be surprised what has rice flour in it too--geez.

Anyhow, I think I'm going to try the granola bars on my own time, so I can play with the recipes. I've got some zucchinin in the fridge, so I'll probably whip up some zucchini bread for tomorrow night. It's quick and easy and yummy. I substitute soy milk and omit the nuts for her.

Thank you for the recipes!

Moon
07-13-2005, 05:48 PM
One of our LLL treats that got the biggest raves was just apple slices, shaken in a sack with some lemon juice to curb browning, and natural peanut butter for dipping. I have the only allergy kids in our LLL so I didn't worry about the peanuts, if I knew of more I'd get a nut free dip alternative.

diamondintherough
07-13-2005, 06:02 PM
That sounds good, too Moon. Thanks for the idea. Kids love to dip anything in anything!

Punkie
07-13-2005, 06:31 PM
Apple slices went over great at our LLL meeting too.

Zucchini bread sounds awesome!

JJsMom
07-13-2005, 08:30 PM
My ds is allergic to dairy too and something else we haven't figured out yet. :think I make the granola bars with df shortening, but now that we are gf too, I can't make them! Fruit always works well, even a big watermelon cut up or some various fruits.
Hey, Punkie, I would love that recipe for oatmeal choc. chip cookies! I'll have to wait and see if ds is allergic to gluten, but if not :rockon!

diamondintherough
07-14-2005, 06:26 AM
I second getting that cookie recipe out here punkie!

JJ's mom-even if ds is allergic to gluten, many recipes can be modified. The oatmeal cookie recipe for example. Oatmeal is gluten-free (at least as far as I remember :think, now I'm second-guessing myself LOL). ANYWAY---assuming that the oats are gluten-free, I'm sure the recipe calls for flour as well. I have substituted rice flour for the regular flour in many recipes. Rice flour does change the texture somewhat, but with the oats would be o.k. (I've done it). I did chocolate chip cookies once and they were a little grainy, but the oatmeal ones were o.k. IMO.

The biggest thing to remember when using rice flour as a substitute is that whatever baked goods you make with it don't taste the same after the first day. You may want to try freezing leftovers to see if that helps, but we usually just eat the whole batch that day. The other thing I would suggest is that you try to use a combination of flours and not just rice when you are baking. There are lots out there that are gluten-free. You'll have to do a search, but Kamut is gluten-free and I believe Rye is too (although I don't recommend rye in cookie recipes!) Others are out there.

hth

Moon
07-14-2005, 08:00 AM
Kamut and rye are not gluten free, oats grown in America are not considered safe for a celiac or gluten allergic individual either. We've found Ireland grown oats, McCanns brand, I can get a 1lb box of the quick cooking kind (not the flavored varieties) at Trader Joes for $2.something. Their website is www.mccanns.ie My celiac ds has had it several times with no reaction (I cringe to say that to someone else).

Our usual flour blend is 1 part brown rice flour, 1 part tapioca flour, 1 part potato starch. The brown rice flour can be switched for white rice flour, garbanzo bean flour or sorghum flour quite easily. I haven't experimented much with cookies, but I'd also make sure you put some xanthan gum in there if you're converting a gluten recipe. :-)

diamondintherough
07-14-2005, 08:17 AM
Moon: Thank you for the clarification--I definitely wouldn't want to be the cause of someone having a reaction because of my ignorance!

Just curious--why do the american oats have gluten and not the Irish ones?

JJsMom
07-14-2005, 11:02 AM
Don't worry, I knew about oats! :-) I will use that flour blend, thanks Moon! I've done some muffins and stuff and they are grainy, but not bad. It's something I could get used to if we have to switch completely.
That is strange that American oats are not okay, but Irish are. :think I'd like to be able to add any kind of oats to our diet, so thanks! :tu

DogwoodMama
07-14-2005, 11:13 AM
A big hit at our LLL is raw veggies & hummus or baba ganoush (sp?)... That is a great snack for most kids except for MINE who is allergic to chickpeas/hummus! :banghead (But it's a rare allergy. ;))

Moon
07-14-2005, 11:51 AM
It's 'cause the norm in America is to rotate oat crops with gluten crops on the same land (a crop rotation example would be growing barley in a field one year, then growing oats there the next, it's actually good farming because different crops take different nutrients from the soil), and they're usually processed in the same plants as gluten grains. Not any oat grown on Irish soil would be ok tho, the McCanns I mentioned grows theirs on dedicated land and use dedicated plants. Both my celiac kiddo and I did a happy dance when we got oats back :lol

The gluten free world can be pretty mind boggling at times :mrgreen

diamondintherough
07-14-2005, 02:43 PM
Thanks for the info, Moon. I will tuck that in my hat for another time that I may need it. Thankfully, we aren't dealing with the celiac/GF thing. It's in Everything!