Laundry Rules for Line Drying

There really is a correct way to hang clothes on a clothes line.

My rules:
1.) Shirts must be hung upside down to avoid the shoulders getting those funny points
2.) Socks are hung from the cuff and you only pin one part of the sock, leaving it open (dries quicker)
3.) Any type of bottom requires two clothes pins at the waist band, again leaving a gap at the top (see sock rule)
4.) Socks are to be hung together, easier to remove from the line.
5.) Fold laundry as it comes off the line
6.) If you leave the laundry basket outside, turn it upside down (keeps the inside clean)
7.) Bed sheets are meant to be dried on the line.  They smell heavenly.
8.) Towels dried on the line can be rough, but washing them with a cup of vinegar (before line drying) makes them softer
9.) Start a load of laundry before breakfast, put the line after breakfast.  Take off the line after lunch. (Except in the spring and fall, then after dinner before they get damp again from the night air)
10.)  All children, regardless of age, can assist.

Oh YES I DID!

Do you have those things in your life which you think "I would NEVER do that!" or perhaps "WHY on earth would I want to do that?" or even "Sounds good, BUT it isn't for me!"

Well my thing was homemade laundry soap.

Yup.  I always thought that it sounded like WAY to much work to save some money.  All the measuring and melting and stirring, you know all those recipes for making it on the stove top???  Sounded like a lot of work.  And while I know the recipe works for people, I already make so many things from scratch, I just didn't want another "thing" to make.

Then I stumbled upon some dry laundry soap recipes.  As simple as grating soap and mixing it up with a couple other things.  "Hmmm, well maybe it wouldn't be so much work" I thought.  I still wasn't to keen on shredding an entire bar of soap.  But I thought, I will give it a go.

So I bought the ingredients.  Borax, Fels Naptha soap bar, and Arm and Hammer Super Washing soda.   They have sat on top of my dryer waiting for months for me to finish up my Purex allergen free that I had.

Note:  I found Target carried all three ingredients, as did Cub Foods.  Otherwise look online. 

Well, today was the day to make it.  (I may have been out of laundry soap and may have had a stack of dirty clothes that my family was requesting be cleaned.  Whiners.)

I tweaked the recipe just a bit, but here is what I did.

I took the bar of soap and microwaved it for one minute, 30 seconds.  It kinda foamed up.  I recommend letting it cool a bit before working with it.  (um, I may have not waited and burnt the tips of my fingers, or maybe not, but really~take my word for it ~ wait till it cools.)  I put the foaming bar of soap in my Ninja blender (still waiting for a Vitamix, someday, I have dreams about owning one of those bad boys.  Notice, they are NEVER on Craigslist....) and blended that bar of soap right up.  I added two cups of Borax and 2 cups of Arm and Hammer.  I blended again.  Then I poured it into a leftover plastic Tupperware container (I only use glass for food storage now, but I held onto my plastic stuff for projects like this...).  Also, NOTE: you may want to cover up any food on the counter top.  It isn't fun to have soap flying through the air and landing onto your yummy apple crisp.  Using an extra coffee scoop I had on hand, I can now use one to two scoops for washing.  YEAH!  I also added about 20 drops of essential oils for "smell" factor.  I recommend lavender or lemon.  When I was done making it, I was all like, "Wow, that only took minutes to make!  What on earth was I waiting for?"

So to recap:

1 bar Fels Naptha Soap bar
2 cups Borax
2 cups Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

Microwave soap bar for 1:30 minutes, blend in blender with other ingredients.  Pour into container.  Use 1-2 tablespoons per load of laundry.

Note: skill level EASY!

Now I can say to myself... "WHY did I not make this sooner."  It is always something, I tell you.

Do you have a favorite laundry soap recipe?  Feel free to share your link below.

Meal Planning

Knowing what's for dinner is hard for any mama.  We have all been there when it is 5:00 and everyone is starving.  There isn't a quick meal to be found and everything is frozen.  Sigh. 

I have found it even tougher with food allergies.  For us, because we deal with so many, we really can't eat out even if we wanted to.  So, if I don't have a backup we eat super late (and then they ALL become MONSTERS) or it is good ol' cereal to the rescue.

I started doing meal planning when we were first diagnosed with allergies, mainly because we had to do a rotation diet.  Rotation diet is basically you can only have a food once every four days.  For example, beef on Mondays means no beef until Friday.  We did this with meats, veggies, fruits and alternative flours.  Basically anything they could eat was on a rotation basis.  Now imagine, not only do I need to feed them but remember and keep track of what they ate and then when they could eat it again.  Can you say NIGHTMARE???  So meal planning became this girl's best friend. 

Here are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way that I recently shared in a class:

One of the most frustrating parts to being told you have a food allergy is know what you can eat or maybe just WHAT to eat, or even how to prepare it.  There are a couple ways you can take to simplify this:

1.)     Start with your favorite (can’t live without) foods and find replacements.  Can’t live without chocolate? Find one that works.  Make a shopping list to keep in your pocket of what you like, where you find it.

List 5 foods you can’t live without:                  List the replacement:

____________________________                  ___________________________

____________________________                  ___________________________

____________________________                  ___________________________

____________________________                  ___________________________

____________________________                  ___________________________

2.)    Start with the basics. Stay simple. Then move on.

Find 3 easy breakfasts and repeat them over and over.  Then gradually add in another, then another and so on… (Oatmeal, toast, cereal, eggs, smoothies)

Make a list of 3 easy lunches.  Repeat them over and over until you are comfortable.  Then add in more ideas.

Make a list of 7 dinners.  And/or assign each day of the week a certain meal.  For example: Friday is pizza night, Tuesday is hamburgers and so on.  When you have mastered 7 easy meals, try to add one fancy meal a week; maybe on Sunday when you have extra time to cook.

Make a master list of these foods to use when meal planning.

3.)    Have backups.  When you cook, always make extra to freeze.  Then when something doesn’t turn out, your schedule runs late, or you forget to thaw out some meat, you have a quick meal to go to.  Our favorite is taco meat.  I make extra a frozen dinner portion for each member.  Same with pizzas, I make double and freeze one.  What are two recipes you might double to freeze to have on hand later?

4.)    Again, stay simple.  A protein, a starch, a carb and a veggie (or fruit) make a meal.  Grill a chicken breast, steam some broccoli, have a cup of rice with a piece of bread.  Not fancy, but quick and nutritious.  List 2 meals with quick, simple, healthy ingredients.

5.)    Start a three ring binder to store your recipes, shopping list, ideas, and meal plans in.

6.)    Create your lists.  It takes time in the beginning, but it really is a time saver.  Create a shopping list, meal idea list (for each meal), and recipe file.  Keep a master and update it as you go.

What are some tips you do that I might have missed?

A List of Ideas for Breakfast Meals~Allergen Free

Here is a list of our breakfast meals:

Please note all our breakfasts are rounded out with fruit, lemonade (we don't do juice) and I try to have some type of a protein.  All children take supplements (vitamins).

Creamy Rice Farina (Bob's Red Mill) think Cream of Rice

Steel Cut Oats (please only buy certified gluten free oats)

Cereal (our favorite is Nature's Path Crispy Rice)

Coffee Cake  (recipe is in Special Diets for Special Kids II)

Indian Fry Bread (recipe is in Special Diets for Special Kids II)

Toast with Sunbutter

Breakfast Sausage (recipe from Allergen Free Cooking Blog)

Pancakes (recipe is in Special Diets for Special Kids II)

Leftovers (recipes doubled and frozen for later)

Coconut yogurt and Coconut Cultured Drink (So Delicious)

And don't forget the huge wide world of smoothies!

At grocery stores there are now gluten free English muffins, bagels, waffles and so much more!

What is on your breakfast table?  Leave a comment below to help others plan their list!

WHAT DO YOU EAT? (the number one question people ask me!)

When I have conversations with people that deal with our family's food allergy restrictions, people ask in hushed or shocked tone "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU EAT?"  And I totally get/understand that reaction.  That was my reaction when I found out we would have to avoid so many food!  See our list of foods we avoid here.  I remember feeling really sad, scared and overwhelmed.  My strategy was to clear our pantry of foods they couldn't eat to put the foods they could eat.  My second priority was to get down a few meals that I knew they COULD eat.  I developed a master list and rotated the foods.  Since they were so allergic to so many foods we also did a rotation diet. (simply put you only eat a type of food once every four days.  i.e. you eat beef on Mondays then not again until Friday)  I am glad to say we no longer rotate most foods and life is soooo much easier.

To help out people who are overwhelmed, I wanted to share my meal planning and strategies to help feed your family.  Please keep in mind you are in a marathon.  It is NOT a sprint.  You will learn and grow as an allergen free cook.  It will get easier.

1.)  Develop a master list of about 7-10 breakfast ideas, 5-7 lunch ideas, 10-20 dinner ideas.

2.) Plan out your meals and then shop for them.  I use a calendar method.  I will be posting some examples.  Watch for updates.

3.)  It is nice to make a certain day of the week a set meal.  For example: Fridays are pizza night, Tuesdays are crock pot night... etc.

4.) Have one or two set "fast" meals.  Ours is tacos.  This is great for those unplanned nights or if something doesn't go according to plans.

5.) Use your freezer.  For gluten free this is a must.  I double almost every recipe and freeze at least half to pull out later.  Especially for breakfast, breads, and soups.  Stock up on glassware (like Pyrex).  Or save glass jars your food comes in.  I don't recommend plastics.

While this takes a bit of up front work it, in the long run it saves time, money and frustration.  I will be posting:

Meal Ideas:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snacks

Calendar planning

What are your ideas for keeping your family fed?  How do you plan?

Homemade Tomato Sauce

I saw a post for making red sauce on one of my favorite recipe sites The Smitten Kitchen and I had to try it.  Of course, I also did it in my own unique way.  Which includes not really measuring~ but pouring ingredients into my hand, trying something different, etc.  The recipe I tried was Naked Tomato Sauce (kinda a fun name, huh?).  It was pretty good but a lot of work.  Maybe it would get easier if I made it a few times, but I think I will save it for when I am bored or have time on my hands (insert hysterical laughing!  as if those two things would ever happen!) to make it again.  But I will share some pictures I took of my sauce making.  Also, I am really glad I tried!  I can now say that I made homemade sauce at least once.  Life is full of experiences and I never want to have to say "I wish I had done_________-"  (fill in the blank).... so check that one off the bucket list, baby!

Homemade Taco Shells (of the gluten variety)

We love to have tacos.  Since we hardly ever eat out, it is our "fast food."  To us, tacos means spicy beef with a shell of some sort and cheese.

We had one of those those nights were all we had was ground beef in the fridge and not a lot else to choose from.  While I had all the allergen free ingredients for my allergy boys, there was nothing for my honey or X-Box (my non-allergy kiddo).  So I decided to give making homemade flour taco/tortilla shells a whirl.  And you know what?  They were good.  Really good.  So good that we won't be buying them anymore.  It takes a bit of work, but they froze up fine and I can just pull them out when I need them.  Actually, I was surprised how easy they were.

Here is the recipe I followed and adapted:

3 cups of flour (I used unbleached white flour and another time bread flour.  Both worked)
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup palm shortening, lard or oil of choice
2 tsp baking powder

Heat water to about 120 degrees.  My microwave is one minute per cup of water.
Mix the flour, sea salt, baking powder and shortening together.  Once it is mixed into a crumbly looking mixture add the warm water.  Knead into a ball.  Put in a bowl and cover with a damp towel.  Let it sit 30 minutes.

Once it has sat, roll in to egg size balls for small tortilla shells.  Roll flat.  I used a seasoned cast iron pan for a non-stick surface.  But I supposed a greased fry pan would work as well.  Cook until each side is browned.  About 2-4 minutes per side.  Sometimes they appear a bit crunchy, but they will soften a bit as they sit.

Cookies that even Darth Vadar will Love

A good friend of ours hosted an outdoors showing (using a projector and his white siding) of Star   Wars complete with a themed party!  It was a blast.  I made sugar cookies for my boys (allergen free) so they could enjoy sugar cookies just like their friends.  I adapted an old favorite sugar cookie recipe so that the boys could eat it.  It was a yummy success!

Sugar cookie recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1 1/2 cup sifted corn free powdered sugar (I suggest regrinding if "lumpy")
1 cup butter (Earthbalance Soy Free)
1 Egg or 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring (I like Frontier brand flavorings)
1 tsp. Bob's Red Mill baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla (I like Frontier brand flavorings)
1 tsp. cream of tartar (my secret ingredient)
2 1/2 cup Gluten Free Flour mix (Bette Hagmann's blend recipe, featherlight or the regular GF works best)
2 tsp. gar gum or xanthum gum

Cream butter and sugar until mixed
Add egg and flavorings
Stir in sifted ingredients

Chill 2-3 hours or overnight
Bake at 375 degrees 7-8 minutes

This dough will be crumbly, work carefully and patiently.  It will not hold together like regular sugar cookie dough.

Dough is a bit crumbly, it takes a bit of Patience.

Turned out super well and yummy!

Waiting for Jedi training.

Fighting Darth

Have Bread ... Will Travel recipes part 2

Earlier, I posted on my trial to can bread.  I wanted to find a way to keep allergen free bread fresh while traveling.  If you eat allergen free, you KNOW that keeping fresh baked items fresh is tough.  They must be frozen until thawed and eaten or eaten with in a day  (or two, but that is pushing it!)  Anyways, it was a success.  I shared how I canned bread, but didn't post the recipes.  I have also posted on my pumpkin bread recipe.   I thought maybe now would be a good time to tell you how I make our bread.

My recipe is based on a recipe from Special Diets for Special Kids Volume 1 by Lisa Lewis called Marci's Soft White Bread and Rolls.  I love her cookbooks.  They have great information on how to go about this allergen free life and all her recipes are great for kids.  Volume two is my favorite between the two volumes.

I have adjusted it to fit our tastes.  I also make a several batches at a time.  I put them into ziplocs so the bread is easier to pull together and make. The following is a double batch that will fit into a large gallons ziploc.

BREAD RECIPE

4 cups brown rice flour (bob's red mill)

2 cups tapicoa flour (bob's red mill)

2 cups arrowroot flour (bob's red mill)

1/2 cup sugar (I use cane sugar from Trader Joe's)

8 tsp. Gar gum (don't skip this!)

1 1/3 cup Darifree milk subsitute~ use in powdered form...(it is a powdered dairy free milk that is potato based)

3 tsp salt (I use sea salt)

Zip up baggie and shake until mixed.  Or mix in a mixer and then put in a bag.  I usually make 4-6 bags of this to have on my shelf.  Will keep one month.

To make bread:

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees
*Heat one cup of water to 110 degrees, add 2 tsp sugar, 4 tsp yeast

Let it sit 5 minutes, meanwhile
*Measure out 5 cups of mix from your baggie into mixing bowl

Add:

1/4 - 1/2 cup Rice Bran (Ener G brand) (good for fiber, very healthy)

4 TBSP. oil (I use grapeseed, canola or safflower) or use your allergen free butter substitute of choice

1 tsp apple cider vinegar (trader Joe's)

1 cup water room temp

3 eggs (you can use egg replacer ~ 4tsp of the dry powder, I then add an extra 1/4 cup water)

Mix all ingredients together for 2-4 minutes.  Add water if too stiff.  If too thin add rice flour or more rice bran.  Should be thicker then cake batter but not as firm as regular bread dough.

Grease hands really well, it is very sticky.  Keep some palm shortening on hand as your hands so that as your hands get sticky you can grab some more.  You can shape freestyle into loafs or put in bread pans.  I make cinnamon bread, monkey bread, hamburger buns etc. with this.  Mix in Italian seasonings, garlic powder for pizza dough...

To rise the bread...Place bread on top of stove, cover with towel, let rise 30 minutes.  I drape the towel so that the heat vent from my stove blows under the towel and over my bread.  Or let it rise inside your microwave with hot water in a pan.

Cook in oven for 50-60 minutes for a loaf of bread.  For 4 mini loaves I cook mine for about 35 minutes.

As a side note: as of today I have successfully canned banana bread, chocolate cake, sunflower butter bread, pumpkin bread and a plain bread.  Can't wait to keep trying this method for traveling! 

If you like this post, be sure to view:
Have Bread... Will Travel Recipes
Have Bread, Will Travel

Have Bread, Will Travel...

As a family we love to travel.  We almost exclusively camp (real camping~ with a tent!).  We have been camping since before we had kids, we have camped during pregnancy, we have camped with babies/children, and we have continued to camp with food allergies.  Now some of you might think that pregnancy and babies would have been the most difficult time to camp; but actually, for us, it has been the whole food allergy thing.

I think what makes camping with food allergies so tough, is the trying to keep food from getting contaminated and the fact we have to pack it all.  We pack ALL the food because most places we go, we don't know if we can find the foods they can eat.  Plus, I make all the food basically from scratch.

There are a few things I do to make it easier on myself.  The first is planning the food, right down to the last bite.  Every breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack has been planned for.  Then, I over pack a bit.  I make lists, then check and double check that I have everything.  One time I forgot the boys' chocolate chips.  That was quite tragic!  Lots of tears.  There was no where near to buy them.

Another thing I do, is to buy all the none allergy food as we go (especially if it is a long trip).  This gives us more room to bring the hard to find food.

We bring about 4-5 high quality coolers with us.  We use one as a "freezer" and one as a "fridge."    The" fridge" can get opened as often as needed.  The "freezer" only gets opened to move something to the fridge to thaw out.  The rest of the coolers are dry goods.  I bake like a mad woman in the days before we leave to stock up on baked goods like bread, Indian Fry bread, muffins etc.  The baked goods usually are only good for about 7 days, even with the "freezer" method.

One last thing I do, is to google and search for all the stores along the way that might carry what we need.  I make a master list of them.  Sometimes I will even call to see if they carry some of our "basics."

Something new I am going to try this year is canned bread.  You did read that right.  Canned Bread.  It is a pretty simple canning method.  I simply mixed up my pumpkin bread recipe and my bread recipe.  I greased the inside of a couple wide mouth jars and filled them half full with my breads.  I baked the breads in the glass jars.  When they were done, I pulled them out, wiped the lip of the jar down, put on a fresh canning lid and ring and let them cool.  As they cooled, they self sealed.  I then put them on my shelf for two weeks as a trial.

The result was awesome.  Bread was fresh.  The canning seal was so tight I had to have DH pull it off.  It was just like fresh baked!  I will definitely bring some of theses when we go camping!  Next to try is chocolate cake!

Healthy Travels

When you travel, there is always the potential for sickness, injuries or bug bites.  I have developed a small bag of "tricks" that I pack to help with these things.

I would not travel without my bag of oils.  We use them almost daily.  Click here to read my post on essential oils on how and what I use the oils for.

Umcka is an all natural cold and flu medication that shortens the duration of the colds. It is based on a plant from South Africa.  Xlear is a great nasal spray, again, it is all natural, contains xylitol, purified water, salt, and grapefruit seed extract as a preservative. I blogged about my bug stuff and sun stuff and you can read about it here.

Below are three things I think are important to use/keep with you when traveling.

Magnesium Sulfate Cream is a topical Epsom salt type lotion.  It is great for pulled or sore muscles.  It is also good if you need to detox from all the junk you may be exposed to while traveling.  When you are at home and are sore from exercising it is great to ease those aching muscles.

The Kids' Ear Clear Oil is great for swimmer's ear, ear infections, wax build up, basically any ear ailment.  It has garlic bulb oil, mullein flower oil, coptis root oil, and arnica flower oil.

Zinc is good for immune building, but I learned a secret.  Shhh. Don't tell anyone, just kidding, but really it is a great secret!  If you have a sore throat, simply suck on one of the tablets and let it dissolve.  As the zinc goes down your throat it will help with the soreness and appears to kill the germs.  If it doesn't clear up, wait 24 hours and try again.  Now, this does work.  We use it all the time AND only once did it take a second dose.

The sweet smell of Vinegar

Vinegar.  I am in love with vinegar.  There, I said it. 

It is my staple, that I could NOT do with out.

So as not to be wordy (which I can TOTALLY be)  here are my uses for vinegar:

Cleaning spray (fill a spray bottle with half water, half vinegar, you can add essential oils for a scent)
Dishwasher rinsing agent (just add where you would put your jet dry etc.)
Fabric Softener (I add a bit in my beach dispenser and fabric softener dispenser)
Mildew smell in clothing (soak in hot water with a couple cups of vinegar, rinse and wash)
Toliet cleaner
Air freshener (see cleaning spray)
Disinfectent (spray cleaning spray, let sit)
Soap scum (spray shower down with cleaning spray after every shower)
Sinks (before bed fill with hot water, add 2-3 cups of vinegar, let sit overnight, rinse and wipe out in the morning)
Stainless Steel pans or coffee pots (bring water to a boil, add vinegar, let sit over night)
Carpet cleaner (use in place of commerical cleaner when using  a carpet cleaner)