This past weekend was glorious. It’s the kind that I dream about, work really hard toward and cross my fingers it works out. And it did. Two of my very good friends and I planned a weekend away to Door County and it was the most delightful weekend I’ve had in a really long time. As a Mom of a kiddo with food allergies, the feeling of being ON is enhanced a bit. And it’s important to realize this, and take a break from time to time. It’s hard. I know. But with a little planning and some good luck, you’ll be on your way to some much needed R+R…
National Donut Day & Nut Allergies
It’s tricky to take part in some of these made up holidays our nation throws at us. Today is national donut day, I had no idea until I saw the news today. So, to help my nut allergic kiddo feel part of the crowd, we use Entenmanns Cake Donuts as our go-to safe donut. I also have a piece about how we do Dunkin Donuts. And like all other food related items, check the labels first. Enjoy your day full of donuts!
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
It was 90 in Wisconsin today and we have gone from winter to summer in a very short time period. And to top it off, both kids are sick. So when we are stuck inside, I bake. The kids had some energy today, but we did watch 3 movies. Emoji movie isn’t half bad the 3rd time around. At least we didn’t have to watch My Little Pony. Today we had a ton of bananas approaching “extreme ripeness” so this recipe came in handy for the long holiday weekend. It’s very easy and most of it you already have in your pantry. It’s the perfect addition to any cookout this…
Perfect Corn on the Cob
A few days ago, the kids really wanted some corn on the cob. It is not corn season, but who am I to say “no” to kids wanting to eat healthy food?! So corn it is! Since I’m not a griller, I needed to find a quick, weeknight friendly recipe to whip up this corn on the cob. Simple Genius had the perfect recipe. Typically we grill corn on the cob, but roasting it in the oven provided to be even tastier and juicier than usual. Ingredients: Aluminum foil rimmed baking sheet 4 ears of corn, husks and silks removed butter sea salt Directions: Preheat your oven to 450* Prepare…
The New Ikea – Oak Creek, WI
If you’re looking for an impressive Ikea experience, the new Ikea in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, is well worth your drive. Not only was this store extremely well organized (traffic + parking wise), the customer service and assistance in almost every aisle was very much appreciated. We didn’t know the layout of this new store, so having help available was key to making our shopping trip effective and timely (we live 2 hours away). Somehow, my list grew while I was shopping and I needed help getting a few heavy items off the shelves + into my car. The employees at this specific store were over the top amazing when it…
Food Allergy Awareness Week
May 13-19, 2018 is Food Allergy Awareness Week promoted by FARE, the Food Allergy Research & Education group that most medical personnel refer patients to. FARE is a widely respected organization that helps people navigate the tricky topic of food allergies. From reading labels, to helping schools and other organizations, FARE is doing an amazing job shedding light on this issue. And speaking of light, this year, they’ve teamed up with major building across America to turn them teal to raise awareness. Check out the Empire State Building above! How cool! In my hometown, Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Domes will be teal the 13th-16th to help raise awareness. I’m so proud!…
Top 5 Summer Snacks
Can you believe it? Summer! YES! It’s right around the corner. Well, if you live in Wisconsin, you really do not believe it yet – we literally had winter coats out last week when it dipped back down into the low 40s. Seriously. However, SUMMER MUST come eventually and school lets out in just under 3 weeks. The excitement is palpable. I thought I’d share some of our favorite summer staples, along with links for the giant containers we use for sharing our snacks. Because I know one thing about summer + kids = WE EAT A LOT OF FOOD! Balled Watermelon Sprinkled with Sea Salt: check out my piece on…
Ideas For Mother’s Day Brunch At Home
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ideas-for-mothers-day-brunch-at-home_us_5ae9d66be4b06748dc8e9d74 Reposting this awesome article. We are brunching at home tomorrow. Check out these nut free chocolates dipped with melted Enjoy Life chocolates!
Noodles & Co. Lunch
Today we were bumming around The Corners of Brookfield scoping out the new Von Maur when we decided to have lunch out. Lately, Chloe has had a little more food anxiety than normal. I am not sure why, so we decided to just let her choose where to eat rather than trying to convince her that it’s safe to eat her food. Surely this is a phase and will pass soon. After giving her some options, she settled on Jamba Juice and Noodles & Co. The entire kids menu at Noodles is 100% nutfree, however we still had thr server indicate “nut free” on our entire order to ensure no…
Campbells Soup at Hand
The options of Soup at Hand made by Campbells Soup Company are plentiful. When it’s a busy day and we still want a healthy meal at home, we reach for Soup at Hand since it’s only 1 minute in the microwave, sip and go! It fits perfectly in our cupholders in the car, too. Saltine crackers are always nutfree, they are made by Nabisco. Organic Girl spinach is triple washed and ready to eat and blueberries were on sale 2/$4 at Metcalfes Market. My favorite salad dressing, Newmans Own Balsamic is also nutfree, but be sure to check your labels. They also make a pecan balsamic and I’ve almost purchased…
Watermelon & Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
A friend of mine, @healthy.madeinmadison, posted this picture on Instagram about watermelon sprinkled with pink himalayan sea salt. I’ve heard about adding salt to watermelon, but I never actually knew why. Until today. And it has a lot to do with modernization of farming. If you want to learn more, click here. Basically, ADD SALT TO YOUR WATERMELON. Not nasty, bleached white salt, GOOD SALT. Like Himalayan pink sea salt, or just sea salt. Natural stuff. It really does wonders for the flavor (Thanks, Chemistry!) and aids with digestion. We took 1/2 watermelon and balled it, then sliced a lime, zested some of it over the watermelon, and sprinkled with…
Organic Black Bean Spaghetti with Heirloom Tomatoes
I’ve had some serious writers block lately, but I felt the need to share this meal with you since it was super flavorful and easy. It’s perfect for weeknight cooking and a healthy alternative to some of the carb filled pasta we normally eat. Black bean pasta is relatively new and trendy. This brand cooks up like a typical pasta would in boiling water for about 6 minutes. Be careful how you boil/simmer. It’s actually more of a simmer now that I think about it. The pasta boils and gets very frothy, easy to spill out of your pan (which happened to me twice while I was making this). Ingredients…
Creamy Chicken-Tomato Skillet
Costco had a ton of those cute little cherry tomatoes on sale today – so we have to use them up. This recipe is from the May 2018 Cooking Light Magazine and is 20 minutes to make + super comforting. If you’re looking to spice up your weeknight meal plan, this is it! Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 1# skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper (about 30 grinds on your pepper mill) 1 cup grape tomatoes 1/2 cup sliced white onion 1 grated garlic clove 1 tsp rosemary 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 2 tbsp flour 1 package brown rice 3…
Pizza Night!
Some nights you just need some pizza and have a relaxing evening without dishes or a messy kitchen. Jets Pizza is conveniently located in Middleton, on our way home from Tennis Lessons and this week, we decided to stop inside and talk about food allergies with them. Jets is wonderful when it comes to food sensitivities. They have Gluten Free (GF) menu offerings. In addition, they do not have any nuts in their restaurants and make all of their own dough. We felt super confident that we could eat Jets pizza without cross contact issues, unlike some other pizza places that have nuts on some of their pizzas. When…
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