Healthy pasta is my kind of pasta. Zoodles. Zucchini Noodles. Have you heard about these vegetarian noodles made from green herbs and vegetables? Well Ronzoni noodles are not exactly fresh Zoodles because that would require me to use an attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer that I do not have (or have time to do tonight); however, these noodles are very similar and have zucchini in them. Actually, it’s a great combo of spinach, zucchini, broccoli, parsley and kale. This product is 100% nut free. And not made in a facility with other nuts. At first, we were not sure about green pasta. I mean, green is my favorite color, but…
Meal Inspo 4/16/18
Looking for some quick meal inspiration? We’ve had a ton of extra activities at school, and outside of school, that has required us to think super ninja fast for meal times. Actually, now that I think of it, making meals at home is REALLY hard. It requires some serious dedication to plan, purchase, cook, serve, and clean up! Our grocery bill this week was only $98 since we’re trying really hard to eat leftovers, only buy what we eat, and make the most out of what we have. Week after week, I throw away so much away because we just do not eat them or have the time to make…
Dunkin' Donuts & Nut Allergies Part III
Are Dunkin’ Donuts safe for people with peanut and tree nut allergies? Well, we went again, and we have PN and TN allergies and we were totally OK. I did do a little more research though and I wanted to share that here: Dunkin Donuts only bakes SOME of their donuts in-house. The rest are shipped in from central bakeries. They started doing this in the 90’s to save money. Not all Dunkin Donuts are nut free, like the location I have been going to. For some reason, the past few months that we have gone, there are NO NUTS in this store. And they understand nut allergies 100% at…
Starbucks and Nut Allergies
Starbucks is a common stop for us. Grownups love it, kids love it and what is a better way to deal with YET MORE SNOW IN WISCONSIN than a nice warm cup of coffee or tea?! Literally, I have no words for April snow. I mean, COME ON! When we were first diagnosed with nut allergies, we avoided Starbucks completely. However, that’s no way to live life {coffee deprived, are you KIDDING me?! Also known as Mean Mommy!}. Once we figured out how to navigate the Starbucks menu a bit, we learned that our favorite treat was no longer completely off limits. If you follow me in Instagram @nutfreemomblog, you’ve…
Menu Planner
If you’re trying to minimize your trips to the grocery store, perhaps a menu planning list is for you. Most families do not have a chalkboard refrigerator like we do. And even if you do, you’re not always around the fridge to write down what you’re thinking about for dinner / snacks. Most of the time, families are on the go. I’ve been asked several times by friends if there is a paper method for planning meals that I prefer. Actually, Cara Clark Nutrition has a wonderful meal planner included in her food challenges if you want one from a real nutritionist. However, when I was shopping around at World…
Basic Bean & Ham Soup
Last week we had a lovely ham at my Mom’s house in Milwaukee for Easter Sunday. We came home with lots of leftovers. We decided to make a simple weeknight ham and bean soup. It was ready in 20 minutes. Very easy and most of the stuff you’ll probably already have in your fridge. If you don’t have ham, add extra beans. But the ham flavor actually really makes this soup. You don’t need to add any extra salt because the ham does it all. Ham & Bean Soup Ingredients: 2 cups cubed, fully cooked ham 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 1 yellow onion, chopped 4…
Slow Cooker Carnitas Tacos
Busy families, this one is for you! I highly suggest making it on a Sunday night so it’s ready for your busy week ahead. This is easy 2 or 3 meals for a family of 4. It was too sunny in our kitchen when I took this quick photo, but you get the idea of how YUMMY it was!!! We also sliced up some watermelon to eat with it, too. For a short cut, I picked up pre-made pico de gallo from Metcalfes produce section, but canned salsa works, too! I like quick toppings with little to no prep time. I griped a little on IG live about this recipe…
Spring Carbonara
If you saw me on IG live cooking, you certainly got a nice preview of this dish, Spring Carbonara, inspired by Cooking Light Magazine! Also, that was Neuskes Bacon in my mouth while I was talking, sorry about that. Sometimes you need to sample as you cook! Actually, I encourage it! This recipe sets up really quick, perfect for weeknight cooking. There are no short-cuts on this one, just super fast and easy. It’s almost asparagus season, and that makes me so happy because it’s a flavorful vegetable! Asparagus season reminds of when I was in Stuttgart, Germany, for work a few years ago. EVERYTHING had asparagus in it, and…
Nut-Free Easter Candy at Target
Here’s a little sneak peepster into Easter! Last week, I stopped at our local Target in Madison/Fitchburg. Here’s what they have in the seasonal section that is nut-free: Fun Dip Nerds Ropes Skittles Cheese-Its Trolli War Heads Pez Peeps in original packaging Whoppers / Robbins Eggs Smarties Charms cotton candy / bunny tails Hershey Kisses in the classic bag, not bulk bag (this is located in the non-seasonal section, near the regular candy / junk food aisle) Be careful with the peeps. Easter Bunny majorly missed the labels last year and brought us the Peeps on the stick, those are not safe. They are made in a facility with tree…
Organic Goldfish
Organic Fish are chasing after Organic Bunnies. No, this is not part of a riddle about the movie Peter Rabbit, although it could be….. Do you know what I’m talking about? Both of these items are nut-free and a very popular snack in our household, at school and in lunch boxes. They are also littered all over the back of my Honda Odyssey! Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish and Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies! These two items are in FIERCE competition at the grocery store and I had no idea until I read this New York Time’s article titled, “Why These Goldfish are 70 Percent Organic.” Danny Hakim wrote a wonderful piece this past…
Chicken Breast & Pancetta Cream & Peas
On Sunday mornings, after reading a bit of the New York Times, I start to think about the week ahead, how busy it might be, and what we will have for dinner. Lately we’ve been so busy that I haven’t had much time to think about food, nor do I want to. I don’t day-dream about food, I just like eating it. Coming up with recipes is challenging sometimes, I get in ruts, and making sure we’re eating a diverse menu is important. Eating the same old stuff is boring, and we like to try new things all the time. For meal inspiration this week, I found some old Cooking…
Homemade Shamrock Shakes
It’s that time of year! Shamrock shakes! While the McDonalds shakes ARE safe for PN / TN allergies, most other restaurants are NOT due to cross contact risks. We prefer to make them at home anyway. They taste too good! After lunch today, we tested out our recipe. Ingredients: 1 cup vanilla breyers gluten free home style vanilla (nut free ice cream) 1/2 cup Sassy Cow organic milk 2 drops of mint extract 6 drops green McCormick food coloring Whip cream Mini Enjoy Life Chocolate chips Directions Using a blender / nutribullet, mix all ingredients except for the whip topping and Chocolate chips. Top with whipped cream and chocolate. To…
Great Wolf Lodge Resort Review
What is the most family fun + allergy friendly hotel we have ever been to? Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. The Great Wolf Lodge located in the Wisconsin Dells has been around since the mid-1990’s. As a kid, we visited the then named “Black Wolf Lodge” as a family over summer breaks. This amazing, family-friendly resort was developed by the Watermans, a well-known Wisconsin Dells family. The Watermans have roots that date back into the late 1800’s of developing successful service industry related businesses. This past Friday, Chloe had off of school, so she got to pick what to do for the day. She choose a water park. It…
Thank You, Sun Butter!
Today we received our Sun Butter box with lots of samples for our upcoming school event, the Spring Fling. We’re so excited to be able to share our favorite snack with all of our friends while also playing some fun Olympic style games! Tomorrow we’re practicing our Olympic games and I’ll post a YouTube video link here so you can see the fun stuff we are up to! Thank you, Sun Butter, for supporting our school!
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