HomeFree Treats Giveaway and Review!

I'm very excited to be sharing these treats with all my readers. I was contacted by HomeFree Treats to see if I would like to try some samples and write a review. Well, of course I would love some samples, and would be delighted to write a review!

My samples arrived on Christmas eve, just in time for the stomach bug we had to take hold of us. :( Christmas was a blur of forced present opening and everyone laying around moaning... today we are feeling a bit better, so we decided to try our treats! I personally, usually shy away from gluten free products. I know they can be good, but I also know a lot of them still contain dairy and soy, so I just pass by the gluten free section of the store and go about my shopping.

Well, from now on I will be stopping at the gluten free section to grab a box or two of HomeFree Cookies!! They are just the right amount of crunch, and just a perfect amount of sweet. We gobbled them right up.

I'm double excited that they are coincidentally based only one town over from me, and their treats are in many of my local stores, you can double check to see how close they are to you too here! If you don't find them near you, I would encourage you to buy from their website.

Not only are these cookies delicious, they are also allergen free!! They contain no DAIRY, gluten, nuts, eggs, and there are a few without soy in them. They offer a few different flavor options and are very clear about the allergens that are and are not in each different treat right on their website. They are sold not only by the box full, but also in small single servings so you can easily take them with you while on the go. This is especially helpful for us because we have to pack a bag of snacks where ever we go.

Here's a note from HomeFree:

Hi Andrea,

Thanks so much for sharing our cookies and your perspective with your readers! One more thing to mention, if you don't see our cookies in the gluten free section many stores also stock them in their organic section as well. Also, if you don't see our cookies on the shelves at all, be sure and ask your local store to carry them since your requests do make a difference and stores do listen in most cases! We appreciate the support since our goal is to make delicious, allergy friendly options conveniently available to everyone at their favorite local stores.

Kira

--

Kira Morehouse
Social Media Marketing Intern
HomeFree, LLC
P.O. Box 491
Windham, NH 03087 
www.homefreetreats.com

Connect with HomeFree on Facebook and Twitter:
http://www.facebook.com/HomeFreeTreats
http://twitter.com/HomeFreeTreats

HomeFree Treats is offering one of my readers a free box of their 

Gluten Free Mini Vanilla Cookies.

CONTEST CLOSED.

To be eligible to win, you must be a fan of  Milk Free Kids on Facebook and HomeFree Treats on Facebook or Twitter, then leave a comment stating that you are. Also, feel free to show HomeFree Treats a little thank you on Facebook while you are there!!

For an extra entry, simply leave a comment here telling us what flavor you'd be most likely to choose.

For another extra entry post on your Facebook or twitter the following: "HomeFree Treats and Milk Free Kids are giving away cookies!!!  http://www.milkfreekids.com/2011/12/homefree-treats-giveaway-and-review.html " and come back here and comment with your link. (Please post publicly on Facebook, and feel free to tag our pages with an @ symbol!!)

That's it! 3 separate entries which all require their own comment here. Contest runs through January 1st, 2012!!

Please leave up to 3 comments. Entries will be verified. One comment counts as one entry. Winner will be chosen by random.org on January 2nd  and posted here. Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize before a new winner is chosen. I was not compensated for this review, I only received samples in return from my opinion. 

How to deal with school/parties..

It ain't easy being NON-cheesy....

Sometimes I think that dealing with school and parties might just be the hardest part for a food allergic child. As a parent, it's so hard to stand there and say "No honey, you can't have that." and as a kid I bet it's so heart breaking to have to sit at the table and just watch the other kids.

What's been the most difficult for me, personally, is when friends and family KNOW we can't eat certain foods and they never ask how they can accommodate. I can't even count the number of parties we've been to where the food consists only of pizza, Doritos, Cheetos, and ice cream cake. I mean COME ON... you know my kid can't eat CHEESE!?!??! 

So I have a great 3 minute cake recipe. You can whip up a little cake on the way out the door, and grab a can of milk free frosting (most pre-made frosting's are milk free) and by the time cake time rolls around you can frost that little puppy up and make your kid(s) their own special little cake. 

What I've always done is called the party host and asked what the menu will be. Sometimes the party host, usually a mom, will ask if they can grab anything special. If it's pizza, I would usually ask about ordering a small cheeseless pepperoni for my guy, if not I would bring our own pizza. Burgers and dogs are a good safe food... and my favorite party fare... you can usually find me hovering around the grill making sure they leave at least one cheeseless burger!

Once, and only once, a mother was having my oldest to her house for her son's party. She called and asked what my son could eat, and then she planned her entire party menu around his dietary restrictions. That left a memory that I will never forget. That little bit of kindness... that ability to actually drop my son off at the age of 9 and know that he could eat the food, the cake, the candy, ALLLL of it! It really made my day, and really made him feel special. 

School on the other hand has never been easy for us. All of the reward parties are ice cream or pizza. I used to be able to get some tofutti ice cream into the teacher freezer  with it's own scoop and hope for the best. Luckily my son was good enough that he wouldn't eat anything from parties or school without asking "Did my mom say I could have that?" or telling people "I can't eat goldfish." haha. He didn't eat school lunch until 5th grade, and even then I had to go read all the ingredients from the kitchen and send lunches in on the bad days. 

It's been a long hard road socially. My youngest can't eat ANYTHING prepared, so it's definitely going to be more of a challenge when he grows up. I'm tempted to dangle a sign on this one that says "DON'T FEED ME" because people are rude enough to just shove food in your kid's mouth without even thinking twice. 

So leaving home, and counting on having fun at a party just doesn't happen for allergic kids like it does for non-allergic kids. It's heart wrenching to say the least. I'd love to hear any ideas that you may have for parties and school situations!!

Oh, Joy... it's the Holiday Season!

There has always been a little part of me that dreads "family dinners" that are not made by me. It's hard to be a guest in a home of a relative and also ask them to change the way they prepare their food just for your child, or yourself.

If it's for yourself as a grownup, or nursing mother, then it's easy enough to snack on what you can and then just pass on the butter and cream laden dishes when the time comes. BUT, when you are a toddler, pre-schooler, or a little kid, it's not so easy to watch every one else eating and then be told "No, you can't have that." So what's a parent to do? In our case, we are not invited to bring food to share. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, my kitchen resides in a nuclear testing zone and any food I prepare will surely melt my relatives. I'm not offended, no way. Pfffft. I also have tried to ask for the food makers to not plop an entire stick of butter in the corn, or a pint of cream in the potatoes, or smother the rolls with melted butter, but no one ever obliges.

So, here's what I have been doing for the last decade+...

I make sure to have all the foods of Thanksgiving dinner ready in my own house for the making. I have those divided rubbermaid containers also. You always have a couple of options. If you know the turkey will be rubbed with butter or maybe vegetable oil (if you can't eat soy) you can purchase a single turkey breast and bake it the day before. Chicken is also a fine substitute. If your family orders a meal that you are unsure about, bring your own meat. It's just safer that way.

Here's the rest of my quick and easy plan. I usually make my kids stuffing, potatoes, corn, and a bread. I just can't ever be sure of the unknown.

Potatoes and stuffing are super easy as Stove-top is dairy free, just keep a canister of the preseasoned kind on hand. Most boxed potato flakes are perfectly fine too. I think we use Idaho Spuds here. Can of corn, and a pack of dinner rolls and you are good to go! For the potatoes and stuffing,  you can do it at home and heat it later, or if you are lucky to get into the hosts kitchen to boil some water, you can do it at the house. I do it at home.

I just boil a pot of water, measure the stuffing into a bowl, the potatoes into another bowl. I forego the margarine/butter part and use rice milk in the potatoes when my kids are little. Now that my big kid is a teen, I'll use margarine and a little salt in my taters. When the water boils, I just measure it into the bowls, cover, then stir in a little while. I scoop them into the divided containers, add meat, and some corn. We are good to go!

Gravy can be tricky. Making your own is a good option, but hard without a base. Little kids probably won't notice the missed gravy, but if you need to do it in a pinch, here's what I do:

I put 2 tablespoons of margarine in medium pot with 2 tablespoons of flour. I cook it while wisking until it's browned. Then I add a cup of chicken or turkey stock/broth from a box and simmer until thick. You can add a little Gravy Master if you can find it in the store. Gravy Master is not soy free.

I bring the food with us to our dinner, I try to not notice dirty looks, and my kids are happy and well fed. Don't forget to bring along your safe margarine too!! Luckily cranberry sauce is safe no matter what, so  you don't have to worry about that.

I'm sure you have different foods your kids or family likes. I would love you to share some of your holiday survival ideas for everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Gobble gobble.

Here's some turkey coloring pages to keep your littles busy while you cook.

Adventures in breastfeeding an allergic baby

Some of you may know that I was 18 when I got pregnant with my first child. I was a child for all intents and purposes. Hanging out with "that boy" was probably not the smartest thing I ever did, but I did end up with a wonderful little boy that changed my life forever.

I attempted to breastfeed him at the insistence of my mother (yes mom, you insisted) and HATED it. Hate probably isn't even a strong enough word. I was uncomfortable, in pain, confused, to me there was nothing natural about it. I felt like my baby just wasn't doing it right, the pump was a monster, and I was too embarrassed to leave my house. I lasted a mere 5 weeks before running my ass over to the WIC office crying for formula.

Fast forward 11 years (yep, 11 almost to the day) and I present you with the birth of my second and last child. He latched on like a champ. He ate and ate. And in the hospital, I was like "Yup, look at my boobs, I really don't care if you see them." I was not embarrassed to breastfeed in front of everyone that I encountered for that 1 year. My kids friends would be over and I would simply say "Look away for a sec, I need to feed the baby" they were 11 and 12, so they should have a bit of exposure to the REAL purpose of boobies. I was modest, no one saw more than they could see on Prime Time Television or Must See TV, there was no indecent exposure.

For me, it was FREE, convenient, was cleaner, was faster, was easier, and completely natural. Oh how a decade can change things.

BUT.... 4 weeks into it, the baby was all kinds of messed up. His poo was goo, his skin was dry, he was screaming all the time. Throughout my whole pregnancy I was convinced I would finally have a child that could eat out anywhere, enjoy school parties, and go to friends houses without putting the other parents into a panic. Yeah, well... wouldn't you know it, I didn't get my wish.

So I quit eating dairy. 100% all dairy. Not that hard to do, because I knew all the right foods to eat and all the ones to avoid. 2 months went by, no change. The pediatrician I had at the time told me to also stop eating soy. I clearly remember saying to her "Oh, that won't be hard, I don't eat anything that's soy" and she sent me on my merry way. I went home and started to read labels. Oh.Em.Gee!!! Soy was literally in EVERYTHING in my house. Everything. I went a whole month more eating everything but dairy. By this point the baby was pooping blood. I'm a horrid mother.

So I stopped eating soy. Reluctantly. Never once did I even go back to eating dairy, that wasn't the issue for me, being dairy free is really nothing for me, but that DARNED soy!! It's not only in food, but in lotions, soaps, flavored tea, and more!

Food became my mission. My obsession. My goal. Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and The health section of the local grocery stores became my hangout spots. I stopped eating out (because I had to) and couldn't eat at any holiday get together's unless I brought food. That Christmas was horrific. We were running late and I grabbed NO FOOD and spent the whole day starving as there was not one morsel of soy free food in my relative's houses. It was horrible.

I suffered. I hated it. I'm a fatty, so I obviously love food, but suddenly food was my enemy. I fought my enemy. I won that war. I breastfed my pumpkin faced baby for 1 full year. We made it to his birthday, and I nursed him laying in bed one last time. I snuggled him close, breathed him in. I kissed him softly when he was done and said "I love you my sweet boy, Happy Birthday." I cried because I knew that was it. I stayed on my diet from hell for a few more days just in case... and a few days later on the 4th of July I ate. Everything. All of it. I didn't stop. I read no labels. I didn't care. I felt like a prisoner for the better part of a year, and I had just got out of the slammer.

I gained 40 lbs while breastfeeding. I gained another 30 when I quit. I've never been bigger, but it was worth it for the health benefits, the bonding, the closeness, the love. I'd like to add "the savings" onto that list, but I fear that my food bills ended up being more than my formula expense would have been since his insurance covered the Neocate in full for that whole first year, but I didn't care. I wanted to breastfeed.

So if you need to go dairy free to breastfeed, do it happily knowing that you've got it easy. If you have to go soy free... I'm here for support. My biggest advice would be:

Yes, potato chips are soy and dairy free. No, you don't need to eat 7 bags of them a week.

Eating out, a starting guide

Eating out can be tricky. It's certainly not like you can just pick up a menu and skim the ingredients to know what is safe. Thanks to the internet, it's easier than ever to find out where you can and cannot find dairy free (or other allergen) foods. I usually google the restaurant, look for the "food" or "nutrition" link on the site. Then somewhere on there is usually an allergen list if they are a super awesome place that provides that list. Sometimes a quick email to them will get you an allergen list via email. Sometimes they just won't oblige *cough cough* Texas Roadhouse ahem Margaritas *cough cough*. I just save those places for "girls night out"!


Sometimes you might think it's safe to order a steak or a burger of some sort, but those can be cooked in butter most times. Buns are usually grilled in butter. Some fries can have a coating that contains dairy. Some places, we just don't even bother... like breakfast places. Those are packed with buttered griddles, milk laden pancakes and waffles, and lord knows what else. If you must go, ask for poached eggs, fruit, and see if they bake their bacon in the oven instead of on the griddle, and you will probably be safe. Breakfast places are just something we don't even bother to do.

I've never had any issue with Chinese food. Crab rangoon is for sure filled with cream cheese, and perhaps there are some fancy dishes that might contain some type of dairy at the REALLLY high end restaurants, BUT the basic chinese food according to Jane Zukin is dairy free.

Now, I would like to introduce you to Burton's Grill... we just got one in our mall and I'm itching to get over there. Walked by it yesterday and got a little teary eyed.

Burtons Grill.... If you are in the area of the listed states, then get your bottom over to Burtons! They will adjust all their foods to remove any and all allergens you may need them too. They also have super a strict gluten policy and prepare gluten free food so there is NO cross contamination. They are a little pricey, but when you have a child or yourself with multiple food allergies, you are probably willing to pay more. I know I am!

Burton's Locations:

MASSACHUSETTS

Hingham

North Andover

Boston

Peabody

CONNECTICUT

South Windsor

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Nashua

So I've had some pretty good success with our local chain restaurants. Small, family owned places, not so much. If your child isn't super duper sensitive, you could always chance french fries are safe or ask if there is milk, butter, or cheese in the pizza dough and sauce and just order a cheeseless pizza. A movie theater/restaurant near me now lists their allergens online, but years ago they would just cut out the ingredients from their packages and bring them to me for checking. Asking for assistance doesn't ever hurt, and now more than ever restaurants are aware of food allergies and REALLY willing to work with you. I'm guessing that they don't like law suits.

Here's a list of links that go directly to the allergen guides of the listed restaurants of restaurants near me (New England) and Sonic, which we don't have. This list is current as of September 25, 2011 and assembled for your convenience for locating dairy free options and should all open in a new window:

McDonalds
Burger King scroll past all the grids to the ingredients.
Wendy's
Smoky Bones You have to email them and they will send you the allergen lists.
Chili's changes monthly
Applebees
Friendly's
Chic-Fil-A
Sonic
Taco Bell
Domino's Pizza
Pizza Hut
Papa Ginos
Papa Johns
99 Restaurant
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Dunkin Donuts list filtered down to everything without milk.
Krispie Kreme They state that you need to call 1-800-4KRISPY



Texas Roadhouse Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Roadhouse. (Don't even go near the place if you are allergic to peanuts though.) My only gripe is that they refuse to tell me what's in their food. I've included them here so you can perhaps contact your local TR and see what they can do to help you. Corporate told me to check with the individual store managers because ingredients can change from store to store. Good Luck!

Go Dairy Free... is like the mother load of dairy free info. I could never compile all they have, but their site is like information overload for me sometimes. They do keep a pretty comprehensive list of restaurant foods that are dairy free. http://www.godairyfree.org/Table/Dining-Out/

There is also Allergy Eats and Veer.com both great tools for finding safe foods.

I wish you luck, and if you have any restaurants to add to the list, please let me know. I have also put the list on the Links page.

Coconut oil. Amazing stuff!

My Coconut Oil Excitement!

I'm just going to gush about coconut oil for a minute. As a person that is always on a diet, it seems that I would avoid oil at all costs, right? I did until I discovered all the benefits of coconut oil.

I have have a jar in my house for a while now. I used it a few times to attack my winter dandruff, and made some brownies with it once. That was the extent of it until I ventured onto Pinterest.

I read more about the benefits of coconut oil and apparently it's loaded with lauric acid...

"The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system. The Coconut Research Center has compiled various references on scientific research done on coconut oil." ~ OrganicFacts.net

The photos over on Pinterest are just so adorable that I couldn't help but do a little thing I like to call "Pin Travelling" that's when I follow the links of the pins I find to the originating sites and read all about the wonderful things people are pinning.

Photo by Crunchy Betty

This super adorable photo from Crunchy Betty really caught my eye. I mean, how could it not?

She lists all kinds of uses for coconut oil from eating it to putting it on your feet!! She seriously combed the web and devised a list that just amazes me.

I posted to my facebook profile about it with this caption on the photo of my jugs of oil:

The small one is expeller pressed and refined. It's got no flavor or smell and is good for plain old frying and baking if you don't want the flavor of coconuts. The big one is just extra virgin and has a very mild coconut smell and flavor also perfect for baking, not so much for frying as it's meant for low to medium heat.

Other uses:
Chapstick
Hair conditioner (put it in, let it set, wash it out)
Mix 2 parts sugar to 1 part oil for a sugar scrub
Spread it on toast or muffins
Body lotion for pre shower
Melt 2 tbls oil with 8 oz chocolate for magic shell on ice cream
Frizz Tamer on dry hair
Dandruff treatment
Cures athlete's foot
Shaving lotion (legs not face)
Mix with baking soda for toothpaste
As antibiotic ointment
As goo gone
Eczema treatment
It kills internal candida

And for WEIGHT LOSS!! just eat it. 3 tablespoons a day on food, in your coffee, where ever. Just eat it up. Yum yum.

oh, and a million other things. google it. really.


It really is a miracle product. So you may be wondering what this has to do with eating dairy free, well I will tell you... Most recipes call for butter. Ask Paula Dean, and she'll tell you how important butter is in baking and cooking. Well, Paula, it's not important if you can't eat it!

I'm going to refer back to my Pinterest food board. There are a bunch of things on there that are made with coconut oil. People have been using it to fry food and using it instead of butter in baked goods. It's a semi-solid oil that is non-hydrogenated and it melts at 74 degrees Fahrenheit (so don't leave the container you store it in in the bathroom lay on it's side if the top is loose. Really, just take my word for it.)

Photo by AnotherLunch.com

So I will be baking and frying with this wonderful oil. I also started putting 1 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil in a large pot with 3 tablespoons of popcorn kernels, and popping my popcorn like that. It's SOOOO tasty!! Don't forget the to put a lid on it before heating it!

You could even try this granola with coconut oil instead of canola oil. I just bought all the ingredients I need for homemade granola, so I will let you know how it comes out!

Do I like it or do I hate it?

Over the years I have tried to help people both online and off. One of the things that I run into (more offline than on) is that people think I just don't like milk and don't want any kids to drink it because I "think" it's bad.

Well, truth is I don't really like it. I used to drink about 4-6 glasses of it a day prior to researching it. I suffered from lots of colds and migraines as a child. When I stopped drinking it the headaches became very far a few between and the phlegm buildup I had cleared.

When I see children drinking a glass of milk, I gag. I know too much. I try not to push it on this site that I don't think it's healthy....

I have a confession to make though. I'm a cheese addict. Like BIG TIME! Always have been. I also use cream in my coffee. I eat ice cream when I'm calorie splurging and not with my family. In my house though I don't cook with cheese (unless it's just for me) I don't use or buy milk, butter, or ice cream. I never ate yogurt or bought it until recently, I'm hardcore dieting and have been eating yogurt... or more like choking it down, only because it's filling and low in fat and calories.

Lots of times people panic when they find out they have to stop using dairy products. I know because I was there. When you can and do eat them, they are so intertwined in your everyday life that it's hard to imagine life without. It's really hard to switch and make changes.... at first. Reading labels is hard when you suddenly have to do it and never needed to before. It's not so hard when you know exactly what to look for, and now with the new labeling (new as in a few years old, but not around when my guy was little) it's actually pretty easy.

Eventually you will zoom right past the dairy case and not think twice. You will chuckle when people are scared to give your child eggs because they think it's dairy. I don't know about you, but I never saw a cow lay an egg! You will get used to it. You might start thinking the milk is gross like I do. You might not. You may find that you really do like almond milk on your cereal and rice milk in your pancake mix. Mostly though, you will see how healthy your kids are and will think "Hey, this isn't so bad."

When I started this website in 1999, the internet was kind of new. There wasn't a lot of help or information back then. Now though, you can find just about anything. Thank you for finding the time to come here. I hope that I have been a help and can continue to be a help. I will be updating all the pages on this site because I wrote most of them years ago and they need some updating.

I love your comments and emails too. So keep them coming!

Love,
A cheese addict with two milk allergic kids and a lactose intolerant husband who maintains a site to help others with taking dairy out of their lives. :) (but you can call me Andrea)

Milk Free Kids Has a New Look!

Well, now that blogger offers "pages" I decided to redo this site to include an actual blog and make the other pages static.

Hope you like the new look, and hopefully I can start posting helpful topics and links for everyone.