Allergy Mum & The Quest for the Holy Granola – Part 2 DIY Granola

After my annoying discovery that me and coconut are not friends, I decided to invent my own granola.  It took quite a few attempts to tweak it, but this was very good.  It has the right ratio of clumps for snacking to cereal for eating in a bowl.

Ingredients

100g maple syrup

300g dark chocolate

100g peanut butter

1 tsp salt

450g gluten free oats

150g flaked almonds

150g pecan halves

150g dates (chopped)

125 g Hilltop Honey Bee Pollen

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the chocolate, maple syrup and peanut butter in a bowl over hot water.
3. When the melted chocolate, maple syrup and peanut butter has cooled down a little, mix in the salt, oats, almonds, pecans and dates.
4. Spread the mixture out on the baking tray, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden.  Stir once or twice during baking.
5. Leave it to cool in the baking tray.  Then mix in the bee pollen and store in an airtight container.

Easter Nests (GF, DF, Vegan)

The Allergy Brothers made these Easter nests with chocolate eggs at school, using our recipe.  It’s really great that the boys are always included in their class’ cooking.

Ingredients

75g margarine (we used Pure sunflower brand)

50g golden syrup

100g dark chocolate (we used Kinnerton free from chocolate)

100g breakfast cereal (we used gluten free flakes and Nature’s Path Munch)

mini chocolate eggs (we used Lindt dark chocolate mini eggs)

Method

1. Line a muffin tray with cases.
2. Melt the margarine and golden syrup in a pan.  Reduce the heat to low, add the chocolate, and stir until the chocolate has melted.
3. Remove from the heat, mix in the cereal, and stir until it is all chocolatey.
4. Spoon into the muffin cases and make an indent in the centre. Place an egg in each nest.
5. Chill the nests until they are firm.

 

 

The Coconut Collaborative (Vegan, DF)

It’s always interesting to see which products make the leap from specialist shops and websites to mainstream supermarkets.  The Coconut Collaborative range have certainly done that.  We haven’t reviewed this product before because coconut is an Allergy Brothers’ allergen, but now they are everywhere it seemed rude not to.

Initially, I had several questions about this product:

1. Was I really reacting to coconut as I suspected during the granola testing?
2. Why are the naked people in the logo without their modesty leaves on the lemon pot packaging, but the cartoon people have them on all the other packaging?

I discovered the answer to question 1 is “definitely” and the answer to question 2 is “who knows?!”  I actually really enjoyed the Little Choc Pot I tried.  It was very rich and creamy so that’s a pretty good review for something that also made my tongue sting!  Allergy Dad, who is not a fan of healthy(ish) food, also gave the lemon pots a big thumb’s up.  Because I am a numpty/like to thoroughly test things, I thought I would try another Coconut Collaborative product.  I tried the rice pudding, but I didn’t like the texture.  Too few lumps in too much runniness.  Unfortunately, this product also confirmed that coconut has moved from my food friends list to the reacting foes one.  I didn’t try the rhubarb yoghurt, which was a big shame because that is my favourite flavour.  I guess I will have to make my own with Nush nut yoghurts and rhubarb puree.

In summary, there’s a reason why these products have hit the mainstream.  The little pots really are very good!

P.S.  If you have a moment and a Word Press account, would you go to Allergy Wizard’s first ever review and maybe like it.  He would be super excited to have some more readers.  Thank you.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (GF, DF, Vegan)

As much as I adore my beloved soupmaker, I had kind of hoped to be moving out of comforting, hot soup season and into Spring.  Clearly, the weather has other ideas.  This soup was inspired by two new products: Ecomil Béchamel almond cream and Knorr Mushroom stock pots.

I made the soup in my soup maker. You need to make sure all the vegetables are chopped to approximately the same size.
Ingredients
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
2-3 large Portobello mushrooms, peeled and chopped
3 small potatoes, peeled if necessary and cubed
1 Knorr mushroom stock pot or stock of your choice
1 carton of Ecomil Bechamel Cream 200 ml
1 carton of almond milk (I used Ecomil Organic Sugar Free Natural Almond Drink)

1. Chop all the vegetables to roughly the same size.
2. Put all the ingredients, except the almond milk, in your soup maker.
3. Add almond milk up to the minimum liquid level
4. Choose the blended soup option.
5. Leave the soupmaker to do its thing, and come back to your food hug! Deeply flavoured and delicious cream of mushroom soup.

This blog post contains affiliate links to the Planet Organic website.  These links don’t change the price you pay, but if you do make a purchase then the affiliate links help us pay for the costs of running this website.

Psorta Psarosoupa (Fish soup, GF, DF)

It has been very cold and snowy here.  I have been grateful for my soupmaker.  I used the enforced time inside to test the limits of it by making an approximation of a Greek fish soup, Psarosoupa.  The soupmaker rose to the challenge magnificently.

Ingredients

• 1 Eschalion shallot, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, trimmed and chopped
• 1 leek, trimmed and chopped
• 4 new potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
• 200g white fish fillet (snapper, cod, tilapia, etc), skinned and chopped
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Knorr vegetable stock pot or stock of your choice

Method
1. Chop all the ingredients into similar size pieces.
2. Put all the ingredients in your soup maker.
3. Add water up to the minimum liquid level
4. Choose the “soup with pieces” option.
5. Get on with something else, while your soup cooks.

Please note this post contains an affiliate link, that helps us to fund this website. Thank you.

Allergy Big enjoying the snow near our home.

CoOp Watermelon Lollies

Ingredients

Water, Watermelon Juice from Concentrate (20%), Sugar, Apple Juice from Concentrate (10%), Glucose Syrup, Chocolate Flakes (1%) (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Powder, Emulsifer (Soya Lecithin), Flavouring), Gelling Agent (Pectin), Concentrates (Safflower, Carrot, Spirulina), Citric Acid, Thickener (Locust Bean Gum), Flavouring.

Allergy Advice: Soya.  May contain peanuts, nuts, milk.

Aren’t these cute?  The ice lollies, not the Allergy Brothers!  Allergy Little gets very cross if you call him cute.  The red part of the lolly is watermelon flavoured with chocolate pips, and the green “rind” is apple flavoured.

The Allergy Brothers weren’t very impressed, but they are not big fans of frozen desserts.  I thought they were really yummy.

Peanut butter and Chocolate Cookies (Vegan, GF)

Allergy Big’s favourite sandwich filling is peanut butter with Dutch chocolate breakfast sprinkles.  These cookies are the biscuit equivalent.  If you need a nut free recipe, then follow this link to biscuits made with Free Nut Butter.

Ingredients

• 90g peanut butter
• 40g sugar
• 75g corn flour
• 75g gram flour
• 30g margarine
• 60g chocolate chips (I had to make my own by chopping up Kinnerton chocolate bars)

Method

1. Grease a baking sheet with margarine or line it with baking parchment.  Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
2. Cream the peanut butter, margarine and sugar together.
3. Stir in the flours and chocolate chips, and work together to form a soft dough.
4. Take ping pong ball sized pieces of dough, and squash them flat into cookie shapes.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they are browning on the top.
6. Leave to cool before removing from the baking sheet.

 

Planet Organic

I recently had an Allergy Mum fail.  We started to run out of Ecomil Almond milk.  Normally, we buy this from a wholesaler, but, for various reasons to do with deliveries and school runs, we have to do this in the school holidays.  It was clear that Allergy Little was going to run out of his favourite breakfast drink before the next school holiday.  I had a google about and discovered a company that was new to me – Planet Organic.

I was really amazed by the range of non-dairy products that they stocked.  I was able to buy some products that I didn’t even know existed – Ecomil Chufa nut milk, Ecomil Béchamel Cream, and Ecomil Cashew Nut Cream.  When our order arrived, I was also pleased how well the products were packed.  We buy a lot of food online and it can be a bit of a lottery whether delicate products actually get to you in one piece, but the whole Planet Organic order was really carefully packed.  At the risk of sounding like Victor Kiam in the Remington razor advert (showing my age a bit there – here’s a link for the young ones among you, who have no idea what I am burbling about), I was so impressed that I joined the Affiliate programme.  If you feel like checking out this company, then any purchases you make (at no cost to you) will help support this website.

Fossil Biscuits

Updated recipe for improved clarity!

The dinosaurs went stomping all over our biscuits (and we learnt about how fossil tracks are formed). Idea stolen from Okido magazine.

Ingredients

• 180g margarine
• 120g sugar
• 150g corn flour
• 150g gram flour
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Also required – toy dinosaurs, toy insects, or similar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
2. Cream the margarine and sugar together.
3. Stir in flours and vanilla essence, and work together to form a soft dough.
4. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes.
5. Now make your fossils!  Either have your dinosaurs stomp all over the biscuits leaving footprints, or press your insects into the top of the biscuits to leave their mark.  Remember to remove the plastic toys before baking.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes.  You could read about how dinosaur footprint fossils are formed here or you could watch these videos (Footprints reveal dinosaur chase or More detailed video for older children and adults about how fossil tracks are used in research) while you wait.
7. Leave to cool before removing from baking sheet.

Spanish Bean Soup

I am still loving my soup maker (Tefal BL841140 Easy Soup and Smoothie Maker), and I thought I would try the not very attractively named “soup with pieces” option.

Ingredients

• 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 1 Knorr vegetable stock pot or stock of your choice
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 tin of mixed bean salad
• 1 Chorizo sausage, skin removed and chopped

Method
1. Chop all the shallots and Chorizo sausage.  Drain the mixed bean salad.
2. Put all the ingredients in your soup maker.
3. Add water up to the minimum liquid level
4. Choose the “soup with pieces” option.
5. Get on with something else, while your soup cooks.