Valentine Treats

I am on an endless quest for healthier and fun holiday treats for my son. I find it stressful to deal with holidays, birthdays and any other event that offers buffet tables of food my son and I should not eat. As I've delved deeper into a healthy eating style, I've become so conscious of the toxic junk our children are consuming and its effects on their health that I no longer can even donate my son's candy he receives at various events. I'm sorry to say that if it makes its way to my home, it goes straight in the garbage. I decided that if I don't want to contaminate my son's body, why would I want to contaminate some other child's body.

My solution to this problem last year on Valentine's Day was to make heart shaped cookies. They were a hit. Several parent's commented that they couldn't believe they were GFCFEF (gluten, dairy and egg free). It was a unique gift and Sammy had a ball helping make them.

I used the sugar cookie recipe from Cybele Pascal's The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook. It includes a simple recipe for royal white icing that you can color, if desired. There are several brands of natural color on the market now. I just recently bought Seelect brand but have not tried it yet.

India Tree also has a line of natural colorants available locally at Whole Foods Market. You can print a color chart off their Web site that will help you achieve the perfect color.

Chocolate Craft, available at the NaturalCandyStore.com, also offers a complete line of natural coloring for baking.

To decorate the cookies, I used India Tree naturally colored sugars.

I bought the plastic bags that we placed the cookie in from Walmart in the Cake Decorating section. You can also buy these at Michael's craft store in Dublin. I found the decorative ribbon at Michael's. The transparent stickers I bought at OfficeMax. It was a fun project for Sammy and I felt better about what I was giving the children in his class. If you don't feel up to making cookies, you could buy gluten free cookies and put them in the same packaging. Another option is HomeFree Treats. They have a new gluten, dairy, egg and nut free cookies that comes in little packs. They are a perfect size for giving out on Valentine's Day. You can order them online at HomeFreeTreats.

Another less labor intensive option is NaturalCandyStore.com. i bought the EarthYummy pomegranate lollipops and SurfSweets Organic heart gummies for Sammy. Both are free of gluten, dairy, color dyes and GMO's.


Whatever you decide to do for Valentine's Day, may it be full of love and sweetness (in moderation, of course).

Product Review - King Arthur GF Cake Mix...OMGoodness!

In my opinion, King Arthur Flours (KAF) has always been the "Cadillac" of baking products. I used King Arthur flour when I was a "gluten eater" and now that they have a full line of gluten free baking products, I suspect this will continue to remain true. KAF was kind enough to provide me with many samples of their GF products to review. The first box I opened is the GF chocolate cake mix. My son, Sammy, celebrated his half birthday at school this past week and wanted a chocolate cake. Pamela's brand of GF cake mix has always been my favorite but OMGoodness, I've got a new one. This KAF cake was to die for. It was moist and had an intense chocolate flavor that is addictive. I could not stop eating this cake (despite my current cleanse program). Everyone in Sammy's class loved it.

Sammy wanted a "frog cake" design since he is in the "frog class" at preschool. I decided to do a cake similar to a "bug cake" I made a long time ago for my older son, now 18. It's really quite easy. Here's how I did it...

Glass Mixing Bowl by Pampered Chef

After mixing the cake mix according to the instructions, I poured the batter into a greased, oven-safe glass, 2-quart mixing bowl that I bought from Pampered Chef. I then baked the cake according to the instructions but it did have to bake an hour and a half. I used a long wooden skewer stick to check if the cake was done. I have to admit, the cake was not pretty coming out of the oven.

Not too pretty!

I let it cool for several hours before attempting to frost it.

Allow to cool on a rack for several hours

Meanwhile, Sammy helped me gather the other supplies and crushed the gluten free cookies to make the "cookie dirt." I used Kinnikinnick K-Too's (similar to Oreo cookies) and Pamela's Simple Bites Extreme Chocolate Mini Cookies.

Cookies for cookie dirt



Frog Cake Supplies

Frogs ordered online from Amazon.com, plastic greenery from Michael's craft store, organic (dye free) gummy worms (Yummy Earth brand) from Sprout's Farmers Market in Dublin, rocks from Michael's (not edible although you can buy edible rocks from the candy store in Stoneridge Mall - I do not know if they are GFCF or free of color dyes).

Sammy crushing the cookies to make "cookie dirt"

I put 1/2 the pack of K-Too cookies in a plastic zip-lock type bag and had Sammy crush them with my lemon juicer. He then crushed about 3/4 of the bag of Pamela chocolate cookies and we mixed them together in a bowl. They really look like dirt.

"Cookie Dirt"







After the cake cooled, I cut the uneven end of the cake off so it would sit flush on the cake stand. I frosted it with Pamela's gluten and dairy free frosting. I used soy free Earth Balance spread for the butter replacement.

Cutting the bumpy bottom of the cake

Spreading the frosting

After frosting the cake, I then applied the cake dirt by pressing it into the frosting.

Applying the Cookie Dirt

Once the cookie dirt was applied, I began decorating the cake starting with the plastic greenery.

I then placed rocks that I found at Michael's around the base of the dirt hill.

Placing the rocks

The finished "Frog Cake"

Sammy went a little crazy with the frogs. We also stuck a few gummy worms around the base. To carry the cake to the preschool, I bought this nice cake caddy from Michael's. It was $15 but with a 40% off coupon, it's not a bad deal. The cake fit in it perfectly!

Happy (Half) Birthday, Sammy!!

Restaurant Review - Romano's Macaroni Grill

Romano's Macaroni Grill in Dublin

Prior to going gluten and dairy free, I used to love Romano’s Macaroni Grill. I went quite often with business colleagues. Of course, after going GFCF, I crossed it off my list of dining options. I was very intrigued to learn they now have an “allergen menu” which includes gluten and dairy free options. I took my son there last week for lunch and we had a lovely time. They have a very interesting allergy menu that took a few minutes to figure out but then turned out very informative.

Sammy's children's pomodoro pasta

I love the fact that they have a children’s menu which makes it very affordable to take kids. Sammy wanted the pasta pomodoro. It was very good but I felt it needed a little bit more sauce. I like the marinara sauce at Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi’s Too (a restaurant in Dublin) better but the sauce at Macaroni Grill was not quite as spicy so it was better for Sammy. The gluten free penne pasta is a rice blend with no corn (as reported by the waiter). You can also order a children’s dish with a combo of chicken and GF pasta (and broccollini).

Greens Salad with grilled chicken

I decided to order the greens salad for myself with one of the two gluten/dairy free dressings they offer. I added grilled chicken breast. The chicken was very fresh and tender, cooked to perfection. The greens and vegetables in the salad were simple but very fresh. I enjoyed it.

We were able to top off our meal with dairy free white peach sorbet. It was a nice finish.

Here are the things I love about Romano’s Macaroni Grill:

 The atmosphere.  It’s fun and entertaining.

The Italian recordings in the restroom are a nice touch.

A water bottle at your table. I drink a lot of water and am often left

with an empty glass in restaurants.

The waiter’s name written on our table so I can easily request him/her if needed.

That fact that they paid attention to our being gluten free and did not even come near our table with bread. Anyone who’s had to wrestle a bread roll out of their GFCF child’s hand can relate to this.

Sammy’s favorite part was that he could color on the table cover.

This entertained him the entire time we were waiting for the food. Nice!

A GFCF dessert option!

The pasta must have been good because it’s all gone!

We give this new GFCF dining option a thumbs up!!

Restaurant Review - Eddie Papa's

Eddie Papa's in Pleasanton, California

Wow, what a lovely experience. I was initially reluctant to try Eddie Papa's in Pleasanton after finding out that they now offer gluten free options on the menu. I had been there prior to going GFCF and was not thrilled. Well, my opinion has now changed.  I was impressed immediately when I informed the waiter at Eddie Papa's that we are gluten and dairy free and he actually knew what to do. He went over the menu with us clearly educated on the menu’s gluten free options and knew exactly how to handle our table. The only question he could not answer was if the hot dogs on the menu were gluten and dairy free. Within five minutes the owner came over to the table with the package in hand to review the ingredient list with us. We discovered together that the hot dogs are gluten and nitrate free but are not casein (dairy) free.  Darn. Casein is milk protein.

The waiter immediately brought my son, Sammy, a plate of gluten free rice Chex and raisins to snack on while waiting for our food. He did mention that they normally melt cheese over the Chex so always be sure to mention to the waiter that you are dairy free. He also brought waxy twist sticks for Sammy to play with while we waited for our food. Clever!

I am very impressed with their gluten free options. They offer gluten free chicken tenders made with a tempura type batter. Sammy loved them and was elated to actually eat chicken tenders in a restaurant. The French fries are also gluten free, fried, upon request, in clean fresh oil uncontaminated with gluten. Sammy let me try one and I have to admit, they were very good. They serve Udi’s bread for a gluten free sandwich option. All their salad dressings are gluten free and they have gluten free breadcrumbs and soy sauce. For breakfast, they also make gluten free pancakes and waffles. They even serve Red Bridge gluten free beer.

Another thing that impressed me at Eddie Papa's was that they focus on local produce and products. They buy from Terra Bella Farms in Pleasanton, Lone Oak, Olivina Ranch in Livermore, Cloverdale Dairy, Humboldt Creamery and Numi Organic tea in Oakland. I love this!

I ordered the strawberry salad with balsamic type dressing. It was pretty tasty. Sammy loved the chicken tenders saying they were, “awesome!” Currently, Eddie Papa's does not offer any GF or CF desserts. The waiter did say that they may add some dessert options on the spring menu. The owner said he’s considering Udi’s gluten free hamburger and hot dog buns for the spring as well. I think it may be worth a trip back in the spring to check and see if they have them yet!

Another nice touch at Eddie Papa's is the cotton candy they bring with your check. It is GFCF but is full of sugar and color dye. We took one small bite and left it on the table. Cute idea though. I'm glad to add this restaurant option to our GFCF places to dine. What a treat!