Homemade Rum Vanilla Extract

This is one of those little projects I put off for way too long, but it is SO easy! Now we have not only safe vanilla extract for the little man, we have lots of yummy and inexpensive vanilla extract that I use in all my baking. Many commercial extracts are marked as gluten-free but they are made with corn alcohol.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

• Good quality, unflavored rum
• Vanilla beans (I used 8, a mix of Tahitian and Madagascar beans)

That's it!


Split the vanilla pods vertically, then scrape the seeds out and into the bottle. If the beans won't fit into the rum bottle (or whatever bottle you use for your vanilla extract), cut them in half. Place the pods in the bottle too.

There are homemade vanilla tutorials all over the internet, so if you want a few more photos, they will be easy to find. Typically vodka is recommended, but little guy is allergic to many of the sources, so I used rum because it's made from sugar cane. Research the brand you buy and make sure no other flavors are added to it. Another safe option we found for my guy would have been barley vodka, but went with rum because I wanted to be able to use it when baking for my gluten-free friend too!

Let the vanilla mixture soak for about 2 months, shaking it occasionally. I keep the bottle in a dark corner of my counter. I use it pretty frequently, but if you don't, give it a shake once and a while.

I added this to Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday post! Check out the other allergy friendly recipes linked up!

More new allergies?

I haven't been experimenting with new recipes much this summer, short of baking the same cupcake recipes without guar gum. One of these days I'll write up the coconut yogurt recipe I'm using (gum-free is a struggle!). The goal for this summer was to find a safe multivitamin and hopefully a safe vegetable or two, but we haven't done that yet. Unfortunately it has been one reaction after another and little guy seems some new allergens: celery, cherry and peach. I hope I'm wrong but I'm pulling them for now. Corn has become even more of a problem and he's now even having trouble with citric acid (which is generally corn derived). He reacts to yellow mustard now too, so I don't know if that's the mustard seed or if he's reacting to the source of the vinegar (wheat and/or corn).

The good news is that he is becoming more aware of what food is safe and what isn't. We got him a MedicAlert bracelet in his favorite orange. It usually takes some bribing with Enjoy Life chocolate and he's only wearing it when we go out now, but it's a good first step, right?

Maple Arrowroot Cookies

This is a copycat recipe I came up with when I had to stop buying my son's favorite commercial toddler cookie because they contain with sunflower oil, an allergy of his we discovered a few months ago. He LOVED the store-bought cookies, but these are even better! (I even let him have them as part of breakfast sometimes.)

Maple Arrowroot Cookies

1 cup shortening (I use Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1 Tbls maple syrup
1 cup barley flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder (homemade corn free, see sidebar)
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Beat shortening and brown sugar until fluffy. Add applesauce and maple syrup and mix.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Gradually add to wet mixture until fully combined.

Roll dough into a ball and cover in plastic wrap. Let chill in refrigerator for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill cookie press/spritz gun with dough and desired shape plate OR simply roll dough into 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" logs and slice into 1/4" rounds. Place cookies on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread slightly during baking.

Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the edges are golden. Remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely. Cover in a container with a tight lid.

(Below is a photo of the unbaked pressed cookies.)

I shared this recipe on Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday. Take a peek at all the other recipes shared too!

3 day food diary

I've been meaning to post this for a while, so I thought today, "Eat Like Us Day," would be fitting. This is the 3-day food diary I submitted before his visit with the hospital nutrition department. I always felt like he ate a lot every day, but seeing it all written down overwhelmed me!


DAY ONE

Breakfast

1 cup Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal (Gluten Free Variety)
5/8 cup West Soy brand Plain Rice Beverage

Lunch

1 2/3 cups unsweetened applesauce (Kroger)
39g cooked weight Cook’s brand ready-to-cook ham steak, pan-fried in small amount of bacon grease

Snacks throughout the day

15 g Enjoy Life chocolate chips
5 homemade rice graham crackers, weight = 40g

Dinner

2oz West Soy brand Plain Rice Beverage
15 g (uncooked weight) De Boles spaghetti-style rice pasta, a few drops of canola oil and a pinch of kosher salt
1/2 pound (uncooked weight) bison, fat drained, lightly salted


DAY TWO

Breakfast

1/2 cup Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal (Gluten Free Variety)
1/4 cup West Soy brand Plain Rice Beverage
3 coconut muffins, homemade

Lunch

35g cooked weight Cook’s brand ready-to-cook ham steak, pan-fried in small amount of bacon grease
4oz apple juice

Snacks throughout the day

10 g of Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom dark chocolate bar
2 coconut muffins, homemade

Dinner

145g chicken nuggets, homemade


DAY THREE

Breakfast

10g (1 pack) Mrs. Mays Freeze Dried Apple Chips
1 coconut muffin, homemade
103g red grapes

Lunch

1 medium fresh pear
65g chicken nuggets, homemade
4 oz apple juice

Snacks throughout the day

1/2 cup Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal (Gluten Free Variety)
1/4 cup West Soy brand Plain Rice Beverage
10 g of Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom dark chocolate bar
12 Edward & Sons Brown Rice Snaps
2 tsp coconut oil (he dips the rice snaps in the coconut)

Dinner

55g roasted turkey tenderloin, cooked with canola oil, kosher salt & black pepper
¼ cup white long grain rice cooked with homemade chicken stock, pinch of salt



Overall, he really needs more calcium. He refuses to drink the new rice milk we had to switch to, and he can't drink the So Delicious coconut milk anymore that he used to love, because it contains guar gum. So he doesn't drink any milk substitute anymore, just has it in the many bowls of cereal he eats every day. Once I ever get his skin cleared up I have a multivitamin and a corn free calcium supplements to trial him on (separately). He is also lacking in vitamin A, primarily. We got some ideas for new foods to trial when safe, and I'm to push peaches (which seem safe for him).

Chick-faux-la Nuggets

My son is all about the look-alike foods and Chick-fil-a is one of the only fast-food we'll still occasionally pick up in the drive-through on a busy day, so he needed his own version too!

Chicken Nuggets

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs fresh chicken breasts (2-3 breasts), cut into 1 1/2" chunks
• rice milk to submerge cut chicken (or safe milk substitute)
• a few drops of apple cider vinegar (or safe vinegar or lemon juice)
• 1 1/2 cups safe flour (I use a mix of oat and barley flours)
• Kosher salt 
• Black pepper
• canola oil (or safe oil/fat)

The chicken I buy comes in a plastic container that I use also use as my preparation dish. The less I have to touch raw chicken/meat, the better. Cut into chunks, about 1 1/2" across. The more uniform the pieces, the more evenly they will cook.

Once all the pieces are cut, pour rice milk to nearly submerge all the chicken. Add a few drops of apple cider vinegar. (This mimics buttermilk.) Mix in a bit and let sit for about 5 minutes while you do the next steps.

Pour canola oil in shallow pan to achieve a depth of about 1/2". Turn on heat to medium.

Now mix up your flour. I mix equal amounts of oat and barley flours, about 1 1/2 cups total. Season with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, I use about a teaspoon of each.

Bread each piece of chicken in the flour mixture by completely covering then shaking off excess. Place into the hot oil. Place your chicken in an orderly fashion so you can keep track of which ones need flipping! Continue on until your pan is full.

When the first-placed nuggets start turning golden on the bottom, flip them over! Watch carefully and flip the rest of the nuggets as they are ready.

Watch for the 2nd side to turn golden brown, and when each nugget appears ready, remove it from the pan. I usually cut a few of the large nuggets in half to check that they truely are cooked through. Odd-shaped nuggets may need a 3rd cooking round on their side if the top and bottom cooking wasn't sufficient.

Repeat process until all the chicken is cooked!

These freeze really well! I usually just keep them in the refrigerator since my son eats them up so quickly, though. To reheat, place in a 375F oven until oil begins to glisten at the surface (about 5 minutes for refrigerated, 8-9 for frozen).

I shared this recipe in Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday 4/22/11 post!

Coconut Cupcakes Update: Gum-free

My little guy seems to have developed a guar gum allergy in the last few months, in addition soy, so that means some of my older recipes were due for makeovers. Today, I'll share the makeover of my coconut cake recipe! Since I was testing I just did a half-batch, but that was perfect for one pan of cupcakes! They may have been slightly more delicate than the original recipe that include guar gum, but I think they turned out great! Most importantly, they were a hit with my son. :) I'd planned a chocolate frosting for them, but they didn't last long enough for me to mix up a frosting!

Coconut Cupcakes

1/4 cup palm shortening (I used Spectrum)
1/4 cup coconut oil (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbls unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp unflavored gelatin + 1 Tbls hot water (mix and set aside)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbls rice flour (=10 Tbls)
5 Tbls tapioca starch (flour)
5 Tbls arrowroot starch
6 Tbls coconut flour
2 teaspoons safe baking powder (see sidebar)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups rice milk, hot

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat sugar, coconut oil and shortening. Blend in applesauce and gelatin mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix in half the flour mixture, then half the milk, until blended. Slowly mix in remaining flour and milk.

Bake in lined cupcake pans for about 20 minutes. Bake cake layer in greased or parchment lined pan for about 30 minutes. Let sit in pan until cooled.

Yields 12 standard-sized cupcakes or single 8" round cake layer.

I shared this recipe on Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday! Check out all the other great allergy friendly recipes shared this week!

Oral Rehydration Solution

What do you do when your little one is sick with a GI bug, getting dehydrated, but is allergic to Pedialyte? You save yourself a trip to the store, for once save money, and mix up your own rehydration drink!

This recipe is courtesy of the World Health Organization. I was able to locate it thanks to one of my little guy's team of doctors, so I'm reposting it here since even he had a difficult time finding the exact recipe. The more people that know the recipe the better!

Here is the original recipe, which can be found at rehydrate.org. C's nutrition specialist recommended the recipe #3.

For 1 Liter of oral rehydration solution mix:

• 1 Liter cold drinking water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 Tablespoons sugar (can substitute honey)

Stir until sugar and salt dissolve.  Store cooled and discard any remaining solution after 24 hours.

I tasted it afraid it was going to be salty and it wasn't! I was pleasantly surprised! To me the commercial drinks are far too sweet, where this is just slightly sweet. If I end up with this rotten virus I'll be mixing up some of this solution for myself instead of chugging the dye-filled Gatorade my husband has been drinking.

*Update* I tasted some of the solution after it sat in the refrigerator overnight and it was horribly salty! I guess when I first tasted it the salt hadn't dissolved completely.  So in the future I will be sure to mix up really small batches because it sure tasted better at first!