As a mom of a child with food allergies, holidays (and quite frankly, most celebratory and social events) also trigger a certain level (although over time this level of anxiety has diminished) of anxiety.  Whether it is a July 4 BBQ or a birthday party, I am constantly faced with the challenge of preparing wheat-free, egg-free, nut-free and most everything-else free cakes, brownies, cookies and cupcakes.

Many times I will call the host and ask “So, have you decided on what you plan to offer as a treat for the kids?”  Other times, I make a guess as to what to bring.   I would like to think that besides being driven by my child’s well-being and safety, I also am driven by the idea of helping my child and other children understand more about food allergies, acknowledge their differences and accept them.  As I prepared treats for a BBQ this weekend, I realized that I also just want my child to fit-in.  Unlike the maestro of the Boston Pops, my goal is to help orchestrate a non-event.  From BBQ chicken (having pulled the host aside to ask about each ingredient in the rub) to the cupcakes, I want my child’s transitions to be seamless.

During the last several years, I have tried quite a number of approaches:

(1) “Match Treat” approach – I would call up the host to find out what the treat is and even what color is the frosting. The goal? Typically is to prepare a slice of cake that perfectly matches the main dessert.

(2) “Reasoned Treat” approach -  I usually don’t call the host in advance for a copy of the menu.  Instead, I just make assumptions.  For example, if it is a birthday party, there is a greater likelihood that the main treat will be a cake rather than cookies.  The challenging aspect about this approach is the unpredictability.  I attended a couple of birthday parties armed with vanilla frosting and food coloring in case I had to “mix-to-match” on the spot.

(3)  “Kid-a-li-cious Treats” approach – Instead of baking a piece of cake for just my son, I make treats that all little ones can enjoy.  Although not effective at a birthday party (picture the scenario: Hi, I prepared a cake for your little one’s birthday party just so my kid and your kids can enjoy the same treat), it is a wonderful approach for every other event.

Which one are you? Over the years, I have come to lean more towards the “kid-a-li-cious” approach because it helps with that seamless transition.  Most importantly, the “kid-a-li-cious” approach has a certain flexibility built-in where you  no longer have to uncover the main treat in advance.  Instead, I prepare whatever I like with the idea that my kid and other children will enjoy it!

This July 4 weekend, I prepared butterfly-shaped and ice-cream cone shaped cupcakes using my Nordic cast iron pans.  Unlike the other talented  and lovely contributors to Zomppa who prepare exquisite baked goods from scratch, I am more of a cake mix “plus” type.  You should check out Gluten-free Goddess for awesome recipes from scratch!  I found a cake-mix that is easy to make and very tasty.  In addition, I often will add pure maple syrup, brown sugar, tapioca flour and a touch of fruit juice (i.e., apples or peaches) to the ingredients.

The cupcakes are excellent 90% of the time.  They are fluffy and light – slowly melting in your mouth.  The remaining 10% are less predictable…well, the cupcakes taste more like mini french baguettes (I think it is the tapioca flour – too much of it gives it a gummy consistency!)

Well, regardless of whether your approach is the  “Match Treats”, “Reasoned” or “Kid-a-li-cious”,  I salute you because of your efforts (however tiresome) to normalize your child’s experience and bring that child happiness.  My son’s eyes light up every time I tell him we are going to prepare treats for his friends.  He wants his friends to love his mommy’s cupcakes….I mean, is there a kid who does not share this desire?

At the BBQ this weekend, my butterfly cupcakes were gaily displayed for curious little fingers to capture.  I can’t tell you if the kids ate them or not, but I can tell you that my little guy didn’t even notice…he just seemed content that he can bring something special to the party!

Happy July 4!

A gift from dear foodie blogger friend Mardi of eattravelwrite. If you haven’t signed Jamie Oliver’s petition to revolutionize school food, you can do so here.

While there is debate out there (i.e. T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study – good read if you haven’t yet) about cow’s milk and its benefits and dangers, a lot of us drink milk or at least give it to our children. But do you know where your milk comes from? If you said, cows, you are right. But do you know where those cows come from and how they are raised?

Many of you are familiar with CAFOs and “drugstore cows” and many of you are not. CAFOs are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, where animals are pretty much confined in small places where they eat, urinate, defecate, and often die all in the same place with little or no grass or vegetation. There are many resources out there (look them up!) and these factory farms are perfect breeding grounds for bacterial growth and who knows what else. According to the CDC, over 75 million Americans get sick from the food they eat.

Note: these pigs are NOT from a CAFO – they are being humanely raised by a local farmer.

Drugstore cows are cows raised with unnatural diets and pumped with hormones and antibiotics to speed up their growth, which also speed up the possibility of illness (I actually had an argument recently with a woman who swore that a cow’s natural diet is corn and that the “media” was trying to lie to us that cows ate grass…did she think cows shucked corn with their hooves?). Most Americans are directly and indirectly affected by these hormones and drugs that have longer-term consequences than just a bad stomachache.

According to The Ecologist, the chemical pollutants passed from mother to child through the placenta or breastmilk can last decades…or even a lifetime. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) noted that it takes this long for a child to get rid of 99% of inherited pollution (note: that is not 100%):

• Phthalata platicisers (flexible plastics, etc.): 1 day
• Mercury: 1 year
• Flame retardant and stain-proofing chemicals: 12 – 60 years
• Lead: 166 years

This means generations of your children good be affected, causing permanent genetic changes. Does this mean simply not eating meat or drinking milk? But vegetables are not immune to bacteria and toxins. Recall outbreaks of E.coli in bagged spinach or the recent studies linking pesticides and ADHD. Check out this blog, Are You Sure You Want to Eat That?, for more information. Or what about the scandal of corporate greed and bribes and the sale of tainted foods?

So who is responsible for ensuring the safety of what we eat, meat or vegetable? In 2007, the FDA turned to states to step up their food safety programs. There is an ongoing debate whether federal or state control is more effective at ensuring the food safety of large national and multinational food companies.

Rather than getting caught up in this debate and risk harming ourselves and our families, it’s time that we recognize we are responsible for our food safety…as much as possible.

Buy local. Know where you food comes from. Better yet, know the person who grows or raises your food. If your food is not factory-produced or overly processed, the chances of these contaminants become lower. We cannot rely on some federal or state government regulation to do this for us. We have to take charge of our own lives.

Let’s start with our milk since many of our children drink it daily. where is my milk from? is a great website where you can source most of your dairy products.

Source: where is my milk from?

PS June is Dairy Month! For more and an insightful video, check this out.

A drug-free glass of milk and one of ZomppaPatty’s Whoopie Pies. Now that’s something I can get behind.

When I was preggers with my first child, I cast my inner eye upon my heart and talked to God about all my hopes and worries.  I prayed for a healthy child who would embrace life with a curious mind and a loving heart.  But, I did not realize that I should also pray for a child who is free from eczema, asthma and allergies, especially food allergies.  If I were more aware of how prevalent food allergies have become in our country (and better yet, if I knew my darling child would not be able to share one of my favorites – king crab with legumes), I probably would have talked to God sooner, prayed harder to keep the food allergies demon at bay.  I can hear the prayer now:  “Dear God:  So, I am seeing more and more kids with food allergies.  I am scared that I would not know what to do, how to feed a child with food allergies.  I love food!  I love the freedom that comes with choosing my foods and the sense of control I feel knowing that I can eat whatever I want.  Please bless this child with the same freedom!”

Nine months afters after my son was born, our pediatrician called to tell us that the RAST test results were off the charts – in the thousands.  The alarm in her voice frightened me.  My husband and I went from loving the experience of enjoying food to dreading it.  Our little man is allergic to: wheat, soy, eggs, all seafood, tree nuts, kidney beans, peas (and some others).

My husband and I thought: “There goes bringing him to dim sum on Saturdays!  There goes traveling abroad as a family! There goes baguettes and French pastries! There goes peanut butter and jelly! There goes sushi!!!”  I’ll be honest, we focused on everything he wouldn’t be able to eat, so much so that we pumped his little body with milk, vitamins, white rice and veggies.

As a result, his early food experience was bland.   It wasn’t until one day we went to my parents’ house to pick up our little man and we saw him standing on a chair at the kitchen table helping his grandma prepare a Haitian meal that things changed.  At that moment, we realized two things:  just because he has food allergies doesn’t mean he can’t share the same love of cooking and food.  Second, he may have no control over his food allergies, but he can develop a sense of control over what he eats.  Control starts with knowing your allergies and so, that is where we began.  So we went to work. We taught him all about his allergies and we taught him early. By age two, he could list his allergies as a foodie could recite a recipe.

So here is our lessons learned:

(1) Teach your child what he/she is allergic too! Not just “I’m allergic!” or “I have celiac disease!” But more of “I’m allergic to [list the food]!”;

(2) Teach your child about the importance of reading the ingredients.  He/she may not be able to read, but he/she can tell his care provider “I’m allergic to [list the foods].  I don’t know if I can eat the cake.  What are the ingredients?”;

(3) Help your child understand how his/her body reacts when he/she eats an allergic food; and

(4) Help your child accept his/her differences by starting the conversation and setting the habits at home.  Every time we cook, we talk about the ingredients!  We also don’t always limit our menu because of his allergies (it’ helps him get comfortable with being around diners that are eating foods he can’t).

I look forward to sharing my family’s stories and experiences with food with you.  ‘Til next time!

Fun and happy childhood memories often include food of some sort: a holiday (the lady at the white house on the corner who put spider rings in the little baggie of Halloween candy), a birthday (Danny Lueth was allergic to chocolate so I always had to make sure there was a non-chocolate option), a trip (the huge rainbow-swirly lollipops longer than my forearm at Disneyland).

One memory that I forgot I had popped into my head the day I snuck some mini-cinnamon buns from work. Someone had brought in a huge container, and I was hungry. I was trying to get a bit of exercise before heading home and knew I would be even hungrier afterwards, so I figured, I’ll take a few of these to make up for the calories lost exercising. To avoid getting everything sticky, I stuck them in a paper napkin and taped it up with scotch tape.

As soon as I opened up the package, a flood of memories rushed in. I realized it was an all-too-familiar feeling.

My dad used to come home promptly at 6:10PM from work. He’d ring the bell, and I’d run to the door. He’d hold his arms behind him and the game began. I would try and wrestle his arms out from behind and peel his fingers from his clenched fists. Sometimes he would pull a fake-out and his fists would reveal nothing but his empty lunch containers. But oftentimes, his hands would be holding little white napkin packages all wrapped up with scotch tape. I’d pry them from his hands and run to the kitchen and eagerly tear them open. Sometimes there would be chocolate chip cookies or brownies from a farewell party, other times, there were little triangle ham sandwiches leftover from a lunch.

I LOVED them. They were such a treat, especially since I didn’t grow up in a house with cold cuts or brownies (until I started baking them myself). I loved the mystery of the little white packages and the surprise of what was inside those beautiful little packages.

Given this strange obsession of mine since I was a wee little one, it was also no surprise when my parents, in cleaning their house, came across this story that I apparently was planning to turn into a bestseller. I’ve kept the original spelling and punctuation (I was 7) and illustrations for your reading pleasure. My rationale for this story is that my mom was expecting my little sister at this time. Enjoy.

The Chocolate Princess
In a KINGDOM, there lived a king, and a queen. The queen was going to get a baby! The King loved to eat potato chips. The queen loved to eat choclate! The king sat on his throne day after day, eating potato chips. Boy, were they aYum! The queen sat on her throne day after day, eating chocolate. But, when you eat what ever you like a lot, when your have a baby, your baby turns to that thing! The queen didn’t know that. One day, the baby was born! But she was chocolate! The king and queen were SURPRISED.

What are some of your favorite childhood food memories?

In a few short weeks, I, too, will be such a parent.

Rather than labor under the delusion that some miracle will take place on the first day of school, allowing my daughter to both peacefully and wistfully make her way into her preschool classroom and prepare herself for a lifetime of academic rigor and discovery, we are trying our best to reassure her via books, like her favorite, Oh The Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss.  But what seems to be alleviating most of her fears AND elevating her excitement is the discussion of F-O-O-D.

No secret that my children like to eat.  What better way to get my daughter geared up for school than to talk about the communal snack time, the snacks that mommy will pack for her, and most importantly, her very own/special snack box (es)???

I recently took my chickadees to the Korean market, where they always have an adorable selection of Korean and Japanese food containers (snack traps, bento boxes, etc).  My daughter chose three containers, each with an unique storage system.  Since this trip, she has wandered around the house and the neighborhood with one of the three boxes, stuffed with her pretend play food and a few raisins.  The thought of opening up her brand new snack box to a patiently awaiting snack during her classroom’s snack time is now, beyond thrilling for this 3 year old – it is ecstasy….

As I don’t want to spoil her precious food fantasy, I’ve spent a little time thinking about her snack for Day 1.  After a trial run, I’ve decided I’ll bake Ellie Krieger’s Apple Muffin Recipe.  This recipe is seriously foolproof, scrumptious (meaning, you can’t tell it is low in fat) and will offer my daughter some middle-of-the-morning nutrition and sustenance.  Note:  I grate the apple instead of dice them.

And for all you kids, I leave you with wise words of encouragement for YOUR very first day of school!

“Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!”

-Dr. Seuss

Even my taste buds have matured. Whereas I used to have a palate of a sophisticated 5-year old…the day I hit 31, my taste buds made leaps and bounds to that of a 10-year old.

If it’s too sour, bitter, tart…not going to eat it. I know – for someone who loves food, it might sound strange to you that I don’t care much for “sophisticated” flavors such as vinegar, olives, beer, pickles, wine…

…vegetables like arugula and artichokes and bitter melon (it has the word bitter IN its name – not a good marketing strategy). It drove my parents mad for years. I didn’t start eating them until I turned 31.

To this day, I only eat salads on rare occasions because: 1) they often sneak in some bitter leafy thing, and 2) they often lather it with vinegar, which make me look like this:

Case in point: my search for the perfect yogurt for me.

I love milk. I love ice cream. I love cheese. Dairy is my companion. I’m not talking light, sugar free, skim stuff. I drink the whole fat version. These days, my obsession is the glass bottles from Maple View Farm – red-caps signaling wholesome, creamy deliciousness.

I also knew yogurt was good for you, and so wanted to develop a healthy relationship with it. In elementary school, my cool friends would whip out little containers of Yoplait or Danon, looking like little models swirling their yogurt and flipping their hair. I tried to develop a romance then with yogurt, but perhaps I was too immature, perhaps yogurt wasn’t ready. Those yogurts were simply too sour for me. I chocked it up to the follies of youth.

(this was an ad campaign in Ireland)

As I got older, I really, really wanted to meet a yogurt that was right for me. I figured yogurt was a healthier way to start the day (Starbuck’s breakfast sandwiches DO rock, but they are the dangerous type that you go out with once or twice a month, but not good for a long-term thing). I was becoming desperate – for over two decades, I tried a new brand of yogurt several times a year in search of the One.

I thought I found it when I tried Activia. The commercials said it would regulate my digestive system, and I found it quite pleasing. However, a few things bothered me. Activia was a little too sweet for me and I wished it was organic since I had switched to organic milk and cheese. It was a nice relationship, but not my perfect match.

Was I too picky?

When I was living in Manhattan (perfect place for the single gal looking for…yogurt), I became mesmerized by the fancy organic brands that lined the shelves. They beckoned me, and I gladly parted with my money to get a taste. All talk and no substance. Sour. Sour. Sour.

I became cozy with Brown Cow, which was quite smooth and gentle. However, as time wore on, I realized I was adding more and more granola to cut out the hint of sourness. Eventually, I just ended up with a cup of dry granola and a dollop of yogurt. That was no real relationship.

I gave up for a while, decided to swear off yogurt. Mind you, I am not knocking any of these brands. I think they are lovely and many of you probably love them because they ARE good. The issue is not them. It’s me. It’s my immature taste buds.

But then, as they say – when you are not looking…. One day, I was in the store, talking to ZomppaPatty about my dysfunctional relationship with yogurt. I told her about this post I saw from my new foodblog friend, Healthy Tasty Chow, about YoBaby. Healthy Tasty Chow seemed to like it, ZomppaPatty seemed to like it. Okay, I recognize that they liked the yogurt…for their BABIES, but I figured if this yogurt was good to babies and cute small things and cute small babies liked IT, it must be worth a try.

So I did.

Smooth, made with whole milk, sweet but not too sweet, organic, clear fresh flavors that don’t intimidate but still announces its presence, good on its own, the perfect size.

YoBaby is the One for me.

On occasion, I find myself  wondering whether I took my ‘crazy pills’ as I am constantly repeating my “ Mama Says” retort  during mealtime.     Rationalizing with a preschooler is difficult, but I find it almost impossible/excruciatingly painful to discuss the benefits of eating green leafy vegetables. All Pai cares about is whether or not her food is ‘deyishous.’

Pai Eating Something 'Deyishous'

A lot of parents enjoy the benefits of ‘hiding’ nutritious food items in their children’s food.  Although I applaud most (non-violent) techniques that encourage children to 1) eat and 2) eat well,  my personal goal is to teach Pai that the food she SEES on her plate is not only good for her, but also ‘deyishous.’

In an attempt to achieve this goal, I finagled a Banana and Sour Cream Pancake Recipe developed by one of my favorite cooks, Ina Garten, to create a whole grain version.  A huge hit at our place and chock full of fiber, B vitamins and protein.

Whole Grain Pancakes
Adapted from Ina Garten’s Banana Sour Cream Pancake Recipe

1 1/2 cup of organic whole-wheat pastry flour ***
3 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup organic Greek non-fat yogurt (like Oikos)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon organic rice milk (or any milk)
2 extra-large organic eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pure maple syrup

Directions

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, rice milk, eggs,  and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, but only until wet is just incorporated.  Will look a bit lumpy.  Don’t’ over mix!

Heat a (non stick) skillet over medium-low heat.  You can add a little bit of vegetable oil to lubricate the skillet. Pour the pancake batter into the pan to make 3/4 pancakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute. Serve with fresh, organic raspberries/blueberries and maple syrup.

*** If you want a lighter, more tender pancake, you can do 3/4 cup unbleached, all purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour.

Although some students crinkled their noses, my circle of friends (none of whom were Korean) were surprisingly curious and supportive of my strongly flavored/scented food.   At times, they’d ask for ‘just a little taste’, wondering whether their tongues would incinerate once they succumbed to their curiosity.    For fear of killing someone, I never allowed anyone a taste.  Until, one day, I brought a family favorite….Tomato and Sugar.

Now, before you label me a **FREAK***, I highly recommend you try this on your family.  My mom served this dish to my sister and I after dinner as a snack during homework time.  I have no idea whether this dish is native to Korea (a Google search came up with nothing), but I guarantee it is refreshing, light and juicy (depends on how ripe your tomatoes are).  It is an easy/ convenient  ‘beat the heat’  summer dish and is super nutritious for the loved ones in your life, little and big.

Tomato and Sugar

1 organic ripe tomato (I use vine ripened, but please feel free to customize!)
1 teaspoon of organic cane sugar

I like to slice my tomatoes into big circles, but you could dice these (for little people) or cut them into half moons.  Put on a plate/bowl and sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of sugar (more or less to taste).  This dish would go extraordinarily well with a fruity after dinner wine (like a Riesling) or served as an appetizer with bread, cheese, etc.

In addition to the preschooler whose second cousin is the Tasmanian Devil, I have a baby, under the age of 1.  Technically, she isn’t supposed to eat dairy products, but we got a little confession to make.  Baby loves herself some ICE CREAM SANDWICH!!

After the kiddies wake up from their afternoon naps, we always have some kind of snack.  On occasion, we three will sit on my living room floor (usually in only our underwear or diaper and over sized T-shirts…yes, me too) and share an ice cream sandwich.  Deliciousness.

So, it isn’t the healthiest snack (or even permitted for baby), but at least it’s an organic ice cream sandwich!  Joke, joke.  I fully understand that ‘organic’ isn’t necessarily synonymous with ‘healthy’ eating.  If that were the case, I’d look like Skelator or Kate Moss from the early ‘90s.

But sometimes, it is a definite OK in my house to enjoy a special treat.  When I open the freezer, the kiddies start to jump up and down in and around my feet.  Watching them perform the ‘happy dance’, clap their hands and screech ‘yeeaaahhhh!!!!’ is definitely worth eating the ‘forbidden fruit’ and its 8 grams of unrelenting fat and delectable creaminess.