Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 To My Husband on Valentine's Day

I love you for being you and I love how I feel when I am with you.  You bring sunshine in my life each day. 

I am so proud and thankful for how hard you work to provide and protect our family. Catherine and I look forward to your return home from work each day with joy.

So today, Valentine's Day, I hope you know how much you are loved and appreciated.

Emily

Leaving your allergic child: Tips for parents of food allergic children

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought I would share my plan of action for leaving Catherine. My husband and I will be celebrating Valentine's Day early this year. Our childcare will be available tomorrow and I would like to avoid the huge crowds Thursday night.

Tomorrow night will be the first time My husband and I have been on a date since Catherine was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. I must say I am excited to spend time with my love alone, but I am nervous about leaving Catherine, even if it is only for a few hours.

To combat my nerves, I have put together a list of tips and advice I am sharing with our caregivers. We are lucky to have family caring for Catherine in our absence. Best of all, Gram and Aunt Bonnie are both registered nurses.

Listed below are my tips. If you have an allergic child, what advice do you have for leaving your child? Please comment and share.

Emily's Tips For Leaving Your Allergic Child

• Find a caregiver who is familiar with food allergies.
• Find a caregiver who is certified in CPR and first aid.
• Make time to explain signs of a reaction or anaphylaxix in your child to caregivers.
• Make time to demonstrate how to use an epi-pen and explain dosage for any other medications.
• Post all emergency contact information in an easy place to find.
• Prepare all food to be consumed in your absence and give specific instructions on how to warm and store. 
• To reduce incidence of cross contamination, make sure no know allergens are brought into the house by the caregiver.
• Most of all, find a caregiver who you and your child both trust.

Catherine with Aunt Bonnie

Savory Sunday:Warm Strawberry Bread

I hope you all had a blessed weekend. Today I want to share a recipe I tried this week. This strawberry bread is from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book. My family enjoyed this recipe and I hope it warms your hearts and tummies as well. It is a Valentine's-Day treat everyone can enjoy!

I did make a couple of adaptions. Instead of using all purpose flour, I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I also ended up baking my bread 10 minutes longer than recommended. I'm not sure if it was my oven, or the addition of the gluten free flour. I also added 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring. I just think all baked goods need a little vanilla.

Yield: 1 Loaf

11/2 Cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice
21/2 cups of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour mix
2 teaspoons of xanthum gum
1/12  teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan with dairy-free baking spray.

In a blender, puree the strawberries, oil, water, applesauce, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, xanthum gum, and salt with a wire whisk.  Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour the strawberry puree into the well.  Stir with a rubber spatula until combined.

Pour into prepared pan, and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

Cool completely before slicing.

Yummy strawberry bread