Dairy Free "Ice Cream"

Having a kid with a milk allergy means that ice cream on a hot day can become a problem. Fortunately, there are a number of non-dairy options, but many tend to be expensive.

Here's a recipe that we love for a dairy-free treat.

Dairy Free 'Ice Cream'

3 large bananas, frozen
1/3 cup of soy milk
2 tablespoons peanut butter powder
1 tablespoon blue agave sweetener

Combine all ingredients in a robust blender and blend until smooth. Will have a thick consistency, much like ice cream.



We use the following products:

Bright Beginnings

It has been a while...sorry. Just wanted to tell you about a new product we are using.

Bright Beginnings is a soy based pediatric drink similar to pediasure. It acts as a fabulous supplement for allergy kids (those who tolerate soy, of course). Allergy Kid drinks about four cans a day in addition to his solid food. Since he started using it, he has finally started to gain weight at levels comparable to when he was still nursing.

Bright Beginnings is not available in stores (at least not around here), and is somewhat pricey. However, it is WIC eligible, though you may need a prescription to get it through WIC.

Also--this should NOT be used as a formula replacement unless approved by your pediatrician first.

Blueberry Muffin Mix

I wanted to share with you another muffin mix that we've been using for Allergy Kid. This one is a Blueberry Muffin Mix from the Chelsea Milling Company and sold under the brandname "Jiffy". This mix works well for us--the only listed potential allergen is wheat, but it does contain artificial flavors, so be careful.

This mix needs eggs and milk--we use soy milk and just skip the eggs. The muffins cook up just fine and Allergy Kid loves them. The other upside to these mixes is that we can get them at Albertsons on sale for like $0.69 a box. A lot cheaper than some of the other mixes that we've found.

Try this one and let us know what you think.

-Allergy Dad

Chocolate Chip Muffins

My wife's cousin gave us a box of Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix a couple of weeks ago. We finally tried it, and boy does Allergy Kid love them!

The mix is from Cherrybrook Kitchen and states on the box that it is peanut, dairy, egg, and nut free. We add soy milk (you can use rice or regular milk depending on allergies) and canola oil (you can use a soy margarine or any type of oil) to make the mix. We found the mix at our local Good Earth store. They are a little expensive--nearly $5.00 a box, but since Allergy Kid loves them so much we got more. We also bought a box of Cherrybrook Kitchen's pancake mix to try out as well. We will let you know as soon as we try it.

-Allergy Dad