Allergy-Friendly Food for Families {Review & Giveaway}

Jul 17, 2012


*Giveaway has ENDED*

As a Moms Meet Mom Ambassador for Kiwi Magazine, I get the occasional opportunity to sample and review some great natural and organic foods and family products. As a blogger, I was glad that they started their Mom Ambassador Blogger program because now I can share them with you, my reader, and my local natural moms group.

Parents who have discovered that they and/or their child have food allergies will be happy to add this kid-friendly cookbook to their collection. Allergy-Friendly Food for Families is from the editors of Kiwi Magazine and has 120 gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and soy-free recipes.

My first impression of the cookbook is that it is a good-quality book. Beautiful, full-color pictures printed on thick, sturdy pages in an easy-to-hold 9" x 8" size. It starts out with a brief explanation of food allergies (not sensitivities or intolerances) and a few expert-answered questions. At the back of Allergy-Friendly Food for Families, you'll find a list of products to stock your allergy-free pantry and two recipe indexes, one alphabetical and one by allergen. A special treat waits for you on the last page - a mail-in form for a free one-year (six issue) subscription to Kiwi Magazine!

The recipe section is the bulk of the book, of course, and is broken down into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, Snacks and Parties, each having its own recipe index with an allergy-free key to help you find the right recipe. In addition, there are color-coded "tabs" on the edges of every page to tell you which allergens that specific recipe is free of. These are very helpful as you are flipping through. Sprinkled throughout are pages with ideas for cooking with kids and special tips. One possible negative is that there are not pictures for most recipes. For example, in the Breakfast section, there are 22 recipes and only five with pictures. Personally, I don't have an issue with it, but some might. 

You're ready to hear about the recipes now, right? Of course, if you have already been cooking for someone with food allergies, you will be familiar with some or most of the ingredients used. Considering that most allergy-causing foods are also the most commonly consumed, like wheat, eggs, and dairy, it is not surprising that their substitutes may be less common. Some of the recipes call for specialty items, like tofu, rice milk, chickpea flour, tahini, or soy-free, non-hydrogenated margarine, but the majority use ingredients found in most grocery stores. 

Here is a sampling of recipes:
  • Quinoa Maple Crunch
  • Fresh Almond or Rice Milk
  • Sweet Summer Corn Salad
  • Barbecue Chicken Salad
  • Tofu-Stuffed Shells
  • Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Lentils
  • Easy Lemon Chicken
  • Coconut No-Cream Pie
  • Cherry Chocolate Sorbet
  • Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa
  • Raw Summer Peach Tart
  • Gluten-Free Pie Crust
  • Pear Dunkers with Cashew-Cinnamon Yogurt Sauce
  • Chickpea Herb Crackers
  • Fruity Guac
  • Green Monster Dip with Carrot Coins
  • Black Bean Brownie Bites

You'll find more recipes, articles and tips at their companion website, Allergy-Friendly Cooking.

To purchase your own copy now, click HERE. If you would like to try to win a free copy, enter my giveaway below! *Giveaway ended.*


Open to U.S. residents, 18 and older. Ends at midnight on Sunday, July 22, 2012. Raising Knights is not responsible for delivery of prize; it will be sent directly from the company.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I was provided with a free copy of the cookbook for myself and Kiwi Magazine will be providing another copy to the contest winner. 

Green Awesomeness {AKA Pasta, Pesto and Peas}

Jul 1, 2012

Ina Garten's Pasta, Pesto and Peas
"Green Awesomeness" is the name given to this dish by our 10 year old neighbor. It is Ina Garten's Pasta, Pesto and Peas. Although her name is an accurate description of the dish, I like his name better, don't you?

This is the perfect summer picnic or potluck dish, as it's a nice change from the usual pasta salads. We had it for a simple dinner and the boys weren't complaining, that's for sure. Even my pea-hater ate it and just quietly pushed the peas to the side. It's not lacking in flavor (or calories, I'm sure) due to the pesto, Parmesan, spinach, lemon juice, and mayo. 

Needless to say, this one will be added to the recipe box. The changes I made were to use a 16 oz. box of mini bow tie pasta, fresh baby spinach instead of frozen, jarred pesto instead of homemade (the original recipe includes a pesto recipe), less than half of the mayonnaise, and omit the pine nuts. Oh, and I totally forgot to toss the pasta with extra virgin olive oil. If you wanted to make a more substantial meal with it, you could easily add cooked chicken.

With two of my big guys gone right now, we had plenty left over. I suppose you know what I'll be having for lunch tomorrow.  

Toddler "I Did It" Book

Jun 18, 2012



Sticker charts are an awesome motivator for little ones. We have used them to encourage potty training, hygiene habits, sleeping in own bed, good attitudes and behavior. Usually, I just place a sheet of colored paper on the fridge or other appropriate place and write the child's name on top or print off one of the countless free charts from here. Lately, I have been working on several habits with M2. I thought it would be easier for me and more fun for M2 if he had one place for all of his stickers and to be able to carry it around if he wanted.

It took less than thirty minutes to put together this simple paper book. As a matter of fact, it's so easy that a child can do it. That being said, I'm not giving you any instructions. Now, you can get all fancy if you want, but I know what the eventual fate of this book will be. It is just a temporary tool to help establish a few habits. 


I used Microsoft Word to create the cover and page labels. Do2Learn has a lot of printable clipart for making visual charts for children, especially those with special needs. I also used their clipart to make morning and evening routine charts for the hobbits. 

All you need is:






Homeschool Planning 2012

Jun 9, 2012

Busy bee... That's me! I am trying to do way too many things at once, right now. Getting ready for a yard sale. Sorting through and reorganizing our homeschool books and records. Researching, purchasing, and planning for our upcoming homeschool year for four boys. I'll have one son finishing school and another one beginning this year!

Surprisingly, I'm very excited about our school this year. We are going to be using Galloping the Globe for Isaac (3rd) and Levi (K), while adding in some unit studies and Five in a Row. Thankfully, Jolanthe, at Homeschool Creations, has shared her plans and printables from their world geography study and made life planning a little easier for me. Of course, we have several Usborne Books to supplement our studies, like Usborne's IL Encyclopedia of World Geography, Usborne Book of Peoples of the World, and Usborne Flags Sticker Book.

The other curriculum we are looking forward to is Exploring Creation with Astronomy. We are going to have a mini co-op class in our home with a couple of other families with boys close in age to Isaac. To say Isaac is excited would be an understatement. He keeps asking when we will be starting. Hopefully, his enthusiasm won't fade before August.

We are also going to try Singapore Math for Isaac, after using JUMP Math last semester. JUMP Math is great for children who are not strong in math or get stuck and need a step-by-step break down of math concepts. It was very helpful in getting Noah past his math road-block.

Speaking of Noah, I am still unsure of what all we're doing for his 8th grade year, other than Easy Grammar and Apologia General Science. So, I'll post about that another time.

Mason will have a fairly heavy senior year, as he needs to fill in a few gaps and catch up on his reading list. His courses will include Lifepac Civics, Art History & Appreciation {unit study}, Around the World in 180 Days {world geography}, Jensen's Format Writing, and maybe Jacobs' Geometry. He will also be using Chemistry 101 since he is not planning on attending a four-year college. He is leaning very heavily toward a technical school for auto mechanics. Mason has spent more than enough hours earning a credit for an elective auto mechanics course. Papa Bear and I are so proud of how much he has learned on his own through reading, researching online, talking to local experts, and his own blood, sweat and tears poured into his car.

How is your planning going? What are you using in your homeschool in the fall?




Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through any of them, I will receive compensation. 

Free eBooks

Jun 5, 2012

 6/7/12 - Sorry, they are back to regular price now! 


Here are a couple of free eBooks for you or as a Father's Day gift. 


That's My Teenage Son by Rick Johnson



What a Son Needs From His Dad by Michael A. O'Donnell
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