Ian's Foods

Ian's is a wonderful company that I have blogged about before. I wanted to let you know about a change at Ian's. They have discontinued their Super Fit Kids program. But don't despair if you have a stack of points laying around that you have cut off boxes - you can turn them in for coupons for free products - and at a much better rate than before.

From their website -

Being a healthy kid, adult, or food brand means making changes and new decisions, and there are some exciting changes going on here at Ian’s that we want to share with you.

You may already have noticed on our packages, email newsletters and our Facebook page that we’ve been focusing more on helping kids with food allergies find safe and healthy things to eat. We have a new mission here at Ian’s –to be the leading provider of high-quality, all-natural, allergy-friendly foods that you can trust.

As we focus on allergy-friendly foods, we’re going to be saying goodbye to the I’m A SuperFit Kid program. We still want to thank you for being a loyal customer, so we will continue offering the Free Ian’s Item coupons, redeemable with either 45 SuperFit Kid points, or 15 UPC codes from any packages of Ian’s products.

To redeem your points or UPC codes for free Ian’s item coupons, please send your name, address, and points or UPCs to:

I’m a SuperFit Kid
c/o Ian’s Natural Foods
190 Fountain Street
Framingham, MA 01843

Have fun and stay healthy!

If you haven't checked out their website, you should. They make it so easy to search for products that fit your allergy needs. My freezer is always stocked with their chicken nuggets and fish sticks. When I search on their website for gluten and casein free, 16 products come up. 16 products that I know are safe for my child. Feels really good.

My only complaint - that my local Super Target has stopped carrying their products again. I complained last time and they got them back after a few months. I'm hoping for a similar response from Target again this time.

What is your favorite Ian's food?

Ian's Mac and No Cheese

I was doing my regular grocery shopping at Super Target this week and I reached into the freezer case to get an Ian's Allergen Free Fish Stick and an Ian's Allergen Free Chicken Nuggets and what did I see right next to them but this mac and no cheese. I forgot to take a picture so I nabbed this pic off their website.

Andy was with me and begged me to buy it. It looks just like the real stuff and was easy to prepare in the microwave. Andy ate it right down - he loved it. I tasted it and it was *okay* but I wasn't buying it for me, I was buying it for him.

I love that Ian's really seems to be adding to their allergen free line of items. While I still prefer making food from scratch, it is so nice to have options.

I also love that my Super Target carries many of them. My primary grocery store is still my local food co-op (Mississippi Market) but Super Target is so much cheaper on some items - Ian's being one of them.

Ian's also seems to be putting out a lot more coupons lately. You can usually find printable ones on the internet. It all helps when raising a gfcf kid.

And if you buy a lot of Ian's foods, don't forget to save the points and let your kids redeem them for fun things. You can also get points for doing all kinds of things - check out their website for more information.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I made the most wonderful soup for dinner tonight. I'm so sorry I didn't take a picture of it - you will just have to believe me that it looked as wonderful as it tasted.

Here is the recipe:

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

3 large leeks, cut lengthwise, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons margarine
2 cups water
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dash of Marjoram
Dash of Tabasco Sauce

1. Melt margarine in medium sauce pan. Add leeks, cover pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

2. Add water, broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. I also added the salt and pepper at this time - about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper was right for me.

3. Use a hand blender to puree (or transfer to a blender).

4. Add the marjoram and tabasco sauce.

Serves 6

Say Cheez by Namaste Foods

We've been trying a lot of new foods lately. The selection of gluten free foods out there really has expanded since we started this diet 6 years ago. Shortly after we went gfcf 6 years ago, I gave up trying to find anything with cheese. Nothing tasted good. Andy really loved mac and cheese before gfcf and I was disappointed not to find a good substitute for him. Now he doesn't even remember ever eating mac and cheese.

My food co-op had a special last month on Say Cheez by Namaste Foods and I had a coupon so I bought a package. Wow, was it a hit. I have now bought it two more times. Andy devours it like I remember him devouring mac and cheese. Is it the rich and creamy mac and cheese that I used to bake in the oven for hours? No and not even close. But it is not a bad imitation of boxed mac and cheese.

Here is a picture of the product - it is in a brown bag - so you know what to look for in the store.

And here are the contents of the bag.

And here is the finished product.

It went wonderfully with grilled Al Fresco sausages!

And Andy ate all the leftovers today for lunch!

If you are not familar with Namaste Foods, be sure and to check out their website for more information. They specialize in foods that are free of gluten, wheat, potato, soy, corn, dairy, tree nuts, peanuts and casein. So if you have multiple food allergies, this is a great company to be aware of.

New GFCF Chicken Nuggets!

Coming home and finding boxes on our doorstep is no big deal in our household. UPS brings me packages for work almost daily. But whenever there is one that doesn't have my company's return address on it, Andy gets excited and wants to know right away what is in it. Yesterday we got just such a box and he was right to be excited!

When we opened it, we found treasures inside:
It was from Applegate Farms. Not only did it contain 2 boxes of their new gluten free (and casein free) chicken nuggets, it also had DRY ICE! I really should have taken a picture of Andy playing with the dry ice - that provided over an hour of fun. I should mention that you should never let small children play with dry ice and even with older kids like Andy, you need to supervise them and make sure they know the dangers of dry ice.

We have been struggling to find a great tasting chicken nugget. We used to buy the Wellshire Kids/Garrett County Farms (Wellshire Kids brand is now used only at Whole Foods and Garrett County elsewhere). We used to buy a lot of their products. But ever since the Chicago Tribune exposed that their dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets tested high for gluten, we have crossed them off our list.

We love Ian's products. Andy especially loves their allergen free fish sticks. But he isn't a fan of their chicken nuggets. He reluctantly accepts them in his thermos in his lunch box and eats them, but he doesn't love them like he did the dinosaur ones.

So, I was excited to learn that Applegate Farms had come out with a gluten free chicken nugget. We LOVE Applegate Farm's products. Their chicken hot dogs are what I use to make my wonderful mini corn dogs. Applegate Farms is really a great all around company. I'm not going to bore you with all the details, you can go to their website and read all about it http://www.applegatefarms.com/ (and while you are there, read all about the future of our school lunches).

What I am going to tell you about is how great tasting these new nuggets were. I made one box of them for dinner last night and Andy was begging for more. Even Dan and I enjoyed the taste. They have a wonderful taste and texture. Andy likes that they are soft. Try them. They get two thumbs up from all 3 of us.

Sloppy Joes

Andy has been watching commercials on TV for manwich and thinking they looked pretty darn good. He asked me to check and see if they were gluten free.

So I picked up a can the next time I was in the grocery store to read the label and these are the ingredients I found: Tomato Puree , Water , Tomato Paste , High Fructose Corn Syrup , Corn Syrup , Salt - Less than 2% , Sugar - Less than 2% , Dehydrated Onions - Less than 2% , Dehydrated Red and Green Bell Peppers - Less than 2% , Chile Pepper - Less than 2% , Tomato Fiber - Less than 2% , Spices - Less than 2% , Guar Gum - Less than 2% , Xanthan Gum - Less than 2% , Dehydrated Garlic - Less than 2% , Carob Bean Gum - Less than 2% , Natural Flavors - Less than 2%.

I don't really see anything there that screams gluten to me, but it could be hiding in the natural flavors. More concerning to me was the high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. We have now totally cut the high fructose corn syrup from our diet and I really don't see any reason to buy this product. I do remember loving sloppy joes as a kid though so I thought I would see if I could create a dish as good but without the yucky ingredients.



Here is my creation in the skillet - it smelled so good!


And here it is sandwiched between two pieces of gluten free toast.


And here is Andy with a clean plate and a satisfied look on his face after eating them.

It really didn't take much longer to make than opening a can and it was so yummy!

Here is the recipe:

Sloppy Joes
1.25 lbs ground turkey (I used 83% lean)
1 medium onion, chopped (about ¾ cup)
1 bell pepper, chopped (about ½ cup)
¾ cup catsup (I use organic with no high fructose corn syrup)
3 teaspoons raw sugar
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1. Cook ground turkey over medium heat until done.
2. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until onion is translucent.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Serve over bread.



Here are the nutrition facts for it - for a serving size I put 4 servings - which was about 2 sandwiches each.

And for comparison, here is the nutriton facts for manwich made with the same amount of ground turkey - 1 can of manwich and also 4 servings.

These nutrition facts do not include the bread. Mine does contain 20 more calories per serving, and less iron, but it has more vitamin C which is so important this time of the year. Otherwise it is pretty comparable.

More school lunches

Thermos contains baked beans with cut up hotdogs. We also have rice chips, grapes, carrot sticks and a juice box.


Thermos contains homemade mini corn dogs. We also have ketchup, rice chips, edamame, apple slices and a juice box.

I don't intend to be sending juice every day - but I have a bunch of juice boxes I want to use up.

School lunch day 2

The thermos has chicken nuggets and the jar on top of the thermos has catsup. Also included are rice chips, cucumber slices and grapes. And I see there is no beverage so I guess I am heading down to the school right now to slip one in before lunch! For snack today he took a nectarine.

Back to School

Today was Andy's first day back at school - hard to believe he is in the 3rd grade already!
Here is what he took in his lunch box today - juice, carrot sticks, a turkey sandwich, rice chips and a nectarine. Now I know he probably won't have time to eat all of that, but I want him to have it available in case he is really hungry and does have time. For snack time he took a rice bar from EnviroKidz.

Spring is time for fresh salads!

Here are some recipes to make your own salad dressings to enjoy the fresh lettuce that is starting to show up in the stores. Remember that while making dressing from scratch is a great way to avoid high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors as well as gluten and casein, they also will not have any preservatives and won't last as long.

Here are my three favorite recipes -

Thousand Island Salad Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Canola Mayo)
1/3 cup ketchup (I use organic)
2 tablespoons vinegar (I use Bragg’s apple cider vinegar)
4 teaspoons organic raw sugar (optional)
¼ cup sweet pickle relish (I use my own home canned)
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 hard cooked egg, chopped into very small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. Chill well.
Makes 2 cups

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
¾ cup organic raw sugar
¾ cup salad oil (I use olive oil)
¾ cup vinegar (I use Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 to 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Combine all ingredients together in a glass jar. Shake well. Refrigerate. Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups dressing.

GFCF Ranch Salad Dressing or Dip
1 cup firm silken tofu
¼ cup mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Canola Mayo)
2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)
4 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh dill weed
¼ teaspoon saltpinch of garlic powder
Blend in a blender until smooth and creamy. Chill.
Made as directed it is thick enough for a dip – if you prefer thinner for a salad dressing, thin with non dairy milk.

A new name for a familar product

Wellshire Farms and Wellshire Kids products are now Garrett County at all stores except Whole Foods. Whole Foods is continuing to use the Wellshire name.


Here are what the chicken bites look like now in the new packaging. The product is the same, the name is all that has changed.

Struggling to help my child learn to make smart food choices

Life was so much easier when Andy was smaller. I just sent all of his food to daycare and he was watched like a hawk and never touched food that wasn't sent from home.

I still send all of his food from home, but trading parts of lunches is a big part of the social structure of second grade. I love that he has friends to trade foods with. I just want him to make the best food choices he can. After all, I want him to grow into an adult that can do just that.

Yesterday there was a false alarm at school. He had a tummy ache in the afternoon so after he used the bathroom he went to the school nurse and told her he thought it might be something he ate. He has yet to understand that sometimes we just get tummy aches and they have nothing to do with "special diets" - but when you have celiac, it is a good place to start.

So the nurse called me and we discussed everything he had eaten that had not come from home. Grace gave him her fruit cocktail and Sylvester shared a few potato chips. The potato chips were suspect - Andy had gotten some Pringles (not gfcf) from the same boy a month ago. So we questioned him and he had made sure they were not the "red can" kind and they were plain so he made some good choices in deciding whether they were safe - since most plain chips (except Pringles) are okay. A quick call to Sylvester's grandma confirmed that they were indeed okay (they were Lay's).

So, I think we are doing okay in this. I don't want to tell him not to trade foods - I want him to be able to enjoy lunch. Luckily we are not dealing with a severe food allergy that can kill him immediately. I know the gluten can still cause a lot of harm and I would rather he never make a bad food choice and get glutenized (is that a word?) but truthfully a tummy ache or two may make him learn to manage his food choices wisely.

Now, I just need to convince him that while we still want to investigate all tummy aches - that if we don't find a clear cause, it is okay to just let it go - it may have been nothing.

Carrot Ginger Soup with Cashew Cream

This is another recipe from Rebecca Katz, author, One Bite at a Time, (Celestial Arts, 2004)

I made it exactly as she wrote it out except that I used a hand blender and did the blending right in the pot instead of transferring to a blender. It was so yummy. We are big carrot eaters in our house so I was pretty sure it would be a hit with all of us and it was.



Carrot Ginger Soup with Cashew Cream

Yields 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

3 pounds carrots (about 16) wash, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 to 2 ½ quarts cold water
1 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1 small pinch of red chili pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon maple syrup

Cashew Cream Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of nutmeg

Soup Procedure

In a 6 to 8 quart pot add carrots and water. Cover and bring to boil over medium high heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, decrease heat to medium low. Cook until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserve cooking liquid and carrots in two bowls.

In the same pot heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions with a pinch of salt, sauté until they are golden. Add in ginger, curry, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, and red chili pepper flakes, stir to combine. Deglaze the pan with one cup of carrot cooking liquid. Return carrots to pan, mix well to coat with onions and spices.

In a blender, puree mixture in batches adding cooking liquid first and then the carrots, blend until very smooth. Remember not to fill the blender more than 2/3 full! Add additional liquid to reach desired thickness. Return to pot, add maple syrup, and reheat slowly.

Think FASS and taste. Does it need a squeeze of lemon or a pinch or two of salt or a drizzle of maple syrup to round out the flavor?

Cashew Cream

Grind cashews in a mini food processor or nut grinder first. Some blenders are not powerful enough to turn nuts into cream so we give it a head start. If you have a Vita-mix skip this step.

Put water in the blender; add ground cashews, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg. Blend until very very smooth, about 3 minutes. Drizzle a teaspoon of cashew cream on top of each bowl before serving.

Copy write Rebecca Katz, 2004.

Hansen's Organic Juice Slam

I try to limit the amount of juice we drink - but these are nice for the lunch box. They come in several flavors and are all organic and 100% juice - and they don't look too different from what the other kids are drinking.

Applegate Farms Uncured Chicken Hot Dogs

Sorry about the bad picture - I really have to get a better camera. These are the current hot dogs that we are buying. Andy will only eat Chicken Hot Dogs - when I occasionally buy the beef, he won't eat them - I, however, like the beef variety - I think it's just that chicken the beef is a little spicier. You really want to try and avoid nitrates with your child if they are on the autism spectrum. I keep these in the freezer and just take them out and use them one at a time so they don't spoil. When I get home from the grocery store, I open the package and spread the hot dogs out on a cookie sheet so they are not touching and put them in the freezer to freeze - that way they freeze individually and you can just take one out of the freezer without chizeling one out of a package or thawing a whole package and having part of it go to waste. If you eat a whole package of hot dogs at a time, then that isn't necessary. Just make sure that once they are frozen you pack them in a freezer container - don't leave them open in the freezer or they will get freezer burn.

Ricera Rice Yogurt

Here's a yogurt for those of you who also are avoiding soy. I just picked these up and haven't tasted them yet. I only bought these 3 - following my old rule of not buying more of one (or one of each flavor) until you know if you like it. I haven't tried it yet - after we have tried it I will come back and edit this post and give you my opinion. This is the first non-soy gfcf yogurt I've seen.

Ian's Cookie Buttons

This is a new product out. Only the Crunchy Cinnamon is GFCF. They come in individual bags so they are great for lunch boxes and for snacks on the go. Andy loves them but he also thinks they look like Molly's (our dog) food (she eats Iam's mini nuggets) and so he pretends to be a dog when he eats them. They are small crunchy cookies.

Andy's bag lunch today

The sandwich is organic peanut butter with my own homemade rhubarb jam on Tom's Bread. The veggies are organic bell pepper slices and carrot slices (from my garden). The back tupperware container has cut up fruit and the front one has french dressing to dip the veggies in. And then organic grape juice.

Today's Bag Lunch

The thermos contains mini corn dogs and green beans. The bottom tupperware container is cut up fruit and the top one is catsup. And then organic grape juice. He took an organic peach for morning snack today.

Wellshire Kids Liverwurst

Andy's new favorite for sandwiches.