Gluten Free Eggnog Cookies are a delicious treat for the holidays and for Santa! This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.
I love creating Christmas cookies with my Little Miss for the holidays. The hardest part isn't the baking... it's keeping her from eating them all!
She just recently tried eggnog for the first time. Her first taste was of my dairy free nog. Then when I told her our friends at Horizon wanted us to come up with a fun holiday recipe, she was delighted to discover they made eggnog for her dairy loving heart. So, we gave it a go and made these yummy Gluten Free Eggnog Cookies.
Gluten Free Macaroni Monster Eyes: An Easy to Make & Fun Treat for Kids for Halloween
This post is sponsored by #HorizonOrganic. All opinions are my own. Read the full disclosure here.
One of the reasons I love Halloween so much is getting to create fun and ghoulish treats!
The main goal of my posts has always been to focus on the can-haves instead of the cannots, by creating smiles and fun with food. It's something I've done for my own Little Miss since she was first diagnosed with food allergies and later a gluten intolerance.
Being a typical child, one of her favorite foods is macaroni and cheese. So, I wanted to create a fun bite sized treat that I could pack her for lunch or even serve up at a Halloween party as a delicious bite.
These Baked Gluten Free Macaroni Monster Eyes are easy to make and your kiddos will smile and laugh as they pick them up to eat! All you need is one box of Horizon Organic Gluten Free White Cheddar Cheesy Mac, shredded cheese, and sliced olives.
Gluten Free & Top 8 Allergen Free "Cupcakes for Two" Recipe + Baking Chocolate Snack Packs Giveaway!
This post is sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods. All opinions are my own. Read full disclosure here.
Anyone who has tried Enjoy Life Foods #1 Selling Allergy-Friendly Baking Chocolate knows it's hard to resist not eating them straight from the bag.
That's why their new Baking Chocolate Snack Packs are perfect for those chocolate cravings. Throw them in your purse, pack them for lunch, or bake up something delicious. Like my "Cupcakes for Two" recipe that is gluten free & top 8 allergen free. Just grab one Snack Pack and follow my easy steps!
{Giveaway} Make sure you enter below for a chance to win some for yourself!
Terra's Kitchen: Dinner Delivered! Meal Delivery Service offering Gluten Free, Paleo, & Vegetarian Options.
This post is sponsored by Terra's Kitchen. Read my full disclosure statement here.
To my surprise, Terra's Kitchen Meal-Kit Service has a great selection of Gluten Free, Paleo (grain free, legume free, dairy free, starch free), and/or Vegetarian options. It also gives you a quick glance of what allergen each recipe contains. This mom loves that! It also utilizes organic and non-GMO ingredients, when possible.
What exactly is a Meal-Kit Service? It's Dinner Delivered! You choose the recipes you want, they do the chopping/ prepping, and it's delivered right to your doorstep in a climate-controlled vessel! Then, you get to enjoy a delicious meal in 30 minutes or less.
SunButter & Jelly French Toast Sandwiches are a fun treat for kids for breakfast or lunches! This recipe is allergen-friendly & egg-free, depending on the brand of bread you use.
Making french toast for breakfast is always a fun change-up in our household. We are typically a pancake or eggs kind of family.
However, I always challenge myself to make things as allergen-friendly (and gluten free) as possible when I'm working on new recipes or ideas to share here.
Years ago, I was playing around with my own recipe for egg-free/ dairy-free apple cinnamon french toast. I decided to circle back around and find a way to amp that up + make a fun recipe that could be used for both breakfast or lunches!
Over the years I have followed amazing gluten free and food allergy free-from blogs. Some of the authors have even become personal friends.
I look at their recipes. I drool. I want to make them. But I don't. And it's meant to no offense to them.
Sometimes they contain a nut based flour. Or sometimes a flour that can't be purchased locally. Or more often than not, it's a flour blend where I have to literally go out and buy six bags of different flours just to create a special blend they want for the recipe.
I understand that it's what makes it "just perfect". But, for me, it's just not happening.
If I can't make it with an all-purpose flour, then I'm not going to bother. I just don't have the money or pantry space to invest in the others. It's also sometimes difficult to find top 8 free alternative flours that are needed for those special blends. Many contain CC warnings.
Thus why I started testing this Sandwich Thin recipe to begin with. I wanted it to be easy. I wanted it to use a gluten free AP flour, I wanted it to be top 8 allergen free, and I wanted it to be something geared towards my readers - something you could use in the lunch box, of course!
This post is sponsored by Horizon Organic. All opinions are my own. Read our full disclosure statement by clicking here.
One of the most popular questions I receive is "how do I pack hot foods for school lunches?"
We are fortunate that Little Miss has access to a microwave at lunch time, but some foods pack better in a Thermos instead of reheating that way. It's also not the case for all our readers, so even though I try to answer this question as it comes up... it's important to also take the time to share about it on blog.
One of her favorite hot lunch items that I pack for her macaroni & cheese. I'm thankful I can easily whip her up a box of Horizon Organic Gluten Free Cheesy Mac to satisfy her cravings.
This post is sponsored by SunButter Sunflower Butter. All opinions are my own. Read our full disclosure here.
It's that time of year again... back to school! Time to get those lunch boxes ready.
Little Miss started a school that follows a "balanced calendar" - meaning, she is on an almost "all year school" calendar and school began back on July 18th. Crazy, but it's let her start developing friendships right away, which is great.
I'm always looking for simple lunchbox ideas and recipes that allow me to pack in protein and yummy allergy friendly ingredients she can enjoy at school. Just like these SunButter Spice Bars. They're gluten free and top 8 allergen free.
A while back I shared my yummy gluten free, dairy free, nut free {Baked} Popcorn Shrimp recipe on our Snapchat page.
Thankfully, I was able to capture the video onto my YouTube channel so I could share it with those of you currently not on Snapchat. (Which you should be, by the way. So fun and so addictive!)
Ninja provided me with their new Coffee Bar system for my honest review:
I am a coffee addict.
When I'm traveling for work or even at home, I could drink coffee all day long. The fella thinks I'm crazy, but even in the evenings, I find a warm cup relaxing. In fact, I'm sipping on a cup right now.
Buying "fancy coffees" away from home can get expensive, so I'm thankful for delicious homemade recipes to create them myself like my Homemade Dairy Free Mocha Coffee recipe (below)!
And thanks to the new Ninja Coffee Bar System, I have the best coffeehouse in town, right on my counter!
There are a number of recipes I've made so frequently over the years that I no longer measure them. Just get out the bowl and start eyeballing the ingredients needed.
Our Allergy Friendly {No Bake} SunButter Energy Ball Bites are one of those recipes.
Each time I share about them or pack them in a lunch I post on Facebook or Instagram, I get messages or comments asking for the recipe. And each time I tell myself, "Next time I'll measure!" ... but I never do.
WELL, I FINALLY DID! While Snapchatting last night about dinner and knowing I needed to make more of these bites, I made sure to measure so I could *finally* share them here.
They're gluten free and top 8 allergen free (that means they're nut free and great for school snacks)!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Udi's Gluten Free. The opinions and text are all mine.
I love baking muffins!
They're great for grab & go breakfasts or throwing in the lunch box for a nice change up.
One of my favorite combinations is banana & blueberries. I admit that before I stopped eating gluten, I would regularly get my Starbucks on my drive to work + a blueberry muffin. So expensive and so unhealthy... but they were so delicious!
So making muffin recipes of my own now, that are gluten free & allergy friendly, are something I love to create and do! And Little Miss loves to help.
My daughter loves when I make homemade meatballs. We eat them for supper with gluten free spaghetti and then pack the leftovers for lunches with marinara for dipping.
It had been a while since I've made Meatball Subs at home but was inspired to make a cute mini version when I purchased my last package of Udi's Gluten Free French Dinner Rolls! The rolls are not only gluten free but dairy, soy, and nut free too.
These Mini GF Baked Meatball Subs are perfect for parties, dinner, or packed for work and school lunch:
Since my daughter had to give up gluten over three years ago, our breakfast options have changed dramatically.
Gone are some of her old cereal favorites. No more of those warm cinnamon rolls that come from a tube. Said goodbye to store bought donuts and muffins too.
We make a lot of homemade gluten free & allergy friendly muffins, pancakes, and oatmeal now. And that's okay!
I'm thankful on mornings we're in a rush and need a "quick fix", however, for items from Udi's Gluten Free! Items like their Mighty Bagels, Cinnamon Rolls, and their new Breakfast Burritos.
Still, my Little Miss loves having a hand in making foods with me and Gluten Free Breakfast Pizza is one way we can keep things simple and fun - even in the mornings!
My mother has never been a big fan of pizza.
As a child, you could eat it every day. Who am I kidding, as an adult I could too. So, whenever we craved it she would most often opt for something else. There was one flavor, however, that she would make an exception for: Hawaiian Pizza.
In our family of five, I was the only other one who would eat it with her. I obsessed over loved pineapple growing up, so the idea of it being on a pizza I found both odd and delicious.
Fast forward to my adulthood, Hawaiian Pizza is something I don't have often. I can't say it is something the fella would ever want to order and Little Miss is still on the fence when it comes to Pineapple (except when baked in a cake). So, to get my fix, I make my own personal {gluten free} Hawaiian Pizza Quesadillas thanks to Udi's Gluten Free tortillas!
But I warn you... these taste better than the actual pizza!
Last week on our Facebook page, I asked everyone what their tips & tricks were for getting more fiber into their family's diet.
It can be tricky when eating gluten free to ensure you're getting enough. Especially with kids -- Veggies aren't exactly the first thing they reach for in the fridge for a snack.
I'm thankful my Little Miss does a good job eating her vegetables, but that doesn't mean I don't still worry about getting her a good balance of insoluble & soluble fibers (beside the other nutritional values).
I love making baked goods packed with Fiber and Omegas! Like these Zucchini Oat & Flax Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're Gluten Free & Top 8 Allergen Free. Little Miss said they were the "best cookies you've ever made"! Seriously.
I've had the privilege of getting to know Chandice Probst from Gluten Free Frenzy over the past couple years.
She's a (gorgeous!!) amazing mother of three children. Not only does she run the successful website Gluten Free Frenzy, mentioned above, she's also the founder of Gluten Free Calendar.
She's an amazing educator and advocate in the Celiac & Gluten Free community. And now... an author!
Her new book, Gluten-Free on a Budget, was authored with her mother,Tana Besendorfer.
This book needs to become everyone's go-to guide! Whether you're a veteran to gluten free living or want to gift something to a friend who's struggling with a new diagnosis, this is a wonderful resource! Recipes, tips, tricks, shopping guides, measurement equivalents, and more!
There are some items I am admittedly addicted to...
Crunchy Chips
Pickles
(Handfuls of) Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
Coffee
... and SunButter mixed with Apple Butter.
I eat SunButter & apple butter on gluten free toast almost regularly. I even make it into a quesadilla for lunches! When it's warmed, it's soooo ooey-gooey delicious. Seriously.
Not a fan of apple butter? That's okay. You can make this recipe with any of your favorite jams or jellies. Heck, Little Miss thought it would be amazing with SunButter and chocolate chips even. She's right - but as you read above, I like to eat handfuls of them... every night... so we were out. Oops. ;) *add more to grocery list, again*
Once those temperatures drop and the leaves start to change, there's a new feeling in the air... a crisp, fresh start to each day.
I can't think of anything else other than baking.
And not just any baking... it has to involve apples, pumpkin, and warm spices.
Thankfully, my little sous chef agrees.
We usually set aside time on the weekends to head into the kitchen and start mixing and creating. This recipe was from one of those weekend adventures.
Gluten free and free from the Top 8 most common allergens, these allergy friendly delights are sure to warm your belly and your home with their delicious smells and taste!
Pinterest scrolling always turns up interesting finds... like this one: "Gluten Free Bread in Seconds".
It's for a microwave, instant gluten free bread (that can also be made dairy free, as well as, nut & soy free). I was curious... so I gave it a try!
The result... I'll explain more below, but I'd really call this a "Gluten Free Pancake in Seconds" rather than "Bread" since that's more the texture and consistency. Either way, fun to try in a pinch.
