Feels like Summer...

...and that means the children's stomachs are a bottomless pit. At least that's how they act. So, I've begun stocking up and brainstorming again for healthy snacks for the hungry little people in this house. My goal for this summer {in the food category} is to only have healthy foods on hand for daily snacking. Of course, this dessert-loving mama will always have an emergency sweet treat on hand, but for snacking purposes we're going healthy. This should accomplish 1 of 2 things. Either they will 1) learn to eat and love healthy snacks or 2) they will not ask for a snack every 15 minutes. Either way, it works out good for me. So, this week I'm going to try to post some healthy snack ideas for summer!

Let's start the week with Strawberries!

Just get some fresh, juicy strawberries - wash them and serve them up with a little packet of Truvia {natural sweetener}. My girls love to put their own "sugar" on their berries and one packet of a natural sweetener works great. There's no guilt or 'accidental dumping of sugar' with the individual packets.

Make a yummy dairy-free Strawberry Shortcake.

Make some Strawberry Scones.

Do some fruit kabobs and serve with dairy-free whipped cream!

Or serve fresh strawberries with this Dairy-Free Chocolate Dipping Sauce {below}:

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

1 T Tofutti brand sour cream OR 1 T almond milk

Melt together in a small saucepan or in the microwave at 30 sec intervals. Serve!

Stay tuned for more healthy, but yummy treats for summer!

Holy Stromboli {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free}

I have been craving some dessert stromboli lately. My mom made this once or twice when I was growing up and I just remember it being so delicious. So, thanks to that craving I made this dairy-, egg-, and peanut-free one.

YUM! The end.

Dessert Stromboli {dairy-, egg-, peanut-free}

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough {I used the thin crust}

Smart Balance LIGHT buttery spread

Cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar {double this if you want a thicker filling!}

1 cup powdered sugar

3 T lemon juice {or more depending on how your drizzle sets up}

Pecans, chopped - {you can either find one that hasn't been around peanuts or leave this out}

Roll out your pizza dough. Spread butter all over the dough - not too thick - and sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar onto one half of the rolled-out dough. Fold the opposite side {with no sugar/cinnamon} over on top of the sugar side. Crimp or pinch the edges together so none of the good stuff leaks out! Bake at 400 degrees until top is golden brown. Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together to make a nice drizzle {not too runny} and drizzle it over the top of the baked stromboli. Sprinkle pecans on top, if you desire. Cut into thin slices. Serve warm.

Strawberry Cornmeal Scones {Dairy-free, Egg-free}

Ever since watching the Royal Wedding, I've had scones on my brain. So, I set out on a quest to find a great scone recipe and I think this version hits the spot! I've had scones only one time in my life when I visited London and that was too long ago. I found some great-looking recipes, and then I adapted some to fit what I wanted. Here you go!

Strawberry Cornmeal Scones {dairy-, egg-free}

Nonstick Cooking Spray

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

2 T granulated sugar

2 T packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 T cornstarch

1/3 cup cold Smart Balance Light butter, cut up

1/2 cup Almond milk + 1 T lemon juice {this is a substitute for buttermilk}

1/4 cup All-Fruit Strawberry Jam

Preheat oven 450. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cornstarch. Cut in butter until flour mix resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center. Pour in almond milk/lemon juice mixture. Stir with fork just until moist.

Add strawberry jam to mix. Stir gently, 3-5 turns until incorporated. Use large spoon and drop dough into 12 mounds, 1 inch apart. Bake 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden.

Drizzle a powdered sugar/lemon juice icing over the top. {1 cup powdered sugar with 2-3 tsp lemon juice} Serve warm.

Mesquite BBQ Sandwiches {Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free}

Because of my continuous posting of sweet stuff, I decided to throw in some meals that you can actually eat and receive nourishment from. I know it's hard to believe, but man cannot live by sweets alone. It's a fallen world we live in. So, we better make the most of it! This is one of my favorites. It involves one of the greatest inventions ever...the crockpot.

 

Mesquite BBQ Sandwiches {Dairy-, Egg-, Peanut-Free}

Pork Tenderloin, Mesquite flavored {any size}

Hamburger Buns {Publix brand are free of egg and dairy.}

Put your pork tenderloin in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours {You could cook on high 4-6 hours and get same results.} Pork will be falling apart perfectly. Shred and put in a bowl. Add a little {or a lot} of your favorite bbq sauce and mix until it is covered to your liking. Put on hamburger buns. Serve with Black Beans and Chips & Salsa. {See below for recipes}

 

Southwest Black Beans {allergy-free}

2 cans Bush's Seasoned Black Beans, drained {and I rinse mine, but it's not necessary}

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 T red wine vinegar

ground cumin

chili powder

salt

freshly ground pepper

Put beans in sauce pan, add brown sugar, vinegar, cumin and chili powder. Heat through, stirring often. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add more vinegar as needed. I usually add more near the end. Make sure beans are cooked until tender. Serve.

Homemade Salsa & Chips

1 can Rotel, drained 10 oz.

1 can Hunts Whole Tomatoes, drained 28 oz.

2-3 green onions, cut up

handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

jalepeno, sliced & deseeded, then chopped {use as many as you like...I use only 1}

red wine vinegar to taste {or lime juice instead}

chili powder

salt

Put all ingredients in food processor. Pulse until you get the desired texture. Serve with tortilla chips.

Convenient Breads {Dairy-free, Egg-free}

I thought I'd let you in on a few of my favorite bread items that can be made quickly and/or conveniently with little to no work involved. When we discovered my daughter's food allergies to milk, egg and peanuts, I immediately realized that most baked goods were out of the question. I began looking for convenient foods that were possibly dairy- and egg-free, but thought I would never find them. Well, to my great surprise, I found out that most of the Pillsbury refrigerated doughs fall into that category!

Some that I use frequently are:

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - you can do anything with these! Make rolls, stuffed sandwiches, sandwich braids, roll out the dough, pinch the seams and use it for any kind of base for pizza, pies, tarts, etc. The possibilities are endless! {The rolls do contain wheat.}

Pillsbury Pizza Dough - besides the obvious choice of using it for pizza dough, it can be used to make stromboli, cinnamon rolls, pizza rolls, etc. etc. Use your imagination. It's great for a variety of quick fixes. Think appetizers, etc. {Contains wheat}

Pillsbury Pie Crust - read the labels to make sure, but I've used this before for making pastries and pies. Yum. And so easy. Use your own allergy-free fillings and you can make tons of delectable pastries to suit your allergy-free needs.

Pillsbury French Bread Loaf - yes, they really have thought of everything. It's hard to find a good already baked french bread that is allergy-free, but this loaf tastes better than store-bought. It's hot and fresh with just a touch of crunch on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside. SO GOOD to compliment any dish.

They also have breadsticks, Simply Rustic French Loaf, Country Italian Bread, Garlic Bread Sticks and Dinner Rolls. Be sure to read the labels - I haven't tried all of these, and they may have since changed some.

Another wonderful product I always keep on hand is Bisquick! No milk and no eggs involved and they DO have a Gluten-Free Bisquick! I don't know what I would do without Bisquick. {I guess I would have to make everything from scratch!} Bisquick has filled in for us when we haven't thought far enough ahead and always turns out a great product. I make waffles, pancakes, biscuits, shortcake, etc. with Bisquick and my husband came up with a delicious cinnamon swirl coffee cake made from Bisquick. Go here for lots of recipes to make with Bisquick! I love it and just bought another big box of it yesterday.

These are just a few of my favorite convenience items that I wanted to share with you. What can't you live without??

Strawberry Shortcake and Whipped Cream {Dairy-free, Egg-free}

I love a good strawberry shortcake. It makes me think of summertime and running around barefoot in the grass at my mamaw's house when I was growing up. She and my papaw lived in the country. Technically, it was Knoxville, but it was rural Knoxville. When we took the 'back way' (aka - curvy, country roads) to get there, we would pass lots of farmland, cows, an old one-room schoolhouse, several very old dilapidated wooden houses and drive over lots of hills that take your breath away. I don't know if she ever made us strawberry shortcake, but this summer dessert brings back these memories of my childhood summers.

This has to be one of the easiest desserts to make and it is a crowd pleaser. To make it dairy-free, follow this recipe!

Strawberry Shortcake {Dairy-free}

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar {or less - you could even use Agave Nectar or Stevia instead}

2 1/3 cups Original Bisquick mix

2/3 cup Almond milk

3 T sugar

3 T Smart Balance LIGHT buttery spread, melted {only the LIGHT version is dairy-free}

Dairy-free Whipped Cream {see below}

Mix strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 T sugar, and butter until soft dough forms. Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and dairy-free whipped cream. Makes 6 shortcakes.

Dairy-Free Whipped Cream {this recipe taken from here.}

2 cans of coconut milk full fat

1 cup powdered sugar

Place your cans of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours. The longer the better. So when you bring them home from the grocery store just tuck two into the ice box for when you need emergency whipped cream.

Also, place your bowl and whip into the freezer for at least 3 hours to chill. I use my son’s Kitchen Aid mixer with the balloon whip.

Once you take your bowl and whip out of the freezer and set up the mixer do not waste time. You need to keep the equipment cold. Open the cans at the bottom with a bottle opener to drain off the coconut water. Save this it is great for smoothies. Now open the top of the can all the way and scoop out the thick cream.

Start your mixer on low and move up 1 or 2 notches for speed until you get to moderate. As it starts to whip and increase in volume, gradually add in the powdered sugar. Once it’s mixed and looks fluffy like whipped cream, well you now have whipped cream. Tip from J.C.- look for the beater to leave light traces on the surface of the cream.

Crispy Kale {Allergy-free}

I am a total copycat today (and I totally stole this picture!). My sister posted about this dish yesterday on her blog. She had told me about it while I was at her house over the weekend and I knew I would try it as soon as I got home. And I did. I tried it last night and was pleasantly surprised. Any kind of greens like mustard greens, collard greens, etc.
make me gag are not my favorite. So, I decided I would try this with the hope of forcing healthy good-for-me greens down my throat. And you know what? They are really good. I must not have gotten the salt spread evenly over them because some of the pieces were only tolerable. BUT the ones that did have the salt on them were very good - even tasty! My picky older girls didn't care much for it, but my picky husband and youngest daughter ate them and that is a big accomplishment. So, try it! You might actually like it!

Go here for the recipe! 3 ingredients and super easy!!