NO Starbucks?!?

With all this talk about fall being right around the corner, I got to thinking.... WHAT am I going to do without my Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks?!?! Anyone who really knows me, knows, this is serious business. It is my thing, I ALWAYS have them all fall and winder long and I will be missing them this year.

I found a decent alternative. I also enjoy Chai Tea Lattes. Oregon Chai makes a decaf Chai Tea mix - it has very few, natural ingredients and sells it at various stores such as Wegman's. I Just Mix it 50/50 with Original Coconut Milk and voila! It is actually really satisfying and I can sprinkle cinnamon on top to add a little umph!

I do plan on visiting Starbucks and inquire about their Pumpkin spice mix -- check out the ingredients and see if I can't pull off making it at home with my own milk. I'll post my findings.... :)

DIVVIES *Happy Dance

Those of you who are familiar with food allergies are familiar with Divvies. They are a bakery who sells allergen free candies, cupcakes, cookies and NOW they have a cookbook. I was just sooo excited about it and I HAD to order the cookbook. It should be here by next week for me to try out and start to review. I have heard wonderful things and I will be baking lots and lots this fall and winter (the holidays are my favorite time of year to bake)

I just can't believe it is almost September and Halloween is just around the corner. At Wegmen's this week I saw they have started to bring out the candy already! A little early...

Fried Squash and Zucchini

I LOVE fried food... words can't describe my addiction and feelings of withdraw from some of my favorite fried foods. I recently was at the store and found a fry batter --$8.00 for a 12 oz box of Rice Flour and some spices. I then decided to make my own at home and it was quite a success.

Slice up several Squash and Zucchinis - enough to feed the family. Slightly thinner then 1/4in. Heat oil in a skillet - enough to cover only 1/2 the veggie. I like to use safflower oil - it is soo light.

BATTER:
1 cup -- rice flour
1 tsp each -- garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt
1 tbs - paprika
Unflavored Coconut Milk

Mix together dry ingredients, and add milk, just enough to give a thick, but smooth consistency.
Dip veggies in batter and cover completely. Add to hot skillet and fry for about 3 minutes per side - until golden. Dry on paper towels. I think ketchup was a great condiment for these little pieces of heaven.

Summer Slump

What a busy month -- VERY busy last 4 weeks or so. I have been absent and have oh, so much to catch up on. I have been trying to work more into my diet with Braeden -- with no success. We trialed wheat and corn again, both failed... but Im not giving up! We will try again. I did manage to eat Tilapia. Made some with olive oil and a lemon pepper seasoning. Delish and no issues for Braeden to speak of! Win for team K!

We also tried solid food again... epic fail. His digestive system is all sorts of messed up and anything out of the norm really gets it going, and in a bad way. I put him on probiotics starting this past Monday... fingers crossed it helps him.

I just wanted to quickly touch on a topic those of us in the allergy field are familiar with. Joel Stein. He wrote a column in 2009 regarding nuts... peanuts and allergies. He basically indicated that families of food allergic kids are over-reactive and it is all in their heads. He NOW has a 1 year old with a life threatening peanut allergy.

Here is a link to the article from 2009:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/09/opinion/oe-stein9

And the new article is in Time Magazine. :)