"Paraben-Free"

Being allergic to Balsam of Peru and Benzoates means that makeup can be an issue. As a women, it's a hard pill to swallow (and a bit of vanity) to realize that looking your best (and best for your skin!) actually means not wearing any makeup at all!

I recently read in July 2012 issue of Women's Day that "Parabens- methylparaben or BENZylparaben- are artificial preservatives added to products to keep bacteria in check and increase shelf life."  That means, that using a beauty product with the ingredient "PARABEN" could actually contain benzoates...! Ladies, beware!

After a quick internet search, I found that Almay Pure Blends claims to be paraben-free. On the higher end of the spectrum, Sephora has paraben-free products. I found The Paraben Free Beauty Expert with a long list of beauty items that are paraben-free.

So, in conclusion, I would recommend  research what goes into not only your food, by your beauty products, as well!! Stay away from fragrances, dyes and parabens- your skin will thank you!

Oxygen in the Blood

A lot of people that have allergies also have asthma- not everyone, just some. I happen to be one of those lucky few that suffer from allergies that have a tendency to trigger asthmatic symptoms. Lately, my asthma has been causing me to wake up in the middle of the night around three AM, gasping for air and in a frantic search for my rescue inhaler. Not good. So, needless to say, I scheduled myself an appointment with the doctor.

While at the doctor's office, I learned a couple of interesting facts;

-Did you know that the amount of oxygen in your blood stream is directly related to how much oxygen your body is getting? This is an especially critical unit of measurement for an asthma patient who can't seem to get enough air into his/her lungs and has trouble breathing.

-When a body is at rest, it produces less corticosteroid. Apparently, corticosteroid is naturally occurring and is needed for normal body function (breathing, being one of these functions). Corticosteroid is at it's lowest around three in the morning and that is why my body was having trouble breathing.

Strawberry Muffins

Strawberry season has arrived a little earlier than normal here in the Carolinas! So, we took the grandparents strawberry picking and enjoyed some good ol' fashion fun on the farm. After making jam out of the one basket, eating them on top of cereal in the morning, cut up as a snack in the afternoon and on top of shortcake for dessert, I still have berries left! So, here's a little recipe that I adapted from Betty Crocker (original recipe called for blueberries and streusel topping) to help use up some left over strawberries. These muffins browned perfectly, were light and airy and very moist. Berry Delicious, if I do say so myself ;-P

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce

2 cups self rising flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup fresh strawberries (cleaned, and diced)

Heat oven to 400°F. Line 12 regular-size muffin cups with paper baking cups, or spray bottoms only of cups with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat milk, oil and egg with fork or wire whisk until blended. Add 2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, all at once; stir just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently stir in strawberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. If muffins were baked in paper baking cups, immediately remove from pan to cooling rack. If muffins were baked in sprayed pan, leave in pan about 5 minutes, then remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cooled.

Applesauce Honey Cake

Here's a recipe I made for MOMs Club Coffee and Chat. It was a big hit and best of all it was free of all of our family's allergens! The cake was sweet and moist and perfect with a cup of coffee! I adapted the recipe (loosely) from the Incredible Honey Applesauce Cake recipe from the back of the Pioneer Brand Pancake box.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1/2 cup Plain Yogurt (I used homemade)

1 cup Honey

1 1/2 cups Applesauce (I used unsweetened)

2 1/2 cups Pioneer No-Fat Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix

Topping:

4 Tbl. Cold Butter

1/3 cup AP Flour

1/3 cup Oatmeal

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup White Sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 11"x7" pan. Mix all cake ingredients and pour into prepared pan. In separate bowl, combine Topping ingredients, being sure to cut in butter until the butter is small and crumbly. Sprinkle topping onto cake and bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy the cake warm.

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Copy Cat Recipe

My hubby LOVES the Chicken and Gnocchi soup from Olive Garden .He tells me that he had never had gnocchi until he met me- oh, the food horizons I have opened him up to! :-) Because of my daughter's allergies to eggs, nuts and soy and because of my personal allergies to BOP and other things, I felt it was worth exploring trying a copy-cat recipe to recreate the creamy, steamy goodness at home.

SOO..... here goes...!

Adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-style-chicken-and-gnocchi-soup-348802

Ingredients:

3 -4 chicken breasts , cooked and diced
4 cups chicken stock (I used water)
2 cups half-and-half (I used fat free half and half)
1 stalk celery , diced (I used 2 stalks)
1 garlic clove , chopped
½ carrot , shredded (I used a whole carrot and cut into matchsticks)
½ onion , diced (I used a whole)
1 cup fresh spinach , chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
16 ounces potato gnocchi (pre-made)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional) (I only had flour on hand so I used 2 Tblsp.flour)

Directions:

-Saute the onion, celery, garlic, carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
-Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. ( Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup)
-Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.
-Ladle into bowls and serve!

Verdict:

Hubby gives the soup two slurpy spoons up! He says that the Olive Garden one is a bit saltier and a tad bit thicker in consistency. So, next time, add more salt and/or use homemade chicken stock (that I know is soy-free). Also, double the roux to add thickness. Personally, I liked the fact that I could add *some* nutritional boost to this usually-diet-disaster by bumping up the veggies. Lil' Miss ate a whole bowl by herself so I'd say that it was win-win all around! Yummy!

Papa John's Pizza

Did you know that you can order pizza at Papa John's without sauce? If you go onto their new online ordering tool, they give you and option to have extra, regular, light or no sauce! How cool is that?!

Blueberry Bundt Cake

We are getting ready for vacation and I'm trying to whittle away the contents of our fridge so we don't come home to any moldy, science-project-worthy "surprise" when we get back. I had some blueberries left over and decided to make this Blueberry Bundt Cake. I modified the original recipe slightly by using milk (since we're not vegan) and real butter. After mixing up all of the ingredients, the batter was really thick- cookie dough thick- and I was concerned about the end results. However, after putting it into the pan (with some persuasion) and baking it, a nice, fluffy, golden brown cake appeared. Delicious!