Like Bobo's bars... but even better!

We were spending a mint on original and coconut Bobo's bars, and it finally got silly enough, given the simplicity of the ingredients, that I decided to make my own.

We'll still buy Bobo's bars to keep in my husband's rescue bag, our cars, and the cupboard for his special diet, but for a quick grab for breakfast, we're keeping these in the freezer

What I was looking for, as Bobo's bars, was a cross between oatmeal cake and a chewy granola bar. This recipe tends a bit more toward the cake side, where Bobo's tend a bit more toward the granola bar side. I think if you wanted the denser texture of the Bobo's bars, all you'd have to do is increase the amount of oats in this recipe.

And, hey, this one is also naturally egg-free and vegan. Pretty rad.

Bobo's Bars But Even Better

2/3 cup rice milk or other dairy or nondairy milk
scant 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid or citric acid (optional)
1 cup unrefined sugar, such as raw sugar, dark brown sugar, brown sugar, sucanat, etc. (I used half dark brown sugar and half raw turbinado sugar)
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup oil (I used 1/3 c. red palm oil and 1/3 c. coconut oil, plus 1/4 cup olive oil)
1 1/4 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats, or old-fashioned/rolled oats, blitzed in the blender to make them smaller
2 cups all-purpose flour (gluten free is fine)
2 apples, peeled, cored, and pureed (I left the skins on because I have a Vitamix that obliterates the skins, too); can substitute applesauce or banana (NOT low-histamine!) or other fruit puree as well

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 3 loaf pans or one 9x13" pan. In a stand mixer, combine the milk and ascorbic or citric acid. Stir. Add sugar and oils. Stir until well mixed. Add oats. Stir. Let sit a minute if not using quick cooking oats, then add 1 cup of the flour. Mix until well combined. Add the remaining cup of flour and stir until combined. Stir in apple puree. Divide between three loaf pans or pour into a 9x13" pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-45 minutes. Cut into bars and freeze (if needed for histamine issues).

Tongan Coconut Beef... super yummy, super allergy friendly!

When I was in high school, my friend, who is half Tongan, taught my best friend and I how to make lupulu, a Tongan dish which is made with corned beef, coconut milk, spinach, onion, and mayonnaise. He and my best friend are now married, so that's got to be part of it, right?

As I pondered recipes in my recipe box that could be easily converted to being low histamine, plus dairy free, gluten free, soy free, corn free, and generally allergy friendly for people who follow this blog, the lupulu came to mind.

I decided to try it. The picky husband and picky toddler both approved, and I hoovered it down before either of them even finished.

So, yeah, it's really good. It's really easy, too, and requires a minimum of dishes to create, besides being quick.

A great weeknight meal! I'll try serving it with rice next time, too.

Tongan Coconut Beef, or, Lupulu, Reinvented

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef
4-5 kale leaves, stems and spines removed (just the curly leafy parts cut off), cut as desired
1 can full-fat coconut milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon citric acid or ascorbic acid powder
(The egg yolks and citric acid help recreate the tanginess and creaminess of the mayonnaise that is left out of this recipe. Plus, Vitamin C helps degrade excess histamine.)

Heat oil in a medium to large skillet, over medium heat and saute garlic and onions until onion is translucent. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add kale leaves, and cook until leaves are beginning to wilt. Put a lid on the pan and turn the temperature to medium-low. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, egg yolks, and citric acid or ascorbic acid powder. Remove the lid from the pan and pour the sauce over the meat mixture. Stir well to coat everything, put the lid on, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Once simmering, remove the lid, raise heat to medium, and simmer, stirring often, until sauce is as thick as you like. Serve hot, over cooked rice, if desired.

Allergy-Friendly Blueberry Crisp! Dairy free, gluten free, low histamine, soy free, nightshade free!

I've been cooking allergy-free and low-histamine for my husband for about six months now.

I have a degree in Culinary Arts from a top-three culinary school from 2007, and have been cooking for much longer than that.

This recipe falls in my top ten desserts of all time. Not just top ten desserts that are allergy-friendly and low-histamine. Of all the desserts I've ever made, this one... this one was especially fabulous.

Allergy-Friendly Blueberry Crisp

4 cups frozen organic blueberries
1/4 cup cornstarch (or tapioca flour)
1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (Namaste brand is low-histamine) or all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup gluten-free quick oats or regular quick oats
1/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup coconut oil, vegan butter, or dairy butter

In a large, deep pie dish, stir together the frozen blueberries, cornstarch, and sugar until everything is well combined and coated. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients, then cut in the coconut oil or butter. Sprinkle over blueberry mixture and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-50 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and filling is hot, thickened, and bubbly.

Dairy-free, allergy-friendly creamy all-purpose mayonnaise/sour cream/plain yogurt substitute

All allergy-friendly condiments are not created equal.

There are squillions of recipes out there for condiments to replace ketchup, mayonnaise, and more.

We've found one that serves many, many purposes in our kitchen.

This condiment is what my husband uses on hamburgers in place of mayonnaise (he used to eat his burgers with mayo and BBQ sauce; now, he can again, since we have developed a low-histamine, Allergy Friendly Amazing BBQ Sauce).

I also use it in our dairy-free creamy, "cheesy," roasted garlic enchilada sauce in place of sour cream, and in our "Alfredo" sauce in place of the cream cheese. It also makes a great base for "Ranch" dressing and "Tzatziki" sauce. It has a mild tang to it that's just hard to accomplish when you can't eat vinegar or citrus. Citric acid, on the other hand, is low in histamine (zero or lowest-histamine on virtually every list we can find). It's also a natural preservative, so this lasts a good long while.

Dairy-free, allergy-friendly creamy all-purpose mayonnaise/sour cream/plain yogurt substitute

1 cup whole raw cashews
1 cup hot water (plus additional water, as needed or preferred)
1-2 egg yolks (optional, but yummy)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon citric acid, or to taste
Salt, to taste

Combine cashews and water and soak in the fridge overnight. In the morning, place in the blender and puree until perfectly smooth, adding water as needed to achieve a thickness similar to mayonnaise. Blend in egg yolk, citric acid, and salt, to taste. Use as a substitute for sour cream, plain yogurt, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and so forth.

Truly Crispy, Easy, Low-Histamine Chicken Nuggets

I had a rough, rough week a few years back, and my friend brought homemade chicken nuggets over for dinner. They were moist, and tender, with a super crispy exterior, something I had never experienced in homemade, baked chicken nuggets before.

I begged her for the recipe. My husband and toddler have a deep and abiding love of chicken nuggets.

Add in Mast Cell Activation Disorder for the husband, and genetic mutations for the whole family that preclude the proper metabolism of synthetic folic acid, and that makes chicken nuggets kind of tough.

But it hit me tonight.

This recipe wouldn't be tough to make dairy free, soy free, low histamine, toddler-friendly, picky-husband-friendly. I was worried about doing it unenriched, but I did it!

And guess what?

They were crisp, golden, and absolutely delicious. Even this girl, who doesn't love chicken nuggets, went back for seconds. (I like mine dipped in Lighthouse Honey Mustard dressing.

Truly Crispy, Easy, Low-Histamine Chicken Nuggets

3 large chicken breasts or 6 small chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt (and pepper, if tolerated), to taste
1 level tablespoon liquid oil
6 tablespoons breadcrumbs (we make our own bread, and when it goes stale, we make breadcrumbs from it: this has been the best way to get safe bread, rolls, and buns for our family, plus breadcrumbs for cooking)
1/4 teaspoon Italian herbs
3 tablespoons panko (Dynasty brand is unenriched AND contains no soy or dairy)
2 tablespoons unfortified nutritional yeast (we use Sari Foods brand) or parmesan cheese, if tolerated
Pan spray (we use a spray from Kroger that's only pure coconut oil or canola oil)

Preheat oven to 425F. Spray baking sheet. Put oil in one big bowl. Put breadcrumbs, herbs, panko, and yeast or cheese in another and stir up well. Put the cut-up chicken in the bowl with the oil. Stir very well to coat everything. Add chicken in batches to the bowl of breadcrumbs, turning to coat, and placing on the sprayed baking sheet before adding more. Spray the tops of the chicken nuggets with more pan spray. Bake 8-10 minutes. Turn each nugget over and bake an additional 4-5 minutes. Serve with our Allergy-Friendly Amazing BBQ Sauce!

Super delicious, low-histamine, allergy-friendly homestyle creamy chicken and carrots

Dairy free.
Gluten free.
Soy free.
Low histamine.
Nightshade free.

My conventional-eating dad ate three servings.

He said it reminded him of his mom's cooking. I'm feeling pretty good about myself this evening.

The low-histamine and allergic individuals involved ate heartily as well. So did the two-year-old. It's super yummy.

Bon appetit!

I feel bad that I keep borrowing other people's photography. A) I have a two-year-old. B) My cell phone camera sucks. C) I don't have time for styling and lighting food properly. So, you get a crappy Paint drawing of what this looked like. Voila! (PIN ME!)

Homestyle Creamy Chicken and Carrots

Cook approximately 3 cups rice or pasta/noodles to serve this over.

I made this in a pressure cooker, but it could easily be made in a Crock Pot by combining all ingredients except the corn starch slurry, cooking 6-8 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high, and adding the slurry at the very end to thicken.

2 cups water

4 large FROZEN chicken breasts

1/2 t. thyme

1/2 t. parsley

Place in pressure cooker and cook 10 minutes on high pressure (reduce time for thawed chicken breasts).

1 cup baby carrots

Add to pressure cooker and cook 8 minutes on high pressure (or less if you prefer firmer carrots--these were very soft, which is how one of our family members prefers them). Quick release, then scoop out carrots and chicken with a slotted spoon, leaving liquid behind. Pull the chicken apart into bite-sized pieces.

1 cup rice milk
1 can coconut milk

Add nondairy milks and bring to a boil using saute or browning feature on the pressure cooker (no lid).

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Stir together cornstarch and water until smooth. Add to boiling liquid. Boil until thickened into gravy. SALT (you'll need more than you think--we added almost a tablespoon and everyone salted theirs more at the table!) and season (I added a bit more thyme) to taste. Add carrots and chicken back into the gravy. Heat together and serve over rice or pasta.

Allergy-friendly amazing BBQ sauce! Low-histamine, no nightshade, gluten free, dairy free, soy free

One of my husband's greatest griefs with being diagnosed with MCAD was the loss of his beloved barbeque sauce. He isn't able to consume spices or tomatoes, along with all his other dietary restrictions.

My honors thesis in culinary school was on cooking for patrons with special dietary needs. Meant to be, the two of us, I tell you.

One day, in the car, I was struck with an inspiration for how I could create a barbeque sauce he could have.

And oh my. Is it ever good. He's used it on chicken already, and tonight, it was the glaze for our low-histamine and allergy-friendly meatloaf, too! No one would ever know this is a special allergy-modified recipe... my non-restricted toddler asks for this one specifically now!

This barbeque sauce is thick, smoky, and sweet.

(image source: http://foodinjars.com/arugulapesto/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/three-jars-sweet-cherry-bbq-sauce.jpg)

Allergy-Friendly Amazing BBQ Sauce!

1/2 c. blackstrap molasses (a great source of iron and potassium; have a little extra on hand to add to taste if you wish)

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. pure pumpkin or other sweet squash puree (we make and freeze our own from sugar pie pumpkins)

1 T. tamarind paste (we got ours on Amazon--it's been a nice thing to have on hand to make things tangy)

1 (10-ounce) jar jam or jelly

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. liquid smoke (or to taste)

2 t. onion powder

1 t. minced dried onion

Salt, to taste (mine needed a lot to taste like store-bought BBQ sauce, probably at least 1 tablespoon)

Put in small crock pot or pan and simmer until desired flavors are achieved, at least 2 hours. Adjust flavors and cool. Freeze in ice cube trays if histamine is an issue.