Pancakes: w/ No Egg, No Milk!

My favorite breakfast food is blueberry pancakes, and I've been on an quest to not only find a way to have them, but how to make them quickly too.  Thanks to some creativity with Bisquick I think I might FINALLY have perfected the recipe!!  And who said you have to wait until the weekend for special breakfast foods like this, when thy can be whipped up SO quick!

As you might already know, as a breastfeeding Mama, I need to stay away from what our baby is allergic to.  Cooking in general is a challenge when I can't use milk (whey, casein), soy (soy lecithin is in everything!), eggs, and peanuts.  So My mission is to find alternative ways of making favorites so this little kiddo can eventually grow-up not feeling deprived of experiencing everyday foods!

Ok, so for this morning: PANCAKES!!

First and foremost, I use coconut oil on the pan.  Cooking spray is hard to find without an allergen-free label so I'm just avoiding it for now.  If you find one, let me know and I'll snatch it up!  The other trick is to your the white box of Heart Smart Bisquick.  here's the recipe on the side of the box...

...and here's how I altered it to be safe and tastier too!

PANCAKES

2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick

1¼ almond milk (regular)

1 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Now just stir all together and cook on the pan like you would for typical pancakes.  And if you're like me, add blueberries! Yum!

And you might be wondering, "why orange juice?" My husband found it was a nice alternative to the egg because of the color and we're thinking it has something to do with the citrus reaction to the baking soda that is probably in the Bisquick.

Vinca vs. Impatients

Most people know Impatients.  They are a hardy flower and provide flowers all spring, summer, and even autumn long.  But it's not my first choice.  I love Vincas!

Aren't they little beauties?!

Vincas look like the same flower and bloom consistently throughout the same period of time, and super easy to take care of, so what's the difference?  The biggest difference is that these little lovelies are hungry for the sunshine!  Impatients tend to wilt with too much sunlight and will thrive better in partial shade.  The front of my home isn't the greatest place to plant flowers (or even grass for that matter!) because we get WAY too much sun.  So my simple fix is to find flowers that thrive in the sunshine.

Another great reason to use vincas are that they are known to be resistant to deer!  Go figure!

These plants look so similar, that to the common gardener it's hard to tell which one you've bought unless you read the tag.  Here is a great website that clearly lays out the major differences so you can tell if you have inpatients or vinca:  vinca vs. impatients

After morning nap we went to the garden center for flowers. Like I mentioned above, my favorite go-to flower is Vinca's these past few years so I like to put them everywhere! They look like impatients but have lots of flowers all spring/summer long, and even last most of autumn too! But you have to watch the circular ads (or check online) because the stores don't seem to cary many of these and once they are all purchased, they are gone for good. Maybe it's because they aren't as commonly known as inpatients, begonias, marigolds...

At home the baby rolled around on the deck so I could plant some of the new flowers in our hanging baskets.  Here's what I did:

Gather materials needed: dirt, flowers, pots.
I only used top soil for this project because the potting soil
around the flower root system was nutrient-rich enough

.

1.) You can buy these little cuties in a
6 pack for under $2 at Lowe's!!

2.) Slightly push up from the bottom
to loosen from package

3.) Place plant roots carefully unto pot

4.) Arrange flowers & place dirt around
the root system to keep sturdy

5.) Very important: water new plantings

6.) Display with pride!

Edible Playdough

I've heard that you can make a safe edible playdough out of marshmallow Peeps so in the spirit of Easter, I thought it might be a fun for our little keiki.  I think it was more fun for Mommy because she just wanted to eat it.  But it's worth remembering for when she gets older.  

I found this recipe at www.kidsactivitiesblog.com which always has super fun ideas, and my favorite, it's broken down by kid age groups.  So here's what I did:

Ingredients

Pop in microwave

Stir and Play!

Angel Food Cake

According to my Grandma, my Papa's favorite cake was Angel Food cake.  It's SO easy and luckily for me, I've recently realized that I can eat this with my no milk/no soy diet!  Finally some baked goods around this home!

This is all you need + 1&1/4 cups of water:

 Just a few tips for us folks who have to avoid certain products: use coconut oil!

 Just pop a spoonful in the microwave and then use a paper towel to rub a little on the bunt pan.

 I typically go the old fashion route for the easy stir baking by using a whisk.  Only stir until mixed, it will be watery and foamy.

I let my batter sit for just a few minutes to let it fluff up before putting it into the middle rack of the oven.  The cake will rise within minutes and then continue to bake.  Once the cake is done, turn upside down on a cooling rack.  Once cool, pull cake carefully out of the pan and place on a cake serving platter.  I typically serve with thawed sliced strawberries which can be found in the freezer isle near the ice cream.

Cold Teething Toy

I have a few teething toys in the house for baby. I admittedly love Sophie the Giraffe because she is just so darn cute and she is helping baby’s teeth to come in quicker than I thought. Thus we have entered into the teething stage complete with the screaming, crying, drooling, and constantly chewing on everything in sight. Funny how it’s the simple at-home remedies that always seem to work the best. I have to give credit to my husband for this one: a frozen wet washcloth. He was reading up on the countless advice given to parents about teething when he came across the suggestion to give baby frozen wet washcloths from the freezer to help soothe the pain. So today I found an old hand towel and chopped it up. It’s simple enough for any mom to try!

First take any hand towel you have (and don’t mind destroying for the purpose).

Then, cut it in half, then cut it in half again twice more. My towel make 8 squares.

I would suggest shaking the towel pieces out at this point to rid the squares of flaking towel pieces. I would have preferably done this outside, but since it’s mid-winter here for us, I shook it over the sink. And boy am I glad I did! Those little pieces got everywhere!!

Soak the towel squares in water and then squeeze out excess water. I’m not sure if baby is going to prefer flat squares or squishy balls so I made both. I just popped these into a freezer bag and stuck it in the freezer during nap time so hopefully they will freeze until crunchy but soft, about 30-60minutes.

What works for your little one? Do you have any tricks to share? I read a good suggestion to actually soak the towels in chamomile tea. The cold will reduce swelling and the tea will apparently soothe some of the pain. I might have to try this next time!


UPDATE: The cloths only last about 10minutes or so, and baby seems to like both the flat squares AND the squishy balls. I didn’t find the chamomile tea made much of a difference for my little one, but it was worth a try.