Kindergarten Shout-Out

I just want to send a shout out to Her Nibs, who just started Kindergarten. *sniff* She's ready for it. She's ready for just about anything, except maybe yogurt covered craisins.

Turtar had a whole heap of throat surgery on Tuesday (tonsils, uvula, septum stuff). After dropping him at home, we (The Boy, Her Nibs and yours truly) went to pick up his pain-killers. Naturally, the ENT office neglected to call in his prescriptions before they closed. The pharmacist was good enough to call the doctor and leave a message, but we still had to roam the aisles while we waited to hear back from the doctor and get the prescription filled. So in the snack section, I let her nibs choose a trail mix to add to her lunch the next day. I didn't let her choose one with candy coated chocolate pieces (aka M&Ms) because I know her too well. So she chose cranberry nut mix. After school, during her critique of the lunch I'd packed, she mentioned that the trail mix I put in was gross.

There is no trail mix in her lunch today.

i heart muffins.

This is my first real experience with food allergies, and I'm not sure if food allergies are even the problem. We (The Boy and I) are trying to go dairy-free to see if it will take care of the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rash on his face. I thought I'd been dairy-free most of the week and discovered the bread I was eating as well as the frozen pot-pies actually had dairy in them, too. So there's a real learning curve. I love The Boy, though, and it is worth the effort to see if dairy is what ails him. Though I did resent him a little last night when I couldn't have milk with my wanna-be oreos--I'm so sorry! I was much nicer today. The most discouraging time of day is breakfast. But, I think I have an answer to that. Remember Six Week Refrigerator Bran Muffins? Well, thanks to Teri's Kitchen for the healthy version of this old favorite and to Go Dairy Free or a buttermilk substitute, I've discovered a breakfast/lunch/snack that should get me through the trial period, and even longer, if dairy is the problem. Here's the recipe I'm going to be trying very, very soon (and I promise to report back!):

Healthy, Dairy-free 6 Week Refrigerator Bran Muffins

4 cups buttermilk substitute:

1 cup silken Tofu

2 & 3/4 cups water

4 Tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

COMBINE IN BLENDER AND LET SIT 10 MINUTES BEFORE USING

2 large eggs

7/8 cups applesauce

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package (15 ounces) bran flakes

3 cups sugar (or substitute Splenda)

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tablespoons wheat germ

1 & 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 to 1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup raisins, chopped dates or dried cranberries (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Combine buttermilk substitute, eggs, applesauce, canola oil and vanilla. Beat well. Add cereal and let it soak in the liquids until moistened. Meanwhile, mix everything but the fruit in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in fruit. Fill cupcake papers or well-greased muffin tins until almost full. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes.

The batter is good in the fridge for 6 weeks, but it will probably be devoured before then. You can also fill the cupcake papers and then freeze the batter that way. Be sure to put the papers back in the muffin tin before baking them, though. And let me know if you try this!