Allergy Free Cinnamon Rolls for the Win!!!

Allergy Free Cinnamon Rolls 

Cinnamon rolls were a regular staple around here for breakfast going six months back.  Any chance he'd get, my husband would put them in the oven and make a set of the Pillsbury ones for him and the kids and everyone would be happy.  The day we started the elimination diet, they disappeared from the house forever!  We do our best to not have to separate foods because I hate having Gavin has his food and us have ours.  On some things though, it isn't always possible but possible.  However, score one for the family today because cinnamon rolls are back and they are for EVERYONE!

We followed the recipe to a T from Momables.com  HERE and although all of my past recipes have created a little apprehension from the kids when it comes to trying them, these actually turned out really good!!!  

My oldest daughter and I woke up before the rest of the house so we immediately began getting things ready and she was just as excited to be getting cinnamon rolls this morning!  It was so nice to have some quiet time just with her.  I feel like she gets the short end of the stick all the time for being the oldest and sometimes you forget that they need the personalized attention too!  So we enjoyed some quality time preparing all the ingredients and she especially likes that I trust her now to do the measuring and take lead.

 Our substitution ingredients consisted of Regular Coconut milk and lemon juice in place of greek yogurt and Earth Balance spread in place of butter but the rest was straight from the recipe.  I'm copying and pasting hers cause it's only fair to hive her the credit :)

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1¼ cups plain Greek yogurt (For dairy-free, you can use a souring alternative: 1¼ cups milk substitute of choice + 3 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Mix and let stand for 10 minutes, then add to recipe.)
• 4 tablespoons melted butter (For dairy-free, use a substitute like Earth Balance Vegan.)
• 2½ cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (King Arthur GF Flour is made in a Top-8 allergen-free facility.)
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1¼ teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking soda

Filling:

• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon melted butter (For dairy-free, use a substitute like Earth Balance Vegan.)

Glaze:

• ¼ cup melted butter (For dairy-free, use a substitute like Earth Balance Vegan.)
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-5 tablespoons hot water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F, and coat either a muffin tin or a 9-inch-round baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, begin making the dough by mixing the yogurt and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.
3. Stir in the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda until absorbed. The dough will look soft and crumbly.
4. Move the dough onto a floured work surface, and begin to knead and mix with your hands until smooth.
5. Form the dough into about a 12x9-inch rectangle, then brush it with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.
6. In another bowl, make the filling mixture by combining the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.
7. Once it resembles a wet sand, spread it evenly onto the dough leaving a ½-inch border. Push the filling firmly into the dough.
8. Starting on the long side, begin to slowly roll the dough into a tight log. If your fingers are sticking to the dough, lightly flour or moisten them with water.
9. Pinch the seam to seal the log, and slice evenly into 10 rolls.
10. Place the slices into your pan, and bake until the edges begin to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven, and move the slices from the pan onto a cooling rack.
12. As they slightly cool, make the glaze by mixing the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
13. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and enjoy!

Prep work...not going to lie, I was a little nervous about the next step...

Never thought I would actually get it to roll!!!  **insert happy dance here***

We went for the muffin pan (cause it's my go-to) but I'm sure the circle pan would work just as well.  

So after 20 minutes of them being in the oven,and me being a nervous wreck cause nothing ever works out this well for me so I was assuming it had to fall apart somewhere. I made the frosting and prepared for the worst...I was the most pleasantly surprised momma to actually smell cinnamon rolls baking and ever more excited when they were a like golden brown as the buzzer went off.  I quickly moved them to the cooling rack and only waiting long enough to stir the frosting cause we like when it melts on top!  We didn't wait too long to eat them either!!!  The end pieces were a little more dough then they were cinnamon but the rest were flavorful and sweet and the majority of the family was happy with the results!  I'm ok with 5 out of 6 in the house eating them, especially when the one who needs the safe foods is enjoying them :)  

So our review of the allergy free cinnamon rolls is a thumbs up!  This is one I would add to the menu once a month as a good breakfast treat!  

Hope you enjoy!

For more information about portion control meal planning, weightloss, clean eating, and exercise, check out the resources at www.itsfitpossible.com or email me!  My goal is to help others find ways to realize that you CAN handle it all!  There are huge benefits in caring for your special needs children when you are caring for yourself as well!  A healthy mom creates a healthy family <3

Lisa Fickenworth

theEoEmom@gmail.com

follow me on Facebook FB.com/itsfitpossible 

Replacing the Egg

So there are a ton of questions as to what you feed your child when you introduce an elimination diet.  From the beginning I decided that we were going to keep soy as a safe food.  Two years ago, we had attempted an elimination diet when his blood test for allergens came back positive for EVERYTHING except cod.  The soy level was so low though, I kept it in his diet and removed the rest without issues.  Kick me now for not staying with that and listening to the allergist who told me it was a fluke!  Live and learn, I guess.  But moving up to current situation, this kid wants to live off of Gluten free oatmeal and enjoy life chocolate chips.  Although I can't really blame him, I need to ensure a few more nutrients.  He may only be four but he is been influenced enough by though around him to see "healthy foods" as foods that don't taste a good...this could be because I am in no way a good cook, but also because it isn't processed and loaded with sugar so we have been slowly working our way to healthier and cleaner foods.  But he misses fun food!!  So now my job is to make healthy food fun...ok game on!  

We play the game of hide the nutrients!!!  How many of you moms do this?  I'm hoping and praying it's not just me! Do your kids have food that they love that they wouldn't notice a little extra?  I LOVE baking with alternatives to do this.  Since we can't have eggs, this is the perfect opportunity to replace them with good foods.  There are so many egg replacements.  Here are a few of our favorites:





*Banana - ½ pureed Banana, abt 1/4 cup = 1 egg

*Flax seeds - 1 tbsp ground Flax seeds + 3 tbsp Water = 1 egg

*Pumpkin Puree - 1/3 cup of cooked pumpkin = 1 egg

*Applesauce - 1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg or ¼ cup Applesauce + 1 tsp Baking Powder 

*Chia Seed - 1 tbsp ground chia seed + 3 tbsp water = 1 egg 


Baking with egg replacements can be tricky, especially when you have to remove the gluten as well so I prefer to do anything that includes yeast with Chia seeds since they expand. It's kind of like cheating! For pancakes, waffles, scones, and muffins; I prefer the fruits and veggies.  I will also mix and match to get dun flavors.  I always like to toss a little nutritional shake mix into the mix as well just to make sure I've got all the vitamins and minerals covered. Check back for recipes to be posted soon!


I would love to hear about your tips and tricks as an allergy free family!  Sharing is so important when you're doing everything you can to keep yourself and your families healthy!

Lisa Fickenworth