Sunbutter Shako cups

So it's Easter and that used to mean that there was a TON of chocolate that surround us.  The entire family is fanatics about the Reeses cup and reeses eggs made it even better!  However this year, we are limiting the chocolate and since reeses don't quite make the list when it comes to being top 8 allergen free, we needed to find a way to adapt so that Gavin (and momma) wasn't feeling so lonely!  Plus it's a perfect time for me to find another treat that combines allergy free and healthy for my EoE munchkin and Portion Control approved with clean food ingredients for the mommas!

I have been getting creative the past months since I was doing the 21 day fix and chocolate isn't allowed with the extreme plan so we've been making our own, using the super nutrition of shakeology. So it dawned on me that if I can use this to make healthy chocolate substitute then I could use it for a pb cup, right?!?  It seemed way too perfect!  Now before I even start to write down about how easy this is...let me warn you!  I don't make things pretty, lol.  I like to throw things together and just pray that they taste good!  Sometimes things work out, other times not so much. So what I am about to share with you, may not be super pretty but I know many of you moms out there who would be able to finesse the heck out of this for perfection!  So i'll share the roots of the project, and allow your creative minds to expand!

I started with brainstorming what we had because who has time to run to the store when you have a brain storm and I decided on 2 scoops of chocolate vegan shakeology. This meant me and the kids would get some crazy doses of nutrition while enjoying dessert, bonus right!?!  Then to find a way to form it and solidify it, I went with coconut oil and the plan to freeze it.  Sunflower seed butter as the PB alternative, and a dab of gf vanilla extract.  Using the mini muffin pan, which is a genius invention by the way, I think we were set to begin!.  The kids pulled their chairs up to the cupboard and we got started!

Now I warned you, I said things aren't pretty in my kitchen so bear with me!  I first melted the coconut oil and mixed it in with the two scoops of shakeology and the capful of vanilla extract.  I slowly added tbsp of water into the mix until I got the consistency I liked. It was about 8 tbsp total although that can be played with based on how you work with it and form it.  I used the coconut oil on the corner of a paper towel to lightly coat the inside of the tin.  I then scoops about 1/3 of a tsp of the shakeology mix onto the bottom of the tin and attempted to flatten it out the best I could. I think if I mixed it longer and added a tad more water/oil, this would work better.  But it is what it is so we kept going.  I placed a tiny bit of sunflower seed butter in all the tins as the next layer and then topped several of them with more shakeology mix and left a few with just the sun-butter as the top.  The last step was to throw them in the freezer. I would recommend at least 4 hours but I just left them in overnight since it was close to bedtime.

The next morning I pulled the tin out of the freezer and used a spoon to pop them out!  They stayed together and were exactly what I wanted.  Mini sun-butter cups, top 8 allergen free, and packed with nutrition! Perfect for the EoE munchkin, tasty for the girls, and 21 day fix approved for mom!  Chalking this up as a win and can't wait to perfect that constituency so they look as good as they taste for next time.  You are going to want to store them in refrigerator after making so that they stay solid!

Recipe and Preparation

Items needed:

mini muffin pan

1 1/2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil

Chocolate Vegan Shakeology 

1/4 water

1/2 tsp of gluten free vanilla extract

1/2 cup of sunflower seed butter or the alternative of your choice

Preparation

1.  Use the corner of a paper towel covered with coconut oil to wipe in the cups of the mini muffin pan.  You will need to prepare for a dozen Sun-Butter cups.

2.  Melt the remaining coconut oil in the microwave.

3.  Place two scoops or servings of vegan chocolate shakeology into a bowl and add in the vanilla extract and melted coconut oil.

4.  Begin to mix or stir ingredients together and begin adding water one tablespoon at a time. Continue to stir until the chocolate mix reaches a consistency that is smooth.

5.  Use about a 1/2 tbsp of shake mix and put on the bottom of each tin cup.  Try to tap the pan at the end to smooth out the bottom layer.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

6.  After 15 minutes the bottom layer should be solid enough to scoop on the sun-butter nice and neat.  The amount you want to use it up to you.  I recommend at least 1/2 a tsp.

7.  Lastly, you can choose to top the cups with more chocolate or leave it with the sun-butter on top. If you choose to top them, you may need to mix another tbsp of water into the shakeology mix and then scoop it onto the top layer of each of the cups and again tap the pan down once you are down to try for a more smooth look.

8.  Place in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight and pop them out with a spoon once they are solid.  Store them in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

AWESOME for portion control planning and when the cravings hit hard!!!  For those of you doing the 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, Insanity Max or any of the Portion Control meal plans then 2 cups would be: 

1/2 Red

1/2 tsp 

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

www.facebook.com/lfickenworth

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 

What the heck is EoE?

So here we are,  we have this great diagnosis written in the back of the discharge papers from the ENT and after a couple hours of Google,  I think maybe there's a mistake.  And maybe there could be but the fact is that even if that were true,  I've already been introduced to this world,  to the parents who struggle tears everyday for their childrens health,  to the adults who weren't diagnosed soon enough,  and to the kids who have the strength of 10,000 men to be able to endure what they do so there is no going back.   I have always been an advocate for others.  My profession background has been working with teens who had mental health and substance abuse problems and those who have intellectual and physical disabilities.  I've always been a voice for others.   But now that we're working  through the struggle,  I have become our advocate.  My passion and profession is to help people change their lives through health,  fitness,  personal development,  and financial freedom.  So I now have a responsibility to my son to take this skill that I am learning and pay it forward to the next set of eyes that hears this diagnosis.   

With all that being said,  let me get to the point...

Eosinphillic esophigitis sucks!   There is no way around it,  and that's just the honest truth.   I'm not a doctor and this is not an official description of EoE but it's the vest way I've learned to describe it.  Basically your body treats food like it's a parasite.  Your white blood cells (the eosinphils)  head up to your esophagus as you eat.  These eosinphils leave scarring that can form rings around your esophagus squeezing it tight making it difficult to swallow.  Any food can be a trigger and cause a flare up.  Flares don't always happen in the throat.   Vomiting is one of our most frequent however,  Gavin also gets swelling in his eyes,  itching in his ears,  swelling in his nose,  eczema,  and what we think is asthma at this point.   The worst part is that the only way to tell if something is a trigger food is to try it.   Most allergy tests won't identify it.   Gavin for instance has zero allergies when the scratch tests are given.   Basically once someone is diagnosed,  they eliminate the top allergens for the diet and start there.   If there are still eosinphils present,  they eliminate more.   In some cases,  these children are fed liquid amino diets through ng tubes and G tubes.  Then one food is reintroduced at a time after healing has occurred.   Children experience many scopes and procedures to determine pass/fail of food trials and it's a life of ingredient reading and cross contamination hell honestly.   It changes our lives and the lives of those around us.  

Our children become different.  They have different foods and different ways of eating.  People hear me talking about the crazy hybrid of paleo /vegan meal plan I've created and don't understand why it's not ok to just let him have a slice of cake or some ice cream as an occasional treat.  Sure,  I tell them.  Go ahead and give him to him, but make sure you don't like the shoes you're wearing because he'll likely immediately have a reaction all over them. This is not something I'd wish upon anyone.  And the fact that it likely could have been prevented by the government never allowing gmos and hormones to be put into our food supply makes me angry.  The more chemicals  in the food,  the more harm it is doing to our culture but we will fight.  And we will heal with real nutrition!   That is our purpose.