Blog - Allergy Free Menu Planners

03Aug

In search of a travel-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, high protein snack for my son…

August 3, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 4 Comments

Like any mom with a child with food restrictions combined with a dose of pickiness, I have been looking for new recipes to feed my son who can’t eat dairy products. I am also allergic to wheat and gluten so I end up making baked goods wheat and gluten free so I can eat them too.

I recently checked out the book, The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook at my library to see what new recipes I might find for the GF and CF diet. I haven’t completely finished perusing the book but for the most part I would highly recommend it. One great thing about it is that it has many soy, nut, egg and corn-free recipes as well.

One recipe that caught my eye was the “Sensory Sensible Pot Pie Muffins.” This recipe is a muffin for kids who can’t eat gluten and dairy and who may not like to eat regular chicken or vegetables. To solve this problem, they put the pureed chicken and veggies right into the muffin.

This, I gotta try, I said. My son used to eat literally anything I put in front of him. But with the toddler stage, he has become a bit more picky. He still loves cooked veggies, especially green beans but isn’t too fond of chicken these days.

Also, since we’re on the go a lot, I was looking for a snack that was travel-friendly, healthy, gluten and dairy-free and high in protein. These muffins seemed like the answer!

Carrot Chicken Muffins made with Namaste muffin mix

Pot Pie Muffins made with Namaste muffin mix

29Jul

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

July 29, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 5 Comments

One of my favorite homemade sauces is tomatillo salsa. The green salsas you buy in the grocery store simply don’t compare with the fresh home made version! The only tomatillo salsa in a jar that I like is the Trader Joe’s brand. There are however some great salsa verdes available at some Mexican and Spanish restaurants. However, if you don’t eat pork, you’ll have to ask if they added pork to their recipe.

For me, I not only love eating this wonderful fresh salsa with chips, I love using it to make chicken casseroles or just smothering fish or chicken in it. You can make it ahead of time and then add it to many dishes! If you don’t eat meat, you can use it in vegetarian tacos or burritos or vegetarian Mexican casseroles.

The other day I was inspired to make this salsa and it turned out hotter than I really like, so I sauteed a whole onion until it was very sweet and browned, and then blended it into the salsa. It toned it down and made it a bit sweeter. Very nice!

So if you’re looking for a great Tomatillo Salsa recipe, here it is!:

22Jul

How to Meal Plan for a Very Limited Grain-free, Dairy-free and Egg-free Diet

July 22, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 4 Comments

I receive a lot of emails from people who have found my site and are looking for ideas for their very limited diet. Some of these people are at a complete loss as to what to eat because their diet is so limited. I received one of these emails from someone last week inquiring about a diet for her daughter.

Here was her list of foods that her daughter was told to avoid:

gluten (wheat, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, tricale, and all products containing gluten such as soy sauce, etc)
grain (includes rice, millet, teff, and other gluten-free grains)
dairy
egg
soy
corn
banana
kiwi

This is a similar list to many of the people who come to me. There are definite variations and more limited diets like those without any meat or fish, legumes, nuts, all fruit, etc. But I thought I’d start with this diet to give you some ideas on where to start.

So what do you do when you get a list like this? My hope is that in this post, I can give you my process for starting to come up with some foods and recipes you can eat when you receive a long list of foods you should be avoiding, even temporarily.

I am also working on compiling my recipes into menu plans for different diets such as this one so that people can have a menu planner for their specific limited diet. I am also going to start writing some blogs about how you can start to do this for yourself!

17Jul

Easy and simple meal: gluten, grain and dairy-free

July 17, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 1 Comment

A wholesome and simple meal

Tonight I made a simple but very yummy dinner, inspired by the potatoes and zucchinis in my fridge and the lemon balm in my garden. I’ll make this post quick since it’s been a long day but I was inspired to give the simple and easy recipes for this meal:

The Menu:
Turkey Sausage Patties
Baked Yukon Gold Potatoes with Butter and Nutritional Yeast
Zucchini Lemon Balm Soup

The Sausage Patties:

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey meat (could also use chicken or beef)
salt – about 1 tsp or less
a generous amount of pepper – at least 1/2 tsp
a tsp or so of ground ginger
a tsp or so of ground sage
a dash of cayenne

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl and then make into small patties. Fry in a cast iron skillet with a little olive oil, about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until slightly browned and cooked through.

15Jul

Recipe for Sliceable Dairy-free and Casein-free Cheese

July 15, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 15 Comments

Sliceable Dairy-Free Cheese

I found this recipe for sliceable dairy-free cheese a while back on a forum and finally made it the other day. It seemed like every time I looked at it, it just seemed too complicated but I think that was just a first impression. It is actually very simple and tastes pretty darn good. It is soft but still sliceable and resembles a white, mild cheese like Montery Jack.

The great thing about it is it is free of casein (milk protein), which many of the commercial dairy-free cheeses contain. The only cheese I have found that is actually free of casein is from Galaxy Foods.

It does contain cashews, so it won’t work for people who are nut-free. And there are a few changes I would make based on my first experiment with it. It seems as though I can never follow a recipe exactly so I also made some changes as I made it. I’ll add these changes below in the recipe.

I made chicken burritos the night I made the cheese and it was really great on them! It really added some nice creaminess and cheesiness to the burritos!

I haven’t tried this yet but the recipe says you can freeze the cheese and then shred it for pizza cheese.

Another tip from the recipe is for making the cheese to resemble American or cheddar cheese: blend in 1/4 cup pimentos and 1 tsp paprika to the recipe. (see tips below)

The original recipe is called Sliceable Cashew Cheese and it is from Best Gourmet Recipes from the chefs of Five Loaves Deli and Bakery by Neva Brackett. This is the original recipe with my changes:

11Jul

Best ever chocolate or carob cupcakes that happen to be dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, soy-free, corn-free and egg-free

July 11, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 14 Comments

Allergen-friendly chocolate cupcakes

Do you ever feel like you have to forgo almost everything that looks delicious because of your very limited diet? If you’re like me, you may look longingly at a thick piece of chocolate cake at the grocery store and wish you could eat it.

Well, now you can. Thanks to my friend Penelope at Two Frogs Healing Center who introduced me to this recipe, I feel like I have finally found that moist, chocolaty goodness. And the great thing is, if you are on a very limited diet and are gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, or corn-free, you can still eat these delicious babes. They are even potato-free which is a problem for many people. You can even make them with carob and make them chocolate-free!

And the best part is they are extremely easy. With only a handful of ingredients and only one flour (I used rice flour), they are quick and very easy to make.

The original recipe comes from the Ecological Kitchen Cookbook but my friend adapted it to be gluten and wheat free. The original recipe is for carob cake, so if you’re allergic to chocolate, you can use carob and it is just as good! Stay tuned, I’m going to try these with quinoa or blanched almond flour and see if they work just as well. That would make them grain-free as well!

Close-up of these delicious cupcakes

Click below to get the recipe:

24Jun

Why gluten-free breading is as easy as peas

June 24, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver Leave a Comment

Do you miss the breading you used to enjoy on your chicken before you went gluten-free?

Have you been avoiding recipes for gluten-free breaded dishes because you don’t think they will turn out?

I’ve had my shared of flops when trying out breading. But I have also discovered some things that work great.

And once again, if you don’t try it, how will you ever know?

So if you haven’t yet tried gluten-free breading, or your experiments have been disasters so far, here are some tips.

What to use for the breading:
There are many kinds of gluten-free breading for you to start experimenting with. Here are a few ideas.

Brown rice crumbs: You will be able to find these in your gluten-free section of your grocery or health food store. Use them in place of wheat bread crumbs. Add salt, pepper and herbs for extra flavor.
Almond meal: Use in place of bread crumbs. I personally love this choice.
Other ground nuts such as pistachios, cashews, walnuts. You can choose to grind or chop them coarsely or grind them into a fine meal.
Cornflakes or gluten-free rice cereals: grind these up into a fine meal and bread as usual.
Stale rice bread, cornbread or other gluten-free breads. You can also toast bread in the oven until it is dried out and golden brown. Grind to a fine meal in the food processor and use a bread crumbs.
Dehydrated potato flakes: Make sure to find a natural brand that is free of preservatives (like Barbara’s).
For Chicken Parmigiana: mix 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese with 1 cup bread crumbs and add 1 Tbsp fresh chopped herbs and salt to taste.

11Jun

Fresh herbs from the farmer's market and Beet and Fennel Recipe

June 11, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 2 Comments

Tuna Tahini Salad with Farmer's market herbs and strawberries

There is something so wonderful about going to the Farmer’s market and looking at all the beautiful, home-grown produce, herbs, plants and flowers for sale. If you can’t have your own garden, I think this is the closest you can get to incredibly fresh and beautiful food.

A couple of weeks ago when I went to the market, I spotted some fresh herbs, some of which I had never used before. The man at the organic herb stand told me that the chive flowers, featured above in the salad, were all the rave with the local chefs. I tried it fresh in my salad and it was, oooooooooh, spicy! (I ate the whole flower in one bite). If you like onion flavor, this would be a great herb for you. But I would recommend cutting them up a bit instead of devouring them whole like I did. You can also saute these flowers and the chopped stems, and use them in vegetable or meat dishes.

I also decided to try the “Anise Hyssop” herb, just right of the salad in the picture above. If you like licorice or anise flavor, this herb is for you. It is quite strong but has a very lovely flavor and can be added to salads fresh or chopped up and used in fish, chicken or vegetable dishes.

I decided to put the anise hyssop in a dish I created with golden beets and fennel. Now, these two vegetables may not be favorites of some people. But again, if you like licorice or anise flavor, you will like this dish even if beets aren’t your favorite vegetable.

Golden Beets and Fennel with Anise Hyssop

Here is the recipe:

08May

How to Eat an Artichoke

May 8, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 1 Comment

Globe artichokes - photo by Sarah

I talked with Diane Eblin today from The Whole Gang. We had a great little chat and had some laughs about the discoveries we make in the kitchen. We both agreed it takes a little adventure to delve into cooking some unknown or unusual foods. But I think we would agree that this is where we have fun and discover new and delicious foods to enjoy.

This week at The Whole Gang for the Friday Foodie Fix, the food is artichokes. This is giving me a great opportunity to get back into blogging, which if you haven’ noticed, has fallen by the wayside during the past couple of months during our move and transition to Frederick. Thanks Diane for the inspiration!

I will start by saying that artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables for a few reasons. I love the taste of them, especially the hearts. I love them on pizza, in salads, in pasta, in dips and other wonderful dishes.

But another reason I enjoy them is they take a long time to savor. You eat each leaf, one at a time, hopefully with a yummy Hollandaise sauce, or just mayo if you like it. It isn’t a vegetable you can prepare or even enjoy in a haste. It almost beckons you to sit down, rest and enjoy each morsel of its tastiness. I am lucky enough to have memories of enjoying artichokes at home with my family. Other people I talk to, including Diane, didn’t have the experience as a child of learning how to cook this delicious vegetable or to enjoy one fresh.

But even if you’ve never tried cooking an artichoke, I will tell you right now, it is very easy!!! Of course there are more complicated ways of cooking them, but if you’ve never done this before, just try steaming them. Please see the recipe below for more instructions, plus a dairy-free Hollandaise sauce.

And lastly, an artichoke has a HEART and it also has the word ART in it – two of my favorite things!

13Mar

Personal Chef Services available in Baltimore, Maryland

March 13, 2009 by Sarah Van Sciver 2 Comments

Risotto with Artichokes and Leeks

Update May 2017:
I wrote this blog post when I moved to Frederick, MD in 2009. I moved to Baltimore in April of 2015 and have been serving clients in Baltimore and the surrounding areas for the past two years. I still service the DC area as well.

Coming home late from work, Beth walks into her home with a toddler in tow, and remembers with a flash that she had her personal chef come and cook meals for her family today. A sigh of relief and a feeling of excitement fill her body as she looks forward to trying the delicious meals awaiting her in the refrigerator.

Her husband comes home just as she is heating up some of the meals for them to enjoy for dinner. Everything looked so good, it was hard to decide what to try first. Without having to cook anything, they settle down to the table and enjoy their meal together with their daughter.

This is the kind of experience that I give people when I cook for them as a personal chef. I started my business, Sarah’s HeART of Cooking Personal Chef Services in 2006 and quickly started cooking full time. However, I also became pregnant in March of 2007, slowing me down quite a bit, to say the least.

Last year I continued cooking for a few of my clients but I didn’t go back full time like before my pregnancy. I also started my online service, the Nourishing Foods Menu Planner, so that I could start to serve people from home and on a wider scale.

My family and I have been living in Berkeley Springs, WV, but as of the end of this March, we will be moving to Frederick, Maryland. My husband is from the Baltimore area so one reason why we are moving is to be closer to his family. Once we move, I will once again cook for my clients on a regular basis. I am also accepting new clients so if you are looking for someone to do all the work and you live in or near Frederick, give me a buzz.

One of my clients from Arlington, Virginia told me that I was the only personal chef she could find in the area that was willing to work with her limited diet instead of a fixed menu. Because of a health condition, she had a long list of foods that she couldn’t eat. When we started working together I used her “good” list and created a menu that worked for her body as well as her taste buds.

Indian Style Eggs

Another client who I cooked for last year who suffers from congestive heart failure said that the first personal chef he approached wasn’t willing to “sacrifice taste” by making salt-free food to cater to his low-sodium diet. I created a menu for him with low-sodium foods and made meals that were still very tasty.

I also have many clients who simply want to eat healthy and nutritious meals. They don’t have time to plan, shop and cook their meals because of a work schedule and enjoy having this done for them in the safety of their own home.

For me I love being able to give people the gift of healthy, organic, home-cooked meals free of preservatives and chemicals. Many people simply don’t have the time or desire to cook and end up eating restaurant food or frozen meals. Unfortunately, this diet can affect one’s health. I offer a great alternative – home-cooked meals without having to do any of the work. My clients love it!

Underlying my services is a deep belief that the quality of the food we consume is an intrinsic part of our well-being. Food affects us on more levels than just the physical – it nourishes our hearts, minds and our spirits! Furthermore, it offers us deep healing qualities that one can find only by eating certain foods. To me, it is very amazing to think of the bounty that the earth gives us every day in order to nourish and heal our bodies. This philosophy coupled with my wide knowledge of cooking for limited diets makes my service unique.

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