TIPS: another lesson i learned as a parent dealing with food allergies

    When my son was 2 months old we found out that he has a sever case of eczema, and also allergic to dairy. So, when i was breastfed i have to go on a diet. We even had to change his formula to NUTRAMIGEN. Here i am just dealing with having a baby now i have to deal with food allergies. At about 15 months we found out he was allergic to egg, dairy, wheat, gluten, peanuts, tree-nuts, soy, red kidney beans. the list go on and on and on... so i started look online for support i came across a website www.gluttenfreemall.com; I started ordering food from there for my son. And another place to go is whole food supermarket. it was very hard for me to came up recipes or ideas for my son to eat. The more researched i did, the more i found out that there are a lot of kids with food allergies. As he got older, i became more concern of his diets. Specially when he's at the growth spurt. i realize that i have to do this on my own, meaning i have to find different ways to create different dish to fit his diets.

     At the age of 4 he ways hospitalized again for his eczema, and its also the year that he have asthma. it was really a tough year. I mean how do you explain to a 4 yr old that he cant have all the food to eat and certain food will make him sick. but also at this age i learned that my son was a very smart kid, i mean how many 4 yr old can tell that he is allergic to certain food. The good thing is that he always know what he can have or cant. 

    Now at 7 yrs of age i can say that i am a proud mom, my son has outgrew, the SOY, WHEAT, GLUTEN,  BAKED EGG. so all i want to share is that this journey is not an easy one. we've had ups and down. and sure is there is always HOPE. i never lose FAITH that my son will outgrew his food allergies, and i hope all the parents who read this will do the same, and trust me you are NOT alone. :)

     

My version of spanish rice

This is a Spanish rice recipe that i learned from my mother in-law. i put a little twist to the recipe and make it my own.

to make spanish rice you will need:

-5 tbsp of olive oil
-2 tsp of salt
-5 cups of water
-3 cups of uncooked long grain rice
-8 oz of frozen mix vegetables
-2 packet of sazon goya
-4 oz of tomato sauce (optional)

directions:

- put the oil and salt in a medium pot over medium-high heat

- then you add the rice cooked for about 5 minutes.

- then you add the sazon and water. stir well until well combined. bring it to boil, cook it for about 20     minutes.

- then you add the mix vegetables. return to boil, and reduce heat to low. cover the pot.

- after about 10 minutes, stir the rice. make sure everything well combined. cook it for another 10 minutes without removing the lid.

- turn off the stove, remove the pot from the heat. let it stand for about 5 minutes then served.

I usually serve this rice with carne guisada (beef stew) or pollo guisado ( chicken stew)

enjoy... :)

TIPS: for parents who have kids with eczema

As you  all know i have a son who is allergic to almost everything and he also have eczema. since we move to Colorado, his skin has become clear and haven't had any breakouts for almost 2yrs. I owe it all to his doctors at National Jewish and most importantly GOD.

anyway, if you have kids with eczema and could not sleep at night because of the itchiness you might want to try this. bathe him for 20 mins, let him play in the water for a little bit. it is best if you used unscented soap (dove sensitive, cetaphil, aveeno) after that DO NOT dry his skin up. just lube him up with his ointment (aquaphor, vaseline) then put a damp clothes on him with damp socks on his body. after that put a dry clothes pajamas on him i prefer used the long pants and long sleeve clothes for both. you want to cover his body as much as you can. as for the face if he have any. i used to wrap his face with a long gauze ( i used to tell him that we make him look like power rangers) he loved it. :) this also helps their skin to stay moist. hope this helps you guys. and I'm open to any questions you guys might have. (i know how it is to have a child with severe eczema and so much allergies) 

thanks for reading, God Bless.

Mussels in butter sauce

This is one of my favorite seafood dish. if only i could convince my husband to eat mussels.. :)

ingredients :

- 1 lbs of mussels

- 3 tbsp of butter or margarine ( i used margarine due to my son allergy)

- 1/2 tsp of minced garlic

- dash of salt 

- dash of pepper

directions:

- heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. 

- add garlic, cook it until garlic turns brown.

- then add the mussels, cook it for 10 minutes or until mussels open. (do not over cooked it)

- then add the salt and pepper to taste. 

- put mussels in a serving dish. enjoy..

let me know how it comes out when you  try it.. :) 

Chicken broccoli with white sauce

i came up with this dish 3 years ago, when i found out my son was allergic to soy (we just found out recently that he outgrew the soy). since he LOVE chicken broccoli so much so i have to think of a way to make this dish without soy.

to make this dish you will need :

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 scallion thinly slice

- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast (cut thin)

- 1 small sweet onion (chopped)

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 1 package of frozen broccoli 

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp pepper

- 1/2 cup of water

- corn starch to thicken liquid

- add onion powder and garlic powder (optional)

directions: 

- heat up a medium wok pan with 1tbsp of olive oil. add the garlic and onion cook for 5 mins or until garlic is brown.

- add the chicken, cook it for 5 minutes or until slightly brown, then add the broccoli, and scallion.
- then add the water, salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder(optional)
- cover, let it cook for 15 minutes or until boil.
- in a separate bowl add 1tsp of corn starch with 1tbsp of water. mix it well.
- then add the corn starch mixture into the pan. (this process will thicken the remained water on the pan).
- let it cook for another 2minutes. then served with white rice.

i hope you guys will enjoy this as much as my son. 

pernil horneado (roasted pork leg)

This is the recipe to make roasted pork leg or known as PERNIL. This dish is very popular in Dominican rep. 

To make this dish, you will need the following ingredients:

4 to 5lb Pork picnic half (pork thigh)
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Oregano
2 limes
5 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)
1 Cup of vinegar

- rinse the pork and then soak it in some water and vinegar for 20 – 30 minutes.

-After letting it Set the pork aside and start making the rub. 

 -Take a small bowl and add the salt, soak, rinse it with plenty of fresh water then drain.

-then add the pepper and oregano.

-before adding the garlic make sure its finely chopped or mashed.

-then finally add the lime juice

Once all the ingredients are in the bowl. Stir well until thoroughly combined.

Take the pork leg and poke several holes over each side.  About 5 or 6 holes per side will do.

Once you’ve poked the holes, pour the marinade over the meat.

With your hands rub the marinade all over the pork, getting the liquid in the holes.  This is the best way to incorporate maximum flavor.

Once the pork is well marinated, cover and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

To cook, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.Line a deep baking pan with aluminum foil.  Then place the pork on a deep baking pan and pour the excess marinade over it.  

Cover well with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven to let it cook.

It is very important that you let it cook for 4 hours at 300 degrees!  Don’t uncover it or take a peek, 4 to 5 hours (4 is enough, but if the roast is a couple of pounds larger, leave it in for 5 hours covered) is the key amount of time to get a nice tender roast when it’s this size. 

After 4 hours of cooking time, take the pan out of the oven, remove the aluminum foil, then crank up the heat to 450 degrees and place the pork back into the oven.  Let it cook for an additional 20 – 30 minutes keeping a close eye on it. 

Doing this will make the pork skin crispy and also finish giving the pork some more color.  Once the pork is nice golden and crispy, remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 – 15 minutes.