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Allergy Friendly Pancakes

February 1, 2010 By Wendy 15 Comments
When my two year old daughter was 14 months old she was tested for allergies. We discovered that Lani is allergic to eggs, dairy, and beef. Just a few weeks ago she was retested during her one year checkup. We were pleased to find out that her egg allergy is pretty much non existent. The next words out of the allergists mouth were that her beef and dairy allergies had worsened. WHAT?

We now have to be even more careful with Lani’s allergies and diet. She used to be allowed milk baked into foods such as pancakes, waffles, cookies, etc. since her allergy wasn’t too severe at the first appointment. Now she can have NO dairy in her food at all.

With this in mind I went in search of a pancake recipe that was allergen friendly. For each recipe I needed ingredients that I didn’t have in my cupboard or refrigerator. So, I decided to adapt one of the recipes in my old cookbook. I used an egg replacer that I found online last year when we first found out about Lani’s allergies. Here is the recipe: [Read more...]

10 easy ways to incorporate green living within your family

August 30, 2009 By Mom Spark 8 Comments

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There are many ways to make a difference. Recycling is one major well known way to reduce waste and help the environment at the same time,  but there is so much more we can do! I have put together 10 easy ways to incorporate green living within your family

1. Buy local produce.

There are so many wonderful local farms and farmer’s markets in most cities and towns. Not only is it more nutritious but it tastes so much better than produce that has traveled long distances.  Food travels an average distance of 1500 miles so buying local also reduces our petroleum usage.

2. Use cloth diapers and/or reusable feminine products.

This is a huge waste reducer!  The average amount of diapers used from birth to 2 1/2 years will equal an estimated 6,500! This is based upon an average of 7 – 8 changes/day (10 – 11 for newborns and between 5 – 6 for toddlers

An estimated 16,800 sanitary pads or tampons will be used within four decades just from one woman. That is 250 to 300 pounds of waste! In just the United States alone, around 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are thrown out every single year. The problem is, many women have never heard of reusable feminine products. and there are many different options out there. Reusable cloth pads have been gaining ground as have products such as The Diva Cup & The Keeper. Etsy is another great place to find well made organic pads.

3. Eliminate plastic bottles as well as plastic containers and use stainless steel products as substitutes.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the dangers of plastics. Reusing plastic bottles can leach toxic chemicals such as BPA in your water. BPA has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, an increased risk of miscarriage, and decreased testosterone levels. BPA has also been known to have an adverse affect to children’s developing systems. [Read more...]