doughnuts, donuts

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yeast-doughnuts-recipe/index.html

This was the best by far to me. I didn't post it here because of the need to use approved oil. There are many many brands so I'll just let you know that I use wesson oil (not shortening). Please check the Feingold food list for different options. If you know that this diet has helped you it would really benefit your family to have a food list at least for a year.
The key to these is to keep the dough very very very soft. I make it the night before and stick it in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning, I flour the cutting board, roll out gently, and cut with my doughnut cutter. By morning it only needs a little flour to roll but the dough can still be nice and light. They turn out MUCH different if you put too much flour in.
We do a light glaze with powdered sugar and water and dip the whole doughnut in.

Krispy Kreme experiment failed

http://add-one-chinese-sister.blogspot.com/2008/04/experiment-failed.html

ooh yeah, I found that one out last year when I was desperate and the hot light was on...it was such a comfort to learn how to make our own doughnuts...one of those unreachable foods was reachable!

Homemade dipped cherry cordials and other chocolates

Oh my goodness, I'm drooling. We're making dipped cordial cherries.

We made a fondant out of 1/4 c butter
2 1/4 c powdered sugar
1 TBSP of the juice the cherries were packaged in
1/2 tsp vanilla (listing only alcohol and vanilla)
1/8 tsp almond extract (listing only alcohol and oil of almond)

If you don't have approved extracts just use a little more juice. Mix it all together and knead well till it's like playdoh. Add more powdered sugar if needed.

Then we wrapped that around some all natural maraschino cherries (not approved, got them at Whole Foods and took the chance out of desparation.) keeping the stems on, and froze them for an hour.

We melted a bag of ghiradelli chocolate chips (we used semi-sweet but might try different kinds if this works) on low and then let that cool so it wasn't hot but it was still liquid. Then dipped the cherries and fondant via stem in the chocolate, covering completely. Set it on waxed paper and put it back in the freezer.

Now we'll set it out at room temperature for 3 days, that should semi-liquefy the centers. I can't tell you how excited I am for these.

These were my kryptonite before. I was doing great for Christmas and then a well meaning neighbor gave us some regular chocolate covered cherries. Oh, I almost opened that box and if I had I'd have eaten them ALL and been a monster for 3 days. I'm proud to say that the box is still unopened just waiting to pawn off on an unsuspecting person soon. We'll wait for our yummy ones, and they should be WAY better than dollar store chocolates!

BTW, you can make the same fondant but flavor it with any approved flavoring or plain cocoa, knead well, shape, freeze, and dip for different flavored chocolates. They'll stay solid because they don't have the cherries to liquify them.

another FYI, many times nuts have BHT sprayed on them or the packaging so while they may look natural, be aware unless they're in the shell or approved.

Crepes

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basic-Crepes/Detail.aspx

I don't think I've done crepes here yet. A friend made these, I read her blog, and she simply linked to this recipe. Remember to use whole milk and real butter.

Biggest hit and biggest bomb for Christmas

The biggest bomb first...We tried some red striped candy canes from Whole Food and they were a BAD idea! Just a 1/2 day reaction for us so it was probably a preservative or something unlisted but bad definitely! Just the kids who chose the striped ones showed reactions quickly each time they ate them. Our white ones from the Feingold list were fine.

The biggest hit...MOON SAND! I found a great deal on Amazon with free shipping. A $29 kit was $3.50. I bought 5 different kits between the kids and they've played with it all yesterday and today. They haven't reacted at all, there's no smell, and the color doesn't stick to their hands like playdoh or clay. It doesn't dry out either. I know I'm a whimp but I hate homemade play doh.
We have relegated the moon sand to the kitchen table only and there have been a few dustings of sand on places other than the moon sand tub but it sweeps up quickly so I don't worry about it.
Andrew was cute...he read the package and was telling Adam all about it and he said, "It's real sand from the moon, sand from the moon doesn't stick like sand here."

Hopefully one more day...tricks to get rid of a reaction

I'm hoping I just have one more day of this. I thought I'd take this opportunity to list some things that people try to get rid of reactions.
I believe the #1 thing people try is an epsom salt bath. I have heard that people react worse to this but I've often wondered if their soap/shampoo makes it worse sitting in the bath.
I've also had my kids drink 1 tsp of epsom salts in water to "get things moving". I figure the quicker it gets out of the intestines the less it should absorb.
Same goes for any basic cleanse pill or laxative. Just make sure it's on the Feingold list. I've had success with some senna tablets from walmart that just listed 3 ingredients.
I've also had my kids drink wheat grass juice or golden flax seed in a smoothie.
Most of the time when they have a reaction I'm not thinking my best either because I've had something and rather than just do the above things I sit and mope and play on my computer all day.
So, today I'm off to cleanse the kids and we'll see if it helps at all.

what I've been listening to all day

"you've been punching me all day"
"ow, you don't have to punch me back"
"my hand slipped"
"mom!!!!!!!the boys are fighting again, they're annoying me"
"you're chewing too loud"
"quit talking, you're talking while you're eating"
etc etc etc etc!

They were really good when my friend came over cause they were busy eating...see "C", it was good that you came during dinner.

"oh, pardon me while I go fix another problem..."

ok I'm back...we HAVE to be careful or I'm going to go to the loony bin.

ugh again

Well, morning update is...all the kids slept till 10 am, Adam has hit 2 people this morning, Andrew is watching TV zoned out and wrapped up in a blanket and hasn't moved for 3 hours, Alyssa is whining and crying about everything and how nobody is cooporating and it's such a horrible day because the boys are reacting so she can't get anything done.
Here we go again...reaction day #2

uh oh!

Argh, here we go! My family is so sweet to think of us when we get together. My Grandma made sure we had everything we could eat except rolls (she offered to make some rhodes for us but I said I'd bring some).
I had told Russ how happy I was that the family was so kind and how we'd be fine for food. So, he helped the kids get food before I knew it. When I came in they were all eating the rolls Grandma had brought. And yes, they were almost done with them. I ran over to the bag to check ingredients before I royally freaked out. Yep, they had artificial flavors and colors.
Russ had to keep tabs on Andrew, he's always the first to react (my pre-asthma kid). And of course he did...getting in everyone's faces, "helping" the baby do handstands and wheelbarrows cause "she likes it", whacking everyone with the blankets that were presents, etc etc etc.
I'm sure tonight we'll be treated to a kid with night terrors trying to wander all over the house as he can't wake up. He stopped peeing the bed during a reaction last year. That's good. He just has to go to the bathroom after he wakes up from the night terror.
When we got home Adam slugged Andrew for no apparant reason. He's usually my easiest kid. It was a hard slug too. His reactions tend to quit earlier also so I'll hope for the best.
So, the moral of the story is...communicate with your spouse, kids, and all involved of your well laid plans.

Bragging moment, strawberry jellies

I have to brag for a moment. You know, I think everyone thinks "if there is just _________ on Feingold I could do it". Well, for my hubby it was peach flavored gummies with sugar crystals and chocolate dipped jellies. He's always snuck them given the chance.
Last night he came home and ate my new creations and raved and raved. I was so proud. He said, I'd never have to sneak again if you just make these. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, today I grabbed a bag of strawberries out of the freezer and used strawberry puree instead of the orange juice. It worked very well and I can't wait till dh comes home to taste them.