Taking dessert out with us: mini allergen-friendly chcolate cups

Today we went out for brunch since Abuela is visiting us.  Little Brother had 3 lamb chops and some steamed cauliflower at Harvest Grill.  He loves his Harvest Grill meal.  We took these cute little chocolates along with us.  He had never had them before.  He was delighted to have 3 lamb chops and 3 baby chocolates afterwards.  We ordered them from Vitacost.  Perhaps we will order another bag to keep in our pantry, but better to wait until the weather cools off as they will melt along the way to Houston.

Happy Halloween

we can all eat almonds! "caramel" apples with friends in backyard

recipe

Artisana sent us a sample jar of raw almond butter. we used here as filling

our treats

feels great to decorate front door of new house

FARE teal pumpkin. we gave out non-food treats and our lovely neighbor put out a few in the neighborhood

on our way to block party with spooky eyeballs

Homemade Crunch Bars

3 ingredients and very little mess with my Thermomix

Do you go out trick-or-treating for Halloween? We did again this year.  Do you eat any of the candy?  We don't due to food allergies and gross ingredients. Big Brother doesn't even ask to eat any of it because he prefers what we make at home, he just wanted the pack of bat-shaped pretzels.  I could handle that request; I just had to vacuum up the crumbs and wash hands/face immediately since Baby Brother is allergic to wheat.  Would I have felt differently if he had wanted a peanut butter cup?

Will Big Brother always have the same palate and preferences? This little guy loves 88% dark chocolate! I hope he continues to prefer quality ingredients and want keep his little brother safe at the same time. He said such endearing things as he put his Halloween candy in his pumpkin: " My Baby Brother is allergic to this so we don't actually eat it."

What should we do with all that candy? Would you consider giving out allergy friendly or ingredient friendly treats?  Or maybe even non-food treats?  Here is something to read. 

These homemade crunch bars totally hit the spot last night. Thank you, my special recipe sharing friend,  for sharing this simple and awesome recipe with us.  

Perhaps we will make into popsicle ghosts next year, using coconut butter as the white frosting and 2 chips for eyes.

What you need:

2 bags of Enjoylife chocolate chips.  I used one bag of the mini chips and one back of the dark chips
2 cups of Rice Crispies.  I used the Whole Foods 365 brand Brown Rice Crisps.  The allergen information states: 'may contain wheat and soy.  Produced in a facility that processes peanuts and tree nuts." So this cereal is not safe for Baby Brother. Baby Brother hasn't had chocolate yet, and this treat was just for Big Brother.
Flaky salt or fleur de sal for sprinkling on top


What to do: 

Add one bag of chocolate chips to TM bowl.  Heat for 4 min, 50 degrees, speed 2. Add in second bag of chocolate chips and heat accordingly.  I did for another few minutes at 50 degrees, speed 2. Click here for instructions on Tempering Chocolate in Thermomix.

Add in 2 cups of rice crispies and mix speed 1, reverse spoon.

Pour into baking pan, I used a brownie pan lined with parchment paper.  

Sprinkle salt on top.  Maybe I'll add some cacao nibs next time

Place in freezer to set

Eat when you come in from Trick-or-Treating, but first remember to move from freezer to fridge so that they are not rock hard and you have to wait.  

Waiting for us for when we come home from trick-or-treating

Big Brother loves scooting around neighborhood
all month to see decorations
This is a favorite

What sweets do you want to make this time of year?
Here is our list:
Double Dark Chocolate Macaroon tart, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free
Gooey Pumpkin Spice Latte Chocolate Pudding Cake
Pumpkin Fudge Balls
Blender Pumpkin Coconut Oatmeal Cups
Halloween Sweet Potato Fries
Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins
Pumpkin Coconut Fudge
Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal
Pumpkin Donuts
Pumpkin Granola Bars
Pumpkin Coconut Mousse
Glowing Ghost Gummies
pumpkin pudding

Valentine Chocolate Lips

giant chocolate lips stuffed with salted caramel filling
next time, will sprinkle with fleur de sal

I have been playing around with healthy homemade chocolates for the past few months.  I have been using this silicone mold to make really cute dinosaurs for after school snack, with my own version of this awesome chocolate coconut energy bar recipe.  I  will have to post the recipe with pictures. This week, I saw these Valentine Rawlos and nearly screamed in excitement with the salty caramel filling made with dates, maple syrup and good quality sea salt--I realize that I am posting two recipes from My New Roots in a row (and perhaps three with black rice coconut rice pudding).  I just love this blog on so many levels.  As soon as I saw the heart silicone mold used, I knew that I had to have a similar one but had no time to order one from Silikomart on Amazon in time for Valentine's Day.  So what did I do?  I was lucky to find these cute lips at Michael's and problem solved.  I also picked up some lollypop sticks to go with the lips, but then couldn't figure out how to insert them before the chocolates set.  Any ideas?  Wouldn't it be cute to have the lips on a stick?  

Eating chocolates with food allergies poses lots of problems.  And when making them, how do you know if the ingredients are free of cross-contamination with soy, dairy, gluten, nuts... I am going to research where to find guaranteed nut-free cocao powder and cocoa butter.  For this recipe I used this cocao powder.  I wrote to Navitas and got this response about cross-contamination with nuts:

"I am pleased to inform you that our organic, Raw Cacao foods and the entire Navitas Naturals line is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, and corn free. We do not have our line tested for parts per million of gluten currently, but we are strongly considering getting certification in the future. Since our entire line of foods and all of our processing and packaging facilities are gluten free, there is an extremely low risk of cross contamination.

We do sell Raw Cashews. This is the only nut in our facility. We package Cashews on the same bagging equipment as other foods. We do clean all of the equipment between runs."

Would it work with this cocoa powder from Vermont Chocolates?  Raw cacao powder is not the same as unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder, but my knowledge is limited.  

As for the cacao butter, I used this one from Artisana. This is the first time I've used cacao butter.  I have been enjoying their coconut oil and butter for some time now.  The package says that the facility is free from gluten, soy, dairy and peanuts.  But not the case for tree nuts......Oh, this is a headache!  I eat these products, but I am an adult.  Would you give them to an allergic child? 

Click here for the recipe! I used a simple glass bowl over a pot of simmering water for the chocolates (decided to follow a recipe for once instead of playing around with it during Baby's nap) and the Thermomix for the filling using Turbo and frequent scraping down the sides of bowl while alternating mixing on speed 4.  Here is a good Themomix dairy-free chocolate recipe with quality ingredients. Jo has the best recipes along with a lot of awesome ingredient tips.  And when it comes down to it, my daily focus is on the ingredients both for allergies, quality and nutrition.  

  

Blog Toronto's Best Nut-Free Bakeries in Toronto

Where were these nut-free bakeries when I was a child?  While pregnant, I used to make special trips up to Richman's bakery for an overflowing box of nut-free cookies.  Zero anxiety and super delicious!  I like to check in with bakeries that specialize in nut-free baking to see if they make bread and treats free of other allergens as well.

For the list go to, http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_nut-free_bakeries_in_toronto/

I just got off the phone with one of Organic Oven's bakers, most of their baking is done at their Brampton location, and she confirmed that they are nut-free, egg-free and sesame-free.  They do make some almond cookies but they have a dedicated space to avoid cross-contamination.  Hip hip, horray!  I was reading the labels on some of their bread products at Noah's just yesterday.  Now I have direct confirmation that their baked goods are safe for my son's playschool.

Make sure to look at Half Baked Ideas Bakery.  You can get the same Callebaut Chocolates-from a nut-free facility-that the bakery uses for your own baking!