Carrot Cake Smoothie Recipe - Dairy-free, Egg-free, Peanut-free, Tree Nut-free & Gluten-free

Here is the RECIPE for yet another 'Allergy-friendly Smoothie with Daniella'.  Always guaranteed to be dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free and tree nut-free with the occasional coconut thrown in.  Usually gluten-free too!!

S.A.F.E. Allergy~friendly Carrot Cake Smoothie

Carrot Cake Smoothie

*Dairy free, Egg free, Peanut free, Tree-Nut Free and Gluten free

1 C Coconut Milk 
1 C Water
1 C Well cooked carrots
1/2 C vanilla protein (Arbonne)
1 Tsp nutmeg
1 T Honey
Crushed ice 


Add the liquids first.  Then add the cooked carrots.  Make sure they are soft so they blend well.  I didn't cook them enough on my first try, and I ended up with some chunks which didn't blend well.  Add the honey and nutmeg or whatever spices you may prefer.  Blend well.  Add crushed ice.  Blend again!!

Here's to another allergy~friendly smoothie and healthy living on the run!  




Carrot Cake Smoothie YouTube Link

Would LOVE to hear any thoughts and/or suggestions about the Smoothie recipes and videos~ 

Adios!



P.S. I use Arbonne Essentials Protein for ALL of my smoothies because they are dairy-free, egg-free and tree-nut free and are manufactured in a peanut-free facility.  They are also vegan and gluten-free certified, kosher, AND non-GMO.  

Our Baking Extravaganza to Celebrate Food Allergy Awareness Week - A Huge Learning Opportunity

As many of you know, last week, May 13th thru the 19th, was National Food Allergy Awareness Week.  For the second year in a row, I was proud to organize yet another Allergy~Friendly Baking Event at St. Marks School.  

This year it wasn't a fundraiser, rather a 'Baking Extravaganza'.  In our efforts to promote promote allergy awareness, all of the kids working the tables had food allergies or were siblings of those with food allergies.  

This was an opportunity for the 'Kids With Food Allergies', those who normally don't participate in other yearly bake sales or food events, an opportunity to share that foods with alternative ingredients taste just as good, if NOT better, than the baked goods their friends are accustomed to enjoying. 

ALL of the baked goods were completely NUT/TREE NUT FREE!  We even had items DAIRY, EGG, GLUTEN and SOY-FREE.  Chocolate items were a huge hit!  The chocolate covered rice krispie treats, brownies and the chocolate/sprinkled pretzels went the fastest!  We also had chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, oatmeal and oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies and gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffins! 

I have to be honest and share that there was one glitch.  The kids working the tables knew they weren't supposed to eat anything without asking, as not all items were just nut/tree-nut free.  Well, the temptation was a bit much for one child who normally wouldn't eat anything without asking first.  A trip to the school nurse and a little benadryl later, all was good. 

I felt terrible that this happened on my watch.  However, this child was NOT anaphylactic to the dairy-based chocolate chip.  What could have been a terrible situation reminded me of why I'm so passionate about allergy awareness and education. 

My greatest concern as a parent is not 'IF' something happens, but 'WHEN' it does, will everyone know what to do?  And they did.  The child alerted someone immediately and the adults responded according to policies and procedures in place.  My feelings as to how the school personnel may handle one of my children having an allergic reaction is with confidence.

We and our children do the best we can with their challenges.  Our kids are human.  They want to fit in.  They want to participate like everyone else.  No matter how 'on top of their game' you think they are with managing their food allergies, it's possible to get caught up in the excitement sometimes. 

As adults, it is important to remember the influence of peer pressure.  Educating our kids is one step  we can do for them.  We can't put the pressure solely on our children with food allergies to take care of themselves, especially those in elementary grades.  We can expand their safety net by ensuring their peers and teachers are also well educated in handling food allergies.  

A huge thank you goes out to the support of the Home & School Association, the Principal and the MANY families and students, those WITH and WITHOUT food allergies, who helped bake and work the tables during this event. YOU made this BAKING EXTRAVAGANZA the wonderful event that it was!

I want to add an additional thank you to the local and national businesses who supported this baking event with items for our school raffle. They enabled us to make this event not only educational, but fun too!!

Local Businesses included:

• Boise COOP
• Tree City Juice and Smoothie
• Flatbread Community Oven
• Chicago Connection Pizza    

National Businesses included:

• WOW Butter Soy Butter
• SunButter Sunflower Spread
• JollyTime Popcorn
• Home Free Treats
• Rudis Gluten Free and Organic Bakery

I learned a lot from this year's event.  Will I have another 'Baking Extravaganza' next year?  The 'Kids With Food Allergies' have already told me they hope we do.  Only time will tell.  It's something for me to ponder.  The greatest challenge is striking a balance between offering events for kids who can eat anything and kids who can't eat everything.

The next day a mom asked me where to find the WOW Butter.  I had samples available for all of the students on the tables and her kids LOVED it.  She shared it with a neighbor who has two children anaphylactic to peanuts.  This other mom was thrilled to find an alternative so that her children can have their own experience of a 'Peanut Butter and Jelly' style sandwich that so many others take for granted.  

This 'Baking Extravaganza' made a difference for at least two different families. Despite the glitches along the way, this is why I do what I do! 

Allergy~Friendly Protein Shakes? Arbonne Products May Work For You!

Getting the nutrition one needs while managing food allergies can be challenging.  If one is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and other animal proteins, your protein intake choices can become even more limited.  I was recently introduced to some great tasting protein powder which I think many families living with food allergies may find appealing.

Arbonne Shakes Review from S.A.F.E. 

Food Allergy Product Presentation at St. Al's - Thank you to my local and national supporters!

'Alleviating allergy fears one classroom at a time' .... I find nothing more satisfying than trying to help others who are newly traveling the journey I have been for years.


It is through the support of local and national businesses which makes raising allergy awareness in the Treasure Valley such a pleasurable and easy thing to do.


Thanks to the Boise CO-OP, Flatbread Pizza Community Oven,Chicago Connection Pizza, Tree City Juice and Smoothie Cafe, SunFlour Mills, http://www.jollytime.com/Jolly Time Popcorn, http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/, and http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/ who all donated allergy~friendly products or coupons for this local Boise event.


On Tuesday, October 18th, I had the pleasure of presenting 'Food Allergy Support' at Saint Alphonsus Family Center in conjunction with their BABY AND ME SUPPORT GROUP.  During this class I review local and national allergy~friendly products available, where to buy them and what community businesses support allergy~friendly lifestyles.  It also reviews websites, cookbooks and easy ways for creating a safer allergy~friendly home for friends and outside family visitors.

An hour went by like 10 minutes!  This class was exceptional in that I was able to present the material in a timely manner yet had time for genuine conversation between myself and the other mothers.


Life-threatening allergies are life-changing. I hope that with the educational materials and resources I presented, that some of them left with a stronger faith and belief in themselves that they can successfully navigate their allergy challenges and conquer some of their fears.


Know of any local schools, hospitals, ptas who may benefit from a such a presentation?  Just drop me a line and I'd be glad to give you more information!

Once again, 'Thank You' to Christina Babin for having me and I look forward to returning again soon!

Treasure Valley Thank You!... what a wonderfully supportive community...

'Alleviating allergy fears one classroom at a time' .... I find nothing more satisfying than trying to help others who are newly traveling the journey I have been for years.

It is through the support of local and national businesses which makes raising allergy awareness in the Treasure Valley such a pleasurable and easy thing to do.

Thanks to the Boise CO-OP, Tree City Juice and Smoothie Cafe, the Flatbread Community Pizza and Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery who all donated allergy~friendly products or coupons for this local Boise event.

On Tuesday, May 24th, I had the pleasure of presenting 'Food Allergies - Resources for Parents' at Saint Alphonsus Family Center in conjunction with their BABY AND ME SUPPORT GROUP.

What a wonderful experience!  This is a weekly, free educational support class for parents with babies up to 12 months old.  Not only did I have some of the regular mothers there, but also present were grandmothers, parents who had older children managing allergies, and even a few restaurant employees trying to learn more about allergies. 

An hour went by like 10 minutes!  At the end of the class, I had the opportunity to speak with a few of the mothers who were trying to manage some difficult allergy challenges.  My heart goes out to them in understanding their fears and struggles.

Life-threatening allergies are life-changing.  I hope that with the educational materials and resources I presented, that some of them left with a stronger faith and belief in themselves that they can successfully navigate their allergy challenges and conquer some of their fears.

Thank you to Christina Babin for having me and I hope to return again soon!

Local Boise Businesses Support our Allergy~Friendly Bake Sale during FAAW

On May 11th, in the middle of National Allergy Awareness Week, St. Mark's School had their 1st Allergy~Friendly Bake Sale.

The purpose of this bake sale was to give those students with food allergies, those who normally can't be active participants in the other yearly bake sales, an opportunity to show off their favorite baked goods while raising allergy awareness among their classmates and teachers. 

All of the baked goods were free of at least one of the top 8 allergens.  I think one of most enjoyed items were the DAIRY/ EGG/PEANUT/TREE NUT-FREE chocolate covered pretzels!!  We also had cupcakes, muffins, cookies, rice krispie treats and GLUTEN-FREE cookies and brownies.  I'm sure I missed some delicious treat in this list!!

It was a complete success!! 

A huge thank you goes out to the support of the Home & School Association, the Principal and the MANY families and students, those WITH and WITHOUT food allergies, who helped bake and work the tables during this event.  YOU are the reason this BAKE SALE was so successful!!

All of the money raised from this event will go towards purchasing allergy educational materials such as books and videos for the school library and classrooms.

I want to add an additional thank you to the local businesses who supported this bake sale with items for our school raffle.  They enabled us to make this event not only educational, but fun too!!

They include:

•           TREE CITY JUICE AND SMOOTHIE CAFE
•           BOISE CO-OP
•           CHICAGO CONNECTION 

  

  Local Boise Supporters

•           FLATBREAD PIZZA COMPANY
•           SWEET VALLEY COOKIE CO. 

At the end of the day, one teacher told me that many of her students commented on how surprised they were at how GOOD everything tasted. Comments like that make all of us with allergies smile and know we're making a difference in the thinking of others.