What's for Dinner: Dairy Soy Free Crockpot Spicy Lemon Chicken

Dairy Soy Free Crockpot Spicy Lemon Chicken

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it is possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

You can also find me on Pintrest @dairysoyfreemom

It is officially fall and for me that means time to cook 90% of my meals in a Crockpot or Dutch Oven. I don't know what it is about fall that makes the Crockpot seem like the go to way to cook. It doesn't heat up your kitchen so you would think it would make more sense to use it in the hot summer months. I guess when you think of Crockpots and Dutch Ovens you think of hot heavy hearty meals. Or maybe it's because life gets so much busier (school, activities, football season, holidays, etc...) in the fall, so you need easy ways to get a good dinner on the table. Since this can be an additional challenge when you have a specialty diet I thought I would spend some of my posts in the next few months with wonderful Crockpot and Dutch Oven meals. If anyone has a good recipe they would like to share please let me know in the comments section, I'm always looking to try new recipes. We tried the Spicy Lemon Chicken for the first time and I will have to say it was pretty good. Next time I make it I will probably double or triple the sauce (the liquids and spices) because I wanted much more sauce on mine. I will try my best to post regally but with a new baby at home and all the above mentioned things going on I doubt I will be able to post weekly. Here's the recipe I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did.

Dairy Soy Free Crockpot Spicy Lemon Chicken


TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min. Cook: 4 hours

MAKES: 4 servings

*Not pictured pasta or avocado non stick spray.

                           

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, chili powder and paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
• 4-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4-1/2 teaspoons cold water
• Hot cooked noodles
• Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions

In a greased 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the onion, water, lemon juice, oil and seasonings.

Add chicken; turn to coat. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

Remove chicken and keep warm.

*It looked a lot better in person than in the pictures.

                                               

In a saucepan, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth.

Gradually add the cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Serve with chicken over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Original Recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spicy-lemon-chicken 

Honey-Roasted Chickpeas

Honey-Roasted Chickpeas

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it is possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

You can also find me on Pintrest @dairysoyfreemom

This will probably be my last post until October. I’m scheduled to have this baby on Thursday so I will be taking a break. Hopefully, I will be back up and blogging in October. I will still be checking comments and questions and try to answer them if I can during September.

This is a great high protein dairy soy free snack you can make ahead of time and put in a bag to take with you. I find a lot of times when I’m out running errands or away from home I’m hungry and need something right away. It can be hard to just pick something up when you are dairy soy free. When these are cooked correctly they have a good crunch to them. This recipe is for a honey cinnamon sweet chickpea but I will also be posting a spicy salty recipe in the future in case sweet is not your thing (or if you are like me you love both). Warning this recipe will make your house smell like Christmas with all the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Honey-Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat silicone mat.

2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Place them on a towel to dry off.

 

 

 

3. Spread chickpeas on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until crispy. Test one, and if it's still soft, bake for longer.

4.     While the chickpeas are still hot, toss them in a bowl with the oil, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Enjoy as is, or for a caramelized effect, place them back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Store leftover chickpeas in an airtight container.

Original Recipe: http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Roasted-Honey-Cinnamon-Chickpeas-27908653

Dairy Soy Free Cooking Sprays

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it’s possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

Something I had issues finding years ago was cooking spray that did not have soy listed as an ingredient. The only one I could find back then was Pam for Grilling. I have found more options this time around. Now be warned not all coconut oil spray, grapeseed oil spray, and avocado spray are dairy soy free (mainly soy is what you have to worry about). You need to make sure you check each bottle. There were about 5 coconut oil sprays at the store and the one below is the only one I found with no soy. I got all these at Walmart. They are more expensive than regular spray but that’s something that is normal anytime you are looking at allergy friendly items. I love that these sprays do not contain a ton of ingredients. Another great thing about these bottles is the sprayer; you can use it to drip, little spray, or big spray.

You can also find me on Pintrest @dairysoyfreemom

Dairy Soy Free Breads

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it’s possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

Breads are something I missed a lot of last time I was on the no dairy no soy diet. About the only breads I could find over two years ago was the frozen kind. The frozen kind was not bad and trust me I was so grateful for it when I really wanted a sandwich. This time around I have been amazed at the options out there at my local grocery stores. Don’t get me wrong they are expensive compared to typical bread but when you want a piece of toast, sandwich, etc… it is worth the extra cost. Here are a few I have found and my thoughts on them.

Here are some breads I found at my local Publix grocery store. So far I have tried all the Dave’s Killer Breads and they were all good. My favorite by far is the Good Seed in yellow. To me it tastes like honey wheat bread (just with seeds). This bread comes in two sizes and runs about $4 a loaf for the small size and $5 or a little more for the larger size. Keep in mind this bread does go bad faster (I take this as a good sign that it’s not filled with preservatives).

These breads are also at Publix and seem to be dairy soy free. They run $4/$5 a loaf. They are on my list to try but I have not gotten the chance yet. Truthfully I like the Dave’s Killer Bread so much I’ve found it hard to try another yet. If anyone gets the chance to try this brand before I do I would love you to post your opinion on them.

Here are some bread choices I found at my local Food City. Again not cheap you are looking at over $5 a loaf most the time. I really want to try these hamburger buns soon. I make a mean turkey sloppy joe and it’s just not the same on loaf bread.

Here are a couple of options for tortilla bread. The smaller corn tortillas look, smell, and taste like the ones you get off of taco trucks. They are good but go bad fast and are small. I love the Xtreme Wellness brand of tortillas but the only version I found dairy and soy free are the fat free ones pictured. They stay soft even when refrigerated and are not to big not to small. They are really good just make sure you don’t grab the wrong ones.

I have even found dairy soy free versions of bread at Aldi’s. I have not tried it yet but it’s on my list. So check out your local bread isle and see what you can find. If you can’t find regular breads try the gluten free freezer section a lot of stores carry Udi’s brand and they have frozen dairy soy free breads (bread, hamburger buns, hot dog buns, bagels, even French bread). If anyone finds anything good let me know. I will be making homemade dairy soy free breads this fall to try out and I will let you guys know how that goes.

As always please double check your ingredients you never know when something might change or I might accidently over look something.

You can also find me on Pintrest @dairysoyfreemom

Living the Dairy Soy Free Life - Round 2

I officially went dairy soy free again on July 5^th. After 3 weeks back, I feel like I have already learned a ton I did not know the first time around. The first thing I have noticed is in the two years I have been off the diet there seems to be a lot more options popping up for eating out dairy soy free. More and more restaurants are developing larger allergy free menus. We were dairy soy free for over two years as a family, and in those two years I ate out two times and both at the same restaurant. I just did not trust anywhere enough to understand my diet, especially the no soy part. Soy is sneaky and seems to pop up everywhere (from vegetable oils and sprays that a lot of kitchens use to even your vitamins). In preparation for going dairy soy free again I have been looking up allergy menus online and asking in restaurants for options just to see what’s out there. I have discovered everywhere from places like Pita Pit to frozen yogurt places like Orange Leaf have dairy soy free options. Most restaurants have allergy menus online now, and soy has made the list. Dairy was normally included, but to see soy pop up now makes me very happy. So if you want to eat out somewhere Google their allergy menu before going and see what options you may or may not have.

The second thing I have learned is people are normally very helpful with allergy restrictions. Don’t be afraid to ask to see package ingredient labels if you are unsure of the ingredients. Normally people will bring packages right out and let me double check ingredients for myself. I have asked to see labels on things I buy at the deli section of the grocery store (like roast beef, hey you never know what might be hiding dairy or soy).  I will be asking Pita Pit to see the package their pita bread comes in to check it for dairy and soy, hopefully they will be as helpful as other places I have asked. Also if you have dairy soy free things you normally like to buy or that you might want to try but cannot get it in your local grocery store just ask. Call the store and ask to talk to the person who does the stocking for the store. If you can give them the name of what you want (and better yet the UPC code) most will try to get it in for you, and if it sells well they might start stocking it all the time. Don’t be afraid to ask, the worst that can happen is they say no.

The third thing I have learned is there are so many more options in the grocery store for dairy soy free items. The larger chip brands seem to be going away from vegetable oil that contains soy unless they are a cheese, sour cream, etc… flavored type of chip. I am also finding options for breads (I’ll do a post on them soon, I am still making my way through all the options), ice creams, sauces, cooking sprays (also a post coming soon), and so much more in regular grocery stores. Before I had to struggle to find some of these items unless I went to specialty grocery stores, the prices are still high compared to the dairy soy counterparts, but I’m amazed at the options out there now.

The fourth thing I’ve learned is I’m still learning. I have done blog posts in the past on soy in vitamins and where to find dairy soy free vitamins (I think the generic Target brand of prenatal vitamins are dairy soy free now, but check your ingredients). I’ve also gotten some advice that the soy in vitamins does not contain the protein that would bother an intolerance. I have not found out for sure either way. I have asked multiple doctors and looked online but no concrete answer on that one. So I guess if you are over cautious like me then look for dairy soy free vitamins. If you have been taking your regular vitamins and have not had any issues then I’d say no need to change them. In addition, you need to avoid MSG. I’m pretty sure I listed it very early on in my blog days as something to avoid but somehow I had forgotten that one. MSG is pretty much soy (others to avoid TVP texted vegetable protein and HVP hydrolyzed vegetable protein). I’ll try to do an updated post on the different names that mean soy soon. I’ve also recently read that soy lecithin and soy oil can normally be handled by people with a soy intolerance or allergy. I’ve not tested this out, but I know soy is now one of the allergies that manufactures are supposed to list at the end of the ingredient list as an allergy. However, they do not have to list if the product contains soy lecithin since it is not supposed to contain the protein that would bother you. Again, I normally cut out anything that says soy or dairy (or any of the other names for soy or dairy) in the ingredients but that might not be necessary. My advice, as a mom not a doctor, would be to cut them all out and then add back in slowly the items with soy lecithin or soy oil if you want to try them. Each person is different and each child is different, it might bother one and not the other. Just use your judgement and do what feels right.

The fifth (and last thing I’ll post on for now) that I’ve learned is even though the new options will make things easier and having been through this before will make things easier keeping a tight blog schedule will be harder now that I have a toddler and a new baby on the way. I have cooked so many things in the past three weeks and only after sitting down to eat realized I took no pictures for the blog. I am in that 3^rd trimester tired all the time phase and just getting food on the table everyday while keeping up with a four year old has been exhausting. So please be patient with me. I hope to post on a regular schedule but know that could be an unattainable dream. I do check my comments often and will always try to respond to questions ASAP. I will post my blog here and on Pintrest @dairysoyfreemom each time I post a new one. Hopefully I will have a new blog up each week.  I have also finished correcting my old blog posts so all the pictures should be up now. Please let me know if you have any advice, tips, or questions.

You can also find me on Pintrest @dairysoyfreemom

Work In Progress

I have officially started fixing my old blog posts that lost their pictures. I will be starting with the oldest posts and working my way to the most recent posts. If you follow me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom I will repost the fixed blogs to Pintrest as I get them finished. This way they are easy to find. If you don't have Pintrest just start with the oldest posts first (there is a lot of great starter info in the older posts so I highly recommend starting at my oldest anyways). So please hang in there I'll get the older posts fixed as quick as I can and hope to have new posts starting in July.  As always I love any questions or suggestions/tips anyone has so feel free to leave comments anytime, I try to check them regularly.

Going Dairy Soy Free Again!

Hello out there!  Anyone still listening? I can't believe it's been 2 years since I've posted anything! My daughter outgrew her dairy soy intolerance at 2 years old so I stopped posting because I had nothing new to add. I am now expecting my 2nd child, a boy, in early September. Since I've been informed by lots of other moms who have gone through this intolerance that it is likely this child will have the same intolerance. My family has decided to cut out dairy & soy again starting July 5th. This will be a new challenge because now I will have a 4 year old to deal with too (and she loves pizza with cheese). Looking back over my old posts I noticed that since I moved my blog pictures off my phone they also disappeared from the blog itself. Yuck, so now I get the joy of going through one by one trying to reinstall the pictures. It will take some time but I will work on it.  So between now and September I hope to fix all my old blogs that the pictures have disappeared on. Once July gets here I hope to have new posts to add a few times a month or more. As always I welcome any questions or comments.  If you have any good dairy soy advice I would love that too.

So if you are still here thank you! If you are newly discovering this blog welcome and I hope it helps.

You can also find me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom

Dairy & Soy Free Snack: Veggie Straws

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it’s possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

I came across a neat little snack to toss in my purse for Bel in place of chips. They are called Veggie Straws and they taste like regular salted chips and look like fries. The snack itself is dairy & soy free but they are manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat, soy & milk.

Normally that would not bother an intolerance (if you have a true allergy I would not risk it). I did not try things processed in a facility that processes dairy & soy until Bel was one. She never had an issue with it but tred lightly until you see how reactive you or your baby are.

You can also find me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom

Making The Transition Out Of The No Dairy No Soy Life

I want to apologize for taking so long between posts. With an active toddler, summer has been non stop for us this year. We have been making the transition out of the dairy soy free life this summer. I wanted to share our experience so far and the positives & negatives.

On March 1st I started introducing Bel to dairy and soy. Since we were still nursing I stayed dairy soy free in case she still had an intolerance, that way I would not need to detox too. We started with freeze dried yogurt bites (found in the baby food section). Bel seemed to do ok with them for a few days, but then she started vomiting and stopped wanting to eat them. We backed off of the dairy & soy for awhile. After a few weeks we tried string cheese sticks. Bel did not seem to like them much but did not get sick.

Next we tried yogurt covered raisins, which had dairy & soy in the ingredients. She did fine with these. We just slowly added different foods (grilled cheese, pizza, breads, chips, candy, etc). By May, Bel seemed to be able to eat most things. Days when she had a lot of dairy, especially cheese, she was a little constipated but that was expected. I think her getting sick in the beginning was her body reacting to dairy after not having it since she was 6 weeks old.

On May 1st I started eating dairy & soy again to see if having dairy & soy in my breast milk would make a difference to Bel. It did not, but it sure made a difference to me. In one months time I gained 20lbs, seriously I'm not exaggerating 20lbs from May 1st to June 1st! Plus I have less energy and feel bloated all the time.

Cooking dairy soy free was fun for me, it gave me a challenge and was healthy. Where I felt a void was in baking dairy soy free. I love to bake. Sure I learned to make some great cookies, brownies, and fudge dairy soy free but nothing beats baking with real butter, milk, whipping cream, and I love cream cheese frosting on cupcakes. So now I'm in a position of figuring out if I want to go dairy free (I think I'm ok with soy) again, not for Bel who seems to have outgrown her intolerance, but for me. Being dairy free means a healthier life style for us, but it also means a more expensive (dairy free foods cost more) and less convenient life style (harder to eat out or at other people's houses). So now I'm in a position of eating the rest of the dairy in the house then making my decision if we are going dairy free again.

I will continue to post dairy & soy free meals and foods as I make or find them.

Here are some cupcakes I made for Bel's 2nd birthday party. My first time baking with dairy in two years!

Chocolate Peanut Buttercream Filled with Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting, and Chocolate with Cream Cheese Frosting.


You can also find me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom

Eating Out Dairy Soy Free

Eating out while trying to stick to a dairy soy free life can be almost impossible. I only ate out twice in the 631 days we were dairy soy free and both times were at Genghis Grill. Since you pick your own raw food and then choose sauces I felt like I could control what I was eating. I stayed away from anything that said marinated on the food line and crab (imitation crab has soy in it). I asked management for a menu that listed the ingredients in their sauces. They had two that were dairy soy free the Dragon Sauce & Tomato Basil. I also asked what kind of oil and spray they use on their grill and asked them to cook mine on a cleaned service with no cooking spray. Both Genghis Grill's I ate at were very accommodating. I called ahead before I went to check if they could accommodate my allergies.

One of my Pintrest followers said that Buffalo Wild Wings has two boneless wing sauces that are dairy soy free their Honey BBQ & Jamin' Jalapeno (thanks for the tip Lori). I bet they have a sauces ingredients list you can read too. Make sure to ask about their oil and sprays too.

Bottom line if you are going to eat out call ahead see if they can accommodate your allergy requirements. Ask about ingredients lists, what cooking oils & sprays they use, and if your meal can be cooked in a separate clean area.

It took me until Bel was 18 months old to risk eating where I could not control the cooking myself and even then I only did it twice. Use your judgment and do your research.

You can also find me on  Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom

Part 3: Quick Lists of Dairy Free & Soy Free Foods

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it’s possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. We have started trying out dairy & soy on our daughter to see if she has outgrown her intolerance. I will do a few blog posts on our journey back into the dairy soy world too. I have continued to keep dairy and soy free, since I'm still nursing, until we are sure Bel can handle dairy & soy.

In this post you will find some foods I have listed before and some new foods i've recently found.

Frozen Fries:

Alexia makes a few frozen fries that are dairy soy free (be careful not everything by Alexia is dairy soy free). We love the sweet potatoe fries, the waffle cut seasoned fries (they taste like curly fries), the 98% fat free straight cut fries, and the hash browns.

Cereals:

We enjoy Reese's Puffs, Cherrios, Fruity Cherrios, Cap'n Crunch, and Cap'n Crunch Berries.

Beef Tamales:

If you like canned beef tamales the Hormel brand and the Senora Verde brand are dairy soy free.

La Choy Chow Mein Noodles are a great snack (I eat them like chips). They are also like crackers if you're sick and need something easy on your stomach.

Seasonings:
Here are a few more spices I've found to be dairy soy free.

From McCormick: Pinch Perfect: Lemon & Pepper & Cajun. Grill Mates: Molasses Bacon, Worcestershire Pub Burger, & Steakhouse Onion burger. The burger spices are great for grilling out.

From Webber: Kick'n Chicken, Gourmet Burger, Chicago Steak, & Mango Lime. From Morton Season All Season Salt

Breads:

Udis maked dairy soy free breads found in the frozen section of the grocery store. They are expensive and not the most delicious bread you have ever eaten but if you don't want to make your own then options for dairy & soy free breads are limited. They make hamburger, hot dog, white & wheat breads, and raisin bread.

This will probably be my last dairy soy free post as we are in the process of transitioning into dairy soy foods. I will post on our progress into the dairy & soy world. Also if I find something dairy soy free of interest I will post it. I am still open to questions if anyone has them please don't hesitate to ask.

You can also find me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom

Dairy Free Soy Free Homemade Biscuits

Here is an easy recipe for homemade biscuits. We eat them with everything from jelly, sausage, and bacon to fried chicken. For the fried chicken I use my wing recipe just without the sauce (just the breading). Just cut your chicken into thin cutlets instead of wing shapes. Here's the recipe Dairy Soy Free Fried Chicken

I also make them with the dairy soy free buttery spread on top.

Dairy Soy Free Biscuits

Ingredients:

Pam for Grilling Cooking Spray or Non Stick Foil

2 Cups Self-Rising Flour

1/2 Cups Spectrum Dairy Soy Free Shortening or Lard (I might even use more, I eye it)

2/3 to 3/4 Cups Water (I use 3/4)

*Optional: Earth's Balance No Dairy No Soy Buttery Spread

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 500°F. Coat baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray or foil.

2. Measure flour into large bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or 2 knives until crumbs are the size of peas. Blend in just enough water with fork until dough leaves sides of bowl.

3.Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently 2 to 3 times. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut using floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart for crisp sides or almost touching for soft sides.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

*Optional: Melt buttery spread in microwave and at the end of cook time for biscuits brush on butter. Put back in oven on broil for 2 minutes. Keep your eye on them they burn fast!

UPDATE: Please make sure to double check ingredients each time you buy. I hope I never overlook anything but it’s possible and ingredients can change. A lot of my posts are over two years old and since I have gone back dairy soy free I have discovered a few items I use to buy all the time that now have soy in them.

*If you use All-Purpose Flour: Combine 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt before cutting in shortening. Follow directions above.

Original Recipe: White Lily Biscuits

You can also find me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom